Polar Express 2009

Once again we were able to take MK on the Polar Express thanks to Uncle Hans! Two of our favorite people came along with us this year - Caitlin and her son Ashby. We road the train, sang songs, listened to the story, and drank hot chocolate - a grand time. Santa joined the fun, too and we were able to get a moment to tell Santa what we wanted for Christmas. We are looking forward to a fun holiday season. We have been to the LL Bean tree lighting, we saw the Sparkle Parade in Freeport and we are decorating our house for Christmas this Sunday. MK's favorite carol is Jingle Bells and he is digging all the Christmas lights we see at night. He is very good at spotting them. "More Christmas light, Mommy, over there!", he exclaims as we drive through town. The eve of the eve of Christmas we are headed up to Rangeley to spend the holiday with my sister Mary and her family: Hans, Peter and Eileen Rose, at their camp. We are looking forward to have this time away. So here at the Douglas house it is out with the pumpkins (almost) and in with the Yuletide. We hope that all our friends and family still hold some of the wonder and spirit that the holidays bring. We are truly enjoying MK's wonderment and surprise at all the "treats" he is encountering during this Christmas time. Love to you all. Enjoy the pictures and the video.

Happy Halloween!

Our third Halloween and we found ourselves yet again amongst the goblins, princesses and freaks at the annual Brunswick Halloween Parade. Here is a slide show of pictures from our weekend and a video wish from MK. We carved pumpkins Friday night and then enjoyed the festivities on Saturday. MK went trick-or-treat-ing with a pal and it could not have been cuter. The "bat" and "lion" were beyond cute when they went up to the neighbor's doors and called out "trick or treat". Wish you all could be here too. Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today is MK's Grandpa Callam's birthday. Here is a special message from MK to him. Have a great day, Dad!

The Beginning of Sumer

Life on the "farm" has been grand. Summer is here, I am off from work and MK is down to less than 19 hours at daycare per week. So much happens with toddlers that it is hard to summarize however, he is in the parrot stage, repeating everything we say. He is developing a fun sense of humor and he LOVES to tease Huck. We have a gorgeous backyard that becomes another "room" for us in the summer. Our garden is full of veggies and fruit. We have strawberries ripening and broccoli to pick. Our hens have a new home, and they are laying 2-3 eggs per day. We also are raising meat birds for the fourth summer. Matthew just finished the Hen house. We love it. He has also been busy working three jobs and keeping our house in order. We have visitors coming this weekend. The Endrud's will be here with their two girls and we can't wait to host them for the second summer. Then Matthew's family comes to stay over MK's 2nd birthday. So glad they are coming. We have not seen most of them since last July. My family comes at the end of July and up to Rangeley we go. Our days are full (Eileen) getting our house ready for the travels to stay. But we always have time for visitors. Enjoy the pictures. Hope this finds all of you happy and healthy. Love, Matthew, Cathy, MK and Huck

Sandbox

Here is the sandbox for KK - his first approach! Matthew built him a sandbox yesterday for the summer. The swing set is next. :-)

Easter 2009

We had a great Easter Sunday at home with the just the four of us. Enjoy the slide show. It was as if MK was born with the instinct to hunt for Easter Eggs. It was fun to watch. We were all glad to be able to spend the day together - even if it was a chilly 40 degrees. Hope this finds everyone enjoying the arrival of spring. Much love to you all!

KK goes sugaring!

As bears do all winter, the Douglas Family has been hibernating. It has been a long winter, but we are slowly pulling ourselves out of a slumber-y existence and getting outside. It is maple sugaring time in Maine and MK has had two full weekends of watching big pots boil. Click here to find out more about how to make maple syrup. But it does take 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of sweet syrup. No wonder it is so expensive! Two different families we know tap their trees and participate in this New England tradition. We were joined by good friends, Matthew and Kimberly Benjamin. MK is growing and growing. He uses both verbal and non-verbal communication to get what he wants. He is smiling and laughing and enjoying everyday. He loves his dad, playing cars, feeding chickens, "driving" the truck. With the melting of the snow and hints of spring everywhere - we can't wait until summer when Mom will be home full time. Enjoy the pictures and the slide show. We hope this finds you all enjoying the "wake-up" as much as we are. Much love - Cathy, Matthew, MK and Huck! (PS - if you click on the slide show, it will take you to the photos enlarged.)

Snowy and Bright MLK day

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We had a beautiful day in the snow. MK loves his sled! Happy MLK day - one of my favorite holidays - this day and Fourth of July rank high for me. Enjoy the video too. Cheers!

Christmas 2008 and beyond

It was such a great Christmas for us all. I flew to Michigan with Michael Kirby for four days to visit with friends and family. MK loved the flight - looking out the window and flirting with EVERYONE. He was great and the flights were short and on time. Grandma and Grandpa Callam were wonderful hosts. We enjoyed time spent with them and then all the others as they arrived throughout the week. Our only disappointment was not being able to see Nana and Papa from Ohio.

We then flew home to Matthew and Huck on Christmas day. Again our flight was wonderfully on time and short. We skirted all the delays and bad weather. Matthew had decorated the house and had done all the shopping so we had a lovely meal and Christmas celebration at home. Santa brought a great toy for MK that he plays and plays with.

The final few pictures were from a pancake breakfast we had at our friends house. The vest was a gift from friends who traveled to Canada this summer and brought back the Scottish Tartan for the Douglas Clan.

I hope this post finds all of you well and staying warm both in your heart and elsewhere. It is cold in Maine. We are looking forward to the festivities and speeches surrounding the upcoming inauguration. Again, despite your political bent this is such a wonderful moment in history for all Americans. Much love - Cathy, Matthew, MK and Huck