Family Outing: Hamilton Grounds for Sculpture

Cool thing to do in New Jersey on a sunny Saturday afternoon: The Hamilton Grounds for Sculpture. It's this spread of land near Trenton where they have artists set up massive scultures and landscape art and then people come and climb around on these things, play with them, if you're Joseph, you talk to them and ask them what they're looking at, etc. There are so many neat statues that look like people that Joseph started to think the real people in the park might also be sculptures (one sun bathing woman was surprised as Joseph yelled "look at this one!" to us while pointing at her.)

Here's to out first real outing as a fam! Traffic and all, it was still awesome...

Here's some cool pics:

Joseph wants to know what the ladies are looking at:

So he loudly asked them:

On a sad note, Owen and I lost a good friend this week to cancer. He was someone who seemed to enjoy every minute he could and if we take nothing from his death, it is to be like he was- a friend to children and the sick, a comedian to those who needed a laugh, and a lover of life and his family to the end.

Cheers all...happy Spring!

Christmas, 2010...

You'd think I would get more done considering I'm on maternity leave right now...but it turns out it's really hard to get things done. I'm like a giant incubator with a growing to-do list and very little will "to do" anything. I have tried, therefore, to focus on those things which involve 1.) complete necessity in terms of family life or work 2.) my own personal sanity and 3.) keeping in touch with people, because I get lonely and because my friends and family are more important to me now than ever before.

So, in that order, now that I've corrected my last student essay for a while and the house is basically clean enough, here comes a blog post that should have gone up like two weeks ago...

Our family this Christmas Eve! And to my complete surprise, my mom and dad were there to share it with us! Freakin' awesome surprise, by the way. My deep thanks to all involved...I don't think I have ever been so surprised in all my life! Anyway, Pepere took this family shot for us:

This was my boys decorating the tree...how funny is it that they, by virtue of having the same, apparently genetic lack of ass, also bust the same sag? Ha!


My boy helped me decorate the stairway...what a helper! I know I'm a bit busty in this shot, and I contemplated not putting it up, but I'm preggers, damn it! It happens...

Ah...Christmas morning and my boy was thrilled...and apprently thirsty. It turns out, little boys LOVE guns, and they love making lots of noise. Put that together and you have one of Joseph's new favorite things...many thanks to Aunt Nikki, Uncle Jakob and COusin Cooper!

What an idyllic Christmas morning: a small boy by the fire in a room with his parents, grandparents, an aunt and uncle, a cousin and PLENTY of new toys. What's nice is, I really think he'll remember this one. I know I will.

Below are some videos you might enjoy of Joseph listening to Pepere read "The Night Before Christmas" on one of those Hallmark recordable books. It's pretty cool technology, but it works by light and our house is very dark, so after some stop and starts, these are the best two shorts of the experience.

Well, a merry belated Christmas to all and to all a Good Afternoon!

Just a few Thanksgiving pix...

Once Joseph calmed down enough to let us take some photos where he wasn't screaming, crying or running away, we got just a few shots of us in our Thanksgiving attire...including one of me looking especially maternal. I am thankful for these pictures, for my beautiful boy, for my loving, patient husband, for the new little beautiful boy we will soon meet and for our family and friends who have been so supportive while we juggle the world yet again, and I will say good night with those thoughts in mind:)

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Many, many thanks to Memere and Pepere for the costume...Joseph was thrilled and so were we. This year, he graduated to being excited that Halloween was here, being able to actually say "Happy Halloween," telling people exactly who he was dressed as and mastered the "trick or treat" idea with bag extended and all. (He catches on quick when there's candy involved:)

On a personal note, last night was a great friend of mine's birthday party in Manhattan. Owen and I were at a fabulous, expensive restaurant with lots of people I went to college with who are all doing REALLY well financially, still look as thin and pretty as they day they left Harvard and live the international, jet-set life. It was intimidating for me: I am giagantic, pregnant, and worked extra hours tutoring this week to buy a nice dress to wear. I wondered if they would notice that my necklace was from Target while they compared really sassy, really flashy jewlery. But no matter whom I talked to at the table, they didn't seem to look down on me. They all wanted to know what it was like to be a mom...they wanted to know if I was enjoying the whole "wife and mother" thing.

I guess there are always going to be moments when I am jealous of my friends, who can still be spontaneous, stay out all night and spend hours a day working out, but I doubt any of them had what I had this afternoon.

I do feel old for 29 (someone pointed out last night that I was the youngest person at the table, and I felt suddenly very old for my age...) but then again, I get to see my holidays through the eyes of a two-year-old, and it makes things seem a whole lot more significant and magical than they even seemed at age 19...and suddenly, 29 with a toddler and another baby on the way doesn't seem so old- indeed, it seems very, very young at heart.

Here's to kids for not letting us make light of magic days.

Here's to Halloween, 2010!

Pheonix and Joe...

Kickin' it...

Our Current life in Pictures...

Another strip of pictures to add to our collection (now eight strips long and counting...) It's a favorite tradition of ours and it was how Owen and I celebrated our FIFTH anniversary on Friday. Then, on Saturday morning, the first peak at this little boy...look familiar? There's a certain smile here that reminds us EXACTLY of his older brother... we are very excited to share these with everyone and we are really] looking forward to the Brothers Fletcher and all of their fun together.

I start back to work tomorrow, so forgive a lapse in posts...here's to a beautiful, beautiful summer. Much love!

Summer, While it lasts...

This week was just way too hectic for a week in the summer!

Too much work, not enough time spent hanging with my kiddo. Last week, though, got to spend a few days with my boy, and it was awesome.

As I microwave a Lean-Cuisine and prepare to rush out to more errands and tutoring hours, I thought I might take the time to post some pictures of Joseph that make me smile...happy summer- may we enjoy it while we can.