10 Months 8/26/14

Dear Timothy,
You are 10 months old little man, double digits! It's so exciting to see you grow, but I still can hardly believe you are becoming such a big boy! You are such an incredible joy to me, and I love being your Mama so much. I thank God every day that he gave us you!

This month was so much fun Timothy, and we really did a lot of summery things! We started things off by going to the beach for the first time on your 9 month birthday. We drove to Point Judith, RI and went to Scarborough Beach with Mimi and Papa. That is the beach that I went to when I was growing up, and it was a lot of fun to be able to take you there! You loved the sand and the ocean, and wanted to crawl all over! I think your favorite part was kick, kick, kicking in the waves. You were so brave and went into the ocean with me, and you loved it. You were not quite sure about the saltiness of the water and kept licking your lips, which was so funny! That night we went to Providence and saw the Fires on the Water and had some yummy food. It was fun, but you were so tired from a long day at the beach so it was a little challenging. The next day, we got up super early to drive home and see your friend Azzy get dedicated. We sure do love our mom group friends! You had your 9 month pediatrician appointment and dropped to the 15th percentile for height and weight, you are such a peanut! This time, you really hated your shots, and got very upset! I think it is because you are more aware! After that, we had lunch and a nice walk with Mama's friend Beth.

We also celebrated Uncle Chrissy's 30th birthday, and you had a great time at his party! The next day we went back to Point Judith for the 3rd annual lobster bake. You loved seeing Mama's cousins and aunt and uncle, and you LOVED your first time having clam cakes from Aunt Carries! You didn't like the water as much this time, but did have a ball in your little pool. You were a bit scared of the live lobsters, but had fun eating with the whole family!

A few days later, your Auntie Sarah and cousin Miriam came to CT and we went to a youth group reunion at the Ragan's house. I think your favorite part was Ryan's guitar playing! The next day, we went swimming at the Burke's house with all of your favorite ladies and you had a blast! That night we got ice cream at Charlie's and you couldn't get enough of it! The next morning, we went to a music class with Sarah and Miriam at the Newtown library, and I could not get over how much you loved it! You are so into music, and you dance up a storm anytime it is on! That weekend we went backpacking (which Mama already wrote about), and then we went home for a few days.
The next week, we headed back to Southbury to say goodbye to Mimi and Papa before their trip, and we also started physical therapy for your feet (when you pull up, you stand very high on your tippy toes, and sometimes even stand with your toes curled under - thankfully you are already improving so much with that!) and met your new friend Luca, who is one of your daddy's best friend's baby! That night, we went to Rich's (your Uncle John's first time!) and you got to try it for the first time too! You absolutely loved it, and got frustrated with me if I didn't get it to your mouth fast enough!

The next day I left you for the 2nd time at night to go to Becca and Patrick's welcome party, and then again the night after for their wedding. Friday night was tough for you, as you were asleep when I left and woke up and I wasn't there - you had a rough time. The night of the wedding you did great, and only cried a little before you fell asleep. Thanks to Auntie Lisa, Auntie Joanne and Uncle Ricky for taking such great care of you!

We had a fun day of hanging out with Auntie Sarah, Miriam and Granmy - complete with playing in your playroom, walking with Aunt Pam, playing in the bouncy house, and dinner at Grammy and Grandpa's. The next day we had to say goodbye to your aunt and cousin, and we headed down to Westbrook to hang out with the Burke clan for the day. You had a great day splashing in the water and snoozing in the ergo. That evening we headed to Charlestown, RI to have dinner and stay with the Wojdyl's. The next day we hung out on the beach for the day, and you napped for a bit in the BOB. This time you loved the sand and water again and had fun playing with Gabrielle. The ride home that evening was not fun, however, and you cried for 1 1/2 hrs in the car - you can really sustain your car crying when you want to!
The next morning you had your very first paid babysitter while Mama went to hear Auntie Sarah Kate's teacher of the year speech. You stayed with Quinlan for about 3 hours and did a great job! I was so proud of you little man, I know that wasn't easy for you!
We rounded out your 9th month with some swimming with Auntie Katie, Gwen, Owen, Liam, Kristin and Maddie, pizza and ice cream with the Mulcaheys for Uncle Peter's birthday, church in the park, a hike with the Hines, Mama did the ALS ice bucket challenge and you cried, and we had dinner with Mimi and Papa.
It was a busy, fun, and challenging month. There were a lot of firsts this month that were very hard without your dad, but I know he is so proud of you too!
Some other new things this month:
Getting very good at pulling up on everything you can.
You are able to stand unassisted for a second or two.
Walking assisted.
Cruising.
You finally got your first teeth, and got 5 pretty much all at once! (This has been very hard, as you have been cranky and sleeping has been even more hard than it usually is for you).
You are still not eating very much, in regards to solids, and even if we find something you love I'm lucky to get 4-5 bites in!
Favorite foods are: Pizza, ice cream (aren't I a great mom?), hummus, guacamole, zucchini, peaches, peanut butter, cream cheese, apples,  bananas, peas, corn.
Not so favorite foods: Hamburgers, strawberries, yogurt.

I love you so much little man, and can't wait to see what this next month will bring!

I love you always and forever,
Mama

Backpacking with Babies - Adventures for Tim

While Sarah and Miriam were in town, we decided that the sisters Hine and the babies should go on a backpacking adventure. We were not sure where we wanted to go, and had really planned anything by the day we decided to go.
Sarah and Li made some phone calls and realized that many campsites were full for the night, and finally Sarah found one on the MA/VT border that was supposed to be an easy hike in and beautiful. It was going to take about 2 1/2 hours to get there, so we packed up as quickly as possible while wrangling our little ones and got on the road.
Now, if I'm being totally honest, I was apprehensive and pretty much terrified of going on this trip - I get really nervous at night outside and in the dark, and hadn't done anything like this in years, and never without Tim. However, I really wanted to try and get Timothy started early in this life that his dad so loved, so we gave it a shot.
We arrived at the trailhead around 6:15, and were on the trail by 6:45. It was supposed to take 10-15 minutes for the first lean to, and another 15 or so to the next one if that one was full. We had quite a difficult time finding them, and finally find some people that directed us to the first one, which was occupied. We had to hike directly uphill to reach the second one - by this time it was getting pretty dark, and we were tired (and I was getting very anxious). It definitely took longer than 15 minutes to reach the lean to, but we finally found it! After setting up camp and having a quick dinner, Sarah and Lisa and Miriam set out to hang our food in the trees, while Timothy fell asleep and I sat with him.  He was exhausted from hardly napping all day, and it being after 10 PM by the time he went to sleep. Miss Miriam was a trooper and stayed up after 11 to help put the food up in a tree!
We didn't get a whole lot of sleep that evening, as sleeping with a baby in a sleeping bag in the woods is about as restful as it sounds. T woke up a lot, I was restless because I was anxious about him/bears, and just the normal being outside noises that wake you up. Everyone was up and at 'em by 6:30, and we had breakfast and packed up the camp site.
We then went on a short hike uphill to see if we could get some views. We didn't, but the kiddos got a quick snooze before we headed back down to the river. The hike back down was interesting to see in daylight and we were all quite grateful to have remained safe the night before!
We found a watering hole that we had heard was wonderful, and we took the kids in for a quick dip - Miriam loved it and sat and played with the water, and T was happy to kick his toes in. It was pretty frigid, but super refreshing to dunk ourselves in after hiking!
After out swim, we hiked out to the car and headed home. It was a very successful first backpacking trip with babies!

I'm really glad we went and it will be so fun to tell Timothy all about his first camping experience when he is older, but I have to say it was really hard to do something that I have only ever done with Tim, without him. I think we all very much felt his absence, but know he is very proud of his wife, son, sisters, and niece for carrying on his adventurous spirit!