New digs!

We know that being busy is no excuse... after all, as Margie always says, everyone's busy. We are still here and doing just fine! We've got some new digs- moved a few blocks over in our same fantastic neighborhood. I thought I had more pictures than these random few of the backyard and dining room- sorry! Unpictured highlights include a bright yellow front door and Moses' very own room (that's right, he graduated from his crib in our closet!. !).

Ella on the Carousel

Yesterday we met our friend Jon at the very cool Burlington City Park. Here's Ella looking very grown-up on the carousel. Mo rode on a deer on the carousel- those of you familiar with his deer obsession will understand how exciting that was. (and if you haven't yet heard about how Moses saw 2 deer at Grammie and Poppy's house in October, you probably will soon as he still talks about it at least once a day.)

Spring Happenings

Spring has sprung in North Carolina! HOORAY! We've been running around nonstop, enjoying the 80-degree sunshine and trying to avoid the giant clumps of pollen falling from the sky.

Ella and Moses both found their Easter baskets in less than 5 minutes. The bunny has to step it up next year and make it a little harder.

We celebrated Passover with Joshua, Sharon, Caleb, Ezra and Judah. Moses and Ella both gobbled up the gefilte fish with great gusto, while Kelly and Zach tried not to make yucky faces. Moses also refused to remove his hoodie for the entire Seder.

Our scarecrow's hair is growing!

Ella and Zach planted a bunch of bulbs, then replanted them when it turned out that they had planted them upside down.
We watched the Northwestern women's lacrosse team beat the Blue Devils. GO CATS! Zach even wore a purple polo shirt to the game (so no one would mistake him for a Duke fan).

Springing into Spring

Our plum tree is blooming in our front yard, and we've been celebrating the arrival of spring in many ways.

We're entertaining friends (thanks for visiting, Pauly and Laura...

...and Baby John and Karen)...

We're doing the Crazy Marker Head Dance...

...and celebrating our sort-of-Irish heritage with bran buds and green yogurt.

See you later- time to go swap some PJs...

...and rest up for a busy morning of making muffins.

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday (overdue)

Because Moses is a Christmas baby we've made a tradition of taking a picture by the tree each year. The difference between 1 and 2 seems huge. My goodness what a big boy he is. Happy Birthday Moses.

Moses HP, Budding Photographer

Self Portrait

Crazy Uncle B

Pensive Dewey

Poppy Laughs

Just a few of Mo's recent shots with the digital camera...

New Game

1) Moses lays on big pack of paper towels.
2) Ella lays on top of him.
3) Everyone rolls off.
4) Repeat.

Big Five!

Happy birthday, EHP! We're not actually that surrpised that Ella is five- she's seemed all grown up for a while now, and it's hard to remember a time when she wasn't around. We ARE surprised- pleasantly so- that Ella is absolutely brilliant, fun to be around, interesting, quirky, flexible, and the best big sister ever. We celebrated on Friday with doughnuts at school and a flaming poo-poo platter at the Chinese place (thanks, Josh and Rachel, for joining us!), and had a throwdown 5-year-old party this afternoon complete with BOTH uncles and a menacing shark pinata and cake. Off to a good start.

Thanksgiving 2009

With our real Thanksgiving postponed a day due to illness (feel better C) we did the best we could to have a great family dinner tonight and we scored big. CHINESE FOOD! The kids plowed through some egg drop soup and fortune cookies. Moses curiously announced with a smile, "There's some paper in my cracker!" Here we are. Having fun! Now we're listening to Alice's restaurant and getting ready for bed. And we still get to have turkey and extended family and friends tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving! This year we are extra thankful for our wonderful family of four (+Dewey) and our strong improvisational skills--and the open Chinese restaurant down the street, of course.

Baby Maeve!

We were lucky enough to be visited by our new friend Baby Maeve today. We're all quite smitten with her (and her lovely family!). Moses enjoyed comparing his feet to hers "Moses is BIG! Baby Maeve is YITTLE!"), E and K both got some good snuggles and smiles, and Zach proved that he can still shush a newborn to sleep while watching football.

Barista For Hire

Will scoop your coffee with great enthusiasm, even well before dawn... and looks wicked cute in footie pajamas.

Ella's First Sleepover

Our almost-five-year-old had her first sleepover last week! She would not violate the sleepover cone of silence ("I really would rather not tell you about it, mama"), but Aunt Sharon reports that she and cousins swapped pajamas and all slept on the floor together. Thanks, C and E!

Halloween 2009

Ella the CareBear and Moses as Dewey (look familiar?)

Mo's First Haircut

Clearly it was time for a haircut

He was a little nervous at first. Then the constant dose of Candy Corn kicked in.

Here's the action! Thanks for taking the scissors to the fourth and final member of the Perin family, Anne.

And the finished big boy product. Somehow he still has that little flip in this family of bone straight hair. Adorable!

Big Fan!

A Note from Moses' Preschool Teacher

And Moses has completely won my heart! What a special fella!
He is so good natured and friendly and self-reliant. Charming.
(thanks, Martha!)

Are you ready for some football?

GO REDSKINS!

Moses and the ABCs

A B Cs (sort of)

For you Baltimoreans out there, the chocolate all over Moses' face is from his first Berger cookie (thanks, Penny).\

Ella and Ezra walking to the farmer's market