Summer Rewind: Saratoga and GreatGrandparents

My grandparents had not met Ben yet, so this was a pretty special trip for all of us.  Lots of cuddling and special attention was given to both our boys.

hanging out with GG

pretty comfy

Poppop finally had to give in a
show Charlie his electric organ.

Charlie was enthralled!

Such a special time...

Summer Rewind: Saratoga and the Races

An August trip to Saratoga is not complete without a trip to the race track. We used to go to the track every summer, but have not been since Charlie was born. We only ever stay for a couple races, but its always an experience! Charlie was really excited to go and enjoyed his outing thoroughly! 

Our first race of the day - track-side

a "little" snack between races

(nothing like a pretzel the size of your face...)

Isn't he Super Daddy or what?? :-)

Summer Rewind: Saratoga and Congress Park

We spent Labor Day weekend in Saratoga Springs visiting my grandparents. Charlie had an awesome time - (as did we all - he just relishes in it a little more than the rest of us!)

The weather was perfect for a trip over to 

Congress Park and a ride on the carousel there.

Charlie and Poppop (Charlie's namesake) had many 

adventures at the park. Here they are looking at 

the squirrel who just ran away from them and up the tree...

And looking for fish in the pond...

And finally, Poppop teaching Charlie the finer 

lessons in life regarding making worthwhile 

wishes before tossing coins in the fountain.

Summer Rewind - NYS Fair

Syracuse is the home of "The Great New York State Fair" and it is a pretty big deal every year. I don't know how we managed to spend hours on end there as our younger selves - we were exhausted after just a few very low key hours with Charlie! Going to the fair is one of my fondest summer memories as a kid. It was always the last hurrah before the new school year. We have never brought Charlie because, frankly, now as adults we realize its loud, dirty, and a little frightening. It is quite an interesting display of the human race as well. Charlie was a little shell shocked by it all when we first got there, but he adjusted as our evening went on and it was a great date night out with Mommy, Daddy, and Charlie.

 He would not wander far from the
stroller when we first got there

 A little braver in the cow barn

 Checking out the sea lion show and enjoying a corn dog

 Newly hatched chicks in the 4H building

 This was by far his favorite fair moment!

He talked about it for days :-)

 "fishing"

 All smiles on the truck ride...

 ...and on the catepillar.

 Fried dough induced SUGAR HIGH!

Fighting the imaginary bad guys with
his light saber he won by fishing

School days

Today was Charlie's first 1st day of school. He will be going to nursery school two mornings a week this school year. He had a visit from the Back to School Fairy who brought him his spiffy new Captain America tee-shirt and a little elephant named Peanut who attaches to his backpack. He was excited and ready for the day. Some apprehension set in once we were actually at the door of his classroom. (I am sure the other screaming and crying three year olds did not help that at all!) But he settled in and had a great morning! Our amazing little big boy.... :-)

(Even though I specified on his registration that he goes by "Charlie" they still had "Vincent" written on all his things. Luckily we had open house/meet the teacher earlier this week so we were able to avoid any major confusion today. Though I am not sure why they weren't able to make a new name tag instead of adding to this one. He didn't question the two names though!)

Beach Camping: One Last Stop

We had not made it to one of Charlie's favorite places and it was going home day. So, we packed up the camper, moved it off our site to the parking lot nearby, and hit up the playground for some last minute playing and quality time with Aunt Sheri and Uncle Trevor. 

Beach Camping: Life is Beautiful

I don"t know if I have ever found any place else that rivals the beauty of Southwick Beach at sunset. And when surrounded by those you love, its even more beautiful...

Sheri and Trevor were nice enough to entrust us to take some maternity pictures of them on the beach. Life really doesn't get much beautiful than this... (P.S. Big thanks to our good friend Chrissy who helped with posing the couple and saving me from cracking my head on a rock as I nearly fell over it trying to get the perfect shot...:-))