A Day Out With Thomas

I've heard about the event "A Day Out With Thomas" for over a year now from a few other mothers.  They claim it is a great event and with Cooper's (and now Isabel's) intense love of Thomas the Train, I have been trying to find a time and place for us to attend it.  Unfortunately there really is no close destination for us, so we ended up settling on Conway, New Hampshire (a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive).  We did it all in one day, and yes, it was a lot of driving, but it was beautiful scenery.  We drove though beautiful mountains (I think we were on the back side of Mount Washington), little lakes, and adorable little towns.   It's definitely an area that we would like to get back to.  Back to Thomas...overall, it was a great day, despite the 90 degree heat!   Without much shade at the event, the sun and heat were a bit taxing and it definitely drained some of the energy/enthusiasm out of us all.  But the highlight of the event was the ride on Thomas.  The kids enjoyed the train display, the bouncy house, getting tattoos, the random live turtle that was there, and of course, the ice-cream at the end of the day!  Emma was a trooper and was very content to hang out in the stroller most of the time which was a huge help!   

The North Conway Rail Station

Adorable North Conway Rail Station

Our conductor (this hat only lasted about 20 minutes due to the heat)

Finally meeting Thomas with our ride to follow

Our beautiful ride on Thomas (Cooper was so tired/hot he almost feel asleep)

Our scenic train ride

Hay Maze

Bouncy House

Random live turtle...very cool though.  He was very large and just walked around eating the grass. 

Showing off the Thomas tattoos

Emma's First Bottle

About a week ago we tried a bottle with Emma for the first time.  Cooper had been asking to feed Emma a bottle for a few weeks, so with his help Daddy gave Emma her first successful bottle meal.  Unfortunately, the following 2 bottles that Dad tried to give Emma were unsuccessful, and very frustrating.  Since then, Gumma and my neighborhood "mommy's helper", Megan, have both been able to give her a 4 ounce bottle without difficulty.  And with Casey Leggett's wedding coming up this weekend, Mommy is very happy that Emma can take a bottle so she can have a few cocktails!!!

Check out the expanding belly!  

Visit to Cousin Eva's House

Two weekends ago we got to spend a quick but very enjoyable time at Chan and Karen's house in Hingham, Mass.  Kristi and Peter made the short trip from Boston to hang out with us on Saturday.  It was great to see them, but even more great to meet baby Janet!  She's an absolute doll and it was fun to have the babies together.  We got to spend a few hours at the beach near their house and both Cooper and Isabel did not want to leave.  They absolutely  love the beach and the water.  We will definitely have to be making at least one ocean vacation a year!  We had a wonderful dinner on Saturday night, and Josh even got to play golf with Chan on Sunday morning before we headed home.  A little fun for everyone!   Chan and Karen were great hosts and we hope to get back there soon! 

Emma and Janet's first meeting!  

The Ryan, Perine and Quinn crew!  

My bathing beauty

Cousin Eva 

Emma's first dip in the ocean...

...not very impressed (with the cold water, nor her mother).  Though I blame this idea on her Uncle Peter as he introduced Janet to the ocean a few minutes before this, and Janet had about the same reaction.  

The two babes

Uncle Peter and Cooper looking for shells

Uncle Chan and Cousin Eva

Emma

Hard to believe that Emma is 6 weeks old!  She continues to grow like a weed and is still a very good baby.  Don't get me wrong, she does cry, but thank goodness it's not very often, as it is quite the ear piercing scream!  We've had some success with getting her to use the pacifier, but most of the time she just purses her lips together and doesn't even let us get it in her mouth.  She is sleeping well at night and most of the morning, and likes to be awake most of the afternoon and evening.  She loves being in her swing, but really loves to be held.  She also loves tummy time, but mostly to nap!  Apparently she likes to be naked, as she loves her bathes and loves to get her diaper changed.  She's starting to give us a couple of intentional smiles which melt her mommy's heart!  Here are a couple pictures...

Father's Day

Pictures from Father's Day and some other randoms...

Emma Update

This is a long overdue update on baby Emma!  It's hard to believe that she's been with us for almost 4 weeks already.  She has proven to be a wonderful addition to our family!  The kids continue to be in love with her, doting on her and giving her continuous kisses, hugs and "I love you's".   Cooper and Isabel seem to have returned to their schedule which is helpful.  Emma is such a sweet baby.  She rarely cries, though when she does cry, she lets out the cutest little shrieks.  She wakes up to eat 1-2 times a night and usually goes right back to sleep which is a big help for me!  Her sleepiest time is early/mid morning which is very helpful to allow me get myself and the older kids ready to go for the day.  She is growing like a weed and is well above 10 lbs and already starting to outgrow some of her little newborn outfits!   I'm so behind in posting pictures, so I'm just going to catch up now.  Pictures from Grammy's week here, Aunt Casey's week, and visit from Gramma Ali.  

 Matching Father/Son bathing suits!!  

First swim of the year!