A Maryland Boy!

DSC_9409GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_9410GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_9412GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_9416GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_9417GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_9421GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

It was Greg's company's annual crabfeast and everyone brings the whole family. Wesley attended last year, but this year he was quite curious about the steamed crabs put out on our table. We let him check them out, mostly for Mommy's sake so she could take a few pics. We didn't get to the crabs until Wesley had almost finished his lunch and when we offered him some he wasn't really interested. But later that evening, after we were home, I held him in my arms and took a deep breath and my baby smelled like Old Bay. He is a true Maryland boy!

I haven't forgotten about you!

DSC_8646GMPwm, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

Dear family, friends and readers,
Life has been crazy busy. Please accept my appologies for not posting to my blog in over a week. I have lots of stuff to add, but Greg, Wesley and my photography business have all been keeping me very busy. Not to mention family and life in general. I have oodles of laundry to do and my house is a mess. I'm second shooting a wedding tomorrow (yea!) and have to work on Monday, but I'll try to get a proper update up this week. Until then, here is a cute pic of Wesley running towards me. Pretty much sums up life these days... running!

Clark's Elioak Farm

DSC_8678GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8680GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8692GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8709GMP1, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8723GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

Wesley's birthday is coming up *sniff sniff* and usually that means a birthday party is coming up. Greg and I are still working on deciding what kind of party we want to have for Wesley. Two is still a little young for a lot of hoopla, but we've heard good things about Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City. It is a petting farm that is also home to some of the figures of the Enchanted Forest, an attraction from many years ago that I am still trying to understand.

As we entered the farm, we were greeted by a big gingerbread man whom Wesley promptly hugged and then we played on a big wooden ship structure. After that, we went over to the three bears' house from the Goldilocks story. There were other statues from the Enchanted Forest such as the shoe house from 'The old lady who lived in a shoe' and Humpty Dumpty sitting on the wall (pre-fall).

As neat as those things were, Wesley is still a little young to appreciate those things. We also took a hayride and I think he thought it was OK. After the hayride, we went to see the animals at the petting farm. That was a little more Wesley's speed! He pet the goat a little bit and watched the chickens and bunnies. But the best part of our trip was the pony ride! It doesn't look like it in the pictures, but he really enjoyed riding the pony. Of course I was walking beside him the whole time, so it was hard to take his picture and keep him steady and walk, but believe me - he loved it!

In all, I would say Clark's Elioak Farm is more for kids age 3 and up, so we won't be having a party there this year. But I'm still glad we went and checked it out. I'm sure we'll be back in the spring.

What's cooking?

DSC_8596GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8597GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8598GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

Just like Daddy, Wesley loves his kitchen. Wesley watches everything and it amazes me how observant he is and he truly pays attention to all our actions! He still has a few things to learn about cooking like metal cookware doesn't really belong in the microwave. Seriously though, he put the stuff in the microwave, pushed the buttons and then shut the door! He's going to be making us dinner in no time!

Random Musings...

Tonight during dinner I said to Wesley, "I love you. Do you know that?" He replied Mmmmmmm and nodded his head yes. Then I blew him a kiss and he sent one my way in return.

As if that wasn't sweet enough...

A little bit later I was sitting on the couch. Our cat Murphy jumped up next to me and started to walk onto my lap. Wesley came right over to us, said "No" to the cat and Murphy walked away. Wesley then hugged my legs and said "Mine!"

I love this kid!

Ikea - I had no idea...

DSC_7964GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7965GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7978GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7980GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7982GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7984GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7990GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7994GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_8002GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

I am not a frequent IKEA shopper. We live 1/2 way between 2 stores and both are about 20-25 mins away if traffic is good. Wesley and I went to one of the stores on Friday and I never realized just how family friendly a furniture store could be! The store we went to was sold out of 2 of the items I was looking for, but they were in stock at the other store, so off to Ikea we went - again. This time I brought the camera... just to tell you a little bit about the store.

#1 The Coke machine takes credit cards - I have never seen this before... maybe I just haven't been buying many cokes from vending machines lately, but I just thought this was weird. I knew Americans are relying more and more on credit, but if you can't pony up a buck 25 for a coke maybe you shouldn't be buy a coke... Seriously though, I know most people don't carry much cash these days, so I get it but still...

#2 Ikea is having a "sale" in their cafe where kids eat free. So I got this whole tray of food for Wesley and I for $7.72. My meatballs were $4.99 and the slice of apple cake was $2 something. That is A LOT of food for seven bucks. Sale ends August 16th... we may have to sneak in an Ikea trip before then...

#3 Wesley LOVED the food at the Ikea cafe! He gobbled up the meatballs, mashed potatoes and apple sauce, but he ADORED his Uncrustable - a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He looked so cute, eating it up!

#4 Ikea has little play areas all over the store... Of course the play/display area in the toddler section was the most fun, but it was so nice to be able to let Wesley out of the stroller and not have to police everything he touched or tried to climb on. They are truly a family friendly store and even have a play room where you can drop you kids off while you shop. Wesley is too young for that (and the kid has to be potty trained) just yet, but that is a really nice feature - and it's free!

All this on top of really good pricing... No wonder Ikea has a global presence!

too quiet

DSC_7776GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

It is completely true what they say. You know, "they" say a lot of things... but you know that whole thing about things being "too quiet" usually means the kids are up to no good... Yeah, well Wesley was being such a good boy, playing by himself for a few minutes and then things got quiet... really quiet. I enjoyed a few moments to myself, hanging out on Facebook I believe, maybe even farming on good ol' Farm Town (I am such a dork!). And then a moment of panic - Wesley is never that quiet for long... he had to be up to no good! Sure enough he had emptied the contents of my purse. And my wallet. Thankfully he didn't rip anything up or eat anything, even if every little item was now stren across the floor. I grabbed my camera and snaped a shot. Hopefully this will be the biggest mess he makes as a toddler - right? (I can hope!)

a hint of a smile

DSC_7764GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7766GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7765GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

Lately I have felt like I haven't been taking enough pics of Wesley. He is growing up so fast and losing his baby look. I brought my camera with me to work and tried to get a few pics of him at daycare, but he just wanted to go 'bye-bye' as soon as I got there. Wesley was rear facing in the car seat until a couple months ago. It has been a real treat to just turn my head and see his face instead of looking through my rear view mirror into a mirror on the back headrest. And I know Wesley loves being forward facing. His legs aren't smooshed any more and he can see where he is going. As we were driving home from school, I was a little disappointed I didn't get any pics while he was at school. Then we hit a red light and I turned around and got these few. I just love that little grin!

Off schedule

DSC_7697GMP_1EDIT, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7736GMPedit, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

Ahh, my boy! My sweet baby boy! How I missed you while I was away! We had the whole day to spend together and we had great fun. First we went to a park, then joined up with some friends and went swimming, and then we had some lunch. I had a hard time getting him down for a nap and it broke my heart to hear him call "Moma Mooomaaaaa." He went to sleep about 10 minutes after I left his room and he only slept about an hour. When he got up we went outside so I could take a few pics (I've been slacking lately!) and he kept rubbing his eyes and wanted to be carried a lot. I could tell he was off his usual schedule while we were gone and it messed him up a little bit. Hopefully he'll be back to his usual self in just a day or two. There is no place like home!

Where Love Lives

DSC_7544GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7538GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7535GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7530GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7529GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7669GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7569GMP EDIT, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7587GMPEDIT, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7622GMP_1EDITpwbandwtightcrop, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7562GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7559GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

DSC_7693GMP, originally uploaded by gailpaul.

Greg and I spent the past weekend at Caesar's Pocono Palace Resort in Pennsylvania. We dropped Wesley off at Grandmom and Grandpop's house (and he kept them BUSY!!!) and it took us about 5 hours to complete the estimated 3.5 hour drive. Traffic was awful, the weather was awful, but the drive was worth it! We checked into our suit complete with heart shaped jacuzzi, fireplace and our own swimming pool and dry sauna! Did I mention this was to be a romantic getaway? The Pocono Palace has to be at least 30 years old and I believe they are working on renovating the rooms. Our bed was an "updated" Blush Bed with foam top mattress and was quite comfortable. Our room was clean, just needed a decor update. Greg and I enjoyed the private swimming pool the most, it was heated and we used it a lot.

The all inclusive resort is located in the lush mountains of Pennsylvania and the resort has it's own private lake. The scenery was beautiful and many activated were offered including archery, golf, water skiing, paddle boats as well as daily activities and evening entertainment. We did take part in a little Bingo and watched the Newlywed game (and determined we would have been serious contenders if we had played.) Meals were served in a general dining room and Friday nights are an Italian theme and Saturday nights are "Strip Night" as they serve strip steaks. The food was good and we were pleased with all the offerings.

It was very precious and special to have some alone "couples time" although we missed Wesley immensely and we felt quite guilty leaving him for the weekend. Sunday morning we skipped breakfast so we could rush home to our little boy. He was quite happy to see us and did not like it when either one of us would leave the room. He was tuckered out by the time we got him home and he didn't want me to leave his room after I tucked him into bed. It's going to be a while before we leave him again... and it may be a while before Grandmom and Grandpop are ready for Wesley!