Seamus visits Massachusetts; terrorizes waterfowl, toddlers, llama enthusiasts

Gaius' party was teeming with toddlers, and I couldn't help noticing that Seamus was a bit wilder than the rest of them. For instance, he threw a small metal schoolbus at a little girl's head (he has trouble differentiating between "giving to" and "throwing at"), tried to claim all of Gaius' gifts for himself, etc. Notice the "Who is this half-naked maniac throwing used plates into my wading pool?" expression on Gaius' face in this photo:



Other manifestations of excessive enthusiasm this weekend included attempting to maul UMass' beloved ducks:



... as well as dumping a cup of orange juice down the front of my shirt while Greta was attempting to hold a civilized conversation with other guests in the hotel's breakfast area (the guests in question were there for a llama-and-alpaca husbandry convention, and I am not making this up).

We got ourselves a live one! Whoooweee!

Brad's cousin Heather, who was also at the party, is getting married next month. She and her future husband are in their late 20's; I advised them to wait a few years before having kids -- but not *too* much longer than that, I said -- "You don't want to be old and tired like us."

Happy 1st Birthday, Gaius!

On Saturday we went to Gaius Turner's 1st birthday party in Belchertown. Seamus didn't want to give up the truck that was part of Gaius's present.


So he stole Gaius's red plate (and pretty much anything that any other kid was holding).

Brad was a hot mess when we were leaving. He worked hard!

Hotel in Amherst

After dropping Caitlin off in GB, we went to Amherst, Jim's old stomping grounds. We checked into the Campus Center Hotel at UMass, and I guess you could say it's a bit outdated.

But they have some very nice ducks...

And some dandelions for the little boy, so we had a nice time anyway.

We had the wonderful pleasure of having Cousin Caitlin over Thursday night on her way from JFK to Great Barrington. We love her! So did Seamus. We drove her up to Great Barrington on Friday. Here they are hanging out on the lawn up there.

Seamus loved running his hands through the grass and running on the expansive lawn with his bare feet.


Jim sez: Seamus loved having all that open space to run around in!
We do love Miss Caitlin -- she has more poise and wisdom than most people twice her age. More than we do, for instance.

Tony Visits

Seamus got to spend the day on Thursday with his cousin Tony. "Tony" was his second word, so that tells you how much Seamus loves him! (He says "Toe," but that's close enough.

For future reference, "Look, Seamus, you used to fit in a shoebox!"


Jim sez: Seamus thinks that Tony is the funniest person in the world!

Mommy Boredom

Seamus as a girl.

Jim sez: ... or a very fashion-forward boy.

At the beach with dada

Our first harvest!!

Trip to the Water Park!

Houston