Spring Break Road Trip

Seamus had spring break, so he and I took a road trip. We made a quick stop in NJ and went to Jack's birthday party. Seamus was very excited to see Jack's Uncle Billy, because he's been watching his show on the Nat Geo Channel.

Then, we drove down to see Dave, Trina, and the kids in VA.  We had lots of fun things to do, starting with a Harlem Globe Trotters game. 

Then we went to the Air and Space Museum, where Seamus worked on his modeling career.  

He was also obsessed with the Star Wars figures in the Space area. 

Rocket launching with Giovanni

Then we went to the Reston Zoo.  It's a much smaller zoo and closer to my brother's house.  Seamus brought a cold with him to NOVA (which he also shared with me), so we kept close this day.

We took the Metro into DC and went to the Museum of Natural History.  I think this was Seamus's favorite.  I just followed him and he wandered around in excitement.  He loved seeing the animal models and skeletons.  He was also fascinated with the archaeology and human development section (thanks to Billy's show).

It was a wonderful visit with my family.  Dave and Trina were so great to open their home to us and let us crash there even though it was a regular work/school week for their family.  Seamus loved spending time with his cousins, and I was just so happy to be able to visit with all of them.  This is one of the bittersweet moments of how our family has changed.  I haven't been able to visit their home for the past 8 years,  but now we can.  And I enjoyed it very much.

We stopped in NJ on the way back home and got to visit with Maddie and Jack (and Heather).  It was great to get some individual time with them.  I'm also looking forward to spending more time with them this summer.  

We also spent some time with my parents, though I managed to forget to take a single picture of them with Seamus.  

So, we did it!  Seamus and I rocked our first road trip and had lots of fun!  He did a great job. We were talking on the drive home and I told him that he was really well behaved.  He said, "Well, not always."  I laughed and told him, "True, but you did a very good job."  I imagine this will only get easier and more fun as he gets older and more independent.  This is a new frontier for me and the freedom is incredible.  I miss Eve like crazy, and I'm sure she'd be happy that Seamus was able to do all of this.   

JoJo turns 8

Happy 8th Birthday, Josie!

Seamus let out a loud and long toot at the dinner table tonight.
Me: What do you say?
Seamus: Thank you!

One of my plans for sabbatical was to slowly redo Eve's room and have Seamus move into it.  This way, his room would be closer to ours, bigger, and further from the living room.  I expected this would be a long process both because I needed to heal and because I thought I'd need to convince Seamus.  Well, Seamus did not want to wait to move in.  So, I painted the room green (his choice) and we moved in his things.  We brought Eve's old headboard up from the basement and rearranged the furniture.  The room looks good and suits him.  He's happy. It stings me a little, but I'm glad we didn't develop a shrine. 

 Here is my dad reading with Seamus:

 We had to go to Boston for my eye surgery (to fix the 4th nerve palsy that was a leftover effect of the brain tumor).  While we were there, we took Seamus to Legoland.  He loved it! 

 And just for fun, we had a birthday party for Chewbaca. 

Oh, I've been showing Seamus episodes of PeeWee's playhouse on Netflix.  Or, as Seamus calls him: Phoebe Herman.

Xmas 2015

Jim was able to spend Christmas weekend at home this year.  This was good because we needed that family togetherness.  It was a quiet time, just the three of us.

On Christmas Eve, it was unseasonably warm.  We joined some friends for a woods walk. This is a picture of Eve's friend, Caleb, walking with Seamus.   

Fall catch up

I know I haven't been great about updating this blog.  Now that I am on sabbatical, I have a bit more time to catch up.  Here are some photos from the fall:

Seamus likes to take a "woods walk" behind the Clark museum. 

 He also likes to go to Hopkins Forrest.

smart as can be

me: Am I smart?
Seamus: Yes.
me: How do you know?
Seamus: Because you fell in love with me and Daddy.