December 2012

December brought with our first good snow storm, holiday baking, several ski adventures, a growing Stacey, and wonderful holidays with friends and family.

We decided on a tree.  Justin now prepares to saw it down, with his two little assistants probably too eager to help!

We spent New Years in the White Mountains just outside of North Conway with our Boston running friends (a tradition now in it's 6th year).  Thanks to a well timed snow storm, we got out cross country skiing three days in a row.  Temperatures were low, but that didn't stop us, nor our little reideer leading the pack.

November 2012

Cyclocross season prevails in November and Senja and Cadel don't let Justin be the only one to enjoy the races.  Cadel's an ole pro at the races though he's riding this year with a pedal bike.  Here is Senja in her first race on her scoot bike (two wheels, no pedals).  

We start Thanksgiving Day with a running race in nearby Keene and finish the day enjoying turkey with our family at our house.  Here Senja approves of the bird.  

October 2012

In October we see our first glimpse of our newest family member.  Our 'fetus-name' for this little one is Baby Arlo (an acronym for "Our(R) Littlest One").  We got to see some fun movements, hear a nice strong heart, and Baby Arlo was cooperative enough to get a few good photos -- the one below is a profile with the head on the right, the face profile up and the chest to the left.  We choose not to find out the gender (we waited until their births for Cadel and Senja as well).

We continue to enjoy the seasons harvest, get out for some hikes, and do some pumpkin carving.  Cadel the Frog and Senja the Dragon enjoy their jack-o-lanterns on Halloween night.  Trick-or-treating is postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.

September 2012

September brings with it Cadel's first day of preschool.  With Senja in tow, and every day since, she comes in, hangs her coat, takes off her outdoor shoes and follows Cadel for a few minutes.  Then, we put her shoes back on, get her coat, and take her home with us.  Cadel often says he does not want to stay at school and needs a bit of encouragement, but then settles in and is happily a part of the school day.

We spent a wonderful weekend in New York for our friends' wedding and came home to more school, biking, and harvesting tasty things from our garden and the farm in our neighborhood.  Don't be fooled by this seemingly peaceful photos of Cadel and Senja together -- they certainly are have their share of altercations!

September also put Justin on the couch-to-half-marathon training schedule (well, not exactly "couch" since this is Justin after all) and we ended the month farther north in New Hampshire camping with friends and cheering on Justin and friends in the race.

August 2012

 We get to enjoy the fruits of our labor as carrots, kale, peas, cucumbers, eggplants, and tomatoes are plentiful in our garden. Here Senja and Cadel happily pick and eat purple carrots.

Senja celebrates her 2nd birthday with a kayaking adventure on a local pond and a family celebration complete with homemade pizza baked in our outdoor brick oven.  At the celebration we share with our family the news of our newest little one, expected to arrive in February.

July 2012

July was spent swimming, gardening, and playing.  Cadel and Senja make secret caves out of cardboard boxes and then have a grand time painting them.

June 2012

We celebrated Cadel's birthday with a local hike on the Cranberry Trail.  Cadel keeps a cheerful Senja from going too close to the river.

 Then, we headed to North Carolina for our cousin's wedding.  We had a great time at the wedding and playing on the beach.

 Cadel had a splendid time eating hard-shelled crabs and learning about the Wright Brothers. 

 

May 2012

May started and ended with rain, but in between there were plenty of nice days and a good time to get started with our gardening.  Cadel and Senja were good little helpers.

April 2012

April brought spring days.  We housed 23 baby chicks in our basement until they were big enough to move outside.  Cadel enjoyed our guests and would regularly go down to visit them in our basement and read to them, being sure to show them the pictures on each page.  Pigs also arrived in our neighborhood, but luckily didn't have to be housed in our basement!

March 2012

March brought more snow and maple sugaring season.  Senja is focused on her job of keeping the fire stocked as the maple sap boils down.

 Senja, visiting the turkeys at Tuckaway Farm.

Cadel (just being Cadel).  

February 2012

We attempted (and surprisingly completed) an uphill/downhill race at Pat's Peak, with Justin skiing with the two kids in tow in the ski trailer.  No photos from that event as the uphill was so steep that Stacey was pushing from behind as Justin hauled from the front.  Less exciting, but more relaxing is a photo from a winter hike in Nelson, NH.

January 2012

Although we didn't get much snow this year, it didn't stop us from getting out whenever we could.  Happily we can go for a cross country ski right out our back door.  Senja opted for an alternative mode of transportation.

Bath time is always fun!