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!

Updates and a New Addition...

Haven't been on to post in a bit... we spent a few days at the Beach with Aunt Pammy and Natalie. It was lots of fun and as usual, Natalie was the best behaved child - what a good baby! I think her cousins scare her and will keep her from turning to the dark side! Daddy had problems with his eye again and spent quite a few days in and out of Wills Eye Hospital downtown and hiding out in the basement wearing sunglasses - he was in lots of pain, poor guy! No pictures to document it... tho I thought about it but I am not that mean! Would have been fun if they gave him the Pirate Patch! The medicine is helping him get better and Emma had sympathy pains with her own 'boo-boo eyes'! Thanks to Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop and Grandmom and Pop for helping us out! Unfortunately, Byron's bad eye kept him from taking Ryan to see Walking with Dinosaurs but Uncle Eric was up for the challenge and took Ryan out for the night - quite a switch from his regular Friday nights with the ladies! They had a great time and both were very impressed - they said it was very cool! If Uncle Eric ever gets a cable for his cell phone, I might be able to post some pictures!

And finally, the new addition.... and no, it is not a baby! It is a dog - a really really BIG dog! If we bred babies in this house as fast as we added dogs, we'd be something of the Partridge Family meets the Brady Bunch! Oh, I'm talking stuffed dogs here - not real ones! I may be crazy but I haven't reached INSANE yet! See below for pictures of Brutus. He is a present from Aunt Janet's brother Bobby, who won him on the boardwalk at the beach. He is taller than Ryan and extremely large. He is a monster and makes Butkus look like a beanie baby. Thanks Aunt Janet and thanks Bobby.... one day both of you will have kids of your own and we can't wait to buy them something equally as big and fun - like a drum set!!

Butkus (left) with Brutus. Until today, Butkus was the dog of the house. He looks kinda small now, poor guy.

TWINS!!!

Last night we went to visit Billy, Noele and the boys, Michael and Brendan. They are just too darn cute and we all passed them around, the poor little guys! We couldn't get enough of holding them! I wish I had taken pictures of their nursery - it's beautiful! The walls are painted so that when you stand in the room, it looks as if you are on a carousel. Very cool! Michelle, Jen, Bill & Kayla were also visiting. I tried getting a picture of the big kids - Ryan, Emma and Kayla - all together but they weren't as cooperative as the twins and never stood still long enough. I think they may have scared Billy, lol! The picture below is my favorite... when we walked in Noele was feeding Brendan and Michael was snoozing on her lap - I don't think I ever looked as calm as she does and I only had one baby!



Michelle and Ryan with Brendan

Byron, Michael & Emma - looks like Michael and Emma planned their picture taking face and no one told Byron.

Jen with both boys. The funny part of this picture that you can't see is that Jen has a baby belly and is due in 2 months (I think).

And of course we can't forget their first baby, Guinness. The highlight of Ryan's visit was Guinness. He wants to know when we can go back and play with him again.

Babysitting Gig

We have been watching Tyler for a few days here & there and both kids are loving it! Usually Ryan takes more of an interest while Emma is concerned with what Tyler will be sharing that is hers. Today, however, her maternal side must have been calling because she was very interested and even asked to hold Tyler - a first! She was very helpful in changing his diaper (and every time exclaims 'Mom! Baby Tyler has a pee-naas!'), giving him a bottle and playing with him. She even liked watching him sleep in the swing. She must have had a moment of weakness. I'm sure tomorrow she will be back to her usual 'I'm the Boss, don't touch my toys' self!

Despite the extreme temps, we all braved the pool today for some cooling off! Tyler loved the water and the kids were extra fishy! Even Ryan was braver than usual! Emma picked out her favorite bathing suit, her 'kini' - thanks Jo!

New Bloggers

So this blog thing is pretty catchy and spreads almost as fast as Ryan's staph infections (ok, not funny but I was just trying to make light of a disturbing situation). Two good friends have joined the blogging world and since I know how everyone loves a good read, I thought I'd share!




Kim is one of my bestest friends from high school (and funniest, craziest, etc) and you can read all about her and hubby Geoff (affectionately known as G-off) and their kids, Shannon, Riley and Gage, at their family blog (just click on the highlighted kids names). She just recently posted and had a great trip with Geoff in NYC to shop and see the Police in concert!









Michelle is one of my bestest friends from college. Byron and I & Michelle and Jim all went to college together at IUP - Byron and Jim were fraternity brothers and Michelle and I were in rival sororities, ohhhhh! Michelle became super blogger when she started her site and posted it all in one day! You can read all about the Berkoben Family and the adventures of Ally (Ryan's Girlfriend), Jack (Emma's Boyfriend) and Morgan (the dog)!

I also have other friends listed in my favorite blogs and sites, including my 'little sister' Kelli (also from IUP), who got me started in the blogging world!