And They're Off

Today was Nick's first Backpack day! 

From FL With Love

We've been gone- now we are back. 

I vowed to take more photos with my 'actual' camera this summer so that my kids will not think that everything in the years 2011-2012 was pixelated like a cell phone photo. I think I did ok on this trip.

We saw some wildlife.

Went to the beach.

With the added bonus of a jelly fish encounter. (She's fine- and a complete trooper.)

We went to the pool,

 

 

and perfected our swimming. (more to come on this later)

 

 We ate (everything- as the scale tells me now). We even made our our own donuts

 We went to the Children's Museum of Naples and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with a day or two to kill. We drove daddy's car and tried out some careers.

And of course we picked up just a few oranges.

 

We celebrated Grandma's Birthday.

And played with all her toys.

 

After all that fun it was time to fly home... 

It would be a complete lie if I said I wished we were still there, but if I said I wished we hadn't gone that would be a lie too.

Training Hard

Nick and Claire working hard. Training for the Tour-De-Bridge this July! 

We think we may sweep the under 4 category - if it were a race.

 

When you train hard- you crash hard- Nick took a two hour nap through the grocery store after our ride.

Nick and Daddy's Big Day Out

Claire and I went shopping last week leaving the boys at home alone.

Once we left they got restless so they got dressed and went out... and got on a bus

and rode till they couldn't ride anymore because of a parade for Chinese New Year

Then they got on a train-

and another train-

and another train

and rode to Grandma's house in Brooklyn

Where they called us to come and get them.

Nick's Newest Milestone

"I do it again mommy!"

Can we count 'finally goes down the curly slide all by himself' as a milestone?

Battle

This is what happen when I clean my kitchen. I find the makings of swords... and who can resist that?

Triumph!

Allergies

N has a reaction to this basil plant. :)



He wins the cutest kid in my house award today.

Splashing in the Rain

Today it rained.

We spent the morning sorting clothes for the fall and water painting.

After lunch it was apparent that it was not going to stop raining so we geared up to go out.
Boots, Coats, Umbrella- Check!

Here is Nick standing in the world's smallest puddle- somehow he crammed both his feet into it :)

Nick sees the huge puddle- Nick RUNS to the huge puddle-
Nick splashes in the HUGE puddle!

We also experimented with different water slide technique.

If Claire held up her right leg she could go so fast she flew off the bottom and 'splashed down'. Nick just had to lay back and he flew off the end.

All in all not a bad day for having it rain all day.
They are forecasting rain again tomorrow... Maybe we'll break out the sewing machine...

One Proud Mama

This is the one where Nick wears undies to bed and stays dry
then wears them out all day the next day and stays dry! :)
His mama couldn't be more proud!

Nick Turns 2

My baby boy turned 2 this past weekend, it is amazing to me that I just don't have any babies anymore.
He's grown so big, so fast.
Thank you to everyone who celebrated him with us both near and far.
Happy Birthday Nicky!

Something to Smile About

Today Nick said the word 'kite', Claire colored 'in the lines' for the first time and colored an entire space instead of just scribbling.
I took some meds for this awful illness that just won't stop and Jim took a nap.
We are kind of low energy today but enjoying a low key day at home.
What do you have to smile about today?

Pretty Much It

Nick is cutting teeth, and has a head cold to end all head colds that doesn't allow him to breath at night so he's opted to just stay up... all night. :( I haven't been able to cross anything off my list for almost a week now for some unexplainable reason. Not even the kind where you do the thing and then add it and cross it off all in one step. :( I miss my mommy- intensely lately and August can't come fast enough cause I could also use a big hug from my daddy.
But even after laying all that whining out there, I'm not really feeling defeated or down, just tired- mentally, physically and emotionally.
If I can catch some winks today I think I'll lock myself in the bathroom and force myself to stay there till it's sparkling. And then reward myself with a fresh-out-of-the-oven (all-by-itself) chocolate chip cookie. :)

Wake Up Call

There are a few things I'd like to blog about
1. making new mommy friends
2. unexpected and very welcome visits from sisters
3. laundry and my hatred for stinky things
4. potty training
5. male giraffes

Most of those come with lovely pictures but since my camera cord is MIA I can't share any of them with you thus taking the wind out of my posting sails.
So instead I'll share a quick story about my mom from this morning.

Last night my darling son woke me at 1am- as he has for the past two nights. He fussed, Claire woke and Nick and I moved to the couch where he finally settled down and fell back asleep around 4am.
At 6am the construction started outside, and the window in the living room was open so it sounded like they were in the room with me. And I was too tired to get up and close it but Nick decided that it was time to get up. So he settled in for a rousing puzzle session on my phone.
At 7:30am Nick realized that it was only 4am in WY and figured that would be a great time to call GB and chat54. Thankfully she was on call at the hospital so it wasn't the end of the world.
So Nick woke both his mom and his grandma at 4am this morning.

I know that was not really the most exciting blog post but I needed to update so there you have it a moment from my not so exciting life. :)

#3 Check!

3. Visit the Long Island Children's Museum

Say AHHH

Mommy- what IS this stuff?

They are talking to each other, right after this Claire and a little girl named Kate got into a debate about favorite princesses and best snow activities (Kate thinks snow angels, Claire is a fan of the snowman; they agreed to disagree.)

I did however drop the ball on pictures of Nick making HUGE bubbles, and Claire putting herself inside a bubble. But hey, sometimes you just need to live the moment and keep the memories in your mind :) They usually look better there anyway.