Preschool news + zoo + farm = great week!

We heard from our #1 choice in preschools today, and Joshua was able to take a recently vacated spot. I am thrilled beyond words! We have a meeting with them later this week to finalize the paperwork, and to show Joshua around a bit. I hope he adjusts well to it. I'm so excited for him... but I'm not sure he knows what we're talking about exactly.

We went to the zoo last week, to see the new babies! The baby tiger, and both elephants were absolutely adorable! Josh didn't want to leave the view windows of the Elephant Family Room.

We went down to Round Hill Farm AGAIN this morning. We met some friends to feed the ducks, then walked through the farm exhibits. Afterward, we drove up to a grove with a playground, and had a picnic. The kids ran themselves to exhaustion. The weather was beautiful for a morning outside. The kids got along SO WELL! Not one fight the entire morning. It was a great day.

... and August is upon us.

It's hard to believe that it is August already. Before we know it school will be starting, the leaves will be changing, we'll be digging out warmer clothes, and then the first snowflakes will fall.

We have been taking advantage of the warm weather the last couple weeks. We have spent a lot of time outside - attempting to cool off. Friends have introduced us to Moore Park in Brookline. It has a nice play gym, but also has 2 large pillars with sprinklers on top. It sprays 360 º around an enclosed area, and is a great place for kids to play. Joshua had a great time running around in circles. I think he was more wet that afternoon than he is during bathtime!


We have made yet another trip to Round Hill Farm this week. This time we took Amy, Big Gregg and Little Gregg, too. This was the first time they had been there, and Little Gregg loved it as much as Joshua always does.

We have been in contact with a very reputable preschool in Mt. Lebanon this month. We are hoping to enroll Joshua into their 2 yr old program in September. It is 2 days a week, for 2 hours each day. He seems to be excited about the prospects of going to school like a big kid. Apparently he has been told you learn how to play hockey at school, and he is anxious for that, as well. As much as I'm a little anxious about sending him somewhere without me, I am looking forward to some alone time with Chelsea.

Chelsea is going to be a year old next month... it's hard to believe that much time has gone by. She is growing up so quickly! She can say several words - Mama, Dada, Josh, Cat, Hi and Uhoh. She has started pulling herself up a little bit. She's not quite standing, but I'm sure she'll be there soon. She is quite accomplished at climbing over things, and getting into EVERYTHING! I'm not quite sure what I'll do once she's actually walking *laugh*.

Fireworks, Picnics and the Farm

We spent the Fourth of July at home this year. We took the kids to the Brentwood Parade. Josh loved watching the marching bands, floats and fire trucks. The highlight of the day, though, was all of the candy that was thrown! We went home with a big bag full of tootsie rolls, lollipops and peppermints.

Josh got to play in the annual family picnic softball game this year. The weather was a little questionable, but it only rained for about 10 minutes the entire afternoon. It was a lot of fun.

We've made a new discovery last week. Round Hill Farm. Joshua has an infatuation with everything farm related, so of course it was a huge hit with him. We had a guided tour arranged for MoMo, and we all had a great time. We weren't even 1/2 way home before Josh asked when we could go back again. Apparently there were several other kids who were asking the same thing, because we went back one week later.


The second trip was to feed the ducks in their pond. Of course we walked through the rest of the farm, though. All of the kids (and the moms, too!) had a really great time. The weather was gorgeous - blue skies and it was in the 70s. When we were done walking, we drove up to a grove with a playground, and had ourselves a picnic.




News from Chelsea:

In the last couple months, Chelsea has learned a lot! All within 2 weeks, she figured out how to roll over, sit up, and crawl. I was worried because she was running behind on some of these things, but she finally figured it out. She's a little speed demon now, chasing her brother down the hallway. It's really cute.

Come to Me

God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be,
so He put his arms around you and whispered, “Come to Me.”
With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you pass away,
and although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.




We'll miss you.

June in Review...

Joshua and I went to Soergel's for a Pony Party. He wasn't thrilled about the horses, and wouldn't ride one, but we had a good time, anyway.





They have great climbing structures, and a barn full of farm animals, and for a little boy who loves everything about a farm... it was a TON of fun.

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We went to many playgroups, park play dates, and made a trip to the zoo with MoMo


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We made our first trip of the year to camp. It was Chelsea's first time there, and I think she REALLY enjoyed the water. Joshua got to ride the tractor with PapPap, and we all enjoyed the relaxing weekend at the river.






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We had a tour of PNC Park with MoMo. We saw everything from the Press Box and VIP Lounge, to the batting cages and dugout.




Overall it was a very full month!

E - I - E - O

We spent last weekend at the farm! We started off our trip with a flat tire in Ohio. Totally unexpected, and annoying, but we lucked out. We were only about 15 minutes from Scott's cousin at work, and he put us in touch with a tire store. From the time the tire blew, until we were back on the road, only about an hour went by, so it wasn't too bad.

Joshua has been very excited about going to a real farm, and once he realized that is where we were going, he wouldn't stop chattering about it. When we finally got there, he didn't know what to do first.

It was absolutely beautiful when we got there, and since the rest of the weekend was questionable, we decided to try and do as much as we could before it got dark. We headed over to the part of the farm that has the horses. Josh was so excited! We traipsed through the field - some of the grass was higher than Joshua's waist! They also had a few pigs, which have become Josh's new favorite animal.



From there we went over to the cow barn. There were plenty of tractors there to crawl on, mud to squish through, and hay to feed to the cows. There's a trampoline near by, and Josh learned how to "Jump High!" After we tore Josh away from there, we headed up to the pig barn. He ran up and down the aisles between the pens, and was super excited.



Saturday we went to Velvet Ice Cream Company. We took cheerios to feed the ducks, then went in for ice cream. Josh was more interested in playing than in ice cream, so afterwards, we played in the playground behind.



For supper, we had a cookout at the farmhouse. Most of the family came down, and we were able to catch up with everyone. The kids made use of the swingset and the trampoline, and even crawled on top of some hay bales. It was a really nice evening.

Sunday morning, we visited all of the animals one more time before we left. Joshua was very upset we had to leave.

Josh starting asking when we're going to go back. He understands that it's far away, and we won't go again until next year, but it doesn't stop him from asking! I've been taking him to the Game Perserve, and we have a trip to Round Hill Farm planned in a couple weeks. Hopefully that will be enough to hold him until Spring!

If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures, you can view them in the Farm Album.



In other news, Chelsea has her first 2 teeth! The first one broke through last Tuesday, and the 2nd on this past Wednesday. She has the cutest little grin! If you look close, you can see them.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! We're only half way through the day, and the kids are sleeping, so I thought this would be a good time to update the blog.

We spent the morning at the National Aviary. We always enjoy ourselves there, and today was no different. We timed it perfectly, we saw 2 feedings, as well as the "Flights of the North Shore" presentation. I was actually able to help feed. It was pure luck Scott got this picture when he did, but I think it turned out great!




This was actually the 3rd time I've had the kids at the Aviary in the last couple months. We purchased a membership back in March, and we have been trying to go often, to take advantage of the savings. Joshua LOVES the birds, and is always excited to go. It only takes about an hour to walk through, and that includes one or two presentations. Afterwards, if the weather is nice, we'll walk through West Park, and look at the ducks in the pond, and have a picnic lunch. There is also a playground we'll play on before we head back to the car. It is a nice way to spend the morning, and it's perfect for the attention span of a toddler and an infant.

We have a lot of fun things planned for May and June already! We have memberships to the Zoo, Aviary, and Children's Museum, so we'll be spending plenty of time there, I'm sure. We've started our weekly walks in South Park with MoMo, and we are signed up for some fun playgroups and field trips, too.

Scott has relatives who own a farm in Ohio. We'll be making a trip to stay there for a few days, soon. His parents, and Aunt are going to join us, as well. They have cattle, pigs and horses... and most importantly: TRACTORS! Joshua is very excited about the trip. Every morning he asks me if today is the day to go see the tractors. I made a calendar, and every morning we mark off the day before, and count how many more days until we leave for the farm. I'm not sure he actually understands the meaning of time in days or weeks, but he likes to cross off the days.

I'll update again in a week or two - there will be lots to talk about!