September

My parents had been planning to take the kids to the Camden Aquarium for MONTHS... finally the big day was here!
And they think Jenk's is awesome... they couldn't believe their eyes!
"Nick, like this. You reach in & go tickle, tickle, tickle little sea urchin!"
Was he DRINKING the aquarium!??

I think I see Ariel!

A typical conversation with Nick... Showing me where Calvin 'plooped' (puked / pooped), invasion of the vaccum robot, and lots of "I dunnos".



A few days later we spent the afternoon at the track having lunch with Greg.
Showing Pop Pop his tonsils.

Seriously mommy. Seriously.

The track has an awesome playground... This shaky bridge is actually.... SHAKY! They're used to public-playground-all-the-fun-removed-jungle-gyms so this one always throws them for a loop.

Whoa....
(love the tongue!)

Tip-toeing across makes it far less scary.

"There isn't one for ME to use..."
"Here! Use this one!"
"But MOMMY... it's broken!"
"No it isn't. Just get on & stop whining about it."
Ooopsie. She was right.

Finally she got a turn on a fully functional excavator.
Maybe.... if she bent back JUST a little further the sand will dump out...

I guess these kids seemed a lot cooler to socialize with than hanging with 'mom'... she just ran off & hopped into the middle of the gaggle!

Well that's good... just in case he missed getting sand in absolutely ALL of his pockets, nooks & crannies this will do the trick!
I can't remember WHY we went to the ice cream shop that particular day... they must've been uber good... Well, whatever... color du jour: Blue.

Their new thing at the top of the stairs. Every time.
Every.
Time.



No longer does the Lowly ride at Babies R Us play Charlie Brown's theme song... (which was bizarre in & of itself) but now he is completely silent. Still, she loves him...

At Peter & Keri's later that afternoon for a BBQ with Yiayia & Papou... Some fierce swinging.

Loving it while simultaneously petrified...
Wah-hoooooooooooooooo!

Papou Nick & Keri were at the table when this modeling shoot took place. I have to get the list from Keri... but apparently she was calling out poses (subtle surprise, pout, etc.) and Adrienne would give the look. I'm sorry... but there are a ton of them.... they were all just TOO GOOD to choose only a few!!!

Traditional tomato picking commences...
But the tradition got a twist today... she took to watering the vegetable garden!
(you KNOW where this is going, right??!)

While Papou is helping Nick with his blue balls Adrienne was experimenting with the watering can.... AND......

... a few minutes later she donned Tori's clothes since her own outfit was soaked.

Thankfully Peter is a skilled grill master & managed to not only cook us a fabulous meal but also dry Adrienne's clothes!

Tori's game of pushing Keri over...

and then falling on top of her!
Only 4 days away from his 2nd birthday - he couldn't BELIEVE we were singing TO him!!

That's how he blows out candles (blows on hot food, etc. etc.) - bottom lip out. The air doesn't go anywhere but up his own nose.
Now it's Tori's turn to practice up for her birthday later this month... Let's see what she does with her own birthday cake & candle. Bad plan. No more lit candles for Tori.

He's (almost) 2 now. And we ALL know that 2 = CRAZY!!!
(ok, the overload of sugar probably doesn't help matters either....)
An impromptu visit from old schoolmates Garet & Julia!!
(I took a bunch of group shots... 1 good of this one, 1 good of that one... finally I decided to be fair & put up 1 bad one of them ALL!)
The little baby linebacker we met on our first day at ChildTime is now a mini man!!!

And Julia treated us to a concert once she spotted the piano.

It's an old house. You never know when the roof might start leaking.

Or when the shower will become possessed and douse the hallway.
(and yes, if you look closely that would be my name on that ridiculous frilly parasol.... one of the many treasures my parents squirreled away for me all these years...)

Happy 2nd Birthday Nick!
Apparently there was no need to buy him gifts. He was perfectly content with the musical Toy Story card.



Today was the first day of a seashore class through the county parks & recreation program held at nearby Seven Presidents. So every Thursday morning my parents haul them down to the beach for their weekly dose of marine biology.
Ok, ok maybe not marine biology per se... more like hearing a story about a cartoon sea creature, doing a craft and.....

... Matching the Mollusk!
They get to run around the beach looking for shells!!
(like THAT'S a stretch for them....)

Apparently this is their favorite part of class... shocking, I know.

And to wrap up his 2nd birhtday... a big fat GOOSE EGG. No, no... not NOTHING, a REAL goose egg!
I swear he woke up ON his birthday with a fierce case of The Terrible Twos.
He was running across the family room, slamming into the glass door & then (dramatically) throwing himself on the floor in a rebound. Greg told him not to do it. He did it. Again and again and ...... ahhhh, yup. There it is. The goose egg.
Happy birthday buddy... You're a freakin' nut.

Aww, his old teether. Now if only it would fit in the way far back of his mouth where his 2-year-molars are coming in....

Arthur Nicholas Fonzarelli

Exactly why my nickname for her is "Pretty Girl"....

Lord, grant me the serenity to...
not be a crazy baby, take nice long naps so my mom can have 3 minutes of peace & quiet and the wisdom to stop poopin' in the tub.
Amen.

Surprise!
OK, it really wasn't a surprise party but it was definitely a bit out of the norm. Yiayia brought them back over after watching them for the day and within minutes an entire party erupted.

A cake for ME!

Yes, it's a little creepy at first. No need to be frightened though. It's simply good ol' Betty Crocker with food coloring gone awry.
Here's the deal, I Googled around & read all sorts of posts on how to throw a Toy Story themed birthday party. One Martha-Stewart-Mom made a moon cake for Buzz Lightyear - "simply use a melon baller to make the craters & a little black food coloring... so easy!!" She made it sound like she whipped up the confectionary with one hand while getting a mani on the other. Right. I ended up with a pile of moldy vomit and murky water cupcakes. OK, the "deep space blue cupcakes with the gold stars" were my idea... and they STILL look better in my mind than on the dish.

At the very end of singing happy birthday there was a long pause... he suddenly cackled & slapped his hands to his chest & started clapping. It finally sunk in that this was ALL.... FOR.... HIM....!

"What's so funny guys!?"

"My Mommy's ridiculous gray cake... bawwhhh hahaha! Like anyone over the age of 5 is going to eat THAT slop!!!"

While the majority of the party guests were staying far, FAR away from my moon cake & starry night cupcakes Corinne LOVED them and couldn't get enough. She might have taken home the title of Best Guest Ever until her little sis' trumped her a bit later in the night...
While Ryan stared down the pastry, Nick indulged... in BOTH my vomit-moon cake as well as the contaminated water cupcakes and thoroughly enjoyed the never-ending stream of sweets REGARDLESS of putrid color.
Food coma. Thankfully Papou's lap is just perfect for a little R&R.

Pin the Woody on the... wait, no... that's not right...

Pin the sheriff badge ON Woody!

One of my favorite 'pins'... on the WINDOW.... UNTIL.....

.... Cassandra's turn. And THIS is where she was bestowed the Best Guest Ever Award, beating out her sister by just a hair...
I gave Cassandra her badge, blindfolded her, spun her around & SMACK. She pinned the sheriff badge on.... ME!
That's right, GREG, ADRIENNE, & NICK. You thought I laid down the law before. Just you wait. There's a new sheriff in town and she ain't takin' no prisoners!!!!

Despite my cosmic failure in the baking department I thought I did a pretty fabulous job with the favors...
For the 'big' kids.... Toy Story Silly Bandz & freeze dried ice cream (yup.... you heard me... just like you gobbled down on your school trip to the Air & Space Musuem when you were 12) and for the wee ones, Toy Story Alien headbands (long live etsy.com!!!).
Take one guess which was the bigger hit...

C'MON!!!!!!!!!!!! TOO CUTE!!

I had wisely hidden the headbands from my own 2 little Martians. And for good reason.
(Oh! Sidenote: Nick had a whole Woody outfit & Ade was Jesse... Unfortunately the cowboy hats & bandanas last less than 3 minutes into the festivites. But at least now you understand the reasoning of their cow print vest & chaps!)
So.... there ISN'T as bad as it looks. Adrienne does a HYSTERICAL impression of Uncle Beetle's laugh. The crowd was bribing her to do it... people were literally grabbing their wallets left & right to give her cash for a 3 second guffaw. What people didn't realize is that she has NO clue as to what having a $1 actually means yet! Now if they offered her ice cream.... she would've laughed all night!

Touch my loot & you lose an arm, boy!

The next night was Yiayia & Papou's surpise 40th anniversary party. That's right. Back to back parties. It really, REALLY seemed like a good idea while planning it... Let's just say I went thru a LOT of Motrin that weekend.....
Anyway, Alice (their other much-loved teacher at school) babysat for Adrienne, Nick & Olivia. Wait... segue: At some point in the eve I sent Alice a text to check in, "Does everyone still have all their fingers & toes?" Her reply, "That depends. How many did they have to start?" My kind of babysitter!! hahaha!!
OK, back to the picture... When we got home Alice told me that Adrienne came upstairs while she was putting Olivia down - Nick had pooped. She thanked her for the 411 and told her she would be down in a few minutes. When she got downstairs Adrienne had laid out the changing pad, set up the diaper, cream & wipes!! WHAT!?!? SERIOUSLY!?
Well, it's now Sunday & we're prepping for folks to come over for the game. Nick pooped. I told Greg that was all his. Next thing we knew, Adrienne gathered everything up -in ONE armload no less - and brought it downstairs for Greg.

Half time buffet.... BBQ leftovers & beer for us.... blue cupcakes for the kids!

This girl LOVES my cupcakes!!!!!!

This is just creepy.
hhhiiiiiisssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

While the Friday night party was for Nick & Saturday night festivites were for Yiayia & Papou the guests of honor throughout the weekend were Aunt Jean, Uncle Beetle & his girlfriend Erin who made the trip down from Beantown to spend the weekend with us!!!

Day #4... the party rages on into Monday night. Well, moreso for Greg than for us.... He got to go to the Jets home opener at the new stadium. Wait! Don't WE have season tickets you may be asking yourself!!? Not any more. Thanks guys. Thanks a bunch. I'm not bitter or anything.
So anyway, while he & Peter are going to the game that Keri & I SO much wanted to be a part of, I took the kids out for our own tailgating at a local pizza shop.
Doesn't matter that it came from the same pie... the pizza on someone else's plate always looks SO much tastier!

This is hysterical... on the other side of the fence is an intersection. The light turned red & someone pulled up blasting club music. Adrienne hopped off the seat & started busting a move. As soon as she did Nick quickly took over her seat. Of course, the other slice is just SO much yummier!!!

But he was kind enough to share her own pizza with her.

Pizza makes you "BIG AND STONG"
(no 'r')

It makes Nick big & strong too!

Greg picked up the kids one night, got them on a train up to Woodbridge & met me for dinner...

The conductor made Sponge Bob train tickets for them!

This is the train they're *hopefully* on...
(please, please, PLEASE don't let the doors open to the sound of my screaming child(ren)....)

Nope! Everyone was on their best behavior for daddy!

On to dinner where Greg & I had our first DATE!
(collective.... "awwwwww"!)

It was a great seat... every time they got a little punchy I'd tell them they better get it together otherwise no more trains (at the top of the window). Without fail, as soon as they settled another train would come tearing through the station.

The next day Adrienne had to go back to the dentist. To kill a little time we took a walk on the Allenhurst boardwalk. At the very end was this gorgeous bouquet! I asked her to pose next to it for me.... *sigh* She's SUCH a piece of work!

That afternoon it was Nick's school birthday party. I went a much simpler route for the sweets this time - Rice Crispy Treats.

And after THAT it was his 2 year check up but we were a little early. He did NOT want to go to the park. All he wanted to do was.... GO TO THE DOCTOR!!! I finally got him to play & he was happy as a clam! (Until we went to get in the car... freakin' Greg's car doors are ENORMOUS and I used to clock Adrienne in the head all the time with them. This time I pegged Nick. Literally 5 minutes before his physical. Great. Now they're going to think I beat him.)

For the first time ever... there was a wait at the doctor's office. You know I was getting desparate if I actually pulled out the cell phone to use as a toy. But I snapped this gem... too cute!
And the best story of the visit (well, other than that he's perfect from head to toe):

Nick was lying down & I referred to the doctor as Dr. Doctor (the name of the doctor in Richard Scarry's Nick Bunny Goes to the Doctor book which is in CONSTANT rotation at our house). Nick then said to the doctor, "What's YOUR name?" Deadpan (the only way he EVER is), he replied, "Doctor Murphy. What's YOUR name?" Nick patted his chest, "Nick!" "Well Nick, are you very smart?" "Yyyyyessss." "Are you very humble?" "Yyyyyyesss." Again, completely straight-laced he replied, "I think the answer you're looking for is 'no'." I absolutely lost it.

What happens when you leave toddlers alone with arts & crafts for a moment too long?

Someone ends up with a pompom in their ear.

The first rescuing of hair from a toy. Yes, the scissors were finally brought out.

C'mon now Adrienne!! Can't you READ!?!?
(oops... well... let's just leave the last line out of it....)

I've said it before & I'll say it again... If only he weren't such a MELANCHOLY child...

This is Adrienne's magna-doodle drawing of a turtle. It's also the same image when she draws people & monsters... so you're never quite sure what you're actually looking at. But REALLY, I think in her subconsious the constant stream of Star Wars IV, V & VI that happened to be on HBO 24x7 (and therefore on in our house) while I was on maternity leave with her made QUITE an impression.

Turtle, person, monster or............... AT-ST!?!?? RIGHT!?!?

And Nick has been studying up with his new motion book depicting famous Star Wars scenes.

And since we're on the subject... a moment that brings a tear to my eye. And not because I was poked in it. Our very first family lightsaber battle. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.... the moment was truly magical....



For the love of... NICK! You CANNOT hold a lightsaber like that! Your hands will disintegrate!!!

You know this was one of the best moments EVER, right!??
And the lights were actually off... which was really cool to have 3 lightsabers cutting through the darkness but I had to use the flash to get any sort of decent shot...

Darth Greggor & Princess Leiadrienne battling it out while Jedi Nick showed Minnie just who the Force is with.
"No. I am your father."
Logan's Christening!

While the ceremony took place, Psycho Boy Child...

... and Little Miss 1 (who ME!??!) didn't make it for the whole (umm, much... umm, barely any...) ceremony.

Afterward though, they had a BLAST at the party. I knew it was a pool party but completely forgot their vests. They were offered swimmies... sure ok, we'll give them a shot. I IMMEDIATELY went home & ordered these for next year. Not only did they LOVE them but they did incredibly well!!!
I'm SO bummed this shot is blurry... she was pleased as PUNCH to be in the water solo!

Look at her go!!!

Do I even NEED to tell you about how elated this boy was?!!?

But what was pretty incredible... his instinct to swim / float... PROPERLY.
This past summer a woman walked up to me on the beach - she had been watching Nick in the water. She said something along the lines of, "He's going to be an Olympic swimmer." OK, batty old lady. Thanks. Go feed the seagulls.
Now I'm starting to think she wasn't all wrong....

This was Adrienne's outfit. But her size & the season never matched up. So this beloved outfit got passed on to Tori, brand new, tags still on it & I begged Keri to put it on her just once... Maybe it was meant to be because I don't know if Adrienne would've looked as precious in it!

Ooooo!

Doggie!
Babies smell yummy!

They TASTE yummy too!!!

That's right. Adrienne & Nick are the 1/2 naked, buddah bellied, saggy diapered children in the crowd... I'm all class. Apparently so are my kids....

Nick picked up where he left off at Tammy's baby shower - wooing Bella.
Carve our initials in right HERE and we'll come back next year, same day, same time to smooch under the shade of the old oak tree....

He's tricky like that.

Wouldn't you just love to know what they're thinking....?!?
Alllll right!! An AUDIENCE!
OK, the audience needs to return to their seats.

Again!! What are they plotting!?!?

She had enough of mind-melding with Nick, but he wasn't done with her. She trotted off & he began the chase, "Gimme hug!! Gimme hug, Toria!"

Of course Keri & I sat back & watched the poor girl struggle to get the ball... which was actually on the same side of the net as she was.
Yeah!!! GOT IT!!!

NO, I'm NOT letting go of this ball. Did you NOT just see what I had to go through to get it?!?!
Part of the 'new nightly routine'. Nick curls up in bed with Adrienne & we ALL read together. It's usually more like 15% reading /15% fidgeting /70% wrestling match over who is going to sit on (not next to, but ON) me. But it's still precious (in theory) that we're all curling up together.

A few weeks ago Adrienne randomly asked to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I've NEVER mentioned that the place existed (kind of along the same lines as the Disney princess movies....) so I have NO idea how she found out about it. As (her) luck would have it, we were invited to a birthday party there, so despite my initial disdain for the disease-ridden-piss-soaked-vomit-stained house of horros, it turned out to be a pretty decent place. And she.... was.... THRILLED to be there! She didn't stop hugging him the whole ride.

And mid-ride there's a 'hidden camera' that snaps a picture of the heavily lacquered mouse and his charge.

Their first skee ball! They had a hard time getting it to launch off the tip of the ramp...

... so Nick found a work-around.

How cute is this?! There's another kiosk where Chuck 'draws' your picture.

She's up in the ceiling! It's like an ENORMOUS hamster house... for kids.

Bob the Builder

Can we fix it?

Bob the Builder

Yes we can!
(I've GOT to get a video of him singing the theme song... omg - a riot!)
Pop Pop... look who's in front of the blue screen!

They got to spend some QT with Sash's kids... Sash & Sierra who we NEVER get to see, so that was awesome too! No sooner did they finish their pizza than I had them back in the car to head home for some SERIOUS power naps because that afternoon was another VERY special little one's first birthday party...
First all you people invade my house... now you're all staring at me singing completely off key.... what the HECK is going on here?!?!
Tori's 1st Birthday Party!!!
The second the singing was over Adrienne & Nick had their fingers in the cake. I almost threw them RIGHT in the car... I was MORTIFIED! But apparently Aunt Keri had given them the ok to do so... either that or she covered for them... brilliantly.

MMmmm... yeah.... that's right. Good stuff here...

Nick, you MIGHT want to open your mouth a little wider. You don't want to miss any morsels.

Oh thank HEAVEN my children aren't the only gavones. C'mon cousin Olivia! And Wackette is getting a finger in there too! WHO is that poor little girl in the background begin held back from indulging??!!!

Even Baby Logan managed to squeeze in to get a fistful...

Snacking on a cupcake with Wackette
(no, seriously, her last name is Wack!)

Bowl of ice cream #2... Scuba Steve sneaks in for a taste - I don't THINK so, buddy!

Bowl #3 (as in THIRD BOWL... 1, 2, THREE BOWLS) of Aunt Linda's Super Special Banana Split Sundae

Nick went in for a taste - and to my surprise she shared.

But she didn't need to for long.
Bowl #2 for Nick.

Maybe try to get some IN your mouth.

Double-fisting toddlers.



Triple Decker Billows Sandwich Roll
(yes, we've even done a FULL Billows Family Sandwich!)

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
(it's also what lets Greg flip them around like flapjacks)



Adrienne stepped up her portraiture work of Greg... She's gone from markers to paint!

Time for nonnie. Nick is going to read us a bedtime story.
(The first part is REALLY hard to hear... but it's all Nickese.)