Quick trip to Philly

Yesterday we drove up to Philadelphia to visit cousins Lyssa and Kevin and assorted other family and friends.  We swam in the pool a little, even though the temp was about 55 degrees.  Here are the kids on boogie boards:

Here's Jake enjoying his root beer:

And here's the whole gang:

First Day of School

Today means big changes for 75 percent of the family. Jake and Sadie are both starting school and Ali is going back to work (and by "work" I mean work that someone pays you for). Jake has been in preschool before, and recently he'd been going three mornings a week. I'm really excited for Jake. He loves to learn (and teach), and loves being part of a group. I think he's going to love it.

But Sadie, poor sheltered Sadie, is in for a surprise. Ali said the drop-off this morning went well, so I was somewhat relieved. I think Sadie will really enjoy the playground and I think being around all the other kids her age will help her come out of her shell a little. Time will tell...

Jake gets his hair done

Yesterday, the doorbell rang and three of the neighborhood girls were giggling as they all stood in front of Jake. As they stepped aside, we saw what they'd all been up to for the past hour. We told the girls the little hair clips were ok, but please, no lipstick.

Fun Weekend at the Lake

Pop's sweetheart.....

The kids had such a fun time hanging out with cousin Lissa! Thanks for coming down!

New Shoes

It's been kind of a tough week or two, at night anyway. The kids have been hitting us on both fronts, and slowly breaking us down. Sadie goes down without a complaint, but then we hear her off and on all night crying. Jake sleeps through the night, but has been putting up a big fight about bedtime every night. Sadie slept through the night last night, so that's encouraging. It looks like her canine teeth are popping through, so maybe that's part of it.

But last night Jake and I went on a long walk before bedtime and he was in a great mood and I got to thinking about all the great little things that have happened the past two weeks, even though the nights have been rough. I ordered a few pairs of new shoes for the kids and when they came, Sadie was so excited. Ali got this great picture of her trying on the first pair. When I came home from work she was still so happy about them, wearing one pair and carrying the other pair around to show off. Jake liked his too, but he was more concerned about seeing how fast they were. He kept sprinting from one side of the house to the other to test them out.

Another fun development has been watching and listening to Sadie work on her words! All of a sudden she started practicing, and saying "Thank you", "Mama", "Dada", "Jakey" and "Ball". I don't know which was her first, but I like all of them. And she does the two cutest animal impressions. If you ask her what a tiger says, she opens her mouth and gives the quietest "roar" I've ever heard. You can barely hear it. It cracks us up. And if you ask her what an elephant says, she happily raises her arm up like an elephant trunk. No elephant noise, just the arm movement.

Jake and Sadie have really started playing together more and more and it's so much fun to watch. They take turns pushing each other around in the little baby stroller, or climb all over the couches and each other, giggling. Sadie obviously idolizes Jake, and wants to do everything he does. He was jumping the other day, and she stood there watching him for a minute, and then tried her own little jump-step. Then she got her serious face on and practiced and practiced her jump while Jake moved on to something else. If Jake is walking around outside and steps on a leaf, Sadie will follow right behind and step on the same leaf with the same foot.

Ok, one more. Backpacks. I don't have a picture of this, but Ali got the kids new backpacks to get ready for their new school in a few weeks. The only thing Sadie loves more than her new backpack is her new shoes. She wears her backpack all over the house. And she's constantly bringing Jake's backpack over to him to wear. Whenever we get ready to go somewhere, she gets her backpack.

The Milkman

The milkman delivered our first batch of fresh milk this morning. One-half gallon of whole milk for Sadie and one-half gallon of skim milk for Jake. Each came in a heavy glass bottle that feels nice and cold in your hands. South Mountain Creamery, a small family-run farm in Middletown, MD, finally added Falls Church to their delivery area this summer and we were so excited to sign up. Their cows are all hormone-free and roam around on their farm eating whatever cows eat when they're not being milked. They're open every day for visitors and I can't wait to take the kids there to see where their milk comes from.

I got the idea from Ali's folks (aka Gram and Poppy) who usually pick up some fresh milk from their local dairy, the Homestead Creamery, when we come to town. Although they don't deliver, we did take a tour of their little bottling facility, and I got really excited about the idea of a small, local operation selling quality dairy products without the factory feel. Jake was sold on the idea as soon as he tried their strawberry milk, which pretty much tastes like melted strawberry ice cream.

South Mountain Creamery also has partnerships with other small local farms that produce eggs, cheeses, jams, breads, honey and juices. They also offer pork, beef and chicken that have been raised humanely and without antibiotics or hormones.

It costs a little more, but not much. And at least I feel like I'm getting something for the extra cost, unlike the gas that goes into our car.

Cheers!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

We flew back from Bermuda last night and I think we're all still adjusting back to our normal routines. Bermuda was so beautiful and so much fun! St. George was a great little town to stay in, with so much history, and small enough to easily walk around between the sights and the beach and our house.

Here's a picture of Tobacco Bay Beach where we spent a lot of our time:


The water was so blue from a distance, and so clear up close. We had fun snorkeling, checking out all kinds of fish that looked like they belonged in a dentist office aquarium.

Here's a picture we took on our last day, in our backyard patio:


Thanks Mom and Dad for a great vacation!

Check out pictures here.