'Tis the season of farmers market

I love that the Wednesday and Saturday farmer's markets are back! It is such a treat to be able to walk the one block from our house to the market on Wednesday mornings. Henry and I picked out a bunch of herbs to plant in our community garden plot. We also have fun taking pictures of all the beautiful plants and flowers in bloom. Pretty soon the market will be in full swing offering lots of local produce. We hope to make it to the market at least once a week so we can stock up on all of our fruits and veggies. One more reason I love living in Maine.....

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather as much as we did. On Saturday we headed up to Pineland Farms (about half hour from Portland) for the annual trail running festival. I ran the 10k race which was VERY hilly and muddy, but totally fun! I have discovered I prefer racing on trails, so I am going to be looking into more trail running races in our area. My fan club came and cheered me on! It was a fun morning and a perfect one for running. On Saturday afternoon we took Henry to the beach (it was still chilly at this point so notice we are in fleeces!) and had fun playing in the sand and letting Henry explore. He wanted so badly to get into the water so we had to really try hard to hold him back! I think he will enjoy the water this summer! On Sunday we took a nice walk around the neighborhood, went to check on our community garden plot and and ended up at Henry's favorite playground. Sunday afternoon we took a picnic to the park and enjoyed the sunshine, warm temperatures and cool ocean breeze-an absolutely beautiful afternoon! We brought bubbles with us and Henry thought that was pretty neat! He had fun chasing the bubbles as they floated away. Monday morning we all went running (I had to run 8 miles as part of my marathon training) around Back Cove and we were all done by 8 am! We enjoyed bagels and coffee afterwards. Henry and I went to a birthday party for his good pal Madeline yesterday morning where he played so hard he crashed for several hours yesterday afternoon. Yesterday felt more like summer than spring, but hey, we'll take it! Last night I couldn't believe I was setting up the fan in Henry's room and letting him go to sleep in a diaper...wow, I didn't think it would warm up quite that much! All in all, a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and the kick off to summer! We can't wait for more...hope to see some of you soon!

More Playground Pics...

Finally, some nice weather...!

Hello all,

I have been uploading pictures here and there to the new flickr site but thought I would post a few recent ones I thought were particularly good. We are happy up here in Portland, Maine that the sun is finally out and the temperature is warmer! It was a long haul...but we made it! Now that the weather has improved Henry and I have been spending lots of time outdoors at various playgrounds because we have no yard of our own (hopefully that will change in the near future!). We are lucky because there is a fabulous playground about a mile from our house which is overlooking the water. It is quite picturesque. So we've been taking advantage....enjoy pictures of Henry climbing around! Henry is quite adventurous when it comes to climbing and maneuvering around the playground. Although he is not walking, he sure can get around....he loves to climb up and down the stairs, go down the slide, ride the bouncing horse and swing. We met his buddy Eli there this morning and the two of them had a great time exploring. I am so glad we've reached the age where we can start the playground thing--it's so nice!

In addition to the physical developments that Henry is making, his speech is also rapidly changing. He now can say lots of words including "this" when he wants to give you something. He can also wave and say "hi." He enjoys clapping and signing for "milk" "all done" and "more" ("milk" being his favorite!) His favorite activity above all else is reading. He LOVES any kind of book, especially ones that have flaps and texture. He enjoys being read to, flipping pages and looking at books on his own. We will continue to encourage this as we know how important early literacy is.

This summer things will change a bit for us as I will be going back to a more regular work schedule and therefore Henry will be in childcare every day for half a day. I think he will transition fine as he is such a social kiddo. His music teacher calls him the "social butterfly" of our music class. He goes around to all the moms and other babies and greets each and every one of them, climbs into their laps and wants to snuggle. It is really funny for me to sit back and see my little baby be so eager to interact with other people.... I am so proud.

New Way to View Welch Tribe Photos

Hello everyone,

After almost an entire year of blogging, I have decided to switch things up and offer my family and friends another way to view photos of the Welch tribe. I have opened a flickr account which you can view at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/welchtribe/

I will be updating the site frequently with pictures from our adventures. I will occasionally blog so don't entirely abandon us! The flickr site will allow me to post pictures quickly and more frequently. I hope you enjoy!!! Thanks for all of your support and for following us on our many journeys.

Santa Fe and Beach

This post is WAY over due! We went to Santa Fe the week before last and have been so busy playing catch up this week I haven't had a chance to post pics from our fun vacation. Henry was a super star on our big adventure. He was very flexible and adjusted to the new environment and changes very well for a one year old. He got four new upper teeth while we were away, learned how to climb up stairs (and kind of back down!) and loved being outside on the patio. He also got his fair share of art considering Santa Fe is full of art galleries and museums. We stayed at a lovely casita a half mile from town that had a lovely patio where we enjoyed many meals and time in the sun. Henry's favorite part of the patio was the iron gate which he could hold onto and watch everything going on around him. We took a day trip up to Taos to see the Taos Pueblo and did a lovely hike in the canyons one day. Most of the time we just took in the beautiful and inspiring culture of Santa Fe. It was a very successful trip and we are so glad our little guy is up for the adventures in life! The three of us make quite the traveling team:) and we are looking forward to taking more trips together as a family. This weekend has been beautiful spring up here in Maine and we are so happy it's finally warm and sunny out. We enjoyed some time on the beach last evening and you will find some pics of the beautiful lighting we enjoyed there. Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring weekend. Happy May!

More pics..Henry turns 1!

Henry Turns 1!!!

Henry had such a special birthday weekend! On Friday his grandmother, aunts and uncle came to town to celebrate with us. We had a lovely, low-key celebration that included a yummy "binky" cake which Henry tasted and seemed to enjoy. We took some nice walks, had some nice meals and celebrated Henry turning 1! On Sunday we joined 26 other 1 year old babies for a group birthday party. It was so cute to see all the babies toddling around, eating their first cupcakes and playing together! On Monday, which was Henry's actual birthday, he got an aquarium and it is set up right next to his crib. He absolutely loves it and I think it is so relaxing and calming! It was such a great weekend and I still cannot believe that one year ago I was taking a brand new Henry home from the hospital. It has been such an amazing journey and we are so proud of our baby boy!

Enjoy seeing how special Henry's birthday celebrations were!