Let's go buggy!

One of the things the kids most enjoyed about this weekend at grandpa and grandma's house was getting to ride in grandpa's "buggy"/golf cart. Emily was the first one to get a ride with grandma on Thursday afternoon while Dave and I were getting Matt his tux and grandpa was at the cottage. Later that night Matt got his first taste of riding down and back from the lake. After one ride, the kids were buggy bound. They trumped mommy, daddy and grandma for a ride to the wedding rehearsal Friday night and even got to ride it back home that night. Don't worry, grandma got a ride with someone to the house and mommy and daddy enjoyed a quiet walk together. If they could, they would have one here to ride around in but I think they would be crushed by the cars.

Revisisting the Past

This picture was taken on March 6, 2006. By this time of her young life, Emily had already given up taking daily naps but for some reason this day just wore her out. It was dinner time and I had made her grilled cheese for dinner (Matt was taking his last nap of the day at the time). When I came in the living room to check on her this is what I found. Our little sleeping beauty. Emily absolutely loved this summer jumper, she wore it all winter long over her shirts. Prior to her falling asleep Emily had been dancing around in her fairy wings and crown so those were still in place when sleep overcame her little body. Of course, she had a tight grip on piggy while taking this little siesta. It was so unusual for Emily to just crash into sleep but this day she did and I took full advantage of two kids sleeping. Ahhh, quiet. Those days seem such a long time ago, especially the nap part. I chose this picture because this weekend after the wedding and reception, when we got back to Grandpa and Grandma Wessel's house around 3:30/4:00 p.m. it was Emily who was the first one to say "I'm sleeping in Grandma's bed, whose sleeping with me?" In case your wondering, it was mommy who napped with Emily. Sleep tight little Emily!

Art 101

Welcome to Emily's zoo. She drew quite a bit on the left corner of the paper so it was a little hard to scan and get all the detail, but let me give you the tour. At the bottom of the page are a mom and daughter heading into the zoo entrance, where it says zoo. Next to the entrance is the hippo. Above the hippo is another mom and daughter looking at the zebra who has a fence around him to keep him in the zoo of course. There I am petting the zebra and in the very corner Emily is sitting with the two flamingos and her piggy. Notice the legs of the one flamingo where one is down with the other crossing it (I told you she is a stickler for detail). At the right hand corner, we have a turtle on a rock surrounded by water. The person in the water is a diver who takes care of the water animals. So there you have it a trip to Emily's zoo. Thanks for coming!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Jason Salois

We returned last night, around 6 o'clock from our weekend wedding trip to NY. Dave's cousin, Lisa, was a beautiful bride and the wedding was wonderful. Emily and Matt fulfilled their duties as flower girl and ring bearer. Matt looked so hansom in his tuxedo and Emily was a true princess in her dress. The rainy weather predicted held off for the entire day, so the event had a true autumn backdrop of green grass and leaves in the process of turning into brilliant colors. We left yesterday around 9:30 and went to visit Dave's grandmother in Perry. Once we got on the road, the weather decided to be miserable. The nice thing was by the time we reached home it cleared just long enough for us to unpack the car. Both Emily and Matt headed straight to their rooms to play with their toys. We had a wonderful weekend. Congratulations again Lisa and Jason, have a great time in Myrtle Beach.

The time has come.....

Well, we are off to New York for cousin Lisa's wedding. Both Emily and Matt are in the wedding. I don't think Emily has quite realized what is going on yet. Her dress is ready to go and tomorrow we will get Matt's tux. I think when we get to NY and especially when they get ready for the wedding the excitement will set in. Pray that we have a safe trip there and back. When we get back on Monday, we'll have lots of pictures to show.

It's an Obsession...

Matt has many things that he likes: his fire trucks, tow trucks, Lightening McQueen, 2 stuffed caterpillars, bicycle, etc. His obsession however would be watching You Tube. Dave made the "mistake" of showing Matt fire truck clips on You Tube one day and ever since then a day doesn't go by that Matt doesn't request watching it. He starts with fire truck videos, then goes to trains, monster trucks, tow trucks and Cars movie songs and clips. Of course, this "discovery" has helped with Matt learning how to use the computer, but now their is a "fight" for computer time between Matt, Emily and myself. There are many days when I just sit down to get some computer work done and Matt will pull up a chair beside me and say, " I want fire trucks", when I tell him not right now I get his usual disappointed comment "oh, bummer" but if I say yes I get the "oh boy, oh boy". Matt would stay home from school just to watch clips but that never happens, he always goes to school. So, when you talk to Matt on the phone you can always have a conversation about what he saw on You Tube...trust me it will be a long conversation.

I think I can....

Well, yesterday Emily decided it was time to try her bicycle without training wheels. I was up in the office doing paper work when I heard Dave and Emily talking down on the patio about knee pads and elbow pads. When I looked out, I noticed Dave had taken Emily's training wheels off her bike. Emily has mentioned a couple times about her training wheels coming off but we haven't really pushed it. I guess she told Dave she wanted to try so he took advantage of her moment of courage. Of course, I came out armed with the camera like any good mother or blogger would do. Dave had Emily try riding on the grass so she would be protected if she fell. The whole balance things was very foreign to Emily. She did give it a few attempts and didn't really moan and groan about the wobbling as much as she did last year when she was first learning to ride with the training wheels. Well, after some time, the training wheels went back on so she could "really" ride. We will try again another time but for now we were just glad that she made an attempt without being discouraged to try in the future. Way to try Emily!

Off We Go Into The Wild Blue Yonder....

On Saturday, Matt and Dave did one of their favorite things together, they went to an airshow. The Teterboro airport (two towns away from Lodi about 10 minutes) host a two day show called "Wings & Wheels". Matt loves seeing the planes and other apparatus they bring in for the event. The one thing he always wants to see is the airport fire truck. Last year, we all went to the show but this year it was just the boys (the girls went shopping). This time Matt was able to climb around on a lot of different equipment. Beside planes, they have motorcycles, specialized cars and other vehicles at the show. Matt came home with a toy tank and a National Guard key/tag holder that he can wear around his neck. He had so much fun, just him and his dad.

There will be more pictures from their day together on my face book page.

Art 101

Can you guess what this is a drawing of?

Yes, it is a veterinarian. You'll notice the little cap on her head with the cross sign and the green stethoscope around her neck. I thought these were great details she included. Now for a run down of the pets in the picture. Of course on the table, there is a fish in the fish bowl - recently the kids have decided that Matt's pet will be a fish. Below we have a dog, a turtle, a cat and the smallest one is a hamster holding a candy cane. Originally, Emily has been requesting a hamster or Guinea pig for a pet which she would name Linny. However, the type of pet has recently changed to a cat. If you ask Emily does she have pet, she'll say "no, not until I'm ten". Ten is the magic age here in our house (at least for Emily, Matt gets a pet at 7...it's just the way it goes being born 3 years after Emily. Somehow, I don't think Emily would want to wait until Matt turns 10 for a pet). By that time, we figure the kids will be able to care for a pet or may be so busy the desire to have one will be gone. Check back in in 4 years and you'll see if a pet has joined the family. In the meantime, we will enjoy our "pets" via drawings by Emily.
Oh, the number three on the page that is there because Emily was numbering her pictures in the drawing pad.

Revisiting the Past

I love doing this weekly entry on the blog because I'm able to look at all the kids pictures and see just how much Emily and Matt have grown. It is always a difficult task choosing just one picture, that is why I'm so happy I do this once a week. This picture was taken during our vacation to Hershey, PA in September of 2006. We spent one morning at Hershey's children's garden where they have a butterfly area and many little alcoves for the kids to wander and sit. They loved climbing and sitting on these little ceramic "toadstool" seats. Look how young Matt is and all that blonde hair. Emily looks so little too. She still has that doll that she is holding in the picture. We had such a great time at Hershey...we definitely want to head back there again sometime. Maybe we can even get a picture taken in the same place to compare how much the kids have grown.

Are those jeans???!!!!

Imagine my surprise when Emily came out of her room after school and had changed into a pair of capri jeans. Most of you know Emily is very anti pant, unless they are black stretch pants, and really anti jeans, "too tight". These pants were from last year and a little snug, so I was really shocked that she liked wearing them and continued wearing them through the evening. Seeing Emily opened the door to this new fashion possibility, I took her today to get her some jeans for the fall. She is at that age/body type where you have to take her and try things on to see that they fit right. Emily was quite the little fashion plate in the dressing room. We tried on a few shirts with the jeans and she struck a few poses...all very supermodel like. So, here is to a new area of clothing discovered - jeans.

I know you are all saying it, "she looks like a little Kathy". I totally agree. She is truly my mini me. A little more attitude though - at least that is my opinion. I've definitely passed on my love of handbags/purses and shoes to her (notice the shoes in the picture). Emily also is not without a notebook now in which she complies her "homework" or "research". Yes, it is filled with words, pictures and scribble writing - that sounds familiar. She is alone on liking of jeans though, to this day mommy still is trying to find a pair of jeans she likes. Here's to us exploring more avenues of fashion in the future!

How Times Have Changed...

Remember when you learned how to ride a bike and you rode it all over the neighborhood. Boy, how times have changed! Emily and Matt have their own area to ride and it is our back patio. Granted we take them out on the open "road" (the sidewalk) but we always know they are safe on the patio. It is amazing how much they have progressed in their riding. We got Emily this bike for her 5th birthday and it pretty much sat all year because she didn't like how "wobbly" it was. This spring her little friend came over and rode it in front of Emily once and that was it...Emily hasn't stopped riding since. She loves racing around in circles and pretty much gets out to ride every day. We got Matt his bike for his third birthday and I think it took him about a month before he mastered riding. It is amazing how different the two kids are in accomplishing tasks. The other day Emily told us she wanted her training wheels off...it rained for 2 days and by the time we got back to the bike she changed her mind. Although today while riding in the car, she noticed a child with no training wheels and told me about it. I think she is considering it...if not this year, next year. We are just glad she is riding and Matthew right beside her. Ride like the wind kids!!

I wanna stay home....

Matt is our homebody. He loves being at home playing on the patio, playing with his trucks, talking to the neighbors, garbage men, etc. and watching the PBS's show "Super Why". So, when it is time to go to school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I'm pretty much guaranteed resistance of some sort - "I stay home", "I not go to school" and the ever popular pout accomapnied with the ever annoying moans and groans. Today, was wear your pajamas to school day in support of the leukemia society. Is Matt in pj's? - Nope. We got notice of the event on Wednesday at school and he told me "I not wear my pajamas". On and off I've mentioned it and every time he said "no". I even pulled out the big guns and asked daddy to ask him to wear pajamas - no- not even for his fire truck pajamas was he willing to chamge. We tried the "how about just the shirt". It almost started a melt down when he saw the pajama shirt sitting on top of his sweat pants. So, he went to school in a fire truck shirt and sweats still moaning and groaning about having to go to school. Well, I have some bad news for Mr. Matt . Here in the Lodi school district they just announced that next year 2009-2010 Pre-K 4 will be full time, every day. He thought he didn't want to go to school now. We heard rumblings of this possibly happening that is why we increased Matt's PreK 3 time from 2 days to 3 days this "school year". We know he loves being home, so we want to make this full time transition much easier for him. The nice thing about this full time PreK 4 is we pay for it in our taxes so there is no additional cost to the parent for sending their kid to the program. Keep Matt in mind with all of this...he still wants to be home and has even started not wanting to participate in the "school part" of the day and is always insistent on the "I not do projects". Coloring is not his thing and yet coloring is a big thing in PreK4. Pray that I don't lose my mind either during his terrible 3's time....yeah, two is not the age for this boy, that was heavenly, 3 is his year of belligerence. He is our Matt and we love him like crazy, but we do want him to get out of the house.

Back To School

Last night was back to school night for Emily. We had a great time seeing her teacher, Miss Lisa. Emily has been with this teacher for Kindergarten, two sessions of summer school and now has her for 1st grade. She is absolutely awesome and in tune with the individual needs of her students. It was encouraging to see the amount of work Emily has already done in just these first 3 weeks of school. It is also scary how much they expect 1st graders to learn. I never remember needing to know as much as they do when I was in 1st grade. This year is very pivotal for Emily academically as we are pretty confident she will be worked out of the SBJC program and into the Lodi school system next year. There is a lot of learning to be done and so far I have been surprised with Emily's abilities and eagerness to do the work...unassisted. The class atmosphere from last year to this year has changed because their teacher is working on them being more independent workers, not relying on individual instruction and involvement. Basically, give directions once and see who is able to function independently. This is showing here at home because Emily doesn't want as much help from me with homework. After I give the directions, she usually tells me to get my own homework. We did meet Ms. Rocha, the 1st grade teacher for the mainstream class. She is very pleasant and willing to work with the students and parents. She gave us several learning websites that they use there at school for their smart boards for the kids to be able to do at home. Please keep Emily in your prayers this school year. Pray that not only is she able to do the work but grasp it. Also, that she will continue to love school even though "its a lot of work" (her words). Please keep Dave & I in prayer as we work with her here at home and for guidance on the next step for the year to come. I know your saying its only September but we need God to open our eyes to what is best as she goes through this year and into the next. Here's to a great year!!!

A Brand New Day

So this morning is a brand new day. The biggest change in our lives is Dave's employer, which is now technically the US government and the American tax payer. It is hard to explain the relief I feel at the moment. I know this is a short term solution but at least there is time to digest and see where God wants us to be, AIG or elsewhere. There is still so much to be figured out and determined in regard to companies within AIG and what will happen to them so we are just taking it one day at a time. If I can sum up my feelings in a way you can understand, the news of the Fed allowing the bridge loan was like a death row inmate getting a stay from the governor. Dramatic but true. I can't tell you how much business news I've watched the last two days. It is funny how when all this started happening with AIG, my mind immediately went back to being a kid and my dad's job being on the line either by a strike or layoffs. The feelings attached to those events were ones I never really thought I would experience again. But as I reflected on that time of our family's life, I also remembered dad always working no matter what it was (tree cutting, house painting, etc.) to make ends meet and that we made it through those times. It was hard but we always got through. It is funny how you don't forget things like that. As I said where this all leads to, we aren't really sure but we have faith in God to show us His direction. So, it is a brand new day.

This picture is actually the morning sky from yesterday. Emily was the first to see it. She came running up the stairs to wake me by say "mom it's fuchsia, come see". It was a beautiful sky made by our Creator who holds all things in His hands.

Art 101

This is Emily's rendition of our family. It is pretty self explanatory. Dave and I are holding hands. Emily is next to me dressed in pink - no surprise there. Matt is all blue. I was amazed how well she drew the tree and the sun. Our house is a perfect triangle with a nice red door. The best part is the yellow heart and the word "love" underlined and placed under the heart. I can honestly say that Emily has a real love for her family. She is always telling me how much she loves me and gives me plenty of big hugs and kisses. Every night she kisses Matt goodnight and tells him "I love you". When daddy is home, he gets kisses too and a quick "I love you" at night. Emily is very concerned about Dave when he is not home at night for our bedtime routine. She makes sure to tell me that daddy has to come in when he gets home and kiss her goodnight. This is our family - together and happy.

Revisiting the Past - One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four...

I love these pictures of Emily and Matt because they capture such a sweet exchange between the two of them. You can't really tell by their clothes but this moment took place in January '06. Emily was not really into wearing long sleeve shirts or pants and Matt had on just a long sleeved shirt and a diaper. Emily decided she was going to show Matt all the vegetable mommy had stored in the basket on the island. They spent such a long time together playing with those potatoes..oh, and one onion. It is moments like these that make you realize the bond of family. Let's hope that they continue to "love" each other and not want to kill each other.

I Like School

Emily is so glad to be back at school. The bus situation has been resolved. They decided to make two bus routes for the 11 kids that attend Memorial school through the South Bergen Jointure Commission program. Emily is the first pick up at 7:30 a.m. and the first drop off at 3:00 p.m. She's very glad to be back with her friends, her teacher and the aides. This week she started all her specials: art, music, gym (twice a week), library, computers and Spanish (these are all done with the mainstream 1st grade class). She also started speech. On Monday and Friday, it is an individual session and Wednesday is a group session with her small special ed class (6 kids including Emily). As of Tuesday, Emily started going into the 1st grade mainstream class for the Reading/Language Arts period. Her teacher for this 1st grade class is Miss Rocha. Her special ed teacher, Miss Lisa, is working on a little more math with Emily before she enters Miss Rocha's class for the Math period. They are expecting this to happen the beginning of October. Emily is progressing very well. She has amazed me a few times when she has done her homework without any assistance from me. Back to school night is next Thursday, that is when we will meet Miss Rocha and discuss Emily's progress over the summer with Miss Lisa. Thank you all for your continued concern and prayers for Emily's academic progress. God has truly blessed us with allowing her to participate in this Transitional 1st grade program. Emily has really made great strides since entering the SBJC program (many of you have seen this first hand). We are so thankful and especially thankful that Emily loves school! (The picture is of Emily with her school friend Megan at Emily and Matt's birthday party in July.)

A Creative Look

Okay, I previously made mention of Matt's obsession for hats...well, here he is showing his talent for producing "original" head wear. Matt took me by surprise one morning when he proceeded by taking the wrapper from my morning Dunkin Donuts bagel and transformed it into a hat. He looked so cute and I thought it was so inventive...I had to get a picture. I had him pose so I could get a front and side shot of his creation. He stood very proudly with his "hat". It reminded me of a pilgrim's hat...although, I don't think we'll wear them on Thanksgiving day as a tribute. I've been tempted to send the pictures to the Dunkin Donuts website just for fun. I don't think they will make this a part of their apparel line but I do think it shows Matt's passion for their product.

Revisiting the Past

It is nice to know that although some things have changed others have stayed pretty much the same. To this day, Emily still loves looking at her books. She hasn't become and independent reader yet but that doesn't stop her from taking a book and making up her own story.... pretty much what she did back them. She has also started making her own picture books. Also, Emily still loves to dress up, only now her dressing up consists of "real" clothes, jewelry, shoes and lip gloss (chap stick). On rare occasions the princess gowns, tiara's and hula skirt, along with a ton of costume jewelry, come out for a little play time (Matt usually joins in too, daddy doesn't usually see this display). For all the changes that have happened over the last 2+ years, it is good to look back and see how things have stay the same but with a slight makeover.

Art 101

This is Emily's rendition of Matthew's favorite princess, Jasmine. If you've seen the actual Disney character, you will truly appreciate the details of Jasmine's hair, earrings, outfit and shoes. Emily even made sure she had a belly button. Jasmine is on a flying carpet among the blue clouds and a bright sun. On the carpet with her are Aladdin and his monkey. Of course, you can't be up in he sky without a bird flying by.

Let's Talk Turkey!

Imagine my surprise and the kids delight when we returned home last night after getting Matt from school and Emily from her gym class to see that a large bird on the neighbors lawn (which I originally thought was a Canadian goose) was actually a wild turkey. This is not a normal sight in Bergen county NJ. I think last year we had our first deer invasion (1 mind you) by our house since we moved into our home. Now the geese, they have invaded this area of NJ but have never landed or waddled in our neighborhood so when I saw the turkey my first thought was "oh no, now we are going to have geese and goose poop all around us." Upon further inspection though, I knew it was a turkey. We followed it down the street a ways, several other neighbors came out to see the rare sighting. A few of us called the local police to get animal control to come get the turkey so it could be released where it belongs. The best part of this was when I told Emily we need to call someone to take it back to where it belongs because it is lost and will get hurt, she said "we need to call a farmer". We don't know the outcome of the turkey. We do know the last time we saw it it was heading down the street to our main street where it would encounter the evening rush hour traffic. Hopefully no one had turkey for dinner last night.

(As a note: Thanks to my starting this blob I've made it a priority to carry my camera in my purse so I can capture memorable spontaneous moments on film. Without this new habit, these pictures wouldn't have happened.)

A is for Apple B is for Beautiful

Emily decided to wear her new apple dress to school on Thursday. She asked Dave and I when she came out in her dress and shoes "how do I look" and I told her you are always beautiful but today you are extra special. Dave also agreed and I took this picture just because she was so proud of her outfit. When she got home from school, I pulled out her school binder which includes a journal/note area where the teacher can make remarks regarding the day & we can remark back regarding different events that occur at home. Emily's teacher told us that during school Emily showed her principal Dr. DeFabis her dress and shoes and asked him if she was beautiful today. He told Emily that she is beautiful everyday. Emily reacted by getting somewhat embarrassed, started laughing and saying "oh my goodness". According to her teacher, Emily then asked all the custodians if she was beautiful. I guess at 6 you can ask for compliments and get away with it. She does love being dressed up, is a fanatic about skirts and dresses. Emily is very much a girly girl and we like it that way.

Like My Hat?

Matt is just a funny kid. The other morning at breakfast, I came back into the kitchen to find this little gem of a moment. I recently purchased paper bowls that have animal pictures in the bottom of them for breakfast and snack time -they are a little more fun and easier clean up. Matt was very curious about what animal was hiding at the bottom of his bowl, so I wasn't surprised that after eating some of his rice crispies, he emptied the rest onto the table (no milk was involved, thank goodness). But what I did find funny is he thought it looked better as a hat than a bowl. When he saw me in the room, he said, "look at my hat". It was just too cute!! Matt makes for many memorable moments.

First Day of School - 1st Grade.

So, the morning was a little rough. Emily isn't use to having to wake up and get ready right away. No, I didn't do a trial run week of a new schedule...hard to do when you are on vacation... but there is a whole new night time and morning schedule now. Matt and I went out to wait with Emily for her bus at 7:55. It was suppose to arrive at 8:04. It didn't. We waited, and waited, and waited and finally 2 phone calls and an hour later the bus showed up. I had to keep reassuring Emily that she was still going to school and they didn't forget her during the long wait -that's why the sad face. Any other morning being that late would still have not been welcome but okay, but today I offered to sub at Matt's preschool from 8:15 - 10. Needless to say mommy was very upset with how late the bus came. The driver said it will get better by the end of the week and normal pick up will be by 8:10. I hope so! The afternoon went much smoother. She had a great 1st day. Her teacher said she hugged everyone and was so excited to see them. Emily had even made pictures for her teacher and the 3 aides and attached "present" - things from her room - to each one. It was a great first day in the end. Tonight when Dave gets home we will probably take her to a local ice cream place for a celebratory treat.

Oh what a Ride!

Last night we took Emily and Matt to the St. Joe's Festival here in town. These kids are crazy about amusement park rides. Matt was able to go on all but one of the rides alone due to the height requirement. They both love the roller coaster, especially when it whips around the corners. If they had there way we would have been there all night riding rides. Of course, while we are on any family outing, we have to check out any police, fire or rescue apparatus at the event (it is a Dave requirement, one Matthew gladly participates in). Emily and Matt were able to climb up into one of the Lodi ambulances and check out all the "stuff". We ended the night with cotton candy for Emily and cotton candy ice cream for Matt, which they shared with each other. It was a nice close to the summer. Tomorrow school!

Revisiting the Past

This picture was taken of Matt in June 2007 when we were on vacation in North Carolina. I love how big the life vest looks on him and that face - a little smirk in the sun. It's hard to believe this was over a year ago...time is flying.

Art 101

This is Emily's rendition of our bed time routine. You'll see Dave is putting Matt to bed, Matt is holding his caterpillar and looking very happy about going to bed. She drew his bed and him in Matt's favorite color - red. I'm putting Emily to bed, Emily is holding piggy - yes, piggy is still around. Emily colored her bed and herself in purple - her second favorite color. I'm not quite sure what is on the floor but there is a beautiful moon shining through the window. Sleep tight!