Beginning of January, including inaugural celebration and Coggeshall Farm

The first week or so of January was rough.  Oliver rung in the new year with a stomach bug.  But somehow he was still mostly smiles.

The next day, he was well enough that we made the short trek to the natural history museum. (We were somewhat eager to get out of the house because Petey was not doing well and the house was smelly as a result.) At the museum, Madeline made a craft owl.

And the day after, we visited the Audubon center in Bristol.  Try to find Madeline in this picture!

That Sunday, Madeline showed off her outrageous fashion sense.

Then she and Summer came down with Oliver's stomach bug and spent most of the night sick instead of sleeping, while I tended to load after load of laundry.

By Tuesday, the humans were more or less healthy again ...

... though Petey was not, and that continued to weigh on us (and require frequent loads of laundry).

That night, Oliver spied Madeline's old heart tights in the closet and eagerly asked to wear them himself.  He was very pleased.

He also continues to be very excited about books, frequently raiding the shelves and asking for us to read to him.

Madeline loves books too.

Then on Friday it snowed.  Madeline got to spend the afternoon playing in the snow with Summer.

And that night we had shanty sing!

Also Friday was the first day, by my reckoning, of Petey's miraculous recovery.  He's been eating and active again, seemingly putting some weight back on, and -- critically -- not having gastrointestinal issues.  This kicked off a tide of better times.

Saturday morning, Oliver was eager to get out and play in the snow.  "'Side! 'Side!" is his usual refrain.

After the kids played outside for a bit, we went to the State House for a gubernatorial celebration honoring Rhode Island food.

The halls were lined with free samples of delicious Matunuck oysters, Del's lemonade, calamari, toffee, cupcakes, and all sorts of deliciousness.  But they were so crowded that the only pictures we could get were in the quieter parts of the building: the House chamber ...

... and House lounge.

We spent the afternoon setting up the guest room as a proper office for Summer and otherwise getting the house in order.

Then on Sunday, Madeline again showed off her fashion sense ...

... after which we ventured all the way out to Poppasquash Point, the home of Coggeshall Farm.

The farm exceeded expectations.  There was an 18th-century house with a roaring fire, farm-grown food drying fireside, two fantastically nice and knowledgeable farmer-docents, and some friendly cats. Outside, there were turkeys ...

... which we got to pet ...

... and admire close-up.

And there were cattle, like this friendly behemoth named Bo.

After the farm visit, we stopped by our favorite east bay lunch spot, Ricotti's, for sandwiches.

Then the kids spent the rest of the day playing.