Memorial Day weekend is the traditional weekend for opening the cottage in Maine.
This year we drove up to Natick on Saturday morning. We met Nana and Papa at Snip-Its where Stella got a haircut and Marni got her FIRST haircut! Stella was a trooper. Marni was a little nervous at first, but was fine by the end. Neither Marni nor Daddy cried at this first haircut. Next was lunch at Joan and Eds followed by hours of playing and then a delicious cookout courtesy of Chef Papa.
The next morning we piled into Nana and Papa's two cars (because our minivan was a bit sick) and headed to OOB. It was a gorgeous, warm day. The cottage was made ready for the new season and the girls headed to the beach for a messy dig in the sand. 
Then, off to Kens with the Brenner family. Stella was so pooped from the activities of the day that she actually put herself to bed in her pink bedroom. We headed home later that afternoon and ended up at The Olive Garden for dinner.
Monday was another beautiful day. The girls played at a playground in Natick and then we headed home after a pizza lunch.
Yesterday was Stella's actual birthday and, after at least a year of whining about it, I was hell-bent on getting a scooter for her!I had ordered a purple and pink Disney Princess scooter online from ToysRUs, but when I opened the box (the night before her party) the box inside was a mess. The fine folks at ToysRUs had shipped us a previously opened, damaged scooter.Time for Plan B...Yesterday after work I headed for the giant ToysRUs in Times Square. I braved the crowds, found the same scooter, and rushed home.Stella was overjoyed and insisted I put it together right then and there. So I did. She put on her helmet and took it for a spin in the hallway. She's a little slow right now but I'm sure she'll be zipping along and scaring us to death soon enough.I just liked seeing the smile on her face when she saw the scooter.
Stella had quite a birthday bash last Sunday. The party had an Ariel/Under The Sea/Little Mermaid theme and was pulled off perfectly by Lisa (all I did was buy some ice and bagels).
By the time guests arrived at 11, the apartment had been turned into an undersea wonderland. The kids' activities included creating mermaids out of toilet paper tubes, coloring-in pictures of Flounder, and creating fish out of paper plates. Then there was a fishing game where each kid "caught" a fish with a magnetic fishing pole and got a prize. The final activity was a Pearl Parade out in the parking lot. There was plenty to eat for kids and adults alike.The main meal for the kids was octopus hot dogs and/or
fish sticks. Finally... Lisa's delicious birthday cake was brought out and everyone sang happy birthday to Stella. This was followed by a crazy frenzy to open presents (If you gave a present, thanks. We just don't know who gave what.)
Special thanks to our helpers Nana and Papa Shepard and Nana and Papa Hoffman, and Bubbles and Laurie-Doo.
This was quite a party!
Well Marni's teeth finally have started to show up. Just as she hit two, she popped out two lower molars, a tooth next to her lone bottom front tooth (aka The Hardest Working Tooth in America), and two upper canine teeth. Watch out corn-on-the-cob... she's comin' for ya!
Memorial Day weekend is the traditional weekend for opening the cottage in Maine.
Then, off to Kens with the Brenner family. Stella was so pooped from the activities of the day that she actually put herself to bed in her pink bedroom. We headed home later that afternoon and ended up at The Olive Garden for dinner. 
