Inside and Out

With a week of rain and a third bout of strep we spent a good amount of time indoors again, but the weather has been beautiful this week and we are trying to take advantage of every second of it.
Fishing! Tommy spent forever reeling it in and letting the line go.

One night for dinner we had ribs. I think it was my first time making them and Tommy was pretty fascinated with where ribs go.The kids have been wearing their swimsuit at night with the fact that it's getting warm like summer outside and they can't wait to hit the pool and the beach. See, I told you Tommy is pretty interested in anatomy.Fort time
I love when books inspire!
Watching the navy ships come up the Hudson

What a great idea :)
And any day now this amazing burger place is going to open up in our neighborhood. These burgers are THE BEST, better than In-N-Out and Five Guys. I know I have to say that because I live here, but also because they really are. And the shakes are out of this world too. Words cannot express my excitement. It's going to be dangerous. Very dangerous!
With warmer weather the fountains at the playgrounds have turned on. I wasn't expecting it until the weekend but we're now back to wet and sticky, sandy clothes and daily baths. I can't believe we've been here nearly a year!

Grandpa time

It's been great having visitors. We sure had a lot of fun with my dad in town.We've had a lot of excitement around our neighborhood these past couple weeks...my dad and I took a walk one night and noticed the lights on the world trade center tower (I think it's only about half way done, it's going to be huge)
The family on the subway
The Intrepid. And AWESOME museum! Great for all ages. Amazing stuff and amazing history!


The "Iron Eagle" plane

Steering the big ol' ship
Coming back from the moon
Sketching. I just love it!
Tom Bom's Mother's Day gift (he NEVER does this)

Big Piano at FAO
Central Park
We had no plans of doing the carousel, but we happened to run into it and made it on for the last round of the day. It's been on my list of things to do but last summer I got lost trying to find it in extreme heat and it ended up being closed. So I haven't been motivated to try again. I'm really happy this worked out. The kids had a great time, even Kate loved waving to Grandpa


On top of the Met. My favorite part of this little outing was that Tommy fell asleep on the subway and slept for 3 hours. He woke up on the way back to the subway. We asked him what his favorite part of the museum was..."the dinosaurs!"
We got lots of outside time last week with some spectacular weather. This playground is definitely a favorite this season. It's also on the way home from school, so there's always a few of Rachel's friends there. But both kids love climbing this spider web thing.Not sure what this turny thing is called but it also provides hours of fun.
A daddy daughter date to a Yankees game. We sprinted from wall street to the seaport and missed the free ferry. We grabbed a cab to catch it at the next dock. We missed some good views of the city but definitely a fun way to get to the game.
The Fire Museum

Riding Bikes

Tommy got a new bike for his birthday. He got the hang of it really fast. It helps to have a nice flat, carless place to ride. He now wants to ride his bike everyday. Yesterday it rained and it was absolutely torturous!That first day out on our bikes Rachel was cruising with her training wheels. I knew this summer we were going to teach her to ride on two wheels. I was telling Jake about one of Rachel's classmates and the unique way his dad taught him. That night Jake took off her training wheels. We went out the next evening...

A little demonstration...A little push...A little practice balancing with the feet...and VOILA...

within an hour she was doing it! I couldn't believe it.

Riding off into the sunset
I'm so proud of my kids!

The Best Festival

This festival was practically in our neighborhood and was above and beyond any we've ever been to...arts and crafts, vendors galore, broadway performances, bouncy castles, games and prizes, acrobats, you name it, they had it!
We got to hear Elpheba sing "The Wizard and I" one more time.Firetruck and winning a basketball...couldn't be happier :)All the Kindergarteners and first graders were invited to do a sing-a-long with one of the teachers up on stage.

Tommy turns 3

The kids enjoyed some fresh air while we prepped for the birthdayTommy had a baseball themed birthday (even as I type this he and his dad are at a Mets v. Giants game). We had hot dogs for dinner.He loved ripping through his presents and loved every single one!
His Evil Emperor Zurg bubble gum
One day a few weeks ago a box came. Tommy gets really excited about boxes. I told him we couldn't open it right away because it was for his birthday, to which he says, "Oh, is it my astronaut?" He never asked for it, we never told him about it...how did he ever guess?!Hot wheels launcher, "just like Andrew!"What's a birthday without a "pin the tail" game? This is Tommy getting mad at Rachel for going the wrong way.My attempt at a baseball mit cake.
My poor husband came down with a mighty fever and missed it all. I put this video together for him. It's 7 minutes long, so you don't have to watch it.

I sure love my little man. He's a definite Daddy's boy, but I still have a soft spot for him. I'm much more lenient with him that I am with Rachel. His nursery leaders tell us he's mellow, never cries or whines. I wish we had the same kid at home! We try and have our Family Home Evening and he's usually climbing up the couch, running the length of our apartment and acting goofy. He's a typical boy, loves cars, trains, Legos, balls, Toy Story, space, etc. He knows his colors (most the time), counts to 13, then it's eleventeen, 18, 19, probably doesn't know his ABC's, we hear bits and pieces of the song sometimes. He dosen't like being told what to do. Loves playing with Rachel, and has a great imagination. Happy Birthday Tom Bom!