Choo Choo!

All aboard the Potty Train! Yep - I dare say we may be on our last pack of diapers EVER. Lily has been a champ at both peeing AND pooping on the potty all last week and this week! I have just been staying home (for the most part) with her and letting her run around the house with no pants on, and she has peed on the floor only 2 times in the last 2 weeks!

Hooray!!

In other news - Emmalee and Micah are both doing GREAT in school! Micah really loves his class and his teachers - he looks forward to school every morning. They do some really COOL stuff. On Monday they had family night at a local farm that is part of the school, and we got to go on a hayride and see the classroom they will be visiting when they go to the farm. There was a corn maze and a hay ride too. He is also playing t-ball and loves it!

Emmalee is enjoying third grade - she is becoming quite the writer! She really enjoys writing stories and is very detailed in her descriptions! She is participating in Girl Scouts again this year, and of course is taking ballet lessons again. I am one of the room parents for her class this year, and I am excited that I will be able to spend quite a bit of time in the classroom for various activities.

So far it has been a fun year!

Week of Firsts!

1. Emmalee started her first day of 3rd grade bright and early Monday morning! Her teacher's name is Mrs. Jacobs, who has the reputation of being the nicest teacher in the school! Emmalee, of course, already loves her. She is excited about the kids in her class as well, and has been having a wonderful first week! She has had a little bit of math and reading homework every night.

2. After finding Lily sleeping on her FLOOR Sunday night, because she had climbed out of her crib but was unable to climb back in - and she tried; her stool was pulled over next to the crib - we decided it was time to take down the crib and put up her big girl bed on Monday morning! I was unsure of whether or not she would stay in it, and at naptime, she climbed right in, didn't get out, and fell fast asleep for a wonderful 2 1/2 hour nap! Hooray! She has continued to do wonderfully all week!

3. Tuesday morning was Lily's first day of preschool at Little Blessings, the same once-a-week preschool Micah went to last year. We loved it, and the teacher/owner so much, we signed Lily up for the 2-year-old program this year! Off she went, and had such a great time that, when it was time to go home, she threw a crying FIT! I knew she would love it there! She will go every Tuesday morning from 9-11:30am. Which means I will have 2 1/2 hours a week to myself!

4. Tuesday night was the Open House/Orientation at Micah's new preschool. We all went and met his teachers and his classmates, and the kids got to check out their room. Then, this morning (Thursday), Micah had his first day of school! He is going to the Wintonbury Early Childhood Magnet School (http://www.wintonburymagnet.org/), and he goes to school 5 days a week, all day. He went right in this morning without a second glance back! I have a feeling he's going to love this school!

This weekend we are spending some time at the Woodstock Fair Friday night and Saturday, and Sunday Steve and I are going to MA for the night for a going-away party for our good friend Micah, who is being deployed to Afghanistan for a year. The week after next, Emmalee starts back up with ballet lessons, Micah is starting t-ball, and Lily and I will be going to a Mommy and Me story time on Fridays at the library! Busy busy!

Summer Stuff!

We had Lily's kid party last weekend here at the house. It was a good time with good friends! One of my friends lent me her bounce house, and the little kids had a great time in it. Steve also bought water balloons, which were the biggest hit with the kids. Aside from a minor accident in which Lily somehow sliced her toe open (and thankfully did NOT need stitches although it bled like crazy!), everyone had a great time!

Monday and Tuesday of last week we all went over to Cape Cod, where my sister Andrea and her family were renting a house for the week. The weather was gorgeous and we spent both days at the beach playing in the water. The waves were great on Monday, and Tuesday the water was so calm that we were able to let the kids wade by themselves. They loved it! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera!! Grrrrrr.

This past Thursday night was Emmalee's Summer Theater Camp performance of Pinocchio. She played the part of "Angelina Bobalina Banana Fana Fofalina", the evil witch of Party Island that turns the kids into donkeys. She was GREAT! At the end of the show, it was announced that next year's performance will be The Wizard of Oz, and she can hardly wait! Here are pictures of Emmalee with her 2 favorite teachers/camp directors, Mr. Zuliani (left) and Mr. Morency (right).

Saturday morning was so beautiful and I was dying to do something outside. Naturally, I wanted to go to the beach, but Steve was all beached out (he's not a huge fan), so we decided that, after 5 years of living at the base of the Heublein Tower, we would FINALLY hike to the top of the mountain and check it out. We put Lily in the kid backpack and set out. It was a great hike, and the house and tower is amazing. It was the summer home of the Heublein family. I wanted to move right in. The views were awesome - you could see as far as Springfield, MA, and all over CT and some of New York from each direction. Very Cool. I highly recommend doing it sometime if you are ever in New England. 120 stairs to the observation deck (which they used as a ballroom back then), but so worth it. On our way back down we found this adorable orange newt, and then in the road on our way out, we saw this snake. Steve and I had fun, the kids had fun, and there was minimal whining.

We have nothing planned for the month of August, and I am looking forward to spending more time at the pool, and going back to the beach, and relaxing before school starts. And of course... the Woodstock Fair!