5.28.2009

Happy Birthday, "Grand Liz"

We celebrated my FABULOUS mom's birthday on Monday evening. Was sooooo nice to have her in town so we could party in person--doesn't happen every year! .They'd spent the day in Ridgefield, so once back in town, we went to Napoli's (our favorite pizza place down the street). She insisted on treating us, but at least we had a cake and a prezzie awaiting her back at our place (a Vera Bradley tote).

Although we're still not sure what to call her (Grand Liz? Grandmommy?), one thing's clear: She is the most WONDERFUL grandmother Eamon, Sam, or Jack could ever ask for. All of the babies love her. No surprise, given how awesome of a mom she is.
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Memorial Day


Since we partied on Sunday, we spent Memorial Day doing a lot of work--blah--and a little bit of play. Mark kindly set up a fort in the living room for Eamon to roam free in (otherwise, he gets into EVERYTHING dangerous, sharp, electrical...yes, we need to babyproof). He doesn't necessarily like to be confined, but he got used to it, as you can tell from his devilish grin in the first pic.

Later on in the evening, we hit the playground where Eamon had the time of his life (as he does every day) on the swings, then later on the slide. (And yep, Mark had fun, too!)


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Ridgefield


Ahhh....Ridgefield. Lush, green grass and leafy trees, plenty of space for Eamon to roam, two adorable dogs to keep him entertained, a beautiful home to relax in, wonderful company to chat and laugh with, and delicious food to enjoy. And enjoy we did--for the entire day on Sunday at Bubba and Mario's. We went up to celebrate the 'rents' 40th wedding anniversary as well as to visit with the Bernardis's (Mario's parents) and to just be together as a family.

Since Eamon is not one to just sit around, he began scurrying about as soon as we arrived in the early afternoon and didn't stop moving (save for a short nap) until we strapped him into his carseat later on that night. He was dressed for a party (see the Hawaiian shirt!) and party he did: Crawling allover the deck, eating rhubarb cake, going crazy for Bruno and Dewey, and, of course, climbing and cruising: Up the deck stairs, allover the coffee table...anywhere that would support his little body.

But it wasn't just Eamon entertaining us: Sam was his usual adorable self, talking and Oh Wow'ing the dogs, the fire trucks, and the cake...and Jack was awake long enough to give us some smiles and cute glances with his big, blue eyes. He's getting so big!

Thank you to Bubba and Mario for hosting all of us--all 11 of us, that is!--for the day. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time!
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Hey, where's Bruno?






















I think I'll go find him...






















...There he is!
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Bubba's Solo Show


While we were in Ridgefield, we checked out Bubba's VERY impressive solo show at the town's artists guild. Her work is beautiful and I'm proud to have three pieces of her artwork hanging on the wallks in our apartment. Of course, I'd love more (hint, hint)...

The photo of the horses is based on a shot she snapped near Rose Lane in New Paltz. I was with her when she took the photo and am so amazed how she recreated the scene in such a vivid, expresive way. We all know this, but I just have to reiterate how talented of an artist Bubba is!

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5.21.2009

Eamon pics






















Hello there, sorry for being such a bad blogger. I have NO excuses, except, well, I'm busy. With editing two magazines, writing a book, and hanging out with Eamon, there is never enough time in the day to sit down and post pictures. Tonight, I've decided to fore go work and finally put up some cute pics of Eamon from the last week or so. He is really such a ham, it's hard to stop taking pictures once a start. But here are some of my favorites.

And in case you're interested in his latest milestones, this week he has sprouted yet another tooth on top (making the grand total now 5!), he has stood by himself for a couple of seconds (scary, but true), he says "da" when he sees a dog (which he loves; too bad he'll never have one as a pet...I'm sure his very-allergic Dad will get some grief for that in the future!), and he imitates us when we shake our head no (that's really cute; I'll try to get video of him in the act!).

A change a minute! Hard to believe he's 9 months already.

5.11.2009

Mother's Day


My first mother's day was great! A while back, my friend Crystal (mom to the adorable Owen) suggested that we all do mom's day charity walk in Central Park. So, bright and early on Sunday morning (on 2.5 hours of sleep...more about that later!), we cruised into the Park and pushed our little guys around. Was so nice to be out there on a gorgeous morning with the great friends I've made over the past 9 months. Most of them then joined Mark and I for our first little gathering on our patio outside for the year...Mark slaved all morning on a sausage ring and scones, plus other goodies and we sat outside and ate and drank mimosas and bloody mary's for about four hours.

Afterwards, the 'rents, Leezie, Jack, and Sam came over for a bit on their way back from New Paltz. By that time, I was completely running on fumes...Mark and I had driven down and back to/from DC on Saturday and didn't get home until 3:30 a.m. We then had to try to get a wide-awake Eamon back to sleep (didn't happen until 4:15 a.m.) and get a few things together for the brunch. I closed my eyes at 4:30 and woke up at 6:30...so I completely crashed at 8 p.m. and slept until 7 this morning! It's been a while since I got more than six hours, but I guessed I needed it!

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Celebrating Chuck and Kristen


Part of our marathon weekend involved traveling down to DC for the day. Yes, we had plans for Sunday, but we couldn't miss Chuck and Kristen's engagement party, could we? I'm so glad we didn't opt out. Not only did we get a chance to celebrate Mother's Day with the Flynn's, we also had so much fun at the dinner, which Kristen's parents hosted at DC Coast. So what if we didn't get home until 3:30 a.m.? Totally worth it!

As you can tell, these guys are totally serious and really no fun to hang out with...ha hah.
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goofing around...
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5.06.2009

Matchy Matchy


We didn't plan it, but Leezie and I dressed Eamon and Sam exactly alike today! Their adorable shirts (featuring "Cowboy Joe", the Jackson Hole icon, and their names) were Christmas prezzies from Jeanie. I've gotten great use out of E's and get compliments whenever he wears it!

The matching outfits, of course, called for an impromptu photo shoot in the park. It was hard getting the two of them to both look (and smile) in the same direction at the same time, but here are the best of the bunch.


Eamon had some fun on the swings today! He was giggling his head off...of course, by the time I broke out the camera, he was running out of steam...but you get the gist.

5.03.2009

Spring Shots

 

The weather's been so great lately that we've spent a lot of time outside. Of course, I bring my camera with me everywhere I go...check out a few of the latest Eamon shots by clicking on the photo below:
eamon 8 months
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Eamon crawls and claps



Here's Eamon, showing off some new skills this morning!

5.02.2009

Bec rocks Korea

Congrats to Bec for her finish at the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series in Tongyeong, Korea. She earned enough points to race for the U.S. at the ITU race in D.C. on June 21 (Father's Day! Our Dad will be happy about that one!) AND she was the #1 American to cross the line! Yay!

Yes, this was less than a week after her big win in St. Anthony's. I'd say her legs must be tired, but knowing her, she's probably put in a 10-miler around Tongyeong today...

Another trip?

I may not make a ton of money doing what I do, but I must say there are many perks to being a freelance writer/editor. Case in point: The trips! As you know, I've recently been on two very fun--and insightful--press trips to San Juan and Aruba. I learned so much about each area while there (much more so than I would have if I just went for vacation), came up with good story ideas, and met some great people. Seeing that I'm not a travel writer, I never thought I'd be one of those folks who would even be considered for a press trip, but I've learned that I can write about ways to stay fit and places to race in pretty much anywhere in the world--so now I know that my job with MetroSports NY in particular definitely applies.

I don't want to be too presumptive, but it looks like I may be going on another adventure soon. This time, I think Eamon and Mark will be joining me. All I'll say is that it involves a cross-country plane ride, it's a warm locale, and it's an area where we have some friends...any guesses to where we may be going?