Life with Leo

Militia men getting ready

2010-04-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

American Militia shooting at the Redcoats (love the smoke rings)

2010-04-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

More Muskets for Kellan

2010-04-19T20:45:00.000-04:00

Redcoats shooting on Battle Road, 2010

2010-04-19T20:43:00.000-04:00

Redcoats Loading Muskets at Battle Road, Bloody Angle 2010

2010-04-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

Vintage Easter Post Cards

2010-04-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

Leo on his bike, Pickles in the window

2009-06-05T18:57:00.000-04:00

Inside the Paper Bag, Part II

2009-01-07T09:41:00.001-05:00

Tinkertoy - More Instruction Manuals and Ideas (Part 2)

2008-12-31T20:59:00.000-05:00

Tinkertoy -- More Instruction Manuals and Ideas (Part 1)

2008-12-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

2008-05-27T07:59:00.000-04:00

2008-05-27T07:50:00.000-04:00

Wildlife day in Swampscott

2008-05-13T16:00:00.000-04:00

This robin's nest is right outside our door. Yesterday there were four eggs.

Today there are three chicks and one egg.

Leo and Nicky enjoying their frozen treats and Nicky showing off her haircut.

2008-05-12T11:43:00.000-04:00

Enjoying the lions (what are their names) at the NY Public Library

Driving a bus at the AWESOME NY Transit Museum

On the top of Rockefeller Center (thank you Megan Maxwell for recommending this over the Empire State Building)

NYC in 5 minutes

2008-05-12T11:40:00.000-04:00

Leo reaching for the Empire State
Mister Softee, his favorite
About to be eaten by a dino in the subway -- sounded good to me at this point
At the outdoor library in Bryant Park, reading "Dougal, the Garbage Dump Bear" (very funny)

September, 205 -- Trip to Illinois

2008-03-25T16:43:00.000-04:00

Wheeling around Schnucks

On the farm tractor

Hearing about how the porch was built while listening to the St. Louis Cardinals

Getting some back seat assistance after driving to the Dairy Queen in Beardstown.

July 2005, BHS Reunion

2008-03-25T16:13:00.000-04:00

May 2005 -- Leo finally becomes useful

2008-03-25T16:07:00.000-04:00

Stanford Reunion, October 2004

2008-03-25T16:01:00.000-04:00

A rare laugh from my dad.

Putting Leo in our old blue canopied double stroller.

Leo and Rex, the Halloween dinosaur.

First Haircut, September 2004

2008-03-24T11:20:00.001-04:00

Papa with Leo after his first haircut on his first birthday

Visit to CA, April 2004

2008-03-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

Leo getting his hands on Max the cat.

Leo in all of his chubby glory

Being introduced to cause & effect and electrical switches by Papa

Leo's first visit to California -- December, 2003

2008-03-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

Gustav James meeting Leo James for the first time, San Francisco Airport

Proud Papa looking on as Christian & Leta have a turn with Leo

Showing Leo one of his birthday cards -- of a puppy, I think

With "WCG" (West Coast Grandma) Kaz Murakami

Finn and Leo sucking lemons with peppermint sticks

2008-03-04T08:47:00.000-05:00

Maori Tattoo Exhibit at the Peabody Essex

2008-03-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

Newburyport Fun

2008-03-03T17:02:00.000-05:00

2008-02-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

More home photobooth

2008-02-25T15:01:00.000-05:00

Photobooth Shots from Feb 9, 2008

2008-02-09T21:38:00.000-05:00

2008-02-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

2008-02-09T21:36:00.000-05:00

2008-02-09T21:35:00.000-05:00

2008-02-09T21:34:00.000-05:00

2008-02-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

New Blog Location

2008-02-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

The new blog (since November 2007) is here:

http://leojames.wordpress.com

Thanks for visiting!

Vintage Tinkertoy Manuals

2007-11-06T21:39:00.001-05:00

I'd been looking for something like this online, but found it among some old toys my brother Ted sent me a while back. This is so much better than the sheet they provide with modern tinkertoys.

(12/31/08 update) Additional manuals with more complicated designs can be found in these blog posts:

Models for the vintage "Teck" set
http://leojames.blogspot.com/2008/12/tinkertoy-more-instruction-manuals-and.html

Models for the vintage "Big Boy" and "Grad" sets
http://leojames.blogspot.com/2008/12/tinkertoy-more-instruction-manuals-and_31.html

Some YouTube movies of a"Big Boy" building project in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw1JINFAFBg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICOjXCUK_d0

Have fun! If you make something cool, write me about it!

New blog

2007-10-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

Recent problems with Blogger made me look elsewhere. Please visit the new site & tell me what you think--

http://leojames.wordpress.com

Problems with photos

2007-10-20T23:06:00.001-04:00

To see the photos of today's visit to the quarry (if they don't show up below), try looking at them here at Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86803984@N00/sets/72157602567665356/

A Day at the Quarry

2007-10-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

A bus took us into the Aggregate quarry.

A view into the pit, where they had lots of trucks to climb on, a catered lunch, four moonbounces, and a backhoe that kids could drive.

They also had a great sand pile covered with Tonka trucks.

Leo and Finn next to a some big chains on a tire.

More from the gravel pit

2007-10-20T21:03:00.000-04:00

Finn and Leo chat on the bus ride to the quarry.

Leo found a cozy place to sit.

The tires on this truck cost $70,000 to replace!

2007-10-20T21:02:00.000-04:00

Finn and Leo standing on the enormous Cat 992G. If I heard correctly, it can lift 60,000 pounds in its bucket.

Finn contemplates the scene.

Leo gets a lesson in how an asphalt paver works.

From the Nursery School Blog

2007-10-20T08:15:00.000-04:00

Yes, nursery schools now have blogs. Here's a photo I stole from the site, taken by Miss Debra.

Mug shot

2007-10-19T20:06:00.000-04:00

Ten Points to Ellen Sluder!

2007-10-18T17:57:00.001-04:00

Ellen guessed right -- Leo is going to be Katy the Snowplow from "Katy and the Big Snow".

Besides knowing her children's books really well, Ellen knows a lot about Broadway shows. Check her reviews out here (she's the third from the left).

Who will Leo be this year?

2007-10-18T14:44:00.000-04:00

Ten points to the first person to correctly identify who Leo is going to be this year for Halloween.

If you need a clue, check past Octobers (2006, 2005)-- Leo is sticking with a certain theme.

On top of Holt Hill

2007-10-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

Two older ladies joined us on top of the "mountain" (barely a hill at 420 feet, but our county's highest point nevertheless) and asked Leo what his dog's name was. He politely asked them, "Would you like to feel her? Be careful, she's licky".

Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline

2007-10-16T21:33:00.000-04:00

Pre-show warm up -- Leo admits now that he thought froggy was real

Puppeteer Katie Adams after her Johnny Appleseed show

The quilt used to tell the Johnny Appleseed Story -- this is HUGE.

Leo's First Movie

2007-10-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

At four years and one month, Leo's mean parents finally allowed him to see his first movie. It was "Arctic Tale", a story of a polar bear cub and a walrus calf. We went to the Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH. Not knowing what a movie was, Leo thought he was going to be seeing real polar bears on stage(!). His favorite part, if you ask him, was the polar bear cubs falling into their ice cave. All in all, a successful outing.

Playhouse in a week

2007-10-09T20:38:00.000-04:00

Leo helping offload the 700 pounds of parts off the truck. Fortunately, we had great weather during the week it took to build this.

Allan and Finn checking out the foundation.

Nigel and Allan reading the world's smallest-print instructions.

Vera & Nigel and the finished product.

Topsfield Fair 2007

2007-10-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

Sophie starts the Strawberry ride with a smile on her face, but it didn't last. No more rides for her!

More rides

2007-10-06T21:30:00.000-04:00

Yoga time w/ Auntie Steph

2007-10-06T21:06:00.000-04:00

Naptime in Groveland

2007-10-06T21:03:00.000-04:00

On the name Leo

2007-09-28T09:47:00.001-04:00

The name Leo, shared by many popes and Byzantine emperors, really suits him. He is definitely the absolute monarch of my apartment.

Author Dalia Sofer, on the subject of her orange tabby Leo. We couldn't agree more!

Tractor time

2007-09-26T22:30:00.000-04:00

Finn loves being pushed by cousin Leo

Check-up

2007-09-25T22:07:00.000-04:00

Leo passed his hearing test with flying colors, so now we know that he is just ignoring us when we talk to him. He also told the doctor that he ate nothing for breakfast, that his favorite vegetable is "moonsquirters", and he wouldn't tell her the names of his teachers at school until he was convinced that she didn't already know the answer. Ah, four!

Topsfield Fair, Here We Come

2007-09-25T21:59:00.000-04:00

Here's Leo harvesting his first pumpkin. I left out the photo of him nearly dropping it.

Don't touch my baby

2007-09-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

My suggestion that we put "Baby" away and get out the new one was met with this look indicating, "No Way!"

(Little) Men at Work

2007-09-25T21:49:00.000-04:00

Why am I dressing our child like Bing Crosby?

2007-09-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

You can imagine how this ended --

2007-09-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

-- in tears!

Sunflower House 2007

2007-09-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

I read about someone growing up in Nebraska and not having a real playhouse, but every year growing a sunflower house instead. I don't know if Leo's Great-Grandma Marjorie ever had one (she lived in Nebraska as a child), but I thought I try it. It was planted in May, along with morning glories, and everything did well. We'll do it again next year!

First Car, First Day of Preschool

2007-09-12T10:06:00.000-04:00

Leo's first recognizable drawing of a thing. The artist calls this "Rainbow Car".

Leo's first day of preschool knocked him out and he fell asleep on the way home (it didn't help that he was so excited he was up at 4:30 a.m.).

Happiness is a big stick

2007-09-12T09:49:00.000-04:00

It's almost legal for Nicky to be on the beach again. We cheated by a few days. Leo still likes to pretend to dig like Nicky -- some things never change.

Leo turns 4!

2007-09-09T22:15:00.000-04:00

The day started with a Tinkertoy elevator and only got better.

A Fun Race Through NYC

2007-09-09T22:02:00.000-04:00

To celebrate Katie Nammacher's birthday, Steph & I teamed up to do a race a lot like those seen on "Amazing Race". Here is Steph before the race, showing some anxiety, posing with the birthday girl, and the temporary 9/11 memorial. We started down near Battery Park and over the course of 7 hours, visited Wagner Park, Rockefeller Park, Civic Center, Union Square, Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, Columbus Circle, the Central Park Resevoir, the Lake, and finally, Pier 1 at West 70th.

To see Steph in action, click here.

More of Katie's Spectacular Race

2007-09-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

A few things we had to do: pose with Ulysses, pose with an orange-shirted person, pose with someone named "Kate"; Steph signing in at the in front of the NYC Courthouse.

We had to take 20 photos of 20 people giving us the thumbs up. Who says New Yorkers aren't friendly? It took us only 2 minutes.

At lunch, Steph & I were in 5th place. We ended the race tied for fifth (out of nine teams). You can see some of the tasks we completed -- frisbee toss and rowing in the Lake in Central Park.

The hardest leg was our search for "Tom" at the Central Park Resevoir. The video can be seen here.

-Steph in the subway after the Resevoir
-on the Lake
-cleaned up (but sore) survivors of the race
-in a taxi with Carla on our way to the finish line

Salem Willows 2007

2007-08-31T15:42:00.000-04:00

Cookies at A&J King Bakery in Salem

Leo laughing at the "Musical Monkeys"

Fireman Finn went on this ride twice

Violette and Sabine drive their boat

New haircut, new friends

2007-08-30T13:08:00.000-04:00

We went to Redd's Pond today. Leo made some new pals and went sliding down the grassy hills.

Brooksby Farm today

2007-08-29T13:38:00.000-04:00

Grandma Vera, Cousin Finn, Leo and I all had a good time at Brooksby Farm in Peabody (cool aerial view here) this morning. First, we all got splashed by the pig flopping in his mud. Then we looked at turkeys, picked (and sampled) peaches, and picked flowers.

I love that we can dress the boys like this. I know it won't last forever. Also, Finn assumes the Granddad Harrington pose (hand behind back) even while eating.

Ages 1, 2, and 3

2007-08-29T08:19:00.000-04:00

Leo next to the same tractor over the last three years.

Back in the Saddle Again

2007-08-28T06:47:00.000-04:00

Sophie is happy to be riding again!

Leo is saying, "Thank you Cousin Pat"

2007-08-28T06:06:00.000-04:00

Pat Mullen always sends Leo popcorn for his birthday, in honor of Leo's Grandma Louise, whose love of popcorn was legendary.

About the container, Leo said, "Cool box". He has also lately been heard saying "awesome".

Trip Highlights

2007-08-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Taking Nicky for walks in the woods

Putting in the last piece of the puzzle

Visting the old steam engine (see here for the same photo two years ago)

Enjoying the world's best chocolate milk

Same Old at Shelburne Museum

2007-08-26T23:50:00.000-04:00

Still popular with Leo -- the carousel

The paddlewheel steamboat

(the hull needed inspection this year)

Talking with the guide, asking if he could pull all the levers (he could)

New this year

2007-08-26T21:29:00.000-04:00

Fishing (we didn't catch any)

Temperatures below 40 (we bought socks)

Climbing Mt. Philo and finding the rare Swedish Fish tree (hey, anything to keep Leo going!)

Vermont 2007

2007-08-26T21:23:00.000-04:00

Nicky especially enjoyed the drive to Vermont this year.

Leo got to feed a real kid at Shelburne Farm.

We spent lots of time watching the three-day-old piglets and rooting for the runt to latch on.

Leo can now climb on tractors all by himself.

From Long Point

2007-08-22T22:06:00.001-04:00

All well here in Vermont, if a little chilly(39 the other morning!). Highlights have been bottlefeeding a goat at Shelburne Farm, climbing Mt Philo, and eating great pizza on a dock while watching the ferry come in from New York.

2007-08-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

-With Grandma and Granddad at the lighthouse
-Grandma and Finny
-Leo shares his fishing pole with Finn
-A cupcake party at the beach

Wednesday -- Reading in bed with Couisn Finn

2007-08-10T12:47:00.000-04:00

Tuesday -- fun in the fog

2007-08-10T12:41:00.000-04:00

-Leo splashing Grandma (with Graddad, Finn and Uncle Allan in the ocean)
- Leo escaping Grandma
-Violette in the ocean

Monday - Sandy Point

2007-08-10T09:38:00.000-04:00

Building and decorating a sand village with two grandmas and four grandkids. Quiet time in the hammock for Violette and Sabine.

First Day on Plum Island

2007-08-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse, climbed to the top of the beach house, and went to the beach. The "Finnvane" indicates a southerly wind.

A hot time in the Big Tent

2007-08-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

We had a great time with Susie, Henry & Sylvie at Circus Smirkus.

Grass Chewing Boys

2007-08-05T22:02:00.000-04:00

At Green Meadows Farm

Leo gets a ride, then gets told to "Get off now, Leo!"

2007-08-03T15:35:00.000-04:00

If you, too, must have this excellent hat, you can find it here.

2007-08-03T15:24:00.000-04:00

Fishing on Lake Champlain

2007-07-30T10:14:00.000-04:00

Leo had a great time fishing with Uncle Allan & Auntie Steph

Steph says they caught a really big fish! But Leo doesn't know about "fish stories" yet and tells the truth.

Leo and Allan show off their catch.

The Joys of a Red Wagon

2007-07-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Finny asking Grandma to pull them

Grandma complying!

Cooling off in the North End

2007-07-29T09:56:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful summer evening at the Christopher Columbus Park in Boston's North End.

Best Salem, MA Bakery

2007-07-27T15:33:00.000-04:00

A&J King has the best bread in town.

Happy Birthday Ellen Sluder!

2007-07-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Leo hopes you get to run in the sprinklers today. Wishing you a very happy birthday!!!
Love,
Kristen, Sophie & Leo

Happy Birthday Paul!

2007-07-26T22:22:00.000-04:00

This stork's for you!

Happy Birthday Jenny!

2007-07-26T00:02:00.000-04:00

From Leo, Nicky, Sophie & Kristen

Happy Birthday Auntie Jenny!

2007-07-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

Love, Finn
PS -- some think I look like Nick Nolte's mug shot, viewable below.

Leo's First Rollercoaster

2007-07-22T19:58:00.000-04:00

He loved it! We rode it twice! Lots more photos can be seen here - http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=z2383xl.bygur99t&Uy=hcofm3&Ux=0 .
There are also photos of our steam train ride in North Conway, NH.

This says it all

2007-07-17T12:56:00.000-04:00

Lili with Peach Juice

2007-07-16T16:08:00.000-04:00

Jonah with Raspberries

2007-07-16T16:07:00.000-04:00

Just peachy

2007-07-16T16:05:00.000-04:00

Weekend Fun

2007-07-16T15:50:00.000-04:00

Top row - watching the seals outside the New England Aquarium
Middle - eating out at Wagamama in Faneuil Hall
Bottom - playing with Jonah & Lili in Acton