What happened to September?

Oh dear, I've done it now. For the first time since starting this blog, I've gone without posting even the smallest of updates at least once during the month. Sorry October, don't take it personally. You and your friend September were just far too action-packed for me to stop and smell the roses mums.

No time for excuses. Let's jump right into the updates, shall we?

**Sifts through hundreds of photos to figure out what the heck we've been up to for the past two months.**

Hmmm, I think we're going to need a bigger page to fit all this stuff. Looks like we're splitting this into two posts.

So first things first, the big indoor renovations are nearing completion here on the homefront. First, we have the long-anticipated kitchen reveal. Ta-da!

Now, in case you're all wondering, the paint beneath the cabinets is not some poor attempt at modern art. For the time being, we are sans backsplash. Being broke and lazy frugal and efficient, we opted not to paint that area. I'm sure I'll post updates ten months after the tile backsplash has been installed.

As if all that kitchen work wasn't enough, we had new windows installed in early September.

Here are the exterior and interior views (complete with the cutest little decorative accent you've ever seen).



With all the house work winding down (notice I have not said it's actually done?), we decided the best way to celebrate was to get the heck out of Dodge! Nearly every weekend in September was spent traveling. I know, I know. "What else is new?"

Rather than giving you a blow by blow account of every little thing we've done, I'll just jot down a list and (if applicable...or rather, if accessible on my hard drive at the moment) I'll include some pics.

Sept 11-12: Celebrating Liam's (a.k.a. Eily's betrothed) birthday in Virginia.



Sept 17-18: Irish2000 (I2K) in Saratoga, NY. Andy, Liam, and Jim (Papa-Daddy) made the journey with us. We met up with my dad and stepmom, good friends Jim & Natasha & wee Rory, and Kevin & Kelsey & the very brand new Miss Rayleigh. For the first year ever, the music was more of a backdrop and not so much the main event. Not because it was unenjoyable. Rather, we learned how quickly a festival can change when everyone has a baby in tow. Still, kudos to all of us for being awesome and exposing the kids to some culture!

GAAAAHHH!! Oh, it pains me to say that I have ZERO pictures from that weekend. I'm stealing some pics from Andy's facebook page, so the photography credits go to him. (Thanks Andy!)



The whole gang, Friday night

They're harder to dance with the bigger they get!

These two were filthy by the end of the show Saturday. At least they had fun!

Ah, young love.

Alright, before you all yell at me - that last one looks much worse than it actually was. See the shoe off to the right? That's me. I saw everything from there. Eily actually had her chin on Liam's shoulder, and he kissed her cheek. Fooled you, though, didn't it?

Okay, that took up more than it's allotted space. Gotta keep moving!

Sept 24: We hit up Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, where Eily danced like a wee banshee to the tunes of Enter the Haggis. It was the new drummer, Bruce's, first show with the guys. While we certainly missed James' smiling face, we were very impressed with his replacement.

Sept 26 - Oct 1: Eily's Great-grandma Bev finally got to meet the little lass. Auntie Kiki, Grandpa Rick, and Aunt Dottie and Matt all got to spend time with Eily as well. Here are some pics from Aunt Dottie:



As you can see, our little cherub certainly knows how to enjoy her food.

And that does it for September. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Jesse managed to lose one vehicle and gain another, I somehow kept my sanity while juggling the mommy/school/work schedule, and Eily continued to become more and more like a little person. Next up: October fun and Eily's 15-month stats!

Tradition!

Once again, another September has arrived after an all-too fleeting summer. Crisp mornings are a sign of things to come - the changing leaves, the short-lived sunlight, the first drops of snow. Well I say to Nature, "Hold up already, we have far too many things to do first!"

That's right, it is officially fall, and that means a chance to actually enjoy the outdoors without sweating out every ounce of water I drank for the day. (And let me tell you, when you're breastfeeding that is a lot of water!) More importantly, though, are the traditions fall brings along for its windy ride. And in true Jesse and Jessa fashion, we kicked this season off right by attending the Irish 2000 festival (aka Celtic festival nerd heaven) in upstate NY. Longtime friends and family will understand, but for those who don't know: This event is the reason Jesse and I ever even met in the first place. Let's return to that fateful day five years ago for a little walk down memory lane, shall we?

(Cue dreamy harp music and fog machine.)

September, 2004. I was living back in CT after leaving the Albany area, but I returned for a weekend visit to attend Irish 2000, or i2K as the regulars call it. Early in the day, I saw this guy dancing during one of the sets. He looked very familiar, but I just couldn't place where I knew him from. Seeing a girl with him and really not knowing where I knew him from, I opted not to approach him. Flash forward several weeks to the beginning of October. Having decided I missed the Capital Region far too much, I had returned for good and resumed my part time job at Professor Java's. Imagine my surprise when the same young man I had seen at the festival showed up for coffee one day! Here's where things get fun.

His version: Jessa said "Hi, I saw you at Irish fest didn't I?" Therefore, she was totally hitting on me.

My version: I finally realized why he had looked so familiar at the festival - he was a regular at the cafe. I mentioned that I had seen him there and introduced myself. Before he left, he totally hit on me and said (this is VERBATIM because I will never forget how corny it was), "If you see me at another show, you should save me a dance."

But I digress. My point is, if I hadn't seen him out of context at the festival, I probably wouldn't have initiated much of a conversation with him at the cafe weeks later. Every time he came in after that, we chatted about our favorite Celtic bands. He eventually convinced me to go to a Black 47 show with him in November, and the rest is history.

(Dreamy harp music and wavy image transporting us back to the present.)

Here we are, five years later and we haven't missed an i2K yet! Even having a new baby can't stop us. In fact, she enjoyed the festival as much as we did. Of course, being the uber cool yet responsible parents that we are, we made sure her little ears were protected from the noise of acts like Hair of the Dog and Enter the Haggis.















Here are a few more pics of the fun we had with some of our favorite people:



























































Of course, being the dynamic duo trio that we are, we didn't stop there. We followed up the festival with a trip down to CT for my grandmother's 80th birthday! It was a marathon weekend for sure, but Eily did great. Good thing, too. With parents like us, life is going to be one adventure after another!