Cox Farm... We LOVE Cox Farm!!

 For those who don't know what  Cox Farm is, it is a Fall Festival where we have been going for the last 5 years... What a fun place!

Do you think I am obsessed with my camera if I tell you that I took 900 pictures during the 5 hours we spent at Cox Farm last weekend???

Well... Here are the 150 pictures I had to keep...

 

 Let me show you how much we had... We started off by going to our traditional first stop: the Fun Tunnel:

We have spread the word about this magical place to a lot of friends over the years and it is now fun to see everyone there on the Preview Weekend.

Last year, some friends told me how much they love their apple cider and how wonderful it is that you can just taste it there... I was wondering what they were talking about as I had never seen the barn where you could taste their apple cider... I then figured out that all these years we had gone there we had only gone to the lower half of the farm and there was a whole section that we had never seen!!! 

So we planned this year to start with the parts that we still needed to discover... How fun!

Apple cider and popcorn!! What a treat!

How could we have missed this giant slide?? I don't know... but this time we had so much fun trying it out... even Victor was laughing going down on Mark's lap!

 

Then off to the Hayride where we met our friends, the Sorensons. The boys were delighted to see Neve and Dane!

Adam had been asking about the corn maze over and over so we headed over there despite the fact that it was already time to go home for naps... I was proud of myself for being so flexible and enjoying the moment instead of sticking to our daily routine...

Victor was such a trooper, having his afternoon nap skipped all together and waiting for everyone to go down slide after slide... Look at this cute smile!!

 

 

Good bye Cox Farm... See you next year!! 

An adventure to Babbling Beauty...

Last year, Mark took the boys for a walk in the woods and came back delighted by the place they had discovered and named Babbling Beauty because of its charming stream.

I think they have been there a couple of times but on Victor's birthday I was finally introduced to this enchanted place!

On our way to Babbling Beauty...

 

Adam and Antoine were so excited to show me their special place and kept talking about it and describing it... =)

We were delighted to see a family of deer close by  having their own little adventure walk...

Once there, the boys played throwing rocks in the water and Victor was taking it all in... The colors and lighting were gorgeous. Simple joy and sweet memories...

Once back home, we celebrated Victor's First birthday simply with Banana Bread Muffins and Gifts...

Second grade... First day!!

Morning cuddles...

Milestones...

Victor has made great progress these past few weeks... from being an expert at shoveling cheerios in his mouth to crawling, but also propping himself up again the ottoman, the dishwasher or the bench...

Here are a few shots of our growing baby!!

Summer outing...

Adam and Antoine had earned coupons (through the Library reading program) which enabled us to do some fun activities this summer (beside the pool) such as the Water Mine, Pirates Cove and Mini-golf.

Mark has been very busy at work this summer, working late hours, taking the last train home and even spending some Saturdays at the FTC...

Adam was asking for weeks to go to the mini-golf with his Dad and we finally made it happen at the end of August... We had such a fun time even though we are far from being experts!!

Too adorable to pass...

 

Pure Joy...

These pictures remind of similar ones you took of Adam way back when...

Brotherly LOVE...

So much to catch up with...

Here I am again after once again several months of silence...

I don't know when I am going to fill the gap but in the meantime, here is a bunch pictures from the last couple of months...

As you can see I really enjoy my new camera and take a lot of pictures to catch all the expressions of my boys!!

Enjoy!

Here is my happy baby at the end of May - probably one of the first times he was standing on his own against the couch...

Victor LOVES his Jumpy/Jumpy thing... He has become an expert not only bouncing but also swinging in it and does not get tired of it! Very handy when I am cleaning the kitchen or making dinner!

 

A well-loved Mommy with her 3 boys!

Victor on his new device (that I recently got for free on Freecycle!) - He LOVES his Jumperoo...

The other day, Adam and Antoine were dancing/jumping on Tarzan's soundtrack in the living room where Victor was and everyone was content. I went downstairs to work on the computer and a while later, the boys joined me. Victor was left behind on the Jumperoo with the music playing super loud. After quite a while, I realized that Victor was upstairs alone but would not hear protest... I found him asleep standing on the Jumperoo, right by the stereo... Have you heard Tarzan's soundtrack before?... not really a Lullaby... I guess my sweet baby must have been exhausted...

Trip to France!!

Victor took his first flights in May when I took him to France to introduce him to my family and my friends... 10 days by myself with my sweet and easy baby touring around and seeing so many people!! 

Mark took some time off to stay home and be Mr. MOM while I was away... Mark handled things very well, cooked, cleaned, did laundry, managed to get Adam to school and Antoine to his various activities (Joyschool and REC Center class)... He told me that it was A LOT of work and that it was certainly a FULL time job! =)

I think he has a better appreciation for my job now!

Back to my stay in France... My sister came and picked me up at the Paris airport (she took a huge detour to go to Brittany from Normandy - for those who know a little bit of French geography - just to spend more time with me! =). Unfortunately, my flight left 1h30 late (in the middle of the night - Victor was exhausted and so hungry but I was waiting to be seated on the plane to feed him for the night...) so when I finally met Emmanuelle it was the beginning of rush hour traffic and we had to go all around the Parisian beltway to get to Brittany... a much long trip than expected but we were so happy to be together again...

We arrived in Penestin at my parents' beach house for the week end and my brother and family as well as my best-friend from Junior High Esther joined us... We had a fun weekend together mostly around the table eating my Mom's delicious food and enjoying each others' company...

Here are some pictures of the week end:

 Victor at almost 8 months did not want to eat solids... I tried over and over at home before we left but he refused to eat with the spoon... My mission while in France was that someone would get him to eat baby food! Everyone tried even with different techniques, more or less successful! =)

 

We then left for Nantes for a couple of days where I had so many people to see... It was a marathon and I loved every part of it! 

First we went to see Pepe my grandfather (without my grandmother who passed away in Nov 2011). He has changed so much since the last time I had seen him... He is 98 years old and he can barely see or hear... He feels so lonely without his wife, it is heartbreaking to hear him talk about it. He is grateful for his children and grandchildren who are taking care of him but it is definitely not the same for him.  It was sweet to see him holding Victor... We had tender goodbyes as I am pretty sure this is the last time I will see in this life...

  

I had lunch with my cousin Isabelle who I had not seen since 2006... It was wonderful to catch up with her and her family. Then off to a short visit with another cousin Jacques and his family (one of the few cousins I have on my Dad's side) - it is always wonderful to see them!

I had sent an email to a couple of good friends from back in college and I was really hoping to see them since I had missed them in 2009 on my last trip... I had such a fun night at Samuel and Claudia Jube with Christophe and Valerie Favreau and their respective "crew"... Again, I had not seen them for at least 6 years and it was great to catch up with them. It is a real bummer that I was so busy enjoying my time with them that I forgot to take pictures... =(

One more stop that day but for the night this time at my cousin Marika who opened her house to us. We spent hours talking until the early morning! =)

The next day, I met with my best-friend from College Sonia and her family. Her parents even joined us for lunch and we had a great time... Her daughter Julie is getting so big! Her baby Chloe is just a few months older than Victor.

 Victor would going from one place to the next with a smile, sleeping wherever when he was tired...

 What a trooper!

We came back to Penestin for a couple of days and had a wonderful visit from my aunts Maite and Ginou whom I love to be with...

  This is how I found Victor after his nap... kind of stuck and not sure what to think... =)

We took advantage of a sunny afternoon to go to the beach and introduce Victor to the sand... He was intrigued at first but it was a hit!

 

It was then time to leave Brittany behind us and drive to Normandy to spend my last four days in France at my sister's house. On our way there, we stopped by Rennes to have lunch with Aline and Joel, some other relatives that I love spending time with. While there, I took off for a couple of hours to visit with my dear friends Mary and Cindy and their adorable babies... a short visit (and no pictures) but I was grateful to see them though.

Normandy is so beautiful and picturesque... I love it! 

 

My Dad and Carlo worked on the boat while we enjoyed being at home, cooking and enjoying watching Zelie interact with Victor.

 

 I also spent some time helping my sister organize her office (she has recently started her new business as an expert accountant and now works from home).

It was sad to say goodbye but I was soooo glad that I was able to have an amazing time in France!!

Adam is 7...

We had a simple birthday celebration for Adam but he enjoyed very much... Gety surprised him with huge balloons and ice cream!