4th of July in Durham, NC

Jocelyn experienced her first plane ride over the 4th of July weekend. We flew to Durham, NC to visit Aunty Jenn, Uncle Greg, and cousins Zack and Alex. We had a great weekend enjoying their beautiful new home and their fabulous cooking. We felt like we were at a B&B. We went swimming at the nearby pool, played with new toys from Aunty Jenn and Uncle Greg, visited the local farmer's market, met the neighbors, and celebrated Aunty Jenn's 40th birthday! Here are a few of the shots from the weekend...

A few more shots from the baptism

Here are a few shots from the ceremony itself, this time contributed by my Mom. Enjoy!

Jocelyn was remarkably patient while this was happening. She flinched a little when Father Mark started pouring the water, but I think just because it was a little cold.

Cousin Zachary seems quite interested in what's happening.

Newly baptized!

Proud parents, godparents and Father Mark.

Greg waiting for "Freebird" to start. ;)

Thanks, all, for sharing the day with us! Jocelyn's daycare provider said she was in a fantastic mood the day after the party...she must have had a great time with you all! And thank you for all the wonderful gifts...as usual you are much too generous. Jocelyn is a lucky little girl to have you all as her family and friends.

What a great weekend

The Peanut was baptized on Sunday! Julie's sister Jenn and my uncle Greg did us the honor of serving as Godparents, and we had a big party at our house afterward to celebrate. Everyone seemed to survive the 95-degree temperatures OK and have a great time. Here are just a few shots from the party - more from the party and baptism itself will be posted as soon as we download them from our camera. Credit for the great photography on this post goes to my aunt Cathy!

Love this shot. It's like Jocelyn is saying to Lillian, "look at me!"

What beautiful children we have in our family.

Proud Poppa.

The beautiful and yummy cake that Grammy bought for the occasion.

The Peanut and her Godfather are already on the same wavelength!

I dare you to watch this and NOT smile

Every once in a while these days, she just breaks out into laughter. Now if we could only figure out what she thinks is so funny...

Our Camera Was Full

Since it has been a while since I blogged (to put it mildly), our camera literally was filled with pictures and I couldn't take anymore this morning until I cleared some off. I thought that might be a sign that we should be sharing some of these with our friends and family. Although I have been taking pictures this past month, I have not sent any along since I have been painting pretty much every day (and changing doorknobs and making curtains, etc...). Thankfully, I have had a bunch of help thanks to babysitters (Aunty Kristin, Auntie Abby, Grammie and Nana) and helping hands (Poppa, Pepere, Grammie and Auntie Amy). Here are the latest ~ She is still as bald as ever! Hope you enjoy!!

Jocelyn's First Day at Daycare

Well...How shall I put this? Dave and I decided to start Jocelyn in daycare a couple of weeks prior to my return to work since our house in Wellesley needs a bit more work. I didn't anticipate how very quiet the house would feel without her, though...I am heading back to get her in the early afternoon and she will probably be as happy as a clam. Grammie stayed over night to help me with the first drop off and to meet Barbara who will be caring for Jocelyn. I was glad Grammie was there to lend some support!!

Lights, Camera, Action

We have been lax in blogging (again) because we've been dealing with a little media firestorm - the Peanut and her parents made their TV debuts this past week. Channels 4, 5, 7, 25, CNN Headline News, the Boston Globe and Gloucester Daily Times all carried news stories on our troubles with the Manchester house. You can view the stories here:

Channel 4
Channel 5
Channel 7
Channel 25
Boston Globe
Gloucester Daily Times initial story
Gloucester Daily Times follow-up

Mom was busy contacting the Today Show and Oprah last night. Hopefully some of this publicity will make the builder and/or town step up and assume their rightful responsibilities, but I have my doubts. The builder maintains that the town is at fault, and the town sounds very sympathetic until the question of compensation comes up. We shall see.