Mommy and baby are both super healthy and doing great. Viv has immediately taken to breast feeding. Labor was quick ... Joi woke with full-on contractions at 3am, got the hospital at 4 am, baby born at 8 am. It was like a dream.
This morning out of the blue( in the sweetest little voice) Max said "Mommy you've been so good to me, maybe for your birthday we could get you a cooker or a stove".
Halloween this year was as fun for us as it was for Max! We got together with some friends and started the night out right with pizza and beer (sans the beer for me). We went to a neighborhood that had people jumping out of coffins in their yards, answering the door in full costume, smoke machines, surround sound effects and over-the-top creative Halloween yard displays. It was quite a night! We even went to a house that passed out candy to kids and beer and wine to adults!
Despite this being an awesome, relaxing, rejuvenating and all around fun mini vacation I didn't take very many pictures. The ones I did take weren't very good so it's slim pickins' for the blog.
Our condo was really comfy and spacious with an outdoor heated swimming pool, hot tub, work out room, basket ball courts and playground. Thanks to our friend Noah who works his magic to find the best places to stay at good prices. Even though they got there before us (knowing I was pregnant) they left us the big bedroom with the gigantic jetted tub. That's what I call good friends!
There just so happened to be an 8k happening while we were there which Taryn ran and completed and I walked 4.5 miles of it. It felt great to get the exercise and the scenery was nice for much of the walk.
Otherwise we swam in the pool, grilled and ate outside on the rooftop deck with gorgeous views, went to the beach and soaked up a lovely summer weekend at the coast. Max and Elana enjoyed each others company and had some good times getting sandy at the beach. I would definitely go back to this place!
Max and I had a great time on our trip to Idaho with my friend Linda and her three year old son Spike. We stayed at her sisters cabin which had a float house on it's property. The boys loved making their way between the two houses. We also spent some time in the city of Cour D Alene. There was an art fair going on which had lots of kid activities for the boys to enjoy.
Though we missed Daddy and he missed us, it was a great bonding experience for Max and I. I had to fill in and play rough which is what he loves these days. Pillow fighting and sword fighting, pretending to be good guys and bad guys. It was fun to be in that roll for a change but I'm sure Max is glad to have his dad back who can pick him up and swing him around.
Side Note~ Max is going to sleep mostly by himself now. We have a little ritual where I leave the bed, then sit in a chair for ten minutes, then I turn on his night light and he goes to sleep without me in the room. I get called back in some nights for bad dreams (though he isn't asleep yet) but other nights it's been really smooth.
This will be great for when the baby's born but I'm going to get three months of normal nights and then we get back into the real fun of trying to get an infant to sleep at night.
It's funny how memories fade. When Max was a baby I remember thinking it was really rough in the beginning but it doesn't seem like it was that bad now. Selective amnesia?
The float house. My first time ever in one.
Me and Linda.
Max and Spike roasting marshmallows.
Max lined up his cherry pits along the table. Not sure why. Just a Max thing.
Max's first time fishing with Spike's uncle Billy off the dock on their float house on Lake Cour d Alene. Spike fishing with his Uncle Billy
Here is a slide show of our fabulous trip to RI this summer. Thanks to Uncle Dickie, Auntie April, Hannah, Andrew and Angela for welcoming us into their home and making the week so special for us. Besides all the fun at their house we were able to see all of our family in RI. For the record I'd like to name everyone who appears in the slide show with the exception of my sister Grace who I unfortunately didn't photograph but did get to see on the trip.
Gramma Grace, Uncles: Dickie, Dale, Marc, Greg, Jon, Tom, Charles, George, Aunties: April, Laurie, Tricia, Dina, Joi, Grace, Michele, Lisa (also not shown in slide show) Cousins: Hannah, Andrew, Angela, Colin, Richard, Max, Gavin, Victoria, Hailey, Sydney (the baby). I'm pregnant with baby Beene #2.
Christian and Grayson are also in the photos~these are cousins of Max's cousins.
Some of the other fun we had was going to Narragansett beach, sampling some of RI's finest cuisine~clam cakes, chowda, dells lemonade, lobster rolls, bakery pizza with no toppings and autocrat coffee milk.
We picked blueberries at a nearby farm and Max got to enjoy Uncle Dickie's backhoe's, loaders, bulldozers, etc. with his cousins.
Another huge event was the Waldeck's party who are dear friends of mine from college. They threw a party for a group of friends from our URI days so that we could all catch up and meet each others growing families. I'll have to do a separate posting for that but it was amazing. Wonderful food, a bouncy house for the kido's, swings, drinks, laughs, and great company.
We are so fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends back in RI and we love them all very much!
I almost forgot to mention cousins Pixie (the dog) and Gerry (the cat). Max adored Gerry. I'm going to frame a picture of him and put it in his bedroom!
Here we are..... Max, Jonas, Jen, JP and me on our hike to Franklin Falls (Charles taking the picture). That was on July 4, temperature was somewhere in the 50's. Today July 8th we are in the low 90's. Even though the weather was cold and rainy on this trip (speaking for myself) I had a great time. It was so much fun to spend time with good friends, sleep in our tent, cook on the fire, and get in a small hike. Max and Jonas hiked one slow mile to the falls! Thanks to the guys for carrying them back. The weather was absolutely no problem for the three year old's who played out in the rain while the adults crammed under a tarp while it rained. Max's favorite part~ S'mores of course!
We recently went for a long weekend over to Orcas Island. We stayed at a very quiet relaxing cabin on the water. Paw-Paw and GJ came along for the fun! Here are some other recent pictures of Max's adventures..........
Random Thoughts
Most of the time I feel like I'm talking to a 3 1/2 year old but lately Max throws me zingers here and there that make me feel like I'm talking to an adult.
Today we were at REI looking at camping gear when Max spotted a tent he wanted me to crawl in with him. He crawled inside one of the sleeping bags and said "let's go to sleep in our tent mommy". I decided to pretend I was a raccoon that crawled into his sleeping bag and tickle him. After some explosive laughter Max said "stop mommy, let's just just enjoy being in the tent".
Max and Mommy chillin' on the dock
We recently went for a long weekend over to Orcas Island. We stayed at a very quiet relaxing cabin on the water. Paw-Paw and GJ came along for the fun! Here are some other recent pictures of Max's adventures..........
Purple Starfish!
Sandcastle time
Dahl Park~ One of our favorite places to hang
Hug on the ferry
Max's friend Anjali at Dahl park....so cute!
Ape hangers
Max's boat ride in the tub
