Snow is here!

Unlike the last few Decembers (as far as we can remember) we are actually getting quite a bit of snow up here. Even the Cape is getting it. Maybe we'll have a white Christmas?

Hampton Meets Santa

It was a big weekend on the Cape - the annual Christmas Stroll on Main Street. It is also part of the Knight's tradition to celebrate Lauren's birthday too. While the weather remained fairly mild, we took advantage of Christmas shopping in Boston on Saturday (yes, Hampton blew out his diaper on Newbury Street) and, Sunday, we geared up for the Stroll. Linda made her famous chili and Lauren had a birthday cake to celebrate turning 27! Hampton did an excellent job meeting Santa. No crying or spit up...just a few smiles for the holly, jolly man! Santa gave him an early Christmas present - a stuffed Bunny!

Thanksgiving and Four Months!

Well, it's been a while since we've written in our blog. I guess with Thanksgiving and everything, we've been pretty busy. Hampton had his 4 month checkup and we're lucky parents to be able to report that he's a perfectly healthy boy. He was 25.5" long and weighs 17lbs 80z. (78th and 98th percentiles, respectively). He's pretty darn close to rolling over from his back to his front, but not quite there yet. He is also sitting up for a very brief period of time while using his arms to support himself on one side. It's fun to watch him learn new things.

Hampton getting in some tummy time (4mos)

We went to the Cape for Thanksgiving and the Knight's life long friends, the Zikas' (Hampton's Godmother, Karol and her daughters Karolyn and Kristen) joined us from Florida as well. Of course Aunt Lauren and Uncle Frank were in town as well.

We didn't do much! Eric played some golf with his Dad and we got some good relaxing in. As you can see, Hampton wasn't starved for attention.

Grandma CC, Karol and Hampton on the beach the day before T-Day

Aunt Lauren spending some time with her Nephew


Karolyn had Hampton every chance she could get!

Our Trip Down South

We (Eric, Marin, Hampton, Grammy CC and Grandpa) all just returned for a trip south to visit Eric's Grandmother (Nana) in Georgia and Florida while Marin attended a conference that was held at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island. It was Hampton's first time on the plane and we didn't hear a peep out of him on any of the flights. We were relieved that he took to it so well.

The first part of our trip took us about 2 hours northwest of Jackonsville, FL to the small city of Douglas, GA. Douglas is where Nana has lived for quite a while and is also where Aunt Debbie (aka Aunt Nanny) is from. It was great to see Nana and Bernie, especially because Eric has not been down to Douglas since he was about 12 years old. (We've been dragging Nana north to the cold weather for years!). We had a great time driving around Douglas and taking a look at the number of different properties that Nana and Bernie have invested in. The highlight of the day was heading down to the flea market and property they own. I cannot remember exactly how much acreage it is, but it is quite large!

Found this 1963 Georgia License plate hanging from an old barn on Nana's land

Here is the fam (Nana is to Eric's Left) at the Fox Hills house. This is where Nana was living when Eric last visited. She rents this house out now, with a fishing pond in the back yard, it's quite a great location!

Here is a picture of the land and flea markets that Nana and Bernie currently own and operate

This is "Barnyard BBQ". It's incredible. The gentleman who owns this establishment rents the property from Nana and Bernie and runs this BBQ stand on the same land as the Flea Market. It's SO damn good.

Here is a picture of the old fire truck that Bernie and Nana own. It just sits on the property as an attraction/decortation, but Bernie said they've had it up and running!

After having a great time visiting Nana in Georgia, we headed down to Amelia Island, FL where Marin had her conference. Amelia Island is just on the border of Georgia and Florida and reminds us all a lot of Kiawah Island, SC. While Marin was hard at work (which included a massage and dinner at a 5 star restaurant) attending her conference, Grandma, Grammy CC Hampton and Eric enjoyed life at the Ritz and did some golfing, shopping and relaxing.

Nice hard sand for the stroller. A lot like the beaches in SC

Hampton's first time touching the sand on a beach in FL. He's done the Cape Cod thing already!

Grandpa, CC and Hampton

The Fam (minus Deacon)!

Back to Work

Three months came and went...and my maternity leave officially ended. On November 1, I returned to the office. It was TORTURE leaving the house. I cried and cried but I was fortunate Aunt Nanny and Grammy CC were both at home to take care of Hampton. I didn't expect to be an absolute emotional wreck but I really will miss Hampton! Once en route, I did okay and after I made it into the office, I did just fine. I'm glad to be back in the office and I was excited to see those old familiar faces at Old Mutual. But, I will admit...I was also very excited to return home to see Hampton's smiling face.

Halloween!

Although Eric was out of town for the J-105 North American's regatta (boo....no pun intended), Hampton managed to have an incredible first Halloween. In spirit of the New England, Hampton was dressed as a Lobster. Little did we know that the costume made for children 0 - 9 months would barely fit (okay, it didn't fit). We had to cram our poor little monster in there! He is getting so big and long...his toes filled up every last inch of his costume. We hosted a party at our place for all the new Charlestown moms and their babies. Our "pre-party" was perfect. All the kiddies were born around the same time and lots of good treats and refeshments were served. At 5 pm, we all went to the Bunker Hill Monument to join the Halloween parade. It was awesome.

Aunt Nanny!

Aunt Nanny has arrived in Boston! Hampton has taken quite a liking to her already as he is as comfy as can be :) We are gearing up for my return to work...and what a way to wrap up maternity leave with two big events - the Red Sox winning the World Series and Halloween! Thank you Aunt Nanny for already being a wonderful and loving person in Hampton's life. He can't wait to spend so much time with you!!

Three Months Old Today!

Hampton is three-months old today! This past week has been awesome - he's slept for 10 to 12 hours straight for three nights in a row. What a treat for all of us, although I woke up all three nights worried whether or not he was breathing. I guess that's parenthood - you worry when you hear them and you worry when you don't hear them.

Next week, I'll return back to work. We're heading to the Cape to bring Debbie ("Aunt Nanny") to Boston on Sunday. Hampton is going to be the luckiest kid on the block with his Aunt Nanny. She is going to make him laugh and smile all the time. Maybe Hampton will pick up her southern accent too! My official day back is November 1 (Thursday) so the first three days we will transition. All I can say is that I'll miss the little bugger. Time has flown by over maternity leave. It is truly amazing to watch with my own eyes how much he's grown and changed. So, if I'm rather weepy over the next few days...ya'll will know why!

On a very upbeat note - GO SOX! A 2-0 start for the World Series makes us all very happy!

Daddy and Hampton before he leaves for work.

Hey! I'm cute at three months!

Red Sox Nation!

The Knight household is elated for another Red Sox World Series! Do you know what is significant about each Red Sox World Series? In 2004, Eric and I were married. In 2007, Hampton was born! Being a superstitious Red Sox fan, I think there is something about Eric and I's monumental events resulting in a World Series!

Before we get ahead of ourselves, we do have to admit the playoffs have been very exciting! Being from Ohio, we've had great banter with our Cleveland friends while the Sox managed to squeak out a victory in game 7. Hampton has learned that he is now eligible to wear as much Red Sox paraphernalia as his parents can get their hands on (poor soul). So, here are a couple of pictures of Hampton in his Red Sox gear. He wore the sweater and hat during the day and transitioned into his baseball shirt following his bath. Go Sox!

Fall Hike

Last weekend was peak foliage in the Boston area and we wanted to take advantage of it. Plus, we wanted to make sure Deacon snuck in every last minute opportunity to swim before the freezing cold sets in (although that really hasn't stopped him from getting into the water either). We met our friends Alexis and Billy Reilly. They have a darling little boy, Will, and a yellow lab, Jackson. Billy and Jackson hit the trails via mountain bike so Eric, Alexis, Will, Hampton and I ventured along a trail to enjoy the warm weather and fresh air.

On another note, Hampton has officially "found" his thumb! The amount of time Hampton will now self-sooth while he's laying in his crib or cuddling is priceless. Enjoy the picture of Hampton!!

Marin, Hampton, Alexis and Will hiking in the Fells

Deacon getting in what is potentially his last swim of the season

Painting the House (and then some...)

We finally got around to having the house painted. However, as the story goes with old houses, we were in for a little bit more than we originally bargained for.

Our friend Emmanuel Coelho (Coelho Contracting) sent his crew over to begin the prep work and as they were scraping they found A LOT of rot. So much rot that we ended up having to replace many areas of clapboard and all of our window casings. I knew that it was going to be pretty bad going into it, but the problem was beneath the surface so a lot of it was not apparent to the naked eye. The rot came from the wood they "covered up" last time the window casings were replaced (who knows how long ago that was).

So, although we were bummed it was going to be a little bit more involved than we thought, we were psyched to finally get it done and get it done right.

Before/During

Finished Product

Old Front Entry




New Front Entry



We've been wanting to put some window boxes up since we moved in.

Thanks Emmanuel and crew. You guys did a great job.

Grandma "GiGi" Comes to Beantown

Grandma Kevin ("GiGi") came to town for the past few days! Hampton sure enjoyed her company since the last time he saw her was at the hospital when he was born. GiGi got the hang of all of his personal favorites...and, she had a knack of holding him right when he needed a diaper change so she got her fill of dirty diapers. We also managed to squeeze in shopping with GiGi so Hampton got a tour of Newbury Street AND the new Natick Mall. We also enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Sorallina's where Hampton received many compliments for being so well behaved throughout the meal. We are looking forward to seeing GiGi again. Time flew by so we'll have to plan another get together soon!!

Lucky Hampton

Hampton is this the luckiest kid on the block. Last night, he met the infamous and beautiful Karol Zikas. And, we also asked Karol to be Hampton's godmother. For those who haven't met Karol, she is Eric's second mom and has been an instrumental part of his life. We are absolutely flattered that she will serve an important role in Hampton's life.

10-weeks...and growing!

Hampton just had his 10-week "birthday"...and check out his hair! We're having a ball with him. He's extremely interactive now - cooing, smiling, reaching and batting things. Too fun! Grandpa Ron was in town for a dental conference and he stayed with us. Of course, he spoiled Hampton with ample ball bouncing time. Hampton was so excited he went right to sleep!

Two Month Stats

As we said, more pictures are to come. However, the picture of Hampton doing laundry below was taken the day after his 2 month check up and first round of shots.

His two month old stats are:

14lbs. 10oz. (97th percentile)
23.5 inches (78th percentile)

Surprise, surprise.....he's not a small child.

Doin' Laundry

What a time to have your digital camera break...when your first kid is 2 months old! We promise to have more pics, but this one was taken with the camera phone. Here's Hampton helping mom do a little laundry (those are the clean clothes..btw).

Go SOX & PATS!!!

Big weekend for Boston sports fans with the San Diego Chargers and the New York Yankees in town.

Enough said....

6 Weeks!

6 weeks old!

Yesterday was Hampton's 6-week birthday! We had a great day. It was our last day of our class, Great Beginnings, which was a new mom's group that focuses on child development, motherhood and other baby topics (sleeping, feeding, toys). We've enjoyed the six week class making new friends and learning baby games. Hampton is growing so fast - much more alert and starting to reach for things, lifting is head and eating like a champion. Hampton was the youngest in the class. He definitely looks like one of the oldest...especially with all that hair!

Here are some fun pictures from his big day.

Hampton and his Great Beginnings classmates

(Hampton is on the far left in the light blue polo shirt).

The boys in the class.

Wake vs BC

It was a sad day on Saturday, September 1, when Wake Forest lost to Boston College (BC) at BC. We did manage to squeeze in a lot of fun since we were fortunate to have Carla Gallelli in town to cheer on the Deacons! Hampton made his old gold and black debut in a onesie with a Deacon on it. Plus, he managed to meet a number of my old college buddies and the infamous Julie Griffin!

The weekend also marked the end of summer. Since it was Labor Day weekend, we also fit in time to hang out on the Cape for the remainder of the weekend with Cape Cod Grammy and Grandpa. We had a ball - Carla experienced Four Seas Ice Cream for the first time. We spent a little bit of time on the beach (running the beach) and we spent a lot of quality pool time. Plus, Hampton got to soak in lots of Grandparent time.

We look forward to next summer! We hope everyone had a healthy and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

Three Year Anniversary

Today is our official three-year anniversary! It is amazing how quickly time flies...and now we have a beautiful son to celebrate with us. Lauren is going to babysit for us tonight as we venture out for the first night sans baby. We are going to Sorellina's - an acclaimed Italian restaurant in Back Bay that is owned by the same owners as Mistral (our old "favorite"). I plan to have my first glass of wine since I was pregnant to celebrate!

August 28, 2004

Wianno Club

The Vineyard

In celebration of our anniversary each year, we take a mini-vacation to Martha's Vineyard. This year, we celebrated our 3 year anniversary and Hampton came along for the fun. It was our first day being "out" all day with Hampton and we're happy to say that he did great. We caught the 710am Fast Ferry "Lady Martha" out of Hyannis into Oak Bluffs and then took the 415pm home.

Mom and Hampton on "Lady Martha".

Early morning in Oak Bluffs waiting for the bus to Edgartown.

At our favorite breakfast spot, "Among the Flowers", in Edgartown.

Hampton let us eat our breakfast in peace...he slept the whole time.

Edgartown Yacht Club - Eric spent some time racing here each summer as a kid.

We made a pit-stop to change and feed Hampton and caught him cracking a smile.

The lighthouse in the background was a favorite spot to "hang out" when Eric was on the Vineyard as a kid.

Hampton looking cool on a bench in Edgartown.

Heading back to Cape Cod Grandma and Grandpa's house.