It has been a while since the last post, and much has happened with us and our little boy. In May, Atticus took his first trip to New Orleans and got to spend some time with his Aunt Star. Highlights of that trip included visiting the French Quarter, having a streetcar ride, walking along the levee and seeing his first topless lady walking down Bourbon St.

Atticus also took his second Amtrack train ride to Chicago for a visit to his cousin Mitchell's new house and his cousin Darrel Anthony's birthday party. He had a great time!


Memorial weekend was Pontiac's first urban adventure race-"The Blast"- where Eithne and her teammate Lisa took 1st place in their division-Yeah! Atticus didn't get up early enough to cheer his mom on but he was there in spirit.

In June, Eithne and I went on vacation to the northwest-Washington and Canada where we climbed at Tieton Canyon in Yakima and enjoyed urban biking in Seattle and Vancouver. We were able to catch up with our med-school friends Sean and Michele. Atticus spent time with both sets of his grandparents during our Northwest trip and had an extended sleepover at Grandma Ginne & Grandpa John's. He loved visiting the park down the block from their house.

Atticus performed (sort of) in his first wedding (of his cousin Dan and Barb) at the end of June where he was a ring bearer. He made it a grand total of 15 seconds down the isle before Mama had to swoop in and rescue him. He did, however, in preparation for said wedding receive his first haircut and first tuxedo.

Somewhere in between the vacation and wedding, we moved to a house with a garage, central air conditioning and a backyard. We've been grilling up a storm and we've got a slack line and horseshoes for anyone who's interested.

This month, Atticus saw his first 4th of July fireworks. He really enjoyed the bright lights and the booming noises. Bingo, however, was less than enthused. We also celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by taking in Taming of the Shrew (how appropriate) at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario followed by a day of climbing at Mt Nemo.

We've also done a bit of biking both locally on the riverfront with a pit stop for Atticus to play in the fountain and then up north from Suttons Bay to Traverse City. Somehow, Atticus managed to fall asleep on the 8-mile unpaved stretch of the trail. He woke up just in time to meet Big Momma, Papa Tom and Aunt Maur in Traverse City and had a great time exploring the sights and sounds of Interlochen.

This past weekend, Atticus took in his first major league baseball game in Cleveland at the Jake! with Jen Facciani, Dave Meier (my friends from college) and Jen's brother Dave. He witnessed a split between the Indians and Twins and picked up his first bona fide baseball hat as well as a genuine Chief Wahoo hanky. He loved the ballpark atmosphere and is sure to be a lifelong fan!

Today, Atticus had his first (and we're hoping only) surgery to repair a hernia. Our little guy guzzled down his sedating medicine like any good Irishman would and soon after was bobbing around like a drunken sailor. Four hours after we arrived at the hospital, we were home and he was sleeping peacefully in his crib. Everything went well and was uneventful... thank goodness. Tonight he was motoring down the sidewalk on his Red Flyer as if nothing had happened.

Here's hoping all's well with you and yours!