Happy Monday

Library

Monday mornings we like to go to the library. They offer a 30 minute program (0-18 months) called Baby Lapsit that includes a short story, songs, fingerplays, nursery rhymes, and silly dances along with 30 minutes of free play. This gives Abby the opportunity to interact with other children her age and also allows Samuel to check out new books. The first few times we attended Abby would not dare get out of my lap. She can be very shy at times unlike her big brother. BUT, I am happy to report that Abigail participated and interacted during the entire class today. Way to go Abby!

Here's a few photos from today.

Doesn't she look like such a little priss in this picture? The girl loves necklaces!

Flying Samuel
Look who's riding in the jeep for the first time!

Abby's first mishap (a bloody nose boo-boo)

And the worst mother of the week award goes too.......ME.....and it's only Monday! Abby fell in our driveway last night, face first. Poor, Poor baby!

The picture on the left was taken shortly after it happened--the picture on the right was taken today.

Toddler Fun...

I had forgotten how much fun it is to have a toddler running around. One minute she can be smiling looking as innocent as ever... and the next she's running around with an opened container of baking soda or on top of the table! :-)

Backyard Camping...

The boys 1st camping trip!!!

Samuel was so excited to finally camp out--He and Tom have been talking about it for a while now. The tent was up and ready early afternoon--fully equipped with comic books, miniature sharks, a fruit roll up, more books, a few flashlights and of course a walkie talkie. Needless to say the anticipation was about to get the best of him. The campers departed around 8:40, Saturday night. A few minutes later I hear beep..beep..beep (from my walkie talkie.)

S- "Hi, Mommy...we're outside camping."
M- "I know..I can see you from the kitchen window. Are you guys having fun?"
S- "YES!"

Being the nice mommy that I am, I later served them milk & cookies in their tent. Around 9:30 I hear the door open "Mommy, the campers are back! It's time for a game of soccer." Unfortunately, their camping trip was cut short due to thunder and lightening. Samuel was so bummed, he really wanted to sleep outside. Maybe next weekend.

Abby meet Abby Cadabby

We first found out about Abby Cadabby right after Abigail was born. I've tried to find her character on numerous occasions and FINALLY we have one--thanks to her cousins (William, Jackson & Jake.) Isn't she just the cutest thing?

For those of you who have no idea who she is:

Abby Cadabby is an inquisitive 3-year-old fairy-in-training who has just moved to Sesame Street from Fairyside, Queens. The daughter of a Fairy Godmother, she is learning magic but is not quite proficient yet and has a propensity for turning things into pumpkins with her "training wand." She has come from a storybook world and is well-versed in fairytales, as they are a part of her family history. Abby loves to practice her magic and rhyming, but what she finds truly amazing and magical is what she discovers on Sesame Street; such as learning to count and drawing a letter with a crayon. These new things are utterly enchanting to her and she will often say "That's so magic!" She is shy yet curious when she first meets the inhabitants of Sesame Street. She wonders if Snuffy is a "mountain" and if Big Bird is a "giant." Despite her initial shyness, she makes many new friends, including Elmo, Zoe, and Rosita. They in turn are delighted and fascinated with Abby; that she can "pop" in and out, that she floats when she is happy, and that she has beautiful wings. In Season 37 Abby attends school for the first time at the Storybook Community School and is very excited about going.

The Hip Studio, you better watch out....

We have a new photographer in town!

Thanks Papa & Grandma'ma for the digital camera. Samuel has had the best time taking pictures with it. His cousin Andrew (pictured above) also has the same camera. They had fun using them at the beach. Samuel was so excited today when I finally downloaded his pictures, all 60+ of them. Here are a few of his favorites!

Samuel's portfolio

Halloween in July?

Yep! Anyone else's 4 yr old talking about Halloween? It's mid July and I hear about Halloween daily. Yesterday, Samuel wanted to be Scooby-Doo. "Mommy, I think I want to be Scooby-Doo for Halloween so we need to find a collar for me." The day before, "mommy, I want to be a transformer--I promise I'll wear the hard mask." Day before that, "I want to be a mummy so I can be VERY scary, no, maybe I want to be Spider-man." I think I've been hearing all of this for a steady two weeks now! Geesh, can you imagine how it's going to be once the Christmas catalog's start arriving?

Wednesday Night fun...

We met some friends tonight at the fountain's in Lansdowne. What a great place to take the kids if you want to tire them out!

"Surprise"

We had a "surprise" birthday party for Amy, Saturday night. I love surprises, as long as they aren't for me! Although, Amy had an idea that something was going on--thanks to my dear husband, who half listens to me, & TAG, we still had a very nice evening.

1st Family Bike Ride...

We decided to try Abby in our bike carrier today and guess what, she LOVED it! She and Samuel had a great time --mommy did too, but man am I out of shape. I think daddy needs to force me to exercise more often!

Abigail fell asleep around the 10 mile mark to the tune of "Shoo fly don't bother me, shoo fly don't bother me, shoo fly don't bother me for I belong to somebody..." Samuel had this song stuck in his head and sang it over and over and over. :-)

Friday night sleepover...

Samuel & Olivia had so much fun playing together. Luckily they were having an "on" day and got along great!

Cruising down the street!

Lego Fun
Pool time...
Abby even got in on some of the fun...

Abigail posing at the beach...

We have LIFT OFF...

Miss Priss woke up yesterday morning raring to go. First she walked from the fireplace to the staircase, then all the way across her room and into the bathroom. Needless to say, Samuel and I were cheering her on every step of the way---we are so proud of her.

Here's little Miss Graceful achieving yet another major milestone. :-)

Vacation Photos

The Adams Family

Feeding the turtles- look at all of them!

Silly Abigail

Here are a few pictures from last week's vacation! As usual - we had a wonderful week and managed to have a lot of fun! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Samuel loved the beach but that's no surprise--he had fun making sand castles, jumping the waves, splashing in the water, finding sea shells...he would have stayed on the beach from sun up til sun down, if we had let him! Abigail was a little beach bum herself, she loved the water and thought it was hilarious when we would hold her and jump the waves. She also ate her share of sand and attempted to eat a few shells along the way.

Here's one of my favorite photos of S & A together splashing in the water...
Running on the beach, splashing in the water, what more could you ask for?

Abby has sand all over her face! What a silly girl.