a merry day indeed

we spent christmas day with grandpa keenan (visiting from chicago), uncle dan (visiting from atlanta), nonnie, and grampy. favorite memories include zack & penny stacking the new bucket toy oh so high, sitting in their new chairs (to avoid any more of this), penny soothing her aching teeth on cold cucumbers, and mom burning the cabbage and setting of the smoke alarm (but the roast came out perfect!)

merry christmas to all!

much love,

zack, penny, laura & tim

ukuele

zack's #1 gift request all year has been a guitar. he was thrilled when, today, meme, papa, and uncle mike visited and delivered the guitar that santa had dropped off at thier house for him. of course, he has no idea how to play it (yet), but this boy couldn't be happier. thanks for the special delivery, meme and papa.

our attempt at a photo with meme and papa, which clearly didn't work out.

blaylalala

penny's been talking a ton these days and she pronounces some words better than others. here's how she says "banana":

organizer

now and then, zack will spontaneously decide to organize something for us. here he is trying to make sense out of the jumble of shoes in our hall closet. either that or he's trying to send a message that we need to vary our selection of shoes.

the binders

a couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of visiting auntie tara & uncle ryan in thier beautiful new home. zack was thrilled when ryan played the guitar for him and even got to try it out himself. now he REALLY wants a guitar from santa, which is great because, as we all know, santa only brings guitars to little boys who are nice, not naughty.

there must be something magical about this chair that makes both kids sit still

to listen to a story...

ava & geena

zack & penny had an extra special visit today from some extra special friends from ct - ava & geena! mom was pretty happy to see thier mom catherine as well. ava is 3 months older than zack and geena is 3 months older than penny, so we can certainly empathize with eachother's ups & downs of motherhood.

we had a fun lunch, played a ton in the playroom, and the kids checked out our xmas tree (notice the scarcity of ornaments...) unfortunately, getting a decent picture of penny or geena was nearly impossible since they're so darn quick!

kiss the baby

for her birthday last month, penny got a new baby doll (complete with stroller) that both she and her brother take excellent care of. notice how penny pushes her brother out of the way so she can have her turn kissing the baby. she's a feisty one!

first port wine stain treatment

as most of you know, penny was born with a "port wine stain" on her right outer cheek. while it's not very noticible (especially when looking at her straight on), we (along with her dermatologist at children's hospital boston) thought the best course of action would be laser treatment, since these things can get much darker and thicker as well.

the procedure itself only lasted about 30 seconds and is relatively painless. (penny was not a fan of the swaddling and gauze held over her eyes -- scary for anyone!) here are some pics of before, before with the numbing cream on, and after. the mark will remain that dark purple color for up to 2 weeks, at which point it should be lighter than the original. her next treatment is in february.

before, at home

playing with big brother zack in the waiting room

numbing cream is on

after, at home (no flash)

after, at home (with flash)

the kids sure were tired after such a long day!

happy holiday song

zack's favorite new thing is trying out his newly discovered singing voice.

he sure is in the holiday spirit

zacker the stacker

i realized today i never posted this short video of zack (from last month) during a recent visit from meme and papa. for some reason, i really love it. at the end, he's so serious, telling meme that the piece is "too big" and he just cracks me up.

family time

penny and zack had a wonderful thanksgiving week, with a very special visit from "grandpa abba-dabba", as he's now affectionately called by them. turkey day was spent at nonnie and grampy's with aunt pat, beth, conrad, matt, & uncle john. then, on saturday, we had a small gathering of family and friends from ct over to officially celebrate the big O-N-E.

zack show's grandpa abba dabba a photo of mom and him in the hospital

getting ready for the party: penny and zack work together to stock the waters

penny's cake (egg, soy and nut-free!)

time for the big girl to blow out her candle!

the men discuss the cake: was it great or just "not terrible"?

the party-goers

such fun gifts!

what a great time, thanks for coming, everyone!

"big girl"

penny sure enjoyed her first week being 1 year old. she enjoyed her first-ever cupcake, got a special doll (which she calls "dolly" that dad picked out and bought for her --too cute) and even showed some of her all-too-common stunts for the camera.

one is the luckiest number

we're thrilled to celebrate this milestone with you, penny sue. happy first birthday to our gorgeous daughter.

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spoon man

zack has become an expert at using a spoon (finally?). oatmeal? no problem. cereal? easy. you name, he can spoon it. (ignore wet marks on shirt...)

daredevil

as penny approaches her first birthday this week, she's been testing the waters with all sorts of dangerous stunts. most of them involve standing on something completely unstable (a toy truck, a rocking horse, an old chair) and bouncing up and down.

calling meme

today, zack made about a hundred calls on his play phone. Each time, of course, he called meme. This call turned out to be cute because, not wanting to be outdone, penny says "meme" from behind the scenes...which i didn't realize until zack reported "penny says meme."

hello?

penny has been enjoying "answering" her play phone when it rings. we call the game "hello?"

one more...

couldn't resist posting this pic of penny trick or treating over at our neighbors' house...so excited to be there!

the octopus and the sushi

z & p celebrated halloween a day early, hosting a halloween party at our house for friends (over 15 of them total, plus moms) in the medway mom's group.

penny slept nearly the entire time, but zack got to play with his pals and partake in the fun activities: "bobbing" for apples (with a ladle), decorating pumpkin cupcakes, pin-the-tail on the pumpkin, a scavenger hunt, and trick or treating on the deck.

best of all, all the candy and treats were "safe" for zack to enjoy, so we made sure there were lots of treats and no tricks!

dusk at the farm

last night, zack, penny & mom joined others in a champagne toast (ok, they had milk and formula) to celebrate the turning of the land at medway community farm. it was a chilly but beautiful night.

strawberry shirt

this is one of penny's favorite shirts. it was given to her mom by her dear friend essie during her last visit to san francisco, back in august 2008. mom will be so sad once penny outgrows it....she is going to need a doll that can wear it.

also, penny is into smearing food in her hair and all over her tray. troublemaker, just like aunt essie.

whole fun

zack, penny & mom spend quite a bit of time (not to mention money) at whole foods, where we're able to find lots of the brands that are safe for zack to eat. while it's usually a bit chaotic (penny trying tirelessly to stand up in the front of the carriage, zack biting into whatever i throw into the cart, and at least a meltdown or two), i managed to capture a sweet moment as we gathered our produce. and, no, there's never any room for the groceries.

snow babies

yesterday, we had our first "nor'easter" of this winter. the little keenans loved watching the huge flakes fall (for over 4 hours!) and we headed out as a family to one of our favorite, cozy haunts: the medway cafe.