Feising in AC

In early August, we met up with cousin Hannah in Atlantic City to see her compete in an Irish Dance Feis.  It's so fun to watch her jig!!  She obviously loves every second that she is up and dancing for the judges (and Eli loves watching her dance!)!

Hannah won 3rd place!!

"I love Feising!"

Cousin Sophia, Aunt Lori, Nana, and Pop-pop were also in AC with us and we had a great time at the beach, hitting up the surf and playing in the sand, as well as doing some outlet shopping and swimming in the hotel pool!  I think Eli is already looking forward to next summer's Feis in AC*!

"I love the Jersey Shore!!  Atlantic City rocks!"

"This ocean is crazy!"

Eli's napping ... so the girls are building sand castles!

"The beach was fun, but the pool rocks too!"

*We hope the recover from Hurricane Sandy goes well and we can visit the Jersey Shore again next summer!

Eli = International Man of Leisure



 

In July, Eli took his first (quick) trip to a foreign country -- Canada!

 

We spent about 30 minutes in Niagara Falls, ON, stopping (illegally) to take a few photos!

 

Eli: "What's that behind us, Mom?"
Mom: "America!  'cause we're in Canada!"

Out and about in Canada!

A trip to the Pitts!

"I'm glad you guys bought me a
comfy car seat, 'cause I sure do
spend a lot of time in it!"

We continued the PA tour to the western side of the state to have a quick visit with our friends Natalie and Emilio and their daughter Dahlia (who actually live in Altoona, not Long Island, where we met up with them last time!).  We only had a day, but it was fun to hang around the house with the kids and then drive to Pittsburgh to see the zoo with Natalie and Dahlia!  Natalie's a college professor too -- the joys of having summers off!  We love taking the kids to the zoo on a random Tuesday!

What biologists do when they take their kids
to the zoo ....

Everyone poses with the tree of life!

Eli watching the sea lion baby.
Or the water (it was another HOT day!)!

"Oh my God!  I am petting a dear!!!!!"

"Oh, a dear.  I prefer my ungulates to have an
odd number of toes.  Show me a rhino!"

Not sure who was more interested in whom.
Kangaroo/baby staring contest.

"Look Eli, a Gorilla!"

Gorillas are always a great end
to a great day at the zoo!

After the zoo, we took Eli to his first Pittsburgh Pirates game!  It was a pretty nice night and we had a great time cheering for the Pirates and the Houston Astros!  Eli's favorite part was McCutchen hitting a great home run!

The Wynnes at PNC Park

"Another day, another baseball game.
How do I break it to Daddy that my favorite sport
is actually water polo?"

"Just kidding Daddy!  I love baseball!!"

Happy Father's Day!

Daddy & Eli
June 17, 2012

Happy FIRST Father's Day to the very best dad that I know!

Ryan and Eli are already best friends.  Eli and I are so lucky to have Ryan!

We celebrated Father's Day in WNY and stopped by Niagara Falls before nice dinner!

A Long Island visit

Though Eli has made it out to Long Island when he has had to go to work with me, we decided to make a social visit to the Long Island to see our friends Natalie, Emilio and Dahlia!  Easter weekend, Dahlia was in town celebrating her first birthday!  (Normally, they live in Western PA) Sadly, we couldn't make the big party, but it was actually really nice to head out the day before the crazy celebration and enjoy some time catching up and just hanging out with the babies. 

Eli is looking forward to another playdate with Dahlia soon (hopefully in Niagara Falls this summer!)!  She is such a cute one-year-old and it was so nice to meet her!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Dahlia!

Eli and Uncle Emilio!
(Another dad that is married to a full-time professor
and spends LOTS of time with his child!)

Dahlia joins in!
"OMG- she's touching my arm!!"

Shuffled off to Buffalo!

Eli's first trip away from home, was to visit Buffalo! 

Amazingly, he was a champ during the whole drive.  We stopped after about 3 hours (so Ryan and I could get us some diet cherry limeade from Sonic in Binghamton!) and experienced our first diaper change in the car (why have I never paid attention to which bathrooms have changing tables?).  We then went another two hours and met everyone in Rochester at the Buffalo Bandits game.

Eli was very excited about his first lacrosse game with his Aunt Kelly and Uncle Steve and Cori, as well as meeting a bunch of his "cousins" and "uncles"!  The Bandits lost, but we all had fun!

Eli in his Bandit's bib at his first game!

"Cousins" Emma and McKenzie

Eli with Daddy and "cousin" Ally!

Aunt Kelly, Eli, and Uncle Steve at the first
of many Buffalo Bandits games!

 After the fun game, we all went out to dinner.  There were 13 of us, including all the high chairs, so the restaurant workers were smart enough to give us our own little loft area.  After we survived dinner, we headed over to Uncle Billy's and Aunt Kimmy's to hang out for the night.  It was fun for the kids to play and hang out with my girls (and Ryan had fun with the boys!)!

I am so excited the kids got along so well!  Mckenzie and Emma (both 1-year-old) looked at him and smiled and didn't flip out when their respective mothers held him (a win in my book!) and Ally (3-years-old) just adored him!  Wanting to hold him the whole time and calling him her "E-Y"!  Adorable!  Good thing the girls don't hate him, as they will all be forced to be friend forever!

Eli with his girls Mckenzie, Emma, & Ally!
March 10th, 2012

A rare family shot!

 We spent the rest of our little "vacation" in Buffalo, visiting with family and friends.  We spent most of our time with Grandma, Uncle Steve and Aunt Kelly.  We also had visits from Cousin Bobby and Uncle Bob, "Uncle" Feeney and Declan, a great visit with Great Aunt Debbi, Great Uncle Bob and Cousin Jaime, and a fun dinner at Ted's with "Aunt" Nessa.  We didn't have the camera out nearly enough because we were just enjoying a nice week off with family and friends!

Some highlights of the trip for Eli included his first taste of cereal, watching TV with Uncle Steve, being baby-sat by Aunt Kelly, and visiting some of our favorite Buffalo stores and restaurants.  We can't wait to spend more time in Western New York this summer!!

First taste of cereal!

"What is this stuff?"

Playing with Grandma

I think Eli and Uncle Steve are both looking back at
Aunt Kelly.  So cute!

Most adorable baby ever!

Snuggling with Grandma!

First taste of ice cream!
Anderson's, of course!

Eli wanted to be just like Uncle Steve!
Orange pocket-T, black sweats, sitting
in his chair!

Thanks for a wonderful visit!!

A day in PA

Forgot to mention ...

Back when Eli was just 3 weeks old, we decided a trip to PA to visit Nana and Pop pop was in order!  Ryan and I were both still home from work, so it was a good time for a mid-week 2-hour drive into Pennsylvania.

It was Eli's first big trip.  Really, it was the first time he was in the car for more than the 5 minutes it takes to go to the doctors.  It was also the first time he went to someone else's house for a visit.  So we packed up way too much stuff and I sat in the back seat the whole way there!

We spent the day with Nana and Eli's cousins Sophie and Hannah.  The girls are sooo good with him and had a great time watching him and helping with feedings and diaper changes.  We also had a very interesting conversation about the difference between boys and girls that I will surely tease Hannah about for all of her adult life.  Because I am her Aunt and I am supposed to do stuff like that!

Pop pop came home and we all had dinner together and then Eli got to meet his Uncle Al for the first time. 

After a successful visit with the family, we headed over to visit with our friends Matt & Sonia so that Eli could have his first playdate with Scarlet! 

We had hung out and chatted with Sonia & Matt throughout our pregnancies and then the first weeks of having a newborn, so it was nice to see them again and finally meet 7-week-old Scarlet!  She is such an adorable baby! 

Eli & Scarlet
January 18, 2012

This first playdate was pretty quiet!  I am sure future playdates will be a bit more exciting and the parents will wish it was as quiet as the first!

Have Baby (in utero), Will Travel!

Baby Wynne hasn't been born yet, but is already traveling! 

The first trip for Baby Wynne actually was the DAY after we found out about him/her!
Friday, we get a positive pregnancy test; Saturday, we're on a plane!

Baby Wynne's first trip was down south to visit one of my oldest friends Stephanie and her husband Andrew and their 4 kids.  Spending the weekend after discovering that you're pregnant with a 4 year-old and triplet-boy-1-year-olds is definitely an experience!  :)  We also spent 2 days in Orlando visiting all the sites that we plan to bring Baby Wynne to for her/his second birthday (Disney!!)! 

There were plenty of roadtrips this summer -- mainly to Buffalo and PA to see family and friends. 

The most recent trip was with Grandma (my mom) to Las Vegas and Arizona for a conference and my cousin Ashley's wedding. 

Ryan and I are dedicated to continuing with our love of travel, even with a kid!  I am sure it is going to be a bit more difficult when the kid isn't in the easy-carrying-case of my womb, but we are determined!

Baby Wynne's current travel stats:

Number of States Visited: 7

(New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona)

Number of Plane Rides (including connecting flights): 6

(By the way -- Pregnant ladies out there -- you can board the flight early.  This is especially useful when flying Southwest, which lacks assigned seats!)

Here are some photos from Baby Wynne's in utero travels:

At the Magic Kingdom!
(We hope to be back for Baby Wynne's 2nd Birthday!)

Baby Wynne takes the Hogwarts Express!

Kayaking in Lake Ontario!

With Grandma in Arizona
(for Cousin Ashley's wedding)
(Yes, I am wearing a sequins dress while 6 months pregnant!)

Baby Wynne at the Wynn!



Enjoying the Vegas Strip!
(I am pretty sure it was almost midnight too!)