school is starting

Next Wednesday, Finn starts his last year at Montessori before heading to our neighborhood public school. We love his preschool and are happy that he'll be there for one more year. Also, he'll be right "next door" to Tess's classroom as she starts every-morning school for the first year (they do a phase-in so she begins a week after Finn). He will go every day until 2 and she will go every day until 11:30. I'm having a REALLYHARDTIME thinking about her in school every day. A really hard time!

[Keep in mind that I'm sure it will be really easy to get used to, working Monday through Wednesday and having my Thursday mornings free for yoga! And Friday mornings free for whatever! But right now I'm really sad!]

In the meantime, there's this.

Me: What am I going to do when you're in school every single morning?
Tess: Don't worry, Mommy. I'll come back to you!

Could you die? And then she offered up an eskimo kiss. Sublime and throat-lumpy at the same time.

three little pigs

Our friends Kim & Adrian visited last week along with their kids Mason & Arden. We all had a great time together and Finn & Mason even had a mini-slumber party in his room. Kim was telling the two boys the "Three Little Pigs" as their bedtime story last Friday and I'll try and relate it to you below because it is too funny not to pass along.

Kim got to the part about the third pig building a house out of bricks.
Finn: What about the mortar?
K: Hmm?
F: Did he use any mortar with the bricks?
K: Well yes, he did use mortar.
F: And what about the roof? Did he put on shingles?
K: Yes, he put on shingles.
F: Did he use a crane to get the shingles onto the roof? What kind of crane did he use?

And so on and so forth. Let this be a cautionary tale to anyone telling Finn a story--be prepared with your construction and truck references.

Not to ignore Tess, I also have to credit her with correcting me when I referred to Dizzy (on Bob the Builder) as a concrete mixer and she said, "No, Dizzy is a MORTAR mixer!" Big brother is teaching her well.

summer update

Thanks to Papa for sending these photos and the commentary below... (by the way, how many of you would like to go back in time and be kids with that awesome sand box/swing set combo?)

Pictures of Finn showing his Mom and Dad how hard it is to ride up an incline when you are first learning to ride a bike – the downhill direction is easier.  And a picture of Finn with his buddy Mason, showing a Brooklynite what upstate is at the Empire Farm Show in Seneca Falls – no we did not go into the tent to view the robotic milking machine as we were too busy climbing on all the equipment.  Tess liking Mimi’s cupcakes at Finn’s party last weekend and showing how good an excavator operator she is – even if her drawers are slipping due to being soaked after playing in the pond with Mimi.

Gardening

August 4, 78 degrees, winter vest... Yeah, she's mine.