Gypson Corner

4th of July

2010-11-13T09:47:00.017-05:00

We enjoyed a week in the 'North Country' around the fourth of July.

Nanny and Grampy with the munchkins

Giving kisses to the bear

Not quite matching but quite cute

A piano improv session, Emma takes the low notes

The St. Lawrence Express, yah mule

Playing in the rain

Who doesn't love stomping through a puddle?

The 2nd string mule fills in

The 3rd string mule has slightly less horse power

Helping some monkeys at the local playground

One tough hombre

Chris giving Emma her first bike lesson

Umm.. kissing cousins?

Looks like an iPad advertisement

Feeding the birds

At the Waddington town beach

Watching our home made fireworks show

Well golly gee willikers

Watching Finding Nemo, must have been a tense moment

Our patriotic baby

Scuba baby

We visited Kate, James, Ryan and Ella on the trip up and back to NY. We had a great time and it was nice to catch up and let the kids play together.

More Summertime Fun

2010-09-15T21:35:00.014-04:00

At the start of summer we spent a week at Grammy and Pappy's place with Mark, Bekah, Liam and Scott was able to make it for part of the time as well.

Manly men on their John Deeres

The cool girls ride in back

What to do?

Oooo this looks interesting

I mean tasty!

this trip removed any doubt that she loves dogs

Let me check your pores ...

... and style your hair

Two cuddly things embrace

The holiest of places in Rochester: The Record Archive (never mind that you descend into it)

We took a trip to the Niagara Aquarium and then over to the falls

More Celebrities!

Checking out Grammy's bird feeder

The whole crew took an afternoon trip to the lake at Olcott, we were blessed with perfect rock skipping weather

The model citizen obeys all posted signage

Moms

Where as the big boys hunt for that one perfect skipping stone these boys resort to the buck shot approach.

Chloe looks for some washed up morsels

Physical evidence of the 'Gypson' in his genes or learned behavior from a blood line of nuts?

We set up a little pool in the front yard and the kids had a blast

The model of a dapper, well-proportioned man

The Middleport Memorial Day Parade (the frequency of attendance is counted by the decade)

Candy grabbers

Siren Lover

High fiving Daddy

What do you get when you mix ice cream and a then 3 yr old in his PJs after sunset? Well the result moves so fast its hard to frame it in your camera!

Easter Bunny?

seconds please

Some peek-a-boo with cousin Liam

Booo!

As happy as one can be in a five point harness

Height check on Noah and Paige

Lovable Long-haired Logan (Its hard to find the perfect 'L' words for this handsome man)

Hold on Aunt Michelle I'm texting my BFF
(aka: mommy)

Spring 2010 Part 2

2010-08-13T21:16:00.016-04:00

We enjoyed a visit from Grammy and Pappy.

Peek a booo

Mini Shredder, with minor technical difficulties

Hold on tight Grammy!

Ahh thats better

Pappy gives a push

Talking a walk on one of the many great trails through the Manassas Battlefield

Down by 'Bull Run'

The Old Stone Bridge

Happy Baby!

Who is the coolest Dad in town?

Thanks Buddy!

We enjoyed an afternoon with Marcie, Missy, Isaac and Shirly

Very excited to be outside

We also had a nice visit with Nanny, Grampy and Marc. Here Noah helps Marc with a Birthday Present.

Checking out the chickens at our local Garden Center

Chloe getting comfortable with Uncle Marc

... just singing in the bubbles ...

The classic spaghetti face shot, every kid has to have one.

This is our second year visiting the Herndon big truck day where kids are free to climb all over the town's construction equipment.

Why so serious?

Work begins on our new Patio

Its like a big puzzle

Springtime fun

2010-06-19T10:50:00.014-04:00

We were itching to get outside this spring after such a cold, snowy winter. We enjoyed the cherry blossoms at a local park. We also were able join Matt in Orlando for a conference and then spend a long weekend with Matt's Grandma.

Before the first cut of the year our side lawn turned into a deep jungle.

Quasimodo and his sister?

The lovely DJ Chloe

Under Dora's spell with Cousin Emma

This spill didn't make the news

We asked a stranger to capture our major production. Who needs a Sky Cap?

Waiting for the underground trains at Dulles

Who let the hampster out of its cage?

"Noah the brave" rides solo at Downtown Disney.

Its boys dream, a huge lego store with piles of spare parts. They also had lots of huge Lego characters inside and out.

This dinosaur themed restaurant/store had a life sized animated T-rex equally impressive and...

scary!

An ice cream break along International drive.

Hot and tired kids

there is always more energy for some silliness

Breakfast at Grandma's pool

One of several beach days

A little game of remote keep away, Chloe always seems to win!

A canoe trip around the canals and mangroves.

Noah explains the estuarine mangrove system ecology

We took a nice walk through a local Cocoa Beach park.

Noah was very excited about his self proclaimed "safari"

Cutie Chloe looks for some more tasty sand morsels

We had to keep her up or she would seriously try to eat the whole beach

Noah touched a couple toes in the water but was dedicated sand crab while at the beach. During our first trip his first act was to lay face down and dig his hands and feet in as deep as possible.

We had a great celebration of Chloe's first birthday.

Making friends with the neighbor's dog

If its not sand, its grass, if not grass well pretty much anything and everything goes in the mouth

Great Grandmother :)

Who couldn't be proud of their Grandma facebooking and on a laptop no less!

Noah crashes after our trip

A New Year covered in flakes

2010-03-28T16:01:00.008-04:00

We had lots of fun in the snow in January and February as well as some indoor fun at a birthday Party. There are several local places where kids can jump and run around on super sized inflatable jumpers. They run, we watch then everyone get loaded up on pizza and cake, good times.

Noah sits calmly for 2 micro seconds in a Dora and Diego Jumper while another toddler gets inverted.

The cat beasts were herded for a brief moment. Noah is on the far left in the back

One of our many snows this year, the boys clear the side walk. Noah is actually much more interested in shoveling than sledding, we will remind him of that in about 10 years.

Before Chloe completely destroyed the lizard it was most commonly found hanging out of her mouth.

You know what they say, we will just let this one lie.

It was the inspiration of the neighborhood, before long everyone had an igloo but we were the first.

After another foot of snow.

Inside our neighbor's igloo

An epic journey to the park

Cleared a way for the mailman. Notice the windshield wiper blades of our neighbor's parked car. For some unknown/irrational reason every local in Virginia puts their blades up before a storm, could be out of respect, identification under a drift, marker for snow plows, to have at least one part of the car not buried, we don't know.

Christmas 2009

2010-03-21T14:12:00.013-04:00

This year was the first time we had Christmas at "our" home. We had own tree and devoted more time and effort to decorations. It turned out to be a great time and not too out of the norm since we Gypsons before and Ferriters after.

Christmas Day Chloe was as equally thrilled with the wrapping as she was with what was inside, in fact maybe more so.

We all wore red pajamas, and some wore elf hats.

Noah checks out his new slide

This is of course a 1 in 20 shot, thank goodness for digital cameras

Noah's feeling the love

One cool dude

Chloe demonstrates some Pilates moves

Nanny and Grappy

She sure is

This will be a good retrospective shot later in their musical careers

She is either really feeling the vibe or praying brother would just back off

Noah helped Dad build a gingerbread house.

and before we were done with it for the season Noah took a couple bites

One of our many many times out in the cold, snow and ice this winter. Noah loved being pulled in the sled around the neighborhood often saying "faster faster Daddy", which was happily obliged.

Heading back to our car from Union Station in DC.

Lunch at Union Station

Watching the model trains

Understandably Noah had no interest in turning his head to the camera

We enjoyed the warm and steamy Jungle and other beautiful rooms at the National Botanical Gardens

Noah was pretty amazed at the beautiful orchids..

...but some of them looked icky

Happy New Year

Matt's 32nd

Noah and William share a hug. We enjoyed a nice evening with the Hoyles

Christmas time

2010-02-22T22:05:00.012-05:00

In the month of December we enjoyed a visit from the Gypson Clan; Grammy, Pappy, Scott, Carolyn, Nolan, Lyra (technically Blancos but 50% Gypson Genes). We had a couple of snow storms for some out door winter fun and enjoyed the Holiday season.

Chloe gets so excited when we come in after a nap. She loves to stand at the edge of the crib, smile and make cute baby sounds.

Grammy holds Chloe before a big Christmas dinner

We were blessed with 14 + inches of snow just before everyone came which made Carolyn and Nolan's trip up turn from a usually fast 3 hrs to a exhausting and some times nail biting 10 hr adventure. The whole family took advantage of the white stuff to go sledding. Thanks to Pappy and Grammy for bringing some sleds down, all our local stores were sold out!

Someone takes a tumble which Carolyn obviously finds hilarious.

A bath in the sink, Grammy provides a good distraction.

We missed Mark, Bekka and Liam so hooked up a web cam session. Who knows what Tara is doing in the background.

Live from Indiana

There are no limits to how much fun you can have in an Ikea.

A gauntlet of pillows

No words needed, Scott gives a big thumbs up for a home cooked meal

Noah and Lyra share a blanket for a show

Such a devious look, what are you going to do with that snow ball?

This was Lyra's first playing in any deep snow (not sure but maybe first time in any snow). Like all kids her age I'm not sure she knew what to make of it. I'm supposed to love this cold wet stuff?

Noah hot dogs it on a tube

Much thanks to Nolan for helping clear our sidewalk

The girls are happy to just look out the door

Imagination in full swing

Cutie in her bath towel

The mid December storm

Doesn't she need a license?

"Show me a weird face"

We had an even earlier December snow storm with some really wet snow, perfect for rolling up a big snowman.

Starting our Christmas decorating

Chloe the Cruiser

2010-01-25T21:51:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving

2010-01-25T20:54:00.010-05:00

We had a great time over Thanksgiving with Nanny, Grampy, Marc and Chris. The Ferriter clan was incomplete without Michelle who spent the holiday in Thailand.

After much planning we had a family reunion of sorts at Bucca di Beppo's in DC. We met Grandma Peg, Uncle John and Aunt Sandy, Uncle Tim, Aunt Joan and cousins Mike and Matt.

Noah and I watch the city from the restaurant balcony

Grandma Peg, Grampy, Aunt Joan and Uncle John

We had the Pope's table, notice his likeness in the center

Noah enjoyed helping Daddy make some Espresso Cookies so much he drew a pretty good likeness on a post it note.

Grampy and our pumpkin

Chloe loved her graduation to the kitchen sink, she has since moved to the bath tub were she can really get her splash going.

Rolling around in the grass at a local park.

Chloe has yet to understand that every toy is not for consumption

On the last hole before installing a new laundry room shelf I hit the cold water line and got a squirt in the eye, a dripping basement ceiling and an unsolicited lesson in pipe repair.

More fall fun!

2010-01-16T14:30:00.009-05:00

Buds

Tara's birthday

Our annual trip to Shenandoah this year was mixed bag. We always enjoy the views, the fresh air, spending time in the mountains, and of course the beautiful fall colors but this year Tara and Chloe were pretty sick so needless to say we didn't get much sleep with the four of us all in one room. Regardless overall we enjoyed the weekend.

On location filming "Where the Wild Things Are"

Roaring his terrible roars

Noah in his playroom studio

Having technical difficulties

The classic first taste of food shot.

Love that furrowed brow, her patience was tested.

Noah tears it up at Noble's birthday party at our local "jump works", a room full of giant inflatables.

Climbing up the biggest inflatable

Fall 2009

2009-12-14T23:04:00.013-05:00

Yes, Fall seems like a long time ago and it was so admittedly we have some catching up to do with the Blog.

We have been busy raising our two munchkins, Chloe continues to show her own little personality and baby cuteness and loves to watch her big brother run around. Noah is a larger than life 3 yr old with his imagination always turned to the max and feet at full speed.

We enjoyed a visit from Nanny in October and took an afternoon to explore an apple orchard.

One of Noah's 1000 silly faces

Loading up with apples

This could be so many things, I won't even guess.

Noah discovers the joy of suction

Earlier in the fall we took a weekend trip to Norfolk to visit Carolyn, Nolan and Lyra. Here we are enjoying one of several trips to Starbucks

One of our fun outings was at a huge playground in Chesapeake. Noah shows Aunt Carolyn the way.

In downtown Norfolk we explored the USS Wisconsin

How big is the ship Noah?

Dad, check out these pipes

We had a great day at the beach, Noah and Lyra loved digging in the sand (fortunately Lyra no longer feels compelled to eat the sand)

Toddler toes

The kids had a great time running at a park along the Norfolk waterfront

Buddies

In early September we had some good family time with Grammy, Pappy, Carolyn, Nolan and Lyra. We enjoyed a hike on some trails a couple miles down road.

We hauled this rock out of the woods and they actually brought it home with them, is that normal?

What? its the rock slowing you down?

Is that a Yettie?

Enjoying our local Garden Center

No jealousy here!

First Snow this Winter

2009-12-06T22:17:00.003-05:00

We had a rare day of snow this Saturday. We ended up with couple wet inches which was enough to make some snow men and to go sledding. Noah had a blast digging snow and yelling for daddy to run faster while pulling the sled. He loved going down the hill by himself, especially when he would tumble off.

Some local kids went snowman tipping in the night so we had to do some repairs the next day.

Random shots

2009-11-21T21:06:00.003-05:00

Having fun together

Jolly little pumpkin

Now why would I want to get on that

I would much rather do this! Noah had not interested in riding the pony but put on the helmet and ran around the ring. Maybe next time

At Chloe's 6 month photo shoot were able to take a few of our own candid shots.

This needs no explanation

In the jumper

Mid Summer Fun

2009-09-10T21:11:00.012-04:00

We had the whole Ferriter clan for a nice visit in August. Noah really enjoyed playing with his cousins Emma and Parker, his uncles Chris and Marc, Aunt Michelle and of course his Nanny and Grampy. Everyone took turns holding and playing with little Chloe.

We had a pre birthday party for Michelle, the kids check out her presents

Nanny and Grampy with all of their Grandkids, there is never a moment without movement or silliness

We all had a great dinner at our favorite local tex-mex, El Tio's

Hope she is drinking out of the right cup

We had a fun afternoon at the Reston Zoo which is designed for children.

The highlight of the Zoo is a trip on their wagon which drives through fields of different animals.

Matt and one of the camels

This cow had enormous horns

Our wagon was very helpful in resting the otherwise very busy feet.

Am I in trouble?

The kids had a ton of fun in our yard playing with the hose and sprinkler, after 2 minutes everyone was soaked

The plan: have all the kids sit for a picture, Reality: below

Emma received fair compensation for cutting our lawn

Noah gets schooled by Parker in the ways of the video game

Parker was a real sweetheart with Chloe, knowing just how to hold her gently and make her happy.

Noah turns 3!!

2009-08-21T21:46:00.011-04:00

Does she have to grow up? She is at her perfect baby cuteness

Noah turned 3!!

We had a great celebration being one of the first that Noah was really into. He loved the idea if it being his day and was overwhelmed with all the fun activities and gifts!

He enjoyed a singing birthday card from his Great Grandma Noack, again

and again

and again ...

Wow, that's an awesome cake! Noah said he wanted a black cake with black icing (his code for chocolate) Of course in his typical picky eater fashion he didn't actually eat any of the cake.

check out these "struction" machines!!

Yes this picture is blurry but it best represents a trip to Chuck E Cheese with a 3 year old, he was always running, we were always chasing to keep up

One of the many rides at Chucks

Dad tries to figure out how to make this ride work, Noah marvels at all the lights, sounds and motion

Aunt Michelle joins Noah for a ride, never mind the toddler sized seats

Showing off his new Cars movie

Chloe supervises the kitchen clean up

Sitting on our side porch

Gotta love digital cameras, it takes many shots to catch a smile

Noah enjoys being the big brother and is very helpful with Chloe.

A trip to Virginia Beach

2009-08-08T14:35:00.019-04:00

Noah's cousin Lyra turned one in early June! We made the trip down to Virginia Beach with 8 week old Chloe in tow to celebrate!

The birthday girl, tearing up the beach and giving her momma a workout :)

Noah loved playing in the waves with Dad and Uncle Scotty

Lyra opens some birthday presents

silly faces

He sure does! :)

Nanny was in town for a visit over her birthday. We had a nice celebration as Noah is always up for a birthday :)

a really tough choice...

Daddy's little girl

Chloe loves her swaddle, or as Noah says "her wraps"

Why does this cheek have to be so big, its tough to get my hands around them?

checking things out in the bumbo

Family photos in May

2009-07-21T22:12:00.015-04:00

Such a nice big brother

90% cheeks

Some tummy time

My cheeks are sooo heavy

Chloe loves her bath time

Chloe gets very excited in her play mat

Mesmerized

Girls

We had a nice day at the National Zoo, here Noah checks out the snake neck turtles

On to the crocodiles

Such a little pumpkin

"What do you mean you are nibble my cheek?"

"Noah show me your tiger face"

"Show me how big the elephant is."

What Panda?

Already becoming buddies

What would be a face of pain to most is this toddlers energetic smile

Happy 4th of July from Chloe

2009-07-04T16:16:00.000-04:00

May Happenings

2009-07-02T14:56:00.007-04:00

Chloe grew a lot in May, changing from the tiny baby phase into a chubby little cherub. Noah had lots of fun outdoors, exploring our local parks and one fun afternoon at the Herndon public works building climbing all over their construction equipment. They even provided free safety helmets.

In a dump truck

Driving a street sweeper

Checking ALL the buttons

Working on the garbage truck

This is very serious business

Why is it again that I have to sit a car seat?

Chloe really started to enjoy her play mat this last month

Catching Up!

2009-06-28T15:45:00.008-04:00

Shortly after Chloe arrived our computer crashed. In the interim we used Matt's work laptop but did not install the software to download our photos. We are up and running again with a new laptop and we hope to keep you all updated more frequently. This post is Chloe up till almost 3 weeks. More pictures to follow as she's now 10 weeks and so much has changed!

Now a family of four!

Pappy and Grammy taking a stroll during their visit.

Grammy with her new Granddaughter

Grammy plays with what Noah calls "Bubble juice"

A rumpus in the playroom during a visit from Carolyn, Nolan and Lyra

Its not just the angle, Noah really don't look monstrously large next to Chloe

After a heavy rain the boys stomped in puddles and admired the full double rainbow

Chloe loves her bath time

but nothing beats sleeping time in the early days...

Noah had a good time with Uncle Marc

Grampy shows Noah how to work some electronics but we all know it won't be long before Noah is schooling us on the latest gadget.

The typical look 20 hrs a day

Grampy with his new Granddaughter

Chloe's Early Days and Recent Trips to DC

2009-04-13T19:35:00.018-04:00

Enjoying her first sponge bath

Any time she feels our touch she tries to eat what ever is near.

Michelle gets some snuggle time

Noah loved the Easter basket Nanny got for him. But of course what could be more fun than spreading plastic grass all over the place.

Trying out the hot sling Chloe's Aunt Tara got for her.

Sleeping shots are so easy with her sleep 20 + hours a day

A sweet big brother kiss

We had two visits from Nanny, Michelle and Noah while we were in the hospital. At first Noah was a bit shy but he left giving her lots of hugs and kisses. We loved the company to share our little one and break up the hospital routine.

Aunt Michelle

Nanny holds her new Granddaughter for the first time.

In keeping with tradition we went into DC for the annual Cherry Blossom festival. Although it was cloudy the blossoms were at their peak. We were there exactly one week before Chloe was born. We also got in some lunch at one of our favorite DC restaurants Loreal Plaza (last time for two and a high chair).

Noah and Matt goofing off in front of the FDR memorial.

The tide was high in the tidal basin which causes the water to spill right onto the grass.

Two weeks earlier we went into DC for a trip to the building museum

The building museum has a great section for toddlers with trucks and thousands of super sized Legos.

Before heading home we let Noah run around the atrium of the National Portrait Gallery. Matt wanted to check out this newly opened public space which has an all glass roof and water continually running over sections of the floor.

What a scary tiger

Every night we check on Noah before bed and find him in all sorts of strange positions. Feeling around in the dark I wasn't sure he was in bed this night but I eventually found him curled up in the corner.

Chloe is finally here

2009-04-11T21:04:00.013-04:00

We were so excited to finally meet our little girl Thursday morning, three days before her due date (Easter Sunday). We were thankful that Michelle was able to come in the middle of the night for our rush to the hospital. We brought Chloe home Saturday afternoon and are adjusting to life as a family of four. Noah was very happy to meet Chloe and kept saying "ah, she's so little. I love her." He is a sweety. We are appreciating Nanny's help during the transition. We've only had one night at home and there was very little sleep. We still question why they sleep like angels in the hospital and then come home and act like they don't know how. Yet since we've done it all before we remind ourselves that it will get easier!

Here are some of our first pictures

Our Baby Girl is Here!‏

2009-04-10T13:47:00.002-04:00

Chloe Elise Gypson

Thursday, April 9th
7:58AM
7lbs 14oz
21"

After a middle of the night hurried trip to the hospital we find ourselves without all the necessary gear to post pictures. We plan to post shortly after we get home.

2009-03-25T20:58:00.014-04:00

Mark and Bekah's little Liam was born last November. With him being a little older we all hatched a plan to meet half way for a get together in February. It would be our first time seeing the handsome little guy. That just so happened to put us in the "Mecca" of Amish country Berlin, Ohio. We enjoyed a long weekend at a beautiful cottage owned by Grammy and Pappy's friends from church the Zimmermans. We took advantage of our rare presence in Ohio to visit some friends that live nearby spending a night with Bridgette and Don Coleman and an afternoon with Christy and Chris Ranney.

The proud Mom and Grandmother sits with her boys

The cottage and surrounding area was very peaceful. If we could add an audio track this is where you would hear the horse and buggy.

Noah loved playing with Grammy and Pappy

Tara brushes up on her baby holding skills.

Noah looks on while Mark gives Liam a bath. Things became humorous for all with the unscheduled fountain show.

Hey, your not my mommy!

Uncle Scotty

Scott

While we were talking in the other room Dennis the Menace thought he would help himself to some dip.

Noah leads the way though an Amish cheese factory. Best part was they had samples for all their delicious cheese.

Hmm.. what in the world could be causing Mark look sleepy. He could be holding a clue.

We had a great visit with the Coleman family. We saw Bridgette and Don in Colorado last summer but we had not seen Brennan since they lived in Princeton and it was our first time meeting little Aidan. Noah and Brennan had a great time together with trains, trucks and lots of books.

Fortunately not all family is so far away. We had a nice visit from Carolyn, Nolan and Lyra mid February

February was a good month for seeing family. At the end of the month we had a nice week with Nanny at our place.

2009-03-10T18:56:00.015-04:00

Catching up with posting pictures...(we know we'll have more time for this once our second child arrives ;) ) For Christmas 2008 we took our usual trip up North. We spent a week at Nanny and Grampy's enjoying our time with Michelle, Marc, Chris, Tara, Parker and Emma.

Before Christmas we enjoyed some time with Carolyn, Nolan and Lyra by meeting half way in Richmond. The outdoor shopping mall had a little train for kids which Noah absolutely loved.

The whole crew

Noah and Emma playing with the pretend food.

Emma as Cinderella

Emma and Noah discuss their favorite characters on Dora and Diego

Parker explains how these were his favorite trucks when he was little

The boys enjoy taking some sledding runs

Noah tries on his new backpack (and thinks of the backpack song on Dora)

Christmas is definitely more fun for adults with little ones around.

After visiting upstate we then went on to Buffalo...Grammy and Noah enjoy some fresh snow (always plenty of that in NY)

Matt demonstrating some snow pile acrobatics

Thanksgiving 2008

2009-01-27T21:29:00.028-05:00

This year (well now last year) we had Thanksgiving at our place and were fortunate to have Mom & Dad Gypson (Grammy and Pappy) and Scott who drove down from the frozen north. Carolyn, Nolan and their little Lyra came from Norfolk and Tara's sister Michelle from Baltimore. Since we had just moved in October all the company was a good motivator for us to finish unpacking and put everything in its place.

Our Thanksgiving
We had a great time in DC checking out the re-opened Museum of American History

Noah has lined up all his stuffed buddies for a little show
Scott just has the touch
yummy napkins

Michelle taking charge of the gravy

Ready set go! 2 yr olds don't know how to wait.

Lyra seems to love the swings, her arms and legs were swinging too
Noah makes a Chipotle Burrito out of wood chips, yum!
Heading up to the park
Mustaches

This little car is a kid favorite, Lyra is just counting the days until she can drive

Pappy reads Noah one last story before they had to head out.

Moving Days

2008-12-01T20:51:00.034-05:00

Its been a while since our last post but the delay was caused by the craziness of moving. After a 5 month ordeal we finally moved in early October we finally feel settled in and ready to get back to normal. Nanny and Grampy visited in early October and helped greatly in getting us out of the in boxes stage and onto things feeling like home. We are enjoying our new place and the space it provides.

Bath time with Nanny

A little worker man tries out his new tools.

Aunt Michelle gives a big squeeze

Giving a big cheese

Somebody ate their spinach that morning

Noah and William enjoy a ride courtesy of Phil.

On moving day from Quann to Loftridge our friends Angie, Phil & Tabitha with William, and Nate & Sara with their little baby Mikayla gave us a hand.

Noah instantly feel in love with Dad's old matchbox cars.

Trying out Dad's snowboard, a year or two and maybe we will try it for real, he already has the enthusiasm!

Noah breaks out the cheese for Melissa.

We were able to keep our tradition of going up to Shenandoah National Park during the fall colors in October. We had rain on our way up but the next day was picture perfect blue sky.

Noah had a great time roaming around the Big Meadow Lodge. Being the socialite he is, he thought that everyone was sitting around just to talk to him.

The view in the morning just outside our room in the Lodge.

Trying to get Noah to look at the camera which he was obviously already doing. Behind us is Dark Hollow falls a nice reward after a mile hike down the mountain.

August in Cape Cod

2008-09-07T21:14:00.030-04:00

We went to Cape Cod for a week and enjoyed meeting up with Mom, Dad, Marc, Grandma, Uncle John and Aunt Sandie. It was a relaxing vacation and Noah especially loved his time at the beach. Everytime we'd get into the car he'd ask if we were going to the beach. Maybe he got Aunt Michelle's 'fish' gene.

Only two of us are smiling because asking nicely to get another group shot didn't work, this is the result of a toddler wrestling match.

The boys

Beautiful Sunset on Cape Cod Bay

Nanny and Grampy keep up with a man on a mission Chasing seagulls
Like father like son, both pointer outers
Playing in the sand

A walk on the beach after dinner.

Its pretty clear who is leading (pulling) who
Noah listens to the clock tower bells outside one of the Christmas tree shops, caught off guard he wanted to be held.
Noah and his Nanny

Noah loved his plane headphones and sticking the jack into every hole and crevice.

After skipping a nap, enduring the normal pain in the neck that airports are these days, with a toddler in tow, being delayed for 2 hrs for mechanical difficulties, 3 hrs for weather, and another hour for who knows what our nerves and patience had been pushed to their max. Noah did amazing well staying awake and full of energy until we got to baggage claim in Dulles where he slipped into a coma.

Noah Turns Two

2008-08-19T20:52:00.024-04:00

Noah is officially 2! The two years with him have been a wonderful adventure as he has grown from a little baby to a little boy! He is such fun to be around these days as he explores his world and talks up a storm.

For his big day we really enjoyed the company of Mom and Dad G. aka Grammy and Grandpa (temporarily known as "Man"). Nolan, Carolyn and Lyra joined us too make it a family party.

Here Noah combines his love for bunny ears with his cheesy smile and a squeeze into a tiny plastic basket.

Don't mess with this bunny

Noah takes a dip in his kiddie pool

The baby and toddler didn't get the memo we were looking for a nice Grandparent/Grandkid shot.

Tara used her cake decorating skills to craft Noah this colorful fire truck (trucks are Noah's favorite).

Noah really enjoyed his new outdoor play table complete with sand and water, thanks Nanny and Grampy!

Cute as a bunny

When we told Noah to give Lyra a kiss, he apparently took it very seriously and made it a good one.

2008-08-19T20:36:00.028-04:00

We took a trip down to Short Pump just outside of Richmond to meet Lyra for the first time. She is a real cutie, we were lucky to catch a brief moment with her eyes open.

The Uncle

The Aunt

Noah was very excited to take a ride on the train (Mom got to enjoy all the smiles)

We were fortunate to able to see Scott finish his summer tour with Mark Scibilia on the National Mall. They did a really good job, unfortunately it was blazing hot. It was a pretty amazing backdrop for the concert.

That's Mark on the Piano

One of Noah's favorite summer pass times is playing with the hose on the mist setting. He not so accidentally sprays himself in the face.

The hydrangeas in our garden have beautiful blooms in the summer.

Noah and dad enjoy sitting out on the porch during rain storms. Noah especially likes the water to splash around in.

Matt had a business trip to Phoenix which amazing just happened to coincide with when Scott (on his summer tour) was also there.

They played at San Tan flats an outdoor music venue and restaurant. The temp that day was 115 in the day and 106 at night so it basically felt like standing down wind of a campfire, all the time.

2008-06-29T15:36:00.048-04:00

There was a momentous occasion of Marcie getting married this June. Marcie found a great catch, Zach, and this brought many of us friends together in Colorado. We all left our kiddos behind and had one awesome trip to remember! Noah's Nanny came and stayed with him at our place, leaving us feeling at ease to travel.

Noah and Nanny have a good laugh.

We started our first full day in CO meeting up with everyone else who was already in town and then headed off to Lyons CO to a great microbrew/restaurant 'Oskar Blues'.

Marcie and Zach

Don, Melissa, Tara, Jenn & Matt. Bridgette not pictured due to a luxurious position in the passenger seat (one perk of pregnancy), Brad was keeping us all safe in the drivers seat.

Brad and Don jealously hawk the hammock.

Matt heard that friends love candid cameras in their face!!

While Don grilled up some delicious steaks Brad and Matt took a 'stroll' down to the meadow below our lodge. Lesson learned; down is a lot easier than up but it is good for enhancing the appetite.

The beautiful view looking southwest from our lodge

On our second day we ventured to Rocky Mountain National park. We had a beautiful drive along Horsetooth Resevoir on our way to Estes Park.

Beautiful views up trail ridge road.

So is this a three pack?

Its impossible to capture the immense sense of space, posting a blog pic of these enormous mountains definitely does them an injustice.

Shorts and snow? Yes, 12,000 ft in June makes this possible.

The girls seemed to have a slightly different reaction to the snow than the boys.

Even in June some places have 15ft of snow, crazy.

The morning of the Wedding a bunch of us went on a hike up Grey Rock Mountain. It was rumored to be 3 miles and about 2 hrs but in reality was about 7 miles, 4 hours, and a 2300 foot elevation change. It was well worth it, the view from the top was amazing.

The hiking crew

Just before heading to the peak

We had to stay low and keep a firm grip in the 40+ mph winds at the top. It was cold too!

Almost blown off the mountain, dare devils Tara and Wayne spread their wings.

Onto the main event... Marice and Zach had an outdoor wedding at the Lincoln center. It was a beautiful location and an awesome wedding!

"I Will Remember You"

2008-06-14T15:22:00.024-04:00

Our playgroup visits different parks throughout the summer. This park had all the farm animals but Noah most enjoyed the child sized tractor.

Noah and his bud, William

Tom and Sharon visited from Texas. Ah, we miss all the people from the 'old crew'.

We went to Virginia Beach to attend Carolyn's baby shower. Noah had a good time breaking in Nolan and Carolyn's apartment.

Noah's first piano lesson :)

Nothing lights up his eyes like trucks

Playing at Beka's 2nd Birthday

A favorite pastime - roaming the neighboring field with Dad

New ways to play with old toys...

Tearing it up in the backyard.

Mom's away for the weekend, the boys will play.

Spring Break Visit from the Ferriters

2008-05-04T21:11:00.018-04:00

We had a nice visit with the Ferriter side of the family (Noah's Nanny, Grampy and Uncle Marc) who were able to come down for a week right after the Gypsons.

We went downtown to the just opened Newseum. This is the crew and the view from the top floor. Pretty cool museum depicting history and its portrayal through the media.

There is no stopping to talk when Noah is leading the way.

I think we have seen this before.

We enjoyed the nice weather around a fountain in front of the National Archives. Noah loved inspecting the "bubbles".

Noah catches Dad talking his picture.

We had a full house once Michelle joined us.

Gypson Family Visit

2008-05-04T20:58:00.018-04:00

We had the pleasure of having Mom, Dad, Mark, and Bekah visit. Mark and Bekah live out in Indiana and hadn't made it to this area before. We enjoyed touring the area and catching up with each other.

We stopped at Arlington National Cemetery to pay our respects to Grandfather Noack.

Noah caught on quick and found his own stone to touch.

After a couple miles of walking around the mall we stopped for a nice rest in the shade of the Washington Monument. Any time you are in DC it means LOTS of walking.

We enjoyed a few hours at the National Arboretum viewing one of the largest collections of Bonsai trees in the North America.

Mark and Dad

The trees were really amazing. Some have been in training for over 200 years. Mark is a Bonsai trainer himself so this stop was especially for him.

Noah temporarily restrained in the stroller. That didn't last long...the floor of this place was made of rocks. Awesome when your 20 months old.

Hanging out in our backyard enjoying the nice spring weather.

Spring trip to Florida

2008-03-31T20:14:00.020-04:00

Matt went to a conference in Orlando so Noah and I tagged along for a little vacation. We spent the first half of the week in a hotel for the conference. In expected Orlando fashion the place had numerous pools and Noah enjoyed reacclimating to swimming. He has a true slow to warm up personality and his shy and scared soon turned to attempts to dive in the pool alone...

We then headed on to see Noah's Great Grandma Noack out in Cocoa Beach. Matt grew up with annual visits here and remembers those trips fondly. Grandma Noack, just like the old days, prepared a fun time for Noah. He enjoyed in turn giving her a run for her money reaching for her 'pretties' and attempting to dive in her pool.

Noah was also unsure at first about being in the sand. But once he adjusted we spent our time stopping him from throwing the sand into his face with glee.

This was an annual surfing festival... we caught some of the morning long board competition.

He has found a new smile these days that he very much enjoys.

The definition of a Buster.

Grandma took us to the local Cocoa Beach pool to check out the kiddie area. Noah's favoite word this trip was 'bubble!' whenever he would see the ocean, a pool, etc... apparently they remind him of his bubble bath.

Winter Wonderland

2008-03-03T20:57:00.023-05:00

In mid February we headed north (way north) to the Ferriter's for a week. Noah's Nanny was kind enough to offer to watch him while we took a trip further north into Quebec. We ventured to Mount Tremblant for 3 days to ski. It has been a long time since we had experienced real winter and this trip really delivered.

Noah had never walked around in snow before, he seemed to really enjoy stomping around the driveway.

There is no mistaking this scene for Virginia. You can barely see it in the picture but the whole St. Lawrence River is frozen over.

Some nice people from New York city took this one. It was a very international mountain, we met people from all over the country and as far away as London.

Tara at the top of Mt Tremblant the summit lodge and Gondola are in the background. She only dared to show the tip of her nose in the arctic air.

We are smiling in this picture but we had to careful not to smile too long or our faces would freeze in that position, another reference to the cold, we have become acclimated to the mid-Atlantic weather.

We skied two of our three days and on our day off we explored the mountain village and the surrounding towns Mt Tremblant and St Jovite. Its amazing how big some Canadians can get, just look at their chairs!

We found a great little cafe in St Jovite for some lunch. The locals, many of whom do not speak English, were always very nice and helpful.

Mt. Tremblant from the window of our B&B

Nanny is only a few clicks away from having Noah fully plugged in.

Noah, Nanny and cousin Emma.

Cousins share the piggy bank.

Noah tries on Nanny's glasses.

Who is that in the cabinets?
"What?"

Toddlers find many ways to enjoy their food.

Christmas in New York

2008-01-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

A happy little Christmas Elf checking out the goods.

And here is an unhappy Elf... Noah unfortunately caught a bad bug during the holidays.

The wagon is a perfect size for taking a ride.

Mom G making some yummy treats.

It was nice to spend some time with Mark and Becka again

Leann, Mark, Tara and Scott playing a game of Quoridor.Noah carefully starts to rip into his present.

Grandma gives a first lesson on Noah's new Alligator xylophone. Guess who is the center of attention?

After almost a full week at the Gypson's we headed to Syracuse where we met up with the Ferriter Clan: Nanny, Grampy, Marc, Chris, Tara, Parker and Emma.

Emma helps Noah inspect his new airplane.

To celebrate Parker's 5th Birthday we went to the Kids Paradise - Chuck E Cheese.

Noah heads down the slide on his own, he actually started diving head first, which he now wants to do on the big slide in our community (in Virginia).

Nanny helps Noah get into a car.

The third and final stop of our NY trip was to the Otis house in Dryden, NY where we met up with a bunch of friends. It was great to see how the kids had grown, how some of the adults can still act like kids, and to see the newest addition to the clan Missy and Wayne's new baby Isaac.

Kate and Tara hold their little (big) boys.

Clockwise from the top: Jordan, Marci, Zach, Brad, Missy, Wayne, Issac, Matt, Tara, Noah, Kate, Ryan, Jen, Paige, Melissa and Dave.

Just a cute pic of Noah re-discovering his Christmas toys once we got home.

Enjoying the Holiday Season

2007-12-15T15:50:00.000-05:00

Christmas time festivities

Noah, loves to play. He will drag you around the house all day by your fingers and show you exactly what part of the playing you need to fill. Unhappiness comes if this does not occur :)

Thanksgiving this year was at our place. The Ferriter crew came down and we had a nice celebration.

Trying out Dad's hat.

People to talk to and places to be...

Shenandoah National Park

2007-11-09T20:11:00.000-05:00

This is the fourth year in a row that we have headed up to Shenandoah National Park to soak up the beautiful fall colors. This year we were fortunate to have Mom and Dad Gypson as company to share the experience. This may have been our best year yet in terms of colors and weather (mid 70s in late October, gotta love it). Our little buster did really well traveling around.

We stayed on top of the mountain in the park at the Big Meadows Lodge which provided an amazing view of the valley below right from our rooms.

A hike down to a beautiful waterfall near our lodge, the colors and mountain views were stunning.

A rare shot of an elusive crib weasel

We strolled around "The Big Meadow". Noah enjoyed the flora

Hey Grandpa have you ever seen one of these

The whole crew on top of Stony Man mountain

A happy little elf

Noah in the middle of his stand up routine.

Walking through Old Town Alexandria

Noah begins his speach on why airplanes and trucks are so fascinating.

Apparently a fountain in Old Town Alexandria is a jaw dropping sight for a 14 month old

2007-10-08T21:57:00.000-04:00

We decided to take advantage of a nice afternoon by taking a walk along the Potomac and then letting Noah run around. He was on a mission to grab as many sticks and leaves as he could fit in his hands...

... he thinks he is pretty sneaky.

Noah wants Dad to get serious and help look for leaves.

Noah is happy to put good food in his mouth but he also feels free to rub it all over his face.

We took a little family trip to the National Zoo. We are pretty sure he noticed some of the animals, but was also very happy with the rocks and railings.

Hanging out on our porch.