LL Beans Grand Opening in Albany!

The official grand opening was scheduled for 9am. We drove by at about 7am and there had to be about 1000 people in line. I was blown away by the number of people with strollers and blankets. I can't imagine how long they were in line. Mike said the store was going to have pizzas delivered at midnight and they also catered breakfast for those that were there at 6am. I stopped by during the "soft opening" the day before and Noah found a cozy place to people watch. The store really is amazing and I can't wait to go back when I am not dragging a 2 year old around!

Only a matter of time...

What happened to my sweet little baby that could take naps on the couch and would barely move a muscle? Now he is like some sort of caged animal, just waiting to pounce. He can sense weakness, smell it even.

Happy Birthday to Me! ;o)

Today I am 28 years old. I'm not sure if I feel any different. I think I am finally realizing I am not "college-age" anymore. Mike and I will be celebrating our 6 year anniversary a month from today so I feel like I sort of have a (small) grasp on that. Noah is 22 months and is practically raising himself now. Ok just kidding, but there is definitely a remarkable difference between 2 and 22 months. I realize I have rarely taken a traditional path in life and sometimes I feel like I should have a few more check marks on my Lifelong To Do List but I don't have any complaints. So here is to another happy, healthy year!

The Glam-Baby

Noah's First Hike!

We decided to take Noah on his first little hike through the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. He did quite well. The main issue we had was there being lots of loose sand on the trail that he was more interested in playing in than walking on. Most people know I live in flip-flops but this morning I really could have used my sneakers.

I find this picture absolutely hilarious. Forget the picturesque walks through nature. Anyone with a child knows you're going to have a tantrum or two. I can just hear Noah thinking "stiff as a board, stiff as a board...". Hang in there Poppa!!

Noah's 1st Juicebox!

Well more like Noah's 1st successful juice box. He has tried a few times and usually ends up squeezing more than drinking but this time went quite well! Does that face not say "Mom, I got this!"?

Family Reunion

Well we had a great time up in Watertown over the weekend. It was so great to see everyone, you just wish you had more time to spend with each person. Noah got to meet his Great-Grandma and lots of Cousins. Or I guess 2nd cousins, I can never remember how that works. Here's my tip of the day: When someone hands you some delicious Cow Corn - don't eat it! ;o)

Safety First!

Poor little man was so beat he forgot to let go of the seatbelt!

Noah's First Bee Sting

My poor little man got his first bee sting while he was watching cars go by at the front door. A sneaky little wasp came in a stung him but he's no match for my Noah! By the way i'm not a heartless shutterbug...this picture was about 10 minutes later when we returned to the scene of the crime. ;o)

L.L. Bean

Here is a picture of the new store being built in Colonie Center. It's Grand Opening is set for September 14th so mark your calendars! ;o) They will be open for 24 hrs/ day for the first weekend so if you need a kayak at 3am you know where to go!

Hooray Summer!

Mike spent some time helping David dig out the post holes for his new deck so Noah and I went over to see Sherry and Ayla. While Ayla was napping Noah took advantage of the pool which I think he would sleep in if he could. It really wasn't super hot out, maybe 80 with a breeze and the hose water was practically frigid but he didn't mind a bit. Oh and no that is not a speedo, it's a very manly spiderman Little Swimmer so lay off :op

Men in Trees

Noah was happy to help Grandpa trim the trees in the front yard. "Tink" kept a close eye on the pair was well.

The future of technology

We have started to call Noah our little Ninja. His favorite thing to do is get on the computer. If you walk away for even 30 secs he can be in your seat and popping keys off in no time.

    

No one ever told me babies could move so fast!

It is almost impossible to tell but Noah's face is completely white with baby powder in this picture. If you leave a bottle anywhere within reach he can twist the top and have it filling the air in a matter of seconds. The only plus side is the hardwood floors don't squeak as much. Thanks Noah!

BBQ with the Aunts!

Aunt Cathy and Aunt Laurie were down for the weekend so Uncle Al and Aunt Nancy were kind enough to host a wonderful summer BBQ. Noah is happy anywhere that serves his favorite food...hot dogs!

Manatees!

Mike's Uncle has a boat at KARS park at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are faucets for the boats to hook up to, but the Manatees also love to come up for a drink. It's actually quite amazing to see how friendly they are. If you can reach far enough down you can pet one on the head while they swim by. Mike's sister Kim and cousin Kristin were doing their best!

Well.....we're moving back to NY. There are a lot of reasons not the least of which is the scorching heat and humidity. The first couple of days it was 97 with 100% humidity. Honestly, did you know that was even possible?! I really felt claustrophobic. As soon as you walk outside it's like you can't breath, the humidity is almost suffocating. It creeps me out just thinking about it. Thankfully we only went a few weeks before we were able to get the AC in our car fixed but that just didn't seem to ease my mind. I think it has a lot to do with having Noah and wanting the holidays and seasons to be special for him. I kept thinking about fall coming and his birthday being Oct. 29th. I just wanted to be able to put a cute little sweater on him and plop him in a wagon to pick out a pumpkin.

There are practical reasons to moving back too but I definitely realized how much I love having the seasons and how much a part of me they are. I love the beach but I'd take a crisp fall day over a suntan anytime. Oh and I had to promise Mike he'd never have to shovel snow again if he moved back to NY...so if we get a storm you'll know where to find me! ;o)

Thank you to our family who have bent over backwards helping us. We're going to add this chapter to our book of life experiences and hopefully learn from our mistakes.

Hooray, Cracker Barrel!

I know there are Cracker Barrels in NY, but really you don't get the full experience unless you're in the South. Noah is working on using cups with straws instead of his sippy cup and CB is one of his favorite places to practice. Ok actually he could care less but we like taking him there. He actually does quite well until he pulls the straw out and whips it around the room. The other day he was taking little gulps through the straw and I just got tears in my eyes. He's getting so big!

Hppy 4th of July!

My favorite thing about this year was that Sparklers are legal in FL!! I love sparklers. By the way all fireworks are legal in FL so you basically just walk outside and wait for everyone to go nuts. I was so excited to go outside and light them up and get some great pictures and then I looked at them afterwards and saw Mike's patriotic t-shirt. Ugh. Luckily I still have a box a sparklers left so I may have to stage some photos...this time with makeup and wardrobe. ;o) It was a special day though. Every patriotic holiday reminds me of how lucky I am to have Mike home. Support the Troops!

A bib? Mom i'm not a baby!

Noah discovered a forgotten gift tucked away in Nanny's drawer. Fortunately it still fits him....barely. So he cried because Daddy wasn't putting it on fast enough and then spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to tear it off him. Is that the face of a happy child or what?!

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

The muggy, hot florida weather is like a breeding ground for anything and everything. This Banana Spider has been haunting our path to the backyard for a couple weeks now. I'm told he is a small guy at about 3" toe to toe.

These may look like ordinary little grasshoppers....but they're actually about 3" long and 1" thick....nasty!

Now these little guys aren't so bad. They tend to dart in front of you as you walk out of your door. I think they are cute! This one has a bright orange little tuft that blows up under his chin every once in a while. After about 5 minutes of being focused on him I gave up trying to catch it.

It's only 88 today, woohoo!

It's too hot to go outside so Noah likes to mow the lawn inside! ;o)

Day three, almost there!

Once we got on the road the trip was pretty uneventful....that is until we started rolling into Florida with no AC. We got to Ocala on one of the hottest days of the year. It was 97 deg and about 1000% humidity.

Day Two

Today was a much better day. We all got a good night's sleep and were on the road by 6am. Noah was able to sleep a bit in the car and all was well with the Jeep! We ended up stopping for the day around 3:00pm in North Carolina. We took a dip in the pool and cooled off for an early morning. It's starting to get really hot!

Day One: The Road to Florida

Well we got a bit of a late start this morning after trying to cram everything into the Jeep. Finally we were on the road. We got just past the 24 toll plaza and the car started to buck a little. Mike and I looked at eachother and moments later the car was completely out of gear. Long story short the transmission line had popped off and we lost about half of our fluid on the thruway. After a trip to Mikey's friend at Aamco we were back on the road.

Unfortunately Noah was having some problems going potty and was having screaming fits about every 15 minutes. On our way into New Jersey the sky filled with heavy rain so we decided to cut our losses and call it a night somewhere past Newark. Day One: Unsuccessful but atleast it's over!

Final Preperations

Mike & Mikey put in some time changing the oil and getting the Jeep ready for the big trip.

Happy Father's Day Grandpa!

Noah is keeping a close eye on grandpa while he plays with his new Blackberry!

We are moving next week!

Well, Mike unexpectedly lost his job this week so we have decided to move up the big move! They had already begun showing the house and when I hinted that we could be out before Aug. 1st the new tenant jumped at the chance. So now we are leaving June 15th! Mike is driving down on Thursday and Noah and I will be flying down Friday morning. It is not at all how we had planned it but we are just rolling with it. Fortunately (unfortunately) the new tenant is buying our pool so it will not be making the trip with us.

My boys...

The water has only gotten up to about 76 degrees so Noah hasn't gone in yet but he likes to throw things off his raft and make Daddy fetch them for him!

Our new pool!

This has been Mike's baby over the last few days. We can take it to FL with us as well but for the next couple months it will be a welcome retreat from the heat!!

Gus & Mama Bear found a new home...

So today was the culmination of a few years of saying "should we? or shouldn't we?". My allergies have been a constant struggle since we got Gus 4 years ago. In yet another moment of denial we decided to add Mama Bear to the mix. With Mike working more and more it seemed he never had time to clean the litter box and now that Noah is older he's always going after Gus which usually ends up with one or both of them upset. So now they are both Vermont Kitties.

A very nice lady drove all the way from VT and scooped them up. It was devastating. I never thought it would be so hard, ever. I cried all afternoon and into the evening. Mike was going to call in sick just so I didn't have to watch Noah but I wasn't (quite) that bad.

So now our sweet litte Mama Bear and Gus are living with someone else and we'll never see them again. Ugh, it feels terrible. It's messing with my mind too. Today Mike went with Dad, David & Mikey to Cooperstown. After he left I turned to Noah and thought to myself "Ok what do we now?" I had this instant flashback as if he had gone off to sea and we were alone. It's aweful. Luckily I know we've done our time and he is coming home tonight. And I know Gus and Mama will be fine, especially since they are together. I just never thought it would be so hard to give them up.

On the road again...

Well we've decided to move to Ocala, Florida! We have been talking about it a lot since we were there in March. It will be nice for Noah to get to know his Dad's family better. I get to be closer to the beach, and Mike doesn't have to shovel snow anymore, win-win-win!

It's a big move and of course we'll miss my family here in NY but we're ready for a change. Mike was always going to make Noah a Gator one way or another! ;o)

So come August 1st we'll be...on the road again!

When the cats away....

Ok so this is what I get for thinking the BAG would keep him occupied for 2 minutes while I switch the laundry. He has so many in his mouth he can barely keep his lips shut.

This cracks me up everytime!