North East!

Patrick finished his 11 week internal medicine rotation on Friday August 28th. We relaxed that weekend and hopped in the car on Monday for our road trip. We drove to Rhode Island, and stayed the night at the Navy Lodge in Newport, RI. I really like this Navy Lodge, it has a nice view and a trail to run on. Unfortunately it was the only time I ran the whole vacation.



When we woke up on Tuesday we checked out and went on a tour at the Breakers (one of the Vanderbilt Mansions). I am pretty sure that it helped define the gilded age. It was beautiful! If only I was about 100 billion dollars richer. Andy made it about half way through the tour when he just had enough. I stopped on the balcony and worked really hard to get him to sleep, it felt like forever, but he finally went to sleep long enough to finish the tour anyway.



The view from the balcony was beautiful!



Patrick wished it was his home.




Andy was glad to get out of the house and on to the grass. He attracted a whole group of Chinese tourists who wanted to take a picture with him as well as have Patrick take a picture for them.



After grabbing a bite to eat we headed to Maine, where we stayed at another Navy Lodge (not as good of view but still a nice place to stay.) On Wednesday we went to Portland, Maine and toured the Headland Light house. Definitely worth the drive. It was a beautiful and clear day.

We then drove through Scarborough, Maine, for obvious reasons. There wasn't much to see, except for the signs below.

We then set on our way to Bennington, Vermont. As we drove through New Hampshire we realized that the rest stops no longer had McDonald's like in Connect or Burger Kings like Massachusetts; instead they had a State Safety Rest Stop next to the State Liquor store (I wonder if the drinking and driving laws are more relaxed in New Hampshire...if they exist.)

Andy hoped that the legal driving age was lower too, but we still didn't let him drive.

The drive was breathtaking I hadn't seen so many mountains and green trees in a long time. We stayed the night in Bennington. On Thursday we walked around the town but Andy stayed pleasant just long enough to take a picture next to one of the many Moosefest moose, buy a moose book and the 7th Harry Potter, and some chocolates from a chocolate store which had two chocolate moose that weighed about 88 lbs. Then we drove to Ithaca, New York, to visit our friends Josh, Jenny, and their two sons Evan and Breydan (and they have two more on the way!)

On our way to Josh and Jenny's we stopped at Brooks BBQ...Yummy! Another place worth the drive. We also had some ice cream and sat in the Brooks playground. Andy wanted my ice cream so bad that I finally gave in.

Jenny was a great hostess, she took us around Ithica on Friday. We saw two waterfalls and the campus of Cornell, where Josh is working on his PhD. Jenny stayed in the van while Andy slept and we took Evan and Breydan to see one of the water falls. I was taking pictures of Patrick and the boys when someone offered to take a picture of all of us; I decided why not? Aren't they cute little boys!? Thanks Jenny for the tour, the yummy meals and for letting us stay with you!!!

On Saturday we drove to Palmyra, NY. We were hoping to meet up with Patrick's old roomate, Morgan, and his wife, Keara, but it didn't work out. We took the tour around the Smith's family farm. And then walked through the Sacred Grove. Andy needed a power nap again, and then he was good to go for another half hour or so. Then we headed home.

We finished Patrick's time off with a trip to on Labor Day to see Crystal and Joel Ross. Andy was able to try some corn on the cob, as well as some watermelon. We had a great time, and Andy had alot of fun with Robert and Rebekkah.

Well, that's it for now. We'll try to post a bit more often in the future. Stay tuned!

Toddling, Haircuts, Teething, and More!

It's only been a few days since we last posted, but so much has happened in such a short time! Andy continues to grow faster than we ever thought possible and is entertaining us on a daily basis with his new skills. Julie cut her hair short and I finished my Medicine Clerkship and now have a wonderful week of vacation before starting my Psychiatry Clerkship at North Central Bronx Inpatient Ward. It's going to be an experience! Here are some pictures to let everyone know what we've been up to. Enjoy!

Andy's latest hobby is walking with the aid of his toy. He's not very fast yet, but it won't be long before he's running around the house to the consternation of his exhausted parentals!

Julie's new haircut. Isn't she absolutely gorgeous?!



The haircut in the back. Short and cute!



Andy's grin with his new teeth just barely poking out. Trust me, they're pretty sharp!



Andy before Church. If you look closely, you can see his teeth again. Isn't he the cutest?



There's just nothing better than a good nap with your Mommy!

Stay tuned for more updates from the upcoming Scarborough Northeast U.S. Roadtrip.

Sleep Time

Recently, I have decided to hold my ground about sleep time. When it is time for a nap I will go through our routine of songs and turn on some bedtime music and place Andrew in his crib. He doesn't like this very much and will usually protest with screams of anger. I do peek in from time to time to make sure he is alright, but I don't let him see me. At first I would go in and try and comfort him, but this would just upset him more when I left. Now I just let him scream it out. He was screaming for up to a half an hour (I do have a stubborn child, not sure where he gets it from), but now he is screaming less and less. Sometimes I find him sleeping in funny positions like he was screaming, but all of the sudden fell asleep and fell forward. I have found him sleeping on blankets, the railing, toys and many times his own legs. Good thing he is flexible!

Wish Patrick luck because I am going to start doing this at night when Andy wakes up. I need him to sleep through the night, so we must suffer through the training first.

On the Go

Everyday Andrew impresses me with how much he already knows. I am sure all babies are like that, they know more than we give them credit for. These last couple of days, he has started feeding me Cheerios and he still loves the game of put the pacifier in Mom's mouth. He is pulling himself to standing at every opportunity and he is getting really good at it. He is now practicing letting go. He can only stand for maybe a second or two, but he keeps trying. Yesterday he figured out that he could open the kitchen cupboards and pull out everything in them. I really need to get on that child proofing thing.

This is a really fun age. He is learning so much, so quick. It is hard to keep up.