Happy Halloween!

Today we met Papa & Gramma, Uncle Dan, Auntie Karin, Danny & Sean, Grammy and Bumpa at Effins for lunch. We wanted to be able to get all the boys together in their Halloween costumes but still have everyone home in time for the Pats game and trick-or-treaters. This was the perfect solution!

When we got home, we had a quick video conference with Omi and Grandpa so that they could see him in his costume as well. We brought Evan to the door a few times when trick-or-treaters rang the bell. Evan was the cutest little carrot (according to Danny)…I mean pumpkin…ever!

Daddy Day!

I had class again this afternoon so it was a Daddy Day! This time Evan and Daddy spent the entire afternoon together alone (last time Omi was here). As I wasn’t here I can’t provide lots of details but I do know that they watched some of the Rally to Restore Sanity, went for a run, and had a little photo shoot. I also know that both Daddy and Evan had a great day together just boys! The first of many!!

A Collection of Photos

Some photos are just too cute not to post but don’t really have a story to tell. Here are a few of those. There are also some new videos on YouTube.

Happy Birthday (again), Daddy!

This year on Bruce’s birthday we were driving to Myrtle Beach. As a result, we didn’t really have a chance to celebrate his day as we normally do…with peaches and cream pie. Shortly after our vacation I bought peaches to make his pie but they rotted before I could make it. So I had to get more peaches and wait for them to be completely (almost past) ripe without rotting. This led to a very late, but still tasty, peaches and cream pie!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Pats with my Pals

Today we were invited to Carl and Hannah’s for the Pats game and an Oktoberfest celebration. Adam, Carl and Hannah’s son, was born about five weeks before Evan and the last time we saw them both Hannah and I were still pregnant. We had been wanting to meet Adam so what a great excuse to get together with some friends that we don’t see very often. We didn’t know too many people at the party but our good friends, Mike and Michelle were there with their son Dylan, along with lots of other families with young kids. As you can see, the boys had fun playing together!

A Future Reporter??

Do we have a budding news reporter on our hands or just a well-informed citizen? Daddy and Evan read the paper together on a lazy Sunday morning.

Look Dad, $100 off at Rotmans

Are we in a low signal strength zone, Dad?

Omi and Grandpa Bob Come to Visit

Whew! What a busy week we had! Last Thursday evening, Omi and Grandpa Bob arrived in Boston. Grandpa had a conference in Boston through the weekend so we didn’t see him until Sunday but we spent the weekend with Omi. Their flight got in around 6:30 pm and it took a little while for Omi and Daddy to get home but when they did Evan was all smiles for a little while. A special treat for Omi I’m sure, especially considering she hadn’t seen Evan since August in Chicago.

Friday was a pretty low key day with lots of Evan-TV. Saturday, I started another graduate class so I was gone all afternoon which gave Evan, Bruce and Omi some time to spend together. It was a chilly day but they bundled up and went for a walk on the bike path.

Sunday was race day! Bruce, Uncle Dan, cousins Mark and Jen, and I ran in the Amica Half Marathon in Newport. We woke up early and drove to RI to drop Evan off with Gramma so that we (the runners) could head to the race and Papa, Aunt Karin, Danny and Omi could come cheer us on. Grammy and Sean stayed back at the house with Gramma and Evan while we ran. It was a beautiful day! Much better than last year! And I think everyone was pleased with his or her performance. Bruce and I had a couple of minor injuries but we were able to push through them and complete the race in good time. After the race and post race festivities, we went back to Papa and Gramma’s house to watch the Pats and have some lunch. Grandpa Bob took the train to Providence so that he could join us for the celebration!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty low key as well considering that Bruce and I had both come down with Evan’s cold. He started getting sick on Friday and seemed to be mostly over it by Monday but it his us a bit harder. It was nice having Grandpa and Omi here as two more sets of hands that were eager and willing to take care of Evan in the mornings, allowing Bruce and I to sleep in a bit. Monday, Bruce and Grandpa hung the storm door, a project that was two years overdue! Tuesday, we all went to Old Sturbridge Village for lunch and to tour the village. It was a beautiful day and we were able to see both the sawmill and the carding mill in operation. Wednesday night Bruce and I were both feeling better and so we had a date night, leaving Evan to spend some QT with Omi and Grandpa. Thanks for coming to visit, Omi and Grandpa Bob!

My New Snowsuit…Maybe…

After we dropped Omi and Grandpa off at the airport, Evan and I went to spend the day with Papa and Gramma. When we got there everyone was still sleeping because Evan, being the good sharer that he is, passed his cold on to both Papa and Gramma too. While we were there, Gramma showed us the snowsuit that they had bought for him. It is just adorable! We tried it on him and while it fits him now, I’m not so sure it will come February so we will have to exchange it for the next size.

Silly Brain Eater and Gobble, Gobble

Daddy’s do silly things to make babies laugh!

Evan Loves Bath Time!

As Evan continues to get bigger, he grows more and more fond of bath time. He sits up quite well in the tub and loves splashing and playing with his toys from his pal, Jayten. Tonight after his bath we had a little photo shoot of him in his adorable Pooh Bear robe. Such a little model!

Abby and Connor Come to Visit

Today the Cenotti’s (minus Chris) came to visit. It was a beautiful day and we were able to have lunch out on the deck, complete with Connor trying to eat leaves that Abby was gathering from the yard! All three kids were very well behaved and had a great time playing together. Plus they all napped at the same time which was an especially nice treat for Amelia and I, giving us a chance for some much needed girl talk! Once they all woke up from their naps, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a little walk through the neighborhood. What a great day!

Another big event of the day was that Evan rolled over for the first time!! Just after Amelia and the kids left, Evan was in the living room while I ran to the bathroom. I heard lots of slurping (what I thought was spit-up) and went to investigate just in time to see him roll over!! We are in trouble now!

Columbus Day

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…or maybe not depending on what historian you listen to. Either way a Monday holiday is a good excuse to go shopping! Today Evan and I went to RI for the day. Evan stayed with Papa while Gramma and I went to lunch and shopping. A fun day for all!

I'm ready to sail the ocean blue!

Don't I look cute, Gramma?

Five Months Old!

Evan is five months old today!! And he is full of surprises these days. It seems like everyday he does something new. His hand-eye coordination improves everyday and he reaches out and grabs everything he sees, including our drinks and French fries off of my plate! Some of Evan’s latest tricks are getting his toes into his mouth (something he has been working at for some time now); sitting up mostly on his own with only occasional help from pillows; and panting like a dog (check out the video, it’s funny!) Evan has also added another food…applesauce made from the apples we picked on Sunday. We are having so much fun as he continues to develop into a little man with a wonderful personality! There were so many great pictures, it was hard to choose just a few. You can find them all here. Enjoy the photos!

I'm gonna get them!	Trying, trying, trying!	Look at me....sitting up!
This is fun!	Whew, tough work!	Love that applesauce!
Seal tail tastes good too	Kisses for the seal	I am 5 months old today!
Got my toes while sitting up	Chillaxin'	Opps! I rolled over!
ROAR!	Daddy is my best pal!	Still trying, trying, trying!
Got it!	Look at what I found, Dad	Got it again!

Apple Picking

When I was growing up, it was a tradition in my family to go apple picking each fall with my mom’s family. We would meet at A&W for lunch, go apple picking and then go back to my parents’ house to watch the Pats. The girls would make apple pies while the boys went out and played football in the street. While we haven’t continued this tradition on an annual basis in the recent years, we have gone occasionally, including today.
It was a little late in the season and unfortunately a little cooler than we thought it would be but we met Papa & Gramma, Aunt Karin, Danny and Grammy at A&W for lunch to begin our adventure. (Uncle Dan and Sean stayed home to catch up on some much needed R&R.) We had planned to eat at the picnic tables but the wind was blowing quite strongly and so we piled into the minivan to eat our hot wieners. After feeling how chilly it was and realizing that we weren’t quite dressed for it, we were ready to head home without picking apples but Danny wouldn’t allow it. He was really excited to “go into the forest and pick apples”; he even wore two hats (although no one knows why)! So we decided to go and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Sure it was a little chilly but not too bad. I hope we can make this an annual event for Evan, Danny and Sean. Maybe next year we can invite more of mom’s family too…just like we used to!

Is this a good apple to pick?	Our first picked apple	Daddy getting the ones up high
Nice work, Daddy!	Danny "in the forest apple picking"	Evan's own little apple
Danny, Evan and Mommy	Auntie Karin and Grammy	Did you see that touchdown, Grammy?
Nice and shiny just for me!	Sean playing with his toys	Danny watching Scoobie Doobie Doo with Papa

I love my Papa!

All the little ones hang on every word Papa says!

Zerberts from Danny

Homemade Carrots

Today was my first attempt at making baby food for Evan. Until now he hasn’t had anything besides formula, rice cereal and bananas. When we saw Dr. Gonroff last week she told us we could start fruits and orange veggies so we decided to start with carrots. Plus we already had plenty of them in the fridge. As you can tell from the photos, we can add carrots to the list of foods that Evan likes!

First homemade baby food	My first bite of carrots	I'm not so sure about this!
Getting a bit better	Yummy when mixed with cereal	Um Dad, I think you added too much liquid...its like carrot soup!

Ready and waiting!

What a mess!

Busy Little Boy

Evan has been a busy little boy the last few days. On Thursday night, the three of us went to Nicole’s for dinner. We had a wonderful dinner and a great visit with Nicole. The best part about it was that I didn’t have to cook! Oh wait, I don’t cook!! Evan was up much past his bed time but was never even fussy. Such a good boy!

Nicole and Evan

Nicole, they never feed me...I have to eat his eyes!

Playing shy after the drive home

Friday, Evan and I braved the monsoonish weather we were having and went to meet Amy and Keaney for lunch in RI. Amy is expecting Baby Boy Bayha any day now and we were happy to be able to pass on lots of clothes that Evan has grown out of. After our fun lunch, we stopped at Papa and Gramma’s for an afternoon visit. Evan was full of smiles as always!

Comfy on Papa

Making faces at Gramma

Nice smiles for Gramma