Toddler two's Tessie

She was more than ready to start the toddler program at Montessori today but wow! Tess is in school! As I sit here in the car waiting to pick her up it's feeling a little surreal. She gave me a hug on her way in the door and didn't look back.

Running to the front door!

Outside the classroom, she found a photo of herself at orientation.

Before leaving home, mini boden catalog in hand.

(sorry these are a little out of sequence.)

Finn wanted his photo taken too, until he didn't...

Handsome Boy

Soccer

Finn is doing the 4/5 yr olds' soccer this fall at the Y. Hopefully he will get a little more enthusiastic as the season rolls on, because I selfishly really enjoy watching little kids play soccer. Although maybe not at 8:15 on a drizzly Saturday morning.

Breakfast

Me: What would you like to eat?
Tess: Something that's great.
Me: Could you be more specific?
Tess: OATS! (arms up in victory stance, running out of the kitchen.)

She makes Mondays that much more palatable!

PreK2

Look out, world!!

Happy Birthday Granddad

Our post is one day late but we wanted to show you some photos of the fun time we had at Granddad and Granny's house last month. Hmm. Maybe some more blog posts are in order ... working really gets in the way of my social media ...

Anyway, we hope you had a terrific birthday! Tess was still laughing about the "cub in the tree story" an hour later. We love you.

Overhead in the car

Dear Jesus, please have matchbox start making toy asphalt reclaimers and pavers. Either wheels or tracks is ok. Amen. Oh. I forgot. Now. 'Cause we're on our way to Target. Amen.

Late Summer

We love this time of year. It's so mellow, the mornings are cool, and there's the anticipation of school for both of them this year as Tess is starting the toddler program in a few weeks. We also need to buy some mums.

Me: ugh, we have to get some new flowers this weekend.
Tess: I know, those purple flowers are gross.

Papa's birthday at the Fair

We spent Saturday morning at the Spencer Picnic and parade. When Papa was growing up he went to this annual event with his family so we thought it would be fun to spend his birthday there. We had a great time! The kids got way more than their full of candy and Tess ride the world's scariest roundabout!

Happy birthday Papa!

Teamwork

Since vacation ended, the kids have been getting along quite well, which almost makes up for the fact that Tess has only slept through the night twice...

This morning she spilled a cup of water on the floor, after which she uttered a halfhearted "sorry I didn't mean to," and then Finn ran to the rescue with a dishcloth and a sigh, Tess, why do you always make so much work for me?!" hmm, can't imagine where he has heard ithat before!

Great Wolf Birthday

We are almost home from our 2012 road trip and today is Finn's 4TH birthday!!

Last night we stopped in Sandusky, Ohio at the Great Wolf Lodge. We hadn't been to one but basically what you get with the room is admission to an indoor water park, which was just the ticket after a long day in the car.

Poor Finn appears to have some sort of sinus infection that we hope to have resolved at a doctors appointment this afternoon (then hopefully to the pool.)

Happy Birthday Finn! You're our favorite boy in the whole wide world.

South Bend

With 600 miles to go, Tess struggles to get comfortable ...

Prairie girl

Here we are in central Nebraska! More photos coming soon...

Pilgrimage

We visited the John Deere pavilion in Moline yesterday after driving all night. Suffice to say it was a big hit. Now 100 miles from Omaha!

No comment needed

Rumplestiltskin

Finn was in a very owly mood yesterday but wouldn't take a nap, so we went to the movies and halfway through Ice Age 4, he zonked out. He practically slept standing up on the walk to the car ... And he slept until 6 am!! He was complaining about his legs hurting this morning so we suspect he grew a half inch overnight.

(I should add that this was at 3:30 p.m.)

World = Rocked

Papa and Daddy took Finn to the Chemung County Old Timers equipment show this morning and he hasn't stopped talking about it. Of particular interest was the old-fashioned rock crusher and the puppy riding on the tractor.

I have to say, I just love this picture. (Photo credit: Papa).

How Helpful!

This is "Tess's how-to guide for using the potty" by Finn. He taped it next to the toilet yesterday.

Girl with Frog

His name is Hoppy. Isn't he cute?

Our day at Knoebels

We went down to PA's family friendly amusement park for the day. The kids loved it. The are currently passed out as Aunt Heather drives us home. Ah summer!!

crumbs

Finn (upon seeing something unsatisfactory): Oh, crap.

Me: You know what I like to say? "Oh, crumbs" or "Oh, fiddlesticks."

Finn: Well, I like to say, "Oh, crap."

pre-k 1

Here's another good one from the beginning-of-summer archives that I didn't want to let slide, because I  just love the way these two photos scream "first day of school" and "last day of school"...

May he always be so confident (and happy.)

Herbs

We have a little container garden on the porch and I keep telling myself that it's there not only for cooking but for fun and learning as well (Tess knows the names of more herbs at her she than I did at 20!) Finn goes out every morning and eats some rosemary and/or thyme while Tess is partial yo digging up the parsley. I do keep the sweet basil in the kitchen since its my favorite and i use it all the time. In a few weeks we will be picking cherry tomatoes off of the vine, if they leave them alone long enough to ripen!

matching shirts

It's July - wow. How did that happen? And here I am still posting photos from June.

Here's a good one, no matter what the timing. Mimi bought this nice button-down for Andrew, and then scaled a second one down so that Finn had the exact same one in his very own size. Really just about the cutest thing ever.

Tadpoles

We love swimming lessons!! This is Tess and her friend Caroline hamming it up at the pool. We will see you in a few weeks to show off our skills, Granddad!

Best Little Kitchen Helper

My Aunt Judy made this apron for me when I was in grade school and thank goodness we still have it, as it's now bring enjoyed by another generation...

Daddy's Culinary Delights

Daddy's cooking always seems to go down well with the kids and, with Mommy busy at planning meetings several nights this week, Daddy had a chance to prepare an old favorite: eggplant parmesan with spaghetti. I filled these two plate things that basically look like troughs (for those of you that don't know, Nico is obsessed with funky dining ware) to the brim.

Tess, my little billy goat girl, finished her entire plate in record time and also ate a decent percentage of Nanna's as well. Meanwhile, Finn's reckless abandon with pasta led me to channel my inner redneck and simply remove his shirt entirely rather than risk it. That proved to be a very good call on my part.

 Luckily bath time comes immediately after dinner.

photo session

Those of you who haven't seen these on Facebook, here is a link to Brie's blog featuring the photos she took of F&T this morning. I'm SO looking forward to seeing more!

You know that your photographer is doing something right when after 50 minutes you think to yourself, "well, that was a total waste of time" ... and then as it turns out she has actually caught a few smiles between the running and ruckus. It amazes me every time.

soccer

Finn started playing soccer at the City's tot camp this week and he really likes it so far. He especially enjoys the shin guards. And his red ball.

He refuses to take a nap most days and is SO much easier to deal with when he has a few afternoon z's. Yesterday, at dinner...
Andrew: Finn, why do you refuse to take a nap during the day?
Finn: It's not natural for me to take a nap.
After which, we truly had no response.

tess and the duck

This is Tess last week enjoying what Andrew calls the "tooth-chipping kit" at our local park. No chipped teeth yet (and hopefully ever), thank goodness!

She was such a champ at her two-year-old checkup yesterday. Because I've spaced their shots out a little bit, she had a couple of them to catch up on and the nurse poked her once in each arm. Not only did she not even cry, but on the way out of the building, she said, "That was fun!" I tell ya. The differences between two kids can be pretty astounding at times.

Monkey

So focused on "using his muscles" to bring my tea at the Mothers Day tea party.

We call Finn our "monkey" for a reason. He acts like one, he sometimes sounds like one, let's face it - he's part monkey. He is also at a very trying age where he's old enough to want to be independent, dress himself, go to the bathroom himself, get his own food, etc. and not take a nap NEVER NO NOT EVER, even though he usually needs one. Being three and three-quarters and planning complex construction jobs the whole entire time he's awake is tough work.

So I guess it was to be expected today when, three months shy of turning four, he threw his first major in-store tantrum, the kind where you have to pick up and leave immediately while everyone else in the store is totally staring and thinking one of the following:  a) "oh, that poor mother" or b) "listen to that brat!" or c) "aw, look at his pretty little sister following behind while he's trying to bite his mother." Really quite the opposite of fun. Granted, I could have just purchased the very small, $16.99 chuggington or perhaps the $14.99 book on trucks that we already own and avoided the situation entirely, but it's the principle, friends. So out of Barnes and Noble we strode, screaming and biting, Tess following diligently behind, eyes wide.

I'm looking forward to "4" not because I have any delusions of him turning a corner instantly - oh heck, I DO have those delusions. But in the meantime we're trying to enjoy the monkey every day because when he's cute and fun, he's really cute and fun. And at the end of a long no-nap day when he falls asleep at 7:15, there's wine and a comfortable bed and 11 hours during which we recuperate.