Friday...

Can't wait for the new little miss of the family to arrive!! Counting down the days!

But hoping she doesn't come too soon because I'm trying to make the most of every last second of it being just me and my boy. His world is about to be rocked and I know he doesn't totally get that part of this new baby thing. It's just been he and I, every day, for so long now. We have such an easy groove, will have to find a new one. Right now I'm feeling so thankful for all the time that I've gotten to spend with him while he was this small and it was just the two of us. And for this blog and my photos so I can look back on all the fun things we've done together in that time.

But seriously, how does time go by so darn fast? Even with a year of it spent in Tokyo when it felt a little like time stood still? How did he go from this (maybe 4 days old here) to this in just 2.5 short years?


How is he his own little person now? Saying and doing such funny things that make me smile and laugh all day long? What if my baby girl grows up just as fast??

Sigh.

If you can't tell, I've been feeling a bit nostalgic this week (Andrew has been in Tokyo). A couple nights ago I spent some time looking back at old photos on my computer. It's the videos I enjoyed watching the most. And there are just entirely too few of them. We took SO many when he was super tiny. And managed to capture most of the "firsts." But then we stopped. I think there's only 2 or 3 from this whole past year. My goal is to bust out that video camera more often going forward (now if I could only find the dang charger...) Need to capture these precious times when they are still my littles!

My boo and I yesterday afternoon (self shot)!

Chilling at the Playground

Brad Paisley!

As we do every year, while up at the camp we left Connor with my Mom one night and Andrew and I spent the night in Saratoga Springs. Andrew and I were excited for the night out alone and my Mom and Grandma were so pumped for the one on one time with Connor! I think its safe to say they are mildly obsessed with him ;) This year we had tickets to a Brad Paisley concert (yes we are undercover country music fans, esp. in the summertime, and Brad is one of our faves). SO SO SO GOOD. Darius Rucker (formally of Hootie and the Blowfish) opened for Brad and he was so great too! Andrew was really suspicious of his crossover to country music but he did not disappoint. He ended with a cover of Prince's Purple Rain that was probably one of my favorite songs of the night. Our seats were in the second to last row in the pavilion. The fun surprise- there was a small stage just a few seats down from me where Brad came to play 3 songs. I've never been so close to someone in concert before! Ok so we're not hardcore Brad Paisley fans (only know his popular songs) but boy did some of the people around us go friggin' nuts. I thought the teenage girl next to me might hyper-ventilate!

All pics taken on my phone.

That's the little stage right behind me.

So close!


Thank you again Mom and Grandma A for watching our little man for the night!

More from the Camp

This past weekend we headed back up to the camp. We went up Thursday night (one night early) because some crazy thunderstorms knocked out our power here at home. So glad we had someplace (relatively) close by to go. My Mom, Gerry, and Grandma Alice were all there as well and as usual, Connor had tons of fun. Sadly this was probably our last trip up there, since we have stuff going on the next couple of weekends and then its full fledged "baby could come any time" mode and we don't want to be too far away from home when that happens!

Mom and C playing in the sand.


Did you see how far I threw my rock?!

C with his sandcastles.


I think I might have to frame this one. It just makes me smile so much! I love watching my boys having so much fun together.

Cheeky little boy!

Mom and I.

Because of having no power, we had to pack for the camp in the dark. Somehow I managed to remember all necessities for Connor and I. Andrew forgot two key items- his bathing suit, and shirts. Literally, all he had was the shirt on his back, which he continued to wear all weekend long. As for the bathing suit issue, my Mom found an old suit at the camp, we think it might have belonged to my Grandpa Bob. It probably hadn't been worn since the mid to late 80's (I'm guessing) but it was a size 34, same as what Andrew wears. Perfect right? Well apparently suit styles have changed a bit since then. The waist fit fine, apparently this was how it was supposed to look. He later said the suit was a health hazard, it was so tight he couldn't kick his legs properly in the water. It probably had to be seen in person to be truly appreciated but we all laughed so hard when he came out in this!

The next day Andrew and I went to Saratoga and luckily I found a suit for him that was on major sale. Whew.

And lastly, of course, our sleeping boy on the car ride home on Sunday!

Connor and the horses in Hilton Head

Here's some more pictures from our Hilton Head trip that I have been meaning to share. Each day we'd ride our bikes to the beach we'd pass by horse stables. We would always bring carrots for Connor to feed to the horses, it was one of the highlights of his day! We also took him to ride ponies twice while we were there. He was allowed to choose from four different ponies and both times he chose the same black pony named Mocha. My little guy is such an animal lover!!



First pony ride on Mocha!

Huge smiles!


They also had a small animal farm where the kids could pet all the animals. Here's Connor with a baby deer.


Here Connor is feeding carrots to a huge Clydesdale horse named Harley. Seriously, Harley's head was as big as Connor. Can you imagine feeding something that size if you were Connor? You can see the slight hesitation in his face and I love how his thumb is in the ready position should it be needed.


Petting Harley.

Lastly, here's a picture of Connor last summer when we were in Hilton Head. As I always say, what a difference a year makes!

Weekend Ahead

Looking forward to this weekend... many fun things in store (Warning- lots of exclamation points ahead!!)

*Connor's Nana and Grand-dad arrived from Michigan yesterday! I woke up this morning to Andrew's Dad out in our flower beds doing some much needed weeding. His Mom was in the kitchen making french toast. Andrew's working from home today and was already in his office- coffee made. It was 8am and Connor was still asleep. Now THAT was a great way to start the day and I am so thankful!!

*The nursery furniture will be delivered this afternoon! If the painting is completed this weekend as we're planning (going to pick up the paint in a bit), we should have our little lady's nursery up and running in no time- yay!

*Today (I think its today at least) dear friends Ashley and Jason return from living abroad in London for the last several years. They are moving to NJ so we'll practically be neighbors! They're expecting their own bundle of joy in November, which we are so thrilled for. Welcome back my sweet Ashley! And Happy Birthday to J (Sunday)! Picture is of us and the Emalas when they came to visit us in Tokyo:

*Tomorrow afternoon through Sunday morning I'll be in NYC for a bachelorette party for my dear friend Shannon who is marrying Andrew's dear friend Rob (how fun is that?!) in Annapolis next month. My friends are impressed that I'm planning to go at 8 months pregnant but I never hesitated. Can't wait for the girl time and to celebrate Shann! Here's the gang minus Kelly, picture is from several New Year's Eves ago. Choose it because Shann is in white ;)

*On Sunday afternoon we're having some family friends (of both ours and the Eichs) over for a BBQ. Looking forward to showing them all the updates we've made to the house!

Happy weekend!

Pure Sunshine!

The preschool where Connor will be starting this fall also has a summer camp program. You can sign up just by the week, and camp is three mornings a week. I signed Connor up for a couple of the July sessions and to say he loves it is quite the understatement! I send him in his bathing suit all lubed up in suntan lotion and I usually pick him up soaking wet and covered in paint or dirt or something- they really get down and dirty at camp! He literally races into the building with his backpack each day he has camp, saying "Bye bye Mommy, love you, see you later!" On Monday when I dropped him off his teacher pulled me aside and said "That Connor is pure sunshine- I just adore him!" She went on to tell me what a joy he is to have in her class and how much fun he has at camp. She said he's so sweet and just so much fun to be around. Awww! It really made me smile all day. Of course I think he's a super kid but its so nice to hear when others think so too. What a great way to sum him up- the boy is pure sunshine!!

Weekend at the Camp

Andrew was supposed to be in Tokyo this weekend but at the last minute the trip was postponed. Since that basically meant he had a clear schedule we decided to jump on the opportunity to go up to my Mom and Gerry's cottage in the Adirondaks for the weekend. Andrew was even able to take Friday off. It's so relaxing and peaceful up there. There's no tv, no internet, no cell phone service- basically no distractions from the outside world whatsoever. Connor was in all his glory all weekend- swimming, collecting and throwing rocks in the lake, running around naked. He's now basically on a total clothing strike when swimming is involved, especially once he discovered how much fun it is too pee off the dock. At only 2.5 he's already so frat-tastic! Some naked shots were too cute not to post but I did take the liberty of blurring out the important parts ;)

Here he is so happy with his little pile of rocks to throw.


My handsome boys.

Love the proud expression on his face here. Like I said- in all his glory!

Waving to the morning kayakers. Boy did they get an eye-full.

He loves to be splashed!

What's better than watching your boy dancing naked in the sunshine?

Both nights we were there we went to this place called the "I Go Inn" for dinner. Most amazing frozen drinks- 100% fresh fruit! Here's Connor and I sharing a non-alcoholic daiquiri.

On the way home today (have you noticed I love taking pictures of Connor asleep in the car?) So pooped from all the fun!

Thinking Pink

Next weekend Andrew's parents are coming out for a visit. Our plan is to take advantage of the extra set of hands and paint the nursery. We decided to bite the bullet and go pink- I think it will be fun to have some pink around here! This morning Connor and I made a quick stop at the hardware store to pick up some paint chips. I have long said the hardware store is my least favorite place to take Connor- there is soooooo much trouble that he can get into there. Power tools, cleaning supplies, nails, screws ugh- his grubby little hands operate so fast in there. So this morning I literally just grabbed all the pink paint chips I could in 60 seconds and we were out the door. Once I was home I realized the ridiculous number I took! Who knew there were that many shades of pink? Pretty sure I've decided on a pale pink called "Nursery Pink" - go figure! Will post some pics of the completed project!

4th of July with the Jensens

Our wonderful Tokyo friends flew in from Texas to visit us this past weekend! So much fun. They were seriously the most ideal house guests. So low maintenance. Trish helped cook and even did dishes. She and I went to the gym together one morning and for a long walk around our neighborhood the next. Seph helped Andrew mow the lawn and rearrange his office. And stayed up ridiculously late two nights in a row smoking cigars and drinking scotch out on the patio and helping Andrew think through some of his current big ideas. And their 2.5 year old Kate, well she and Connor were just two peas in a pod and it was such fun to see them playing together again!

It was so fun to have two sets of little feet running around. They were in and out of the baby pool we set up on the patio so much that we finally just let them run around naked for most of the weekend. The weather couldn't have been more perfect while they were here (unlike today when it was hot as heck outside) so we mostly just hung out at home outside watching the kids play.

Connor just loved Kate so much. I'll never forget him running in to her bedroom as we were putting him down for bed to give her an extra blanket. "Night night Kate!" he'd say, and she'd say "Night night Connor!" So sweet. They were gone by the time Connor and I woke up on Monday morning (Andrew drove them to the airport) and the house felt so quiet and empty. Devastated is the only word to describe Connor when he learned Kate was gone. She was the first thing he asked for on Monday morning (as she had been on Saturday and Sunday as well) and when I told him that she had gone home he literally threw himself down in his crib and cried. Oh the drama!

On Friday night (only an hour or so after the Jensens arrived) we had a bbq. We also invited the Genereuxs over, who were also a part of Connor's baby group in Tokyo! Believe it or not they also live here in New Canaan now and we see Christine and Brendan just about every week. Christine is due with her second baby a couple weeks before me which is so neat. It was so fun to see the three kids together again!
Connor, Brendan and Kate:

Christine, Trish and I:

Saturday morning, Connor chillin in his new pool.

Helping Daddy water the bushes from the comfort of his pool.


Waiting to be sprayed.

Love it!

At one point Connor crawled up naked onto the tractor. Of course I grabbed the camera!

Just before heading out to dinner on Sat. night (we got a sitter for the kids).

On Sunday night we did sparklers and roasted smores. Pardon Connor's naked baby butt. I will say that it made for a fast clean-up. We easily took both kids right up to the bath to wash away the day's dirt, chocolate and marsh mellows! I love how he was waiting so patiently for his turn to roast a mashmellow here.


Love Kate's chocolate cheesy grin here!

Double chocolate-y kisses for Andrew!

Me and my boo.

Happy Birthday USA!