April Vacation

Dearest MJ,

You are wonderful. I know you may think so right now or may not think so depending on what we last said to you. But as of right now, your mother and I think your the bees knees. We just got through with spending all of April vacation with you. Putting you to bed a half hour after your bedtime, allowing you to sleep in, and snuggling when you wake up in the middle of the night are few things we are able to do during the break.

We did so much more. There aren't enough words to write about all the fun we had. Check out some of the highlights from the April vacation Kim and I shared with you.

Uncle Tommy sighting!

The Olympics are coming up.

Thunder Thighs!

Friends from New Hampshire came to visit.

Sandbox fun on the deck.

Months apart, yet so close!

Castle Island with Dada's friends.

Someone is tired

Aren't slides fun?

Sleeping and doing yoga.

  

I can feed myself.

Polar Express

Jackie checking out the book, The Polar Express.

On November 22nd, we all had a chance to take advantage of going to the North Pole on the Polar Express. Mostly because Kim and I are blessed to have people who care about us and our family. With that being said, we went to North Conway to take a train to see Santa. The train ride brought the book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg to life.

Highlights from the day include: hanging out with Chris & Ali Pyott, going to the Golden Egg in Portsmouth for a pancake breakfast, riding the train and singing Christmas carols, seeing Santa at the North Pole, watching the elves hard at work on making toys, and eating pizza at Flatbread Pizza Co. Pretty much, we really enjoyed experiencing all of what New Hampshire had to offer us.

The Bruffs had a wonderful time, actually, we had a great time and we look forward to doing it again in the future.

Quick Trip

MJ went to visit Grandma and Grandpa's house for a manic Monday. Although we were only gone for a couple of hours, it still made for a good time down in Connecticut. The drive down took a little longer than we thought. After all, we left during the tail end of rush hour and hit no traffic. We ended up getting to Bloomfield before anyone would have expected.

Grandpa left work early and came with hugs, kisses and lots of bouncing to keep MJ happy & pleased. Grandma put together a wonderful summer dinner of veggies straight from her garden. Because MJ couldn't eat the squash, so I decided I wouldn't eat the squash either. I didn't want her to feel left out.

With all the fun we had with playing with kids at the daycare, hanging with Grandpa and Grandma, and having a great time at dinner, we eventually made our way home an hour after we planned.

Do You Remember...?

There are moments in my own life that people refer back to and I've got no memory of the event. Someone from my family without fail usually starts by saying, "Do you remember when..." or "When you were first born..." Sound familiar? Of course it does, everyone has some experience like that. I am hoping for MJ's sake that this blog can help her alleviate those conversations. I know she'll say I don't remember but I did read about it, hopefully she will say that.

On Sunday, May 24, 2015 MJ met so many members of her extended family that they are all bound to talk about that day. For one, MJ met her godmother, Aunt Allison. She also met Uncle Josh, her great-aunt Maxine and her family, second cousins Deon and Faith. What brought everyone together? Aunt Allison graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

Check out the pictures below for quick snapshots of the weekend. Keep in mind at the time of the photos MJ did not like spending more than 30 minutes in her car seat. With that being said, we drove to Virginia. MJ did an awesome job. She watched some rain, clouds pass by, trucks and cars that were on the road, and finally she let us know every time she needed a break. 

It was a pretty uneventful trip down and back again.