we like snow

2008-12-14T17:32:00.002-05:00

Like most of the rest of the state we were hit hard by the ice storm. Our power went off Thursday night around 1:00 a.m. and has yet to come back. We've been staying in Concord with Gran and Grandad and I have been driving back to the house every night to run our generator and keep the pipes from freezing. The difference between Sutton and Concord is pretty drastic -- no ice here in Concord. You can see some pictures of our house here.

The pictures above are from our Morrill Family Christmas, a week early because we'll be in Virginia for "real" Christmas. Samuel got a Skuut and has been riding around the house, practicing for the warmer months.

2008-11-20T09:56:00.002-05:00

Jonah is taking over the blog.

Ever since Nannie left we've spent a lot of time pretending that our house is a train. (For those of you who don't know, Nannie rides up from D.C. on The Vermonter line and Samuel loves going to pick her up.) You'd be surprised how much tastier dinner is when the kitchen is a dining car and you can watch the country whizzing by outside as you eat.

2008-11-19T21:53:00.002-05:00

That's a toy tomato, but Jonah has started "eating" some "solid" food. So far only bananas and he isn't too sure he likes them. He does, however, enjoy playing with the spoon.

2008-11-06T20:24:00.003-05:00

Jonah sat in his new booster seat for the first time tonight, and we had an instant flashback to Samuel's first time in the same seat. Conveniently we took video on both occasions so you can see it too.

2008-11-04T18:46:00.000-05:00

2008-10-31T21:27:00.003-05:00

Samuel was an owl tonight for his first real trick-or-treating experience. The costume idea was inspired by the book Owl Moon, which he loves. We went down to Main Street in Sutton and both Samuel and Beth loved it. I don't think we've ever seen him more excited for something. Honestly, I didn't think he would say "trick or treat," but he did at every single house. He even hooted upon request. Jonah went as a blue fleece puff ball and slept the whole time. More photos here.

I tried not to eat all of Samuel's candy in one sitting.

2008-10-14T05:14:00.002-05:00

The biggest event since our last post is that Uncle Colin got married. Congratulations to Jenne & Colin. The boys really enjoyed themselves...

We all had a great time actually, and were really impressed that the wedding was entirely homemade. It turns out Colin and Jenne have friends and family who are... deacons, singers, horse-drawn carriage drivers, chefs, caterers, DJs, photographers, and wedding cake bakers. It was really fun and beautiful and Samuel and Jonah are happy to have a new aunt.

2008-09-27T05:17:00.002-05:00

There was never any real question about how things would go, but we did wonder what life would be like for Beth once I went back to work. Well, everyone seems to have adjusted just fine. Beth even cooked dinner and got everyone in bed when I had to be in meetings until 8 o'clock on Thursday. That's 13 hours of solo parenting with a 4 month old. I know people probably do it all the time, but I don't think I could have managed that by myself if the roles had been reversed.

2008-09-07T07:33:00.001-05:00

This is two days after Samuel's birthday, so he has perfected the art of blowing out the candles. Forgive our singing.

2008-08-24T21:06:00.004-05:00

Jonah remains the most relaxed baby we've ever had. He is all about eating, sleeping, and laughing. He has also added grabbing and rolling over to the mix. We went to Farm Days at Musterfield Farm today and Jonah slept the entire time under his hat in the Bjorn with Beth.

Samuel, on the other hand, did not take a nap today. He did, however, realize a dream...

If you've been to our house recently or follow Molly and Melissa, then you know that Samuel spends a great deal of time pretending to be Stephen, the farmer at Musterfield Farm. Beth and the boys go up there quite often to buy our produce and explore the farm, and that's what started the whole thing. Today we found Stephen so that Samuel could say hello, and Stephen decided to let Samuel "drive" his tractor. It really was a big day for Samuel, and he took it all very seriously.

I uploaded a bunch of recent photos today, including photos of: The Hydes, Jonah and his great grandmother, Beth's aunt Jennie's family, and some more tractors.

Also: summer is over.

2008-07-28T21:58:00.003-05:00

Not much has changed since the last post...

Helper:

Chubby:

Also:

Photos of the Morrill Family hike to Mizpah Springs Hut, Lakes of the Clouds Hut, and Mount Washington. Samuel is going next year.

Photos by Jamie of our visit with the Virginia Tech crew.

2008-07-13T19:42:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's been a long time, but it's summer and I'm spending a lot of time with the boys and Beth and not so much time with my computer. Samuel's new nickname is "helper" and Jonah's is "chubby." Here's a taste of what we've been doing, with even more on Flickr.

(Virginia & Samuel on the piano.)

(Four generations of Morrill boys.)

(Sifting the flour with Great Aunt Linda. I used to use that same sifter with my grandmother.)

2008-06-23T05:08:00.002-05:00

more...

Beth and the boys got me a waffle iron for father's day. The first batch was pretty disappointing. We discovered that rice milk is not a very good substitute for the buttermilk called for in Aunts Linda and Marge's famous waffle recipe. This Saturday I pulled one off the internet that used rice milk and tasted great. The recipe is here if you want it, but I'd stick to the buttermilk if you're able to.

Today is my last day of work for the year.

2008-06-07T11:28:00.002-05:00

Two is fun. We've been busy...

(Each link has a photo.)

2008-05-29T07:49:00.002-05:00

We have been a week without Nana and Maryanna taking care of us day and night. That was probably our last welcoming of a new child into the house, and it was great to have Nana with us again to make sure we could just worry about Jonah and not all the other stuff. We are getting by without all the help, but have decided that we should probably get used to piles of laundry and dishes all over the house. One thing is certain: Beth is going to have her hands full when I go back to work on Monday.

2008-05-27T12:25:00.003-05:00

Not to be outdone by Sadie & Dan, here is Samuel dancing to Pavement's "Shady Lane," as performed by me while standing on a chair. Pavement was known for their disheveled flannel look, so Samuel is dressed appropriately.

Jonah is not impressed:

2008-05-24T19:13:00.002-05:00

Samuel has found that a cream cheese mustache is a good way to impress the ladies, and that wearing his yellow mousey shirt is a good way to look like one of the ladies.

2008-05-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

We're home and everyone is feeling pretty good. Beth and I have been sleeping more than we did with Samuel, and Samuel has been great about having "Jone-duhn" around. Let's hope our good fortune continues.

2008-05-19T11:43:00.001-05:00

Jonah William

More...

2008-05-18T15:16:00.002-05:00

It's a boy!

Jonah William was born this morning at 7:31 a.m. weighing 8 lbs. 5 oz.

Beth and baby are both doing fine. We'll post pictures soon.

2008-05-15T05:09:00.001-05:00

Still waiting.

Baby countdown: -4 days

2008-05-12T19:48:00.002-05:00

Baby count: -1 days

Nana is here and we're watching 27 Dresses, hoping that a funny movie will laugh the baby out. It worked with Samuel, but so far Little Miss Sunshine is better. If anyone has any other tricks to encourage babies, let us know.

2008-05-11T07:02:00.003-05:00

Baby countdown: 0 days

No action yet. Beth says ~~Tuesday~~ Monday is the day and Baby II will be a girl.

2008-05-05T05:30:00.002-05:00

The 3 and 39/40ths of us took a walk down to throw rocks in the stream yesterday evening when we noticed that the sun had come out. We saw the first black flies of the season and the first trillium blossoming.

Baby countdown: 6 days.

2008-05-02T20:14:00.001-05:00