november 24th - to poop is human....to wipe is gross

Alex's butt wiping methods are constantly evolving and with each magical bowel movement he goes from frightened cheek squeezer to an unshameful crack spreader.  Modified moves for maximum utility are the name of the game and he will not be defeated by the poo...soon skid marks will be extinct.

november 23rd - victory is ours

Damn mouse is dead...good riddance.  He thought he out smarted us completely and he got sloppy...revenge is sweet and delicious.  Everyone in our house continues with their illnesses and we basically only left the house today because it was 70 degrees.  We took the kids to the park and to get pizza and then reassumed our positions on the couch.

november 22nd - all aboard

The anticipation was definitely worth the wait to see the look on Alex's face today when he got a look at Thomas....in real life.  He got to ride on Thomas AND Percy.  He told the conductor what conductors say.  He got his very own conductor hat.  He peed in a port-o-potty for the first time.  He ate an ice cream cone the size of his face.  He got a school bus toy that he has not put down in two days.

november 21st - going to see thomas

Off to Lancaster this weekend to see Thomas at the Strasburg railroad.  Alex is soooo excited and has been talking about "going to see thomas" this entire week.  He has been asking for Thomas for Christmas and cannot wait to go see Santa to tell him what he would like him to "put under the tree."  We stayed and Gramps and Grandmum's house tonight and had dinner...Gemma reorganized the Cheerios in her own special way...remove from box and throw on floor.  We took a photo of the Lancaster sunset for Grandpa Mike.

november 20th - move along germs

Alex is wearing protective eye gear during his meals to shield from the germs Mommy and Gem Gem are spreading all around our house.  Surely it is only a matter of time that we all become infected from these two dirty birdies.  Safety first...especially when it makes you look this cool.

november 19th - quarantine zone

Gemma's little cold has gotten nuts.  We took her to the doctor today and she has a double ear infection with pink eye.  Mommy also got a free diagnosis of pink eye for herself as a gift while at the pediatrician with Gemma.  Poor little baby Gemma is so miserable and it breaks our heart to see her so sick.  Alex is a big helper and went to the pharmacy with Mommy.  Decided to pull up his own chair to wait for the prescriptions to be filled.

november 18th - grandmom visits

Grandmom Burger came down to Philly tonight for dinner and a visit with the kids.  Gemma was in rare form playing and being goofy...but she is starting to get a little cold.  Not enough to stop her from taking her baby doll out for a stroll.

november 17th - making the sarcone family proud

We had a few leftover rolls from yesterday's Burger gathering.  Living in South Philly has taught Alex and Gemma that Sarcone's rolls are worth their weight in gold and should never go to waste.  The vacuum came out after this spectacle.

november 16th - cousin time

The Burger crew (sans Ryleigh) came over today to hang out with Alex and Gemma.  The kids made their own pizzas and had a great time playing together.  Alex's had extra pepperoni and Gemma ate his crust.  After dinner, Alex and Farrah put on a little concert in the living room.

november 15th - pint sized line cooks

These two decided they wanted waffles and didn't care if they had to make them on their own.  Alex HAD to crack the egg and they tag teamed the mixing.  Nothing really went to waste and what was left was quickly taken care of by the Gemma monster.

november 14th - newtown slumber party

We went to Newtown to hang out with the Dreby's tonight and spent the night so all the adults could act like children.  The kids played non-stop and Alex and Kyle had such a good time.  They play really well together and once Alex became besties with "Ryan the dog," the flood gates opened.  Gemma didn't seem to be bothered by Ryan since she just pushed him out of her way.

november 13th - alex tags gemma's ottoman

Alex launched into a career as a graffiti artist when he decided Gemma's ottoman needed more color.  He spent a significant portion of the evening in timeout, but once he starts breaking out into a completely original version of Twinkle, Twinkle it is hard to stay mad.

november 12th - elsie rees adams

Lizzie and Alex welcomed their new baby girl, Elsie, today.  Alex can't wait to meet the new english bird from the other side of the pond.  Hopefully, we get to meet her before she loses those cheeks.

november 11th - ears work...so does plumbing

Alex had his post-op ear checkup and he did really well.  He had his ears checked and then he had a series of hearing tests that were kind of funny to watch.  Day 2 of his potty training, so taking him away from the house was a gamble....which proved to be a loser.  He had an accident in the waiting room and peed so much his shoes were soaked.  We had the kid who was barefoot at his doctor's appointment....whatevs.  Smile and be at peace.

november 10th - what separates us from the animals

Alex officially has the soft feel of cotton draped over his privates.  He said goodbye to diapers this morning and hello to the awkward sensation of wedgies and accidental skid marks....sometimes a fart ends up being more than a fart.

We made a potty chart, purchased a bag full of rewards, and pre-washed 8 dozen pairs of Alex-sized man draws.  He had a few accidents throughout day 1 and day 2, but by day 3 he was already asking to go to the potty and no more accidents.  Magical.  Sleeping through the night and, most importantly, always drops his number 2's in the right place.

november 9th - life lessons

At our annual thanksgiving, all of our friends bring canned goods to donate to the less fortunate.  Gemma is definitely Mommy's daughter....as she helped organize and take inventory of all of the charitable donations.  Alex made have had something to do with the lining up of the cans...we explained the purpose of collecting everything to Alex and he says the food is "for the people"...baby step on his road to philanthropy.

november 8th - thanksgiving....take 1

Our friends of hutchinson thanksgiving was today and Mommy nailed it, as usual.  Alex was talking about all of his friends coming over for waffles all week and he had a great time with all of them.  Our house was destroyed, but all in good fun.  We had 17 adults and 11 kids.  Recipe for disaster.

november 7th - gemma the drinker

Alex goes for the cookies...Gemma goes for the booze....each coming from their mother.  At least Gemma picked the box with the nice red wine.  She has standards.  The kids helped (or didn't help) set up tonight for our thanksgiving celebration tomorrow.  Alex is talking non-stop about all of the friends that are coming.  Gemma is following the crumbs on the ground.

november 6th - alex the baker

Alex helped mommy bake pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this afternoon in preparation for our "friends thanksgiving" on Saturday.  He likes mixing all the ingredients and LOVES eating the final product.  He was not allowed to eat a cookie until he ate his carrots tonight.  He kept a carrot in his mouth without swallowing it while at the kitchen table (alone) for 45 minutes.  No cookie for Alex.  Stubborn jerk.

november 5th - alex burger...future foreman

Alex and Gemma went to the Franklin Institute with their friends today and had a great time.  Not quite as good as the walk home....according to Alex.  There is a huge construction site for Comcast Center's new tower and he was MESMERIZED.  He could not wait to get home to tell Mommy and Daddy....first thing he said when he walked through the door.  Gemma was less impressed.

november 4th - election day

Alex assisted mommy this morning in exercising her right to vote in today's mid-term elections.  He was very proud that "Alex pushed the button, Alex got a sticker."  As a result, he is putting together several youth suffrage protests to earn his right to pick WHICH button to push.  Seems the state of our current political climate could use a couple sound minded two year olds to balance out the bullshit.

november 3rd - road trip hangover

The Burgers are all hurting this Monday morning after spending redunk time in the car in a 24 hour period.  Alex and Gemma spent the morning in their pj's playing.  Sweatpants were in full force.

november 2nd - RI > CT > NY > NJ > PA

Mommy and Daddy were a little exhausted today, so we let Gemma drive us back from Providence.  She cut a few people off, but mostly obeyed the posted speed limit.  We attempted to take some pictures of Ben, but he wanted no part of it whatsoever...he just wanted to sleep.

november 1st - meeting benjamin

We got the kids in the car after a late night filled with activity and sugar to get a head start on our drive up to Rhode Island.  The kids were amazing in the car and we got up there pretty quickly.  Alex and Gemma were really excited to see Ben and they were both very interested.  Daddy made dinner and Alex tracked down more Halloween candy.

october 31st - happy hallo-weiner

Daddy made Alex some orange pancakes this morning, which he was super excited about to celebrate halloween.  Our cookie monster and little blue bird went out in the city for some halloween festivities with Jackie and some friends.  They even did a little afternoon trick or treating around our street to see their favorite neighbors before we headed to Princeton.  Alex wanted to "fills his pumpkin to the top with A LOT of candy."  After he ate all of his lasagna, he ate 90% of what he collected.