My Little Helpers

I was baking a zucchini bread for our neighbors the other day. (They let us use their dryer all weekend while ours was not working.) Cecilia always loves helping me bake; Thomas does for a little while... then finds something else more interesting to do. Cecilia decided it would be fun for them to wear mom and dad's aprons. Thomas definitely wanted in on that! I should have gotten a shot that showed the aprons all the way down to the floor. I'm not sure why Cecilia insisted on posing like this...

Hamming it Up

This was from about a month ago, when Matthew was first teaching me how to use his fancy cameras. The kids were just hamming it up. Cecilia was holding a microphone and posing. The were just both being goofballs. I really love the picture of them together--very sweet :)

A New Woman

Eliana slept 8.5 hrs last night!!! I feel like a new woman. One week ago, she was sleeping just about 4 hrs at a time, one month ago she was sleeping about 2.5 hrs, and 2 months ago she was sleeping 6 hrs... Let's just hope this continues and doesn't revert again...

By the way, Matthew was playing with his new toy on the first photo--the Lensbaby. From what I understand, he can use it to create funky, artistic shots (i.e., it's supposed to be fuzzy).

My First Wedding

Here are some of my favorite photos from the first (and only) wedding I shot. I enjoyed it and it was fun to work with Matthew. It definitely felt like work, though... my feet were killing me and I didn't even stay as long as Matthew did. I think I was tense too because I was nervous, so my back was all tight and I was in pain. Overall, I'd do it again, though.

On the Go!

Eliana is almost 5 1/2 months now. She is a very social girl. She doesn't particularly like to be contained in her bouncy seat anymore. She loves it when I place her on a mat on the floor in the middle of the living room so she can watch the kids playing. She's been rolling since she was 3 months old, but she now has taken it to a new level. Yesterday, Thomas was playing nicely in the living room while I was working in the kitchen. Eliana was quietly watching him play. When I came to check on them, this is where I found Eliana... :)

Kids at the Mahrajan

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the kids from the Mahrajan. We had some long days; it was both Saturday and Sunday and the kids stayed up late with no naps and tons of activity. You can imagine what some of our moments looked like... They had a blast, though.

Mahrajan

Here are some fun pictures from our church's Mahrajan (Arabic for festival). Lots of yummy Lebanese food, like kibbeh, tabouleh, hummous, falafel, baklawa... yum. This year, you could also rent "houkka", which looked like some type of bong thing... It's a middle eastern thing and I guess you smoke some kind of special tobacco? Lots of Lebanese music and dancing. Very fun.

Our Lady of the Cedars

When we came back to NH 4 years ago now, we needed to find a home parish. We went to several of the local parishes, but for a long time didn't find anywhere we felt comfortable. We saw this as an important decision because this church would likely be the place where our children grow up. Matthew had been interested in visiting a Byzantine rite Catholic church and so we found Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Catholic Church in Manchester. (It was founded by the Lebanese community in Manchester back in the 1950's.)

From the first time we attended liturgy there, I knew that was where I wanted to be. The liturgy is beautiful, the music almost haunting, and the community so warm and welcoming. One thing that struck me was how inclusive it was of children. At the time, we had Cecilia who was not yet 2 and Thomas who was just 3 months... Staying quiet for 1 hr 15 mins was, well, impossible. This community understood that, had lots of children, and didn't seem to mind all the noise kids make. During the Gospel reading, the children are all called to stand around the altar and listen to God's word. It's absolutely stunning to see so many children gathering as an important part of the church community.

Needless to say, we are still happily attending and I LOVE it there! The kids seem to love it too. There are so many visual and tactile aspects to the eastern liturgy that I think it really appeals to children. When Thomas was younger and couldn't sit through the entire liturgy, Matthew would take him around to look at the icons on the wall or light candles. There are several processions in which the clergy all process from the altar around the pews and back up to the altar. There is incense and recognizable music (virtually the same each week--no hymns).

Here are a couple pictures from liturgy this past week (Fr. Tom asked Matthew to take pictures during this special liturgy--He's our official church photographer). It was our big church Mahrajan (Arabic for festival) and we had 5 priests concelebrating, including Archbishop Cyril. (The Melkite church has its own diocese, separate from the Roman dioceses, but they are still all under the Pope.)

Cecilia

Isn't she beautiful? She's wearing Auntie's hat here.

First Time in the Walker

Here are a couple shots of Eliana. This was her first time sitting in the walker. She was intrigued for a short period of time until she realized that she can't take the toys off to put them in her mouth. Then she'd just start squealing with frustration.

Belmont Vacation

More memories from the 4th of July trip to Belmont... the kids sitting on the steps watching the tow truck tow our car away... We spent about $1500 on this car over the past 2 months. No fun. It's not even paid off yet...

Sisters

Cecilia loves her little sister. Here are some sweet shots of her holding Eliana on the couch.

What a Face

Eliana is a squirmy little girl. She was just 4 months here, but she somehow always turns herself around in her crib. She had woken up and scooted herself perpendicular to where I had put her. She was talking and peeking out of the bassinet. Cecilia insisted on including the second picture, which makes her look absolutely ridiculous. :)

Train Ride

These are also pictures from the 4th of July weekend. Thomas loves trains, so we took the kids on a scenic train ride around the lakes. They enjoyed it very much and still talk about it, although 2 hours seemed a little long...

Outdoor Concert

These are pictures from an outdoor concert we went to up in Tilton over the 4th of July weekend.

Farmer's Market

Every Thursday, there's a farmer's market downtown. We try to make it as often as possible. Here are some fun photos from our trip last Thursday. Cecilia liked this tree because it was a baby tree and asked for a picture with it :)