2010_08_29 Sunday

We had a wonderful extended weekend in Philadelphia. Shannon and Shawn arrived on Wednesday afternoon. We all went to Pat's for a famous Phily Cheesesteak, which was remarkably bad. But, we needed to buy some time before check-in at the Union League. We had a lovely dinner out, with too many appetizers, drinks, and food. The kids did pretty well, though. That evening we took a stroll to a grocery store that was literally next door to Grandpapa's; I freaked out that he might bump into us, but as luck had it, he was at the Union League!

On Thursday, Oma met us at the Please Touch Museum, and Shawn and Jonathan had a blast. The neat thing about the museum is that kids played completely organically: without any adult interference. They cooperated across age, gender, race, etc to get things done, and it was really something to observe. Lesson: adults are the ones who get in the way; let kids play! He's also a great pretender! We all observed him having tea parties with a Madhatter, watering the garden vegetables, and shopping in the grocery store, all with very realistic, yet pretend, stories.

Thursday night was Grandpapa's 80th birthday surprise party. What a great time. Jonathan actually wore his bow tie the entire night. What a handsome fellow. Elise was charming as ever and floated around the room with various friends/family of Grandpapa's. Oma asked Jonathan if he'd share his cranberry juice, so he told her to "get your own cranberry juice at the bar, Oma."

On Friday, we had breakfast at the Union League with Grandpapa and then headed back into New Jersey to visit Cheryl Lynn and her family. Bud has now been christened Uncle Bug; I was explaining to Jonathan where we were going, but he heard me say we were visiting Uncle Bug instead of Uncle Bud. We had a wonderful visit. Her three boys were absolutely incredible with Jonathan. He even went into the pond and the "fake beach" with them (with a life vest on and me melting down). There were a lot of naked bums at the pond too!

And, today, for the first time, I could actually SEE a tooth popping through!!! She's broken gums! It's her bottom right (as you look at her).

2010_08_20 Friday

I promised Jonathan that we'd go to the 'ball pit' today (read: IKEA). Now that he's potty trained, he can go in. I even called ahead to make sure it was open! I returned some items first, and he was chomping at the bit to get in the pit. So, I signed him in, he kicked off his shoes, and headed in, never once looking back. Since it was a weekday, he got to go for a full hour. Elise and I sat in the cafe, both to spy and for me to read. I only saw him for the last five minutes; I'm not quite sure what he was doing the rest of the time. BUT, when the monitor went to get him, he started bawling because he didn't want to leave. I guess he had fun. We ate lunch at the cafe, watching all the planes land at Newark and the cars on I-95 (no trains this time). He picked out all the FedEx planes. Elise was pretty annoyed with the whole day, so I Bjorned her and pushed an empty stroller through the store. On the down side, their ice cream machine was out, so we couldn't get our $1 cone this time. bummer. On the way home, he told me he "made lots of friends in the pits."

Dave got in EARLY tonight!!! like, 45 mins early. It was awesome. We all jumped in the car and got him no problem, and then we all stayed up until after 9pm to see him.

2010_08_19 Thursday

Today was the last of our free summer movies. It was a bit of a dumb one, but Jonathan was mesmerized, and Elise was mostly quiet. Afterward, we stopped by the pediatrician to pick up Jonathan's school forms and dropped them off at his preschool. Meanwhile, they had dropped off our welcome packet. It's so exciting. Jonathan seems to be hot and cold about going to school so far.

2010_08_18 Wednesday

This evening was our first HOOT OWLs dinner, which is for moms whose hubbies travel a lot. It was at a local park, and we had pizza delivered. I'm not sure Jonathan actually stopped running around between 4:30-6:30. Plus, he befriended a couple of little kids. He'd stand at the top of the ladder or the bottom of the slide and encourage them up/down. He even walked a boy, holding his hand, over to the big kid's playground, probably to his mother's dismay.

The very nice thing about tonight was that even with a bath and 4 stories, Jonathan and Elise were in bed before 7:30!! unheard of!

I had a terrible time sleeping, though; it may have been the glass of wine. I was wide awake between 1-3:30am. I even read for awhile. Nothing is more frustrating than watching those minutes click by. The kids slept well; Elise was up twice, and Jonathan got up around 8:45 but snuggled with me until 9, when E woke up for the day.

2010_08_15 Sunday

SHE ROLLED OVER!!!! I went in to get her after a very long nap this afternoon, and she was on her belly with her head popped up. Then, we put her down in the den, and she continued to flip over a couple of times. How scary and exciting!

Jonathan was super cute by laying down at her face to encourage her to flip over (although he kept saying 'hi, baby, come on' as if to encourage her to crawl). either way: awww.

2010_08_14 Saturday

We drove to Connecticut for the day. One of Dave's cousin's son was baptized. We actually missed the ceremony because of traffic, but we made it to the reception afterward. Elise is still tough in the car, although she does sleep for awhile now. The problem is that when she's awake, she screams. It was great to spend time with his cousins and their kids; most are about Jonathan's age. The ride home was about the same: E slept for 1/2 way and cried the other, and J had to pee in the trunk rather than stopping on I-95 at night.

It's been great to have Dave home for so long. Jonathan's been at his side for 99% of it. Dave's off to CA and ATL Tues AM-Fri PM.

2010_08_12 Thursday

What a garbage-y day. It started off on the wrong foot with Jonathan being fairly defiant as soon as he got up. He saw that Dave was working from home, so he wanted to spend the day with him and was pretty sour that I wouldn't let him.

We went to the movies, saw Aliens in the Attic, which I think was a bit too scary for him, although he seemed ok through it. I'm not sure he followed the story all that much. E slept through a lot of it.

And, now, I'm having a terrible time getting the kids down for naps. Jonathan screamed incessantly (just to make noise) and then peed on his floor. Elise has been screaming/wailing for a good 90 mins by now. I've poked in to make sure she hasn't thrown up on herself or has a poopy diaper, etc, but she just doesn't want to nap. I'm at my wit's end, so both can cry it out until I pull myself back together (sounds like J2 has stopped, but E is far from it). ugh.

2010_08_05 Thursday

I have been working like a banshee on a surprise while Dave's been gone. I repainted Elise's room. The walls and ceiling were an awful, faded teal, so I fixed all the holes, white-washed the ceiling, and painted the walls a pale purple. It took him 24 hrs to go into her room and see it. I love how it's turned out, though. I'm much happier in there; I'm hoping she is too. Next up is to hang our gingham purple shades. I think we'll do a yellow accent, so I'm hunting for a funky yellow table lamp to get started.

I have grand ambitions for denim-ish stripes in Jonathan's room. I'd love to finally stain the secretary's desk that has been calling to me from the basement for nearly two years now. And, some of our gardens are horrendous and need massive overhauls. All these projects should keep me busy while hubster is away.

2010_08_04 Wednesday

We made it to Whole Foods today. They had a dinosaur theme, so we took along two books to share. And, Jonathan made a cute dino out of construction paper.

I had the pleasure of hosting both Iris and Aylin for a short visit this afternoon. Great to see them, even if J and Alanya were crazy.

It was ungodly hot/humid today, so after a stroll into town (and a juice on the way home), Jonathan and I took a bath together, a first. What fun we had making waves and splashing around. I guess we got clean too, who knows! He made some funny comments like "Mommy, you have big boobs." etc that I suppose all kids say at some point.

I finished my big surprise today (painted Elise's room). There's nothing hanging on the walls yet, but the color is great. It's just a solid purple; I'd like to have a chair-rail hung and then add dark purple stripes along the bottom section, but I'm happy with a solid color for now. I'd also like to do Jonathan's room too in white and dark blue stripes, maybe. And, I have a secretary to stain and position in the foyer. That should keep me busy when Dave is traveling...at least for a little while!

2010_08_03 Tuesday

Sitting at a red light in town, Jonathan says: "Mommy, ladies have rings in their ears, but daddy's do not." HA!

2010_08_01 Sunday

It's been awhile, and while there haven't been any remarkable developmental items to report, I am so happy about Jonathan's potty training. He's been dry consistently; he even had a dry diaper overnight, and he does wake up in the morning to go to the bathroom. It's very exciting.

On a different note, Dave is quitting his job for one with his old buddies. He now is working 50% in ATL, for the foreseeable future. So, the three of us are flying solo this week. We dropped him off at the airport tonight. When I told Jonathan that we'd pick him back up on Thursday, his response was: "Mommy, are you kidding me?" ha, I couldn't help but laugh.

Below are a few new shots of the kiddies. I had planned to get Jonathan's 3 yr old ones done on Friday but had to cancel b/c he was in a complete funk. Maybe I'll use some of these. Enjoy!