And, We're Off!

We have officially kicked off another school year - Abby's last year of preschool began last week. So far, she has enjoyed seeing her friends, meeting her new teachers, doing art projects and of course, snack time. Not that she tells me much but I manage to pull a few things out of her every now and then! I was lucky enough that this year's Shabbat list was alphabetical by FIRST name, so Abby (and I) were first up (last year it was alphabetical by LAST name which meant we were last of 14 so Abby had to wait until January for me to come!). I saw her classroom, sang songs with the kids and celebrated Shabbat last week. It was a nice opportunity for me since I rarely have the chance to go to her school.

Zach's taking off in other ways - Heather (his physical therapist) has begun to encourage him to take a few steps on his own. While it's only 2-3 steps at a time right now, we have no doubt that he'll be off and running in no time. My hope is to have him walk to trick-or-treat, so we'll see! And, the little guy will be starting music class soon - his favorite activity as he bounces around and dances to the songs.

I was off to Minneapolis this week for a one-night work trip. It was fun to be an adult for a night, but I did miss kissing the kids goodnight and seeing their faces in the morning.

Last, but not least, we are all off to Chicago next week to celebrate Rosh Hashana with Grammy Sheryl and the rest of the family. It will be our first time as a family of 4 going on a plane! Zach's first trip was when he was 5 months old, but it was just with me; now we'll get to see how both kids do on the plane and in Grammy's 2-bedroom apartment. We are all looking forward to at least one home-cooked meal (not Grammy's) and seeing some good friends and family.

We all hope this fall will be a great time to start lots of new things - jobs, classes, activities and more!

Fall is Here!

It is hard to believe that it's September and Labor Day is upon us, just staring us in the face and saying "ha, ha, summer flew by and fall is here!" Just like that, summer is over and school will be starting 10 days from now. My big girl is all ready to start her last year of preschool (tear) and my big boy will be doing a pre-preschool mommy-(or nanny)-and-me and music class this fall. I cannot believe that just one year from now, Abby will be off to kindergarten and Zach will start preschool. It's just going by way too quickly!

It's also about that time to pack up the sandals, dresses, shorts and t-shirts and trade them in for warm, cozy jackets, tights (Abby's favorite), boots and long-sleeves. This means that I should really get crackin' with getting my kids some clothes - while I have a few boy hand-me-downs for Zach and most of Abby's 3T clothes from last year still fit, it is probably time well spent this weekend to get a few more items to fill their closets so they have something to wear when the weather cools down.

This weekend also commemorates 7 years of marriage for Jason and I - unbelievable! How 7 years flew by is really quite shocking, but I guess when you factor in a house, two cars, a dog and two kids during that time, it makes sense. We'll be celebrating low-key, but we're looking forward to a kid-free night on Sunday when the kids have a sleepover with their grandparents. I simply cannot wait to sleep in on Monday morning!

We are all looking forward to a busy month, filled with friends and family birthday celebrations, the start of school, a trip to Chicago and our favorite fall events (apple picking, etc). Let the fall begin!