Daniel's favorite new snack...

...mulch! This picture was taken right after Daniel gave a tour of Mimi and Poppy's absolutely fantastic house, which Ben has taken to calling "the new-old Quonnie place." We can't wait to start spending more time there!

Hanging out in Quonnie

Mimi and Poppy rented the Gray's house for the month of July, and we have been spending as much time there as possible. This is where the Heep family spent their summers for more than twenty years. Ben and Daniel have loved staying here, and Chris and Rachel (celebrating her 15th summer in Quonnie!) enjoyed this blast from the past!

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Daniel celebrated his first birthday with his very first cupcake. As you can see, he likes cupcakes.

Ben at Fresh Pond

On two recent trips, Ben enjoying the weather at Fresh Pond.

Cute Daniel

Daniel, just hanging out at home.

Hanging out in New Ro

En route to a party in Brooklyn, we stopped off in New Rochelle. We spent the morning in Manor Park, one of Chris's favorite spots from when he was a kid.

Party in NY!

After spending the morning in New Rochelle, it was off to Brooklyn to celebrate Aunt Naomi's graduation from grad school. Congratulations! It was great to see everyone, and the kids especially enjoyed hanging out with their cousins.

We went to Kentucky!

I took the boys to Louisville to spend some time with my dear Emma and her fantastic family. Ben had the time of life...how could he not with Raphael and Olivia as constant companions. It really was a wonderful visit and it was sad to have to go. The boys were good on the many planes we had to take to get there and home again, I was anticipating the worst, and got the best! We only had to run for one flight, no one threw up or bled, and I think our plane seat neighbors would agree that these are some well behaved kids!!

A Trip to the Circus

The boys had their first trip to the Big Apple Circus a few weeks ago. Daniel loved the show, Ben was in it for the cotton candy.

A Kiss for Mimi!

T-Ball!

Ben has begun playing team sports! He's on the "Mini-Brewers" t-ball team at our local YMCA. He's only had one practice/game so far, but loves it and didn't want to take his uniform off for several days. Here he is practicing his throwing and getting his first hit. He stretched a single into a triple with some heads-up base running.

Big Ben

Daniel Driving

Daniel taking a turn driving the car!

And Ben got a fish

Chris isn't allergic to fish.
First his name was Ben. Then a few hours later, Jack. Finally, Peter, and that has stuck. So Peter is our newest family member.

We also celebrated at my parent's house

We had a delicious bday dinner at my parents with Aunt Noni, Becky, Jake, Ruby,Mike and Summer, Aunt Sophia...

Ben turned 4!!

We had a fantastic party with 10 4 year olds, plus Ruby, Daniel and lots of parents all in our little apartment. Ben had a blast and the kids were terrific. Our friend Julie dazzled them with her musical genius and particular skill with pre-schoolers, it was adorable.