Cookie Monster

Paps - This is for you since you are always asking if Bernie has had any tricks up his sleeve.


The past couple of weeks, Bernie has finally learned to exit his crib by himself. Usually, when he gets up, I can hear him or he'll come get me, or even, sometimes he'll go wake Arianna up.

One particular day this week, I got up and started getting ready for work, but noticed they were "sleeping" a little late. Once I realized it was about 30 minutes later than the normal wake up time, I walked out of my room to scan the scene.

I noticed Bernie's door was open, so I knew he'd gotten up. But, Arianna was still in bed. So if he didn't come in my room and didn't wake up Arianna, where must he be????

I head towards the kitchen/dining/living rooms. Ohhh, Bernie is in the kitchen. On his tiptoes, reaching for the cookie jar.

He said he had one, but honestly, his face was too clean for chocolate chip cookie consumption.

Moral of the story - now the baby gate stays up at night too!

Our Day in Camera Phone Photos

NO work this week. Probably since 3 or 4 days since our second child was born, have Marty and I both had a few days off work simultaneously.


A few months ago we were going to take a vacation and were planning to go to Myrtle Beach, SC this week. However, since then, we unexpectedly (but quite excitedly), moved to our local beach and decided not to go that route


Therefore, this week is now our staycation week.



Yesterday we did just do some personal errands, but it was still fun to have our family all together and not worry about what time it is or where we have to be, etc.


Today, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa.

And, therefore, Our Day in Camera Phone Photos, since I forgot my camera.

Bernie is checking out the fire engine.

Arianna and the dinosaur.

Bernie and the dinosaur.

Life sized checker board.

Marty is on a bed of nails.

My favorite part of the day - one of my favorite places to eat in college, but there are not too many locations in Florida. We happened to be close to one today, so I had to go there.

The rest of the week includes a trip to Sea World and a garage sale.
Stay Tuned!

Rain, Rain Go Away

It's the end of my 3 day weekend. And my guess is that it has rained for 62 hours out of the 72. And every day for the prior week. That's a lot of rain. Amazingly enough, the rain quit at 7:00pm July 4th and didn't rain again until after the fireworks.



Thank you God for our freedom


and to all of those who sacrifice to defend and protect it.




We ate a great dinner with my parents, which include ribs, baked beans, potato salad and homemade ice cream for dessert.

We have a hand crank/motorized ice cream maker and the kids had so much fun cranking away!


Stirring the pre ice cream mix.




Drinking the every last lick of that yummy ice cream.

We finally headed to the beach about an hour early to claim our spot before the fireworks. The kids were very excited about fireworks and kept asking for more. We watched at least an hours worth and the kids didn't get in bed til 10:30.

Don't worry, Marty and I paid for it, because when the kids stay up late, they don't sleep. And when they don't sleep, we don't sleep. Good thing, it was indeed, a 3 day weekend.


Playing in the sand before fireworks.


HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had some family over last Sunday and were able to dine at our new picnic table under the beautiful tree in the front yard at our new house.

Martin, the grillmaster, made us up some wonderful hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats. Everyone else brought the yummy sides and desserts.



We had some fun slip and slide action too.







After about 2 hours of this the kids were still not ready to quit. Thankfully the grandparents were still around to keep them occupied elsewhere for a while.

Thank you to all of our soldiers, veterans and their families for all the sacrifices made for our great country!

(Moving) Out with a BANG!

We have successfully moved into our new (rental) home. But, not before a minor incident happened.

Let me just say that it is VERY difficult to move with a 2 and 3 year old. They want constant attention, which keeps one more person away from packing and moving things.

While I was trying to eliminate the role of that extra person, I let the kids play on the patio with bubbles, balls, etc. I knew they weren't in the street and should be able to stay out of harm's way.

Ahem. I know better now. A 2 year old, a ball, and a truck with the tailgate down is a brutal combination.

As you could probably figure out, Bernie ran smack dab into the back of the tailgate chasing his ball. With my arms full, I suddenly dropped my load and ran to my crying son with blood gushing out of his forehead.

Thankfully, Erica was there to keep me calm and collected.
Otherwise, I might have panicked.

We finally got him all cleaned up (other than changing his bloody shirt and shorts), but the blood kept coming. Erica and I contemplated the next step. Was it bad enough to take him to the ER or just disturb our wonderful pediatrician on a Saturday?

(Marty was at work, so that was another decision to make. Was this serious enough to bother him, to ask him to come home?)

Dr. Kagan ( best Dr. ever) met us at his office to give him "stitches". Instead of stitches these days, they put a type of "glue" over the wound to get the sides of the cut to move back together. It turns out the cut was not very long, but kind of deep. Dr. said that it was mandatory to have this done, but in the long run it'd cause less scarring.



This picture was taken 2 days later. Do you see the shiny circle around the wound? And yes, it now just looks like a normal cut. Isn't it always better to be safe than sorry?

Thank you Bernie for providing our family's first "accident emergency" and round of stitches. I'm sure there are many more to come!

Royal Blessings

Last night, my mother took Arianna and I to a special event at church called "Royal Blessings" to recognize and appreciate women around mother's day.



The little girls dressed up as princesses and paraded around the room. Arianna was a little overwhelmed and shy, but she did a great job "princessing" around.



My dad had the privilege of keeping Bernie during this time. Bernie pulled all the appropriate tricks on the rookie babysitter, especially stalling him at bedtime.

When Arianna laid down to bed she said to me, "Mommy, I'm done being a princess today." It must be tough work!

New Scooters

Of course it's been a while since I've updated this. Have no worries, there will be plenty of new pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Recently, the kids got new scooters. I mean, why not? New season, new scooter.

The helmets are just for precautionary measure. Well and the fact that Bernie bangs his head on something at least 10 times a day when he's using 2 feet to get around. Just thought the one foot balance act on a moving device could be a little tricky. However, both kids caught on really fast! What can I say, they are smart!!!


And she's off!



What a cool dude!



I love the pure thrill on her face!


After a hard day's work, there is nothing better to cool you down.