Our Little Pumpkin


Even though she has no idea what candy is (though I am sure she will figure it out soon!), Mia had a great time celebrating Halloween this year! She liked wearing her pumpkin costume, reading her Halloween book and playing with the jack-be-little pumpkins. Even though she is too little for trick or treating, we visited Grandma & Grandpa's house and Maureen & Steve's house (where Mia was delighted to see the puppies) - it was a fun Halloween!

Fall Fun!

Now that it is apple picking season, we have been enjoying the fall and traditional fall activities.  Mia's first apple picking trip was to our local orchard, Honey Pot Hill, where we all had a great time with the Mazzolas apple picking, picnicking and visiting the animals (Mia's favorite part was definitely the animals!).  We also had a lot of fun at Westwood Orchards (our new favorite!) with Auntie Linda, Uncle Ralph and Stephen picking apples and pears and walking around the orchard and country store with pumpkins, cider donuts and apple cider.  Mia had fun at the orchards and she loves homemade applesauce - it has been a great season so far!

Beach Baby!

Since Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on Mia's first full summer and her favorite summer activity - going to the beach!  We are lucky to have a baby-friendly beach within a mile of our home, and we certainly made great use of our beach pass this year - there were weeks when we went every day because Mia loved it so much (plus it was a great excuse for us to go to the beach, too!).  We also had a great time at State Beach on Martha's Vineyard at the beginning of the summer, and spent a lot of time at Green Harbor and Burke's Beach enjoying the sand and water.  Mia loves playing in the sand, and will literally stay in the water until she is ready to fall asleep to the sound of the waves (she actually did fall asleep while floating on a boogie board at Burke's Beach!)  Below are some photos of Mia's beach adventures - Happy Labor Day!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

After a year full of fun that seemed to fly by, Mia's first birthday arrived on August 6 and, to mark the milestone, we had a weekend of parties!  On Saturday, we celebrated with pizza and cake at our condo.  Of course, Mia had no idea that it was her birthday, but she soon figured out that she loves cake and had a fun time opening her new toys!  On Sunday, we followed up with a fun party at Grampie's house, which included the legendary 6-foot sub from Bob's Italian Food Store in Medford - I am confident no one left that party hungry!  By Sunday, Mia was a champion cake-eater (though still a little uncertain about listening to us sing the "Happy Birthday" song), and she was so happy to see family and play with the wonderful toys she received. It was the perfect ending to a perfect year - we can't wait to see what the next year brings!

We love Green Harbor!

We just returned from Mia's second and longest visit to the cottage at Green Harbor, and it was a fantastic week for all of us!  We were lucky to have warm and sunny weather for the entire week, especially since Mia can't get enough of the beach!  She had a blast playing in the sand and "swimming" and "surfing" in the water.  She was also thrilled to discover the wooden bead maze at the cottage so she could show off her new skill of standing up while playing.  We were also lucky to have Jan, Grammy, Auntie Theresa, Auntie Tanya and Uncle Frank come to visit while we were there to join in on the fun!