Happy 3rd Birthday James!

Our little boy turns 3 years old today.


My, how time flies.

* * * * * *

Dear James,

You are so sweet, and inquisitive, and funny!

You are enchanted with the outdoors, and all things boy--
playing in the dirt, riding your "motorcyle"
watching caterpillars and chasing dragonflys.

Your favorite things to eat are anything
from Shady Glen or Fat Boys or Augie and Rays--
(and let's not forget the doughnuts!)

You love books and our storytime together,
learning new words and phrases,
What boy your age says "Certainly so!"

You may stomp at her for playing with your toys,
but as you say it,
"Baby Sister Ella is my BEST friend."

Your Dad is your hero, teaching you about tools,
and hard work, and inspiring in you a love of old cars.
I watch you look at him with such a look of
adoration that it melts my heart.

Every night no matter what
we have our special time together, reading books
and taking an adventure (or two, or three) before bedtime.
I get to cuddle you every word along the way,
just like I did when you were a baby.

You have a glow about you that turns any gray day sunny.
We are so lucky to know you, and love you,
and share you with the world.

We love you,

Mommy, Daddy & Baby Sister Ella


Happy Birthday James!

Vintage Friday Finds - Paper Dolls

Introducing Dolly Dumpling, and Bobby Bobbs, a pair of sweet paper dolls from the 1920s that my Dad has in his auction this week.

Isn't Dolly sweet? I just want to pinch her little cheeks!

I love that Bobby has his own little paper doll accessories, including a Bulldog!

These paper dolls remind me of a time when children were raised in a much simpler way. No cell phones, no Xboxes, no computers. I hope that despite the "information age" I can give my children an environment that is somewhat more based on using their own imaginations to keep them growing, learning and having fun!

(My husband read this after I posted it and noted that James was watching Super Why so don't think I am a purist by any means, LOL!)

Happy Vintage Friday Finds!

Dinosaur ROAR!

James' 3rd birthday party is this Saturday, and it is a dinosaur theme.
So, we are doing all things dinosaur this week for crafts.
Today we made two crafty dinosaurs that we will be hanging as decorations for the party.
I downloaded a template for the first dinosaur from the All Kids Network here.

Then I copied it by free handing it on heavy weight construction paper with a black marker. Next I asked James to color it in, and then glue "spots" on it.

Next he applied little pom poms to the spots.
We added a googly eye and then started the next one!

I just free handed this triceratops
(I guess I have been staring at a lot of dinosaurs lately, since James is so obsessed!)

Next he colored it in,

Then we added another googly eye.
(Something about these eyes makes him laugh like crazy!)

More glue for spots,

And there we have it! (Please excuse the runny nose!)

We will make a few each day this week.
After they dry we will cut them out and hang them as decorations
for our little birthday party!

Father's Day Weekend in Maine

We headed to Maine to spend Father's Day Weekend with my Dad. It was GREAT. Chris suggested that when I post the photos I ask James to narrate. His comments are in italics.

Grandpa and Jamesy picking strawberries!



We picked 11 strawberries.


I am holding a really big strawberry! I ate it and vanilla ice ream.


Here are honking geese that are eating bushes!


That's Jamesy with flowers and holding a nectarine. (I don't see a nectarine in this picture, but O.K.!)


Some flowers from around the house:




Strawberries! (As you can see, there are more than 11 here.) We ate them over Gifford's vanilla ice cream. James even had seconds!


Playing baseball and then going to the tractors. (Don't you love the goose in the background, getting right in on the game?)


More flowers. I think Dad said the Daisies are Buckeyes? I'll have to check.


Here is Dad on Saturday evening before we headed to the hotel, bringing Gaby the Goose right into the car to say goodbye to James! (Is that a riot, or what!! I LOVE MY DAD.)



Daddy and Baby Sister! I really love this photo--there was a very, very light misty rain coming down and the little droplets were collecting in Ella's eyelashes. She was blinking ever so sweetly.


Jamesy riding a tractor! The tractor was out of the barn getting worked on. It seemed much larger than before!


You feed a horse with your hand out. Dad was showing James how to hold his hand out flat. That will be a lesson that could stand some repeating!


Jamesy riding on Flash like a cowboy! Yes, here he is riding alone. My heart was in my throat, but Flash is a very good and patient boy. Dad showed James how to hold on to Flash's mane and he did great!



Aw it's Grandpa and Mommy.


Flash! Isn't he gorgeous? Sonny Boy is getting older, and was a little camera shy.



Baby Sister and Daddy! Chris was asking her if there was butter on her chin. LOVE THAT!


I am riding in Grandpa's car like a big boy! Mmmmm . . . yup. Its a tradition when we go see the horses--they are a little ways down the road and since it was raining we drove.


I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday Vintage Finds

Many of you know that my parents have had an antique store, Pollyanna's Antiques in Maine and an Ebay store since the mid 90's. My Dad was the major treasure hunter, my Mom took care of manning the store and running the Ebay auctions. Together they had more than 6,000 positive feedbacks on Ebay since their virtual shop opened.

A vintage paper doll with handmade outfits

Since my Mom passed away in February, my Dad has become the full-time proprietor of Pollyanna's. In February I don't think he would have even known how to turn on a computer, now he is running 50+ auctions a week on Ebay.

In late February my sister, my Uncle Ron and I all took a part in teaching Dad how to use the computer. At first he would take the item photos and write up the auction descriptions, my sister would e-mail them to me, and I would run the auctions. Now Dad has advanced so far that he has purchased a digital scale and is printing out postage at the house. He can navigate through Ebay better than I can. I am very, very proud of him.

A gorgeous vintage tied summer quilt

I have always admired my parent's love of vintage and turn of the century items--a visit to their house was never complete without a show-and-tell of their most recent and precious finds. Two years ago, my Dad sent me off to Antiques Roadshow with a veritable treasure trove of items. "You will DEFINITELY get on the show with any one of these antiques" I remember him telling me. He was right. Want to check me out on the show? Click here.

A Fourth of July parade hat from the turn of the century

I know that a number of you have a real appreciation for vintage items. I think I will try to post on Fridays things from Dad's shop that you may appreciate seeing. If you look on my sidebar, you can see a link for Pollyanna's, just click and it will take you straight to his current auctions. Or, you can click here.

A 1920s advertising sign

I am sure that if my Mom were still alive, things would be purring along as they always had. Dad would still be out "picking" as he called it, Mom would be called upon to get a first peek at estate sales in Bath, they would both be falling in love with little finds that they could not bear to sell, and instead would set aside to pass on to my sister and I. Every holiday would be and still is a surprise. I receive Victorian glass art pieces, Chris gets vintage license plates, and the kids get sweet vintage books and dolls.

Farmer's Almanac from 1958

I guess with Father's Day on my mind, I wanted to pay a little tribute to my Dad. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of his little treasures.

Needlecraft Magazine, 1929

I am headed to Maine tomorrow with my little family to see him, so I won't be back until Monday. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Airline Rail Trail -- South Section Part 4

Regular readers know that we have been exploring the Airline Rail Trail over the last few months. If the weather is nice, I try to get on the trail twice a week. It is a stone's throw from my house and the south section of the trail is about 20 miles long. There are several entry points that make it very interesting. We do between 2 and 6 miles at a time. We went yesterday and the quality of the sunlight was stunning the entire walk.















Walking the trail with the kids has been such a great experience. We sing songs, recite nursery rhymes, point our birds, and play "I Spy" the entire way.

After 4 miles, 1 snapping turtle, 3 red-winged blackbirds, 1 Great Blue Heron, and one deer that I thought was real that turned out to be a decoy, I was ready to call it in and head for home.

You can read about our adventures walking on the South section of the trail that runs from East Hampton to Windham with these links: first time walking the trail here, our 2nd section walk here, and our 3rd section walk here.