Abby's reaction to the Berkshire Highlanders

Here is a cute little video from our bagpipe adventure on Mount Greylock.  Abby was a little leary of the bagpipers as they marched by but quickly warmed when they stayed in one place (though she needed to hug mama every time a new song started- the sudden jerk of music was a little startling.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTY69QmKVqo

Pictures from vacation!

We had a wonderful and relaxing vacation- we completely earned the down time too as Abby contracted pink eye days before the trip while both Leif and I were working crazy hours- we barely pulled it all together- but we did!   Here are some pics from our beautiful week at the lake in Western, MA.  Our vacation featured 95 degree weather for a couple of days (thankfully we had the lake to battle the lack of air conditioning in the cabin!) and a trip to the top of Mount Greylock to see the Berkshire Highlanders.  We took Abby strawberry picking for the first time ever- she was a natural- very picky with what she took and careful around the plants.  :)  My dad's childhood friend Rick visited for a day with his wife Paula.  We had not seen them since my baby shower!   On the last day of our vacation we even had a surprise visit from my mom's cousin Steve (who is expecting a new baby girl in a week and a half!) my great aunt Jean (who will NEVER cease to amaze me...) and my mom's cousin Susan (who is quite possibly one of the most interesting people in the world.)  Abby took well to all of the visitors although she is quite clingy for her mom these days.  We were able to soak up Abby- watch all of her developments uninterrupted.  While at the lake she learned how to say "stink" and hold her nose.  She learned that if she does this- she is almost immediately picked up because we think she needs a diaper change- she is using that knowledge to her advantage.  :)  She is also using everything as a phone- and I mean everything- from kernels of corn to pieces of paper, she picks them all up to her ear and says, "Hello?"  Abby worked a lot at saying "I love you" and can do a pretty good job of it now. :) Abby had her first experience with a bull frog thanks to her Auntie Mandy catching her one.  The frog actually jumped on her twice- quite startling for her at the time- but they made friends before the end of vacation.  Abby watched lots of ducks, salamanders, and fish on the beach.  She played in the sand and water tirelessly, took her first kayak ride around the cove, and took many a boat ride in Papa's motor boat.  We had a wonderful break.  Here are some pics of our adventures! :)

 On the top of Mount Greylock!

 Playing with Papa on the beach and fishing with Papa

 Trying Asian cuisine (it was a hit!)

 Mount Greylock- the hill was covered in beautiful yellow flowers, the sun was just starting to fall, and the bagpipes were BEAUTIFUL!

 Abby's new deck chair that Auntie got her :)

 enjoying a drink on the deck

 tuckered out!  This is Abby's onesie that daycare made for their Father's day show :)

 Life is good.

 Family on vacation!!!

 Our beautiful dock & raft

sleeping angel :)

The lake!

The Dugans are a little busy these days and that is a gross understatement.  Truthfully, we have too much going on.  We were, however, able to escape for a couple nights this past weekend and spent them in the serene woods of Western, MA at my family's cabin in Huntington.  Here is a pic and a couple videos from the weekend.  We will be heading down for a week's stay this weekend and cannot wait to be able to breath a bit and wind down and focus on some quality family time.

Abby meets an orange salamander!
Abby playing in the water

We moved!

Phew!  What a weekend!  Leif and I, with the immense amount of help from Leif's friend Patrick and Mandy, packed and moved our old apt on Thursday.  This task was no joke.  :)  It took us all day Thursday to pack the rented U-Haul, drive it to the new place, and bring everything in to the new house- I use the word "everything" loosely though as it took Leif and I the rest of the weekend to pack the remaining items and clean the old apartment up.  :)  We are exhausted- and a bit overwhelmed (I also use the term "a bit" loosely) and also so grateful for our new place.  We moved 2 houses down the street from our complex- pretty convenient location, eh?  :)  Our new place has 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and proper dining room, a basement, deck, and back yard.  It is an absolute dream.  We've met our very sweet neighbors Barry & Erin- they have a new baby Maggie and are very tired but happy- we can relate.  :)  Abby and Orion are adjusting to the new place- Abby had a tough day on Friday but was happy to be in her new home with her mom and dad for the weekend.  We had new living room furniture delivered on Friday- it is GORGEOUS- and bought a patio table for our deck on Saturday (as well as some soon-to-be yummy patio veggie plants...)  We still have a ton of unpacking to do but things have been relatively smooth so far.  We'll try to snap and post some pics of the new place once it is more assembled.  :)