Grandpa Bill

My Dad and his beautiful girlfriend Lori came to visit us (Berkeley) last weekend. It was so much fun to have them around! My dad loves being a grandpa; I think he is head over heals about his amazingly cute and wonderful grandson. It was great to have them around while Christian was away; they helped so much with Berke, McDuff and just doing things around the house. They came just in time for the THICK of summer; we had fun on our little adventures but man did we so some serious sweating.

Saturday we walked around downtown, enjoyed the Boston Commons and the Christopher Columbus Parks as we anticipated going to the Red Sox game. This was my dad and Berkeley's first Red Sox game and they were both really excited.

We are getting so excited for the big game. I think the people behind us are giving us crusteez because they are jealous they don't get to come to the game; not quite sure.

We had a great time at Fenway Park and due to entering at the wrong entrance we walked around the entire ball park.

Here we are during the game, my friend, Gloria, me, Lori, Grandpa Bill, and Baby Boy.

Berke enjoyed his first game and was glad the Red Sox had such a great win. He even got to see Big Papi hit a home run!

I was sad when my dad left; it was fun to watch him interact with Berkeley and really made me miss being around family. I know Berkes had fun with grandpa and Lori and wants them to come visit again soon. Thanks for everything Dad and Lori! Miss ya already!

Boston Harbor Islands

"Methinks an island would be the most desirable of landed property, for it seems like a little world by itself; and the water may answer for the atmosphere that surrounds planets."
--Nathaniel Hawthorne

Since my Dad and Lori have been to Boston before and done most of the Boston touristy stuff, we were able to do some activities I haven't done in the area before. We decided to visit the Boston Harbor Islands. The best part was that Christian had the day off and was able to join us for our fun outing. We left on a boat which gave us a wonderful view of Boston.

We first visited Georges Island where we toured Fort Warren which was built in the 1850's and was used in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. I had no idea this place even existed; but it was really interesting to see. It is really huge and hard to capture on camera, but this is one of the walls. When standing on the top of the Fort you can see a beautiful view of the city and lighthouses and the harbor.

Then we sped on over to Spectacle Island, were Berke dipped his toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. He wasn't a big fan of the ice water. In the background you can see the city of Boston. Can you tell how humid it was?

We had a lovely day relaxing on the lawn and playing with toys. Berkeley enjoyed his first ride on the boat.

My new home(s)

During my Dad and Lori's visit we drove to Newport, Rhode Island (Berkeley's 8th state visited) to see the Newport Mansions. I have been wanting to do this for a long time and I finally got to go. I am so glad I did, because these mansions are incredible!

THE BREAKERS

This is a 70-room summer estate (my summer estate also looks similar to this) that once belonged to the New York Central Railroad President Cornelius Vanderbilt II. We were not able to take pictures of the inside, but it was truly a sight that took away my breath.

Here is my cute little man in the backyard of his new crib. He was such a sport to be drug around in his Baby Bjorn all day long looking at mansions. He is as happy as can be in the Bjorn so he didn't mind the trip at all.

This is the back of the Breakers Mansion.

Next we traveled to
ROSECLIFF
This summer home had a gigantic ballroom that I fell in love with. It hosted some of Newport's grandest Gilded Age parties.

After viewing Rosecliff, Berke got a bit tired and needed a little rest. Luckily he had Lori to rest on. Too cute!

This is the view from the backyard of Rosecliff. This place is really beautiful and if you Bostonians haven't been, you must plan a trip.

The last mansion we toured was
MARBLE HOUSE

The entire house is covered in different shades of marble and one room is covered in 22k gold. This mansion was build in 1892 and cost 11 million dollars at that time to build. This is where Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt lived and was the platform for her "Votes for Women" campaign. She only spent three summers here and then divorced her husband and used Marble House to store old belongings. What a waste!

This is the Chinese Tea House in the back yard of Marble House, it is still open for people to eat lunch or have tea.

Wellesley

Christian has been at the 65th Composers Conference at Wellesley College since Sunday, July 19th. He has been staying in the same dorms that Hillary Clinton stayed in when she went to school there (pictured below). Berke and I dropped him off and it felt like I was taking my oldest son to college ( I think I am too young for that!)

The campus is absolutely beautiful, so much so that I actually want to go back to school. BUT only if I can go there; I don't think we can afford the $50,000 a year tuition however. It reminds me a bit of what Hogwarts might look like at times.

Last Wednesday Christian has a piece that he had written premiered. It is called A Piece for Several Instruments (or a futile attempt to explain the magical powers of nothingness). It was written for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello and bass. I will have Christian put a recording on the blog when he gets home, so check back later if interested. It was a very enjoyable concert and I was so glad I could attend. (Thanks Gloria for watching B!)

This is Christian after the big concert and to his right is Mario Davidovsky; a composer Christian has admired for a long time and gets to study and discuss music with for two whole weeks.

This is Christian with a professor from Brandeis, Eric Chasalow. Eric had been out mushroom hunting; he likes to cook these suckers up and eat them up.

Christian has attended both his Buffalo Conference and Wellesley Conference with his colleague and pal, Travis. He and his wife are swell and we love their southern accents.

Last week Berke had a WONDERFUL time with these two beauties, Julia and Mia, while his dad was away. They took wonderful care of B and from what I understand never left his side. They read him books, fed him bananas, changed his diaper, did music time twice a day and even took him to the zoo one day. Berke loved to laugh with these gals and it was so nice to know he was being so well cared for. Thanks sooooo much Maria, Todd, Julia and Mia!

Honey, come home, I don't like being a single working mom, it is NO fun! We will be so happy when daddy comes home Saturday night!

Playin' Together

Until about two weeks ago, Berkeley and McDuff co-existed; neither one of them were interested in the other. About two weeks ago Berkeley started noticing McDuff and watching his every move. He would smile as soon as he saw his puppy pal and give a little giggle. McDuff has notice how much more mobile the little guy has gotten, and apparently thinks that now he is good play partner.

When McDuff wants to play he will bring us his squirrel or fox and lay it at our feet and look at us, wanting us to throw the animal so he can chase it, bring it back, and start all over again. Last week McDuff started bringing his toy and laying it in front of Berkeley, then he would just look at him. Poor Duff doesn't understand that Berkeley is not quite at a stage in life where he can throw objects short distances.

Tonight, McDuff placed his fox ever so cleverly right in front of Berkeley. Berke is at that stage where he grasps anything in sight and holds on for dear life. So, Berke grabs on to the fox. Duff could not have been more pleased, because now he can play his 2nd favorite game, tug of war. These two started playing together! It was the cutest thing and they both loved it!
Granted the fox is disgusting and I don't really want Berke playing with it; I have been waiting for these two to bond for 6 months I couldn't stop their fun.

Here they both are with their death grips. Eventually McDuff won; Berkeley was a good sport about losing, he just went on to the next toy.

Help!!

Some children are afraid of the dark, spiders, monsters, or the Easter Bunny. Berkeley has another fear; he is afraid of babies. That's right, any time another baby looks at him and he can see that it is happening he breaks into tears. Does anyone have any tips on how I can socialize my kid?

Sand Much?

We traveled to Revere Beach yet again this weekend to see the

The weather was super humid, so I was worried to go out, but the weather by the beach was perfect for the day. I am always amazed by this craft, as I struggle to even make a crappy looking sand castle.

Spheres of Influence

Face Plant

Ouroboros

It's a Small World

Warning: This is not a sand sculpture

Eat your Hearts out McDonald's

If you have no idea what this means, please watch the YouTube video below.

This tune will NEVER leave your head!
Thanks for the onsie Juls

Tall Ships

We finally had a bright sunshiny day this weekend. We, along with half of the city of Boston, headed to Fish Pier to see the Tall Boats that are in town this weekend. The boats were amazing to look at, we opted not to wait in the long long lines to get onto the boats, but we admired them from the ground.

This tall ship is a Romanian Navy Ship. It was really interesting to see sailors from all the different countries. I have a deep respect for sailors, as my brother was in the U.S. Navy and I know what difficult work it is to maintain a vessel such as this.

Boats from all over the world parked by the World Trade Center, fitting I think.

We were glad Kyle and Debbie could join us for our little adventure. We all enjoyed getting some vitamin D and I finally got my first sunburn of the summer!

Growin' too fast

6 month stats:
Weight: 15.0 lbs (5-10%)
Length: 25 1/2 inches (10%)

The last 6 months has gone by so fast; it has been amazing to watch Berkeley develop and change so much. He has always been a very happy baby and a good sleeper and I am extremely fortunate for that. He has loved traveling around and going on adventures with his mum and dad; he has now been to 7 states in his short life. Berke rolls around to get where he needs to go at this point in his life. He is sitting up on his own, learned to smile every time we bust the camera out (what a ham), and loves to laugh all the time. He has always been a good eater, he took to breast feeding right away but after four months, due to work, we had to switch to formula and he has done well with that. He started on solids 2 weeks ago and he is slowly learning how to open his mouth when he sees a spoon. He blows bubbles when he is happy and especially when he is mad. His Underwater Sea Adventure and his "Birdies" are his two favorite toys. Berke loves bath time and has recently learned about the joys of splashing with his feet. I always have a smile waiting for me when I get home, as he definitely knows who his momma is and he loves her. He also knows who McDuff is and loves to watch him all the time; McDuff is still not so sure about the babe, he seems to know that babies don't know about soft touch and keeps his distance. Just this week Berke has found his thumb and loves to suck on it, along with all the rest of his fingers. He is a drooling machine, but amazingly no teeth just yet. This guy can still fit into some of his 0-3 months clothes and many of his 3-6 month close are just now starting to fit, so we are getting good use out of all of the many outfits he has. The Baby Bjorn is a place Berke is always happy to be, he loves to look out and smile at passers by; this is how we get our grocery sopping done. He also enjoys being in his back pack and traveling around. One of his favoirte places at home is his changing table, we call it the "happy place," he is alsways happy when he is laying there, it is pretty cute. This baby knows how to dance, I think he got all of his dance moves from his mom. He does a little jig we like to call the Berkeley dance. Daddy has loved spending the summer with the little guy; they have had so much fun together.

Berkeley is not a big fan of church, as it seems to mess up his nap schedule the entire day and makes for a very unhappy boy. He also doesn't like his pacifier, he hasn't ever loved it, but now he wont take the thing at all. The boy also gets scared at sudden loud noises and his bottom lip pouts out and he just starts screaming. We are not loving how good he has become at pulling my hair and his daddies arm hair, but we are learning how to deal with it.

That is my list of ramblings about our little man; things I want to remember. We honestly love being parents and it has enhanced our lives so much. Berkeley has brought so much joy into our home and into our life in general. He is such a special baby and I love having the privilege of taking care of him every way that I can.

What better way to spend the 4th of July than.....

looking at this Patriotic Little Man! An All American Boy!
(Thanks grandpa for my sweet outfit)

And driving the Revolutionary Trail from Lexington to Concord.
The Red Coats are coming!

We were able to see the battle green were the first shot of the war occurred, Louis May Alcott Home, Sleepy Hallow Cemetery, and the Old North Bridge.

Next stop was Waldon Pond for some afternoon sun and relaxation time outside of the car, which Berke was a big fan of! He loved discovering sand.

That evening I took the fam down the the Charles River to watch the fireworks. Christian stayed back with Berke because he HATES big crowds. We met up with some friends with the ward and had a fun evening. The fireworks were so amazing this year, there were lots of new fireworks we had never seen before. Getting on the T after the show was not the easiest thing I've ever done, but we made it home eventually!

Happy 4th of July!

Visitors

This week we have been lucky to have Christian's parents and his youngest sister, Bethany, out visiting us. It has been a busy week! Christian took his family out the beginning part of the week on his own. They went to Fenway Park, the MFA, ALL over downtown Boston, Beacon Hill, and Harvard Square. The weather was rainy for the first part of the week, but the sun decided to shine FINALLY on Friday!

Scott, Bethany and Jeanie riding the T for the first time, but not the last!

Photo shoot with Christian and Bethany, this one of MANY! On Thursday we drove to Sharon, Vermont to see the birth place of the prophet Joseph Smith. Unfortunately it rained the entire day, more like poured rain, but we had a good time and enjoyed the beauty of the monument. The monument stands 38 1/2 feet tall, one foot for each year of his life.

Friday we finally saw the sun, so we headed to the beach. We went to Revere Beach, America's first Public Beach. Mom, Dad, Bethany and Christian had a great time throwing the Frisbee.

Friday night we headed to the Hatch Shell to watch the dress rehearsal of the Boston Pops and to hear Neil Diamond sing. Even though it was crowded we had a wonderful time rockin out! Berkeley was enjoying the music so much, but he was very tired, he just couldn't fall asleep; that is until the canons started going off in the William Tell Overture. That was surprisingly the trick to getting him out. Who knew extremely loud noises would lull my baby to sleep; he is defiantly my husband's son.

Berke loves hanging out with his grandma and grandpa Gentry.

The Hatch Shell