Fall is Here!

October is off and running! We're only 10 days in but already I feel like November is an arm's throw away. With the start of autumn, there have been the requisite trips to go apple picking and pumpkin picking, plenty of fall festivals and more activities (and apples!) than I can count!

Abby happily started "big girl" gymnastics a few weeks ago - this time, she's with 5 & 6-year old girls so it's the big leagues! She seems to be enjoying it quite a bit, though it's a very long day for her when she goes right from school to gym and isn't home until after 5 pm. But since it's only once a week, she seems to be doing well, and she goes to bed quite early those days!

Zach has a schedule that seems to better fit a 12-year old than a 2-year old! He goes to school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In-between on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he enjoys a gym class and a music class - two of his favorites! But recently, we signed him up for a soccer class on Friday afternoons which he LOVES so far, and seems to fit him well since he loves to run. He is doing the class with some of his "older" friends (3-year olds) and is doing great. And of course, he still naps for 2+ hours a day so he's quite a busy little bee.

The rest of this month will no doubt fly by, with me being at a work event in NYC this weekend for 3 days (including on my birthday) and then I'm off to Dallas for a week for work. Soon after I return, we'll have plenty of Halloween celebrations, from a Halloween-themed birthday party to two parades and of course, trick-or-treating. I won't give away what the kids will be dressed up as yet, but suffice it to say that they will be adorable and can't wait to get some candy!

Happy Fall!

A Trip to the Windy City

Last Wednesday, the four of us got on a plane for the first time together and headed to Chicago, land of my favorite pizza and cheese fries (yum) to celebrate the Jewish New Year with my family and friends. While the ride there wasn't entirely smooth - both kids napped in the car to the airport, which meant no naps on the plane and Zach bounced up and down on me the whole time - overall, it went as well as I could have asked. The kids didn't even have a meltdown when we arrived at Grammy's house at 6:30 pm (7:30 pm NY time) and dinner wasn't on the table. And I calmly moved every single item that was within Zach's reach to higher ground, hoping that he wouldn't create a disaster there.

We settled in nicely (although we kicked Grammy out of her bed so we could use her room with Zach) and enjoyed time at Grammy's store picking out loads of stickers (Abby), grabbing the numerous amount of loose items someone managed to find (Zach) and running around town. Sure, we missed the tot service because of Zach's nap, but hey, at least we got dressed up and went to temple! We even managed to squeeze in some time with a few of my high school friends for a playdate. Holiday dinner on Thursday night was a bit chaotic with 7 kids under age 8 (including 2-yr old triplets) at my aunt and uncle's house, but everyone ate a lot and had fun.

Friday we did a fall photoshoot in a local park, went to the mall and had a playdate. We also made time to stop by our favorite eateries, including Walker Bros, Michael's and Dairy Queen (a low-cal trip it was not)! We did not head back to NY until our bellies were full (Chicago-style pizza is my fave) but when we did, it was actually not such a bad flight back since Zach slept the whole time and we had an extra seat.

After a much-needed trip to the grocery store and a lot of unpacking and laundry, our first family trip to Chicago was complete. Abby's favorite part was picking out tons of stickers at my mom's store and Zach's was seeing all the "eh-pane"s (airplanes) at the airport. Dairy Queen, Michael's and Pierro's ranked on the top of my list, along with seeing family and friends and spending time with my kids (of course!). Happy New Year to all!

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!

High Holidays & High Apples

This past weekend started off with celebrating the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. It was nice to spend some time with the family but fasting while your 3-year-old eats is not as fun as it sounds! I made it until 5:30 pm but was a tad bit cranky towards the end. We hosted the "break fast" at our house and Abby had a great time with her cousins Matthew & Morgan. Zach had a great time just being his cute self!

Sunday morning we woke up and saw the sun was bright so we motivated and headed up north to Wilkens Farm for some apple picking. Abby & Zach's cousins and our BIL & SIL joined us for a little while as they celebrated SIL's birthday. This year, Abby was able to reach a few more of the apples herself and was a great bag holder while Jason got the taller apples. Even Zach had fun as he tried to reach for the leaves and loved being outside in the gorgeous weather. We enjoyed tasting the various apples but the best part was going to the treat shop at the end and indulging in fresh apple cider donuts! Yum!

On Monday morning, Abby was very excited to bring some of the apples we picked to school to share with her class. Hopefully the kids all enjoyed the apples as much as we enjoyed picking them! Happy Fall!

A Little Labor Day Fun

It's hard to believe that Labor Day came and went so quickly this year! We had a lot of fun activities and we are sad to see the summer coming to an end.

On Saturday (our 6-year anniversary), we took the kids to Rye Playland for the evening with some friends and their 3-year-old daughter, Leah. The girls had a wonderful time on all of the rides and Abby even asked to try the "adult" rides (denied!). Zach just loved being there, and was looking around at all the people and lights. The girls tried a funnel cake for the first time and loved it (what's not to love!).

Sunday, we spent the morning & evening at my in-laws' country club, where Abby was more interested in the swings than the pool. After Jason picked up my mom from the airport, we went back to the club for a carnival and BBQ with the family and everyone ate a lot and had a great time.

Monday morning, we packed up the whole family (Grammy, mom, dad, Abby, Zach and Sadie)in our new 7-seater SUV and went for a long hike in the Rockefeller Estate. It was a perfect day outside and it felt good to burn off a few of the calories we consumed the evening before! Monday night, Jason and I had a post-anniversary celebration of dinner & a movie while Grandma babysat.

Tuesday rolled around Grammy and I took Abby to her school's "fun day," which consisted of time on the playground, meeting the teachers, and a visit from a Bee Keeper. It definitely got us all in the spirit for Abby's upcoming first day of school on Monday!

We celebrated Rosh Hashana with the family in the city on Wednesday night and in White Plains on Thursday night, and we went to a kids service at Abby's school. There was a lot of yummy food and we all seemed to have a nice time. Abby helped Grammy bake yummy brownies which we are excited to dive into.

It's hard to believe that Abby is starting her 2nd year of preschool on Monday. I am sure that Laura is happy to get her back into structured programming and I know she'll have a great time there. I am excited to see what fall brings - hopefully some apple and pumpkin-picking and maybe, just maybe, a little potty progress once school starts. Happy Fall!