The Ida's and Miki's came all the way to the East!  Ella led Pete and I on a death march to the beach. It was so rough Miki passed out.

Leigh found some seaweed.

 The next day we went to the children's museum in Middletown.  Who doesn't like an in-flight movie?

 Ida and Miki got trapped in a UFO.

 Ida helped gather fish in the cannery.  This was before big Uncle Dan laughed at her, causing her to hide in distress.

 Uncle Pete fixing the jam we caused in the fish conveyor belts.

 Those girls sure like the beach, even when it is a gloomy day.  Miki likes to get naked.

 Danny and Ida got along great,..

 Scary masks!

Afternoon at the Beach

It is certainly nice to have a beach to walk to when the weather allows. Leigh rocked the playground and got dirty in the tidal flats while Hko napped and Danny tore up kindergarten.

March For Babies!

Baby Leigh sitting outside for the first time earlier this week. We've been doing some unauthorized time off the ventilator, and here she is, outside, wearing an HME (Heat Moisture Exhanger). She looks a bit like a Saint Bernard with that barrel under her chin. She did not like the sun in her eyes.
And here she is on her actual birthday, playing with a new toy.Today (Sunday) was the March for Babies at Lighthouse Point. All of you contributed and helped us raise over $3000! That's a lot of money - and we thank each and every one of you.

DKV, SHV, and Aunt Molly ran (with Danny in the stroller) the 5 1/2 mile course. And we won. Granted, only one other person was running. We beat her quite badly. We also removed the batteries from some kid's electric wheelchair, neutralizing him as a threat to our sweep of the top three spots.
DHV tearing it up at Lighthouse Point today. After he "tested" each riding lawn mower on a recent Lowe's expedition we bought him his own John Deere shirt. He wears it well.Grandpa Lee and Baby Leigh.Chaos.Mr. T impression. "It's my birthday . . . I pity the fool!"Happy Leigh.

Family Fun

DKV finally had a day off yesterday so despite the gray skies we packed up and headed to the beach. DHV immediately got to work finding rocks to "bop" into his pail full of water.

Here he is showing his appreciation as DKV offers him a large rock.

He found it particularly amusing when the splash was big enough to get him in the face.

Then he got really brave and headed straight into the water, exclaiming "wa wa" all the while.

In the afternoon, after some napping (DHV) and pumping (SHV) and exercise (DKV), we took a trip over to the hospital (otherwise known as the "abba") to see little Leigh in her new big girl crib. Just like a real baby!

With such easy access, DHV couldn't resist showering his baby sister with kisses. That's our gentle boy!

La Republica Dominicana

Everyone was getting a bit stir crazy in CT, what with the snow and the cold and the ice and the cold and all, so it was a good thing we flew down for some R&R in the Caribbean.
Here's our conveyance; DHV rode Britney-Spears style for a week!
DHV took great delight in destroying any organized sand structure.
DHV also took great delight in sand.
A long day in the sun deserves an icy tropical drink.Frozen drinks also go well with red sauce; everyone should wear their bib cape-style when drinking midday.
All that sun makes a boy tired; here's DHV's second nap ever with Dad.DHV did not enjoy this "burrito" ride.Lots of scary golfers from the Deep South were lurking about in ambuscade, so DHV learned how to hold hands.A nice woman gave DHV a balloon at breakfast.
Dancing with Mommy to the mariachi band.Examining the pool.Catching up on some light reading.Swimming!

Blog DHV, old skool style

Our Powershot SD750 remains on the disabled list, getting a mojo transplant or some sort of spa treatment at the Canon factory, so we decided to go post a text-only update of the goings on here in Nu Haven.
It's been busy! We drove up to Vermont to see Great-Uncle Joe and Great-Aunt Alice. DHV rearranged their wooden toys and briefly explored their pond. Click over to Elsie's blog to see documentation from Cousin Elsie's trip just two days later.
Cousin Elsie, Aunt MAV, Uncle LongA, and their loyal hound Vida stopped by last Saturday for some V----g-style chicken on their way to Haddonfield before setting off for the West Coast. Elsie seems to have gained a lot more tone to her roley-poley body and knows how to use a Bumbo.
Earlier this week we drove up to Cape Cod to visit Grandpa Lee and Grandma Stef. The weather was unfavorable but we still got to explore the beach, experience Provincetown, and down some fried seafood.
This weekend Kasey & Ben and their kids, Jimmy and Caroline, drove up from Wilton to check out the house. Tarsha popped up from NYC in her Mini Cooper to make it a full house.
In disappointing news, we found out that HusbanDKV's catholic employer doesn't include infertility treatment in our medical insurance. Who would have thought those Catholics wouldn't want people having babies? It's all more than a little aggravating; for now we'll see if the ovaries have ended their work stoppage, plan on sending DHV's younger sibling(s) to state school, and quietly seethe.

To wash away that bad taste, we'll post some old pictures that never made it to the blog.
The honeymoon!
Take that, you Republican haters! B&B in the Berkshires.
May in Yosemite.
SHV looks small.

V----gs at the Bradford-V----g wedding! Now there are four (!) more.DHV a few months ago.
Stethoscope, or lasso? We hear the ladies love doctors and cowboys.
Grandma Stef getting some face time with his majesty, Destructor.
Destructor (aka, el Poopadore, alias Pukeadore) getting hosed down.