Me & My Boys

Tanner William Wemyss

2009-12-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our sweet Tanner boy! Tanner arrived about 5 days early on October 22, 2009. I realize that I am a little late in the game to blog about this, but I'm trying to do a catch-up post and get us back to real time! Tanner is 8 weeks old today and has started to smile and grab things (especially my hair!). He is not on any schedule yet, but I am hoping to get him there in the next week or so. Momma needs more sleep!

Tanner is a much bigger baby than Austin was at this age. The boy likes to eat! He loves his big brother and always has a smile for him. Austin is enthralled with Tanner and wants to be next to him (on top of him, in his face, etc) all the time. This has presented a challenge since Austin has had cold after cold due to being in preschool this year. Poor Tanner has had a cold since his second week of life! The only consolation is that later on he will have a stellar immune system!

Enjoy Tanner's birth announcement! The picture on the announcement was taken by a local photographer, Lauren Simpson. If you are in the Sienna Plantation area, she is fabulous!

I promise I will post some current pictures in the next blog post!

A Really Overdue Post!

2009-07-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have been procrastinating when it comes to updating the blog because so much has happened since I last posted!

Here is a quick synopsis of our life in the past 6 months:

1. We are expecting! I surprised Charlie with a positive pregnancy test the day before Valentine's Day (I know, I just couldn't wait!). We are due on October 27, 2009 with our second boy. No name yet - we are still debating, but hopefully we'll decide soon.

2. We have moved back to Texas! Charlie was offered a new position in Houston about a week after we found out I was pregnant. If you know me, then you know how much I love the whole moving while pregnant thing! God definitely has a sense of humor! In the midst of morning (all day) sickness and two-year old tantrums, we (okay not we, Charlie) somehow got the house ready to be put on the market and we received an offer four days later. Truly an answer to prayer!

3. We found a house in Missouri City, Texas! We love our new house! We were homeless for about six weeks when we first moved down. We alternated between my in-laws and my parent's houses. While we appreciated their generosity, it was heaven to move into our own space and start to get settled. There is still plenty that we want to do around the new house, but it is starting to feel like home. The neighborhood is great and it won't be long until we feel like we have lived here for years.

4. We vacationed in San Antonio, Texas with my family in June! It was a wonderful, relaxing vacation, even though we had just moved into our new house less than a week earlier! My parents rented a beautiful home right outside of San Antonio and we spent the days lazing by the pool and playing guitar hero. It was a lot of fun. We also went down to the RiverWalk one evening for dinner and spent a day at Sea World. Sea World was great and the kids (Austin and his cousin, Mallory) and the two pregnant ladies (myself and sister-in-law, Karson) did really well considering it was June in Texas! We even were able to have a close up, back stage encounter with Shamu, thanks to the sister of one of my brother's best friends from high school. Katie is one of Shamu's trainers, so we got the scoop on Shamu and took an awesome picture sitting right next to Shamu. Thanks so much Katie!

5. Austin attended his first Astros game! Thanks to MiMi and Pops, we headed to our first Astros game this past Saturday. Austin did really well and enjoyed the ballpark (especially, the train and the food!). He also got his first Astros shirt, hat, and ball, courtesy of his grandparents!

Well I think that covers the big things that have happened over the last few months. I promise to be better from this point on! After I upload pictures from San Antonio, I'll add some pics, but I'll leave you with the shots of Austin at the Astros game.

It's feeling balmy...

2009-02-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would see the day when I would be excited about temps in the high 30's, but it's been downright balmy in CT the last few days. Of course the high 30's feel great when it's been in the upper teens and lower 20's for much of the last month. Heck, 4 days ago it was a high of 18 with the wind chill at 0 - yes it was really freaking cold!

I am about at my wit's end with the snow and unfortunately it is only the 2nd week of February which means that more snow will undoubtedly find it's way upon us. This is the most snow that I have seen in my three years in CT and I'm ready to see the grass again (last time I saw it was December I think!). I'm getting cabin fever! Okay no more complaining. At least most of the snow has melted from our driveway and I am starting to see patches of our back porch again! I can't wait for Spring!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Austin in his new robe

Austin and Noah enjoying their lunch date

Sledding!

"Aren't I cute?"

Trying to pull his lawnmower in the sled - He wasn't very successful!

Daddy and Austin

Not happy about the snow on his mittens

Kristen and Charlie at my Jr. Woman's After Holiday "Margaritaville" Party

Until next time,

Psalty, the Singing Songbook and Wednesday Silliness

2009-01-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate to grow up in a Christian household listening to Christian music. Psalty, the Singing Songbook, was always a favorite of mine and my brother and sister, and I swear we knew the words to every song for albums 1-5. I started to think of Psalty, just in time for Christmas present ideas and passed that one along to my mom as an idea for Austin. It turns out there are 12 Psalty (Kid's Praise) albums now and my mom bought him all 12! I love being able to pass this music on to Austin and it's amazing that I still know the words to most of the songs!

If you need good Christian praise music for your little ones, I definitely recommend the Kid's Praise albums. It's fun, catchy music and you might just find yourself singing along!

And to make the grandparents happy - a few pictures of Austin and I being silly on a Wednesday night! (pardon the nice, red pimple under my nose - yes, I'm 32 and I still break out!!)

We're Home...

2008-12-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

At least at my parent's home, but we are so thankful to be out of the hospital. It was quite the early Christmas present when the doctor said that Austin would be released today. Thank you God!

Austin is in very good spirits and has been throwing a couple of his terrible two tantrums, so I think it's safe to say that things are returning to normal. I'm still a little nervous about getting through today without any more episodes, but I trust that God is watching out for our little guy.

Thanks to everyone for their encouraging words and prayers. Merry Christmas!

Love,

God's Plan isn't always Our Plan

2008-12-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

The past few days haven't exactly gone as planned.

Things started off better than expected with our plane rides to Houston. Even though it was icy and wet in Connecticut, we left on time and Austin was a dream on the flight. We figured we were goners for the next leg of our trip, but again our flight was on time and Austin slept for much of the flight. Our trip was off to a great start.

And then Thursday night came....

Right after we put Austin to bed, we heard a gagging noise and then his little voice saying "I all messy." I was still optimistic as I cleaned up the mess, thinking that maybe something he ate just hadn't sat well, but this changed 30 minutes later when round two occurred. It was a loooong night, with Charlie and I taking shifts so that we could at least get a little rest. Poor sweet Austin threw up all night long. It continued until around 7:00 am, when he seemed to turn a corner and start to feel a little better. He was asking for water and food, so we started slow with sips of water and after he had kept it down for almost an hour, we progressed to a little more water. It wasn't more than 15 minutes later that he threw up every last bit of water and we were starting over again. We tried again around 4:00 pm, but the same thing happened. At this point, Austin had only had one wet diaper for the day, so I knew that he was getting very dehydrated and since he still couldn't keep anything down, we went ahead and called our doctor. The on-call doc called us back and told us to head to the ER, so we thanked our lucky stars that we weren't in Connecticut (in the middle of a winter storm) and headed for the hospital.

We got into a room pretty quickly in the ER. Our IV was started and Austin seemed to perk up a little. After he had gotten some much needed fluids, the doctors had us start to give him water again. Everything seemed to be going well, but all of a sudden Austin again threw everything back up and the doctor said that we would be admitted to the hospital. It was at this point, that I started to feel pretty bad. My parents took me their home to experience the joy of the same stomach virus that Austin was enduring, and Charlie stayed with Austin at the hospital.

I felt much better in the morning, and Austin started to eat and drink a little and keep things down. He was released from the hospital around 5:00 pm on Saturday and I was hopeful that the worst was behind us. Little did I know that the lovely diarrhea would start only 30 minutes later and would continue heavily through the night. It was 5:00 am early Sunday when he again threw up and we headed back to the ER.

I am writing this blog from the chair in Austin's hospital room, so yes we are still here and Austin is still having trouble keeping food and liquids in his little body. He is still on the IV, so thankfully he is staying hydrated, but he has to be able to self hydrate before this adventure will be over.

While this hasn't exactly been the Christmas vacation that we hoped for, we have still seen God's love and plan in action. We have had three wonderful visits from people/churches/businesses in the Southeast Texas area just today. The Ridgefield Retirement Home visited along with Santa and delivered a hot rod car for Austin to play with. Next, the Central Baptist Church of Buna came and brought Austin a Build-a-Bear.

Here is a link to the story on the local news station - Austin is featured!!
http://setxhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=33631&shr=addthis

And last, the Neches Federal Credit Union delivered a little Christmas tree decorated completely with Disney's Cars ornaments and toys (if you know Austin, you know how completely perfect this tree is!)

It is so awesome to see the generosity and love that people have for others at Christmas time. We didn't know any of the people that visited us today, but it meant so much to see the love that they had for Austin and the other children in the hospital during this holiday season.

Austin hanging in his hospital crib

We are in the hospital for at least one more night and maybe even longer, but God's plan is perfect and I just have to trust that there is a reason for all of this. Here's to hoping that all of you reading this are having a wonderful and safe holiday season. Merry Christmas to you all!

Love,

I am so Pee-roud!

2008-11-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure I would ever see this day. Up until this point, our Baby Bjorn potty has been a toy. Austin will sit on it for a few seconds and then announce that he is done with not a piddle in sight. That all changed last night. Austin was in the bathtub and Charlie decided to introduce Austin to the "pull the finger" trick, which Austin then wanted to copy. The child was working very hard to reproduce the "sound" that his father had produced and we started to get a little concerned that something "else" may show up in the bathtub. We asked Austin if he needed to poo-poo in the potty and of course, he said "yes". I brought in the baby potty and placed Austin on it, and low and behold, the child started to pee! Yes, my child peed in the potty for the first time ever! We celebrated, we danced, we congratulated and gave him a present for his awesomeness! I don't know if we'll see it again for a long time, but I was one proud momma last night!

A Day Out with Thomas

2008-11-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, we attended our first Day Out with Thomas. I'm sure you can tell by past posts that Austin loves Thomas the Train. Once we found out a life-size Thomas was coming to a train station near us, we hurried to buy our tickets because we knew Austin would love it. And LOVE it he did!

Our pic with Thomas

The side view

Austin ready for his train ride (wearing his conductor hat!)

There were lots of activities to do at the station besides the actual train ride. We met Sir Topham Hatt, watched Thomas videos, played with Thomas trains, and took lots of pictures. Oh and of course we went into the gift shop which means we left with lots of Thomas goodies!

Austin, a little unsure of Sir Topham Hatt

Austin playing with Thomas

Austin and his Nonna, who joined us for our fun trip

A Day Out with Thomas is a yearly event at the Essex Train Station, so I am sure that this will be just the first of many visits to see Thomas!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

While this was Austin's third Halloween, it was the first Halloween where he actually "got" what was going on. I thought that I would at least have one more year where I got to pick the costume, but Austin quickly made it known that he was going to be Thomas for Halloween. For all you folks out there without little boys, Thomas is Thomas the Train and quite the phenomenom with boys Austin's age. So I found a Thomas costume (one size fits all up to age 6!) and we were set. We actually got to wear the costume three times this Halloween season, so we definitely got our money's worth!

We practiced with him on how to knock or ring the doorbell and then say "Trick or Treat", followed by a "thank you" after receiving our candy. He was doing great with it when we practiced at home, but had a little stage fright when we went trick or treating for real. We had him go up to our door first and the first thing he said when Charlie opened the door was "Candy!". He did better as we went to each house and finally had it down by the end of the night! He had a blast and our neighbors loved seeing "Thomas".

The best treat was when our good friends stopped by with their little boy Noah (Austin's buddy). When we opened the door, Austin was so excited to see him and we were able to get some pictures of the boys together. Thanks for stopping by, Christine, Joe and Noah!

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our fun Halloween!

Austin ready for his first time Trick or Treating

Our Thomas the Train pumpkin (this thing took hours!!)

Austin as Thomas the Train

Family Pic at our neighbors

Noah and Austin

My Friends

2008-10-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

We have been so fortunate to find a wonderful church here in Connecticut. Our church really pushes for small group involvement and we love our small group! Several couples in our group of 12 have young kids, so not only do we enjoy our time together, but the kids do as well. We get together every other Sunday and Austin always looks forward to seeing "my friends"!

One of the parents usually babysits the kids while the rest of the group goes over our lesson. I was the babysitter this past week and was able to get some cute pics of the kids that I wanted to share!

Maddie and Austin

Riley chewing on a Slinky

(Jessica and Nate - I swear I don't normally let them chew on slinkys - I obviously was too busy with the camera!)

Jackson giving his best smile

4 kids in a Thomas the Train ball pit!

Say Cheese!

Autumn Activities

2008-10-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Fall is such a great time in Connecticut. The leaves are changing, the temperature is dropping, and there is so much to do! We have been busy with hayrides, trolley rides, apple picking, and of course picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch! Our friends Joe, Christine, and Noah have joined us on our adventures - we feel so blessed to have such great friends.

Austin and Noah ready for the hayride

Mommy and Austin riding out to the pumpkin patch (sorry for the glare)

Austin and Noah NOT looking at the camera!

Picking apples with Daddy's help

Austin and Noah with their bags of freshly picked apples

Family Pic!

Austin and Noah riding the trolley

Daddy and Austin

I saw the coolest thing today as I looked out our back door. Five Wild Turkeys just chilling in our backyard. Charlie and I tried to get some good pics, but we didn't want to get too close and be attacked by the gang of birds! From what I understand, wild turkeys have a reputation for being a little mean, so we didn't want to take any chances. They stayed for about an hour and then hopped on our fence and flew off to our neighbors yard. Talk about an exciting day ;-)

Picture Catch-Up

2008-10-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

I have lots of pictures from the past month and a half that I've been meaning to share. We've been to Six Flags and the Big E, and we've even gotten a little creative at home! Enjoy the pics!

Austin and his buddy Noah in front of Thomas the Train at Six Flags (Austin loves, loves, loves Thomas the Train!)

Austin and Noah riding in Harold the Helicopter

Our friends Christine, Noah, & Joe and Austin and mommy riding on Thomas the Train

Daddy and Austin on the carousel at Six Flags

Austin and Mommy and Noah and Christine on the Wiggles airplane ride at Six Flags

This picture cracks me up - Charlie and Austin in a very crowded Helicopter ride

Austin and Daddy riding the bee ride at The Big E

Austin riding the ponies at The Big E

Austin enjoying his ice cream sandwich

Mommy got creative one day and made an airplane out of a box. Austin decorated it and loved pretending that he was a pilot!

Wearing his cool shades while piloting the plane

Taking his friend Riley for a ride

Our big toy of the moment - a Thomas the Train ball pit!

He loves it and has been content playing in it by himself - that means mommy loves it too!

NKOTB Rules!

2008-10-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yes - the title says it all! Who would have thought that 20 years after I first fell in love with 5 boys from Boston, that I would finally make it to one of their concerts. The concert was great! They played all of the songs that I loved as a 12 and 13 year-old as well as a few new ones - which are surprisingly very fun and catchy! We had awesome seats and at one point the boys sang right in front of us on a rotating platform in the middle of the arena. I'm pretty sure that the guys looked right at me a few times, of course it could have been because I was screaming like a maniac!

The best part was that it was a great night out with a fellow mommy friend of mine. We were able to let loose, enjoy a few margaritas, and scream like teenage girls again! Joey Joe is still just as cute as he was when I was young and I still melted as he sang "Please Don't Go Girl", just like I did back in the day!

It was such a fun night! Thank you Phia for inviting me - it's a night I won't soon forget! Here's a few pics - excuse the quality, they are from my phone!

Kristen & Phia waiting for the concert to start

NKOTB right in front of us!

Enjoy watching a little clip of Joe singing "Please Don't Go Girl" (no, this isn't him singing last night, but it's from a show they did in Montreal last week!)

An Ode to Austin

2008-08-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

An Ode to Austin

(on his 2nd birthday)

It wasn't very long ago that you were born this day

But you have truly changed our lives in each and every way

Your smile brings us happiness, your tears just melt our hearts

We love you just the way you are from your toes up to your smarts!

From sitting, to crawling, to standing, to learning how to walk

You're changing every single day - and now you even talk!

You are growing up so very fast, that is so very true

So here's my special ode to you, my baby, who's just turned two!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

PARTY!

2008-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

What a great day! We celebrated Austin's 2nd birthday today and it was so much fun. Since we don't have any family up here in Connecticut, we invited our favorite friends, and had a birthday blowout. It was cool to watch all the kids play together and it was awesome to see Austin having such a great time. Austin received fantastic gifts from everyone - thank you guys so much for your generosity! Although the day started off a little crazy with all the last minute prep, I wouldn't change a thing - we had such a great day!

Here are just a few pics from the party (if you want to see more - check out my facebook page)!

Austin actually looking at the camera again!

Austin checking out his Lightning McQueen birthday cake

Blowing out the candles

Enjoying his cake!

What a great day!

The Three Amigos

2008-08-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

It wasn't long ago that I was a lonely housewife, in a new state and town, with a new baby. Needless to say, that was a difficult time in my life, but thankfully those days are no more! I have been truly blessed with some wonderful girlfriends, who keep me sane and entertained on a daily basis! One of the ways, that I met these wonderful women (and kiddos) was through Gymboree classes. Austin and I started our first class when he was eight months old. At that time, I had no close woman friends with little boys, it seemed all my girlfriends had little girls - not necessarily a bad thing for Austin, but I felt like he needed some buddies to even out the score! Our first Gymboree class was ALL boys - it was awesome. I met two wonderful ladies in that first class - Christine and her little boy Noah, and Nicole and her little guy Luca. When our class ended, we exchanged info and we have been getting together for playdates ever since! Other Gymboree classes followed and we added another wonderful lady to the mix - Sarah and her little man Joshua. The boys love playing together and I so enjoy the friendship I have with these women! The boys are all within a couple months of each other, so we are able to share stories and be supportive for the things that are going on with the boys and ourselves. These women are seriously lifesavers for me and I enjoy them so much!

Okay, enough background and gushing - on with the post!

Yesterday, Austin and I were able to get together with Sarah and Joshua, and Christine and Noah and head to a local park (Nicole works, so we don't see her and Luca as often as we would like, but we always miss them!). The park was wonderful with lots of fun playthings for the boys to climb on, swing on, and teeter on and of course there was a large dirt pit, which Austin truly enjoyed! After a great time at the park, we headed to Red Robin for some lunch, and nice conversation (which didn't really happen, as all lunches seem to be incredibly chaotic with three almost two-year-olds!). It was such a fun day and I can't wait to do it again! Thanks girls!

Austin playing in the dirt

Joshua on the balance thingy (okay I no clue what this thing is called!)

Austin looking at the camera (this doesn't happen very often)

Noah sort of standing still for a second!

This picture definitely captures the spirit of our crazy boys!

Life's a Beach...

2008-08-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

At least it was a couple of weeks ago. I intended to write up this post sometime last week, but we all know how that goes!

The entire Wemyss Family met up in Gulf Shores, Alabama for a week of fun in the sun. The weather was gorgeous, the condo was super nice, and the view couldn't be beat. We had a wonderful time with everyone and a little tan doesn't hurt either.

Austin was able to play with his cousins, Matthew, Addie, and Braden, which was fun to watch. The kids had a great time building sand castles, catching hermit crabs, and playing in the ocean and pool. The adults had a fun time as well getting to catch up, drinking some adult beverages, and enjoying meals by our own gourmet chef (Thanks Cookie!).

Before we headed back to Connecticut, we stayed the day and night in New Orleans and checked out the aquarium. Austin enjoyed himself, but was on a mission to see "Nemo". Thank goodness they had clownfish or I don't know what we would have done! We ended the trip with some awesome cajun food (I had been craving crawfish etouffee) and a small stroll through the French Quarter. We also had an awesome view from our hotel room of the Mississippi (Austin and Charlie spent lots of time watching the tankers and barges float down the river).

Austin was a trooper on both plane rides, but I have to say that I am glad that we won't be traveling again for awhile. Our adventure continued as Charlie's car wouldn't start when we returned to our pay lot. Thank goodness for my friend, Lisa (Thank you again, Lisa), who came and picked me up so that I could go and get my car and come back for Charlie, Austin, and our luggage. We were emotionally and physically spent by the time we finally got home, but all in all, we had a wonderful vacation!

Some of our pics:

Charlie, Kristen & Austin enjoying the pool

The Wemyss Boys & Men

Austin & Charlie

Austin loved the ocean and absolutely loved the waves. Everytime he saw a wave approaching he would say "Oh no, oh no, oh no" and would then say "Wheeeee" as he floated over the wave.

Mom Wemyss taking Austin for their morning stroll on the boardwalk

Braden, Matthew, and Austin being silly

Cute cousins!

Addie sitting pretty on the beach

Our captured hermit crabs

Austin watching the fish at the aquarium

Family Pic!

Austin and his froggie

Kristen and Austin having fun at the aquarium

Colorado Vacation

2008-07-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

I meant to get this post out a little sooner, but we are still trying to get back in the swing of things after our wonderful vacation last week in Winter Park, Colorado. My family (The Maxey's) gets together every summer for a week and this summer we decided to return to our old stomping ground in Colorado. When I was young, we would go to Winter Park every other summer, but our last visit was in 2000, so it had been awhile since we vacationed there.

Charlie, Austin, and I flew into Denver where we met up with the rest of my family. Austin was an absolute angel on the first leg of our flight, which was wonderful and allowed Charlie and I to relax, read, and even snooze a little on the 2 hour flight. Thank goodness for Disney's Cars on Charlie's ipod! Austin didn't even wear the earphones, but he still enjoyed being able to hold the ipod and watch the movie. The second flight was a bit more painful, but we arrived ready for a fun vacation!

We did so many fun activities while we were in Winter Park. We went mountain biking, alpine sliding, drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, and of course we did a little shopping. We also did plenty of laughing and just hanging out, which always makes our family vacations so fun. Austin had such a great time playing with cousin Mallory (Madaree). The played so well together - I was shocked! Every morning, Austin would wake up and the first words out of his mouth were "Cousin Madaree, play?". He also loved spending time with his Uncle Scott (who we swear he was calling Uncle Gus), Aunt Kar Kar, Aunt JJ, MiMi, and of course his Pop Pop.

Before we knew it, the week in Winter Park was over, so we headed back to Denver for one last day of fun before we flew out. We went to the Denver Zoo, where the animals were pretty active. Austin loved seeing the animals and Charlie and I enjoyed it too. Later that evening, we had a bbq with some of Charlie's friends who live in Denver. It was a great visit and an awesome way to end our vacation.

The next morning we headed back home. The first leg of the flight was the absolute worst plane flight we have ever had with Austin (and we've had many!). He was a terror and threw countless numbers of tantrums for the people on the flight! We were definitely "those people" on the flight - thank goodness he was better on the second flight or poor mom would have melted down as well!

We have lots of pictures from the trip, so I hope you enjoy them! I can't believe it is only two weeks before we head out on another week long vacation!

Austin watching Cars on the flight

Austin and Dad playing in the creek during a rest from our bike ride

Charlie with his bike and the cart that carried Mallory and Austin

The three of us at the top of the mountain before we went down the Alpine Slide

Charlie and Austin going down the Alpine Slide

The girls (Julie, Me, Mallory & Karson)

The Boys (Charlie, Austin, & Scott)

MiMi, Austin & Pops

Uncle Scott (Gus) and his 'stache

Austin and Mallory in their cute shirts that Aunt Kar Kar made

The Moose in Rocky Mountain National Park

Mommy and Austin in RMNP

The Elk in RMNP

The infamous close-up shot of Charlie and I

Charlie on the rocks

Austin, Mommy, and the Tiger at the Denver Zoo

Austin watching the Polar Bear at the Zoo

Austin and his new friend Boo-Boo Baby

Chris, Mark, and Charlie (friends from high school)

Mrs. Essick, Baby Sadie, Austin, and Kristen

Ashley, Baby Sadie, Austin (with Lightning McQueen), and Kristen enjoying the burgers!

Love the faces in this shot!

4th of July at Mystic Seaport

2008-07-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

What a fun-filled 4th of July this has been! We decided to head out to Mystic, Connecticut for their 4th of July celebration. Our goal was to leave the house around 10:00, so that we arrived in Mystic around 11:00, but if you know the Wemyss' Family, you know that didn't happen! We ended up making it to the Seaport around noon, so we headed straight to the Galley restaurant for some grub before we proceeded any further.

"Feed me, or I'm going to make a scene!"

After our stomachs were nice and full, we started our adventure! First off, a picture of the Man Overboard scene.

Austin overboard

Next, we headed to the Children's museum, so that Austin could get hands on!

Fixing the ship crew a delicious lunch

Playing with the boats in the water

More playing with the boats (or as Austin calls them "bees")

Next up, we headed to one of the large ships to check it out. Austin wasn't all that interested, but he did like being able to see the water though some of the holes in the side of the ship.

Austin inspecting the condition of the chains on the boat

Mommy and Austin on the ship

The children's playground was our next point of call. Austin had a great time playing in the boats!

Austin steering his own ship!

Daddy and Austin on the play boat

After the playground, we headed to the Toy Boat shop, so that Austin (Daddy) could make his own boat to take home. Austin could have cared less, once we got there, but Charlie ended up having a great time. I should have taken a picture of the boat right after Charlie completed it, because it now has a broken mast after Austin played with it for 5 minutes. Sorry honey!

Our last adventure of the day was a horse and carriage ride with Duke the horse. Austin loved Duke and the whole ride kept saying "mommy, mooo?". To which I had to explain that no, Duke isn't a cow, he's a horse and horses go "Neigh". This conversation occurred no less than 11 times during our 11 minute carriage ride.

Mommy and Austin riding the horse and carriage

We realized shortly after this, that it was 4:00 and time for all of us to take a nap (except Charlie, who had to drive!).

What a fun day!

Tomorrow's adventure is a fireworks display at a local community college. We'll see if Austin can handle it (something tells me that we won't be there very long!).

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July!

Visits with the Grandparents

2008-06-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past month, we've been lucky to have both sets of grandparents come for weeklong visits. Charlie and I always appreciate the help that comes with having Nonna and Grandpa (Charlie's parents) and MiMi and Pops (Kristen's parents) stay with us! Austin enjoys being utterly and completely spoiled for the week and I know the grandparents love watching and playing with their grandson. Another bonus that comes with having the grandparents visit is the great pictures that they take. I have almost given up trying to take pictures of Austin, as I usually end up with a back of the head shot. The child is so on-the-go that he just doesn't have time for mom's silliness. Thankfully, the grandparents are new and fun, so they always get a few good shots.

May visit with Nonna and Grandpa

Helping Nonna to plant the flowers

"I'll take care of the watering."

Checking out the bird feeders with Grandpa

Yardwork

Nonna and Austin investigating the tiki torch

Nonna, Grandpa, and Austin at the Reservoir in Barkhamsted, CT

June visit with MiMi and Pops (Pop Pop)

Daddy and Austin in Boston trying out Austin's new backpack (aka leash)

Austin lounging in Cape Cod

Pop Pop and Austin playing with his shoo-shoos (cars)

(I don't think Austin let my Dad just sit the whole time they were visiting. We heard a lot of "Pop Pop play?")

Austin learning a new skill

Mommy and Austin reading a story

I can't believe we got a picture of him smiling - Good work Mom!

Austin running from Pop Pop

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of MiMi as she was the photographer during their stay. Sorry Mom - I should have taken a few of you guys together!

We had a wonderful time during both visits and we are looking forward to seeing both sets of grandparents again soon.

Picture Day

2008-06-28T14:17:00.001-07:00

As much as I hate having professional pictures of myself taken, I decided that it was time for us to take family pictures. My friend, Jessie, is a wonderful photographer and incredibly patient! We showed up with 4 outfit changes and an almost two-year old who had no interest in doing anything that we asked of him, but I have faith that Jessie got at least one good shot of us together. It was a little toasty today and I looked over at Charlie at one point (the poor guy was drenched in sweat) and realized that he must really love me to put up with all of this! We survived the photo shoot, didn't get poured on (the forecast had predicted rain all day today), and we didn't have any catastrophic falls like last year (Austin fell off of a stair right onto his face at his one-year old professional pictures), so I'll chalk today up to a success.

By the way - check out Jessie's website to see examples of her work - www.jessicapasson.com
There should be some pictures of us on her Monday blog and you can see some old pictures of Austin if you look through the Little Ones gallery on her website.

A new blog

2008-06-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to break down and start a blog for our family. I have so enjoyed reading my friends share what is going on in their lives, that I just had to follow suit. Hopefully (if I keep up with it, and that's a big if), I will be able to keep a better record of what's going on with the Wemyss family, particularly Austin, and all the changes that occur day-to-day with him. Enjoy!