My Baby Turns 2!

A little over two years ago, Randy and I were blessed with our baby boy, Austin.  He has been the best addition.  He is joyful, silly, smart, and funny.  Its hard to believe that last week, we celebrated his 2nd birthday.  Time has flown by and our baby is now a big boy.

"Painting" wall at Kid City

Birthday Waffles

Randy and I decided to celebrate his big day (which fell on a Thursday) with a day of his favorite things.  I made pumpkin waffles for breakfast and then we watched his favorite movie (Ice Age) while we waited for his Daddy to come home from work.  When Randy got home, we piled into my car and drove to Middletown, CT.  After a special lunch out, we brought Austin to explore at Kid City Children's Museum.  He had a fantastic time using the pulleys to get apples, putting fish on conveyor belts, and watching the model train (his personal favorite).  After a few hours of fun, Austin was totally ready for his nap.  He fell asleep in the car and slept for almost 2 more hours when we got home (hurray!).  When he woke up, we let him open a few presents that had come in the mail from some of our friends out of town. 

Watching the model train at Kid City

 We spent the rest of Austin's birthday evening with a low key PB&J dinner, phone calls/FaceTimes with grandparents, and finished up with a Birthday cupcake.  Austin wasn't a big fan of the "Happy Birthday" song but came around after a 2nd try and the chance to blow out his candle. It was a very busy and full day but Austin had a blast and we couldn't have been happier to see him light up with each new surprise. 

Austin shared his cupcake with us! Thanks Buddy!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!  We love you!

Oh Sandy!

So we are in the midst of Hurricane Sandy.  Luckily our routine  hasn't changed too much so far.  Austin is currently napping and I'm watching the wind whip the trees around outside.  We thankfully still have electricity in our building which has made it possible for me to make crock-pot beef stroganoff, run the dishwasher, vacuum, and do laundry.  If we still have power when Austin wakes up from his nap, I see a movie in our future with some popcorn.  The only thing that could make this better was if Randy was back from work (Its 1:30pm now and he will hopefully be done at 3pm). 

Sandy's debut from my couch at 1:30pm

I hope all my East Coast friends and family are safe and sound in their homes. 

About me. . .

Hi! My name is Bridget.  I'm a stay at home Mom to a rambunctious toddler and a soon-to-be bundle of joy (ETA March 2013).  My husband Randy, our son Austin, and I moved to Avon, CT last summer. I love dark chocolate, Starbucks, Pinterest, running (I'm on a temporary hiatus), and learning new ways to be creative. 

Austin and me July 4th, 2012

I have lived in many different areas in my almost 30 years on Earth.  I grew up in a really rural part of NY.  After I graduated from high school, I decided I needed a busier life so I went to college and grad school in the Albany area of NY.  From there, I moved to the suburbs of Philly, where my husband and I lived together for 4 years.  Having lived Country life vs. City life, I'm looking forward to finding a location that is a perfect compromise of the two. 

I met my husband, Randy, when I was a freshmen at Siena College in 2001.  We started dating at the beginning of my 2nd semester and we have been together ever since.  I moved to Philly to be closer to him while he completed a 5 year General Surgery Residency. We got married in October of 2009 and had our son, Austin, in October of 2010.  His job has brought a lot of challenges to our lives (80+ hour work weeks, night shift rotations, late night calls from the hospital).   All of which left me frequently with an exhausted zombie roaming around my home.  We've made it work though and I can honestly say we are still happily married.

Our Wedding Day in 2009

I graduated from Siena College in 2005 with my B.S. in Psychology and with some time and a lot of research, I decided to get my M.S. in Occupational Therapy.  I completed my degree in December of 2008 from Sage Graduate School and started my first job as an inpatient rehab therapist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  It was an amazing experience and I learned a ton from a lot of talented people.  My experience as an OT has allowed me to work with children of all ages and with a variety of abilities (coolest job ever!) which has made it possible for me to look at  everyday activities in a brand new light. 

After Randy completed his residency, we moved here to CT so my husband could begin his training for his surgery fellowship.  Our time here is short and it won't be long before we pack up our stuff and move again.  I'm looking forward to settling in a place that our children can call home and where we can start to build their sense of community.   We were lucky in PA to have a strong network of friends that made it easier to be away from family and I'm hoping that wherever we end up, we can find that again.  

In the meantime, I need something to do!  I did a job hunt after we moved here and after several dead ends (terrible hours, long driving distances, etc) and a growing baby bump, Randy and I have decided that we can make it work on one salary for this year (with a lot of budgeting and creativity).   I have a lot of aspirations for how I would like to spend my time (learning to sew, being a better cook, keeping my son healthy and happy, organizing our home, actually completing Pinterest challenges, and getting ready for baby numero dos).  I'm hoping that blogging will help keep me motivated, help catalog my progress (or lack there of), and keep me from being bored at home.  Feel free to comment with suggestions, ideas, and constructive criticism.  I haven't written much since grad school and I'm hoping that this will be as entertaining for you to read as it is for me to create.  Thanks!!