Thanksgiving.

First, before we hit the road, there were some crafts:

From Wednesday through late Friday, we were at Grandma’s house on Long Island. Thanksgiving day brought lots of fun with cousins, especially Casey:

The next day, it was time to meet Santa at the Cousins Party:

And have some more — very wild — fun with Casey:

Then, back home for the big surprise 40th anniversary party on Saturday:

Five whirlwind days: Lots of late nights and lots of fun for the Little Jobber!

 

Hockey boy.

It’s hockey season and that means that Conal is in full-on fan mode. He’s already been to some RPI hockey games, he’s all geared up with his Uncle Jer’s old jersey, and he’s now sporting Henrik hair.

Henrik hair? What’s Henrik hair, you may ask. Why, it’s hair in the style of Henrik (as in, Lundqvist, NY Rangers goalie), of course. A true fan, this little jobber. A true fan.

And now, some recent hockey-palooza pics!

With Ethan at an RPI game.

Wearing his “new” jersey.

Gearing up for a game.

With Pop-pop at an RPI game.

 

Catching up.

After vacation, we had a few days at home before taking off again. The highlight of our brief time at home was Claire’s graduation party. It was a fun Mexican-themed fiesta!

Conal liked the bouncy-bounce:

Nicki and Conal.

Sean and Conal.

And he and Owen loooooved Claire’s yummy cupcakes:

Conal also had fun just hanging out that night, after the party started to die-down:

Now, the party’s over and Claire heads off to college next week. Conal will miss his Aunt Claire, for sure!

 

Vacation lessons.

A week away. A week of fun. A week, also, of learning about the little jobber’s crystallizing personality:

• Conal needs his time alone.
• He’s not always himself around others.
• He goes wild when overtired and sugared-up.
• He loves the sand.
• But doesn’t love swimming pools.
• He’s become a hugger.
• He hates taking baths in vacation houses.
• He goes crazy for whales, penguins, fish, sharks and other marine life that call aquariums their home.
• He likes to walk backward, crawl backward, wear his hat backward and just say “backward” as much as possible.
• When he gets it in his head that lobster-print swim trunks and striped shirts go together, there is no getting him to change his mind.
• If he could eat chips all day, he would.
• He wouldn’t, however, drink soda.

And I’m pretty much OK with that last one. I’m OK with all of them, actually. He is who he is and his personality is becoming more and more apparent as he grows and develops and experiences more. It’s wonderful.

Now, here’s a little glimpse of our vacation fun!

Enjoying the beach in front of the house.

Enthralled by whatever was in the tank.

Just a penguin.

I wasn’t kidding about the hugs.

Nor was I kidding about the going wild.

Fleeting quite moment.

The lobster-stripes combo. With purse. A good look, no?

Mmm…lobstah!

Fresh ‘n funky.

Lots o’ kids.

 

Smile for the camera. Or not.

Some days Conal just has no interest in smiling for photo ops. He may be having a great time, but he gets in serious mode and you just can’t get the kid to smile.

That was the case when he went to the Valleycats game with Owen, my dad and Claire earlier this week. Serious. He was totally serious.

He came home all smiles and filled with excitement over being at the game with his peeps, but you wouldn’t know it from his expression! The kid is a little Mr. Serious.

 

Grad-u-ation time, c’mon!

We had lots of fun celebrating Claire’s graduation this weekend:

The whole family at Lombardo’s for dinner before the graduation ceremony.

Claire and her pal, Gillian.

Claire and Conal.

The graduate.

The graduate with Mom and Dad.

 

You can’t possibly be surprised.

Uncle Andrew helped Owen pick up Conal’s play set on Saturday. When they finished unloading it, Conal was quick to show Uncle Andrew his mad skills:

Yes, that’s an actual golf club and, yes, he’s hitting the ball. I’ll say it again: Stand back, Tiger. Stand back.

 

Going to the game.

On Wednesday, the Harvard women’s lacrosse team (niece Delia’s team) had a game at UAlbany so Mom Devine took the train up from Long Island and Mara flew up from Baltimore. We had a blast! It was a sunny, chilly day, but Conal didn’t seem to mind. He had fun watching the girls:

and crawling around the stands:

Unfortunately, Harvard lost but we all rooted hard for Delia and her teammates!

After the game, we hung out for the tailgate party and Conal had fun rolling down the hill and making Delia chase him all around. We were a little worried that the coach would make the girls go straight to the bus after the loss but, fortunately, she didn’t. It was terrific that Conal got to spend some time with his cousin!

 

Gardeners.

Owen and Conal were busy building the garden this weekend. It was perfect weather for a big project, and Conal loved being outside, helping his dad. And, of course, making sure that his work clothes were covered in dirt!

 

Active boy.

To this point in his young life, Conal has primarily been a spectator in the world of sports. Sure, he’s dabbled in golf and he likes to shoot baskets in the basement and the bathtub. But, for the most part, he’s spectated.

Not today. Today, Owen took him to meet up with his pal, Ava, for some ice skating. According to Owen (I stayed at home — it was a sunny day and I had to take advantage of it and get out for a run!), they didn’t love the skating. But at least they got out there.

Conal even hung on the cone a little bit:

It looks like he did a great job when skating with his daddy:

All in all, a good first time on the rink!