Firsts

King of the ...er ... basket.

Fun Fact:  Did you know that there are beautiful beaches in County Cork, Ireland?  For example, Inchidonny Beach is only a kilometer or two from Clonakilty in West Cork.  It is beautiful with rolling sand dunes and great views.  It is also a big surf spot.  Here's a picture:

I wanted to write a fun fact about Inchidonny using my most trusted source, Wikipedia, but - to my surprise - there is no Wikipedia entry on Inchidonny.  Somebody from West Cork, get to writing!

There have been a lot of firsts since the last blog entry.  One first that hasn't happenned yet is that Conor turns one on Thursday!  If you're reading this blog, you're probably a close family member or friend.  When I planned his birthday party this afternoon, I got a little sad thinking about not being able to spend his first birthday with all of you.  I know the party will be fun and Conor will have a good time but James, Conor and I definitely wish we could be with all of you.

Ok ... sniff ... this post is about firsts that have already happenned.

James' First Trip To Aix:
First, James got a first-time, first-hand tour of Aix from two pros (Conor and I).  Here's Conor and I showing him one of our favorite outdoor cafes:

For the first and last time, we decided to take an early Saturday morning flight which left Strasbourg at 7am!  This turned out to be a miserable idea since I had trouble sleeping the night before, we had to get up at 5am, and I was completely exhausted the next day. 
Despite the exhaustion, we had a great time strollling around town and hanging out with Anne, Luc and their daughter Chloe. 

I went for a jog Sunday morning and discovered that Anne lives on the same street as a language school that Amy and I used to give English lessons at back on 2000.  It is still there!  Check it out Amy:


Une Autre Langue

Grandma Deb: Second, the Gramster (aka Grammy) made her second trip to Strasbourg.  During this second trip, Conor got his first pair of big boy shoes:

Check out the bad-ass kicks!

Conor didn't quite know what to do with his feet when we put the shoes on.  They're much heavier than the Robeez-type slippers he's used to and he kept lifting up his feet in the stroller to test the weight.  He's used to them now but has mastered the velcro release and likes to take them off every few minutes. 

During the Gramster's visit, James left for the US for a week long work trip.  His flight left from Frankfurt so we decided to drive him there and spend the day touring around the city (check Frankfurt daytrip off the AA list!!).  I would definitely recommend spending a day in Frankfurt.  Especially when that day is sunny and beautiful.  We easily found all-day parking, ate lunch at a baby-friendly yet delicious tapas restaurant and then strolled around to the various sights.  Here's Frankfurt's main square:

During our tour, we saw our first totally naked German walking along the city's beautiful waterfront.  Yes.  You read that correctly.  Totally. Naked. German. Man. Walking. Along. The. Waterfront.  See for yourself:


First sighting of totally naked German man.

You can thank me later for not zooming in further.
We also had our first taste of the city's famed apple wine.  It comes in a huge pint glass which makes sense because this stuff is disgusting and they must be trying to get rid of it as fast as possible:

Consumer Beware - Tastes Terrible!

Overall, Conor, James and I had a great time hanging out with the GD (aka Gramster or Grammy).  Conor especially loved getting spoiled and has lots of new outfits to prance around in.
Barcelona:
While James was working his butt off in the US, Conor and I made our second trip to Barcelona.  However, it was our first time meeting Jordan's handsome and charming new boyfriend, Mauricio. 

It was beautiful in Barcelona and Conor and I tried to make the most of the hot weather.  The day after we arrived, Jordan's friend and co-worker, Sam, threw a rooftop BBQ at her apartment.  Because it was so warm, Conor wore shorts for the first time:


Like father, like son (maybe some of you will get this reference)

Because it was so sunny, I had to be extra diligent to protect Conor's translucently white skin from the sun.  Here's how I rigged the stroller while he slept during walks:


Can you see his shoes peeking out at the bottom?

Cousin Time in Ireland: Yesterday, Conor and I got back from our first trip to Ireland to visit James' family without James (said James still being in the US working his butt off).  We had such a nice time staying and/or hanging out with Brenda, Sinead, Jack, Paddy, Kevin and Tommy.  Conor's cousins Jack and Paddy are a few years older than him and he has developped full blown cousin-obsession.  He could not get enough of his cool, older Irish cousins and was in sheer bliss the entire visit.

Here are some pics of the cousins:

Paddy and Conor

Jack and Conor

Being around his cool, older cousins exposed Mr. Man to lots of  firsts.  For example, he got to have his first ice cream cone:

He also went on the swings for the first time:



Jack helped push

We went to our first Rugby match (sorry ... no good pics). And, last but not least, Tommy and the boys took us to the beautiful Inchidonny beach where Conor got to run his fingers through sand and dip his toes  in the Atlantic.  He also got his first mouthfull of sand but I was too busy calming him down to take a picture.

 Conor Update:
Conor recently confessed that he wished he could talk to more of his family and friends in the US.  Here he is trying to give one of you a call:

Unfortunately, the call didn't go through because he hasn't mastered yet which side of the phone you talk into.