Oh Canada......Bonjour!

This weekend we made our trek up to Quebec City.  It is about a five hour drive from Warren.  We weren't really sure what to expect but we had heard great things.

They were right, Quebec City was awesome.  We felt as if we were right back in Paris.  Yummy cafes with delicious pastries!  We also happened to be there on the opening weekend of their winter carnival.  This was a great coincidence.  Their winter carnival is no joke! They had toboggan rides, an amusement park, sleigh rides, dog sled races, ice carvings, yummy treats, and so much more! It was so fun!

We will definitely be coming again! It was so cute seeing all the little kids running around and be pulled by their parents in their sleds.  Max is definitely going to have a blast next year!!

Old Town Quebec City

BRRRRR

goregous hotel

if you look close I think you can see the terror in
 Max's eyes

Max and daddy having some fun

Bonhomme. The Carnival ambassador

weeeeeee

this is for the snow carving

We bought this scarf for a souviner.  It is was Bonhomme wears.

outdoor sauna

Burton snowboards

Rob wanted to take a little trip to the Burton Flagship store in Burlington Vermont. I snapped a few pictures while we were there.

cuz Ryan

ol' skool

lots and lots of boards

maybe Max will ride one???

stealing

This will be a first for me....Stealing.  Well if you're not counting that one time in high school, and by one, I mean several. :)
No, this is a different kind of stealing.  I'm stealing an entry I read on this blog that I follow. www.britonmakesthree.com
I really like it because her baby is one month older than Max and I can very much relate to her.  I read this entry on the eve of Max's 7 month bday.  It was if I had wrote it myself, but only better :)


However, please note. Max, unlike Brixton is still not sleeping through the night....lol




THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012


In the Gentle Night
Brixton likes his mama to put him to bed.  Every night is the same: quiet playtime, books and a night-night bottle.  His long body barely seems to fit anymore across my lap, his fat hands reach up and touch my face in the soft glow of the lamp, his eyes lock with mine and he smiles.  


Some nights he wakes and cries.  Daddy's strong arms hold him, but he cries still, the tears trailing down his face like a trickling stream down a canyon front.  It's mama that he wants.  His arms reach out to me, his warm body cuddles into mine, the wet tears pooling in the bowl created between my neck and collar bone.  I hold him close, breathing him in, this baby.  


Looking back at those early newborn days is like looking back a century.  Gone are the 3 nightly feedings, the tiny infant stir metallic over the monitor.  Gone are the countless diaper changes, the spit-up rags decorating the floor, raging cries in the night.  Those nights I dreaded, the ones I worried about so much, with the exhaustion and stress, passed with barely a whimper.  Sometimes, I look at the baby now in my arms and wonder how that time could have already gone by.  Wasn't he always this big?  Didn't he always sleep though the night?  No, but I blinked and those moments ended.  


Sometimes while rocking him, he falls into a soft slumber.  The light falls across the roundness of his cheeks, over his pouting lips, across the gentle arc of his nose.  His eyelashes, so thick and long, outline the slope of his eyes, my eyes.  His easy breathing, punctuated by the chirps of dreams far away, a rhythm that lulls me to sleep.


I look at him in wonder.  Is this real?  Is he really here?


All this time passed and still I marvel. 

a little pool time...

There is a heated pool at the gym I go to here in Warren.  We took lil Max in it to see how he would do.

He seems to like it :)

Ha, never mind the little choke at the end :)

Killington

This weekend Grandpa Marty, Auntie Nicole and Cousin Ryan made it up to Vermont for the weekend.  We had a good time just watching movies, going to dinner and doing a little skiing.  Here are some pictures of our adventures.

First off to see the Dew Tour at Killington.  IT was far too cold out!

Three generations of Callagy's

The next day, the boys went back to Killington to ski....

Marty and Ryan

apparently, Marty would only ski greens. So Rob bought him this t-shirt :)

another one bites the dust!

and so it begins....

The dreaded time has come.  Dreaded you ask? Yes! As many parents might be thrilled in anticipation for their young one to check another milestone off there list, I am....not.  Don't get me wrong. I do usually like that Max is making all his milestones, like eating new foods or sitting up on his own.  But this new one is far more bitter than sweet for me.  Why, you might ask.  Well there are two reasons.  #1 is the sadness that Max is growing up far too fast. ( I know it is only a matter of time where he won't want dozens of kisses from me)  and #2 , which may seem a little selfish is this mama is now really going to have to WORK.  No more lazy days with a cup of coffee watching Max flop around like a fish.  OH no, I now have to be on my "A" game. Damn it.

Max is now mobile.  Yup, that's right.  Lock up your daughters, Max is on the loose.

Joking aside. Isn't he the cutest little crawler? (If you can call it that) I think it is more of an army crawl, but cute none the less.

and it continues.....

As you can see by the pretty little map, the Northeast is....well COLD! After surviving the day of below zero temperatures, we woke up to even colder ones.  No big deal I thought.  We have experienced cold nights here before.  As Rob and I got up this morning doing our normal routine I heard a loud *#@*& from Rob's mouth.  A stubbed toe I assumed.  Nope....better. Frozen pipes.  Well shit.  First we have no car and now no water. This posed an interesting set of problems.  HOW WAS I GOING TO GET MY COFFEE!

We search the condo for water bottles laying around hoping that we could scrounge up enough water to make a cup. We were unsuccessful.  Very sad :(

Needless to say all ended up fine.  The car got a new battery and after several hours of putting a space heater next to some exposed pipes we had running water again.

And thankfully we were able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee, even if it was at 2:00 pm.

Pretty views, even if it is freezing out