Happy Birthday Grandmom!

Tuesday was Grandmom's birthday but we waited to celebrate until last night and had everyone over for dinner. We had lots of fun and the kids enjoyed playing with their Uncles (and Aunts) and baby Tyler! Thanks to Janet & Jen for helping with dinner! Happy Birthday Grandmom - we hope you love your new bracelet!


Grandmom with the grandkids and blowing out the candles on her 'Birthday Pie.'

The Brothers Newby...

Cute Cousins

We had a fun play date with cousin Natalie this week! She is getting so big and learning to crawl and get around quickly. We all went to lunch then came back home to play and Emma even shared her toys - quite the surprise!

A Bunny Rescued

Last Friday was a very exciting day for the kids. Late in the afternoon, a woman walking across the street found a very tiny baby bunny on the sidewalk - so tiny, she thought it was a leaf. It was so small, it's eyes were still closed! All the kids gathered and of course, wanted to play. I felt bad and knew it would be dealt a sad fate if left to fend for itself from a dozen little hands and worse yet, the neighborhood cats and dogs. We had no idea of any nest so I made a few calls and managed to connect with a woman who takes in animals just like this. So later that night, the kids and I drove Buster Bunny (BB for short) down towards the Delaware state line and met up with this woman. She took the little guy and was going to examine and feed him, and hopefully get him on the mend so he could grow and be released back to nature. I called a few days ago to check on him but haven't heard back... not sure if that is a good sign. Either way, I did my part and slept better that night knowing BB was safe and warm in a cozy cage and not the neighbors dogs/cats/(insert animal here) belly.

Dance Ballerina, Dance

Today was Emma's first day of dance class! She looked adorable in her leotard and ballet shoes - thanks to cousin Chloe for saving the day and giving us her old leotard, since Emma's is back-ordered! It was great to see her in a room full of little girls her age, running around with a big smile and sense of accomplishment. She did a great job and even got a sticker from her teacher for showing her a move they learned in class (ok, with a little help). See below for some pictures and scroll down for some video - it's pretty damn cute!! There are 2 Emma's in her class so you will hear her name alot in the video (the other Emma was more of a free spirit and did her own thing). I hope she sticks with this because I can't wait to see the recital in June!!

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Always remember the importance of a good stretch...

Magic TuTu

Our Prima Ballerina and her Magic TuTu

Magic TuTu, Take 2

The Power of the Magic TuTu

Playing Nice

The other morning when I came up from working out, I was happy to see this... my two kids had played together nicely and were actually liking each other and behaving quite well. It was a nice change from some of the things I have come upstairs to, such as yogurt art and a bead in the nose. I'll take blocks and pictures any day! Below we have another of Ryan's architectural masterpieces... in the rear is the swimming pool complete with diving board, the yellow and blue box is the snack bar, and the orange looking thing is a swimming lane. Not bad for a kid who always asks "but how?" when I tell him to play with his toys!


Emma studies under the same photography philosophy as Aunt Pammy... only instead of holding the camera up to her ear to take a picture (well, almost but you get the idea), she turns it around and looks in the photo lens to take the picture. She refuses to do it any other way.

Just point me towards the Mall!

Take a peek at what Natalie learned to do this weekend - she looks so cute!!!! Time for mommy and daddy to start the baby-proofing! It won't be long before she's upright!

Back to School

I am like a kid in a candy store! Today is Tuesday - the first day of school! I am WAY more excited than Ryan, who will be in his last year of pre-school. He's excited to see his friends and play. I'm excited to have 2 days a week where I have 6 hours with just one child who is still young enough to manipulate into doing what I want to/need to do with almost zero complaining! And 2+ of those hours I'll have all to myself during nap time - BONUS! I am so excited, in fact, that I could be this guy!

Here's a few pictures from the morning. We got off to a good start and even got there early. He has a fantastic teacher who was excited to see him and some of his friends from last year were already waiting for him. I think he is going to have an awesome year!

It's the Final Countdown!!

We spent the last summer weekend hanging out and having fun. I took the kids to the pool amidst complaints that they were cold (beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and a 'slight' breeze, hello???). I kept reminding them that this was it - last chance until next year. I know they don't quite get it and when in a few days the temps reach a record-breaking one thousand degrees, they are going to ask 'can we go to the pool' and then look like I just killed Santa when I say 'It's closed.' And no people, there haven't been any weather reports that say the temps will soar that high but you just know that as soon as the pools close and school starts, the mercury will rise. It's a cruel fact. Kind of like that last snowstorm... in April. You know, just for fun!

On Sunday we all went to Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop's house to visit and go to the Polish-American Festival. The kids have a blast going on the rides and there is lots to see and do. And fresh pierogies, mmmmmm!

Here is Emma, enjoying the ride. Note that Ryan is clearly bored. He's 4.5 now - he's WAY too old/cool for the 'baby rides.' Pretty soon he's going to start shaving, I just know it.



Somewhere behind them is a horse - it seems to be blending in with the shadow. But at least I got a picture of them together, acting like they like each other. A rarity these days and Ryan has the bite mark on his back to prove it!

And finally, Happy Labor Day! Lots of outdoor work and cleaning today, and then Aunt Janet decided to throw an impromptu BBQ so off we went! Here's a picture of the kids playing the new Carnival game on the Wii. Ryan is so skinny you might miss him so take a good look - I swear, we do feed him! Thanks Adam and Janet for the fun!

This picture was from a few days ago but was worth posting. It is what happens when you leave a 2 year old alone with yogurt. And then her 4 yr old brother gives her his as well. Somewhere between The Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she decided to give finger-painting a whirl. The hair on her cheek was actually pasted there. Mmmmm, smells good!

But WHERE is the mountain???

For our last hurrah of the summer, we spent a few days in the Poconos to stay with Aunt Jen, Uncle Jay, Bryanna, Tyler, Grandmom, Uncle Eric and Pop! Whew! There was lots going on as Jen & Jay were working hard on their new mountain home and we took turns helping out and having fun. We went to the lake, a cool water park and saw lots of deer. If you ask Ryan, we saw a deer, fish, bear, turtle, crocodile (didn't know they had those in the Poconos, did you?) and many other animals which I can no longer recall. What we did in fact see were deer and tiny fish. The closest thing we got to a bear was Cole - their dog! He's black and pretty big and the kids loved him! We had a great time - thanks guys for having us!!!

Emma, Ryan and Bryanna in the backyard building a fire pit (purely for fun, we weren't allowed to start fires). They did a great job and we can imagine how good the smores would have tasted!

Posing at the lake - Emma wasn't very sure about the small dock.

A trip to the outlets found this cozy set for Tyler's first winter in the mountains.

One the way home... you gotta love that fresh mountain air! Emma wastes no time getting comfy in her mack daddy ride while poor Ryan gets sunburn and a stiff neck!