Anything for a nap

Sometimes a parent will do anything for a nap. Justin took a short nap this morning but for various reasons refused to nap this afternoon. He was exhausted and grumpy so Seth, Justin and I got in the car (no worries - Seth was in his proper seat for this drive) and Justin was asleep within minutes. I drove back home, parked in front of our house, and Seth came in the front seat with me. We ate rice cakes, purple lollipops and colored while Justin snoozed in the back. Seth and I actually had a really nice time.

Great-Gram

Back in Boston we headed to Nana's house today and got some great quality play time with Nana, Becca and Great-Gram!!! The boys had so much fun playing with Great-Gram and getting lots of much needed hugs and kisses in! Thanks for a fun and yummy pancake brunch!

Thanksgiving trip to NY

We are now back home after a wonderful trip to NY. We were able to spend a lot of great time with Grandma and Pa and see some friends. We celebrated Grandma's birthday (Happy Birthday Grandma) with a lovely dinner out. Below is a picture of Justin eating most of my rice pudding for desert!

Thanks for a great visit. We had a lot of laughs with the new puppet theater. On our next visit I think it is coming back to Boston with us!

Special Playdate

We had an extra-special playdate this morning. Two of my oldest friends Debbie and Rebecca came to my parents house with their husbands and their adorable sons Dylan and Ben. It was great to catch up and see their boys. My parents were left shaking their heads and how fast time has gone. They said it was yesterday that Debbie, Rebecca and I were having sleepovers at their house - were has time gone?

Thanksgiving 2009

We drove to New York tuesday afternoon to try to beat the traffic. It wasn't the easiest ride - but we are certain it would have been much worse if we waited. We fell right in to playing with Grandma and Pa and the boys definitely made themselves at home! We got to spend a lot of time with Uncle Joshy and we got to celebrate Grandma's birthday a little bit early.

The big event was thanksgiving of course. This is technically Justin's second thanksgiving - since he was born the week before - but he got his first taste of turkey and all the fixings this year!

Grandma cooked up a delicious storm - it was soooo yummy!

We have so much to be thankful for - our beautiful boys, our amazingly loving and supportive family and friends. Thanks to Grandma and Pa for hosting a delicious, fun and loving thanksgiving. We had a great time! A big hug to other family members we were not able to spend the holiday with. We love you all!

Justin's Birthday Party - family edition

We topped off the birthday celebrations with a family lunch at our house. Fish tacos might sound like strange food for a first birthday - but not for our adventurous eater Justin! We were so thrilled to have such a wonderful crowd of family come over to celebrate Justin!

The cake was amazing to look at and to eat! We convinced Seth that he was driving the truck - because for a while we were joking that Justin's cake should be of Seth since that was his favorite thing.

Uncle Josh and Seth playing around...

Justin with Nana, Grandma & Pa...

Aunt Sara, Mommy and Aunt Na....

Uncle Jono, Uncle Jason, and Cousin Becca!

Blowing out the candle...

Not surprisingly - Justin loved the cake!!!

Presents and cards from family and friends... Happy Birthday Justin - we love you!!! Thanks to all our family and friends who called, visited, and sent birthday wishes our way. You helped make Justin's first birthday very special.

Justin's First Year in Review

From Lauren:
I really can't express in words how fast and wonderful this past year was. We were all excited to welcome the newest member to our family last November. I couldn't imagine how fast I would fall in love with our little Justin. Right from the very beginning he was so snuggly and I can never get enough of his chubby cheeks! It has been a thrill getting to know him and watching him grow over the past year. Every time I think he is the same as his older brother - he proves me wrong! Justin is truly his own little man. Justin lets his needs, wants, likes and dislikes known. He loves to move and to be where the action is. I could not imagine our family or my life without him. His big smile with his two giant dimples lights up a room and warms my heart! I love you Justin - Happy First Birthday!!!


From Jerald:
Although it's hard to believe that Justin is already a year old, it has been amazing watching him transform from a chubby chill baby into the inquisitive and adventurous little boy he is now. Sometimes it can be easy to assume he'll react to things the same way that Seth did as a baby, but his personality shines through and watching him learn and grow is a wonderful adventure itself. It is also a pure joy watching him interact with Seth - the two of them clearly love each other, play off each other, and will work together to keep us on our toes for many years to come. Happy Birthday Justin!

12 Months Old!!!

We are definitely in shock that our baby is now 12 months old! This brings the end of our monthly blue sign pictures. It is a good thing - because it is quite a challenge to get Justin to stay still long enough and to get the sign in the picture! Focusing just on the last month - Justin has continued to leave his baby self behind. He started cruising along the furniture. He walks the length of the couch holding on many times a day. Justin has become a very fast crawler as we all chase him through the house. Justin has had his first pancake, waffle, challah and cupcake - and loved them all! His one year old doctor's appointment is next week - we will be sure to update with his stats. We spent the morning of his birthday just the four of us - opening a couple of presents and playing with them right away. Happy Birthday Justin - we love you!!!

Sunny Day...

It was a beautiful day for Justin's birthday - as soon as Grandma and Pa got to our house we ate lunch and headed to a park. We had a lot of fun running, playing ball, soccer and being silly. We were all so excited to have Grandma and Pa in town!

Justin's favorite game with Pa is pulling off his hat and putting it on his own head.

Seth and Pa were both tired after running around the whole track.

Playgroup Birthday Party

You might be saying to yourself - no way is Justin 1 year old! Well it is true - on saturday our baby is having his first birthday! We started out the celebration with a party for our playgroup.

We played . . . ate pizza . . . and had . . .

CUPCAKES!!!!

As you can imagine - Justin LOVED the cupcakes.

We ended the evening cleaning up and opening some presents.

A great start to the birthday festivities!!!

Singing in Class

Cooking on a Saturday

Both boys have coughs and runny noses so we decided to skip swimming class today. We made waffles for breakfast and the boys played all over the kitchen.

Library

As soon as I figure out how to work Justin's schedule smashed together with Seth's it changes! These days Justin takes some sort of nap in the morning while Seth is in school. We pick Seth up, eat lunch, and still have a couple of hours until a late afternoon nap. On some days we come home from school at 12:15 and never leave the house again (it gets dark now at 4:30!). So I am trying to come up with some pre-nap activities. Today we stopped at the library. A good distraction and change of scenery.

Day off?

Seth had off from school today - but I didn't. A big thank you to Nana for taking both boys for the morning so I could teach. THANK YOU!!! After teaching I took Justin to his class and Seth and Nana went to a special kids concert. Seth must have had a great time - because he hasn't stopped talking about it or singing "Going on a bear hunt..."

"Where is Justin?" "Peekaboo!"