Short Visit

Unfortunately, it was a short visit. But at least I was able to spend a little time with the new family: Jessica, Andy and Benjamin. This was the first time I went out of town without Julien. He tried very hard to convince me to take him. But when we returned Julien was more excited to see Sebastian than me!

Wellesley

We took a walk on Wellesley campus. It was a beautiful day!

Benjamin and Sebastian

Hanging Out

We spent most of our time hanging out in Jessica and Andy's apartment. I sure wish we lived closer to each other!

Happy Family

I meant to announce the birth of Jessica and Andy's baby much earlier; here it is at last: Benjamin Andrew Johnston was born August 22nd. Sebastian and I just visited them and they are doing very well. Benjamin is healthy and engaged and likes to sleep on his mommy. Andy has been back at work since the the beginning of the semester, but he only has to be at work three full days a week. He still gets to spend a lot of time with Benjamin (and do lots of laundry). Jessica takes well to motherhood and seems very happy.

Cousins

Benjamin and Sebastian together in Boston (click image to play).

Faces of Sebastian

I am off to Boston with Sebastian to visit my sister, Jessica. This is my first time out of town without Julien. He gave me a rock to take on the trip to remember him by.

Recovery

It took a while to recover from the party, but it was all worth it.

Ships Ahoy!

Julien had a very fun birthday party. We managed to invite more kids than we probably should have, so we had 12 kids and two older sisters plus all the parents. I couldn't have done it with out Kathy's help. The kids had a blast. They made ships, had a treasure hunt, and bashed open a pinata. The treasure hunt was the big hit of the party. The parents had a great time hanging out; they almost had as much fun as the kids! It was a very international crew including families from Israel, Italy, and India.

Lotus in the Park

We went to Lotus in the Park on Saturday, which was fabulous! We heard Fiamma Fumana, an Italian folk electronica dance band, and Bonsoir Catin, a cajun band. We ran into lots of friends including our midwife and Julien's friend Adrian who was dancing with his Mom and older sister. Kathy and I had lots of fun dancing while the others relaxed on the blanket. Julien loved cuddling with Sebastian.

That evening we went down town to explore the free parts of the larger Lotus Festival that takes over all of down town one weekend a year. We particularly enjoyed Balkan Beat Box. We went home earlier that we wished because Julien was exhausted and had to rest up for the big birthday party the next day. Next year we plan to get a baby sitter so we can stay out late! Lotus is one of the best events in Bloomington and it was fun to show it to Kathy and Rick.