Patrick and the Pugs

Alexander's First haircut

2011-04-22T21:35:00.008-05:00

I recall Patrick as being much easier at this, he sat still. Alexander is much more of a wiggler and it was hard for Catherine to do her magic. Oh well, there will be many more haircuts to come.

Et Voila!

Yummy Cake

2011-04-12T11:15:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Loren's picture taking here are images of Alexander getting a lot of joy from his birthday cupcake (made be Loren).

Happy Birthday

2011-04-09T11:43:00.015-05:00

Here he is.... through the months. Our baby has grown.

Remember what I said last month about props? Here is Alexander paying attention to what is in his hands while I try to keep him on the chair and

It worked... I finally got a smile (see below). This month was a much healthier month and we discovered a wonderful, fun, talkative and busy little boy. In return Alexander has discovered another fun boy in the house. He and Patrick are very much enjoying each other (except when Patrick guards every single toy from his brother!). All in all though, it is really nice to hear Alexander laughing at and with Patrick. When we pick Patrick up at school, Alexander turns to his brother waiting for Patrick to make him laugh.
Alexander is still not walking but has mastered the stairs and therefore no gates are needed. In fact, now that they are not forbidden he is a lot less interested in them. As far as I am concerned, one of his favorite activities is feeding the dogs his meal. He loves to watch them scramble for the food he drops. He is also babbling a lot and interacting with all of, such as learning to wave and clap.
It is amazing to believe a year has gone by (it sometimes seems like so much longer than that) and look forward to another great year.

I am 11 months old

2011-03-10T10:27:00.010-05:00

Here is Alexander at 11 months. It is harder and harder to get him to sit still. A prop works for a short while and then he has to move. As you scroll down you will see what I mean.
This past month Alexander got much more proficient with the stairs and we can almost remove the gates. He is standing almost without holding but is not yet walking. Unfortunately, the month was mostly remembered for a lot of sick time. Alexander then Patrick, then Alexander, then Alexander. In 8 days, I was at the doctor's office 4 times. Anyway, the weather should be improving which will help significantly. All in all though, I am sure Alexander is a great, fun child when he is not feeling miserable.

Alexander on stairs

2011-02-19T09:08:00.003-05:00

January Videos

2011-02-14T18:11:00.002-05:00

I am finally getting to posting some videos. Alexander is a lot of fun to watch except that as soon as he sees me filming, he wants to grab the camera from me (as you will see)!

January 15

January 16

January 16

10 months old

2011-02-08T18:15:00.009-05:00

Ok, they are all very similar pictures but he is really quite (yes I am biased). Check out the jowls he has on the last picture.

Here is Patrick at 10 months

Here I am, 10 months old and happy as a lark, unless tired.
I still have no teeth but can gnaw just about any food. In fact, don't give me pureed food, I won't eat it. I like chunks and I shake my head when I don't want to eat anymore. I love all kinds of stuff, fish, cheerios, toast, cheese and pears. I especially love all things sweet, such as the yummy scones and cookies Maman gives me.
I am still not walking but now crawl with one leg half standing and am going up and down stairs non stop. I don't think I need any supervision with the stairs but adults think I do. I even know to turn around to go backwards down the stairs without being told. I am of course talking (babbling) a lot and especially love to squeal in delight when Patrick plays with me or Louie lets me throw him the ball.

Happy Birthday Patrick!

2011-01-20T20:53:00.011-05:00

Patrick is now 4 years old and well aware of what happens on your birthday (cake, candles and presents - and being older than those who are 3 but still younger than those who are going to be 5! - a catch up game he will never win).

He had many celebrations, first with his sisters (ie. cousins), Grammy and Grampa.

The next day his school friends, Adelie and Esme came over to play.

That same night, Dinan and Uncle Skeeter came over for more cupcake celebration.
The final celebration was at home with a party with his cousins and friends. Here they are playing the statue game.

Videos

9 months old already!

2011-01-10T10:47:00.007-05:00

I am 9 months old and REALLY fast. I can crawl almost as fast as Papa and Maman can walk. They have to be especially careful because I just love the dog's water bowl. I am also standing and love to go from furniture to furniture on two feet. Soon enough I will be walking and that will be just great. I have also learned to talk and am working on my syllables. Right now my favorite one is "mamamamamamama". I can also scream just as loudly as Patrick.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T07:32:00.001-05:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Merry Christmas

2010-12-30T04:55:00.001-05:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Videos from November

2010-12-10T19:44:00.002-05:00

These are videos from last month that I thought were worth posting.

Patrick just loves to dance, in fact he took a ballet class this week which he really liked. Here is his choreography to music.

Alexander is even better at crawling then this video shows. More to come.

Visit to see Santa

2010-12-10T19:25:00.009-05:00

On December 5 we went to an amusement park south of Boston. The main theme was trains which delighted Patrick (and explains the train engineer hat in the previous slide show). We also got to see Santa. Amazingly, a good picture came out of the visit. At the very least I was expecting tears from Alexander; but it was Patrick who had a hard time looking at the camera as he was very intent on talking to Santa Claus.

8 months and 8 months and 1 day slide show

2010-12-09T20:25:00.003-05:00

I am now 8 months old

2010-12-09T15:30:00.010-05:00

Now that Alexander has discovered the joy of moving around it is hard to get him to sit still for pictures. Here is the best of the bunch (the others are in the slide show below)

Here is Patrick at 8 months:

Now that Alexander can crawl and stand, sitting is just not an option. So... here is a standing one taken on December 9.

It's official, I can crawl

2010-11-21T12:12:00.002-05:00

I have mastered the technique of crawling and just love getting around on my own.

YouTube Video

7 months old and on the move

2010-11-08T16:47:00.014-05:00

"I can now officially crawl without falling on my belly everytime I move forward. I am know working on getting up the step from the sunroom to the living room. Once I make it I can really play with Patrick and his toys*. I can also sit up pretty well and am learning to eat fruits and vegetables. Soon enough I will be walking a talking!"
*As you can imagine, Patrick is less excited about this development. Today he said he was mad at Alexander for taking one of his toys. The fun art of negotiation begins....

Here is Patrick at 7 months.

Dinan visited this weekend. Patrick is always so excited when he is told she is coming. We had a nice time and Alexander liked it too.

Alexander gets better at crawling

2010-11-05T17:20:00.001-05:00

Alexander attempts to crawl

2010-11-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween and other pictures

2010-11-01T18:28:00.019-05:00

We were blessed with a little pumpkin and a big boy fireman on Halloween night.

The little pumpkin helped me give out candy for a while, during which he also played in his exersaucer.

While the firemen enjoyed trick-or-treat with Papa, Dinan and a friend. (Notice his handy dandy water bottle spray to help put out fires!)

Here are some other pictures of our beautiful boys having fun on a lazy weekend morning. (taken Oct. 26)

Patrick is truly sweet with his brother and here he is giving Alexander a kiss.
That profile cracks me up. He is actually watching Patrick dance. see below.

Patrick is quite the dancer. He likes to organize dance recitals (there must always be two dancers minimum) and dance lessons. Here he is with his special moves.

6 months old

2010-10-13T15:40:00.007-05:00

Now I can turn over and back no problem so the next challenge is moving around. I can kind of do the inchworm by pushing around with my legs and belly. I can definitely roll though, and that does get me places. I am getting chubbier and apparently have quite the great smile!

Here is Patrick at the same age:

One happy kid

2010-10-05T16:12:00.002-05:00

Loren took this great picture of him at the park.

Patrick is so proud as he rides his new bicycle.

He started French/English preschool in September and got this toy as a present for becoming such a big boy.

My favorite quote related to school was when I asked him - "tu parles Anglais ou Francais a l'ecole?" and he replied "I only parle Anglais"!!!!

Trip to Paris August 2010

2010-09-15T17:58:00.003-05:00

Alexander is 5 months old

2010-09-09T17:49:00.005-05:00

I try to sit on my own now but flip/flop a little. The bumbo definitely helps. I learned how to turn over and now need to figure out how to get back over when I am tired of being on my stomach! My brothers are still my favorite to watch. Patrick makes me laugh and Louie and Gatsby make me smile.

Here is Patrick at 5 months.

Paris August 2010 TEST

2010-09-01T15:55:00.001-05:00

I am not sure if this first entry using my iPhone will work. If it does you will see one of Baby A's new tricks - rolling over.

YouTube Video

Location:Avenue Paul Doumer,Paris,France

Skillibush, Part 2

2010-08-13T14:02:00.002-05:00

Here are pictures from the rest of our stay at Skillibush. We had more visitors, including Mimi and her crew and Loren and hers. We finished off the holiday with the Prices arriving and having a blast with all of them.

I am 4 months old!

2010-08-08T19:56:00.011-05:00

Life is getting much more fun. I can now "talk". I love to hear my voice so I tend to scream out a lot (mostly with joy). I can almost turn over too, however my arm gets in the way so the last bit of the turn is quite difficult. What makes me smile the most is watching Patrick. He loves to make me laugh by making silly faces or imitating my cooing.

Here is Patrick at 4 months, in May of 2007.

Skillibush 2010 - first half

2010-07-13T16:37:00.003-05:00

We have been here for just over 2 weeks and time has flown by. The weather has been spectacular and our first day of forecasted rain turned out to simply be an overcast one. Patrick is like a kid in a candy store. When we first arrived he went into the house and promptly ran out exclaiming "Mommy, they have drums!". Aside from the drums, and the piano and the microphone he has become an avid swimmer, has played some baseball-tennis (how to teach a child who likes to bat, not to bat the tennis ball with the racket?), is trying to play ping pong despite being too short for the table, enjoys fishing (with a cute kid size fishing rod with which he catches "buoy fish") and frequently asks to go on boat rides.
The best quotes so far by Patrick are:
"goal in one" - when a goal was scored with the soccer ball, the sign of a true golfer!
"I will swim in the deep water" - when making a wish before blowing out Grampa's candles
"We are adorable, get the camera to take a picture" - said to Rebecca when he cuddled with Alexander
Alexander is changing too. He now loves to chirp a lot while laying on his back. He also can grasp his toys. He especially seems to enjoy looking at his image in the mirror. I wonder if he is thinking "what a handsome devil" or "hey, a friend for me to play with".

I am 3 months old!

2010-07-08T20:20:00.005-05:00

Alexander has just started becoming much more observant and there is a lot to look at at Skillibush. On the other hand, he is easily distracted and therefore needs to eat away from people, as he forgets about food and wants to interact. He has started talking too, you put him on his back and he makes these wonderful cooing/singing sounds and smiles. It is a lot of fun. Patrick especially likes it when Alexander smiles. He will let me know..."Alexander is smiling". It is very cute.

Here is Patrick at 3 months old

Alexander Kicking away (June 16, 2010)

2010-06-22T18:06:00.002-05:00

Photo Shoot at Loren's

2010-06-22T17:42:00.001-05:00

Loren took these pictures on Saturday (June 19). We had so much fun.

Taking care of baby

2010-06-22T17:26:00.007-05:00

It isn't just adults who can take care of Alexander. Here are some pictures of Alexander with his other babysitters.

Gatsby, Tonka and Louie (from left to right).

Big brother Patrick.

I am 2 months old!

2010-06-08T11:04:00.009-05:00

Now I open my eyes for A LOT longer. In fact I think maman wishes I would take more naps during the day. Now that I can focus well, there is so much to look at. Gatsby and especially Louie make for fun entertainment and then there is Patrick who gives me hugs and kisses all the time. Maman says I am looking more like a baby (possibly a chubby one) and less like a newborn. Here are some pictures for you to judge.

Looking back... Patrick on 3/20/2007, 2 months old.

May - June

2010-06-07T16:05:00.023-05:00

I can sleep wherever you want...

in a car seat
on a lap

on a big stool, especially when well bundled up.

Game day. Patrick and Papa went to see the Red Sox on June 3. Of course the boys had to be dressed the part (with Red Sox tattoos on Patrick's cheeks).

At Fenway park on the field in front of the green monster.

Back to Alexander and a few peeks of him with his eyes open...
most of the time!

A lazy Sunday morning, one brother is watching tv, the other is looking at the camera.

Pictures from the first two months

2010-06-05T20:43:00.004-05:00

I am so far behind with pictures. It is amazing how quickly Alexander has changed. First off, here are some pictures of the first two months where he is looking very much like a newborn.

Garden Pug

2010-06-01T16:46:00.003-05:00

Here is our own decorative pug for the garden. Loren found some funny (rather ugly) pug garden statues, I think the live one is much prettier!

I am 1 month old

2010-05-08T20:39:00.007-05:00

I can't even keep my eyes open for too long yet!

In the month proceeding... I love(d) to sleep.
All four of maman's boys (can you spot Louie?).

Brotherly love

2010-04-26T10:43:00.002-05:00

5 Days Old

2010-04-12T13:06:00.013-05:00

Alexander Charles was born on Thursday, April 8 at 5:05pm. He weighed 6lbs 12 1/2 oz and measured 20".
So far things are going very well. Patrick has been excited to welcome home "his baby" and we are all very happy to have him out in the world (I really was not excited about this last month of pregnancy).

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T21:14:00.016-05:00

Here he is, our little Lord Fauntleroy - at least I think of that when Patrick is dressed like that. We had a great time on Easter Sunday, especially considering it was 80 degrees! How nice to have an outdoor easter egg hunt, two of them in fact.

Here is Patrick having fun before going to see Grammy and Grampa.

Getting directions from Grammy on where to look for eggs.
Cousin Alyssa with her eggs.
All the cousins showing off their eggs.
With cousin Kiera
The best present of the day, goggles. He even took a nap with them on while in the car, hilarious!

2010-03-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

Catching up on the life of Patrick
Here are some pictures taken in the last two weeks that show what Patrick has been up to.

Playing golf on his "new" golf green (gloves and all). Dan actually played on this golf green when he was young. It comes from Nana and Grampy Friel's basement and at this point Dan has some maneuvering to do to get it into our basement!

Patrick and Dan attended and children's show at that Regent theater 2 days ago.

Both Gatsby and Patrick like the couch. At times they will cuddle, although I am not sure both are enthralled by the closeness!

Patrick shows off his improvised golf back (front and back). He loves to go into the basement and find golf related items. This bag was for a fold up chair and now it doubles as a golf bag.

My little sous chef is hard at work helping me make some cookies.

Spring has spring

2010-03-21T17:58:00.013-05:00

We just had three beautiful days of spring. This meant a lot of time spent outdoors in the backyard and at the park.
At the park Patrick led a golf clinic on Saturday and we met two new pugs. We also ran into Patrick's friend Dana.

Lucy

Izzy

Golf Clinic

Springtime fun for dogs too (Louie, Tonka, Logan, Arliss)

Dana and Patrick looking for Turtles
(Patrick holding on to the girl and the hobby!)

Vacation to Aruba

2010-03-12T11:54:00.003-05:00

We just returned from a warm vacation in Aruba (at the Holiday Inn) with Grammy and Grampa Friel and we all loved it. Patrick spent an average of 5 hours in the water. It was difficult getting him to take a break after lunch before launching himself again. The kiddie pool at the hotel was perfect as it gave Patrick time to acclimate himself before going in the "deep" (4 ft!) end. When he was ready, he launched himself and swam on his own. It was as exciting as when he started walking :)
It was hard getting him down for a nap and one day we tried a floaty on the ocean. He slept for 1 1/2 hours! That night, I was feeling the ocean movement in bed!

All in all, we had a great time. We did not leave the hotel except for dinner but that was just fine with the pool and beach right there.

Up on skates

2010-02-19T12:06:00.001-05:00

Patrick took some ice skating lessons to acclimate him to one of the most popular sports around here. He are some videos of a family outing with Dan, Dinan and myself to the local ice skating rink. I think he was a bit intimidated by the large crowd (during our lessons we were about 7 on the ice). Nonetheless he can now stand on his own on the ice and eventually will be sliding :)

Warming up for the big game

2010-02-17T18:26:00.003-05:00

With super bowl coming up 2 weeks ago, Patrick was introduced to what we (French people) call American football.

Happy Birthday to our wonderful little boy!!!!

2010-01-20T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today Patrick is 3 years old. I cannot believe it. There were times when time did not seem to stand still and yet, he really is a little boy now and no longer a baby. That transition did seem to happen so fast. This morning when I told him he was 3 years old he replied, "no, no, I am 2". This evening when I asked him how old he was he said "3 and showed me 3 fingers". What a bright learner! Anyway, he has had a great day blowing out candles with his paternal grandparents and cousins and then doing the same at home with Ma maman visiting from Paris.

Snooze

2010-01-20T15:57:00.003-05:00

Joanna,
our dog walker and sitter, who is wonderful, took this picture of Gatsby and Louie sleeping on her dog Tess when they spent the night.

Vidoes of Patrick's Music Interest

2010-01-17T17:29:00.002-05:00

Christmas

2010-01-17T16:10:00.023-05:00

Of course it has been much too long since my last update. Here is an overview of the Christmas activities.

Making a gingerbread house with Raphaella

Decorating the tree with Dinan's help.
Enjoying a visit from Henry and Flynnie.

A cozy fire on Christmas eve that we all get to enjoy, especially Gatsby and Louie.

Christmas day and having fun with the new train set.

Christmas day at Grammy and Grampa's. Winnie the Pooh (in his arms below) and the guitar were by far the highlights of the day.

At the park following Christmas.

The two boy band, a singer and a guitarist.

What is wrong with this picture?!

2009-12-07T21:22:00.006-05:00

It seems that the dogs know they belong on the sofa while Patrick has decided that the floor is his domain! Our little boy was sick with a fever for 2 days and so we were home doing a lot of napping!

Is this really a comfortable position?!

Genius

2009-12-07T21:11:00.009-05:00

We like to think our 2 1/2 year old son is a genius at the computer as he already know how to use a mouse and enjoy all kinds of pbskids.org games. However, reality says that it is a sign of the times that Patrick will know far more than we do within a few years.

Comfy, comfy

2009-12-07T21:09:00.004-05:00

Everybody seems to have the "bed" they need!

What goes on in the mind of a dog?!

2009-12-07T21:07:00.003-05:00

Here are two comfortable beds for Gatsby and what does he do... sleep in between them!? I don't think I will ever understand him completely!

Flynnie and Patrick

2009-12-07T21:01:00.002-05:00

I meant to post this a few weeks back. Flynnie and Patrick love spending time together.

Today

2009-12-06T12:21:00.002-05:00

Slave Labor?

2009-11-09T08:06:00.000-05:00

Patrick enthusiastically asked to clean up the leaves. I sat down and directed him on where to rake and sweep. How long before we will have to bribe him to help us do such chores?

He even seems to be wearing the appropriate "jail bird outfit".

Happy Halloween

2009-11-06T15:57:00.003-05:00

"Can we go trick-or-treating?". This is Patrick's question on average once a day! I guess it is hard to understand the concept of Halloween being over. At first Patrick was extremely shy and even gave candy back! After about 45mns he warmed up to the whole idea and especially likes the fruit of his labor, yum, yum candy!

Can you guess what he was?!

Patrick's photo album

2009-10-23T15:36:00.004-05:00

Patrick has finally learned to turn the camera around and take pictures of things/people other than himself (most of the time). Here are two parisian photo albums.

Chez (at) Papi's:
Chez Ma Maman's:

He lovest that helmet!

2009-10-23T14:41:00.002-05:00

A wonderful time

2009-09-25T08:41:00.012-05:00

We had a wonderful time at Stephanie and Jamie's wedding on Sept. 20th. It was at the Codmand Estate in Lincoln, MA on a wonderful sunny day. He still asks to see Juliette, Stephanie's niece (see below).

Fenway Fun

2009-09-19T10:52:00.007-05:00

Although this post is a bit late, I wanted to share our great Fenway outing. This was actually Patrick's second visit there this summer. Now, he will occasionally ask if we can "take the Metro to see the Red Sox". I guess this is how you create a fan for life! Now we enjoy watching the games on TV and playing baseball in the yard.

A perfect morning for fishing

2009-09-03T12:22:00.009-05:00

Backpack and all, Patrick goes fishing at Menotomy Rocks. It is an interest he picked up at Skillibush, whether or not a fish is caught.

July at Skillibush - videos

2009-08-19T09:16:00.003-05:00

July at Skillibush

2009-08-18T08:50:00.002-05:00

We had a great vacation at Skillibush. Patrick discovered all kinds of sports - fishing, tennis, badminton, "baseminton" and football. He also discovered the guitar which he just loves! I will post a video next.

Skillibush attire

2009-08-05T14:54:00.002-05:00

I apologize for there not being any entry in over a month. I promise to update the blog with Skillibush picture as soon as I can. In the meantime here is Patrick looking just great in his European bathing suit!

Baseball outing

2009-06-23T07:11:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we went to see the Lowell Spinners, a minor league baseball team, play the Vermont Lake Monsters. We had a great time, although it seems that Patrick's attention may have been distracted from the game by the multitude of inning and half inning shows (a dog catching frisbees, irish dancers, sub eating contest, the chicken dance and the list goes on).

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-20T18:15:00.001-05:00

Dear Dan,
Happy Father's day, you are by far and away the most wonderful father to all of our boys! Love, Louise

Paris in the springtime

2009-06-09T12:05:00.005-05:00

We had another wonderful time in Paris. Springtime is definitely the right time to go. The weather is predictably beautiful, the flowers are in bloom, the parks are green and it stays light out until 10pm. The highlights of the trip included several visits to the Eiffel Tower, which Patrick now recognizes and, has since our return asked to see! We also took a very nice ride on the river Seine and saw many beautiful monuments. For Patrick, the best part of that trip was the seats which snapped back up when unfolded. We went around Paris looking for playgrounds and enjoying public transportation, ahh - the metro, the autobus and the train. Every time we got off one, Patrick would ask to get back on. To help we would say "goodbye metro/bus/train". Of course golf was on the daily schedule, at the house, at the park, at Papi's. All in all it was a great time.

Live views of Patrick in Paris.

Golf weekend or was it Reunion weekend?

2009-05-04T15:39:00.005-05:00

Here are some are some pictures and a short video taken at the Friel Family Reunion weekend. Patrick spent about 80% of his time on the putting green and driving range. Bribing him with food to get him to come inside the clubhouse for a break did not always work!

Any ball will do

2009-04-30T15:55:00.002-05:00

I guess golf is not his only focus. Any sport with a ball will do. Here he is playing baseball. He pitches, we catch (with the glove mind you, a catch is not a catch without the glove!). He is hilarious to watch as he seems to have picked up on the pitcher's wind up.

A New Obsession

2009-04-02T19:03:00.004-05:00

As you can tell from the pictures, Patrick's new obsession is golf both day and night (dressed and in PJs). He even sleeps with his golf club. It is no surprise that we are perhaps encouraging this particular sport for him. However, he is the one who wanted a golf club after playing with one at a friend's house. The rest is history!

Another talent of Patrick's, wagging his finger at us!

Action Pug

2009-03-24T10:20:00.003-05:00

Thanks to some quick picture taking by Loren, here are some extremely rare shots of Gatsby in action.

Painting

2009-03-08T20:18:00.004-05:00

Patrick loved this activity, especially mixing all the colors together. I was stressed about the mess! As he paints more, he sticks to the the easel better (vs. the wall) and I am more relaxed about it.

Really?

2009-03-02T17:07:00.005-05:00

Exactly 7 days ago we were enjoying the no shorts kind of weather! (no shorts for Patrick that is). Now this is the weather we get to enjoy. Yes, another 8-10" fell last night in Arlington!

Trip to Arizona, February 2009

2009-02-28T21:04:00.001-05:00

We had a great time visiting Kevin, Meredith and Shawn. The quotes on the slide show are Patrick's words. He talks all the time now and it is really fun.

Introducing Ben and George

2009-02-20T20:40:00.006-05:00

Here are Patrick's steadfast friends. They sleep with Patrick and accompany him for breakfast each morning. They also comfort him when I drop him off at school. They even traveled to Arizona with us.

Sous chef at work

2009-02-04T13:30:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, water is a favorite of Patrick's. Here he is working closely with the kitchen faucet!

Sous chef

2009-02-02T18:57:00.004-05:00

I am very excited to introduce you to my assistant chef Patrick.
Currently his kitchen responsibilities include inspecting drawers, testing equipment (mainly banging utensils on walls, the garbage can and stove to hear the different sounds they make) and ensuring that the faucet's water flow is adequate.
However, I look forward to the day he starts helping me with the cooking and cleaning!

Patrick's Birthday Party

2009-01-28T18:00:00.003-05:00

These pictures are courtesy of Loren.

I am 2!!!

2009-01-20T12:21:00.009-05:00

Here is the progression. From 1 year old to 2 years old, month by month.

And here we are celebrating his birthday on Janaury 20th. It was a mellow affair just with Maman, Papa and the dogs.

Oh boy is it cold

2009-01-19T14:25:00.005-05:00

As you can tell, Louie really does not like going out in the cold!

Gatsby feels fine

2009-01-19T14:24:00.004-05:00

Gatsby just had eye surgery. The inner part of his eyelid was rolling in and that needed to be corrected. He is on the mend and will get his stitches out next week. In the meantime we had to put an Elizabethan collar on him which was not much fun. Anyway, he is much better already - a week on.

Vacuuming

2009-01-09T16:35:00.006-05:00

Patrick got a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. Very similar to mine. He has been extremely helpful helping me vacuum and also showing me where and how to vacuum.

Here are a couple of videos of him and then us in action (sorry about the sideways shot!).

Self Portrait

2009-01-09T14:14:00.007-05:00

Patrick is enjoying learning how to use the camera. He still does not understand that you are supposed to take a picture with the lens facing away from you.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-30T06:34:00.002-05:00

We got back from Paris 5 days ago. We had a great trip during which Patrick really started talking. Not only does he understand both English and French but he says words in both. I barely recognize him from when we left he has changed so much. Our trip included a four day stay in London. We took the train over which was a lot of fun for all of us. Patrick now has had experience on the Eurostar, the Tube and the French Metro. What a world traveler he is. On the other hand he has been a bit confused since coming back, looking for my parents and calling Louie Prune (I guess all black pugs look alike).
We hope you are well and had a nice Christmas and Bonne Annee.

An engineering in the making?

2008-12-01T14:01:00.006-05:00

Patrick's remote to his toy car needed some work so he got the screwdriver and...ok, so got a little help from his father!

Trick or Treat?

2008-11-04T18:26:00.007-05:00

Well, definitely treat.
Silly me, I thought that Patrick would not take to this Halloween tradition, you know - too young, not yet understanding what is going on. Well, I was very wrong. After the second house he visited with Dan and Dinan he knew the drill
- knock on the door
- grab a candy
- put it in the basket
- say thank you
- move on to the next house
He was so proud when he came home that he had to show me his bounty. The one good thing is that he did not realize it was something yummy and did not care about what the bounty was.

Dancing, dancing, dancing

2008-10-31T08:48:00.001-05:00

Baby Henry

2008-10-27T15:42:00.006-05:00

Henry was born in July. He is Flynnie's baby brother and we are very excited he is here.

My, how time flies.

2008-10-25T14:32:00.005-05:00

Remember this?

Here is an updated version

2008-10-25T12:42:00.008-05:00

Don't the dogs look great among the beautiful leaves? Patrick is doing his best to rake those leaves!

Storytime with Papi

2008-10-22T06:49:00.005-05:00

Shortly after we got back (4 days to be exact!) my father came to visit us. We had a nice time with him and next we are expecting my mother's visit.

My fall trip to Paris 2008

2008-10-14T07:46:00.003-05:00

We had another great trip to Paris and are also very happy to be home. I have to add one thing, it seems that Patrick's first comprehensible french word is "maman", needless to say, I feel very good about that!

We are off to Paris, au revoir

2008-09-21T10:16:00.003-05:00

As you can see, Patrick enjoys the packing phase of the trip much more than his mother does!!!

Beach day

2008-09-19T07:33:00.012-05:00

We had a wonderful day at the beach Tuesday with Flynnie, Mimi and Henry. It was a too cold for a swim but we did enjoy throwing balls in the water and seeing them come back to us on a wave or jumping off a piece of driftwood. You will also notice in the last picture that Patrick no longer cares much about the camera, in fact most of the time he tries to grab it instead of posing, so one needs to get him by surprise in order to take a picture of him looking at it.

Football (soccer) start in the making

2008-09-06T16:51:00.001-05:00

Talk about toys you can't buy in a store.... The other night Dan gave Patrick and empty box of Kleenex (don't ask why!). Anyway Patrick decided it was perfect to practice his kicking with, as you can see. He even applauds his own kick when it is a particularly good one!

Let's go Red Sox

2008-09-03T18:44:00.012-05:00

Patrick went to his second baseball game with Papa and Grampa today. He had a great time, clapping along with the crowd (even trying to make neighboring fans clap!) and flirting with the girl seated in front.

4th Haircut

2008-09-03T16:09:00.003-05:00

This time around it was not as easy. About three minutes into the haircut Patrick started crying a lot. I think he was scared. Yolanda kept reassuring him (and cutting), and Dinan tried to help too, but nothing really worked. She managed nonetheless as well as possible. Now at least we don't need to put a barrette in his hair!

Skillibush 2008, part III (the end)

2008-08-26T13:21:00.001-05:00

More fun at Skillibush

2008-07-17T14:31:00.005-05:00