The monsters....i mean....munchkins!

The boy loves everything is sister does. Even the high heels.

  Look at the way he looks at her!

 He is everywhere, all the time. And he is fast! His favorite activity is throwing things. Anything he picks up- throws it across the room. That will come in handy later when he is in the pool, but for now- I would prefer he learn to play a bit more gently! He has learned how to climb on just about everything as well, and if he doesn't know how to climb on it- he finds a way. And forget about getting down! The kid has no fear! Today, he actually did a flip right over the side arm of the couch, got up and cried a bit, then climbed right back on and fell off the side of the cushion!



trying to throw one of his little people through the window

  And on the homefront....MORE home improvement projects! Yeay! We finally put in beautiful, amazing, soft, thick, fluffy carpet in the living room and it was one of our best decisions! It has completely transformed the house into a home and we feel was our best investemnt (besides the kitchen, of course). Amazing. We couldn't be happier! We also put carpet in our bedroom, which gives a lovely warm and cozy feeling and I love stumbling out of bed onto a sea of softness! Plus, I'm pretty sure the living room carpet has helped in preventing multiple concussions for our little adventurous Levi ; )

 and I even used some leftover shelving to throw together a cute little home office in our back hallway nook....

Emma's first trip to the dentist! She was extremely excited. After watching Barney going to the dentist for the past few months, she knew exactly what to expect and loved playing dentist on us any chance she could get. She loved the toys in the waiting room, the "special" chair that laid down, the tools, and the light. The hygenist didn't turn on the light, and Emma questioned her on it!! She also got to enjoy Nemo during her cleaning.

 The whole thing took less than 10 minutes, and yes, I was gently encouraged to lose the binky. Emma's front teeth are also chipped, which I knew, but they told me to keep an eye on it. Levi has chipped teeth too. Perhaps the children should stop slamming their face on the floor.

 Woohoo for dentist prizes! Along with her big girl toothbrush and toothpaste, she picked out a magic wand and a Justin Beiber sticker. So exciting!!! She did great, wasn't scared at all, and thank goodness- received a great report for clean and healthy teeth (despite the spacing issue, of course)!

 And to finish off the day of beauty, she came home for some much deserved hair & make-up time with the boys!

Once a month, I try to have a "girls night" with my friend Kristy who I never get to see because she works way too hard coaching at Brown. We used to see each other everyday when we were roomates, worked at MIT together and then HMR. But, she eventually went on to coach at Brown and I stopped working and stayed home to play with Emma & Levi! So now she & Felix see each other daily, which is just not fair!! So, about once a month after I put Levi to bed & Felix comes home from work- Kristy & I go out on the town (actually- any restaurant we can find that will stay open past 9pm!) and catch up over dinner while Felix puts Emma to bed.

I came home around 11pm to find my husband sick in bed and sleeping, and when I checked the baby monitors- Emma's bed was EMPTY!!! I noticed the hall light on, so I quickly chose which words I would use to make her get and stay in her bed, crept up the stairs to her room.....and found this:

 
 My sweet little girl, passed out cold on the floor, snuggled up with her Emma bunny, a book, and her binky. She didn't even wake when I picked her up and put her back in bed!

Since preschool started this year, we have a very nice, fulfilling, busy schedule. This is turning out to be my favorite time yet! I am not sure if it is the kids ages, or that there are two of them, or what- but I am loving this time we have together! Emma has school from 9-1 on Tues and Thursdays, which she loves. Levi & I run errands and spend quality time together on Tuesdays while she is in school, and on Thursdays we go to music class- where he has a blast! Wednesdays the three of us go to storytime at the library and then play in the kids area picking out all sorts of books and movies. And Fridays, Emma takes a sports class and Levi plays in the kiddie play area. I tried to get some pictures of her sports class, but the lighting was bad and I had Levi screaming his head off trying to escape out of my arms- so the pix are a bit blurry!

 Originally, I thought this sports class was a great idea- Emma would be in the class for an hour while Levi played in the open court. Plus, the kids can play in the open court with all the ride on toys & bouncy houses and slides anytime we want during the week. Win-Win, right? Well, I underestimated how CRAZY and FEARLESS my 1 year old boy is! I was literally sweating from chasing him around saving his life the entire hour. Every time I turned my head he was either standing at the top of a slide about to fall, climbing into ride on toys with half his body still dragging on the floor, escaping into storage closets or other no-kid zones, trying to join Emma's class, and the worst one.....he wiggled himself into the corner behind the bouncy house and actually had his finger on the power switch when I swooped him up just in time. EXHAUSTING!

 But, Emma has fun in the class (as long as she doesn't see the open play area first!)

We also made a nice trip out to Salem one Sunday to visit my friend Alison who brought us to this awesome park that was totally kid friendly! It was a very historic area with walk-up window restaurants, little shops and some carnival rides. Oh, and lots of ice cream stores- our favorite! It was the perfect opportunity to sit & chat to catch up with my friend over some lunch while Emma ran around the park. We then let the kids loose to enjoy some rides before heading home.

We have been busy busy busy, but it has been so fun. These two are hilarious together, and I've noticed that with our busy "pre-nap" activities, after nap-time we actually enjoy hanging out in the house together just relaxing and playing whatever imaginary game Emma sets up for us. And when I go into my (newly gated) kitchen to cook, the kids play/yell/play/yell/play together quite well!

Emma's first day of preschool

 Well, the day has come! Emma's first day of preschool. My heart was in my throat as I taped the sign up on the door and walked over to get my camera. I was actually taking the "first day of preschool" picture, holding back tears with all my might!



Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox



 

Ready for preschool



Hugging Levi goodbye!





 



"Heyyyyy! I want my picture taken too!" ...actually, he was probably asking for milkies!



Felix stayed home with Levi while I took Emma to school. The school asked us to leave siblings at home on the first day incase we needed to stay with our nervous preschooler. It was a long 4 mile drive for me, silently crying through the wooded, curvy road to her school.
It was pouring rain in the morning, so we dressed in our rain gear and ran to the car. When we got in the car Emma started to cry when she realized her backpack & lunchbox were wet. As we drove off, I tried explaining to her they are able to get wet and still keep everything inside dry, just like our house. I guess I kept giving her examples, because she finally said "ok mommy. that's enough talking."

walking to the car, backpack and lunchbox in hand....

In front of her school (i took this pic at the end of school, when the rain had stopped).


She was so excited. Before we left the house, she said "I can't WAIT to go to school!!". And she knew the drill......come in, hang up your coat & bag on the hook with your nametag, wash your hands, lunchbox in cubby, and play!








She walked in the door and did a great job! She was extremely excited to be there, giggling and pointing when she saw her picture next to her nametag/hook for her bag and in her cubby. She loved washing her hands in the just-her-size sink with the froggy soap dispenser. And she climbed right into a seat to start playing with a puzzle that she barely even took the time to kiss me goodbye! Of course, I forgot to sign her in...but hey, I guess we all have to get used to the new routine!

It was extremely crowded with parents everywhere helping to get their children settled, it was loud, and there was lots of crying/screaming going on. But my little Emma was all smiles, ready to play. I made sure to get the teacher's attention so they knew she was there, forced Emma to give me a hug and kiss, and walked out.



The drive home felt strange, alone. But I was so relieved that the day had finally come, and that she did so well! I swallowed the rest of my tears, and was proud of my little girl.



This is what the drive looks like the whole way . A tree lined street, with rays of sunshine peeking through (on a sunny day). It is a very narrow and curvy road, but it is so peaceful!









Her school! Isn't it so cute?!!



She did great at school. She was there from 9-1, they had circle time where they shared what they did over the summer and read books, they did arts & crafts, had snack and playtime, played outside/took a walk around the wet playground looking for squirrels, more circle time and books, lunch, and a little indoor exercise since it was still wet outside. When I walked in to pick her up she was grinning ear to ear and gave me a huge hug. She is happy there and is doing great so far.
And although she has only been there 2 days, I am very happy with the school as well. I think we made a great decision. The teachers seem amazing, extremely open and friendly, the school is very parent-involved, parents are very friendly to each other, and the teachers communication with us is awesome.

And.....it's only been two days, but I am already starting to really enjoy the 4 hours of quality time I get to spend with my little man while she is in school. Levi & I  had lots of fun belly laughs together today and my quiet little guy said "cook" today! A strange one for him to choose to add to his extremely limited vocabulary (mama, ball, and random animal sounds)..... but I'll take it! We played shape sorters, blocks, catch (the kid can throw!), read books, and then he passed out for a late morning nap to compensate for his 5am wake-up this morning. And I got SO MUCH DONE! I felt like a very accomplished woman. Especially when Felix came home at 8pm tonight and said "why does the house look so clean?"

Big day tomorrow......

"I'm Going To Preschool!!!!!!!"

She is a little excited :) Thank goodness, because if she was anything like me as a kid, tomorrow would be an absolute disaster! I am confident she will be fine saying goodbye tomorrow. I'm nervous that she may panick a bit if she sees all the other kids crying, but I know everything will be fine.......

......for her, at least. Me- a different story!!! Warm tears flood my eyes anytime I think about her going to school. And it's not that I'm sad we will be apart 4 hours a day, 2 days a week. That part I can handle. In fact, I even found myself hiding in the kitchen today just to check my email quickly without interruption!

It's the fact that my little chicken is at the age already where she is going to preschool. My little buddy now has a weekly routine to follow, somewhere to be, something to do. And while we still have the rest of the week to frolick around town as we please, tomorrow represents the beginning of a whole lot more that is to come. And it makes me sad and excited, all at the same time.
I hope I don't cry tomorrow. It would be nice to start off a school year without tears for once in my life!! :)