Fall Update

Posted by Eric on December 9, 2014 in General

We figured we should do a post to recap the fall before its Christmas and we forget all together what we did.

Caleb is growing fast and is starting to smile and giggle. He likes to have his belly tickled. He is especially smiley when watching his big brother, Cam.

Cam is definitely a 2 year old. He is a crazy, wild little man who brings us so much joy and laughter. Every day he seems like he is learning more, his vocabulary is getting stronger and he is able to tell us what he wants, which compared to a 3 month old is amazing!

Here are a few pics and captions of what we’ve been up to over the past several weeks.

Cam helping to carve the pumpkin for Halloween

Already into the candy before we even started trick-or-treating

Offering some Candy to Cal

Cam loved the pumpkins

Cal was pretty excited about the Patriots game

Cam and Cal playing

He likes to fit in boxes…

Cal looking cute

Cam helping to look for a Christmas Tree

Cal slept through our Christmas Tree adventure

Cam helping to pull the tree back home

Cal with a grin

Cam loves to wash dishes (or just play with the faucet)

Cal with Great-Grammy!

Circle of Life

Posted by Eric on October 1, 2014 in Uncategorized

Seems we’ve been pretty busy judging from our last post. Can’t believe it’s been since April.

There have been a lot of changes around here since then, so we’ll take it from the top:

In May we got word that my Grandfather wasn’t doing well, his health had been slowly declining over the past year or so, and the time came for us to say “goodbye”. The three of us jumped on a plane and made a surprise visit to see him. When we walked in he lit up like he always did, there’s no question he was happy to see us. I’m glad we got the chance to see him when we did, when he was still able to enjoy our visit and his time with Cam. Kids must have a sixth sense, Cam somehow knew something wasn’t right. He is usually unsure around people he hasn’t seen in a while and somewhat timid, from the moment we came in his room Cam was there interacting with him, but not in his typical “crazy” way, he was somehow more gentle and calm. I know it made my grandfather happy to see us all one last time, and it was good to see him too. He was a strong roll model for me throughout my life and he will always be remembered as a true gentleman.

Holding hands with Great Grampy

A kiss goodbye

Between visits we spent some time at the beach, Cam loves the sand and the waves so naturally he had a blast.

Cam building sand castles in North Carolina

Hiding in a hole at the beach

In July we made the annual trip to Acadia National Park for the week of the Fourth. This was our fourth year going and definitely not our last. It’s always tons of fun, lots of hiking and enjoying nature. We’ve developed a list of “must dos” each year, Cam is getting acquainted well with our favorites.

Crawling under a cairn (trail marker)

Eating a popover at the Jordan Pond House

Asleep on the trail

4th of July pride at the Parade

The excitement was too much for him

Later in July Ally had a conference in Falmouth, we always take these opportunities to make a mini vacation as me and Cam tag along and spend a couple of extra days wherever the conference leads us.

Cam LOVED the lighthouses

Playing at the beach steps away from our hotel

Me and Cam took a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard one of the days Ally had the conference, it was a somewhat gloomy day but that was okay for us. We took a small ferry over, which Cam had a blast on and we dodged the rain as we ran around town.

Collecting winning tickets at the arcade as we hid from a passing shower

Playing in the water after the storm passed

Getting wet!

Once the conference was over the three of us packed the car and headed to the beach! We made the 45 minute commute to the National Sea Shore one day, having a toddler we were up early and therefore able to beat the crowds and find a parking spot with ease.

Climbing his sand castle at the National Sea Shore

Flying a kite at the National Sea Shore

The next day we stayed local and after a delicious breakfast at a French Bakery found our way to one of the top rated beaches in the area.

Relaxing by the water at Old Silver Beach in Falmouth

Oh yeah, we mentioned that Ally was pregnant again, well, thats been chugging right along. Cam had been getting pretty excited about it. He would point to Ally’s belly and say “baby”, and he would light up whenever he sees a baby in a magazine or pictures.

Cam kissing the baby

Showing off his belly

Introducing Caleb Patrick Darlington. Born September 7th, 2014 at 12:36am. Weighing just under 7 lbs and 19 3/4″ long.

Meet Caleb

What an exciting time. Everyone is doing well and Cam LOVES the baby, he’s been such a good big brother. The first thing he say’s each time he wakes up is “baby?”. We are adjusting to the lack of sleep and nonstop action pretty well, despite being slightly tired we are still keeping busy getting out a bunch.

The ride home with our two boys. Not as scary the second time…

First hike

Taking Cam and Cal to Grampy’s tree

Cal relaxing

Cam keeping an eye on Cal

We made it to the top of Mt. Wachusett

Cal’s first bath

Three boys

Hiking with Cam

Overall things are going pretty well for us right now (knock on wood), I just started work again after taking three weeks off, I’m sad to not be around as much, but Ally has things under control!

Now that things are hopefully settling down around here we will be able to update this blog more frequently, Cam’s Birthday is right around the corner, so look for a post on that soon!

It’s going to be an adventure for sure, its amazing to see how much has happened over the past two years since Cam was born, some difficult times, but some really great times too. It’s unfortunate that as we get older and we move into the next stage of our lives, so do others. I’m saddened that my Grandfather never got the chance to meet Cal, but I know that he and my Father are looking down smiling.

Winter Update

Posted by Eric on January 7, 2014 in General

It’s been a busy few months with family, friends, and holiday events, we finally feel things are settling down and it’s time for blog post about Cam! Cam is officially mobile, walking, climbing and exploring everything within his reach. He is learning lots and discovering new things everyday, we are constantly on the move chasing after him, but we love every second of it!

The day after Thanksgiving we ventured out to the local tree farm and picked out the perfect tree, a bit smaller than our usual choice as we weren’t sure if Cam would allow it to stand in the house!

Cam excited about his new “toy”…… tree

Once we got the tree home it was time to break out the decorations. Cam thought everyone of them was a new toy for him! We had to hide the tree in a corner and put all soft and plastic ornaments in the area he could reach.

Staring at the lights, trying to figure out how to reach the ornaments

Staring at the lights, planning his attack

Table Snowman turned Baby Toy

The first snow of the season was fun, we had to run out the night of the storm and get a saucer to sled with, the next morning we slid down a snowbank I made at the end of our drive way, Cam, and Rusty LOVED it!

Sledding down the snowbank with Camron and Rusty

Cam enjoyed Christmas and got lots of great presents that he loves playing with. He still doesn’t fully understand the concept of Christmas or gifts but that’s okay with us. Here are a few pictures of him enjoying some of his much appreciated presents:

Riding in his new sled on Christmas Day

Showing Rusty his new tool set

Reading his new book in his new chair

Other than that, we’ve been trying to enjoy ourselves and keep warm. We hike when we can and try to play outside as much as possible, but with all the arctic weather its been challenging.

Cam and Rusty playing in the snow

Loves to play with his car

Enjoying a hike

Cam in his long john’s riding his tractor!

Summer Wrap-up!

Posted by Eric on August 20, 2013 in General, Photos

Time flies when you’re having fun, and this summer sure has flown by!

We’ve been keeping busy with all sorts of things, but mostly chasing Cam around. He is a pro at crawling now and loves getting into trouble.

We were able to make it out on the boat a few times this year, the first was a little rough, but now he doesn’t seem to mind his life jacket, he even lets us do other goofy things to keep him safe!

Cool sunglasses!

Boating!

One hot summery day we went to Davis’ Farm Land, its this great place in Sterling that has all sorts of animals to interact with, they also have a water park area for kids. The purpose of our trip was to find a new way of keeping cool during the summer heat waves. But as we were walking in Cam couldn’t help but notice all the goats running around, he started laughing at them as we were walking by, of course we had to visit with them after we cooled off.

Keeping cool at Davis’ Farm Land

Getting some attention from the goats

So excited about the 9 day old baby goat

Camron also has had a few dates now! We had one of our friends and her daughter who is a few months older than Cam over for dinner one night. The two of them hit it off!

Cam and his Girlfriend

Besides all the young ladies, Cam’s best buddy is Rusty. Cam crawls back and forth over him and Rusty just lays there, sometimes lifting his head to give Cam a kiss. Cam also has been snuggling things, Rusty in particular!

Hanging with his best bud

Snuggling Rusty

Its hard to believe that August is almost over, this summer really has gone by fast and we are completely booked for the next several weekends too, one of which Cam gets to be the ring bearer in our good friends wedding. I’m sure we will have lots of pictures of him looking cute in his little suit. But until then, here are a few of him being a little monster!

Standing on the couch playing with Rusty

Getting ready for football season

Bath time!

Summer Fun

Posted by Eric on June 16, 2013 in Baby's First, General

Cam has been making big changes over the past month or so, he’s getting to be so much fun and is developing such a personality. He is getting good at using his hands, and wants to feed himself all the time, even if what he grabs isn’t food… He’s getting strong too, loves bouncing and trying to stand, is sitting up great, and is on the verge of crawling. He now has three teeth with a fourth on the way!

Chewing on his rattle

Practicing crawling

Cam excited the Bruins are in the Cup

Trying to crawl on his 8 month b-day

Our town has an annual Memorial Day parade, we’ve never been, but thought it would be fun to bring Cam this year. Since we don’t sleep in anymore we were up in plenty of time to get ready and make it downtown well before the parade started. Cam had fun playing in the grass and watching the parade go by. Afterward they did a few patriotic songs that he also enjoyed.

Watching the parade

After the parade we headed home to visit Rusty and then grab the boat for our first trip out this year. It was nice to be back on the water after a long winter, Cam had fun too. His life jacket keeps him from moving much, but as long as we are driving he seems fine in it.

First trip in the boat

Standing up watching the water

This weekend was Father’s Day, my first. It was a bittersweet one, I’m excited to be a father and to be able to celebrate, but its also the first Father’s Day without my father here to celebrate. Because of that, I wanted to keep it low key. I didn’t want to go out and celebrate, seeing everyone else out with their fathers.

Ally was determined to make it a special day for me, which ended up being a whole weekend. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL so we loaded up the boat and hit the water again. We spent a couple of hours out on the lake, had lunch and floated around. Best of all, with all the recent heavy rain they put a speed restriction on the lake so there weren’t many boats and no waves! Perfect for us just floating out there.

Boating!!

Cam driving the boat

Today we packed our lunch and went for a hike up Mt. Watatic, my fathers favorite mountain. We went the less traveled back way which passes by a monumental stone that is engraved with the names of those who contributed to protect the mountain from development, Dad and my names are on it.

Hiking the mountain

Our stone

Cam pulling on Ally’s shoestrings

Relaxing on the summit

Happy Fathers Day

At the end of the day, I’m happy with my first Father’s day, its was perfect, for me, which is what Father’s Day is supposed to be. I got to be celebrated and treated like a king, while also honoring my own father.

Dad and Rusty on the summit of Mt. Watatic

Happy fathers day Dad.

Growing Fast

Posted by Eric on April 10, 2013 in Baby's First, General

We can’t believe that our baby is 6 months old. It seems like we were just taking that first scary car ride home. The past month has seen lots of firsts for Cam. We left him at home with his grandmothers for 10 days while we went to Hawaii to celebrate Ally’s 30th, it was sad leaving him and we missed him throughout the whole trip but it was nice to get away for a bit and be able to sleep in some. When we came home we found he had a tooth! He now has his two bottom front teeth, and it looks like there are a few more that could surface any day now.

Cam showing off his teeth on his 6 month birthday

He has been using his hands much more and grabbing at everything, we figured this would be a good time to introduce real food into his diet. Since me and Ally love guacamole – and all things Mexican – we thought avocado would be a fun first food. He didn’t love it but also didn’t spit it out, a good start! We’ve tried a few other things and have had varying levels of success, but we are at least getting him used to the taste and texture of different foods.

Trying some avocado for the first time

Trying to feed himself

We traveled to Grandma’s house for the annual St. Patrick’s day shin-dig where Camron got to meet his newest cousin, Cian, born February 15th.

Cam with his cousins Sydney, Lilly, Erin, and Cian. Grandma too.

We stayed local for Easter, hiked Mt. Wachusett, but since we hadn’t seen Ally’s dad in a while we went to visit the Saturday before and brought Cam to the beach for the first time. Just like mom, he loved it. At least he loved watching Rusty run around and crashing into the water.

Ally and Cam enjoying the sun

Cam’s really been enjoying bath time, he loves splashing his arms and legs in the water so we though it would be fun to put him in the tub rather than the kitchen sink. Ally loaded up the tub with toys and filled it with water. Cam loved it! Tried grabbing for all the toys floating by and loved his new found freedom to stretch out. He’s getting so big….

First time in the tub

Other than that we’ve just been enjoying our time with him, Rusty loves having him around and always keeps an eye on him.

Cam and Rusty snuggling, notice Cam’s shirt 😉

Five months

Posted by Eric on March 8, 2013 in Uncategorized

We’ve been busy this past month with Cam enjoying his ever growing personality and exploring new things.

We made it into the Boston Aquarium, which Cam loved! He watched all the fish in awe and wanted to grab them all and shove them into his mouth…

He started rolling over too! Needless to say, he no longer does much tummy time. As soon as we put him on this stomach he flops right over.

We are headed to Hawaii to celebrate Ally’s 30th, with out him 😦 We already miss him so much and we are only sitting on the runway…

Here are a few more pics from Cam’s 5 month birthday. Enjoy!

An exciting month

Posted by Eric on February 9, 2013 in General

Camron’s 4 month birthday just passed. He’s is getting to be lots of fun and growing quite the personality, he is non-stop smiles now and giggles all the time. He has been sleeping through the night pretty consistently, me and Ally are both very happy about that! We’ve been taking him out much more, trips to the store, visiting Ally at work, coffee runs, walks with Rusty.

His four month check up and shots got postponed due to the blizzard we had, so we haven’t got a weight on him yet, but according to my internal scale when I carry him up the mountain in his pack, he is at least 40 pounds…OK maybe not, but sometimes he feels like it.

Anyway, here is a photo recap of the past month.

Cam angry the Patriots lost!

Trying to eat his bib during some play time

Dressed up for the Super Bowl

Cam loves these blocks

Stud Puffin! And his chubby legs

Rusty checking out the two feet of snow we got

Cam standing up in the snow

A Growing Boy

Posted by Eric on January 2, 2013 in General

Cam is growing up fast. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home. Over the past couple of weeks he’s learned a lot, and so have we. He’s starting to be much more aware of things, and although he still loves to be held constantly, he does enjoy his play time too.

Cam playing in his bouncy

He also starting to make lots of noise! He’s been goo-ing and gaa-ing and making all sorts of other sounds. One really cool thing that Ally taught him, is to sit up! He’s so cute when he does it, he grabs your fingers and curls up his legs so he can roll up, I took a quick video to share, you just have to see it.

Yeah, I’m a photographer, not a videographer….

Cam’s First Winter

Posted by Eric on December 27, 2012 in Baby's First, General

Well winter is in full swing now, December 21st marked the official start, and thankfully the world didn’t end, for all you Mayan believers.

Lots of firsts for Camron, we celebrated his first Christmas this week, he got lots of goodies and was a true blessing to our whole family this year. He was up early Christmas morning eager to open his gifts and see what Santa had brought.

Camron’s First Christmas

Today was Cam’s first snow storm. We spent most of the day watching the snow fall from the warmth inside, but he got to go out plowing with Dad for a bit, then we built a snowman. Rusty got to help too, he loves the snow!

Camron and Rusty posing with Mr. Frosty

Rusty trying to reposition Frosty’s arm

There will be lots more fun this winter, me and Ally got Cam outfitted with lots of good cold-weather gear so we can keep hiking and playing in the snow all winter long.

Adventures of Cam & Cal

The Tale of Our Two Boys

Author Archives: Eric