First Snow/Freezing Rain- 11/08

Noah has spent months wearing his rain boots inside and today he finally got to wear them outside in the rain/snow.  I thought these pictures were very cute:)

Trip to Burlington

Noah and I joined Gabe for his residency interview at the University of Vermont.  While Gabe was busy Noah and I took full advantage to all that Burlington had to offer.  We shopped, listened to a live children's musician, and visited the Echo Aquarium and Science Center on Lake Champlain.  There were lots of fish, frogs and turtles... lots for Noah to enjoy.  He even did a little fishing in their make shift  river:) The middle picture is of him looking at a fish stuck to the  side of the tank with a magnifying glass... he learns fast!

Halloween 2008

Noah and I were able to spend Halloween weekend this year in Maine. He loved to dress-up in his frog costume, but refused to let me strap it under his chin. He also really enjoyed playing in the leaves. The bottom pictures are from my parent's yard. He was sliding down into a pile of leaves, then Nana would throw some leave on him and he would laugh really hard. I think he had a good time b/c when we put him to bed that night he laid there and laughed for a while:)

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today Papa died... and to be honest, most of the time I don't believe that it is true... this was such a huge and unexpected loss for our family.  We have all had many new "firsts" this past year without Papa around... I can only imagine that it has made us all stronger.  He was such a wonderful and loving man... there still is not a day that goes by that I don't miss him terribly and start crying if I think too much about it.  Each new milestone that hits and he is not physically here with us to enjoy it makes me eternally greatful for all of the wonderful time we did get to enjoy life with him.  Getting through the past year: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Florida, summer without Jo Mary, Fryeburg, etc. Each time I have dreaded these things, but each one has been extremely memorable and exciting... Nothing is the same without him and I wish more than anything he could be here with us, but I can always feel his fun, life-loving spirit in all we do.

Trip to Baltimore... Aquarium

We recently took a trip to visit Jacqueline in Maryland.  As it turns out, it is only a 7.5 hour drive from here and Noah tolerated it like a champ!  We spent one day at the aquarium in Baltimore... though it would seem that a fall Friday wouldn't be busy, we didn't consider school groups... that's right... lots of kids with minimal adult supervision:)  I didn't get many good pics b/c there were so many people that Noah wouldn't let me more than an arms length away.  Although he really enjoyed seeing all the sea life, his favorite part was at the end when we were in this open room without many others around (middle pic) he just started running around like a madman:)

Bel Air Playgrounds

We all had lots of fun on our trip to MD.  We got to spend some wonderful time with Jacqueline and her family, and Noah got to tour some more playgrounds.

Playground Fun

Noah loves to play at the playground.  Luckily there are many different playgrounds close by, so it is a great time killer no matter where we are:)  We went to this playground after seeing Boston Lot and before supper.  The first two pictures show how much Noah enjoys swinging... the second actually looks like he is swinging in the big swing alone.  The last picture is typical of him going a few steps and then peeking through the slats to see me.

Boston Lot "Hike"- #2

Grammie Civiello came to visit recently and we took her to Boston Lot for a short walk on a beautiful fall afternoon. I tried hard to get a "serious/calm" picture of Noah, but instead, this is what I got:) He now refuses to sit for pictures, as soon as he sees me point the camera in his direction he comes running at me...

French's Ledges- II

Noah and I have been doing lots of hiking in the past week or so b/c the colors here have been beautiful! We convinced Gabe to take a break from studying to do this hike.... admittedly my back was really starting to get sore from carrying Noah in the pack:) This is the same hike we took for Mother's Day. We absolutely LOVE being here in the fall b/c there are so many short hikes with beautiful views in a very close proximity to where we live.

Noah, the Ball, and his OCD

This video just makes us laugh.  He is a funny guy who loves to laugh and his laugh is contagious.  You may also notice Noah's other OCD qualities if you look closely... when the bag is knocked over he has to pick it up, and he doesn't enjoy the ball again until after he is standing on the same exact spot... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... we know:)

Boston Lot "Hike"

On a Sunday afternoon we all needed to get out in the fresh air, but it was a bit late in the day so we took Noah to the Boston Lot trail, which is essentially a closed road, maybe a half mile straight up (a bit hill really)... easy enough that we just push the stroller up, but the view from the top is this beautiful reservoir. Noah was only partially compliant with the picture taking... he thought it more fun to run at me every time I aimed the camera at him.

Fryeburg Fair 2008... minus Papa:(

We were all excited to have Noah around this year partially to take our mind off the fact that we were there without Grammie and Papa, but also b/c we could once again experience Old McDonald's Barn.  For those of you who don't know it is a little area of the fair that only children 8 years and under are allowed, where goats, sheep and other animals just mull around and beg you for food.  We all quickly realized that 1- it was way more fun when you were the same size as the animals and 2- Hillary was horribly allergic and had to watch from the outside the second time around.  We did have a blast though watching Noah (eventually, as per his style) have a ball with these animals... farmer maybe?

We initiated Noah to the fair well I think.  We made sure to hit the highlights with him... Thanks for being so patient Pelkeys!!  The top picture is him enjoying the rice pudding from Loretta's Kitchen (he actually ate all of Holly's while she was talking and enjoyed every bite:)).  The next picture is of him watching the Hurdy Gurdy Man's cart, enjoying the music and animals.  The last picture is a classic that we all have of him after milking the cow... you were a good sport Hill!

For those of you a bit concerned that Noah is not growing up an official "Mainer" I would like to reassure you with the above 3 and 1 below pictures. Yes, this is a skiddah... Yes, this was Noah's favorite part of the fair... Yes, he is in his pajamas... we deemed it more important to see it up close and get to touch it than to try and get him to fall asleep in the stroller:) The other reason is that he got so excited when he saw this, even in the dark, we had no choice, but to take him out of his stroller. And finally... Yes, we did go back the next morning to take more pictures... be expecting Christmas cards from both the Pelkey's and the Civiello's of the family posing on the skidda... don't worry Elizabeth we can photo shop you in:)

This last picture is of Noah in good spirits eating breakfast out of the back of our car... after two nights sleeping in the tent and no nap the day prior... he was such a trooper.  We did miss having the warm camper to go to, to at least pee and wash our faces/brush our teeth, but we survived showering with the cows and peeing in the woods:)  Overall we did have a wonderful trip, but we did miss those who couldn't be there!