Mugging around

Luke loves to sneak around taking pictures with the camera*. We are admittedly really lax at downloading them, so on a recent download we discovered that Luke had snapped 50 shots in one day. Most of them are hilarious documentations of the important things in his life: toys, his room, his feet, his face, his sister, and even me and John.

Thought you'd like to see some of our favorites.

Hello there!

MomandDad look at me!

What happened to Ellie? We should also note that these were Ellie's go-to pjs last winter, she called them her "monstah pjs". I guess polar bears somewhat resemble monsters?

Nice perspective

Looks cozy

"Hey, can I do that?"

Most likely some sort of garage type / airplane hanger thing

"turn your action on Elle!"

Are you still looking?

*We've already paid once to have the camera brought back to life from when he first put his hands on it, it's currently on it's last leg,

Couch surfing

Last winter we were here, living this crazy life.

Danny & Annie

This video breaks my heart, makes me smile and leaves me speechless all at once. I wish I had more to say or that what I'm typing was at least partially eloquent. Be forewarned that you will cry, even though the image looks like a cartoon, it's far from it. It is however, words of wisdom.

Irene

Thankfully Irene treated us more like a cuddly grandma who had us wrapped up in a warm cozy blanket instead of the alternative that we were expecting. We were spared any falling trees, never lost power, and still have a completely dry subpump/basement. Today was a family bonding day like no other.

Track stars

We spent yesterday at the track for Travers Day and then at the begging of Luke went out for fish and chips but ended up at Raul's for fish tacos. Their fish of the day turned out to be yellowfin tuna, we did not think he would go for it but John was game. So we ordered it and he amazed us with his mature palate. He ate nearly the entire meal himself. We high-fived him as he chowed on the hunks of fish and he said, "you guys, you knew I would LOVE IT!" Seriously this kid is too much.

Full belly of yellow fin tuna

When we all woke up this morning Luke was nervous that our house was going to "get wrecked". But some Curious George took his mind off that. He built a boathouse out of a cardboard box for his speedboat and used his sticker collection to decorate it. He fashioned a net to catch fish out of some bubble wrap and had his killer whale get caught in it. The rug pad was his sand bar and he was clearly the captain. It was hours of entertainment. When he tired of that he wanted to take a shower (with goggles of course), this is a recent development. One that I'm liking as it gives both of us independence.

Ellie did arts and crafts, making rainbows and sunshine while decorating herself and me with stickers all over our shirts. We also chose to use this day at potty-training 101. We put her in underwear and she quickly got the hang of it. She went three times in a row with no accidents and tons of pride. Just as I thought we were well underway of ridding her of pull-ups she pulled a fast one on us in the playroom and then again in the living room. Apparently this is how she shows her independence, doing it her way on her terms. *sigh*

Potty like a rockstar

We had fondue for lunch which was super fun. We made peanut butter cookies to share with the babysitter and we looked through old photos and videos from last winter. It was simple and quiet and homey. Thanks Irene for not living up to the predictions, we preferred you to be lackluster outside so that we could enjoy a little bit of our own luster inside.

The back porch

We have recently begun eating dinner and sometimes breakfast on the back porch. It's a refreshing change of scene and so easy to clean up for some reason. I'm wondering why we haven't done this all summer, I can only think that the heat kept us trapped indoors and the weather this week has been amazing.

Luke has also discovered fishing. He calls himself "a fisherman who comes home every night to sleep." I guess that means as opposed to one who goes out to sea for days on end? He spends nearly every morning "practicing casting" into the kiddie pool so that he "can be good at it like Jimmer."

In other news John and I partied like it was 2003 last Friday night. We began our big date night on the back porch of Hattie's before we tramped through Peabodies, Desperate Annie's, The Bullpen for darts, and ended up watching all manner of debauchery at Gaffney's. It was such a great night out with friends, a sweet taste of our early days that left us appreciating and reveling in all that we have today.

Also, John is trying his hand at growing a beard. I like it. A friend of his said, "I could out-beard John but I clearly could never out-moustache him." True, very true. And hilarious!

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics once again.

Life lessons

Have you ever been so disappointed in the actions of someone but knew that confronting it would do no good? John and I are trying to raise our kids to be kind and generous to say please and thank you, to hold hands in parking lots and to know when something is worth fighting for. We want them to grow up to be functional adults who talk it out rather than have a major temper tantrum (yes, I realize there is an age in which this is appropriate, two year olds don't really talk it out yet!). However, temper tantrums do no good for anyone. Just like it takes more muscles to frown than to smile it takes more energy to be mad when you don't get your way.

So, kids, here's a lesson for you, it's always best to be the better person, take the higher road, kill them with kindness. Remember the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would want done to you. Don't make others feel small to make yourself feel better. Let go of the hate and the grudge and walk tall with confidence in yourself and your actions.

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything."

Summer 2011 in pictures

We've done a lot this summer, from New York City to Maine and then Boston. We also took lots of trips to Lake George, Crandall Park, the Spa State Park, and spent a a few great days swimming in our friends pool. We also made it to the Saratoga Springs Racetrack at dawn on a Friday morning to watch the horses workout in the glow of a beautiful sunrise. We chose to release the kids from scheduled afternoon naps as that has resulted in difficult bedtimes and in the end it has afforded us the luxury of a great summer.Enjoy the view!

We spent a full day at our friend's family camp in Ticonderoga at the tip of Lake George. Luke learned to really swim in the Lake, jumped off the boat into the open water with minimal fear, and soaked up every moment of fun. Ellie warmed up to the idea of lake water and also jumped right in to John's arms off the boat. We also took the kids on the Minne-Ha-Ha, John remarked, "why do I feel like I'm on a ride at the Great Escape right now?" So true as you experience it through adult eyes.

Ticonderoga:

Minne-Ha-Ha

When John and I lived in downtown Saratoga he made me wake up super early one random weekday and dragged me to the track at about 6am to see the horses workout at sunrise. I didn't really know what to expect but once we were there I was blown away at the beauty of it. There was fog that was just rolling out at the sun was rising and all we could hear was the whoosing of the horses hitting the dirt track. It was romantic, unexpected and just a really perfect memory. John grew up at the track and knows the ins and outs of how it works behind the scenes. We decided since the kids are up early anyway we would take them for an early morning surprise. It was just as magical as that first time. A completely wonderful way to start a Friday.

We rediscovered Crandall Park on a random Saturday with Gramma Center. We saw huge fish, small fish, ducks, swans and almost saw a few turtles before they jumped in the water upon hearing us gasp at the sight of them.

Grandma Jane, Aunt Hannah, Leo and Jack adventured with us through the Spa State Park. It delighted us with it's geysers, bridges, waterfalls, and walking paths. We even saw a blue heron trying to fish for his lunch.

Random picnic at the library.

We're all a little exhausted from our action-packed weekends!

Also Luke had the tube in his left ear extracted as it was stuck in a huge mess of hard nasty wax. Possibly this is why he seemed to not be able to listen for awhile.