september 27th - kyle's birthday celebration

Kyle Dreby's second birthday party was today, so we went to celebrate in Newtown.  Todd has made the best of his new yard...he had a racetrack, an obstacle course, ballpits, sandpits, firepits, etc.  The kids loved playing, although, Alex was his typical lone wolf self...finding his own entertainment and enjoying Aunt Tracey's sweets.  Gemma recognized the ballpit and went straight for it, then decided to roll around and eat grass for a while.  Alex went to find Kyle when it was time to go home so he could give him a hug goodbye:-)

september 26th - gemma the couch potato

Gemma has taken an interest in "Mickey a Mouse," as Alex calls it...she is turning into a real fan of the hot dog dance.  She only takes time out to clap and laugh at Alex.

september 25th - alex's checkup

Alex had his wellness checkup today, which actually turned out to be a sick visit because he has come down with a cold.  Gemma was tagging along for her flu shot...not enthused about being there when it wasn't her turn.  By the time we left, both of them were screaming bloody murder.

Weight:  28.6 lbs
Height:  35 1/4 inches
Head:  20 1/4 inches

We threw Gemma on the scale while we were there and she was 17lbs....wow.

september 24th - give me food

Gemma is an animal at the dinner table.  As soon as she gets strapped in, she needs food in her mouth or all hell breaks loose.  If your pace on shoveling food in her face slows down slightly, she lets you know about it....maniac.

september 23rd - alex takes flight

Alex took some time out with Mommy for a little R&R after breaking the sound barrier in the living room.  He was running around like a maniac today and went "flying."

september 22nd - gemma on two legs

Gemma is pulling herself up every chance she gets and is going to be walking in no time.  She is getting into everything and does not sit still for more than 30 seconds at a time.  Only while the TV has her attention...but not much longer.  She loves Cheerios....almost more than Alex.

september 21st - daddy's home

Alex is hilarious when he goes to the grocery store on his bike.  As soon as he gets to the door of the store, he immediately gets off his bike and walks it through the store.  Alex was so excited that Daddy is back that he came running into the room to watch cartoons.

september 20th - fairway drive for the day

Alex and Gemma went to Beeps and Grandpa Mike's for the day while Mommy went to a friend's baby shower.  They had a blast and Alex could not get enough of the green grass and sunshine....or the golfballs.  Mommy did some shopping for Gemma, of course, to keep herself occupied.

september 19th - daddy goes on "plair plane"

Daddy headed out for a weekend in Vegas, so Mommy is on her own with the kids.  Alex is pitching in by helping feed Gemma snacks.  They went to the Kids Gym today for Alex's class and Gemma loved playing in the ball pit.  Likely came home with multiple viruses, but enjoyed it while it lasted.

september 18th - more gemma milestones...the clap...not gonorrhea

Our little baby is now clapping!  We forgot how amazing it is to witness learning first hand.  She is so cute and she will clap to let you know that she wants you to clap....grinning the whole time.

september 17th - alex burger...the founding father

Alex went to the Constitution Center today with Jackie, Gemma, and their friends to celebrate the signing of the constitution.  It was free for everyone today and Alex even got to sign his name on the constitution on the big wall...."in marker."

september 16th - gemma milestones...a taste for tuscan

Gemma usually goes for the beer bottles, but this week she graduated to a red wine infatuation.  Tonight she wanted to get a taste of the red wine even more than she wanted boobs.  Only challenge was the glass was bigger than her head.

september 15th - alex goes under the knife

Mommy and Daddy celebrated seven years of marriage today by watching their first born child go through, hopefully his first and only, surgical procedure.  He had to get some ear tubes to keep from getting another round of ear infections this winter.  The whole process was an emotional roller coaster, and the four minutes we were in the waiting room was very taxing.  Alex was a trooper and it didn't take long for him to bounce back.

6:45am
Found the truck in the waiting room so he could "drive" and didn't give it a second thought that he was out in public in his Mickey pajamas.

7:45am
An episode of Thomas and pre-op interviews complete.  The 'happy' juice is administered and Alex is slowly sinking into Mommy.

7:50am
Alex is BOMBED!

8:00am

Surgery is already over and we walk back into the recovery room to a snoring Alex.  Coming out of anesthesia was less than enjoyable, but we were putting Alex in the car by 8:30 and on our way back to Philly.

8:37am

Alex's bad reaction to the anesthesia and the process catches up to him and he pukes into Mommy's hands in the back of the car.  Magical.

9:30am

Alex sits up while taking a nap with Daddy on the couch complaining of a stomach ache.  Pukes on Daddy's chest.  Even more magical.

12:00pm

Alex gets a care package from Beeps and Grandpa Mike that he thought was great.  A green apple with tons of "Bloons" attached to it....he thought static electricity was hilarious.

3:30pm

Up from his nap and back into motor sports.  When Chuggington was no longer enough to blow his hair back, Alex took to the streets on his bike and we did an alley tour around the neighborhood.

6:00pm

Appetite for pepperoni pizza is back and Alex helped Daddy make some homemade pizzas for dinner.  He did a great job and was calling Mommy and Daddy's pesto pie "the booger pizza" because it was green.  An impressive day for Alex and Gemma decided to impress us too....with her new found ability to stand up on her own....with a little help from her music table.

september 14th - fall is here...almost

It is officially fall weather and we had a nice stroll around the city today with the kids.  Gemma was a little restless, so Daddy basically carried around 20lbs of dead weight for two miles while Mommy got some errands accomplished.  She was really cute when she fell asleep in Daddy's arms on the way home.  Alex made a "big pile" of books on the couch while Daddy was upstairs changing Gemma.  Strong evidence that two year olds make poor decisions while unsupervised.

september 13th - busy saturday

Alex and Daddy started off the day with a trip to the grocery store (quick stopover for coffee and biscotti).  Alex dressed himself this morning by brining in one article of clothing at a time to Mommy's side of the bed.  Last night's wine required a revised approach to childcare.  The result....Alex wore a bathing suit, a sweatshirt, flip flops, sunglasses, and his hard hat everywhere today.

We did get him to leave the hard hat in the car while we went to the Franklin Institute for some fun and education.  Alex really likes to run around the museum and especially likes the KidScience exhibit.  We went to Jackie and Fred's house for dinner tonight.  Jackie made Alex his favorite...meatballs and pasta...and he picked out flowers to bring.  He was very excited to go to "Fred's house" (not Jackie's), play the piano, and see the cats (Moe and Leo).

september 12th - gemma eats waffles, alex eats chocolate, parents drink booze

Daddy made waffles this morning and Gemma's stretch of new foods has expanded her breakfast options.  What she lacks in teeth, she makes up for with pure aggression.  Alex had a chocolate cookie from the neighbor that mostly made it into his mouth.  Mommy and Daddy had date night for an early anniversary celebration...which included an early departure with a snatched up bottle of wine for the ride home.  Mommy cannot handle her adult beverages anymore, so the dessert menu was not circulated.

september 11th - gemma eats pasta

Gemma's week of indulgences continues with a little of Daddy's homemade meatballs and sauce.  She was a big fan of the meat sauce and could not get enough...Alex ate all of his pasta before Gemma could get to his plate.  "Gemma Monster" is now in the hunt for anything of Alex's and she can smell fear.

september 10th - mommy's home

Mommy came back early this afternoon because she was able to get on an earlier flight.  Alex was very happy to see that she made it home in time for his afternoon media time.  Catalogues, iPhone videos, and People Magazine.

september 9th - mommy leaves...gemma speaks

Mommy had to go to Boston for a work trip, so Daddy daycare (or evening care) is in full effect.  This morning, Gemma decided to say "Da-Da."  Very cute...absolutely amazing.  Apparently, she has been saying it for three days, but Mommy did not bother to share...jealousy.

september 8th - gemma eats bread

Alex is a good big brother and always wants to push Gemma on the swings.  Even though he sometimes forgets to let go, she still thinks it's hilarious.  Baby Gemma tried some bread and is now hooked on carbs.

september 7th - only 263 miles of cooperation required

Alex got in a good nap this morning to get amped up for our ride home to Philadelphia.  Both of the kids did really well...even though we had a bit of a melt down on our way over the Ben Franklin Bridge.  Gemma just had enough and Mommy was so hungry that she wasn't far behind her.  Alex just grooved to the tunes and watched Mickey Mouse.

september 6th - upperoni, cookies, and open flames

Another great day in Rhode Island, even though it was Africa hot outside and so uncomfortable to walk around for more than 30 seconds.  Mommy and Gemma hung out with the girls, so Alex went with Daddy and Uncle Mike to a man's lunch.  We got Alex his own sized beer and his own personal pepperoni pizza...which he eventually resorted to peeling off just the meat.  His "child" order came with dessert, which we thought would be A cookie.  Instead a diabetic's worst nightmare showed up and he polished it off with room to spare.  Shortly after he began talking in circles and running wind sprints.

For dinner tonight, we went to a Hibachi place.  Alex loved the entertainment...could have done without the 6 foot fire in front of his face, but he was giggling the whole time.  He also ate his body weight in edamame, which he thought was hilarious.

september 5th - newport, ri

We spent the day in Newport with the kids and had a really great time.  Alex loved all of the boats and picked out a couple that he wanted to drive.  Gemma was so sick with a snuffy nose and cold, but was a trooper, cracking smiles all day long.  We walked around the wharf and looked at all of the boats and had a nice lunch on the water.

september 4th - say what?...4 hours in the car?

Gemma was not very enthused by the idea of getting in the car tonight for a long drive up to Providence, Rhode Island.  Alex cannot stop talking about it, so we hope his excitement gets him through the long ride with minimal screaming.  Both of them were pretty good, since we put them in the car after their baths.

september 3rd - big boy

Alex's new thing is to wrap his towel around him after his bath (just like mommy).  He is very proud and flaunts his biceps every chance he gets.  However, he does not like titty twisters.

september 2nd - what's up doc?

Gemma and Alex have been enjoying chewing on carrots the last couple days.  Alex's teeth coming in are killing him and Gemma generally tries to eat everything.

september 1st - labor day

We had breakfast at Morning Glory and then walked into the city to get Alex some new sneakers.  His Nikes officially smell like he pooped in them because he refuses to wear socks...hence the need.  He really loved the fountain at Love Park, so we had a bit of a prolonged detour...Gemma got a long nap.  We asked him what shoes he wanted and he picked out some Forrest Gump looking things, followed by pink ones...choices were overruled by Daddy.

august 31st - even superheroes need sleep

Day 2 of pool time made for some exhausted children....but not before having a lot of fun watching Alex swim and Gemma eat grass.  Could be why she puked a little on herself, or that could be linked to her shoving an entire wooden tile in her mouth.  Alex decided that he should wear a diaper to walk around today instead of flashing the neighborhood.

august 30th - boinging in millersville

Annual labor day weekend in Millersville was threatened by some bad weather, but turned into some great pool time.  Alex and Gemma both loved taking a dip when we got into town this afternoon...Alex required a lot of extra attention to jump and be tossed into the air.  Gemma just sat back with a cold beer and relaxed.

august 29th - alex's parking lot

Alex booby-trapped our staircase by creating his own little parking lot for all of his cars.  He and Mommy went to a tumbling class with Lucy and her mom, Carrie this morning and he LOVED it.  The two of them were pretty much the only kids at the class today, so they burned a lot of energy.  Gemma and Daddy were supposed to hang out, but she passed out.

august 28th - longwood gardens

A day trip out to Kennett Square today led us to Longwood Gardens for a walk around in the wilderness.  Alex ran around like a madman, Mommy got a thumbs up from strangers, Gemma had a poop, and Daddy lost a few years off his life.  It was a really great place filled with exotic shrubbery that gave Daddy the worst allergy attack in recent years.  We went into Kennett Square afterward for a nice lunch and dessert (Alex request).

august 27th - toys do not expire

After an active day at the beach, Alex came home not feeling very well.  He and Daddy made a trip to the doctor this morning to get him checked out before the weekend to make sure his ears were ok.  We went for a walk around the city after his appointment.  Daddy had to go help Proc move today, so Mommy and the kids played at home....even pulled out some of the classic toys from Alex's youth to keep them occupied.

august 26th - beach activities

We crammed a week's worth of beach activities into about three hours today down in Ocean City, NJ.  Alex wanted to go on the rides at the boardwalk, so we spent most of our time at Wonderland.  He went on so many rides and had a blast...but he says his favorite was the bulldozer and backhoe...which were the machines you put a dollar in and do not go anywhere :)  We had ice cream, touched the ocean, and Gemma had her first aggravating experience with sand.  She did not want it on her!

august 25th - uber to the rescue

A long walk to Old City ended with a very nice dinner outside at Fork.  Alex could not get enough bread in his belly, and they brought him "green" pasta.  Gemma was the favorite patron of all of the wait staff.  After prosecco and multiple red wine orders, mommy could barely walk.  We had to have Uber come and pick us up to get home.