My Friends

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!