may 27th - eat, play, sleep...repeat

These two are enough to drive you crazy sometimes, but those smiles make any day better.  Nothing better than when Alex comes down in his underwear with his t-shirt tucked into the waistband.

may 26th - we own a house...wait, don't we already have one?

We closed on the future site of our new home in Princeton, New Jersey today.  Both Mommy and Daddy are really excited about this big step toward our new home, which is going to be yellow according to Alex.  Really cool that we are able to keep the 277 Walnut Lane address in the family and when we tell Alex he is going to live where Beeps did when she was little...it blows his mind.  Pure confusion.  It's like watching Mommy try to do math in her head.

Closing went fairly smoothly...almost as smoothly as Gemma makes eating strawberries look.  Mommy and Daddy are just glad they did not have Uncle Mike's job of signing "Michael Stachowicz, Executor to the Estate of Mary G Stachowicz" on every document.

may 25th - america

We spent Memorial Day at Spruce Street Harbor Park down on Delaware Avenue.  It is a really cool place with tons of food trucks, hammocks, a makeshift beach, and cargo nets out over the water.  Alex and Gemma really liked it...especially because the Franklin Fountain has a pop-up location.  We went to dinner at a friend's house a couple blocks away and the kids got to play outside on their secluded street.  Alex played baseball, but Gemma was the one who ended up with skinned knees.  Poor baby.

may 24th - flags and s'mores...can't get more american

Morning stroll in Rittenhouse to get the kids tired enough for early naps so we could go to Newtown to hang with the Dreby clan.  Alex and Gemma got to play all day with Kyle and Lila, we made s'mores at the campfire, and Alex got to sleep with Ryan the dog....not that he really knew that...Ryan made the decision on his own.

Adults drinking leads to kids whacking trees with sticks...and a video with slightly off color conversation with Todd's neighbor.

may 23rd - collingswood mayfair

We went to a flea market in Headhouse Square this morning and let Alex navigate.  He loves pulling Gemma in the wagon...and she just smiles.  After early naps and a yard sale on maxi pads (courtesy of Gemma), we headed to Collingswood for a big festival.  We took the high speed train line over to South Jersey as a special treat for Alex.  He was beyond excited because the train goes over the Ben Franklin Bridge....and he got to hang with his buddy Drew.

may 22nd - happy birthday mommy

Mommy turned 34 years old today and Gemma arrived for the occasion dressed a little on the casual side.  Gramps came down for the afternoon and went to lunch with mommy and Daddy to celebrate.  Oyster House...yum.  We went for many walks, took selfies, and laughed at Gemma.  Alex and Mommy devoured the chocolate chip Kelly cake in the middle of the afternoon.

may 21st - two busses...and a zoo

Michelle took the kids to the Philadelphia zoo today, but you wouldn't know it if you hear the story from Alex.  He only talked about the fact that he got to ride two busses to the zoo.  "One on the way to the zoo...and one on the way home."  He also saw some zebras and bingos (flamingos).  Gemma just smiled and counted the minutes until lunch.

may 20th - daddy dinner

With Mommy out of town, Daddy and the kids made it out for dinner a couple nights.  We actually went for a bike ride and when we got to Headhouse Square Alex recognized where we were and decided we were going to get pizza at his favorite place.

may 19th - mommy goes to chica-do

Mommy has to head out of town for a couple days and Alex's inquisition on where it is she is intending on going has begun.  "Mommy are you going to Texas?  Washington DC?  Mexico?"  He is now a big helper who is no longer piss-your-pants-frightened of the vacuum cleaner.  He also had to sleep in Mommy's spot in bed while she was gone.

may 18th - ice cream on demand

The ice cream truck's continuous loop around our block goes on...and the smiles continue.

may 17th - italian market festival - take 2

Everyone slept a little more soundly after a day in the heat eating non-stop.  We did make it out before the crowd and Alex got to spin Gemma around the neighborhood in her bike.  Yesterday's desire for a Termini cupcake was replaced with a need to get a toy car that Alex could push around.  He strutted so proudly up the street...running it into strangers' ankles.  Oh yeah, every time the wheels turn a bell rings.  Not annoying at all...worth it for the grin on his face.

may 16th - italian market festival

Gramps and Grandmum got to see the excitement setting up for the Italian Market festival.  The kids were amped up to get outside and eat their body weight in Italian food.  Gemma got a little confused and mixed in some Mexican street corn.  Alex had his heart set on a sprinkle cupcake from Termini and it was quite a demonstration of raw passion when he finally got his hands on one.

may 15th - commitment and culture

We received our final "clear to close" communication from our broker for our new house...at least the location of our new house in Princeton.  Absolutely loved the email communication.  Gramps and Grandmum came into the city for a cultural evening at the Kimmel Center.  We went to Barclay Prime and drank them out of red wine before we even ordered our entrees.  Made for an interesting show...at least we think.

may 14th - south street night market

The night market descended on South Street East this morning, so we took the kids out for a stroll and gourmet food served out of the side of a mobile vehicle.  Everything is five bucks and delicious.  Alex spotted the ice cream truck within seconds and it did not take long for us to cave in and get him some.  Gemma also fired down some chocolate ice cream...a little too quickly...she decided to puke black liquid on Daddy during the walk home...while on shoulders.

may 13th - sh!t happens

Note to self - If you are on the potty doing your business and a 3-year-old walks in and says he has to go poopy very badly, you tie it off and get off the pot with a sense of urgency.  The resulting dribble in your adult pantaloons is nothing compared to a dump without an intended target.

may 12th - alex the adult

Alex went to the doctor today for his three year old appointment.  It is evident that he is getting older because instead of doing cutsie measurements and growth charts, they took his blood pressure and checked his balls.  He has graduated from the doctor making a big deal of how cute he is to an uncomfortable doctor-patient relationship where you are just another scrotum with an insurance card. Healthcare, eh?

Mommy went out to dinner with someone from work, so Daddy and the kids went to Hawthorne's.  Usually, it is a mad house trying to have dinner with both kids and Mommy gets anxiety.  Dinner with daddy...like angels.  Ate all their food.  Giggled.  Magic.

may 11th - meeting emily higgins

Jackie and Fred stopped by today with baby Emily and Alex & Gemma got to meet her...Alex was super excited to see "Emily is out of Jackie's belly."

Gemma now rides around on Chuggington, who is so much more accessorized than when Alex used to ride him around.  She hangs her purse from the handlebars and is always sure to travel with her pink mobile phone.

may 10th - mother's day

Mommy got a nice wake up call this morning for her special mother's day.  Alex went with Daddy to the store and picked out flowers.  He was really excited to come home and give them to her...

may 9th - cousin time

The kids woke up super early on a fine Saturday morning, so we went to Morning Glory for breakfast...since the rest of America was still sleeping and we could get a table.  We went back to Princeton to work through some new house stuff, so the kids got dropped off at Uncle Gary and Aunt Charissa's house.  They were both super excited to go and hang out with Farrah.  Their house is up for sale, so they went on a little adventure during a showing.  We spent the whole day at their house playing and having fun....

may 8th - spring

The kids are loving the springtime and getting outdoors without jackets.  Alex is especially excited about wearing shorts and his flip flops.  Michelle helped the kids make a really cute present for Mommy in celebration of Mother's Day.

may 7th - truck driver gemma

Gemma's new thing is to walk around with her hand down her pants.  Even when she is asleep she is acting inappropriate.  She thinks it is hilarious.

may 6th - bff's

Alex and Gemma went to playgroup and got to hang out with Alex's main squeeze, Lucy.  The playgroup is in center city...every time we walk past Alex points it out to us...he has a very good sense of direction.

may 5th - everyone's mexican

Our backyard beach for Cinco de Mayo is just what the doctor ordered for the kids to cool off.  Constant giggles coming from our patio when these two are out there splashing around.

may 4th - hair day

It's officially getting warm and muggy and Gemma's sweat glands were inherited from her Mommy.  She is a hot mess these days and the hair is getting out of control.

may 3rd - ice cream truck!!!!!!!!!

We did a lot of stuff today, but this is the moment that made it worth getting out of bed.

may 2nd - south street festival

Alex woke up at 6am and we went for a walk so he could shred up Fitzwater Street on his scooter.  He took a short break to refuel on a giant biscotti that was the size of his arm.  We had a good time at Palumbo watching Alex hit baseballs off of his tee, and then we went to the South Street festival.

Either we are getting old or people are getting dumber.  We battled our way through the crowd and ended up in Headhouse Square for some pizza and ice cream.  By the time we got home, the kids went straight into the tub and then to bed.  Long day...lots of activity.

may 1st - busy friday

Alex had to go to South Jersey for a checkup on his ears to make sure everything is going well with his ear tubes.  He and Daddy had a special adventure on the way home.  They rode the train back into the city...the one that goes over the Ben Franklin Bridge.  On the way over Alex insisted we "look for dolphins in the water."  When we got back Alex said, "thanks for taking me on the train daddy"...so damn cute.

We strolled through our neighborhood to kill some time before Alex's haircut on South Street.  Gemma picked flowers and Alex went to the candy shop.  We went out for a Mexican dinner on the way home and raised a little hell.  Gemma threw half of her quesadilla on the floor, dumped a glass of water on herself, and lost one year's stay in our house.  She's only one, but effectively losing privileges later in life for her misbehavior.

april 30th - our little bag lady

Gemma looks like a bonafide hobo.  She puts on three backpacks, fills her stroller with junk and is off....the backward pink fireman's hat is a nice touch.  Michelle took the kids to Franklin Square and Alex went straight for his favorite zebra.  Gemma tried her first mozzarella stick...intrigued, but still on the fence.

april 29th - boot buddies

april 28th - fifteen month check-up

Gemma went in for her routine appointment and passed with flying colors.  She is a very healthy human.  two shots.  both arms.  not happy.

Height: 29.8 inches (32nd percentile)
Weight: 20lb 15oz (21st percentile)
Head: 18.75 inches (91st percentile)....big surprise

april 27th - french toasters

These two sit on the counter every morning and get into breakfast before even making it to the table.  Gemma usually has an entire banana before breakfast is even made.  Alex goes straight for the carbs.

april 26th - sunday in the city

A morning stroll in the city was mandatory due to the beautiful weather.  Alex rode his bike all the way to Rittenhouse Square...with a short stop at the construction site.  He put his bike on the bike rack while we watched the construction.

In the afternoon, we went to Seger and blew some bubbles.  Alex wanted to get ice cream so we walked back into the city for a pit stop.  He wanted to sit outside, so he just helped himself out to a spot on the stoop in front.

april 25th - firehouse birthday for brayden

We went to Princeton today to review another round of our house plans and then we went to a firehouse in Bordertown to celebrate Brayden's birthday.  Alex was "super, super excited" to see the firetrucks.  He even got to get inside of one and drive.

april 24th - oral hygiene

Gemma is mastering the brushing of the teeth.  She won't sit still while she does it, but its not as if we expected her to sit still for more than 30 seconds.  never.  stops.

april 23rd - stubborn

Gemma takes after Daddy in that she has to pick everything up at the same time.  She will spend an hour trying to get everything in a pile that she can pick up all at once...just to move it three feet.  Well disciplined.  Highly inefficient.

april 22nd - the many hair styles of gem gem

april 21st - master imitator

Gemma follows Alex around and HAS to do everything that her big brother does...we had to order her a backpack in her size so she can put it on the same as Alex.  She even tries to climb the fence right after Alex to prove she is just as capable.

april 20th - one man's trash...

Daddy brought back lots of free stuff from the conference and Alex is a big believer in putting free stuff to work.  He was wearing Daddy's name badge around the house all day and filled the free laptop bag with all of his matchbox cars.

april 19th - double decker bus

Daddy had to go to a boring conference at the convention center today, so Mommy took the kids on a double decker bus ride.  Alex was in his glory and didn't stop talking about his adventure.  Gemma was unimpressed and needed to be bribed with snacks.

april 18th - fednuts & lila turns one

We went for a walk into the city on a mission for Federal Donuts, but Alex insisted we have a short layover in front of the Kimmel Center to take in the construction site.  The donuts were amazing, as usual, and Gemma agreed when she woke up from her nap.  Mommy shopped for a while, so the kids took in the local sites.

This afternoon we went to Lila Dreby's first birthday party in Newtown.  The kids had fun playing and Lila ate her cake unlike anything any human has ever witnessed.