Toddler Time

It has been a long time since I've updated this post. My technological skills were too low to keep up to date, but recently they have gotten better. There's a lot to catch up on so I'll do my best to keep it simple.

Summer of 2008 was Ciara's and my first anniversary. No better way to celebrate than returning to a place special to the family and where we got married....Ditch Plains Beach, Montauk, New York. Aden was just under a year at that point but already breaking hearts.

It was a lot of fun in the sun. Aden was pretty good for the drives but not a big fan of the sand. Nanny and Bumpa did get him a play tent that came in very handy. My families are great and it also fun to get Ciara's side mixing with my. We all have common interests like good food, good beer, and good times. Nanny and Bumpa also watched Aden for an afternoon so that Ciara and I could celebrate our anniversary by going for a horse back ride. It was supposed to be a suprise, but Ciara did not pick up on suttle suggestions to bring jeans so I had to let in on the plan.


When we got back from Montauk, it was time to transition back into fall. Ciara and I got ready for school and Aden eased back into full-time at day care. Friends of ours Josh and Caroline got married at a gorgeous farmhouse on the coast near Tenants Harbor. Josh has a large family with more brothers than I can count. They all seem to have a great bond however. A bunch of them were getting married all relatively at the same time.

Shortly into the fall Nanny and Bumpa secured a house in the coastal town of Friendship for the weekend. It was a beautiful stay and will probably become a regular family activity.

After this we settled into the school year, the winter, and watching Aden grow.


The school year goes by so fast. I had a ton of meetings between school and the planning board while Ciara had concerts galore between school and her Community Choir. We were able to steel some time in February for a trip to Burlington, one of my favorite cities in the nation. I was initially disappointed to not get a room at the Willard Street Inn; they don't allow guests under 12 years, and Aden wasn't event 18 months. We found outstanding accommodations at the Lang house and plan to make it a regular trip. The picture is from the website. It was February so the look was a bit different.

Aden enjoyed the independence of being able to walk on the streets and sidewalks. Church Street, which is closed to traffic, was ideal. Music played outside the shops and the people were instantly taken by Aden's charms. We went to the Aquarium, a fantastic exhibit to rival any big city collection. Aden was a little scared of the turtles but enjoyed the water exhibits. We finished the night with a great dinner and cocktails at my favor bistro Leunig's. Aden had the best Grilled Cheese sandwich in the world and was entertained by the mirrors behind our table.











The next day we did several tours including The Teddy Bear Factory, Cabot Creamery and, of course, Ben & Jerry's. Next trip we hope to see some breweries.












We returned to school to finish out the year. It wasn't long before we had decided to go to Ireland during summer break. Ciara's cousin Ben was getting married, a perfect opportunity to introduce Aden to the rest of the family....oh and drink some whiskey.
Ciara and I rented a house in Scotland. We did our best to see what we could, taste the haggis, sip the the whiskey and breath the wind. We were astonished in both Ireland and Scotland for the blistery 90 degree days. We survived the heat, driving on the opposite side, and RyanAir. While there we had the fortune of great hospitality from family and friends. Thank you Stacey and Brendon for dinner drinks in Dublin. Thank you Nanny Noonoos for the tour of Dublin, including all the churches you went to and the nearby pubs.



Upon return to the states Ciara set up an OBGYN appointment to confirm a spring suspicion. We got that confirmation towards the end of July. Aden would be getting a baby brother or sister.

Over all the events, travels, holidays and family gathers, I have learned that there are 4 categories of pictures we have of Aden regardless of where we are or what we are doing: Tired/Sleeping, eating (usually with a bonus snotty nose), laughing, or crying.

I'm looking forward to future fun.