Liam's 1st Day of Pre-K

After seeing Emmy and Kaelyn have so much fun in Mrs. Trumpler's Pre-K class all last year, Liam just couldn't wait for it to be his turn.  On September 16, the day had finally arrived, and he was ready.  Dressed in his handsome new shirt from Nana, Liam dusted off his backpack, grabbed his umbrella, and he was off!

Liam and Joergen on L's first day of pre-K

The rain did nothing to dampen his excitement.
"Now stop taking pictures, Mom, and let's GO!"

Walking up the steps to school.  His new classroom is right next to Mrs. Tenney's class where he was last year.

Inside his classroom, Liam proudly showed me his hook.

I handed Mrs. Trumpler all of Liam's instructions and medications (including his cool new Auvi-Q) and waved goodbye, knowing  that after such a positive experience with the great care Liam received at Valley Forge Presbyterian last year, he was in very caring and capable hands.

At pick-up time later that morning, Mrs. Trumpler was so proud of all the kids for having such a great first day that she gave them each their own pair of star sunglasses.

Liam was proud.

As we were leaving school, I said, "Liam, how was your first day?!"

He replied (while playing a mean air guitar), "I'm not Liam, Mom.  I'm a Rock Star."

Indeed.

Hello, Heather!

Over Labor Day weekend, we finished the last of our packing and began the process of leaving our first home.  We loved that house and all the memories we made there!

One last picture of Liam at the front steps.  Joergen had taken off running :)

THIS.  This was probably our hardest goodbye.

We spent the best 6 years of our life together (so far!) in that house on Jean Dr.  It was the biggest purchase we'd ever made and taught us countless lessons in homeownership.  We learned to be handier than we actually were (oh, those living room baseboards!), to clean in ways we never thought possible (the dog hair from the previous owners!  In the wall sockets!), and to worry in a way that could only prepare us for parenthood (as we got cheated by painters, stressed over water leaks, and prepared for blizzards and hurricanes alike).  Most importantly, it was the home where we brought our children home from the hospital. They took their first steps, said their first words, and had their first birthdays there.  The downstairs was perfect for "running laps" as the boys went around and around with push toys and grill tongs, and the creaks in the floors upstairs let us know when Liam was, once again, sneaking out of bed.  It was the imperfectly perfect first home for us.

But... when one door closes, another one opens!

We closed on our new home on Heather Road right before the weekend and couldn't believe it was finally ours!

Topping the lists of new home features we are most excited about... the garage!

A close second is a tie between the enclosed sun porch...

... and the park in our backyard!

But ew... definitely not the basement.  The only list that basement is at the top of is renovation projects!

While we were hard at work at the new house, the boys got to spend a little "vacation" (as Liam called it) at Aunt Jackie and Uncle Tim's house.  Aunt Jackie and Nana held down the fort there with all the little ones, while Uncle Tim and Grandpa came to our new house to help with our long list of chores and projects.  To say we were grateful for everyone's help both here and in NJ is a serious understatement!

Aunt Jackie sent some awesome photos throughout the weekend of their adventures, and I loved taking a break from cleaning and packing to follow their fun!

"Wait, those aren't all stuffed animals in my bed!"

Colin and Joergen in Colin's reading nook

And my all time favorite...

Joergen hammering a box... but look closely.  Liam and Colin are IN the box!

After a fun weekend for them and a seriously productive weekend for us, the boys returned home for our last two nights on Jean Drive before the moving trucks rolled in and we made the move officially official.  Afterwards, the boys were ever so helpful with unpacking...

... and reassembling our furniture.

The boys did such a great job with the transition!  The boxes are now unpacked (but please, do not go in our basement!) and it's starting to really feel like home.  Looking forward to many years of new memories!

Carnies, Part II

I'm saving our move for another post, so I'm going to go a little out of my usual chronological order (this one is much more fun, anyway!).  In the middle of September, we traveled to York for a great weekend just "hanging out" with GG:

The weather was gorgeous, so we spent some time on GG's balcony playing with bubbles.

We went through almost an entire bottle of fluorescent bubbles (they came with the automatic bubble contraption), only to discover a warning on the label that the bubbles would stain clothing and other surfaces.  WHAT?!  Sorry for the glowing mess on your balcony, GG!

Our other purpose for the trip to York that weekend was to hit up the York Fair, otherwise known by the boys as the "big huge carnival".  No sooner did they get their ride tickets when Liam saw this helicopter and jumped in line.  I can't get over how fearless this kid is when it comes to rides!  Can you see his little face peeking out of the second window from the front?

Speaking of fearless... I could have died when I saw how fast this ride went, but Liam grabbed Dad's hand and begged him to ride with him.  Better Dad than me!  They got whipped around and around... and around some more.  Nana and I just stood there laughing - half at Liam's reactions, and half out of nervousness.  That ride seemed like it would never end!  I love how Liam put his arms in the air like it was a roller coaster.

Joergen was literally a half of an inch too short for many of the rides, which was understandably pretty frustrating for him... but the look on his face when he learned that the was just the right height for the backhoes and could climb on board was priceless!  (I knew this one had to be okay, though, because he rode it last year!)  That boy just loves his "goo-night 'struction sites"...

The height board for the kiddie train ride was a little off, so Joergen managed to get by the height requirement to ride with Liam. The train was very slow and just went around in a circle... I was kind of shocked there was a height requirement at all!

One ride I knew we all could do with no problem was the carousal.  Dad is holding up the autographed poster the boys got at the circus earlier in the day.  They were both totally awestruck by their BMX stunt act! 

Some selfies with my little men:

Can't wait to go back again next year!

Carnies, Part I

The end of summer means the start of our carnival season, which Liam and Joergen look forward to more than anything!  Our parish sponsors a community carnival at the end of August, followed by the York County Fair in September... but we'll save that one for the next post.

This year's MDP Carnival was so much fun!  The boys were pretty adventurous with rides and games, so we were glad to go on wristband night so they could ride to their hearts' content.  Here were some of their favorites:

Riding the choo-choo train together

J getting ready to fly in some kind of robot space contraption

Going through the fun house together... over, and over, and over again!

Playing a game of ring toss

Joergen getting some help at the shooting range

Liam entered a kicking contest- and won for his age group!

His prize was a set of handcuffs, which he put to good use right away.

Liam also rode some pretty dizzying big-kid rides; fortunately, Dad took him on those while I accompanied Joer on the tamer sort.  At the end of the night, we all met up at the ferris wheel, but by this time, Joergen was about ready to find a chewie and hit the hay :)

Team Derry selfie while waiting our turn in line

Ah... look who perked up once that ferris wheel got moving!

The view from the top was great on this side of the car.  Out the other side was just the highway... and Costco.

The best part of the MDP Carnival is that it means the York Fair is just around the corner...

Visit from Grandma and Toni

Back in August, while Aunt Doreen and Uncle Sam took their annual (well-deserved) vacation to the beach, Grandma and cousin Antonia came to visit and to take care of the kiddos while Dad and I were at work. Keep in mind that we were in the midst of packing up all of our worldly possessions in preparation for our upcoming move at this time, too, so I pretty much have no idea what we would have done without those two amazing helpers!  And let me tell you, our Toni is one heck of a babysitter-in-training.

Everyone had a super-fun week together, and Grandma did such a great job balancing action-packed days with learning (love that both of their grandmas are teachers!) and relaxing.  On the action-packed end, Grandma took Toni and the boys to Dutch Wonderland for a fun-filled day with the Hantz family.  It was great they could go on a weekday when the crowds weren't quite so thick!

Liam and Pierre riding the train

Joergen driving a bulldozer.  His life's dream fulfilled!

There was lots of other fun to be had a little closer to home, too. They spent lots of time at the park...

Played dress-up...

Dr. Antonia, Capt. Liam, and Joergen the Dragon (that costume is sized 6-12 months!)

Learned new games... (or perhaps just new Mine Craft strategies?)

Danced in the kitchen...

"Horsed" around...

... and read the Sunday funnies.  Liam loved laughing at those comics with Grandma!

Grandma sent me this photo of the boys while I was at work one day... melted. my. heart.

The babysitting duo took such good care of Liam and Joergen!  Joer was pretty congested at the start of that week and was running a bit of a fever, so it was time to bust out the nebulizer to open his little airways.  He had never sat so still for his breathing treatments as he did for Grandma!

One of my favorite moments from that week was getting to steal Toni away for a girls night, just the two of us.  We got pedicures at my favorite salon and then over to the farm for ice cream... it was so nice to spend some time together catching up!  I just love that girly!

Now, to figure out how to get her into our babysitting rotation... :)

Thank you, Grandma and Toni, for all your help with packing, cleaning, and babysitting that week!