Nantucket in Fall

We just spent 10 days in our favorite place: Nantucket, MA. Chris took his paternity leave of 2 weeks. Zeal met his Uncle Peter for the first time. And Mimi and Opa babysat eagerly. 

Our favorite little pedestrian town, Sconset. It was so quiet, it was surprising to see anyone.

This house seemed all closed up for winter but had left some fall decor in the window boxes. 

The early morning view from my parents' new house!

We made a huge cranberry tart with ginger and orange zest. It is cranberry season.

Avery loves getting cozy. He spent much time in this giant sleepsack from Astrid.

A fountain in the front yard that Avery played in daily. Once he even sat up on the rock in the cold pool of water.

I think our kid is redhead! Somehow he is more closely related to honorary cousin, Jules Gray, than we realized.

Rooster riding!

At Pumpkin Pond Farm

Avery is wearing the puzzled face I would have if I had never seen a windmill before.

Up in the old windmill for a tour.

Snapping Turtle Pond

We couldn't find any turtles.

Parent Helper, Anya, played with Avery one afternoon. He was in awe of her tree skills.

A beautiful moment my godfather, Porter, captured. 

Fully Belly Farm's Hoes Down Festival

Last weekend was our favorite harvest festival at Full Belly Farm, our old CSA. 

We didn't actually push Zeal around in this, but we will as soon as he can hold his head up.
(Thank you, Carol Cramer, for handing this fantastic stroller down to us!)

Of course, there was an old hippie in the parking field carrying around a 16-year-old tortoise for the children to see.

Avery bobbing for apples started out totally legitimate.

Then he saw that even the big kids couldn't do it.

So he moved on to other methods. 

Success!

The strawbale pyramid maze: a parent's worst nightmare.
We eventually sent some children volunteers in to find Avery. They came out carrying him.

The fruit crate conveyer slide! After eyeing this one for the past 5 years, we finally had a kid old enough to do it!

The corn maze!

A Sweet New Season

. Summer is nearly gone and the crisp winds have been strong this week.

Meanwhile, the Hansons have been having small, local adventures.

The last one at the party table for neighbor, Sammy. We celebrated his 3rd year. 

Avery and friend from birth, Savannah, playing dress up.

Teeth need cleaning. Avery has 20 teeth.

He loves his dentist, Dr. Chris, and invited him to our house.

Zeal is 8 weeks old!

He had his first doctor's appointment.
We learned that he is longer than most babies and has a much bigger head than Avery did at the same age. 

Avery is obsessed with circus acts, like this one: the door hang.

Avery put his headphones on Zeal when he got the pencil sharpener out. The battery-powered sharpener is not very loud, but the thoughtful sentiment was appreciated by Mama and Papa.

Sunday night pizza making.

Fussy McButters

So one of the truths about Zeal, at 8 weeks, is that he is fussy. He is deeply upset if moved into a new position, if he can't fit his ring finger into his mouth, or if his mother sneezes too loudly. We call this mode Fussy McButters. It makes the whole ordeal a little less frazzling. 

Here is Fussy McButters in action:

And the great news is that F.M. has a new cure: craniosacral therapy. We heard about it from our midwives and had never experienced it ourselves. It worked wonders for little Z. After just one session, he was nursing better, sleeping better, and happier when awake. When his practitioner, Zabeth, started working on him the first time, I cried with joy as I watched his face relax for what seemed like the first time. I highly recommend this work to anyone with a colicky/fussy baby. Three sessions later, he is a happier little guy.