The Favry Family News Reel

2009-12-22T20:04:00.004-05:00

On Friday evening Anthony and I went to an "Ugly Sweater" party at Trish's house. I am trying to upload photos of that but its not currently working...more to come on that.

Sunday we received over two feet of snow. We never seem to get snow so this was rare for us. We were literally snowed in all day long. We spent the day baking xmas cookies. We made several different kinds including orange cream cookies, peanut butter kisses, white chocolate coconut cookies ( my favorite), snowballs, baklava and more. The only draw back to baking with Anthony is that he doesn't like to give to many samples, we are working on that...

Jackson spent the day in his jammies lounging around.

The poor guy was getting over an ear infection and spent much of the day wanting to be held.

Last night our friend Erin came down for a visit. While I worked Anthony and Erin went to the mall and to pick up some supper at Mystic Market. After Jackson went to sleep we rented "Julie and Julia" Anthony and Erin fell asleep but I watched the entire movie, it sucked.

Jackson was VERY busy at school today. Not only did Santa come and bring each baby a sesame street book, Jackson also made mommy and daddy an ornament, we love it and hung it front and center on the tree! It has his picture in he middle and glitter all around it. I can't wait till Jackson makes us more art work.

Well off to relax a bit with Anthony and Miss. Monroe. Only one more day of work then on Xmas vacation!!!

2009-12-17T19:42:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we took Jackson to the enchanted village up in Mass. The village is something we used to go to as kids when it was at Jordan Marsh. The village closed a few years back due to funds but now Jordan's Furniture has bought it and its back!!!!

The enchanted village is a a sequence of holiday scenes that you walk through, music plays and the figurines move. When the song " White Christmas" plays, it actually snows in the village!!

People have been waiting hours to get into the Enchanted Village this year. We planed well and arrived at 10:15, it opens at 10:00. We were in the village by 11:00!

In addition to the Enchanted Village you can also see the Polar Express in 4D and a holiday light show. Snacks, including the famous Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins are served.

Look who was at the end of the village.... ( Jackson was ready for a nap at this point)

It was fun to take Jackson to a holiday activity that I used to attend!!

2009-12-14T20:28:00.005-05:00

HAPPY HANUKKAH FROM OUR LITTLE POTATO LATKE!!!!!

If you look closely his shirt reads " I light up mommy's life"

More pics to come on Jackson's visit to see Santa!!!!!

2009-12-07T14:49:00.003-05:00

I love yogurt...

Sorry don't have any more pictures. But soon to come jackson is his new Hannukah shirt!!!!

When I picked up Jackson Friday afternoon I was greeted with his first painting!! It was hillarious. They had the babies down to their diapers all sitting in a row in their high chairs painting. jackson made a beautiful red and blue swirl painting and they took a picture of him as he painted. I love it.

Anthony got home late Friday night from Dallas so jackson was very happy to see his daddy saturday morning when he woke up. On Saturday we headed up to Rocky Hill to visit Anthony's dad's grave and attend Daryl's baby shower. Jackson was such a good boy at the shower letting everyone hold him and talk to him. He was also a great help removing all the plastic table clothes and assisting Daryl and Skerdi open their presents! The ride home to Ledyard was a snowy ride but thankfully Jackson slep the whole way.

Yesterday I got up with Jackson and Anthony slept till 9am!!!! Must be nice..hmph.

Jackson took a very long nap Sunday morning and din't get up till nearly 1pm. At that time we did a few errands and purchased a xmas present for Jackson, I can't say what in case he reads this.

After a dinner of Chicken Marsalla for the grown ups and Gerber Turkey and Sweet Potatoes for Jackson, we played a bit and Jackson had a tub before going to bed.
I then finished my Christmas cards and Anthony and I had smores ice cream and watched the movie " The Ugly Truth" It was cute.

The movie was interupted when Jared called and he and Anthony played voices...there is an app for that...

2009-12-03T18:38:00.006-05:00

Some pictures of Jackson exploring the xmas tree. The last one is my favorite, I wish it wasn't so dark....

Jackson's first tooth finally cut through. The poor guy seems like he is in so much pain. Last night, well this morning around 4:45 AM he just wanted to be held and rocked, he ended up sleeping on my chest, you try sleeping with 20lbs on your chest ( insert gross comment here Jared). I feel bad for him, it appears a few more are going to cut any day. He is very busy at school and today got to play in the "tunnel". I love picking him up and sneaking in to see what he is doing before he sees me. His class is all decorated for the holidays, xmas lights were being strung when I arrived tonight. In the next few weeks they will be very busy learning about the eight days of Hanukkah and having a special visit from Santa Clause!! Isn't that cute?

So speaking of trees. I helped organize the Giving Tree this year at work.
We adopted 6 families, each having at least 2 children and purchased gifts for the children and stop and shop cards for the parents. Anthony and I were in charge of an eight year old girl who wanted gloves and dolls. The things the children were asking for were sad, one boy wanted new underwear...

I'll also be purchasing some toys for tots with my "khols cash" tomorrow.

Its very sad all the children that won't be getting gifts from Santa this year. It makes me sad and also makes me appreciate what I do have!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-11-29T19:28:00.008-05:00

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. I have been off of work for a week and it feels like only a couple of days at best. I think it's because I have not stopped since last Monday. The days before Thanksgiving were filled with errands, grocery shopping, getting food ready for Thanksgiving, cleaning the house etc.

Wednesday night the Goldsmith's arrived from their trip from Maine. Jackson was still up to greet his aunty, uncle and cousin. They did not get much time to hang out because it was passed Jackson's bedtime and Kristin and I were hoping he would get a good night sleep knowing he would not be taking any naps during the day Thursday. After the boys went to bed, the grownups played Farmville (Anthony and Amanda) and watched some TV before heading to bed.

Thanksgiving morning we were up early. Jackson was very excited for the arrival of his guests and to play with his big cousin. Daddy Henry arrived around 9:30ish, just in time for the boys to go down for a nap. He was hoping to get some time with them before the crowd arrived but without fail, they slept the time before our guests arrived.

People started getting to the house around 11:30. As usual, we had a ton of appetizer foods before dinner. This year I changed things up and made a different type of stuffed mushrooms from prior years. The change was that instead of making them with breadcrumbs and cheese, I made them with sauteed bacon and onions and mixed with cream cheese before stuffing the mushrooms and rolling them in breadcrumbs. They were definitely a crowd pleaser with not one left over. Some that will not go mentioned told me they preferred the old version. I'll leave that up to the jury to decide. We also had shrimp cocktail, different types of cheese, spankopita's and Leah's Italian antipasto. For dinner, we had 3 fried turkey's that I had brined for 2 days. I did not get to fry the turkeys because I spent much of the afternoon in the hospital with Jackson (story to follow). I addition to all the typical Thanksgiving meal fixins, I made a sour cream herb mashed potatoes and stuffing with Italian sausage and dried cranberries. The stuffing seemed to be a hit this year! Dessert was bountiful with plenty to select from.

Most of you who follow our blog know that Kristin and I ending up having to rush Jackson into the hospital on Thanksgiving. We ended up having to call 911 because Jackson had a severe allergic reaction to something unknown to us and the doctors. Just before going down for a nap early afternoon, he began breaking out in large white welts all over his body. This followed by his skin turning bright red and swelling. His breathing also was wheezy. Not knowing what was happening or what to do, I called his doctor, who called us back and told us to rush him into the hospital. He was brought to the hospital in an ambulance and was treated for an allergic reaction with steroids and antihistamines. We were at the hospital for a couple of hours before being released. The doctor did not know what caused the reaction. It could have been the new formula he was put on (though he had before when he was first born), peaches in his yogurt (again, had before), perfume someone was wearing that held him or from the shrimp on people's hands that were holding him. It's scary not knowing for sure. We are so very glad he is doing well now but it was nothing less than scary.

By the time we got home from the hospital, we had missed Thanksgiving dinner. We got to spend about an hour with folks before everyone headed home. My cousin who I have not seen in years had also come to our house and unfortunately, I did not get to spend any time with her. I felt bad because she was by herself with people she did not know as my mom followed Kristin and I to the hospital. She did call us later that night to tell us she had a great time though Kristin and I were not there.

Later that night after everyone left and Kristin and I cleaned our house which was a mess, Jared, Amanda, Friendly Henry, Kristin and I played our traditional Thanksgiving night Taboo. As always, we had many laughs, compliments of Friendly Henry. The funny thing is that the laughs are never the result of a joke, rather, it is because of the types of clues Friendly gave to Jared. All I have to say about that is "bomp!"

Friday morning, I cooked us up a big breakfast, which consisted of cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, Kristin's hash casserole, bagels and amish bread. After breakfast, Daddy Henry spent some time with the boys before heading home later that morning. Below is a picture of Papa Goldsmith and his grandboys.

After the boys got up from their nap, Amanda and Kristin headed up to Rhode Island to have pictures taken of the boys for Christmas. Jared and I did not go knowing that the crowd would be ridiculous and seeing we have short patience, it was best we did not go. I am thankful we did not go after hearing they waited in line behind a family of 5 who were getting their pictures taken with multiple outfit changes!

While the girls were getting the pictures done, Jared and I picked up Jackson's prescription and headed over to the Vodoo Bar and Grill in Mystic for some frothy beverages. The Vodoo Bar and Grill is probably one of my favorite places to go around here for food and drink. It's nothing special but had great food that's cheap and always plenty on tap. We stayed for a while and got home just as the girls did. Later that night after the boys went to bed, we had pizza for dinner and Amanda's pickle dip. Later that night, we watched Elf (except Kristin who slept on the couch with her shower cap) before heading to bed.

Saturday the Goldsmith's headed home late morning. Kristin and I put some Christmas decorations up in the house while Jackson napped. Last night we went to Tar-jee and Babie'R'Us. We picked up some Panera before heading home to put the rugrat to bed. Our plan was to go to the Mystic boat parade and dinner but we were both exhausted and did not feel like getting dressed up to go out.

This morning we were all up early. Kristin and I spent the morning putting up the Christmas tree. Jackson was in his glory pulling ornaments out of the box and starring at all the lights on the tree. I spent the entire afternoon decorating the outside, which thankfully is all done! Grammie stopped by tonight because she bought Jackson a train set to go under the tree, which I set up for him. He enjoyed watching it though he was much more interested in pulling the train cars off the track, which I spent a while trying to get on.

All in all, it was a great weekend, though jam packed. It was good seeing the family Thanksgiving and to spend time with the Goldsmith's. As I think about Thanksgiving, I am still awed at the fact that both Jared, Amanda, Kristin and I have kids. It's funny looking back at the holiday's prior to having kids and what they are now.

I am not looking forward to the work week ahead, especially knowing I will be in Dallas for 3 of 5 work days this week. I would love to be someplace sunny and warm with a frosty beverage in hand while I sit by the pool right now. Maybe if I close my eyes and click my heals three times it will come true.....must be the glue I am sniffing right now making me delusional.

Below are some pictures I had taken of the boys playing, riding their fire truck Nannie got them and Kristin watching Elmo with Callum.

2009-11-22T19:29:00.004-05:00

This is what we woke up to this morning....

He is growing way to fast, I hate it!!!!

Uncle Adam and Auntie Kimba came to visit today. Uncle Adam arrived around 10 this morning and brought gourmet muffins from the Gingerbread Factory ( i think its called). Big gourmet carrot cake muffins, gingerbread muffins, and strawberry shortcake muffins.

Jackson was sleeping when Uncle Adam arrived, but soon woke up as he was so excited to see him!

While we were awaiting Auntie Kimba's arrival, Uncle Adam fed Jackson and watched his new tricks of crawling and trying to stand. When Auntie Kimba arrived we all headed out to lunch.

Anthony had heard about a Mexican restaurant, Ortega's, that was supposed to be good. When we pulled up we almost didn't go in, the outside didn't look so great...but don't judge a book by its cover cause the food was yummy!! It was really great authentic Mexican food. I think we all had burritos of some sorts and Jackson had a bannana....

We headed home and Adam and Anthony went out for a bit and when Jackson woke from his afternoon nap, Auntie Kimba and I took Jackson and Chelsea for a walk.
When Adam and Anthony arrived home we had a surprise birthday cake for Adam's belated 30th.

It was a great day. Jackson was a happy little boy and gave his auntie and uncle lots of big wet kisses!!!!

Here are the godparents with their little monkey.

And our first family picture with Chelsea girl!

Only a two day work week coming up. Looking forward to Turkey day :-)

2009-11-18T19:59:00.003-05:00

Caught Ya.....

Well as you can see Jackson is crazier than every, his new fun thing to do is crawl into the fridge and browse the shelves... His teacher said he has been crawling over to the door leading to the infant room next door and banging on it for someone to let him in to play.

He is also learning the word NO. He likes to crawl over and investigate the carbon minoxide monitor in the kitchen. When he starts heading over he'll pause and look back on us and grin. We tell him NO, he'll turn around and crawl a few more steps then look back and giggle...he is a little terror!

On a different note...

When I was in elementary school around xmas time we used to have this thing called " Santa's Workshop." Bacially mom and dad would send us to school with cash and we'd have the opportunity to do some shopping.

A few things I remember purchasing for mom are some fabulous sparkle stick on earrings, because every woman in their 40's needs stick on earrings. I also remember buying mom this beautiful blue tray with geese on it. The tray was probably about eight inches big...what does one do with an eight inch tray? But mom kept this tray on the top of the oven for years, I'm sure she still has it, right mom?

Things I remember getting dad are a book on bird watching, a pencil holder that looked like a mouse, and of course my clown pictures.

I think its really cute when little kids go shopping for their parents to see what they pick out.

I can't wait to take Jackson shopping for Anthony. I hope he picks out a really funny looking tie or sweater and insists daddy wear it!!!

2009-11-15T16:21:00.005-05:00

So Anthony insisted we start this blog back up but seems to me he hasn't done a post since....raise your hand if you want a post from Anthony soon..

As you can see from the pictures below, we have a very strong determined boy on our hands. He just started crawling November 1st and is now already trying ( and sometimes succeeding) in pulling himself up to a standing position. The other night I ran upstairs to change my clothes and Anthony yelled to come quick. Jackson had stood up balancing on his microphone and farm toy for balance. I think we are going to have an early walker on our hands. Slow down Jackson!!!!

On Friday Jackson was a visitor in a new classroom at school. His room now is babies age 6weeks until they start to get mobile. Because Jackson is now moving all around they thought it would be fun for him to play in the next room for the day to see how he did. The babies in that room are anywhere from 5 months to one year. He enjoyed the visit. I'm sure it won't be long until he moves rooms.

Yesterday was a rainy day and Jackson took a three hour nap in the morning. When he got up we did a few errands and got some of our turkey day supplies. Anthony made a yummy dinner or chicken cutlets with lemon sauce and broccoli risotto. We then watched the move Bride Wars.I had a baby shower today and Jackson enjoyed an afternoon with his daddy. They even went to purchase Super Mario Brothers for the Wii!!!

The final picture show Jackson relaxing after a long day of school. An early present from his nannie arrived, Jackson's very own pottery barn chair!!!!

2009-11-11T15:03:00.002-05:00

Cold and Flu season is quickly making its way through the Favry house.
This week alone Jackson has been getting over his conjunctivitis and Anthony and I were both diagnosed with sinus infections and viral infections. Its really scary how everyone is so sick this year!!

Jackson received his second dose of the seasonal flu shot on Monday and his first dose of H1N1. He is supposed to go back in 28 days for his second dose of H1N1, however it might not be available. Kind of frustrating that an innocent ( and adorable) 7 month baby can't get a flu vaccine yet all the prisoners got theirs...hmmm. They also gave 500 doses to the big wigs on wall street, wouldn't want them to get sick. Makes perfect sense. Anthony and I attended two flu shot clinics where they ran out of shots and the walk in clinic down here in Mystic hasn't even received their shipment yet, what is going on?

Someone at work summed it up nice. Why is it we keep running out of flu vaccines but never seem to run out of illegal drugs like cocaine or crystal meth. Maybe we should put the drug dealers in charge of the flu vaccines!!!!

Can someone please bring us some soup???

2009-11-08T19:41:00.005-05:00

Good Evening. Time for the Sunday night blues to kick in....

This weekend we didn't do to much which was nice as we have all been fighting colds.
Jackson is so busy during the week at daycare that he likes to catch up on his sleep on the weekends napping in three hour chunks. Saturday morning while Jackson napped from 9-12:30 Anthony and I cleaned the house. Now that the little monkey is crawling, we have to make sure the floors are nice and clean as anything he finds on the floor goes in his mouth. When Jackson woke from his nap we did a few errands before going over to Grammie Favry's for supper. Jackson explored her living room, the air purifier was his favorite find, and the adults had stuffed shells for dinner.
Saturday night as soon as Jackson went to bed I was quick to follow. My head was hurting and my body ached and chilled, I needed a good night's rest.

This morning Jackson and I played at home while Anthony made an early morning trip to the grocery store. Jackson took another long nap this morning and I was able to do some more cleaning and resting/catching up on magazine reading while Anthony watched some TV and made Amish Bread.

Amish bread, you might ask, is similar to friendship bread where you bake a loaf and give three starters to friends so they may also bake. Amanda gave me a starter last year and I think I baked a loaf of bread every 10 days for almost a year, it was a bit out of control...welll its back, but this time Anthony is the baker.

Jackson is growing up so fast, it makes me sad. Today he discovered Chelsea's water bowl, the bottom drawer on the island, the carbon monoxide monitor, and Anthony's work binders...he is such a busy little baby. This evening while playing on the floor, he leaned on his toy and stood right up. I have a feeling he'll be walking at nine months...walking with no teeth :-)

Below are some pictures of him playing this afternoon as well as exploring the leaves while Anthony grilled up some hot dogs.

Off to relax a bit before bed. Anthony is taking Jackson for his flu shot in the morning. More to come on that...

2009-11-03T19:52:00.002-05:00

Good Evening. Kristin here, my turn for the blog.

Jackson is officially a crawling machine. Since he took off Sunday he hasn't really stopped, he has no interest in sleeping as he'd rather practice his new skill, even at 4am. Look out Chelsea....

Anthony and I were lucky to find a wonderful daycare for Mr. Jackson. We are both very happy with our choice. At first I felt terribly guilty bringing him to "school", but seeing how happy he is there makes it so much easier. Jackson smiles when we drop him off and according to his teachers he is busy and happy all day.....and very nosey, not sure where he gets that from. The best part of the day is going to pick Jackson up and seeing his big toothless grin when you walk into the room.

I think daycare has also helped Jackson become the social butterfly he is. Jackson definitely knows who his mommy and daddy are but is willing to let anyone hold him and play with him. We are happy to say this kid has no stranger anxiety...he made that clear when he let a scary witch hold him on Halloween :-) Guess Santa won't be a problem this year...

Tomorrow is school picture day for Jackson, we will be sure to post pictures when we receive them!

Well, off to watch some TV before bed. TATA

Jackson's 1st Halloween

2009-11-01T20:30:00.018-05:00

Sitting down to dinner tonight Kristin and I talked about how long it has been since we updated our blog. After Jackson was born Kristin did much of the blogging because I was going into the office every day and by the time I got home at night, blogging was at the bottom of the list. Getting tired of keeping up with the blog, Kristin stopped and before you know it, just over 4 months passed.

Before updating the blog, I looked back to our prior blogs, and I am amazed at how much has changed, at how much Jackson has changed. The once expressionless baby has blossomed into an easy going, outgoing, good tempered, smiling crazy little boy! Today marked another milestone for Jackson. Today was the first day Jackson crawled and what an amazing site this was. While Kristin was getting dressed this morning, I was lying on the floor with Jackson, taking some pictures of him while he was playing around. I had put the camera on the floor a few feet in front of Jackson and before you know it, he slowly started to charge forward with his hands reaching out in front of him to grab hold of his new found toy. Amazed that he finally crawled I ran and got Kristin. I pushed the camera a few feet in front of him and again he began slowly crawling forward towards it. Almost 12 hours later, he is all over the place, interested in the new world in front of him. While happy to see him accomplish a new milestone, I sat in his room tonight feeding him before putting him down to sleep saddened at how quickly my little baby has grown. I remember the nights sitting in the same chair wondering when the colic would end, when he would smile and laugh rather than scream all the time, when I would have somewhat of a normal life and now, I look at him amazed at how something so beautiful is mine!

So this weekend was Jackson maiden voyage to Maine to see his aunty, uncle and cousin. I was somewhat nervous about the drive up to Maine, not knowing how he would be being in the car for 4-5 hours, but in the end, he did awesome! We had planned to leave early Friday morning during the time Jackson normally goes down for a nap, hoping we would sleep for half the trip. We got on the road at 9:30am and he slept until about 10:30 before getting up and playing for 30 minutes while in his carseat. By the time he started to get fidgety, we were in Kennebunk, which is where we decided to stop for 1/2 hour to feed him and let the dog out. Jackson cried for about 5 minutes when we put him back in the car, however, quickly fell back to sleep for the last 1 1/2 hour of the drive. The drive home was as equally smooth as the drive up. Kristin and I were both proud of how well he did and how thankful we were for paper, the only toy that seems to entertain him! So for Christmas, no need to spend money on those noisy, loud toys that daddy has to put together. Instead, you can bring Jackson a pad of paper!

When we got to Jamanda's house, Jared and Callum were there to greet us. Jackson quickly discovered Callum's toys and Callum discovered the bag full of food and cereal we had packed for Jackson. It was kind of funny seeing the two boys together. Jackson sat observing Callum, and interested in the toys Jackson was playing with, Callum sat down by him. Callum every once in a while took the toys Jackson was playing with, but Jackson did not seem to mind much. It was kind of funny to be honest because Jared and/or Amanda would tell Callum to give it back, which he would do, however, shortly after giving the toy back to Jackson, Callum would take it back again. Below is a picture of the two of them playing.

Here is a picture of Kristin with the two boys and Jared with Jackson:

After Amanda got home from work Friday, Jared grilled us up some burgers and sausage on the charcoal grill. The food came out good and had great taste from the smoke of the charcoals. I have a new appreciation for charcoal grills over the convenience of a gas grill. Later that night after the boys were in bed, the parents did adult like things, which consisted of Amanda and I playing Farmville on Facebook, Kristin reading trashy magazines and Jared making fun of Amanda and I. I remember the times when we use to stay up until 11 or 12 but now, 9pm is the new bedtime!

Saturday morning we had some heart healthy donuts, Amish bread, sticky buns and bread for breakfast. We all went out for lunch at the Mainely Brew, which was this great pub in Waterville. Jared and I had some great brew and the four of us had a good lunch. Jackson even sat in a big boy high chair at the table while we ate. Afterwards, we headed back to the house so the boys could take a nap before getting dressed up to go trick'or'treating. Look at Jackson's pre-Halloween attire:

After the boys got up, we got them dressed in their costumes for some early photos/videos before taking them out. Amanda's Father and Grandfather also came over for some photos. Mr. Jackson was a pirate and Callum a monkey. Just look how cute the two of them were:

Below are some more pictures of Jackson, one of which was taken at our house before Halloween. Notice the picture of Jackson with the witch, which was Cindy who lives next door to Jared and Amanda. This kid is not afraid of anything!

We only took them around to a few homes before heading back to hand out candy. Jared set up shop in the breezeway this year. Last year he and I sat at the end of the driveway enjoying some adult wheat beverages while handing out candy to the kids. This year the weather was so warm and humid compared to last. There was a pretty steady flow of kid, though I did not think as many as last year. Afterwards, Amanda and Kristin put the two boys in the bathtub and gave them a bath. I got a cute picture of the two of them playing in the tub. I cannot wait to show this to them when they are older and have girlfriends! They also had matching PJ's! After the trick'or'treating festivities were done, Jared and Amanda got pizza for dinner and we watched It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

We got on the road this morning by 8:30 and were home at 1pm, which factored in a 1/2hr stop to feed Jackson. We made good time overall. After we got home, Jackson stayed with Grammie while Kristin and I went and did some errands and grocery shopping. Jackson had chicken tonight for the first time and seemed to like it. Tomorrow he might try turkey. Tuesday he is on to martinis!

So, hopefully we will keep up with the blog. It will sure be fun to look back at all the postings and see a snapshot of our past and look in astonishment as to how much changes so quickly!

2009-06-22T10:14:00.005-04:00

Jackson turned 11 weeks on Thursday, our baby is almost three months old!!!
He is becoming much more aware of people and his doggie chelsea. He has discovered one of his hands too...its funny. Last night was a big night as he slept without his miracle blanket. he was unwrapping himself in the middle of the night so we decided it was time to ditch it. we put it in his crib next to him as we think its going to be "his blankie". When i went in to feed him around 2:30 this morning he had one hand touching the blanket and the other sucking his thumb....lets hope he keeps up the good work!

A busy weekend for the Favrys. Saturday Stephanie & Mike came to visit with their two boys William and Christian and golden retriever Lilly. William is 3 and Christian just turned 1. We had a bbq and played with the boys and dogs in the backyard.

For Anthony's first father's day yesterday Jackson, Chelsea, and I gave him a red sox hooded sweatshirt to wear when he goes to the game...we got him two tickets as well. Jackson also got him a book called "daddy's home" which he wants to read every night. The three of us went out to breakfast ( Jackson pooped there of course) then headed home for Jackson to nap.

Later in the day Anthony and I went kayaking for the first time since we found out I was pregnant! We went on the mouth of the Mystic River. It was very windy on the way back and I had a hard time even moving...but I did my best, right Anthony?

Anthony and I have a big date planned Thursday. Nannie is watching Chelsea and Jackson and we are going on an excursion to Newport RI..we can't wait!!!

2009-06-15T09:00:00.003-04:00

I'm 10 weeks!!

Jackson was 10 weeks on Thursday, crazy!! The little guy had his two month check up on Friday morning. He weighed in at 13lbs even and is 23 inches long. He was showing off on the table smiling and wiggling around, until the mean nurse came in with two shots in his chunky little leg. His face froze, turned beat red, and then the screams came, so sad!!! He is an otherwise happy, healthy baby according to the doctor, and we should be glad and consider ourselves lucky he is only up once during the night to eat now!

Here are some new pictures for you to enjoy!

Look who has a bumbo!!!

I like this new picture of Jackson and Anthony. They were deep in conversation last night

Jackson cuddling with daddy after the red sox lost...

In the tub!

2009-06-09T11:08:00.004-04:00

Better late then never...here are some pictures from Jackson's baptism on May 31st. He was a very good boy and slept the entire time at church.

Jackson wore Anthony's gown that he wore 30 years ago. Anthony and I plan to dress Jackson again and take some pictures of him as we didn't get any shots of him alone in his gown. For his "after party" Jackson changed into a cute white romper from his godmama Kim. We will take some pictures of him in that as well....

It was a great day weather wise and we were able to host an outdoor party in our backyard following the mass. Being smart this time around we decided to order food so Anthony wasn't stuck behind a grill the entire day, it worked out very well!

I will post more pictures of Jackson when we set up his modeling shoot.

I must now go rescue the screaming baby from his crib...we are practicing naps without his swaddle, not going so well!

2009-06-08T07:43:00.001-04:00

Hope this makes everyone's Monday a little happier :-)

2009-06-02T07:54:00.007-04:00

Very behind I know, I have to add pictures from our new patio and Jackson's big weekend; his baptism.

To hold you over until then here are some pictures of Jackson talking to his friends on his mat. He enjoys his mat now and can entertain himself for periods of up to a half hour, but he still prefers mommy and daddy lay on the floor with him and play/talk to his frog and kitty friends. He said he is going to use his cousin Callum's mat too because he thinks he'll like the lights at the top of the mat....

I need a caption for this last photo like " what you talking about willis?"

Photos to follow soon!

Happy 6 Years!!!

2009-05-27T09:35:00.003-04:00

There will be no pictures of Jackson on this blog as its Chelsea's special day. Happy Birthday Chelsea, to the best dog in the world!!!!

Sorry to have not posted regularly, its very difficult to be a stay at home mom, I know it sounds easy but its the hardest thing I have ever done, to be home alone all day with a newborn!!!!

Memorial Day weekend was good, I was happy Anthony had off Friday AND monday. On Friday we did some outdoor work ( pics to follow) including staining the back deck, planting flowers and watching our lawn mower break...again.

DH and Grammie Goldsmith visited Saturday and went to the Equinox Diner, Jackson was a good boy until we got home and he had explosive poops all over his car seat...no pictures of that.

Sunday we went to a cookout in RI where Jackson was a very good boy the whole day. That quickly turned on the ride home where we he went into meltdown mode which lasted basically through yesterday.

Jackson is eight weeks tomorrow...if you can believe it. He is smiling lots more now and starting to coo and find his voice. Ill be sure to post new pictures soon. Also to come new pictures and a blog about our outdoor changes including a new patio......

We'll be back soon!

2009-05-18T10:04:00.005-04:00

An updated picture of the Favry Family...Chelsea is sitting by my feet

Jackson has his first visit from his Uncle Adam, aka "Zio" on Saturday.
We had a great visit. When Adam arrive he met the little bug and got to hold him and even feed him! Adam just graduated bar tending school so he practiced on Anthony and I and made some great drinks. His specialties of the afternoon were grape crushes and Alabama Slammers...there was also a delicious tuscan lemonade mix. We had some great snacks and just caught up.

Carol and Scott also stopped by to meet Mr. Jackson and it was great to be with friends and catch up and have some fruity drinks and lots of laughs!

Later Saturday evening Adam and Anthony went to pick up pizza and we tried to watch Troop Beverly Hills but Anthony vetoed that one...we watched a little of Mama Mia before we all were tucked in bed by 10pm...

Sunday Morning as we were all up bright and early we took Adam to our favorite breakfast place "Somewhere in Time" It was baby day there as every table seemed to have an infant carrier, Jackson fit right in!

It was a great weekend and we look forward to seeing Zio again on the 31st!

2009-05-13T09:02:00.002-04:00

Jackson will be six weeks old on Thursday, I can't believe it. He is changing so much. He has found his voice and started to "coo" and make all kinds of noises, especially when Papa Goldsmith calls, Jackson loves to talk on the phone and make all kinds of noises for Papa. I'm waiting for him to give me a big smile, and know that he is smiling....here is the little bird talking to me after I changed him..

On Saturday Anthony and I had Jackson out all day, he does so good. We took him to Khols, to get new plants, and to Babies R Us. We came home for a bit then took him out again to get some groceries. He does very well in the car and stores, I think its because we started taking him out from day one so he is used to it. Saturday night we had pizza and Anthony made me my first cocktail, I drank about 3 sips...

My first mothers day was nice. Jackson bought me a Tiffany's charm bracelet and my first charm, a heart reading " its a boy". Anthony and Chelsea renewed my subscription to In Touch...Jackson loves when I read him all the gossip.
We went to brunch in Mystic with Nannie, Papa B. and Grammie F. Below is a picture of me and mom and Jackson on my first mothers day.

Jackson has also graduated out of his pack and play and into his big boy crib. Its nice to have our room back to just me, Anthony, and of course Chelsea!

Anthony gives Jackson his bath at night and his 10pm feeding, during the week I do the 2am feeding ( which was 4am last night...hope that happens again) and on the weekends Anthony lets me sleep and does the 2am. My newest project is getting Jackson to nap in his crib which he is currently doing as I type this, its been 16 mins...fingers crossed.

Jackson went to the pediatrician Monday and is weighing in at a slender 1lbs 10oz....the 12lb 12oz weight was an error.

When Jackson wakes up we will have mid morning snack and then head to the track. Talk to you later!

One Month Down!

2009-05-06T09:28:00.006-04:00

First some pictures...

Sorry we have not posted in over a week, the days seem to just slip away from me and when I do have a moment alone the blog is the last thing on my mind!!!

Jackson turned one month old on Sunday. Its hard to believe!!! In some ways it feels like I delivered him yesterday and in other ways I can't imagine life without him in it. The past four weeks have definitely had its challenges. But day by day things get a little easier. Jackson and I are trying to get into a routine during the day and when daddy gets home he has bath and bedtime routine.

At his one month visit he was a very health 12lbs 12oz and 22 1/4 inches. Basically he is gaining a pound per week!

This past weekend we took Jackson up to Mass to a first communion at Leah's house. He got to meet his Aunts and a few cousins ( Anthony has the pictures to that....)
Saturday night Nannie and Papa B babysat while Anthony and I went on a hot date to the Omaha Steak store and a quick dinner.

Sunday morning Nannie took Jackson at 6am and Anthony and I slept till 9!! It was great. We then got ready and Papa B fed Jackson before we headed over to Papa and Grammie Goldsmiths.

Papa took us all out to smokey bones for lunch. Of course Jackson woke up right when the food came out but Papa fed him and Jackson was then happy again, so happy he pooped his pants. This is the second restaraunt we have gone to that does NOT have a baby changing station in the bathroom, oh well, the backseat of the truck works just as well.

Ill try to post more often and send updated pictures. Im sure they'll be more post and pictures as I get ready to celebrate my first mother's day this Sunday!!! Crazy!

2009-04-27T10:04:00.004-04:00

Happy Monday!

Sorry we haven't posted in a few days. Both Jackson and myself have had some health challenges and we've both been very tired and a bit cranky. But we feel better today, right Jackson :-)

Saturday morning Mommy went out alone and did some errands while Jackson and Daddy stayed home. When I got home we went out and did some errands all together. Saturday night the three of us relaxed and watched the sox game and had hot dogs. Jackson was all decked out in his red sox attire, I think he is there lucky charm cause they won Saturday night, Im not sure if they won last night or not???

Here is Jackson supporting his team.

In this picture Jackson is listening to Nannie talk about her new car...He can't wait to go for a spin..

Yesterday Anthony took Jackson out in the morning to do some errands. Before they left daddy dressed him, he looks like a such a cute little boy!!!

When they got home Daddy gave Chelsea a hair cut then I gave her a bath. While JAckson took a quick nap we did some pooper scooping and dandy lyon pulling in the yard. The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting on the front porch rocking and relaxing. Jackson was very hot all afternoon and just hung out in his t-shirt. This baby can sweat!!!

Chelsea was to tired to pose for a picture of her new hair cut, but she looks adorable!!!!

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Anthony is back to work today and its me and Mr. Jackson. He is taking a little nap now then the three of us will go walk on our street. We look forward to when Daddy gets home from work!!!!!

Back to Work

2009-04-21T12:09:00.006-04:00

It's hard to believe that 3 weeks have passed since Jackson was born! I go back to work on Thursday, which is going to be tough. I have enjoyed being home with both Kristin and him these past few weeks. It has given me time to get adjusted to having a baby in the house and allowed Kristin and I to start working on a routine. Going back to work is going to be hard for many reason. I'm kind of upset that I will not get to spend much time with Jackson during the week. I will be out of the house by 6am and not home until 5-6pm, which is when he usually gets ready to be fed and bathed. I feel like I am going to miss out on so much when I am at work, especially miss out on he getting to know me better. It's also going to be rough because right now we are up every 2-3 hours to feed him, so sleep is going to be at a minimal before having to get up to get ready for work. I am glad though that Kristin will be home with him until the end of June. I am also looking forward to going back to work because it will put back some form of a routine in my life, which I do not have right now being home.

So this weekend was a busy one for the Favry's. On Saturday afternoon, Kristin, Jackson, Chelsea and I headed up to Mass. Kristin and I had made plans to go see Nana B (Papa B's mother) on Sunday. We were going to drive up and back the same day, however, we realized that it was going to be a lot of driving for Jackson not to mention he being passed around like a football all afternoon. In an effort to minimize him melting down, we decided to go up the night before. Saturday night Jackson got to spend some time with his Nannie and Papa B. Nannie also got to feed him, though that did not last long because Jackson got a little fussy and Nannie go nervous (mind I tell you she never gets nervous). Saturday night we all went out to dinner to Longhorn. Jackson did awesome!!! Between the wait and the slow service, I think we were at the restaurant for 2-3 hours. Jackson did really well! He slept pretty well at Nannie's, however, he was up often to feed. Our Pediatrician told us that he would go through a growth spurt around week 3, which I think is the case because he is eating often. It seems like no sooner do we finish feeding him, an hour later he is hungry again!

Sunday morning we headed over to Nana B's, Jackson great grandmother. He got to spend time with her along with his Aunt Carol and Aunt Jan. Nana B also had some of her 90 yr old friends stop by to visit. Jackson also got some nice onsies, pants, shirts etc. from Lisa, Papa B's daughter. We had some Cape Cod pizza for lunch and this awesome orange cream cake for dessert.

Yesterday we took Jackson to the Home Depot to make a return. He also got to experience Walmart for the first time. He was not too impressed as he slept the whole time! As for today, once he wakes from his nap, we are going to be going to the post office, the seamstress and the DMV so Jackson's daddy can get his license renewed. Fun times indeed!

So, in the 3 weeks Jackson has been born, he has been in the car countless times driving back and forth from CT to RI. He made his first longer trip to MA and he has also been in 2 restaurants, both times doing awesome. He has also been to countless stores with us. He is certainly a big boy! (literally - 3 days ago we was just shy of 10 pounds!!!) da I think he should be rewarded with Wii Fit for being such a good boy.

Spring is here!!

2009-04-17T11:20:00.005-04:00

Spring is in the air!!! Both yesterday and today have been great days weather wise and we've tried to get some fresh air!!

Yesterday we had some mulch delivered so Daddy Anthony could touch up our existing beds. Mommy and Jackson helped by picking up sticks and then I took Jackson and Chelsea for a walk down 1/2 our street, I'm building up to do the whole street one day soon, I hope!

The sun was a little much for Jackson, he was to cool for yard work he said....

Anthony worked hard to add fresh mulch to our three existing beds. Some of our plants have already started blooming!!!

And Chelsea, well she just rested in the sun after her walk.....

Anthony is outside doing some more yard work this morning. I just hung some baby clothes on the line to dry and Jackson....well you can see below what he is doing..

Once he is awake we plan to take a little ride. Anthony and I might also go on a dinner date tonight provided everything is going well. This weekend we are taking Jackson to meet his Nana B up in Mass, its our first long drive for him! He seems to do great in the car so it should be fine.

Thats all for today.

Have a nice day everyone!

Before & After

2009-04-14T11:09:00.011-04:00

WOW, it's been a long time! The last time I posted a blog it was on Kristin's Birthday. Little did we know that she would go into labor on her Birthday! As many of you know, I took Kristin out to dinner on her Birthday, not knowing at the time she was in true labor. Before dinner I took a picture of her knowing that she could go into labor at any moment. So, BEFORE:

and AFTER:

It is so strange looking at Kristin and not seeing her prego belly there anymore. As weird as this may sound, I actually miss it but I having the real thing is amazing!

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, between labor, delivery, leaving the hospital and coming home trying to get into some type of routine. Time has flown by, err, should I say days have flown by, nights have crawled! We are still getting acclimated to having another person in the house with us. The hardest part for me has been the long nights and the lack of sleep. I think Jackson has done an awesome job since he has been home. He quickly picked up feeding and seemed to have gotten settled into his new surroundings. Initially he spent much of the days sleeping, so it was somewhat quiet around the house. Nights were rough because he was up much of the nights. Kristin and I would tag team during the nights with me in charge of getting him changed before passing off to Kristin for feeding. Once the feeding was done, I would take him back to burp and swaddle before putting him back to sleep. As the week progressed, he seemed to be getting use to day/night. As such, he began sleeping longer periods at night (2-4 hours), however, the past couple of nights everything has changed with him being up most of the night!

I think it's amazing at how quickly they change. Kristin and I frequently look at his baby pictures to the pictures we take daily. He has gotten bigger, longer and his face has changed so much. I do not want to wish away time, but I look forward to the age were he becomes more interactive and alert.

We had to go to the Pediatrician yesterday because Jackson stopped eating and seemed to be in pain. Luckily everything was fine, however, he might have infant reflux, which I have read is very painful for babies. This would explain why he is so uncomfortable at night. We are to monitor this over the next few days. If things do not get better, they will need to put him on medicine to help with the reflux. Anyway, when we went to the doc, they weighed him again. The little guy was 9 pounds 5 ounces! He gained another 5 ounces in 4 days! He is pretty much grown out of his newborn clothes...so sad! He is also in between diapers sizes with the newborns being slightly too tight and Level 1's being a little too big.

Below are pictures taken from the hospital. My favorite one if the one of him sticking his middle finger up, which he did only after his Nannie put his hat on him after Jackson pushed it off.

I am glad I took 3 weeks off from work because it is taking this much time to get into some time of routine, though you cannot get into much of a routine with a 2 week old! It will be bard going back to work on the 23rd because I wont get to spend time with him in the morning as I leave early and by the time I get home at night, it will be time for his bath and bed. I am happy that Kristin will be with him through the end of June though!

So, for the rest of the week, Jackson and his daddy have to go to Home Depot (starting him early), Babies'R'Us, Best Buy and the mulch man. He does really awesome in his car seat and does not seem to mind being in the car. I thought it would be difficult packing him up to go into the car but it's been not too bad at all. This weekend Jackson might go visit his great-grandmother and some of his aunts but we see how the week ends. I am hoping to give him a lesson on how to use the John Deer by weeks end because his daddy is tired of mowing the lawn and he has not even started this year yet. Jackson already has gotten a lesson on how to use the Dyson, which sadly enough is pretty much dead....VERY soar subject with me!!!

First Bath Pictures

Happy Easter (belated)

Cousins 4-EVA

So keep checking in on the blog. Kristin and I will update the blog as often as we can with pictures and updates. We want to thank EVRYONE for all they have done for us, for all the cards, calls and visits wishing us and Jackson well. We are so very grateful for the support and love from all our friends and family!!!

Happy 29th Birthday Kristin

2009-04-01T09:35:00.001-04:00

2009-03-30T10:30:00.003-04:00

And my 2nd lady of leisure week continues.....

Anthony and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend around home and answering the question " are you in labor yet" 962 times.

Saturday's weather turned out to be very nice. Since Anthony was stuck in the office all weekend and couldn't enjoy being outside like Chelsea and I...I had an idea to get some sandwiches and go sit outside in mystic and have lunch. We went to Mystic Market which makes great sandwiches and deli items. Anthony got curry chicken salad and swiss wrap and I ORDERED turkey and cheddar on a baguette with guacamole!! I got a sandwich drenched in mayo though...not happy. We sat on a bench by the water and ate our sandwiches then walked up and down the streets of Mystic. After our walk we ran a few errands including returning something to Babies R Us...All the Easter things were 30% off, We couldn't resist buying this hat for Jackson in hopes he'll be here by Easter and can wear it!!!!

We also got a Baby's first Easter sleeper...now Jackson come out so you can wear them!!!!!

Yesterday was rainy and blah. We just hung around the house planning Anthony's vacation time for the year then did some grocery shopping. Last night's dinner was a big deal for me, I ate chicken and successfully kept it down for the first time since August!! Anthony made Chicken Picatta, mashed potatoes and corn for dinner, it was all very good and I was happy to have him enjoy Chicken again without me gagging across the table. The best part was dessert, Anthony broke out the ice cream maker and made me special coconut ice cream, I told him I wanted that this year instead of birthday cake. We both had a small bowl while we watched TV last night, it was delicious!!! Now I'm home along with coconut ice cream in the freezer, it might be gone by the time tonight comes :-)

Today Im just a lady of leisure, doing laundry, walking Chelsea, resting.
Jackson has a case of the hiccups as I type this and he was moving around like crazy last night, hopefully wiggling into position. I have a check up tomorrow so we shall see what that brings. I don't anticipate him coming any time early this week...we'll find out I guess!!!

2009-03-27T11:18:00.003-04:00

Chelsea has her purse, she just needs someone to take her shopping to buy her baby brother a gift....

Well my first week of maternity leave has already flown by. Im very glad I took the time as I have been exhausted!!! I did get a lot done around the house I wanted to do and today will do a few more things. Its a lovely spring day and Chelsea and I have all the windows open, and as soon as Im dressed we'll go walking. I think walking has helped a lot. At the doctors yesterday I had made some progress and Jackson has dropped a lot!! Plus I lost weight so Im pretty sure I need a new shipment of cadbury eggs please.....

I go back to the doctors on TUesday for another checkup. If he doesn't come by the 4th then I have to go to the doctors twice a week I believe. At this point I feel overdue but I keep remebering Im not even due for another 8 days or so...Its the waiting that kills me. Everyday I wake up and wonder if Im going to be a mom today!
Both Anthony and I can't wait for the moment when he comes out and is out on my chest, we can't wait to see what he looks like and just hold him. I can't wait to see Anthony hold him, he is a going to be a great dad....I asked him last night who he is gonna greet first when he comes home from work now, Chelsea, Jackson or me...he chose me right anthony?

Well Im off to do some things around the house. We'll keep you all posted. Anthony has a list of numbers and emails to notify people AFTER the baby comes. Sorry, I don't want you all up worrying when I go into labor at 2am...just the nana's, grammies, papas and Goldsmiths will get that call from daddy...."Kris is in labor, can someone bring me a mocha chocolate lady marmalade with no whip"

My first day of maternity leave

2009-03-23T12:32:00.002-04:00

Today marks my first day of maternity leave!!! Metlife allows you two weeks of leave before your due date. I hemmed and hawed about taking it ( mostly due to Nana Courtney's irish guilt in the back of my head) but in the end after the advice of Anthony and mom and dad, i decided to take the time. I figured this is my last time alone unitl Jackson leaves for college....haha

Chelsea didn't let me sleep to late as she was anxious to begin her first day with having mommy home and all to herself.

I made some corn muffins for breakfast and cooked a chili for dinner to simmer in the crock pot all day. I then made a list of phone numbers and email addresses for Anthony to take with him to the hospital, we can't have our cell phones on so we need a list of numbers to call when our monkey arrives. I then started organizing the food pantry and took Chelsea for our first walk of the day, we plan to get about 3 in per day while Im home.

Now Ill probably rest for a bit and have some lunch, then start some more tasks on my list.

Sorry I don't have any updated belly shots, the camera angle doesn't get that wide any more...haha just kidding, I'll have Anthony take an updated picture to share.
I am starting to get very uncomfortable, mostly when im sitting and then stand up, the pressure feels like he is just going to fall out, if it were only that easy! I don't really sleep at all anymore but other than that Im still feeling physically good! Mentally, thats another story :-)
The other night we were able to feel every body part of Jackson through my belly, we could literally trace his back and his little bum, then we saw an elbow come out and poke daddy's hand away..I think Jackson is going to be a little bugger!!!

This week's appoitnment is on Thursday so we'll see if there any updates. Until then I'll just be a lady of leisure.

TATA for now.

Baby O' Favry Update

2009-03-17T15:26:00.003-04:00

Today we had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound to see our monkey, our chunky monkey!!! Based on the ultrasound they are estimating that the baby is about eight pounds NOW, so if I go full term he could be a 9lb butter ball. We shall see, the doctor didn't think he would be that big and ultrasounds aren't always accurate...we'll find out when he arrives I guess!

I don't have any good pictures to post as you wouldn't be able to tell what you are looking at, they aren't so photogenic at this stage, but we did get some good shots on the screen at the office. We got one good shot of his face and he has chubby little cheeks!! He was chewing away on something and waving his hands in front of his face. They also did some measurements of his stomach, bladder, heart, and bones, everything looks nice and healthy. The ultrasound tech commented on his fat little belly and chubby cheeks, I think that is why he put his hands in front of his face, he was embarassed and prefers the term " pleasently plump"

I go back to the doctors next week again to be checked, Fionna doesn't think we'll be meeting baby Favry before then, we'll see! She told me to just keep doing my exersizes to turn him over, he is half way turned, and to go for lots of walks.

Happy Thankspatrick ( thats what I used to call it) Day everyone. Anthony was a good irish by marriage man today and wore his green!!! I wish Nana C was around to make me a boiled dinner tonight with chocolate cupcakes with green frosting. We are having ham as Anthony doesn't like corn beef...oh well. Next year Nannie should probably start a tradition of cooking for her grandchildren on St. Patty's day like Nana C did.....

Game Time

2009-03-15T17:12:00.013-04:00

Week 37 - Full Term Now!

This past week felt like is was the longest week ever! Since starting my new job, I have been going into the office every day. Might not seem like a big deal but spending 3 hours of my day in the car is exhausting, especially after working a long day and at the end of the work day, just wanting to be home and not having to sit in a car for an extended period of time. Additionally, sleep is pretty much non existing in our house lately between the 50 times Kristin gets up to go to the bathroom and the countless times she waked me up when using my as leverage to help her turn. Friday morning was rough because I had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep (I know, get use to it because when the baby comes there will be no such thing as sleep) in addition to I not feeling well. I do not know if it was the weather or if just being run down, however, I had a soar throat and was stuffed up. Work was long Friday. By the time I got home, it was almost 7. I came home though to a great meal Kristin had cooked. She also made me brownies! After dinner, I went to bed and slept pretty late the following morning, which is not like me.

Saturday Kristin and I did all our errands knowing our parents would be down on Sunday to celebrate our Birthday's early. When we got home, we relaxed for a but before heading next door to our neighbors house for dinner and game night. Typically when we have game night, we play a variety of board games. This time however, we played the Wii and also Guitar Hero on Playstation. We bowled and played Mario Cart. Guitar Hero was fun but tough for those who do not have great coordination. Kristin on the other hand got run off stage by the audience due to her inability to hitting any of the correct notes!

Today our parents came over for an early Birthday celebration. DH got here around 11am. Upon his arrival, I gave him a lesson how to play Wii bowling. After he got some practice in, he, Kristin and I played a match of Wii bowling. I got some great video!!!! I cannot wait for Jackson to see one day! Pictures below:

Just as our first match ended my mom arrived, who too got a lesson how to play Wii bowling. The next round was DH, Kristin, my mom and I. We defintley had plenty of laughs. The party did not begin though until Mudda Annie and Bob came and they too joined in on the game. I think we played the Wii for just about 6 hours! While everyone ate, Bob and I played a few rounds of golf and then some baseball before turning back to family bowling. The last game I came in 3rd, while Kristin came in first and Mudda Annie came in second. Kind of funny to look at the pictures of our parent playing a video game and loving it! We had some great Birthday cake from Whites Bakery. It was a carrot cake, which we topped with ice cream and hot fudge.

Between all the sugar we had and carbs, I am ready for a nap. Weekend go by so quickly. I am looking forward to having 3 weeks off when Jackson comes, which I hope is sooner rather than later. I think Kristin is ready at this point for him to be born because she is so uncomfortable. It is so funny to see how cute Kristin's belly is. While I cannot wait for Jackson to be here, I will miss touching Kristin's belly! I think she looks absolutely beautiful!

So as we approach the end of March, let's see if the people who voted for the last week get their free meal!

36 1/2 weeks!!

2009-03-11T19:31:00.004-04:00

Sorry we haven't posted pictures, our Internet has been down for a few days.

Here is a picture Anthony took of me at 36 weeks on Saturday. I will be 37 weeks this Saturday which is considered full term...crazy. I don't know where the last 9 months went, it seems like yesterday I suspected I was pregnant and we went to see our doctor, now we are delivering in four weeks or less!!!

I had a check up yesterday and all is good. Things are progressing nicely and both Jackson and myself are staying nice and healthy. He has dropped a great deal in a week which means he is getting ready for his grand entrance. Next Tuesday we have an ultrasound which Anthony and I are both excited about, we haven't seen our little monkey since November!! They will check his size and position on Tuesday and hopefully we'll get some good "last" pictures before the real thing joins our world!!

I feel like Im growing by the day at this point, its bizarre. Anthony took some very unflattering pictures of me tonight which will NOT be appearing on the blog. Im very uncomfortable at times but overall I'm still feeling good. Sleeping is a challenge as I get up very often and basically lean on Anthony to get out of bed. It's also a challenge just to roll over......Ive very much enjoyed being pregnant and think I'll miss feeling Jackson move around inside me, but I can't wait to just lay down and not have it be a challenge :-)

I wouldn't be surprised if he came soon, but on the other hand I wouldn't be surprised if he makes us wait until April, he might take after his daddy and be a little bugger.....time will tell. We ready for him in terms of having all his stuff washed and ready...mentally I'm not ready at all and don't think I will be until the day comes.

Anthony took good care of me tonight making me plain pasta and ironing my clothes as I have a meeting tomorrow...now if I could just get him to rub my feet......

Cheeseburger In Paradise

2009-03-05T18:32:00.013-05:00

Sorry it took so long for me to post a blog about Anthony's surprise early 30th Birthday party, this week seemed to get lost being busy/tired and going to bed very early.

Saturday morning I woke up early and called Anthony upstairs ( he thought my water broke). I told him I had a surprise for him and handed him a packet I had made. I wanted to plan something for him early to celebrate his big birthday as I know that when April 9th rolls around we may be a mommy and daddy!!

I started planning this event back in December. I had invited about 15-20 people down to CT to attend dinner at Jimmy Buffets and then back to our house for cake and a slumber party.

I had an idea to rent a limo but didn't realize the cost that would be. Luckily Uncle Adam has " connections" at Stoneham Ford and drove down to CT in a lovely 15 passenger van. Please note the picture below as we were very excited to relive our van ride through Harlem....

Around 5pm people starting arriving and we had some light snack and drinks. Then we piled into the van around 6pm and headed to Mohegan Sun.Im pretty sure I did a terrific job driving the van, perhaps now we can get one!!!

We were also celebrating Stephanie's birthday as she just turned 30 two weeks prior. I picked up some "leis" and blinking buttons that told the world the two of them were turning 30. They kept trying to loose these accesories, but I would always find them!

I had made reservations for Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville for dinner. They reserved a table for 15 on their indoor "porch". We ordered some nachos to start as we waited for Kim and Bryan who had just landed from their cruise!!! This is where I think Stephanie, Adam, and Anthony decided to pick out their shots for the evening....4 shots later!

Most people ordered the famous " cheeseburger in paradise" for dinner and sampled a variety of margarittas, I had water. There is a balloon man who walks around on stilts embarassing people and making weird balloon hats. He told the restaraunt that Anthony was turing 30, then made the table lovely baloon hats and baloon corsages for the ladies :-)

After dinner the waitress brought Anthony and Stephanie some ice cream sundaes and we sang yet again!

Here is a group shot of everyone..

When we left Margarittaville we split for about an hour, some people gambled, others walked around. Trish was the big winner of the evening with $53.00!!!! We regrouped again at 10:30 at Leffingwell's bar. ITs a really neat martini bar where the celiing changes to look like a sky equip with clouds, sun, moon, stars etc. Most people sampled the variety of martinis while I rested with my glass of organge juice straight up. I think we were at this bar until about midnight, then it was time for Ben and Jerry's ice cream!!!!

We arrived back at Casa Favry around 1am just in time for birthday cakes...note the plural.

Most of us went to bed by 2 but some stayed up to watch the Gladiator.

Sunday morning Anthony made everyone a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, and bagels and we all hung around and watched movies and tried to wake up. Chelsea was busy playing with her cousins Frye and Foxie...

It was a fun night. Thank you everyone for coming, everyone had a great time.
I was sure exhausted sunday and ended up napping from about 1-5:30, Jackson really sucks the engery out of me!!!!

Happy Early 30th Anthony in case I forget in April...haha. Love you!

Date Night

2009-02-28T09:22:00.004-05:00

Last night I took Kristin out for what could be one of our last date nights before Jackson comes. Kristin and I use to always go to this place in Westbrook called Log Cabin when we use to go down to John's beach house. When you think of a log cabin, you think the food would be rustic, i.e. meat and potatoes. The food is everything but that. It is Italian food that I think is bar far better than most Italian places I have gone to before.

The Log Cabin is known for their portions and relatively inexpensive prices. We started with their awesome baked stuffed mushrooms, which rival mine hands down. These always use to be a favorite of ours. The stuffing is greenish and after all these years, we still do not what they stuff them with. After the mushrooms, we had salad, which comes with the meal. They are known for their Gorgonzola dressing, which they make there. After the salad, they come out with a huge bowl of pasta (1 full pound!) which is covered in their homemade red sauce. After you have stuffed your face with pasta, your meal comes out. Kristin got eggplant parm, which was really good. I got cavetelli in a white sauce, which is what I always use to get. Below is a picture of my meal to give you an idea of portion size.

I barely made a dent in my meal as was the same for Kristin. Below is a picture of all the containers of leftovers we came home with keeping in mind everyone of them was filled to the brim!

It was a good night! I enjoyed the time with Kristin before the little one comes and look forward to the dates night after he comes when we can leave Jackson with one of his grandparents for the night!

On a different note, I had gotten up early this morning and was watching the news as is custom for my Saturday morning ritual. About an hour after I got up, Kristin called for me to come upstairs. First thought that came through my mind was that she was in labor and wanted to calmly tell me. When I got upstairs, she handed me a package of papers and asked me to read each page out loud. Sparing you all the detail of what was written, Kristin surprised me by planning me a surprise 30th Birthday party. I was totally blown out of the water because she is not a good secret keeper. I came to find out that she had been planning this party along with my friend Adam since December. Everyone is coming to our house tonight for drinks and appetizers. We are then taking a 15 person van to the casino to have dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. They reserved the whole porch balcony for us! After dinner, there is talk that we might go to the martini bar or maybe someplace outside of the casino. I am so excited to see everyone who is coming. Tonight is sure to be an awesome night and I thank Kristin so much for all the hard work she has put into organizing this!!! I love her very much! So, tomorrow's blog will sure to be filled with pictures from our night tonight! Of course, I think Kristin will be writing it anticipating tomorrow being a rough day for me!

2009-02-25T12:33:00.002-05:00

Hello...Kristin here with an update. Its only Weds and we have already had such a busy exhausting week!!

Today is Ash Wednesday, this means Easter is 40 days away, this means Jackson will be here most likely in less than 40 days!!! Oh my stars.

Monday was a very long day for Anthony. He had to attend his LAST ( hooray) Verizon meeting ( in person as he has another one Friday). He was in the office until about 4then flew home to pick me up for class. He didn't even have time to come in the house, I packed him a sandwich and off we went to Child Birth class. We learned about pain relief, watched a few births and then went for a tour ( or 2nd tour) of the Alternative Birthing Center. As our class was bouncing on balls and testing out birthing stools, a lady waited patiently outside our door to deliver...I hope I am that calm.

Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and off to the doctors for my check up. Everything is good, my blood pressure is nice and low and the baby's heart beat is strong. The little bugger is head down ready for delivery but he is face up and needs to be face down. The doctor told me to do some exercises to turn him and hopefully he will turn on his own before delivery. If not I can still deliver normally it will just be a bit more painful back labor she said and could be a longer delivery....JACKSON TURN OVER!!!!!!

Last night we had yet another class all about Breastfeeding. I had a case of the giggles and just kept bursting out laughing during class, the instructor was deaf in one ear and very technologically advanced.....but the class was overall ok.

Hopefully we can just relax at home for the rest of our evenings this week. I have to finish my work thank you notes then get started on my CT shower ones. I'm just about done with baby laundry but have a list of other things I want to get done before the baby arrives.....but only I can do this list, Anthony learned all about that from a co worker :-)

So whats everyone giving up for lent? I'm giving up soda again this year I think....

Baby Shower Numero Tres

2009-02-22T15:23:00.010-05:00

Yesterday was our CT shower, hosted by my mom, Rosie Favry. Nerves were high the week prior because a snow storm was forcasted. Fortunately though the weather was perfect, leaving me to continue my questioning of how a weathermen stay employed.

There were about 25-30 people at the shower yesterday. My mom's cousin from Long Island drove up. I also got to see some of my cousins and my aunt, all of whom I have not seen in a while. Some of our friends also came as well as two women that work at Verizon who I have become good friends with over the years consulting on their account. Many people drove from afar and we were very thankful for them coming. We are also thankful for those who came to both of our showers and all the help given.

The shower was at my mom's clubhouse in her condo. She did an incredible job decorating, matriculate with detail as typical of a Rosie Favry function! Below are pictures of the front table, which housed the pictures of Jackson room that mudda Rouse made. There were also chocolate cigars and other selection of candy. My mom also had a stuffed baby bottle for people to sign so Jackson could one day see all the people who came to his shower. The baby bottle is kind of neat because when you squeeze it, it plays music.

For food, we had an assortment of cheeses and crackers from DH and also a variety of dips my mom had. For lunch, we had an assortment of sandwiches, pasta salads, tortellini salad, Cesar salad and chips. And for dessert, we had jumbo cupcakes that were, white, chocolate and carrot cake. We also had a fruit salad which was forgotten but thanks to Mudda-Annie and I, we remembered to put it out.

Kristin and I got so many gifts, too many to remember them all. Those that stick out were our jumperoo, pack'n'play, baby carrier, bedding/comforter set, hospital/spring maternity wear (for Anthony), an afghan from my godmothers mother, who is 94 years old (absolutely beautiful), countless DVD's (my favorite being the looney tunes compliments of DH), baby monitors, oh yeah, and the 100's of baby lotions, wipes and body washes we got. Kristin also got this beautiful Kate Spade diaper bag from my godparents. She will certainly be hip and in style when Jackson comes! Chelsea also got a gourmet dog bone dipped in chocolate from Kristin's friend Shannon. On Thursday, Kristin and I also had a work shower. Our work friends got us our stroller and car seat set as well as many clothes, red sox wear, several gift cards and toys. They also had a cake for us.

Kristin and I thank you mom for hosting such a beautiful shower. The day was great and it nice being able to spend time with everyone! We cannot thank everyone enough for all they have done for us! Kristin and I are fortunate to have such amazing parents who do nothing less but support and love us. You have been so incredibly generous and we are so proud that Jackson is going to have such amazing grandparents. We love you all!

Today Kristin and I spent the morning cleaning house and straightening up the nursery. Funny thing is when I woke up this morning at 6, Kristin was gone. I freaked out for a second because I just had waken from a dream I was having in which Kristin went into labor. I found her in the nursery going through clothes and separating them into piles to wash.

Once the house was in order we headed to Babies'R'Us to return some items. We then purchased the remaining items on our registry that we had not gotten yet. We then headed and did some grocery shopping before coming home. We just finished putting the remainder of the stuff away. Below are some pictures of what his room looked like last night when we unpacked the car. We also included a picture of his closet...SO MANY CLOTHES!!!! Finally, we have a picture of the pack'n'play that we set up in our room where the little guy will be sleeping until he goes to his crib. Oh yeah, one last picture....a picture of all the lotions and washes we have gotten. We are certainly set for the years to come!

One last picture, which is of the crib now all set up with the bedding his papa and grammie Goldsmith gave him:

PS: Slide show to the right with all the pictures from the shower Saturday

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T13:50:00.005-05:00

It's taken me long enough to finally post all the pictures I took from Kristin's Mass shower but I finally have! They're off to the right in a slide show. If you want to see them larger, just click on the slideshow.

Not much going on with the Favry's family. Another busy week with traveling back and forth to Rhode Island both Monday and Tuesday and then up to work Wednesday and Thursday. It was nice not having to get up this morning and drive anywhere! Next week we have a rest from classes and doctor's appointments due to President's Day but the week following, right back into the grind. We have two more birthing classes left and then one breast feeding class before classes are all done. As weird as this may sound, I am actually enjoying our birthing class. Ja-Lynn, the doula who leads class is really good and the other couples are fun. We seems to laugh through the 2 hours. In a couple of more week, we start going to the doctor weekly. Kristin thinks she will be going early, like around end of March. I am starting to feel that way too. Jackson, however, likes the idea of coming on April 1st. When we asked him what day he was coming while reading off the dates, he kicked on April 1st, so who knows. Shall we start a poll again with the lucky winner getting a home cooked meal? I think we may....

Below is an updated picture of Kristin at week 34ish. Kristin is not to happy about the picture but I think she looks great! Jackson seems to be growing a lot, which is great because I can feel him move often. Last night he was going crazy. I kept on pushing in and he in returned punched back...too cute! Kristin and I have been reading to Jackson every night. We have been reading two books a night, a Sandra Boynton book and one other from our collection. Our favorite book so far is "The Bears in the Bed and the Great Big Storm." We love all the Sandra Boynton books, especially "Snuggle Puppy." The other book we like is "How Do I Love You," by P.K. Hallinan.

2 more weeks left and I begin my new job and let me tell you, I cannot wait! Since January, work has been crazy. It still will be in my new role but a different type of crazy. After 6 years, the change is welcomed. Next Friday I have to go to NJ for a 2 hour meeting. I will spend 4 hours driving down and probably 7 hours driving back for 2 hours of a meeting! The meeting ends right during rush hour, so that will make the drive through NJ, NY and 95 in CT a great one. Then, the following day is out CT shower, which I am looking forward to. Hopefully the weather holds out. For those who went to the Mass shower and are coming to the CT one, the games are changed up a little. We will be playing, guess Kristin's weight and how many buck-buck eggs can she eat in 5 minutes!

What's everyone doing for V-Day? Kristin and I are going to hang around the house I believe. I think we might even spice things up with a trip to Walmart for some grocery shopping. Walmart is always the spot for a good time! Tonight I think we are running to Babies'R'Us. Our Jeep stroller came in, so we need to pick it up. I think we will get a lot of use out of this stroller because we are both looking forward for going on walks.

I leave you with a picture of Ms. Monroe enjoying an afternoon snack while laying in the sun. Tough life indeed! Have a great Valentine's Day Everyone!

Shower # 1

2009-02-09T13:47:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning Anthony and I headed up to Mass for our Massachusetts Baby Shower hosted by my family. A lovely warm day ( thank god no snow) and a great shower.

Nanie created a candy bar filled with blue candy. There were blue kisses, blue M&M's, blue jellies, blue tootsie rolls and Almond Joys ( but I didn't get any Almond Joys..hmmm) There were "ready to hatch" egg timers, blue bubble gum cigars, pens ( i love pens)and more. Nannie's decorating was of course wonderful and the place looked great!

We feasted on yummy wraps, salads, mushrooms ( DH how would you rate these compared to Anthony's) chicken kaboobs, meatballs and an appetizer spread of Chicken Dip, Pickle Dip, Veggies, and Spinach dip. For dessert we had delicuos cupcakes and carrot cake from Whites, Below is Anthony and I pretending to cut the cake before the guests arrived.....

I think there were about 50 people there and TONS of presents. By the end of opening them all I was so hot and exhausted!! We did so much nice stuff! We got our snap and go carraige, swing, seat, high chair, lots of feeding supplies, socks, onsies, clothes, sheets and bumper pads, toys, blankets, and so many nice books.
Nannie even knit an adorable sweater and hate and a blue baby afghan.

Anthony also got some daddy gifts including a new daddy tool belt, a personalized "Jackon's Dad" Tshirt, a personalized " Mr. Eggplant" apron and some cartoons..funny there aren't pictures of those presents, just me and my 8 chins..hmmm Ill have to have Anthony model his new atire and post pictures!!

Here are just a few pictures from the day...more to come I'm sure as we post ours in a slide show.

It wwas a great day, everyone had a good time and Anthony and I were lucky to receive such great gifts.

Here is a picture of Jackson's room after Anthony unloaded the car.

We spent yesterday going through all out gifts and Anthony put some bigger items together. More pictures on that to follow.

Yesterday was the worst I've felt to date thoughout the past 8 months. My legs are starting to ache and my lower back hurts. But I guess that is to be expected!!! Its all worth it in the end. Tonight we are off to class and I have an early 8am doctors appt tomorrow.

Thank you Mom and Dad for hosting such a great shower for Anthony, myself and Action Jackson. We love you very much!!!! Jackson can't wait to attend his first clubhouse event. He hopes to be on the comittee with Boppie.

2009-02-04T12:31:00.002-05:00

Hello, Kristin here. So i have new pictures to post but SOMEONE has the computer in shambles as he works on a some reporting for work so I can't download them...so you will just have to visualize me...here is me at almost 32 weeks, how do I look?

It's been a while since we posted.

We are in the SINGLE DIGIT countdown to due date, CRAZY!!!! roughly 8 1/2 weeks to go! I think we are having a March baby or an Easter baby.

Last weekennd on Saturday we went to Daddy Henry's for lunch and chelsea visited her nannie and friends at Crane's Landing. Anthony made a delicious lasagna and DH pretneded he worked at Vinny Testa's and roasted garlic in the oven to dip our bread in...except I didn't get any. Stephanie brought salad with yummy dressing and Babs made cake, she usally only makes them for poor people so we were lucky.
Sunday we went to church. We like this new church we found and there were several babies at Mass on Sunday. After mass they did the blessing of the throats. Sunday afternoon we did a small grocery order then headed home to shred papers from 2004 and I cleaned the bathroom closet to make room for Jackson's tub and froggy towels.

Sunday night instead of the superbowl we were more intresed in watching jackson move. Anthony read him a story and was then talking to him. He said " Jackson kick mommy, and Jackson did! It was so funny. So Anthony said " do it again Jackson" and he did. We saw my belly bulging and Anthony was able to feel Jackson do the macarena. He has gotten to feel him move a lot lately, I think he must be having a growth spurt!!!

Monday night we had our 2nd birthing class. We learned more about signs of labor and what happens during the diffrent stages. We saw some pictures which were distrubing, I'll leave it at that...and then learned diffrent positions to try during contractions. We had to get into these positions and practice breathing for one minute intervals ( pretending we were having one minute contractions). It was kind of funny when one lady in class got into a lounge position and couldn't get back up....

Last night Anthony and I met with our pediatcian for the first time. We liked her, she is in her 40's and has four kids of her own. We talked about what happenes at the hospital, vaccines, circumsion, breast feeding etc.

I'd insert pictures here of Chelsea playing in the snow last night....visualize please...

So thats what we've been up to. We are looking forward to Saturday when we have our first baby shower!!! It's going to be a nice spring day! Can't wait!

Kristin's Update

2009-01-27T18:14:00.005-05:00

Oh my stars did my water break?? Nope, that is just me after spilling 32 oz of water all over me. If you can believe it, over the past few weeks I have increasingly become more clumsy!! I drop everything, chelsea loves dinner time as most of my food ends up either on my shirt or on the floor. I loose things and forget where I put things, its awful...

Last night Anthony and I went to our first birthing class. It is a small group, 4 couples. The instructor said because of the economy a lot of people are dropping out because they can't afford it.......unless you sit on your ass all day and get free health care, then its free...but thats another blog...The instructor is really nice and funny which makes it a good enviornment to ask questions. The other couples are very nice as well and I think we have a good class. Last night was a getting to know you session, you had to tell what your fears were about labor etc and the coaches had to tell what they wanted to get out of the course. Then we learned some basic anatomy stuff. At the end of class I had to give Anthony a massage, the partner needs love too, then I got one. We learned some breathing techniques and some stretching exersizes. Next week we start actual labor lessons! It was funny, when we arrive at the hospital we enter through the emergency room. I'm not sure if it was a full moon but there must have been 15 women sitting there waiting to be checked in, it was ridiculous. I hope when our day comes its nice and slow!!

This morning it was off to my doctors appt, I now go bi weekly. Everything was great, I actually lost weight so Fionna said I should start eating two buck buck eggs per day, MINIMUM. Jackson's heart was strong and all my blood work ( glucose and iorn) came back with flying colors. She said I'm probably done with blood work at this point.

Now I know some of our fans were worried about CHelsea, here she today resting while mommy and daddy worked

She is still our little baby and spolied rotten. Her new nightly routine involves sitting in between anthony's feet on the recliner, then when its time for bed she lays on me legs, she is equal oppurtunity. She is looking forward to meeting her baby brother and says if he is half as cute as her then he is one lucky duck. As I type this I hear panting behind me, someone has found daddy's socks in the laudry and is quite happy.....

Well thats all from me today.

TTFN

Week 30 'n' Things

2009-01-25T08:55:00.005-05:00

Updated picture of Kristin at week 30:

A long way from this:

It seems like Kristin's belly is growing daily! I remember when Kristin got through her first trimester and I was bummed that I could not see her stomach yet, wondering if I ever would. Now, she cannot get between me and the kitchen island! For being 30 weeks pregnant, I think she looks really good! I love looking at her belly, excited to know our little guy is soon to be arriving. In general, these past 7 months have flown by, but the anticipation now is driving me crazy!

So tomorrow we start our ABC (Alternative Birthing Class). The class will run 5 weeks and is every Monday for 2 hours. Then on Tuesday we will be driving back up to Providence to meet with our Pediatrician. For the next month, we will be driving to Providence every Monday and Tuesday. That coupled with driving to work which round trip is 3-3 1/2 hours is sure to exhaust us quickly!!! Kristin and I have been thinking of questions to ask our Pediatrician, like circumcision, vaccinations, routine check up schedule etc. What's nice about our Tuesday appointment is that it allows us one on one time with the doctor so we get a chance to meet her and get a feel for her before we make the final decision if we are going to pick her as our Pediatrician. I am sure she will be good because our midwife referred us to her.

Yesterday DH and Babs came down to celebrate DH's Birthday. In honor of his Birthday and partly because of the constant "friendly" reminders that I have not made him eggplant parm before, Kristin and cooked him up a feast. For appetizers I made a puff pastry stuffed with sausage, spinach, parm cheese, sage and lemon zest. The inside of the puff pastry was brushed with Dijon mustard. I also made him my famous stuffed mushrooms, which were the size of hamburgers. For dinner, I made homemade eggplant parm, Caesar salad and rolls. And for dessert, carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting, which I have to say was really good!!!! Eggplant parm is one of Kristin's favorite foods. I do not make it that often because it is a pain to make by the time you skin the eggplant, cover in flour, then dip in egg barter and then bread. Of course, then you have to fry all the eggplant before you can start layering. The good thing though is that there is always a lot of leftovers, so this should hold Kristin down for a while!

Not much on the agenda today other than to go to church and grocery shop. The goal is to spend the afternoon doing nothing but veg on the couch. Kristin is pretty tired not to mention starting to get a lot of pressure in her lower abdomen. I'm going to spend the day rubbing her feet and feeding her eggplant!

Two more weeks to our Mass shower...wooohooo!

2009-01-22T16:19:00.007-05:00

It's hard to believe that two years ago tomorrow was mom's surgery!! I remember going to the hospital like it was yesterday. We had to get up very early to be there and they took mom late and she tried to leave. The anesthesia guy was about 17 years old and when he asked mom for her weight it did not go over well.I got to sit with Boppie in the waiting room, well I sat he pretty much slept, and my friend Stephanie came to visit as she is a nurse at Brighams. When mom came out of surgery around 530ish I had to help dress her but she swears she dressed herself. I slept at mom's that night and the next day we got to have number 9's from Dangelos...hmm this blog might start to sound like Jared's...wah wah wah.

After surgery I got to attend several chemo camp trips and even a few radiation visits. After one trip to the hospital I had to drive around to THREE different subways to find one open so mum could get her sub. Now she HATES subway. When she would visit CT I'd make her chemo pasta and chicken, bob tried to replicate at home after that but it was NEVER the same.

She will get mad but look at the difference in mum from two years ago. Heloooo chicos prints

And who's hair is real in this picture???

This is when moms hair just started coming in and nana would lick her fingertips and try to fix it..

And look at JOdie Foster now..

Look at how much has changed in two years mum, you beat breast cancer and welcomed your first little guy Callum Cakes and now are getting ready to meet little man #2 in the spring. Who could ask for anything more??

We wish you many many many more years of being cancer free!!!!!

Games, Shopping & Celebrations

2009-01-18T13:31:00.007-05:00

Kristin and I have had a really busy weekend so far. Friday night, we hung out with David and Stephanie at their new place. We first stopped at the Providence Place mall because Kristin had to return something. From there, we headed to their new apartment, which was in a great community. David and Stephanie had gotten a variety of special cheeses, pate and also shrimp. We later ordered pizza for dinner. We got the pizza from Caserta's, which is in Federal Hill. Pizza was really good! David took me on a drive through Federal Hill, which I have never been before. On the way home, we drove my a street lined with pubs and great restaurants. He also showed me where there was an ice skating rink in the middle of the city, which I never knew existed. Finally, on our drive home, he brought me by the Providence park, which stretched lengthwise along the river. He mentioned that this is where you go to view Water Fire in the summer, which I am hoping Kristin, Jackson and I can go this summer. After dinner, we played Spinners and had dessert from Pastiche. David and Stephanie got a chocolate torte which was really good but incredibly chocolaty! Kristin and I did not get home until almost 1am!

Yesterday, I got up early to make a Birthday Cake for the mudda in law. I even made homemade frosting for the special occasion. After finishing up the cake, Kristin and I went to Babies'R'Us to pick up all our special order room accessories which came in on Friday after taking 7 weeks. While there, we bought the little guy and outfit to wear on Father's Day. It is an adorable argyle sweater vest with a polo shirt and plaid shorts. We also picked up a Pat's jersey, which was marked down 40%. We ended up changing our carrier/carriage yesterday. While we liked the original one we registered for, the one we changed to has a better carrying handle and more color. We also ended up adding the correct bottles to our registry after realizing we registered for all wide neck bottles. After all was said and done, we were at Babies'R'Us for over 2 hours...EXHAUSTING! After our shopping excursion, we headed up to MA to celebrate mudda Annie's Birthday. She made an incredible stew, which was perfect for a cold night. After dinner, we had some cake and stared at each other in silence....joking! I included pictures below from last nights Birthday celebration and last weeks Birthday celebration which was for my mom.

Today, while Kristin slept I hung up some of the decorations we got yesterday. I also shoveled the driveway before we headed out to Church. Kristin and I have been trying to find a church that we can go to once Jackson is born. We like the church in Mystic but do not like the priest. Today we went to Our Lady of Lourdes. We both liked this church much better. Seemed to be a younger community and the priest was more engaging, although he did say the word porn 2 or 3 times. He also said he was with women before the priesthood. Either way, I think we will go again next week and if we are comfortable with this parish, we will continue going, otherwise we will go down to the next church on our list. Jackson seemed to like the church though because he was kicking around inside his mommy's tummy. Tonight we are heading over to my mom's for dinner. She is making pasta fagioli.

Kristin and I are both happy to be off tomorrow. It is our last day off until Jackson comes. On the agenda for tomorrow is a little house work and relaxing. As I write this blog, Kristin is doing work for MetLife...blah! As a preview to our next weekend, the celebrations continue as we will be celebrating DH's Birthday. For his Birthday, I will be making him homemade eggplant parm and maybe another special surprise. So, DH, what will you pick on me for now!!!

Week 29ish and Things

2009-01-13T09:57:00.007-05:00

Our blog updates seem to have become infrequent. To be honest, between work and whatnot, the blog is at the bottom of the list.

Last night we received another gift at our house from our registry. We got our frog wash clothes and our diaper bag. Last week we got out tub and the week prior our playmate. It is very exciting for us to be getting baby stuff outside of all the clothes we have been getting. Speaking of clothes, Kristin and I picked up a couple of more things at Kohl's this weekend. They were having a good sale on Carter sleep sets. We ended up getting 3 sleep sets, for 0-3 months, which we do not have much of. One has farm animals on it, the other frogs and one has zoo animals. With both showers soon approaching, we cannot wait to see all the stuff we get!

This past weekend Kristin and I went up to MA. She and her mom did some shopping for something to wear at the shower(s) and some other odds'n'ends, like mom underwear (underwear that goes up to your chin). While they shopped, I did what have become the usual, which is painting. This time I painted the Kren a nice Stuart Gold color. I think at this point I am retiring from painting for a while having had my share between the nursery, bathrooms(DH's and ours) and the Kren.

So, our pellet supply seems to be severely decreasing. We are almost through our second ton with only one ton left. I am beginning to think we are going to run out before the end of the winter with their being 2-3 months left of cold/cool weather. I think we will make it through the end of Feb unless it gets warmer. We called today to inquire how much it is to get our oil burner services (cleaned) in the event we need to turn it on. They now charge $250 compared to the $115 I use to pay which was for both the A/C and oil servicing. So, we decided to hold off right now on getting it serviced. At least next year I will have an idea of how much pellets I go through when ordering.

As I write this, I just realized we have not posted an updated picture of Kristin in a while. Her stomach seems to be growing by the day now. We have noticed that her stomach has started to drop. The baby is quite active. A couple of time we have been able to see him pushing up through her stomach, even making her bookmark that was resting on her belly move. Couple of more weeks and we start our alternative birthing classes. I told Kristin that I heard they make you (mothers) undress for the classes, which is why they ask you to bring a blanket. Not having done these classes before, I fear the gross factor in them! Anywho, below is an updated picture of preggo as well as of Ms. Monroe sleeping in Jackson's room waiting for his arrival.

Update

2009-01-08T11:30:00.002-05:00

I know, we are behind. I don't have any new pictures to post but will post some tomorrow or over the weekend.

We had a very busy baby day on Tuesday. The day started with my doctor's appoitnment and diabetes testing. All went well. The drink wasn't as bad as people at work had told me, so im hoping the same goes true for labor :-) My check up went fine, Baby's heart is strong and Im doing just dandy. Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I have to start seeing the doctor every two weeks, sure to become exhausting.

Tuesday night we went to Women and Infants Hospital for the Grand Tour class. We started off learning where to park, when to arrive, and what to pack. Basically Anthony will need a U-Haul...I want my own pillows, blankets, slippers, and of course Chelsea. They suggested Anthony pack extra layers as the mom's usually are roasting during delivery and want the heat off, not to be an issue with Anthony! After the lecture we went for our tour. Not going to lie, little overwhelming. Just seems more real now that I've seen a room where Im going to be in labor etc. but all the staff seems nice and I like a lot of the rules, like no cell phones or visitors during labor, no one will ever find us...hahaha!!!!!

Anthony could not locate a starbucks so any visitors please bring him a mocha choca venti spice lady marmalade with an extra shot of tahitti.

Yesterday was also a very exciting day for Daddy Anthony. He has felt a few little movements here and there but I was on the couch last night and the baby went nuts. I called Anthony over and he got to feel some really big movements, maybe some flips?
Then last night after reading " The Little Engine that Could" and listening to some music, I was reading and rested a book mark on my belly. He kicked so hard you could see the book mark move. So we lifted my shirt and watched the little monkey move around and make my stomach poke out, it was so neat!!

So " thats all" We'll be sure to post some pictures over the weekend.

TaTa for now.

New Years in Maine

2009-01-04T10:56:00.011-05:00

We were on location in Maine for New Years, just got back Friday night and are uploading some pictures today. Please see the slide show on the right for photos. Here are a few of Mr. Callum lounging in his chair from Nannie and opening his presents from Auntie KK and Uncle Twon.

Callum became a big fan of his Uncle Twon. In the picture below they are dancing around the kitchen and Callum loved it!

Anthony and I split the duties, Anthony was in charge of bath and I took over responsibilty of fashion directer. We shared the duties of feeding him his cereal for breakfast and sweet potatoes or carrots for supper. Jared in turn was in charge of Chelsea and letting her outside in her trail to go the bathroom. She knows her boundries well.

Here is a shot of the three of us on New Years Day...
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Last but not least Callum insisted he pose with Auntie for her 27 week picture and start of her third trimester, he is very involved in the pregnancy...

Just a quick blog. Perhaps Anthony would like to post his own blog about his snow shoe adventure, our maybe just a blog regarding all his outdoor adventures with Jared.....

Barnyard Bathroom

2008-12-30T08:43:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures of Anthony's project from yesterday, a newly painted and decorated bathroom for Baby Favry. Nannie had discovered that Khols had an entire farm friends bathroom line which matches our nursery decor perfectly...and it was 50% off this past weekend.

Anthony painted the walls a nice blue, the same blue as the bottom half of the nursery walls. We were able to purchase all the barnyard accessories shown below, toothbrush holder which has barn doors that open and show little baby sheep, horsey soap dispenser, piggy soap dish, and rooster cup holder. We even scored a piggy trash can!!

Even the barn doors on the towels open. Its a really cute set.

The bathroom looks great and I know the baby will love it. Even Callum can enjoy it when he visits Auntie camp next.

Lastly I leave you with a picture of CM relaxing in her new glider.....

Final week of 2nd trimester

2008-12-28T14:33:00.004-05:00

This week marks the final week of my 2nd trimester, next week I enter the 3rd trimester and will have only 3 short months to go!! New things are now happening including the fact that a little monkey is making it harder and harder for me to take deep breaths; something I anticipate only to become worse in the coming months.
He also gets the hiccups now which is really neat, my whole stomach just pulses and Anthony too gets to feel his little hiccups. When we went to lunch with DH on Friday my stomach barely fit in the booth, it was a small booth though, NOTHING to do with my growing abdomen. Next week I have my final monthly visit, after that I start to see the doctor every two weeks, I also have my diabetes testing and Anthony and I have our grand tour of the hospital!

Santa was good to Anthony and I again this year. Some of the gifts we received were a new pink purse, pajamas, pink slippers, makeup and Mama Mia for me. A cast iron pot, slippers, hess truck, ove glove for Anthony; and a digital picture frame for the family. We also got several gift cards which I can't wait to use for some new clothing items come spring!! Even Baby Favry got gifts including a crocodile outfit from Danielle, a rocking horse from Grammie and a monkey from Nannie which is currently waiting in the crib for our little Monkey's arrival.

We've been very busy traveling and are enjoying a day at home. Chelsea got a new years hair cut and is now napping while Daddy watches football.

Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow as Anthony tackles another project, a new bathroom for Chantel!!!

Christmas Brunch

2008-12-22T14:14:00.008-05:00

Yesterday depsite the winter weather, over 50 people showed up to Nannie and Boppie's Xmas brunch. It was a day filled with yummy food, family and friends.

As you can see above, Anthony and David were in charge of the pancake station, I think Anthony won. Anthony made his original yummy pancakes and Dave presented a variety of chocolate chip or Henry's special fresh blueberry pancakes. In addition to pancakes we had Aunty Carol's scrambled eggs, DH's Ham, pork raost, homefries, sauasage, bacon, strata, quiche, danish, bannana breads and much more!! Everything was delicious!!! For dessert we had make your own sundaes with every red and green topping you could imagine.

Santa or Mrs. Doubtfire came and everyone present received a present. Even Baby Favry got in on the action and received a rainforest toy for his new crib. I think his daddy enjoyed it more last night as he sat in the nursery listening to the waterfalls and animal sounds.

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Due to the weather it took us about 2 hours to get home, but we made it home safe and sound.

Yesterday was also a special day as it would have been Nana Courtney's 90th birthday!! Mum had her special xmas memory bear on display and we even sang happy birthday to nana as she was there with us in spirit. Some people got emotional, but I blame it on hormones........

Here is Nana on her 88th birthday...

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It was a great brunch and everyone enjoyed themselves. Nannie are you busy planning next years's yet?

Winter Thoughts

2008-12-19T17:52:00.002-05:00

Hello, Kristin here...As I type this we are having a steady snow fall, the first for us for the year.

Anthony and I ran to Target today to pick up a bookcase for the baby's room. We found it online and it matched perfectly so we went to get it as they only had one left. As there was a Stop and Shop next door we decided to run into to pick up our quiche fixings for Sunday's gala...yes we were crazy. It made us think of some of our own winter meanderings.

Why does everyone run to the store to get bread and milk? Why milk and bread? There were literally people there in their slippers grocery shopping all frazzled and acting like the world was ending. One lady had her cart full of oranges and stew meat yelling at her daughter they needed to stock up for the storm. Another lady parked her motorized cart in the middle of the exit, good spot. And we noticed several IDIOTS attempting to use the self scanner for the first time. As we heard " please remove your bananas" 78 times, Anthony started to have a nervous breakdown of his own.

Why do people run out to "top off" their gas tanks. If we are having that bad of a storm, you aren't driving anywhere!!!!!

Anthony mentioned, why do people think its a smart idea to pour hot water on ice to melt it?

Anywho...the furniture arrived for the nursery and it looks fabulous!!! Anthony put the bookcase together today and then we hung letters on the wall Nannie had bought us spelling the little guy's name! The room looks so cute. Chelsea has been spending all her time in there watching her daddy very closely. Today as I put a few books, a pig, and some onsies in the drawers, she sniffed every object closely and approved. She is such a good girl!! We even spent some time in the glider today watching the snow as daddy hung the letters.

Now we are snowbound, we have no milk or bread and both our cars are on empty...we also have no batteries, a half a roll of toilet paper, and no detergent so we are wearing dirty underware. Someone come and save us.

Baby Favry's Room

2008-12-17T17:03:00.007-05:00

For the past two days, I have been working on the nursery. This certainly proved to be the biggest home improvement project I have ever done. The first step of the project was moving all the furniture out of the room, which Jared helped me do over Thanksgiving weekend. The next step was to take everything off the walls, fill all the holes and sand them down before I painted. I then taped all the molding, which is always a pain.

Yesterday I spent 2 hours at Home Depot. I had to pick up the paint, primer, new blinds, a new fan, trim for the chair rail and an nail gun. When I got home, my first project was installing a new ceiling fan with lights. I have never hung a fan before. Overall, pretty simple except for the fact that you have to balance the 30 pound fan in one hand while you try to use a screw driver in the other to secure it to the ceiling. Once the fan was up, I started to prime the walls, starting first with cutting in the trim. After almost 4 hours and 4 coats of primer I had the walls primed. As you can see from the picture above, the walls were bright orange and it seemed that no matter how much primer I put on, the orange kept bleeding through. Make note of my advertisement for Hub Glass (compliments of DH).

This morning I got up early and started painting the upper portion of the wall. Before I could paint, I had to draw a line across each of the walls to mark where the chair rail was going so I could paint down to the line with the top color and up to the line with the darker color. Once I got done with the top color, I began with the lower wall color. Once done, I had to let the walls dry for an hour. While the walls were drying, I set up my new compound miter saw which DH had given to me. I also set up my new nail gun, which took me a while because I first had to read how to use the air gun and how to work the compressor. Mind I tell you that I have never used a compound miter saw nor an air gun, so needless to say I was a bit nervous using both tools.

Once the walls were dry, I began measuring and cutting the chair rail and hanging it using the air gun. The air gun was awesome! It sunk finishing nails right below wood surface in a blink of an eye. I had thought the chair rail would be difficult due to having to make beveled cuts in the wood to fit in the corners, however, it went really well. Each of my corner ends lined up with no gaps! It also helped that I had my little helper holding the level for me.

Once the rail was up, I filled in the nail holes and sanded down so that I could paint the trim. Painting the chair rail was a pain and time consuming. After the chair rail was painted, I taped the top of it and touched up the top wall color. Final step in the project was to hang the new wood blinds. We got new blinds so that we could darken to room when the baby took a nap. The blinds that were in there were transparent and with the sun hitting that room all day, it was not conducive for nap time. The wood blinds were a pain to hang but they look awesome.

So FINALLY......Baby Favry's room is done:

It feels so good to have to room done. It was a huge task but what an incredible feeling of accomplishment having it all done. It is crazy thinking that a baby will soon be occupying the room...I cannot wait!!

Favry Christmas Party

2008-12-14T09:57:00.006-05:00

Last night Kristin and I had our Christmas party. I believe we had about 10 people here, so it was a small gathering but good nonetheless. The party was at 6pm, however, our friend Adam (my bestman) got down to our house around 3pm. We decided that to grab something to eat before our friends started coming. We went to the Vodoo Grill, which I think is one of my favorite places to eat. Great food that's inexpensive all in a unique setting. For dinner, I had pulled pork serviced over french fries. Their pulled pork it out of this world! Kristin got Creole, which is very spicy. To offset the burn of the spice, she got a piece of warm corn bread. I do not think the baby enjoyed the spice food because Kristin said he was moving all around while she was eating.

After dinner, we went for a field trip to Home Depot, how every party should start. I wanted to go to Home Depot to pick up radiant heaters to hang from the garage ceiling so that it would heat the garage while we were out there last night but also when I am out there working. The heaters were very inexpensive and pretty easy to hang. For the few moments they were on, they threw off great heat. I stress they being on only a few minutes because they ended up blowing our circuit breaker several times. Unfortunately, we were only able to keep one on. The other source of heat came from the grill which was in the garage. It worked quite well too! Below is a picture of Adam and I hanging the heaters.

As always, we had a lot of food. We decided to keep it simple and do only appetizers vs. a meal. We had the typical chips, dips, cheese and crackers. We also made a bread bowl, mozzarella sticks (not as good as Ortiz' on Thanksgiving), pizza bites and poppers. Of course we cannot forget my homemade beer, which was awesome! Light hoppy beer with a hint of pine. Was very smooth and tasty. For fun, some of us decided to play a competitive game of beer pong in the garage (pictures below). I took the title of beer pong champ having won 3 Team matches and 1 single match.

People left around 11pm. After they left, Kristin, Adam and I watched some TV before heading to bed. Adam left early this morning. Another Sunday Kristin wont be home. Last weekend she was at a Christmas party in New Hampshire. Today she has to go to a bay shower in northwestern CT. I have to give her a lot of credit because through out her pregnancy, she has never cancelled plans she has made and still runs around as crazy as she did prior to being pregnant. I think she needs to slow down though because I can tell she gets tired more easily now. The both of us cannot believe that she has been pregnant for 1/2 a year! Time has flown by since we found out we were having a baby and now we cannot wait until we got hold the little guy in our hands and yes, even hear him cry. With the start of my vacation Tuesday I will start working on the nursery. I cannot wait until it's all done. Below is an updated picture of Kristin. Her belly is nice and round now as the baby moves up.

2008-12-09T14:40:00.005-05:00

Good Afternoon. Kristin here with an update.

Not much terribly new. I am unable to post a picture of me in my new pajamas at this time, please stay tuned for further updates.

I had my check up today and everything is still normal and great. Chantel's heart was strong and I checked out perfectly too. I had another growth spurt Sunday night I think. My doctor agreed, I'm measuring much bigger then the last visit, she said the 5th month you usually see a big spurt then at 7 months again. I'm starting to feel it, I notice my belly more now when I'm bending over to put my shoes on or pick up something ( like a paperclip of course as I shouldn't be lifting, bending or stretching). Anthony and I are all signed up for our childbirth prep classes and begin in January. I can't believe how fast time is going!!!

Here are some pictures from my Thanksmas lunch Sunday. I went to Casey's house with Kim for a girls only Thanksgiving/Xmas lunch. We had turkey with all the fixings, it was very good and as you can see below we all needed a nap after.

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So that's about it. Gotta run to drop of some mail and pick up my vitamins, Chelsea is excited and waiting by the door.

Tata for now.

Lazy...

2008-12-05T08:53:00.005-05:00

Yeah I know, we have not done a blog in a while. We have thought about it but yet still did not write one. To be honest, after Thanksgiving last week, I just never got around to it.

Sunday I went to the Pat's game. Overall, it sucked! Between it being cold, windy and rainy, the Pat's played awful. They looked like a high school team vs. a professional one. We got to to the stadium at 12 to tailgate and the entire time we froze our asses off not to mention how soaked we were. By the time we got into the stadium (3:30), the rain picked up as did the wind. To be honest, the best part of the game was leaving! Don't get me wrong, I was excited to have the chance to go but, well....

Monday both Kristin and I were off. Our day was packed with running errands. Most noteworthy was the fact that we finished registering! Babies'R'Us was empty which made registering that more enjoyable. All we had left was to register for cups, beginner spoons and forks and graduate bottles. We also made some changes to some of the items we previously registered. Kristin and I also ordered all the room `decor, which should be arriving in 2-3 weeks. Perfect timing because my goal is to have the nursery painted by the end of this month. Additionally, the furniture should be coming in either next week or the week after. Now, we unfortunately will not be able to take a picture of the nursery or show any of you if you should come to our house because the babies name will be on the wall. SO, I guess you'll just have to wait until April!

This has been a nice short week for me. As I mentioned earlier, both Kristin and I were off Monday and today I am working until 11am (1/2 day). Next week I am traveling to Colorado Monday-Wednesday, work Thursday and off Friday. The following week I only have two days in the office then I am off from through first week of January....exciting!!! Too bad my lovely wife could not get time off.

Tomorrow Kristin, my mom and I are heading to the cemetery to put Christmas plants at my father's and grandparent's grave. Kristin also wants to make a pit stop at the consignment store. Not living up in the Rocky Hill area or even remotely close, she does not get a chance to get there often to claim her money and/or drop off clothes. Last time we dropped off a lot of stuff after having cleaned out the babies closet. Sunday should be a quiet day. Kristin is heading to a Thanksmas brunch with her friends. I on the other hand will be spending a wonderful morning at the grocery store and watching the Pat's game in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I will not be enjoying any homebrew because we drank it all on Thanksgiving...the entire keg! The good news is that next weekend, my Hop-Nog will be ready in time for our Christmas party. Jared helped me last Friday brew my next batch. This week it has been in the first stage of the fermenting process. Today I will be transferring it to the second stage then into the keg next Friday to carbonate in time for the par-te. Speaking of Jared, I want to pubic-ly spank...err...thank him for helping me move all the furniture out of the nursery last weekend.

Before I end, below is an updated picture of Kristin at just about week 23 (1 day short). Chelsea also decided to show us her side profile. The baby has been moving all around, which is exciting for Kristin to be able to feel him moving. He has already developed a pattern of sleep and awake time. Every day around 2pm he seems to like dancing around as Kristin likes to call it. Kristin for the first time Tuesday was able to put her hand on her stomach and feel him kick. Up to this point she has been feeling him move around inside but not able to feel it when putting her hand on her stomach. My little buddy though seems to enjoy teasing his father because he stops moving every time I put my hand on her stomach. He's a teaser, just like someone else I know!

The Calm Before the Hurricane

2008-11-26T10:08:00.006-05:00

Ah, the day before Thanksgiving. A day of rest, peace, relaxation and thought. Obviously I have been enjoying my beer a wee bit to much this morning! Tomorrow will be anything but relaxing with having 20 people over for dinner. That's where the beer comes in...HA!

Yesterday I spent the day we organizing all of our cabinets and food pantry. End result was that we freed up one whole cabinet (soon to be filled with baby bottles), and made things work more efficiently. Afterwards I went to the supermarket to pick up Mr. & Mrs. Lou Lou and some other odds and ends. When I got home, I finished working on my beer, cleaned up the dinning room and helped Kristin clean out the guest room and set up the pack and play for Callum.

Kristin and I realized we have not kept up with our weekly pictures of her growing stomach. Below is an updated one, which is for week 21 1/2! For the past week, we have been putting prenatal speakers on her belly an playing music for CHANTE. He seems to enjoy because he moves all around depending on the song. Last night we used the heart monitor to see if we could find the babies heart beat, which to date we have not been able to. At last, we heard out little ones heart! It was awesome! We listened to it for a few minutes before leaving the little guy alone. For me, it is so comforting being able to hear his heart because I cannot yet feel him kicking when putting my hand on Kristin's belly though she feels him moving around all the time now.

This morning I got up really early and cleaned the two turkeys and prepped them to be brined. After they were cleaned, I put them each in their own brining bag, where they will sit until tomorrow late morning soaking up all the great spices they are soaking in. I also fried up the sausage for the stuffing and made my first homemade cheesecake, which is still baking. Later I will make the stuffed mushrooms (for DH)and get a few other items prepped so I do not have to worry about it tomorrow. My goal is to actually enjoy the Holiday tomorrow vs. spending my whole day in the kitchen.

The Kranchelsony's are very excited for the Jacalamanda's to arrive this evening. They have not been to our house since July 4th, so we are looking forward in spending the weekend with them. Safe travel guys!!!!

Monday Activites

2008-11-24T15:12:00.005-05:00

With spending my day Friday in the ER and much of the weekend home sick, today I had planned to just hang around the house. After all, I couldn't leave because I have not car. As you all know, I had a car accident last week and the VW is not drivable. Kristin had to go not the office today, therefore leaving me with no car.

This morning I did not do much. I watched the Today show, read some emails and played with the dog because she missed her mommie. This afternoon I spent working on my beer. To brew beer, it takes 2-4 weeks depending on what type of beer you brew (sometimes even months) Once the beer is brewed you can either bottle it or keg it. When you bottle it, you have to mix sugar into the beer so that while in the bottles, the yeast east the duagr and naturally carbonates the beer. This process takes a minimum of 2 weeks. Not only does it lengthen the process but it is also tedious to sit and clean sanitize, bottle cap 50+ bottles. The kegging process is much easier and faster because you force carbonate the beer with CO2. I have never kegged my beer but needed to this batch because I wanted it to be ready for Thanksgiving.

Yesterday I spend the afternoon reading up on how to keg the beer, regulate the CO2 tanks, force carbonate etc. So, this afternoon I spent an hour cleaning and sanitizing the keg and all its components. I then transferred (racked) the beer into the keg, sealed and moved to the garage. I had to put in the garage because when you force carbonate, them temp needs to remain under 60 so the beer absorbs the gas. I hooked up the regulator and gages, hooked up the gas line to the keg, the output line and turned the gas on, closing my eyes fearing an explosion. Once I opened the valve, I quickly regulated the amount of gas going in so that it was at 12 pounds. For the next several hours, I will go out and roll the keg so to increase the surface area for the CO2 to be absorbed by the beer. End result, beer ready to drink tomorrow and it will pour fresh from my own keg! I have a picture below is the keg (Cornelius) and what the CO2 tanks and regular look like. One gauge shows how much gas left in tank and other shows pounds of gas going in.

Well, I am off to watch the 24 premiere I DVR'd yesterday. The towing company should be here shortly to pick up the VW.

Happy Elf Family

2008-11-22T16:57:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Anthony's Vacation begins....kind of

2008-11-21T12:44:00.002-05:00

Hello, Kristin here. Sorry we haven't had a blog in week or so...

Today Anthony began his vacation, he is off today and all next week and doesn't return until December 2nd. Then he works for like two days and is off the month of December, except for 2 days of travel. His vacation didn't start off quite so grand. He woke me up early this morning to tell me he wasn't feeling well at all. He was literally shaking under 2 quilts and was all achy and hot. He went to the walk in/Emergency room at 8am and is still there. Currently he is hooked up to Iv's and they are doing blood and seeing what the heck is going on. I hope its just the flu or something....I'd ride down to be with him but.......

Anthony got into an accident on Tuesday night with a deer! He was coming home from work on 395 and ended up hitting a deer and the guard rail. Thank god he is OK, but the Jetta will be going to the car hospital for a while. Also, selfishly I'm glad I was not in the car as the seat belt got very tight on Anthony's chest so it would not have been good on my belly!! He was a bit sore Tuesday night and Weds but luckily he was OK overall. Weds morning on the way to work I got to see the poor deer victim, gross.

So I can't go drive to see Anthony at the doctors as I am car less!!!

On a brighter note I'm 21 weeks along and feeling great overall. Just this week I've started to feel a lot of movement. Baby Favry ( ha, you thought I'd say the name) is swimming all around in there. Last night Anthony put our special headphones and CD player on my belly and the two of them listened to some classical tunes. Oh, and Anthony told me the baby talks, the other night he said to Anthony, " Daddy, I want a Wiii", silly kid. Anthony will have to take an updated belly shot for your viewing pleasure.

We are looking forward to next week, Can't believe its Turkey Day already. Anthony needs to rest up this weekend and get better or you'll all be eating turkey subs at Subway instead!!!!

It's a Boy (Confirmed)

2008-11-14T19:48:00.008-05:00

So, a couple of weeks ago we found out we were having a boy, but were told that it was an 80% chance. Today Kristin and I went for our 3D/4D ultrasound a confirmed that our little monkey is in fact a boy....picture below, which in on taken from underneath him.

Our now named child (keeping a secret) was not very cooperative today. He was moving all over. Every time we tried to get a look at his face, he either covered it with his hands or he would turn all the way around. Kristin would then turn sideways on the table, which resulted in the monkey going the opposite way. The technician at one point made Kristin eat chocolate hoping the sugar would get him to move so we could see him more clearer. He kept on putting the umbilical cord in front of his face. Today's experience was nothing less than amazing. To see our child like is was there in our hands was incredible. We watched him smile, suck his thumb, put his finger in his ear, wave, turn and twist etc. He still has not packed on the fat yet, so we saw more bone structure than actual features. We did see his hands and feat very clearly though. Here are some pictures with short blurb explaining what you're looking at.

Right hand by ear with left hand over face. His head was turned to the side:

Picture of his face with his foot off on the right side of the picture:

"The Thinker" pose. Side profile of his face with his thumb up:

Waving at us. His right hand waving with his left hand rubbing his eye:

Looking down on his face. His skull bones have not fused together so you can see some spaces on the top of his head:

We got a CD with 25 picture on it and a DVD which had 25 minutes of our little monkey moving around. We are so excited and cannot believe we are half way there!

Fun Times

2008-11-11T06:38:00.003-05:00

As you can see from the picture, Kristin and I had some laughs last night. To celebrate I being offered a new job, Kristin and I went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville last night at Mohegan. Every time we have gone to Orlando, we have always gone to the one down there. They just recently opened on at Mohegan a couple of months ago. The restaurant is two floors and made to feel like you're sitting on a boat in the water. The floors look like water, there are palm trees everywhere, a full size prop plane hanging from the ceiling etc. The second floor, which is where we sat, is a huge patio deck that overlooks the Thames River. In the Spring/Summer months, the class walls all slide open so you can eat outside. For the cooler nights, they have heaters that hang from the ceilings to keep you warm. They also have a stage on the main floor for their weekly concerts. Lastly, they have this massive object that hangs down from the ceiling, which is made to look like a hurricane. At certain times, the hurricane starts spinning with flashes of lightening. A huge tequila bottle then drops from the center of the hurricane and pours tequila into a huge blender, which turns on and makes margaritas, thus bringing you to margaritalville. Sorry....pretty hard to explain!

For food, we got their famous volcano nachos which were sickly huge (piled about 12-14inches high) and incredibly good! By the time we finished the nachos, we were both grossly stuffed. By the time our dinner came out, I did not even eat one bite of my food (fajitas) and Kristin only ate half of a half of her Cheeseburger in Paradise. Somehow though we both had room for the hurricane sundae which too was massive.

The picture above was taken after the man on stilts came upstairs and made a balloon hat for Kristin. I tried to get her to walk through the casino with it but she did not buy into the idea.

Beerful Weekend

2008-11-09T12:54:00.004-05:00

It has certainly been a beer filled weekend! Last night, Kristin and I went to Beer Fest in Providence. Obviously, Kristin did not drink. She did eat cheese, pizza and sandwiches though! If you remember, we had gone to the April one and had a great time. The November one though is much bigger, with more beer companies and beer paraphernalia. They have two sessions, an afternoon on and an evening. As we did in April, we went to the afternoon session, which started at 6:30pm. The place was absolutely packed. If you do not like crowds, this would not have been the event for you to go to.

Kristin's friend/former roommate Stephanie and her husband Mike met us at our house before heading up. At the fest, we met up with Lauren and Paul, Stephanie and David and one of Lauren and Paul's neighbors. The thought of how many beers I tried over the period of 4 hours makes me want to get sick, but it was certainly fun at the time. I have to thank Kristin for going because I cannot imagine how boring it must have been for her, not to mention how long she had to stand on her feet (5-10:30pm). She was definitely a trouper!

Speaking of Kristin, she seems to be getting bigger every day. Very exciting indeed because now I can actually see it!

After beer fest, we all headed over to Union Station in Providence for some food. We were all tired, especially knowing we had an hour drive. After a later night dinner, we headed home, sat in front of the fire for a while and then headed to bed at 1:30am.

This morning I got up early and cooked breakfast for Kristin, Stephanie and Michael. I made french toast, eggs, sausage, bacon and also picked up bagels. After they left, I began my next batch of beer. I have been excited for this next batch, which is a Holiday Ale, flavored with chocolate malts, cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, vanilla and some other holiday seasonings. As I write, the wort (unfermented beer) is sitting in an ice bath to rapidly cool it to 70 degrees. Once it hits 70 degrees, I will then transfer it to the fermentation pale, add 3 more gallons of water, the yeast and then tuck away for the next 7 days while it ferments. Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well, we will have some holiday spiced beer, which will leave your stomach with a warm feeling (more alcohol).

Beer ingredients:

Kristin just left to grocery shop. While she shops and I wait for my beer to cool, I am watching to Pat play the Bills, currently winning 7-0. Hopefully they can keep it up the rest of the game and secure a win against first place Bills.

Upcoming this week we have our next monthly check up with our midwife and our 3D/4D ultrasound on Friday, which we both cannot wait for. 3D ultrasounds are fairly new and insurance does not cover them. They are typically not used for medical purposes unless they are trying to determine if the umbilical cord is tied. Rather, they are used so you can see what the baby looks like, watch it move etc. I always thought 3D ultrasounds are the ones that allow you to see the babies organs, bones etc, however, found out that this is done with a regular ultrasound. We will definitely be posting picture Friday.

Week 19ish

2008-11-07T07:57:00.003-05:00

Two days shy of 19...

Seeing Kristin every day, I do not notice how quickly she is growing with the exception of last weekend. Kristin went to bed Friday night and woke up Saturday having grown. At first, I did not know if Kristin spent the night up eating peanut butter cups, coleslaw and pickles (some of her favorite food right now), but soon realized that the baby is moving on up! We go next Tuesday for our next monthly follow up appointment. Only one more left and then we start going every two weeks. I think we will also start birthing classes sometime in January, which should be a lot of fun. Between driving 1 1/2 hours into work every day, we will also have to drive 45 minutes to birthing classes and Dr. appts. I think we should just rent a motor home!

Since we announced were having a baby, we have been slowly accumulating clothes. The first of the clothes were sleepers from the grandparents. After finding out last week what we were having, the babies wardrobe has expanded, having gotten more clothes from Nannie and Grammie and also from ANT Amanda, Uncle Jared and cousin Callum. We also got a cute outfit from Kim and Bryan. Below is a picture of the babies closet and one of Kristin holding up a few of our favorite outfits! I am thinking this kids going to need a walk in closet by the time its born.

Well, it has been a long week and I am happy its Friday. Tomorrow Kristin and I are heading up to Providence to beer fest. Obviously, Kristin will be the designated driver. She'll be sampling cheeses while us non-preggos drink some fabulous wheat beverages. Speaking of wheat beverages, I am going to be starting my next beer this weekend. What will soon be on tap at the Favry house is a Holiday Ale, which will be seasoned with cinnamon, ginger, all spice orange peel and some other spices. My goal is to have this ready in time for Thanksgiving. Because of the short time frame, I am going to have to keg this beer vs. bottle because there will not be enough time to allow the beer to carbonate if I bottle. To be honest, kegging is a lot easier and more convenient, especially now, because I can keep the keg in the garage because its cool at night. I am also hoping that over Thanksgiving weekend I can start another batch, which I am thinking will be a coffee porter.

Weekend Festivites

2008-11-03T14:59:00.007-05:00

Excited with our news about having a boy, Kristin and I could not wait to go see Callum and let him know of the good news. As such, we headed up Maine Friday morning because Kristin and I had taken the day off. On our journey up, we stopped and saw Papa Goldsmith and had breakfast with him and Bab's at Percy's. Out of all meals, going out for breakfast has to be my favorite. I always tend to order more than I need but manage to eat it all. I of course had a hash omelet, which is what I always get no matter where I go. I also got biscuits and gravy which were awesome!

After breakfast, Kristin and I headed up to Maine. The drive amazing enough was good. We hit no traffic and made it in 3 hours, which was great. We spent the whole time thinking about boys names. We still have not settled on anything but not worried as we have time left. I seem to try the proposed names by yelling the name as I have a feeling I/we will be doing a lot of that with our little rascal one day if he takes after his father.

We got to Jamanda's around 3:30pm, however, our little nephew was not there. Callum did not arrive until 5, at which point he was dressed up for Halloween. He was a very handsome pumpkin this year as you can see below. Callum's extensive photo shoot exhausted him, which was expressively evident as he was fussy and crying. It also did not helped that he was beyond the point in which he typically goes to bed.

While the rest of the Goldsmith's/Willard's/Favry's were inside, Jared and I were outside handing out candy. We first started in the garage, then moved to the front door step then to the end of the driveway as Jared wanted to ensure we had the best spot to examine the Hannah Montana costumes! Jared and I were a gay couple this year, holding hands as we handed out candy. We also had some wheat beverages to sip on as we handed out candy, making all the father's envious of our set-up. I have to say, after 4 years of not getting any trick or treaters at our house, I was amazed at the hundreds of kids that came to theirs. I have never seen streets so packed before in my life. Cars packed of kids were parking along the streets dropping of the kid to trick or treat. It was awesome! We'll have to bring our son up to Maine as I am sure he will have fun trick or treating with his big cousin!

After we ran out of candy, we headed inside and had some dinner, which Jared made. He made a good sauce with pasta. The sauce was awesome and very filling. After dinner, which we had with the Jamanda's and Jon and Mel, we went next door to Cindy and Dana's house, who live behind Jared and Amanda. We only hung out there for a short while before heading home and going to bed.

Saturday morning we got up around 8am and Kristin and I spent some time with Callum. Jared made us a great breakfast. We had sausage, eggs, biscuits and apples slices that he cooked. After breakfast, Jared and I went for a canoe trip with his friend Dave. The trip was about 2 1/2 hours long, which was great. With the exception of the wind (which was in our favor), the weather was perfect. I took some pictures, which are below. I had a great time and hope to do that more when I go up to Maine. I only wish I had my kayak. After the canoe trip, Jared and I went to OPB (Oak Pond Brewery) and filled up 3 groulers of beer. I got 2 dark lagers (Story Teller) and Jared got an Ocktoberfest. We ended up only having half of a growler though. Later that afternoon/evening, the 5 of us went to Cancum for dinner. Callum was a good boy the whole time. After dinner, we headed home, gave Callum his bath and sat in front of the wood stove before watching Kristin's and Jared's baby video and Murder She Wrote!

Pictures of our canoe trip:

Sunday we left around 9:30 after spending some time with Callum in the morning. We made it to Taunton in 3 hours which was great timing. We ended up stopping at 15 Dickinson Drive, had some cookies and headed out to grab something to eat as Kristin and I had not eaten all day. We even got some cute clothes from Grammie and Papa B for our little one. We have so much clothes between what we have gotten from Grammie Favry, Nannie and Jared and Amanda. We ended up eating at Smoky Bones. After Smoky Bones, we went to Kohls because Kristin had to return some clothes she had bought. Then, it was off to CT.

All in all, good weekend! We had fun up in Maine and cannot wait to see Callum (and Jamanda) for Thanksgiving! The Holiday's are going to be so fun having two kids running around!!!

Pictures of Callum:

It's a Boy!

2008-10-30T21:41:00.003-04:00

After months of waiting to find out what we are having, we found out today that it is a boy. Well, we are 80% positive it's a boy as the ultrasound tech told us today. I do not know how she is only 80%. I mean, there's a BIG difference between a vah-j-j and a penis. I can see how it's hard to tell if it's a girl but a boy! So, for all you who thought it was a girl, no free meal for you. Ortiz, aka, Papa Goldsmith, Uncle Jared and I were the only ones who voted for boy!

Go figure that out of all times we have been to the doctor's office, today had to be the busiest and they were 45 minutes behind. So, needless to say we were all getting tense waiting to be called.

Grammie and Nannie both came into the tiny little room where Kris and I have gotten several ultrasounds before. Today's ultrasound was longer then the ones previously because they had to do a lot of measurements, i.e. measure the head, heart, stomach, check position of kidneys and bladder etc. All very amazing! We were all amazed at how much the baby was moving around, kicking and waving its arms everywhere. We even got to see the babies mouth move. The last of the pictures was of out little man's member. Rather than the ultrasound tech saying "it's a boy," she said "PENIS." Funny indeed but a word that made me proud as I was hoping for a boy. Below are some pictures of the ultrasounds, which are kind of tough to interpret. First one is of him looking right at you with his two hands behind his ears. Second one is of him with his back pointing up and his head to the left and feet to the right. If you look, you can see his spine along the top of his back. The bottom picture is of his face, which looks creepy because all you can see is the bones plates, no skin.

In a couple of weeks, Kristin and I will be going for a 3D and 4D ultrasound, which is suppose to be amazing. The 3D is like looking a picture...you can see all the facial features, hair, etc. This will also solidify the fact we are having a boy! The 4D is like watching a video...you can see the baby in 3D moving around. We will be getting a CD of 25 color photos and a DVD of the baby moving around. We will definitely post those pictures after our appointment.

After our appointment today we went to Babies'R'Us. Grammie bought her future grandson a red sox baseball cap and a Pat's cap. She also got him Red Sox Jersey and a Pat's onsie. Lastly, she got him his Halloween costume for next year, which he will be a pirate. Nannie bought some Halloween shirts, orange pants and a sweatsuit that looks like a skeleton. She also got us this speaker you hold up to your stomach so the baby can hear music, which also serves as a microphone so you can listen to the babies heart.

Tomorrow we are headed up to see our nephew Callum. We are very excited to see him dressed up for Halloween and spend time with him this weekend. We are also very excited to tell him in person he is going to be getting a boy cousin. We cannot wait to see the two of them together!

The Tension Builds.....

2008-10-29T11:55:00.002-04:00

23 1/2 hours left until we find out what we are having. We cannot wait!!! Kristin is feeling a boy right now though I am thinking it is a girl, which is probably because everyone seems to thinks it's a girl as well as all the old wives tales. I feel like a little kid the night before Christmas, waiting to find what present are waiting for me under the tree.....wait...that is me today!

So, to get a call, you have to sign up on the call registry list and let us know what number you want us to call you at. Our appointment is at 11:30am, so expect calls shortly afterwards!

Photos to come:

- Picture of ultrasound
- Picture of Chelsea in her new evening attire

Fun Versation

2008-10-23T17:44:00.002-04:00

Do pets know when people are pregnant? Anthony and I really think Chelsea knows. A few weeks ago she started acting much more clingly and cutsie. When I'm sitting on the couch or laying in bed her new thing is to come lay with her head right on my belly. I was wondering if she could hear the heart beat...I looked online and studies do show that cats and dogs, especially females, can hear a baby's heart at 12 weeks. Chelsea is listening to her new sister/brother. She also likes to sit on Anthony's lap in the recliner or like last night lay right under his arm...either that or she pretends he is not in the bed at all and lays right on top of him.
Whenever Anthony goes ANYWHERE now, Chelsea automatically thinks she goes. Even when he leaves for work and I'm home, the second he opens the drawer for his keys she drops what she is doing and bolts for the door. Its cute and sad at the same time when she realizes she can't go to work with him.

Anthony has had a very busy week, all day meetings and tomorrow he leaves at 4am for NJ. Im waiting for him to get home from work now, I have some homemade soup on the stove and biscuits in the oven. I try and take care of him just a bit for all the taking care of me has been doing...sorry its not eggplant twon :-)

Thursday is our big day, we find out if I dress my belly as a princess or a cowboy for Halloween. All along I've thought girl, the past few days I've been thinking boy....guess I have a 50/50 shot. My guess is baby favry is shy and doesn't want to show its "parts" on Thursday.

Well I'll leave you with a few bits of funversation..

*How come you have to pay an extra say 25 cents for extra toppings on your burger or pizza but if you ask for a burger and say hold the lettuce and tomato you don't get a refund???

*For states that list hair color on their drivers license photos, what do they put if you are bald?

* If you hum though your mouth then why can't you hum while pinching your nose? Go ahead try....

Thank you, I'll be here all night.

Week 16....

2008-10-19T17:55:00.008-04:00

Updated photo of Kristin at week 16:

We forgot to do a week 15 last week. Kristin is slowly starting to show more each week. I think we both thought she would show a lot more than she does but Fiona (our midwife) said she measures well and that women take longer to show with their first pregnancy. We have noticed that her belly is slowly starting to move upward, which explains all the pain she has been having lately.

We went to see our midwife Friday because Kristin was not feeling well and has been somewhat nervous about the pain/cramps she has been getting. What makes matters worse are the people at work who keep asking Kristin why she's not growing, why she has not felt the baby yet, telling about others who have miscarried etc. Having to deal with this coupled with her nerves has made matters worse!

Fiona said things are looking great. We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat, which put both our minds at ease. I have come to really like Fiona and really hope she is on call when the time comes to deliver. According to Kristin, if Fiona is not on call when she goes into labor, she is going to close her legs!!! We are very excited because we have only 11 more days left until we find out what we are having! Our appointment is on 10/30 at 11:30 in the morning. Sign up now for the call registry! While I want a boy, deep down I think/feel it is a girl.

So, yesterday Kristin and I went up to MA. We went to Ortiz' house for a family lunch. David, Stephanie and Gabe also came. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls and all the other Thanksgiving meal fixins. We even got some laughs in, one of which was listening to Bab's for about 5 minutes read the following:

"I'm Sofa King Wee Todd It,"

We all had a great time. Spent a lot of time talking about our childhoods, TV shows we use to watch, music we use to listen to and even got to watch Ortiz and Gabe dance to "My Humps!"

This morning I got up and sat in front of the fire for a bit. I then made Kris banana nut bread while she was sleeping. I have been trying different recipes, but think today's was the one! After we had some breakfast, we went to Starbucks and then headed over to Preston Trading Post, which is where we got our stove. We had to pick up a thermostat because the one the gave you was kind of crappy and the one we got you can put in whatever room you want and that will be the room that controls the temperature. We also picked up a metal pail to hold the pellets that we are going to dump into the hopper. While you can dump them right from the bag, if you touch the bag against the stove, it will melt and burn to the surface. While on the way to Preston, we came across a few places where we can kayak next year. We also came across some walking trails and a park. We cannot wait to bring the little one on a hike one day!

We then did some grocery shopping, picked up a humidifier (air is so dry in the house)and then headed home. This afternoon we hung around the house. I installed the new thermostat and then Kris and I went outside and played with the dog in the backyard. The foliage this year is the best it has been the past 4. Our yard is also covered in leaves this year, which is weird because the trees have been here all 4 years we have lived here. Kristin and I both said we cannot wait to rake up all the leaves into a pile next year and play in them with our baby. After playing outside with the dog, we came inside and did a photo shoot with Ms. Monroe. Pictures for you fans are soon to be in a mailbox near you!

We just finished our dinner and I think are going to catch up on some of our recorded shows. Kristin in going into work tomorrow, however, I am going to work from home because I have 3 full days of meetings Tuesday-Thursday and have to be in NJ Friday morning for a 3 hour meeting.

Some random photos:

Some of the trees in our yard...

Ms. Monroe after her brisk afternoon jog...

Warm Times Ahead

2008-10-17T09:09:00.003-04:00

For anyone that has visited the Favry house in the winter, you know that typically you can see your own breath. Not this year.....Above is a picture of our new pellet stove. I love it. Now when the slightest chill is in the air, Anthony just turns it on!! Chelsea and I love being warm. When the switch goes on Chelsea starts rubbing in circles against the couch and chasing her tail.

Below is what 3 tons of pellets look like. They say that 3 tons will get the normal family through the season....since we are not normal we shall see....

I'm working from home on this chilly Friday morning and its wonderful, chili is in the crockpot and a nice fire is going.

Tonight we have game night with the Tolles and tomorrow is our luncheon with DH. Gee I hope I am up to driving up to dads for lunch and then to visit Adam, you know, pregnant people shouldn't sit. But oh well......the sacrifices I make for my family. Ho hom, woe is me.

2008-10-14T08:27:00.004-04:00

Saturday we headed up to mom's for "Callum's Coming Out." About 50 people came to the clubhouse just to meet the little guy. Callum wasn't having one of his best days but we did manage to see a few smiles and snap a few pictures. It was a great party with great food of course. Spinach dip, pizzas, my homemade lasagna, famous antipasto salad, cord chowder, meatballs, bread and more. Nannie made homemade cupcakes with frosting ( well I heard bob made them and she took credit) and we had birthday cake for Nana B and welcome to the world cake for Callum. Anthony and I even received a few presents for our little lemon!!!!

Sunday was a beautiful fall day and Anthony and I decided to have a picnic by the water. We headed over to Mystic Market, one of the many places we have heard about but never actually visited. Its a huge Italian market with all kinds of fresh salads, pastas, meats, pastry's, sandwiches and more. We ordered two sandwiches and some potato salad and headed over to the center of Mystic. It was gorgeous out and a nice day to just sit outside.

We then had to do our normal grocery shopping errands but all in all it was a good weekend.

I had to work yesterday but Twonny and CHelsea had the day off and did lots of outdoor work. Now its everyone back to work!!!!

14 Weeks

2008-10-07T19:06:00.002-04:00

Since many of you have not seen Kristin in a while, we decided we would post a picture of her at 14 weeks. It is very exciting (for me) to finally see her stomach starting to show more. Up to this point, her stomach has been low, but it is starting to rise.

Kristin has been getting a lot of pain on and off lately, but all expected due to her insides stretching and moving around. The "lemon" is roughly 3-4 inches now and is moving around inside though Kristin cannot feel it. Week 14 also marks the point when the baby start peeing, which is kind of weird. I learned last night that the amniotic fluid regenerates itself every 3-4 hours, which neither Kristin of I knew. The body is amazing!!! Our next doctor appointment is October 22nd. We will be scheduling our next ultrasound at this appointment to determine the sex. Check out the poll on the right to cast your vote on what you think it will be. Winners get a free home cooked meal on me :-)

Kristin and I were off yesterday, which she mentioned in her previous blog. We headed over to Babies'R'Us to look at the crib set and get an idea of how long it takes from time of order for them to come in. While there, we ended up buying two baby outfits for the lemon. Kristin and I have not yet bought anything for the baby, so it was exciting, though, it would be even more exciting to know what we are having. Below are the two things we picked up. I picked out the outfit on the left, which has little bears on it and Kristin picked out the duck looking outfit.

Babies'R'Us was having a special where if you bough 1piece of furniture you got 10% off, 2 pieces 15 % off and 3 pieces 20% off. We asked if this sale happens often, however, they said it was a once a year type sale. As a result, we ended up ordering the nursery furniture yesterday. We got a convertible crib, we turns into a day bed, toddler bed then full size bed as the baby grows. We also got a bureau that also serves as a changing station and an armour. We also got the mattress (for free..DOH). The goal is that the last two weeks of December, when I am off from work, I am going to work on the nursery, painting it and getting the furniture set up.

For dinner last night, I made homemade pasta and meatballs, which was really good and filling! While making the pasta proved to me a lot of work as it was my first time, it was fun. I promised Jared that when he comes down, I will make him favorite brie pasta dish along with homemade pasta. Sunday night, I spent almost 3 hours breading, frying and putting together eggplant parm for Kristin, which too was very good. We had SO much leftover. The said reality for me is that all I have done since Kristin has gotten pregnant is eat as I find her cravings and hunger supportive f my love for food.

I close with a picture from Ms. Monroe, who decided to pose as she did when we asked her, her thoughts about the baby....

Homecoming Weekend

2008-10-07T09:46:00.004-04:00

Anthony and I were off Friday and MOnday and headed up to NH for Saint Anselm's college Homecoming weekend. After dropping CHelsea off at Nannie Camp we headed to our hotel in Manchester. Anthony was able to use his Hilton points and get us two free nights. We had a really nice suite with a jacuzzi tub that I couldn't use! We had a living room, kitchenette, huge bathroom and bedroom. Our room overlooked the fishercats baseball field.

Friday night we headed to Carol and Scott's new house in Hollis for dinner. Scott has the kitchenaid pasta attachment so he made us homemade spaghetti....three guesses on what Anthony's new toy will be :-) We had great appetizers, home made pasta and meatballs, and enjoyed catching up with Carol and Scott in their new home.

Saturday afternoon we met up with Stephanie and Mike and headed to "college grove" where the school had set up a tailgating area. They had grills set up and we cooked up some hamburgers and hot dogs before watching the footbacll game. We lost the game miserablly but it was still fun...but cold!

Saturday night we all headed to the St. A's pub for dinner and drinks. Anthony was in heaven remebering how good his chicken calzone was.

We got to see Father Cecil, the priest from school that married us, and several other former students.

SUnday morning we headed to a local breakfast place we used to visit then went to pick up Ms. Monroe from Nannie Camp. She was a very good girl and even ate her own dog food....this is big.

Yesterday we did a lot of "baby things" but that shall be told in a sperate blog.

Back to work....blah!!!!!!!

4 Years Later

2008-10-02T08:32:00.005-04:00

Four years ago today I became Mrs. Favry. Anthony and I got married at 3:30pm at St. James church in RI followed by the best reception ever at Kirkbrae Country Club. It was in fact the wedding of the century.

I can't believe we have been married four years and together almost seven. Time really flies!!!! So much has changed in four years, we bought a house, we lost Nana Courtney, mom was diagnosed and beat breast cancer, we welcome our best little nephew Callum, and now we await the arrival of our own little one! Who would have thought!!!
I love you Twon Bon!!

I think I've changed in the past few days. My belly was very itchy and the other night I had these really weird feelings like my belly was just stretching. When I came home from work Tuesday Anthony informed yes indeed I had grown overnight. Maybe tomorrow will be our first belly watch post....please note I will not be showing skin in these photos. Thank you.

On a sadder note, Chelsea would like to say she loves Thomas very much and is really going to miss him. He was her best friend and she'll always remember him. Anthony and I feel very sad to and are thinking of Thomas and his family. Uncle Twon, not a cat lover, even loved Thomas and enjoyed when he jumped on his lap and nuzzled his nose. I enjoyed cat sitting Thomas and dressing him up in scars and spraying Nannie's perfume on him. We all love him and will miss him. He is now joining the other best cat in the world, Fluffy Mischief Goldsmith.

Hang Tough

2008-09-28T15:46:00.004-04:00

Friday night I went to a concert BIGGER than the Beatles...NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.
It was a lot of fun. Pictures to follow when Kim sends them to me. I went with 6 girls and we all had custom made tank tops and whistles. For all of you who don't know what the whistels were for ( you are not true fans) they were for Hanging Tough.
The show was sold out and a second show was added....that shows you how many fans are out there! Of course they played some of their classics and also promoted the new album " the block." I'd like to purchase the CD but Anthony doesn't think its a good investment....wonder why. I first saw New Kids when they played with Tiffany at Great Woods. Mum and Bob took Jared and I in a limo no less. I wore pink bike shorts with a floursecent top and my white keds which mum decorated with puffy paint...jared had socks up to his kness and probably a fanny pack with his autograph book, he worshiped Jonathon ( the gay one).

I got home late, well actually early saturday morning. Saturday afternoon I started cleaning out the guest room closet to make room for the peanuts room one day, after all he/she already has three outfits! LAter in the day ANthony and I went to BJ's and LOwes. ANthony was making shelves in the garage to clean up. We finished the day at Paul's Pasta for dinner.

Today Anthony is at the red sox game and I am home resting. I did laundry and now I am baking a shepard's pie.

That's all.

Say Cheese

2008-09-25T11:40:00.003-04:00

So yesterday, Kristin went to the doctor because she was not feeling well. While there, they did another ultrasound so they could hear the baby's heartbeat. If you look at the ultrasound below, you can see the little eyes, nose, arm, hand and even the little frown! How cute!!!!

Finger Lickin Good

2008-09-21T18:08:00.004-04:00

Last night Kristin and I went to a wedding for someone we work with. The wedding was in Woodstock, CT, which is straight up 395, right before the Worcester, MA border. It was a beautiful day yesterday and an even better evening. The ceremony was outside, which lasted about 5 minutes (no lie). After the ceremony, we had cocktails and appetizers outside on the terrace, over looking the fields where the sun was setting over. Following appetizers, we went inside for dinner, which I thought was really food. It seems like every wedding/event there is always one person who ends up breaking something. Well, last night I was "that guy." As I was sitting down at the table, I went to go move my water glass, which ending up shattering in my manly grip. Glass and water went everywhere! Following dinner, there was dancing outside on the covered deck, which was pretty cool, literally. I have to go on record in saying that Kristin looked absolutely beautiful! Everything from her outfit, to her hair to her face was beautiful. It must be the pregnancy glow! I am so mad that we forgot our camera, so we were not able to get any pictures of the two of us.

Today, after only getting a few hours of sleep, Kristin and I did some errands. We planned a feast of food to eat tonight as a mini-celebration. Kristin made her famous cheesy potatoes and also made lemon bars for dessert. I made a homemade apple pie, which I have to say was awesome!!!

For dinner, in addition to the cheesy potatoes, I made bloomin onions with really good dipping sauce, and chicken friend steak. I also made country gravey to go with the friend steak. As always though, I make WAY to much food, but I guess that's the nature of being Italian. The frier I bought when up in Maine last week is coming into good use, though the fried foodis not heart healthy!I cannot weight for Thanksgiving now.

Another quick weekend and another Sunday where I sit here dreading the week ahead. Kristin and I want to thank everyone for all their congratulations and warm wishes. We appreciate everyone's comments, emails, calls and support!

A New Chapter Begins...

2008-09-20T10:35:00.005-04:00

It has been a long time since we last blogged. The past few months have been crazy for the both of us, however, Kristin and I are FINALLY happy to annouce that we are going to have a baby! Baby Favry is due April 5th, 2009, which is ironic because it falls right between our Birthdays. I guess this means that Kristin's Birthday will no longer be the main event and that the focus now will have to be mine!

It has been hard keeping it a secret from everyone, however, we wanted to make it through the first trimester knowing that this would be the hardest one. We told our family a couple of months ago, which was so exciting. Outside of telling your parents that you are getting married, telling them you are having a child is such an incredible feeling. We cannot wait for the day to introduce them to their new grandchild/nephew-neice!

We have gone now to 4 doctors appointments and three ultrasounds, with the last one being yesterday. Kristin and I were awed at how quickly the baby has grown. Even more amazing was actually being able to see the baby move and suck its thumb. The little "lemon" as Kristin calls it was moving around on the ultrasound yesterday. We even got to hear the heartbeat, which is such a comforting thing. Heartbeat is strong at 163 beats and the baby is now 2 inches, with the expectation that it will double in size in the next 2-3 weeks.

We are so happy to now be able to tell people because it makes it feel more real. For Kristin, the reality sets in when she can feel the first kick! For me, I think it is actually seeing her stomach and also knowing the gender. The both of us cannot wait to start getting things for our baby and all the planning that comes with it. As many of you know, Kristin and I are planners, so we have already thought about where we are putting the nursery, colors depending upon gender, looked at cribes and also stollers etc. Fun times indead but certainly a reality check!

We will be certain to keep you all updated along the way. We look forward to many more blogs about the new chapter that we have begun in our lives.

Few more Photos

2008-08-19T12:34:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone, Tata here.

Here are a few more pictures from our week down the cape. More to follow....

As you can see from the last photo Anthony really enjoyed playing Bocci WHILE drinking. I think the booze is still coming out of his pores.

In addition to hanging around the house eating and drinking we also visited the beach, Nantucket, Anthony golfed alot, I went paddle boat riding with the girls, and ate several ice creams.

Now its back to work and day to day life. It was really hard to wake up yesterday and drive into the office. I was back at work 5 minutes and it was like my vacation never happened!!

Chelsea enjoyed her week long vacation as well. I think for the most part she ate steak, eggs, ginger snaps and marshmallows. She visited with the newspaper man, ran loose around the circle trying to get Boppie to chase her, and kept Nannie company. I think Boppie and Nannie really miss her.

I have to bring Chelsea to the vet today. She was supposed to have her normal check up but between the hours of 6am and 10 this morning she threw up about 6 times, poor little puppy. So Anthony is changing now and then we are going bye bye in the car to get her checked out. You can't fool her though, she knows the route to the vet and does NOT get out of the car easily. If she is good we'll get her a donut on the way home.

Cape Update #1

2008-08-11T08:16:00.002-04:00

I figured I would post a quick blog while everyone is sleeping. Kristin and I got down to the Cape late in the day Saturday after going to Richie and Jenn's ceremony. We hit a bunch of traffic, but all in all it was not too bad.

Once we got here, we unpacked the car, set up our room and went outside and hung out the rest of the night. We had hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner. Yesterday, Bryan, Scott (Bryan's identical twin) and I went to Starbuck. When we got back to house, we sat outside for a bit and read the paper. The guys went over to Bernella's (tourist emporium) later that morning to pick up some water noodles for the beach. While we headed over to the store, the girls went to the beach to get us a spot. Once we got back from the store, we headed to the beach, where we stayed for a couple of hours. The sun was intense yesterday. Kristin got red as usual....and YES, she did have lots of sunscreen on! She wore her glasses, and as a result, she has white circles around her eyes. After the beach, we came back, fired up the grill, made some burgers and dogs and 3 boxes of mac'n'cheese!!!!

Yesterday afternoon, we watched part of the Sox game before giving up. The guys went mini golfing and the girls went to do paddle boats. After we got back, we played some competitive boccie ball, got spoken to by the neighbors and ate some of our drunken watermelon. Bryan and I went to the Sand Dollar (locate bar) while everyone else stayed at the house cooking ribs.

We are having a good time. It is fun when you have 10 other people because there are always things to do. I do not know what the plans are for today. They say rain today and tomorrow. Bryan and I were hoping to get a game of golf in today. I have some pictures I will be posting later this week.

Water Lovers

2008-08-03T20:17:00.006-04:00

Hey Everyone!

TaTa and I are finally back in CT after being in Maine much of the week. As Kristin mentioned in her prior blog, she and I headed up to Maine for the end of the week to spend with Callum and Jamanda. We had a good time and enjoyed spending it with our nephew! We cannot believe how much he has grown in such a short period of time. I think the hightlight of my weekend was the time I got to spend holding Callum and playing with him and his "friends." I also enjoyed giving Callum a bath. I think it is so funny how much Callum enjoys bath time. He sits in his chair smiling and kicking his feet. No sooner do you take himm out of the tub, does he start screaming!

As Kristin mentioned, Jared and I went into Freeport one of the days to LL Bean. I ended up buying two kayakes, one for Kristin and one for me. Today, we went to Avery Pond and went kayaking for an hour. When you think of a pond, you think small, however, this pond was like a lake. No one there except us, which was fantastic. The weather was amazing down here today. We took some pictures of the water lillies and the surrodnings, which are below. There are even some pictures of us.

After our kyake adventure, we headed home and I cut the lawn while TaTa did some errands. Afterwards, we went into Mystic and then headed to the supermakret. Tonight, we had some grilled flatbread and burgers as well as a sampling of various side salads. I also made cookies for a little snack.

Last night, Kristin and I watched our favortie newphew while Jamanda went to a wedding in Brockton. After they left for the wedding, Callum played with his "friends" for a short while before he decided to start crying. We ended up feeding him, changing him and burping him thinking he would stop crying, however, he did not. I ended up holing him in my arms while I danced and sang to him, which seemed to do the trick. After an hour of dancing, I put him down in his chair, where he sat happily for over an hour talking with his "friends." Around 8:00pm, he started to cry, so I sat on the couch with him and we watch the Sox for a short while before he ended up falling asleep. In an effort to change him for bed, he ended up waking up. We ended up feeding him again before putting him down for the night.

Hopefully you got a chance to watch the Sox game last night. I turned it on at the top of the 1st, when it was the A's winning 2-0. Youk ended up hitting a 2 run homer with Bay following with a 3 run homer bringing the score 5-2, Sox. Game ended 12-2, Sox. It was great being able to finally sit and watch the entire game without many interruptions.

Well, I am off to get some things done before bed. Not looking forward to work tomorrow, however, knowing we are in vacation in a week maked it much easier to deal with.

Live from Maine

2008-07-31T11:42:00.005-04:00

Here we are, reporting live from Maine.

We arrived yesterday and Amanda and I worked from home down in the basement as seen below.
We hung out with Callum at home all day while the boys left us and went to Freeport. Apparently they had a lovely lunch at a pub and kayak shopped at LL Bean, oh and Jared got a strap on....

We had Chineese food for dinner.

Callum has gotten quite bigger since the last time we saw him. Here are some updated photos below. Doesn't he look handsome in blue?

And who could forget the cousins?

Its raining right now so Im not sure what the plan is for the day. Maybe some shopping, maybe the liberal cup??? Time will tell....

2008-07-29T08:29:00.002-04:00

See you soon Callum!!! Auntie KK and Uncle Twon are headed to Maine. We have Thursday and Friday off and are off to visit Callum. We have several things planned, the boys may go to Freeport, we may go to Moxie Falls, we'll go walking and take callum for ice creams. Then Saturday Nannie gets Callum during the day and we get to babysit at night when Jared, Amanda, Nannie and Boppie go to the wedding. Im very exctied. We'll bathe Callum and take him for a walk and Ill change his outfit 99 times. Then I think Sunday Callum goes to Papa and Grammies, such a busy bee.

In our car currently is Callums tricycle and life jackets. Also his pack and play for Nannie camp, Uncle Twon is a pro at taking that thing up and down now.

Maybe we'll blog on location in Maine. If not Im sure we'll have tons of pictures to share when we return.

1st annual Erin's Way Yard Sale

2008-07-27T17:20:00.009-04:00

On Satueday we had our first annunal street wide yard sale.

The ad in the paper and signs indicated it started at 9am. People arrived at 7:30 to check out the goods, by the time 9 AM rolled around we had made several large sales.
We had a stead crowd up until about 2pm, then we marked down the prices to 50 percent off.

At the end of the day Anthony and I made $340.00, the neighborhood total was over $900!!! We were very happy, we sold 2 old bureaus, a treadmill, a desk, and more.

Here is Babs browsing the childrens section and buying Dora blanket, books, candels, pictures, and more!!

Oh and here is Anthony taking a break from the sales....

Chelsea helped with the cashier station. Everybody loved her.

After the bbq and everyone showered, we had a neighborhood BBQ in our backyard. Everyone brought food to share. The Cronins, who have a full running farm, brought fresh hamburgers and cole slaw. Anthony inquired about getting a turkey from them for thanksgiving. They said yes so now we can visit Lulu and make sure she is eating, we can even let her play in our back yard.....Im thinking no, Ill meet her on Thanksgiving day.

It was a fun day and an easy $350 bucks! We are doimg another in the fall!!!

BANKS

2008-07-24T08:47:00.001-04:00

Anthony and I were talking the other day, you know what business is very annoying to deal with...banks.

For example. We went to go get a bank check on Friday. Now we basically wanted to take money we had in a savings account and have a bank check issued, they charge you for this. So I said " So i have to pay to get my own money out of the bank???" "yes mam" I also wanted a six month print out history of a CD we had and that was a $5.00 charge as well. I think this is absurd.

Reminds me of what time Jared telling us he went to deposit money into the bank. Then he wanted to take money out that same time. The teller told him he could deposit it without Amanda there but couldn't take it out. So basically Jared told him he would deposit the money then walk 50 feet to the ATM and take it out......

Our bank wouldn't even let me deposit money one time because Anthony was not present. I can see withdrawing money..but depositing, would he be mad I was putting money INTO the bank?

Any bank stories??

I am home today working and Chelsea is running around with a peanut butter jar. Tonight we need to price yard sale items and make signs to hang. Fun fun.

We're Back

2008-07-22T09:54:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the lack of blogs...but we still have a better track record than Melathon :-)
I've included some pictures in case you forgot what we all look like....

Not a heck of a lot new here. We are getting ready for a street wide yard sale on Saturday. Its actually quite stressful as the street can't agree on anything (ie how many cashiers, where to have it, blah blah blah). We are just putting our stuff in our driveway Saturday morning and calling it a day.

Anthony and I went bowling Sat night. I did really well, I got a 75 I think......Anthony, who was on a bowling league as a child, won with a socre of 175.
Sunday morning Anthony and I went to our special place for breakfast, "Somehwere in Time." Anthony is really into the hash omlet with a side of sour cream. I try something new every time. This week I had a avacoado and roasted red pepper omlette with sour dough toast...YUMMO.

Anthony got very ecletric on the grill last night and cooked salmon for the first time, on a wooden plank even. I opted for ham steak and made a mango salsa as a side.

Now that I think about it, this blog is a lot like Jared's...all about food. However I didn't make any racial slurs...WAH WAH WAH

Oars Island

2008-07-15T09:37:00.003-04:00

Anthony and I headed up to Oars Island Maine on Friday morning to spend the weekend with our friends Lauren and Paul and another couple Joel and Maria. Lauren's aunt owns a cottage on the water and we have been a few times now.

We dropped Chelsea at Nannie camp and headed to Maine. We arrived about 3pm and began our weekend. Friday night we cooked pizza on the grill and sat outside on the rocks and had a bon fire. I think my hair still smells like smoke. Everyone slept in late Saturday morning and then woke up to a breakfast out by the water. We all got ready and drove into Freeport for a little bit. We walked around LL Bean and had lunch at a local pub. It was great weather!! After walking around we headed back to the cottage and spent the rest of the day sitting by the water reading, talking, snacking, and getting some sun.
Later in the day Lauren< Maria, and I headed to the local candy shop and gift shop and Paul went to get lobsters for the selected few who wanted them; Anthony and I ate chicken. Sat night we ate dinner then had another fire on the rocks and watched fireworks courtesy of a neighbor.

Sunday morning came fast and after breakfast we headed to Nannie camp to pick up Ms. Monroe. Once back in CT Anthony did some lawn mowing and I did laundry and cleaned up a bit. Busy week for all of us. Anthony had dinner last night, I have to go to NJ Thursday.....Morristown I think, is that near Miley's house?

So it was a fun weekend, ended to quick and now its back to the grind.

A blog for Jared........Foods from the 80's

2008-07-09T12:19:00.007-04:00

Jared and I were talking about food mom used to make a lot over his visit this past weekend. One thing I remembered was the Aunt Jemima Coffee cake!! Do you remember this, you just squished it in the bag and then put it in the disposable pan and called it a day!! I wonder if they still sell this..

Coffee Cake

Aunt Jemima® Coffee Cake Easy Mix lets you enjoy the homemade goodness of freshly baked coffee cake without the mess. Just mix the batter in the disposable bag and bake in the disposable tray. If your kids are helping out in the kitchen, try baking cake in the microwave

This got me thinking to a few other foods from the 80's...

How about Giggle cookies?

Remember Chicken Tonight?? " I feel like chicken tonight, like chicken tonight....i feel like chicken tonight!!! Remember the tune?

When we go to to the grocery store with mom, lots of times our treats were "Shake Ups!!"

Another favorite snack of mine...Tid Bits! And Micro Magic Fries!

remember Krispy Kritters cereal? I don't think I ever had it but I remember the song... "Krispy Kritters, the new wholesome crunch, a low fat cereal with lots of munch, its adoobely delicious"...or something like that anyway.

A few others:
HandiSnacks
Kid Cuisine
Great Starts breakfast sandwiches
Lunchabels

What else??

2008-07-07T13:58:00.006-04:00

So our weekend with the Goldsmith family went well. I think Callum really likes Auntie Camp and wants to come back soon.

The clan arrived Thursday evening and Anthony made his special Bri pasta dish, we all ate under the new screen on the back porch, even Callum joined us for a bit. Friday we had a cookout so everyone could visit Callum. We had a great spread of food....this blog may resemble Jared's blog with the food section. For Apps Anthony made a buffalo chicken dip, Jared made his new tickle my pickle dip, I made a crab and spinach dip with beer bread, Babs made her devil eggs and Mum brought the all time favorite calzone....oh and stuffed mushrooms, who could forget those. Those are a regular Twon special.
Main course included hot dogs, sausage, steak tips, my new famous potato salad, orzo salad, avocado and corn salad.......god there was so much!!!
Dessert featured a lovely fruit pie, brownie cake and my new featured lemonade bars. And if you were lucky you got to sample Anthony's lemon ice cream with chunks of pie crust and white chocolate.....what a day of eating!!!! After the elders went home Friday Jared, Anthony and I watched fire works with the neighbors sorry Amanda....Calum had to have snack during that time.

Saturday we took little C into Mystic and showed him the bike shop and a few other venues. We went to Dicks so Jared could buy a hat and then had lunch at Sea View. The men had fried claims and us ladies had chicken tenders and fries. On the way home we stopped at the market for a few ingredients as Twon was making smores ice cream for dessert!!!! Saturday night we cooked on the grill and watched a wonderful movie called the Covenant. After the movie Jared saw darklings.

Sunday morning we went for a nice walk with Callum and Chelsea and then had pizza before the Goldsmiths headed back to Maine.

We enjoyed having Uncle and Auntie time and Uncle Twon changed his first poopie diaper, he did great.

It stinks to be back at work!!! I wish I was a teacher like Jared and had all this time off. Wah Wah Wah.

2008-07-06T16:57:00.005-04:00

Here are some updated pictures of Callum from his visit to CT. He loves it here!!

More to come regarding the adventures of his visit.

No Title Needed

2008-07-05T11:20:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th of July. More pictures and stories to follow!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream

2008-07-02T09:18:00.002-04:00

So in addition to Anthony's brewhouse and Chelsea's Chocolates, Erin's Way is a full service ice cream shoppe now!

Anthony began making his own ice cream on Sunday. The first batch was so so good, better than Mystic Drawbridge I told him. It was a vanilla based ice cream with fresh coconut and milk chocolate chunks, SO good. Needless to say it was quickly consumed.

This weekend's special will be a fresh lemon based ice cream with chunks of pie crust and white chocolate chunks. God I hope we don't eat it all before the guests arrive.

Ice Cream is a wonderful summer treat!!! When we were little we would often visit Maplewood or Cresent Ridge. One time at Cresent Ridge a cow pooped on mum's leg.

Everytime we went for ice cream Jared would be covered. He could just not figure out how to successfully eat an ice cream cone without wearing it. I would go the safe route and order a "Hot Sudge Funday."

I love ice cream, you know what DH, they should make an ice cream shoppe that delivers.

We are currently taking suggestions for our next flavor.

The PianoMan

2008-06-30T13:43:00.002-04:00

Saturday night Anthony and I had a hot date at the casino. Someone at work had given us tickets to see Billy Joel in concert.

The casino was packed!! We had tried to make dinner reservations well in advance but everything was booked. We ended up going to Bubba's BBQ for dinner. It wasn't anything to write home about. Anthony had a turkey Reuben that was definitely not a Reuben, it was dry and had mustard on it.
I had chicken fried steak which was just OK. I mostly just ate the potatoes.

The concert stated at 8 so we headed into the Arena about 7:30. We had two free food/drink coupons so Anthony had a beer and I got water. And no I'm not pregnant, i don't like beer.

We had fantastic seats, we were eight rows up from the stage!!!! Billy Joel played straight from 8- 10:30 with no break. A few of the favorite numbers he played were " River of Dreams, " We Didn't Start the Fire", " Anthony's Song" ( which is the moving out song), " Only the Good Die Young," " Piano Man" and many others. I even danced around with the lady next to me, don't even know her name but she asked me to dance.

The lights were really neat and his baby grand spun around. The whole show was really great!!! He didn't play "Uptown Girl" which I was hoping he'd play, but maybe he doesn't play it since he divorced Christy Brinkly.

Besides the concert we did a lot of errands to get ready for the BBQ. Anthony has a new treat he makes now, ill write a separate blog about that.
Anthony put together Callum's house for the weekend and did lots of work outside in the heat!!

That's all.

HodgePodge

2008-06-24T13:32:00.002-04:00

Good Afternoon Everyone.

Kristin here. Anthony is in NJ on business ( i told him to visit the zoo) and Chelsea and I are holding the fort down here. Its a rainy Tuesday day, I am working from home and its thundering and lighting bad, Chelsea is under the table.

SO if you are in need of a laugh, funny DH story coming your way...
Daddy Henry was at Walmart on Friday picking up some frames for little callum's pictures. He was parked in the handicap spot with his handicap tag in clear view. When he got back into the car he removed the tag ( he stated these are the instructions) and backed out. An old lady passed the truck and told DH he had a nerve parking there....clearly she didn't see his sticker as he took it down. So Daddy Henry chased her around the walmart parking lot in his truck...HAHAHA

We have escalators at our new office and they seem to break down a lot. Why do people freak out when they go out of service...an escalator out of service is just stairs isn't it??? Why are people afraid of escalators? and why don't escalators ever curve like stairs do, why aren't there spiral escalators? Sorry I sound like Jared...I better start talking about food now...wah wah wah.

Anthony and I are excited for Callum to visit next week, and of course Jared and Amanda too. We will be featuring some very patriotic outfits for the 4th in honor of Callum, Callum is very patriotic!!

That's all. Later on today I'll have hot dogs for supper then Ill catch up on John and Kate plus 8 and probably some Bridezillas and read "Gone Baby Gone" so I can discuss with DH and Hernie. Then Ill call Callum to see what he is wearing today.

TATA all.

Switchflops

2008-06-19T15:26:00.003-04:00

Oh hello everybody. Just a quick hello.

We have been keeping busy looking at our pictures of Callum and calling him to listen to him gurgle. We can't wait to see him again. We were going to ride up Saturday but we figure Amanda is still healing and Im sure the new parents are tired...but we'll be back soon Callum don't worry. Auntie and Uncle bring you a present too!

I go to consigbnment shops a lot. Usually I go up to Uptown COnsignment but its to far away now that our office moved so I had to find a new venue....I looked online and found a shop in Mystic so I checked it out. Its called Chic She or something weird like that.

Its two stories and so cool!!! The woman was really nice and took all my ( well really mom's) things. She sells all kinds of chicos, INC, abercrombie, coldwater creek, etc etc.

She also sells a few "new" things like my new flip flops.... check out this website
http://www.switchflops.com/

They are cheaper in the store than online. Its a great idea yes? You can change the strap to match each outfit. If you look at the straps they have a " kristin, annie and Amanda strap" its fate.

So who wants to come visit me to go shopping, Im thinking June would love this place because she love shoes. Then we'll go across the way to "Twice as Nice" and buy Callum and Miley some things.

Happy Birthday Callum

2008-06-15T14:19:00.005-04:00

Hi Everyone, Uncle Anthony & Auntie Kristin here. As promised here are some pictures of our new nephew Callum. The entire album is also posted on the right side of our blog so click away. Ill also email out individual pictures. Let me know if you want the album emailed to you.

We were so glad to be in Maine for the arrival. The picture of Amanda and I with the water bottle was 5 minutes post water breakage :-)

It was a great week. Callum is so handsome and perfect. We love him so much already, its a great feeling!!!!We can't wait to come see him again!!!! Anthony is so excited to visit again he purchased an easy pass last night!!!!

2008-06-09T19:22:00.004-04:00

Hello Everyone.

Kristin here filling in for Twon. He is busy on his next batch of Blueberry Beer. He wants to have it ready for Callum to try in July.

Friday night David and Stephanie asked us to babysit Gabe while they went to an art opening. Anthony and I arrive around 6 and had Boston Market for dinner with Gabe. For a two year old he has a very good appetite and enjoyed chicken, spinach, green beans and "muffin." After dinner we played tunnel and bowled and had fun. When it was time for pajamas and "snuggling" we watched an episode of Old School Sesame Street from 1974 I think. I loved it. I would like to buy the whole box set!!! David and Stephanie got home around 9 and Anthony and I headed home. Please note the picture of Gabe in his frog boots carrying Anthony's phone around!

Saturday was a very special day. We got to go to Daddy Henry's Transfer Station, not to be confused with dump...We have been promising DH we'd help him take some old TV's and a Micorowave to the dump so we headed up to Mass on Saturday to help him out. It was very hot and DH did have a flat tire so the day started on a bad foot. But we got to go to the TRANSFER STATION and for lunch at Maui. Then we helped him with a few more things around the house and i did NOT get the ice cream I wanted.....hmmmm. Ill take a rain check. But I think DH was happy we got some stuff done. Now he just has to deal with his tire.

Yesterday I had a bridal shower. But before I left for that we went and got our clothes line. Anthony put it up in the backyard. Tomorrow I am going to wash sheets and hang them outside to dry. While I was at the shower Twoniie cut Chelsea's hair, put up the clothesline, went grocery shopping, took out the trash, made a pasta salad, and missed me....did I forget anything Twonie?

There is still no baby Callum news, but our Callum plant did bloom....so maybe Callum is about to bloom?

FANS...

2008-06-09T12:04:00.001-04:00

Hi fans, I promise to do a blog tonight with pictures. We had a busy weekend and were just to tired last night!
Stay tuned.

Concerts Begin

2008-06-05T13:31:00.003-04:00

Oh Hello.

Our summer of concerts began last night. I had surpised Anthony with tickets on his birthday to see Alison Krauss at Mohegan Sun. She played last night with Robert Plant, who I didn't know but he is from Led Zepliln, he is from DH's time. The concert was very good. If you go to
http://www.robertplantalisonkrauss.com/site.php?content=store
you can listen to their CD, I am listening to it as I type this. My favorites are #2 and #3 and #6.

We sat in the nose bleed section, we were literally the 2nd from the last row, we were so high up Twonie was a little scared. The two ladies behind us LOVED Robert Plant and screamed the whole time, at one point one of them got so excited she kicked Anthony in the back really hard...so I slapped her.

We will be going back to Mohegan Sun on June 28th to see BILLY JOEL!!!! We are very excited about that. Someone at work gave Anthony tickets, gave them to us, they are like $250 tickets! I wonder if we'll be close enough to get sweat on??

Then in September I am going to see New Kids on the Block with 6 other girls. Dad, New Kids are going to be bigger than the Beatles!!

NY NY

2008-06-03T08:44:00.002-04:00

Start spreading the news.....

So on Friday ANthony and I took our mothers to NYC for the day.
Mum came down Thursday night and slept over. Friday morning we left our house around 7am and drove to the New Haven train station. We took the train into Grand Central Station and arrive around 10ish. We walked a tad and then took a cab over to Canal Street. We were not even out of the cab yet and little chineese ladies were coming up to us saying " you want prada, coach, gucci???" It was a tad overwhelming.
ALl along Canal St are shops selling pocketbooks, sunglasses, jewlery, perfume etc. And all the shops have "secret" back rooms the size of Jared's bedroom on Foundry St and they cram everyone in to look at the "secret" pocketbooks. You also have the option of going into a van filled with pocketbooks, it was about 99 degrees in there and very claustrophobic! JoAnn, Mum, and I all got purses and sunglasses. Shopping made us hungry so we went over to Little Italy for lunch. We ate at a very good restaraunt and sat next to the table where the Sopranos sit when they visit!!! After lunch we got a canolli and then went to the cheese store. Anthony came home with grated cheese and Provolone and a loaf of bread........most are already gone....

It was a fun day, very warm!! The mothers behaved and mum managed to hail 2 cabs. No one got locked in any bathrooms or got lost.

We told them if they are good maybe we will take them again in the fall.

Like Butter

2008-06-01T19:44:00.005-04:00

Hello Everybody. Kristin here. Twonie is taking a shower and then we are going to go read on the front porch. Just wanted to catch everyone up on our weekend. Friday will be its on blog...we took the mothers to NY City for the day...more to come on that.

This morning I didn't get up till 10:30!! While I slept Anthony fertilized the lawn. After I awoke and got cleaned up we took a ride to do some errands. We might have gotten Jared a birthday present, I can't remember. It was all Anthony's doing...
I got very hungry so we stopped at Sea Swirl for a little snack.

Sea Swirl was featured on Chronicle. Rachel Ray also visited this site when filming one of her $40 a day shows that Jared likes. We had never been and decided to give it a try. Anthony had the clams and said they were "like butter" I had a very delicious coconut ice cream cone with COLORED jimmies. They have a wonderful selection of slush, ice cream (hard and soft) claims, hot dogs, burgers, and broccoli florets with cheese. We will definitely go back.

http://www.seaswirlofmystic.com/aboutus.html

After snack we went to Home Depot to get a clothesline but they didn't have any, Lowes did not either but we were successful at our local nursery in Ledyard. I'm excited to hang clothes outside, especially sheets!!

We then ventured to a Super WalMart...this too has been here but we have never gone. If you can tolerate the several "out of town" families who congregate in the aisles you can get some very good savings. I got freee underware today there, the hanes lady was just walking around. It was fun.We actually did our grocery shopping here today. We got fillet wrapped in bacon...two for $5.00!!! Anthony grilled them tonight and they were "like butter." We were laughing because who goes to WalMart and gets fillet mingon??? They were really good though! We had fillet and nice grilled veggies and baked potato. We have some pudding chilling as I type this as well.

It was very warm down here today and we are pooped!!! We are going to go read on the porch and then go to bed. Busy week coming up. We have Alison Kraus Weds night, Thursday Anthony has to work in Boston and maybe I do too, Friday Twon has Jury Duty and we might get a nephew in the middle of all this!!!! Callum if you are reading this, just stay inside until maybe next week, then Auntie can come visit right away...OK? Thanks.