Dutch Wonderland

We've been taking it easy on the outings, but we did have a nice day at the Franklin Institute




Check out the Philly boy eatin' a pretzel, shirtless, on the Parkway




We spent the whole day yesterday at Dutch Wonderland, an Amish themed amusement park in Lancaster County.




'Cause nothing says "fun" like "Amish." Am I right people?
But seriously, I thought it was great. Not a lot of commercial branding crap, no "squeeze every dollar we can out of you" vibe, and perfect for little kids









Louisa wasn't too impressed though.

Settling in

Look what Dad rigged up



First walk in the woods



Everyone gets a chair






Owen and Sammy came to visit



Buzz Lightyear loves his baby

Louisa

Daddy is tending the blog today, so please forgive the poor quality of the post. Of course, the big news is that Louisa Okrent Higgins was born yesterday morning at 5:03. She's 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and to judge only by my personal experience so far, has a sweet disposition. (Arika tells me she was pretty fussy overnight, but I can only guess that was because she missed her daddy and brother so much.

Arika is spent last night in the hospital, and will be coming home tomorrow. There are no problems--mom and baby are happy and healthy. The doctors are keeping them as a matter of policy to make sure that Louisa does not develop a bacterial infection.








Leo is taking surprisingly well to the role of big brother...so far. He is very interested in his little sister, and talks a lot about her. Here he is showing off his gentle demeanor as he holds Louisa in his lap.



More soon -- Leo is waking up from his nap. Sarah and Inez Okrent have been a HUGE help to us the last couple of days, but sometimes a boy needs his dad.

D

Linguist or actor

The girls have gone back to Spain, but they left Leo with a Spanish accent. This is how he now says a phrase that the girls often used with him. He doesn't even seem aware that he picked it up. He's either a natural linguist, or a budding actor.

Science and so on

The Franklin Institute







Sixth anniversary




Whoa! Lobsters!




Professional haircut






Philadelphia tourism

Visitors from Spain

Sara and Maria arrived from Spain, and we've been busy.

Reading Terminal Market


The diner


The University of Pennsylvania




A backyard BBQ


The Broad Street arts festival



The tour of Cliveden


Fourth of July sparklers


Fifth of July fireworks (from the aquarium)




Relaxin' on the porch with Elijah in some of Mom's new maternity clothes (thanks Aunt Rachel!)

Back from vacation

We had a wonderful summer trip. We spent the day in New York City, walking around, riding the subway, and playing in Central Park





Then we had lots of fun with Rex and Aggie in Brooklyn






Then up to Cape Cod for Danny and Becky's paradise by the sea