july 26th - man stuff

The kids are both sick as dogs, but Daddy managed to get Alex out of the house for a Gemma-free afternoon...praise jesus.  We took a walk down to the east passyunk car show, and it was the best decision ever.  Alex LOVED it.  We looked at every single car they had at the event.  Every engine, every tire, every interior, every head light, every tail light, every steering wheel.  Alex found one that was his size and wanted to buy it.  He recognized every car that he has in his matchbox collection.  He kept his hands at his side and never touched one of them...even though sometimes he was close enough to lick it...much discipline and respect.

We stopped mid-way down the stretch for pizza and beer, but he insisted we continue.  We walked all the way to broad street, which is almost 3 miles from our house.  We refueled with some ice cream and took a cab home...also a big hit because we got one of the new cabs with a TV in the back.

july 25th - uncle frank is 40

We went into Princeton this morning to do a little shopping and these two monkeys continued there streak of acting like morons.  Alex is already a pro on the area because he somehow led Daddy directly to Halo Pub...tough to say no to Gemma's big brown eyes looking up at you....batting her eyelashes.

Went to Uncle Frank's new house this afternoon to celebrate his 40th birthday (was really yesterday). The kids ran around his central staircase for close to three hours...amazing built-in babysitter.

july 24th - devil

We went to Beeps and Grandpa Mike's tonight for dinner and this picture about sums it up.  Gemma was the devil.  She is feeling under the weather because her molars are coming in....and is standing on the precipice of the cruel world of late stage adoption.  She was on our last nerve at around 6:59am.

july 23rd - will endure girl talk for food

Gemma is now riding on the glider and could not be prouder of herself.  Mommy had wine night tonight and Mr. Alex was a willing participant.  He sat and played on his iPad...eavesdropping on their conversation...stopping only briefly to sample the finger foods every few minutes.

july 22nd - polar ice caps not the only thing suffering

Picture worth a thousand words....it is hot and Alex is struggling to tame his mane.

july 21st - eighteen months and counting

Gemma went for her 18 month appointment today.  Good news...she is human, and not autistic.

Weight: 21.4 lbs (42%)
Height: 31 in (27%)
Head: 18.75 in (85%)

She will shop in the petite section for clothes, but buy her hats at Bob's Big & Tall.

july 20th - chase utley in training

Alex's love of the game is continuing and he is getting better at hitting the ball off the tee.  He even started going a little soul patch so he can emulate Chase Utley off the field.  His swing is coming along, but the facial hair is actually ice cream sandwich.

july 19th - too hot for the outdoors

It is so hot in Philly this weekend, so we took the kids to the Academy of Natural Sciences to see the dinosaurs.  Alex got to be a paleontologist and hit the dig site...killer goggles.  Gemma ran around screaming at every animal...wondering why they were not moving.

Mommy constructed a beach in the backyard for the kids to play in after their naps.  By the end of play time, the whole family was pretty much in our panties because we were minutes away from bursting into flames.

july 18th - play like no one's watching

We went to the ice cream festival at Reading Terminal today, which was a bit of a bust.  Although, we can chalk one up in the win column because we did feast on some homemade Bassett's.  On the way home we walked past City Hall.  The one time that we didn't bring their bathing suits and then went absolutely friggin nuts in the water fountains.

july 17th - i learned it by watching you

Alex and Gemma love Emily and both of them try to help Jackie take care of her all the time.  Even when Emily is not here, the kids tend to use the baby dolls for stuff that Jackie does...caught Alex with the baby on his lap under a blanket while he was eating lunch because thats what Jackie does when she nurses.

july 16th - big moves

Gemma has graduated from the baby swing to the big girl swing.  She looks like a professional...although right after this picture, she took a digger.

july 15th - painting monkey

july 14th - back to the beach

Grandmom Burger came down into Philly today to go to lunch with Daddy.  After the kids nap, we went down to Spruce Street Harbor and grabbed dinner.  Alex played in the makeshift beach and got sand in just about every crack of his body.

july 13th - squatter

Alex is loving sleeping in our bed at night.  Typically, we move him into his bed when we retire, but sometimes the energy levels are drained.  This makes him very happy in the morning.

july 12th - water sports continue

Spent the day at Sister Cities to get the kids some more water fun in a different locale.  Alex rode his balance bike the whole way there and back...close to 4 miles without a complaint.  Gemma almost busted her face in the wading pond and a nice CC parks employee gave her a Spider Man bandaid.  Proud does not explain it.  It was like it made her taller.  She had a grin all day.  Looking at it and showing it to everyone.

july 11th - burger bits

All the burger babies (the ones under 6) were in Philly today for a family dinner.  Why not open up the fire hydrant and turn our street into Dorney Park?  All the kids had a blast and our neighbor brought them home italian water ice.  Had so much fun watching all the activity...while Uncle Frank slept off a mid-afternoon buzz on the couch.  Lame.

july 10th - mommy's back

Mommy came back today and Alex was granted the special request of going to Ciafrani Park...which is on 8th and Fitzwater (correctly identified by Alex).  They have two cars that are exactly the same...Alex refuses to get in the one with no door, so Gemma gets the crap car.

We took "a really big black car" into center city and had dinner at Tequila's followed by some time in Rittenhouse.  A man playing the accordion was entertainment for the kids, who danced and tipped him on the way out.

july 9th - sweet pea

Alex started his soccer shots weekly practice sessions, so daddy and his biggest cheerleader (Gemma) went along to watch.  Mommy is out of town in DC, so it was just the three of us for Pizza at Nomad.  We had a seat upstairs, which has a movie theater sized screen...Alex was mesmerized and unresponsive.

july 8th - trouble

If you see these four walking toward you, cross the street.

july 7th - gemma expands knowledge

Gemma is loving art classes during the day where she gets to paint.  Insists on the smock, which is actually a good thing.  Also, getting to know her colors.

july 6th - gemma on no nap

Mommy left this morning for a week long business trip in Washington DC, so it is just the three of us for the whole week.  We had lots of fun tonight, but Gemma on no nap is like a bipolar schizo...one minute she is giggling, the next she is crying because the sky is blue.  Can't wait for menopause.

july 5th - it's city hall daddy

Alex took us on an adventure to City Hall.  The "building with the clock" is his favorite and he can get you there on his bike without asking for directions.  He goes with Jackie and Gemma all the time to play in the water, so he was really excited to show Mommy and Daddy.  Afterward, it was back to our house to play in the fire hydrant and eat some italian water ice.

july 4th - happy birthday america

Mommy made some patriotic pancakes this morning and explained to the kids that it was America's birthday.

Alex - "when is she coming over so we can sing to her?"
Mommy - "America is where we live...it is all around us"
Alex - "so I just sing to my pancakes?"

I believe after 16 years of being in Philadelphia, we finally made it to the 4th of July parade at Independence Mall.  It was really nice and the kids enjoyed every minute.  Alex had pure joy on his face with every new thing coming by...even after it started pouring rain on us.  No fireworks for us, but Alex had some poppers....and he made us go to the store and buy 12 more boxes the next day...a hit?

july 3rd - america

Celebrated the day off from work for the 4th of July by taking the kids to Sesame Place for the morning.  Alex and Gemma were so excited that they each grabbed their stuffed animals for the car ride over.  Gemma is loving "M-Elmo" so much right now, so it was fun taking her to see all of the characters.  The place was hopping, but everyone went to the water park so we had the run of the regular amusement park.  The kids got to go on a ton of rides without waiting in lines.  Thank God!

This afternoon, we had a lot of fun listening to music on the lawn of Independence Hall....very patriotic.  Alex shared his racecar with a little girl, that somehow became the fifth member of our family for a good hour.  We eventually dismissed ourselves to get some food so that we didn't have to blow up the air mattress for her to spend the night.  Alex was very nice about it...Gemma not so much.

beer, ice cream, free butterscotch krimpets, flags, philly pops, jogging home carrying 32 pounds...awesome day

july 2nd - pool time

Mommy took the kids to Millersville last night so they could get a day in by the pool.  The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but they did squeeze in enough time for a quick swim and a nude photoshoot.  Alex got to play with his new racetrack that happens to be affixed to the new shirt that he got for Gramps.  Better him than us.

july 1st - kids and their fashion

Gemma dressed herself this morning.  Below is the result.  No rain in the forecast, but she is rocking those boots.

june 30th - young love

Alex had some quality time today with Lucy at the library...and even got in some boy-girl dancing.  Looks a bit like he has his finger in his nose in the picture on the left.  We will have to have a discussion with him about that.  He is either 1) ignorant to the fact that girl's dislike nose pickers or 2) very aware of his surroundings and especially sly and discreet in getting that crispy boog that has been bothering him all day.  bravo.

june 29th - bums

june 28th - confident in his skin

Daddy went to Uncle Gary's house today to help install some new floors, so Mommy spent the day with the kids in Philly.  Beeps came down for a morning visit and then they spent the rest of the afternoon at Hawthorne Park listening to some Reggae music.  Alex was excited to see Lucy was there and he joined in to a pickup soccer game with a bunch of older kids.  PROUD.

june 27th - rainy day consumerism

Crappy Saturday, so we ran some errands in South Jersey to support the economy.  Took the kids into Cherry Hill to have their feet measured and get some new shoes.  Mommy got some new shades.  Alex got two new pairs of "kicks" and Gemma picked out her own PINK sneakers.  She LOVED them.  The woman at Nordstrom's took the shoe from her to get her size and she then ran over and grabbed the same shoe from the big girl's section to show it to us again.  She REALLY wanted them....and then INSISTED that she wear them out of the store.

june 26th - sucky ducky

Took the kids to the Harbor Park to see what is supposed to be the largest inflatable rubber ducky floating on the Delaware River.  Apparently, the duck is having issues maintaining his air, so the only damn duck we saw was on Alex's shirt.

june 25th - sugar hunter

If m&m's could feel fear, they would definitely be shaking in their shells when they see Alex coming, sans pants, for an after dinner treat...especially the brown ones.

june 24th - give me some room

june 23rd - seek cover

The sh!t has officially hit the fan and Sheena Parveen is running for cover.  When Hurricane Schwartz tells you to stay in your basement, if possible, you know it's about to go down.  There were some funnel clouds hovering outside of Philly and some supposed tornados touching down in South Jersey.  Damn global warming...after the storm we had an amazing sunset.  All of a sudden Alex sat up and said, "it's yellow outside Daddy."

june 22nd - potential first baseman

If he could only master the catching.  Alex's interest in sports grows exponentially every day.  We play soccer and have a catch almost every day now.  He loves throwing the ball and is really starting to get the coordination to catch.  He is learning to stretch out with the correct leg, so his first baseman form is really maturing.

june 21st - father's day

The kids woke daddy up this morning, each with a card in their hand.  Gemma was so excited that she couldn't wait to open it...really cute.  Alex says, "that's your name inside the card Daddy...and my name."  We had breakfast at Morning Glory and took a walk at the Schuykill River boardwalk.  Alex loved it...bridges, river, boats, buildings, train tracks, dog parks..."you see that mommy?  mommy?  mommy?  you see that over there?"

june 20th - channeling big ernie mccracken

Alex and Gemma had their first experience sucking back beers and rolling some balls down the lanes at South Bowl.  Alex had so much fun and he was so serious trying to "knock over the pings."  Gemma loved the hand dryer and touching every dirty item in the establishment.  We made it over to Spruce Street Harbor Park for the required sundae from Franklin Fountain and a giant game of connect four.

june 19th - princetonians

We went to hang out in our new 'hood tonight for the Jazam's block party in Palmer Square.  Jazam's is a really cool toy store on the square, so the entire block party was kid heaven.  Alex learned how to hula hoop and Gemma secured a stash of lollipops.  The adults enjoyed many cocktails...and even Uncle Frank and Amy made it out for festivities.  Beeps and Alex disappeared and came back with a pretty cool digger and baby doll for GemGem.

june 18th - celebratory pizza night

Alex finished his mini soccer camp tonight, so we promised him we would go out for pizza.  His excitement level would have been even higher if he knew going in that they would have chocolate pizza for dessert.