New York! New York!

We are back from our 2-week extravaganza up north. It was an action packed 2 weeks...ok not really...but we did get a lot of cute pictures of Joseph being his usual friendly, happy, hyperactive self as he explored new places and got to know a lot of people he doesn't get to see very often.

Given the enormous amount of pictures we (mostly my mom) took, I am going to separate this into two posts. Part I below detailing Joseph's exciting adventures in NY. Part II with lots of pictures from my parents' mountain house in Vermont to follow.

While in NY, Joseph got to visit Grandpa at his office. He enjoyed climbing on his chair.



And the inevitable climb from the chair to the desk:


Joseph unwillingly posed for a picture with Mommy and Daddy before heading to Mommy's 10 year high school reunion (Which was ultra-exciting - note sarcasm - and involved a drunk classmate jumping into the Hudson River and being taken away by the police.) Please ignore my triple chin - it's a rare opportunity to get a picture of our whole family so vanity is being put aside.


Joseph LOVED climbing the stairs at great Aunt Kathy and Uncle Larry's house. He did pause in his climb to make some faces at Uncle Larry.

More fun with great Aunt Kathy & Uncle Larry:

Joseph also got to meet a new friend! One my best friend's from high school, Kristyn, had a little boy just a week after Joseph was born. Who would have suspected as we ran crazy around Rome, Italy together in April 1999 on a school trip that 10 years later our little boys would be running crazy around a playground together (or that we would even be close to responsible enough to be Mommy's to these precious little guys!) Kristyn, didn't you get a tattoo on that trip???

Joseph loved playing at great Grandma & Grandpa Conrad's house. They have a big backyard with a creek in the back - perfect for little boys to get in lots of trouble and really, really muddy!

They also have birds...Joseph enjoyed chasing Dirty Face around the living room. Dirty Face didn't enjoy it so much.

Joseph also visited with Honorary Aunt Jo (honorary because she's not actually blood rated - just my mom's BFF for the last 30 years). Joseph is super excited for Aunt Jo to become a grandma in October when her daughter was a baby boy! Yay - another fun buddy for playing with with on future visits!

Perhaps, Joseph's two most favorite things in NY were some new toys he discovered.

First, the Little Tikes car. Apparently, my parent's neighbors didn't realize they could have gotten some decent money for this thing on Craigs List and instead left it abandoned when they moved out. Score for Joseph!!!! He had lots of fun climbing in and out, standing on the seat and driving with the steering wheel. Amazing, this thing kept him entertained for 15 minute stretches - a major length of time for Joseph to focus on just one thing.

Second, a riding horse! Great Grandma & Grandpa Conrad bought this sweet little pony for Joseph and he was pretty into it. On this particular ride, Joseph got pretty aggressive with his poor little pony's head: