apple picking

today we went apple picking... it was a beautiful day and since craig was home for yom kippur, i dismissed carter early from school and we headed to honey pot hill. hey, what's the use of having a dad who is jewish if you can't get at least some benefits??? the boys had so much fun picking apples, and hadley held one the whole time. it was very cute!!








while walking from the orchard to the farm stand to get cider donuts, carter lost a tooth. it fell right out of his mouth on a dirt path and it was lost, literally! we tried to find it, but no luck. so tonight we left the tooth fairy a note explaining what happened. carter wants to make sure he still gets his money! (oh, and carter wanted to see what his eyes looked like, so i took a close up)




i can't wait for next year to see hadley running around everywhere. today brought back memories of the first time we took carter apple picking when he was 6 months old. it was cold and rainy, but we were so excited to finally go apple picking with a baby, so we didn't care. i just love having family traditions.

Hadley's Baptism

today was (finally) hadley's baptism. it was originally scheduled to be back in march, but that was the time when hadley was always sick with ear infections, and so it got postponed. the summer was so busy, and i couldn't coordinate every ones schedule, so today was the day.

our friends kelly and steve are hadley's godparents. we decided to keep it really small and invited only our immediate family. it was a special day, and it was nice to see everyone celebrate our baby girl!!!!

here are some of the pictures from today...






hadley was such a perfect angel today!!! i am so very proud of her!!!!

rub a dub dub... hadley in the tub!

bath time fun!!! hadley loves taking a bath these days. she likes to splish and splash and play in the water.... rub a dub dub! she makes the same funny face every time the camera comes out... too cute!!!!

miss hadley

today is the day i was looking forward to... both boys are at school and i can have some quality alone time with hadley that doesn't involve bringing her to the doctor's.

she is such a big girl. she just figured out how to pull up to a stand, although she doesn't do it often yet. she is so busy and wants to get into everything. i finally had to make a "baby jail". i put up gates so she can't wonder all around the house when i am trying to get some stuff done. the play room is now essentially a giant pack n play. she is quite happy in there.

she had her 9 month appointment yesterday. she is a big girl!!!! bigger than her brothers were at her age.
weight - 22lbs 4 oz. (92 %)
height - 28 3/4" (85 %)

apparently she does love food, just not baby food. she has been enjoying peas and carrots, chicken, grilled cheese, waffles, pasta, yogurt, cheerios, and pretty much everything that we eat. meal time just got easier!

here are some pictures of the little lady...

mason's first day

well, yesterday was mason's turn to go to school. i can't believe he is 3 1/2 and going to preschool. when carter first went to the little red school house, mason was only 6 months old... now 3 years later he is going there.

mason did great!!! he woke up so happy and ready for school!!!! he picked out his batman shirt to wear, and was so excited to pack a lunch. when we dropped him off, he did so good. he played and was comfortable. his teachers said he had a great day!!! i picked him up and brought him to the big apple (apple farm, not circus) for a cider donut as a treat!!!

another funny

i got this as an email and got a good chuckle... i bolded my favorite one!!!!!

Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old..

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was
younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first
saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to
finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else
to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and
hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each
other? HAHAHAHAHAAAA

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if
I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every
year?


-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this
ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do
to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and
the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,
someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think
about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people
eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by
myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard
before dinner.

9 months old

i can't believe that hadley is 9 months old... time is going by so fast!!! i always get a little sad when we hit the 9 month mark. you know, 9 months in, 9 months out.

she is a crawling machine and getting into everything. she is trying really hard to pull up to a stand, but hasn't quite figured it out yet. she is eating lots of table foods now and is loving them. she still takes 2 good naps a day (around 2- 3 hours each) and sleeps like a champ at night.

she adores her big brothers and just lights up when she sees them. she is so good, and i truly feel blessed that she is mine!!! i know i say it ALL THE TIME, but this is really one of my favorite ages!!!

here are some of the photos from our photo shoot today...

a day at the park...

today we took the kids to one of my favorite places, Borderland State Park. the weather was perfect, and we packed a picnic and walked around. after a fun day, we went to get ice cream. hadley had her first taste, and she thought it was pretty good. smart girl!!!

first day of school

carter had his first day of school on tuesday sept. 1st... i just am a bit of a slacker in my updates. he was excited for his first day, he was up, dressed and bed made by the time craig went to wake him up at 6:30 am. after 3 days of school he was tired! good thing he has a 4 day weekend for labor day weekend.

mason starts on thurs. the 10th. we had a play date at his school last week, and the parents also had their orientation night. guess who is the room mother for mason's class??? :) yup, it is me. in sept. mason is going to go from 9 - 11:30, and then starting in oct. he will go from 9 - 1:00, and eat his lunch there. i wonder what miss hadley and i will do with all our free time?
???

so funny...

i saw this on face book and decided to share it.. it is really funny!!! teachers, i am sure you will get a kick out of it. and trust me, i went to 5 stores this year to try to follow directions on carter's supply list.

This is what happens to us when teachers specify a brand of pencil. btw, i never found "pink pearl" erasers... i found white pearl, and black pearl, but finally had to settle on staples brand pink. :)

Dear Mrs. X:

In just over a week, you will be my son’s Grade 1 teacher. He is ever so excited to be under your tutelage. Why, since the last day of kindergarten, entering your class was all he could talk about. He gleefully thrust a piece of paper into my hand on that June afternoon, and said, “Here’s a list of the stuff I need for school next September!”

And I have to admit, I, too, was excited. I’m a school supplies geek from way back. And so, in early August, I set out to buy the items you’d listed.

It was on my fourth store that the realization began to sink in.

You’re a crafty bitch, aren’t you?

This list was a thinly disguised test. Could I find the items, exactly as you’d prescribed? Because if not, my son would be That Kid, the one with the Problem Mother, Who Can’t Follow Directions.

For example, the glue sticks you requested. In the 40 gram size. Three of the little buggers. (What kind of massive, sticky project you’ve got planned for the first day of school that would require the students to bring all this glue, I cannot imagine.) But the 40 gram size doesn’t come in a convenient 3-pack. The /30 /gram size does. But clearly, those would be wildly inappropriate. So I got the individually priced 40’s, as per your instructions.

Another bit of fun was your request for 2 packs of 8 Crayola crayons (basic colors). The 24 packs, with their 24 /different /colors, sat there, on sale. I could have purchased /three/ of the 24 packs for the price I had to pay for the 8 packs. (Clearly, you’ll not be teaching the youngsters any sort of economics lessons this year.) Even the cashier looked at me, as if to say, “Pardon me, ma’am, but are you slow?” as I purchased these non-bargain crayons. But that’s what the list said. And I was committed to following the list.

But the last item, well, now, you saved your malice up for that one, didn’t you? “8 mm ruled notebooks”, you asked for. Simple enough. Except the standard size is /seven /millimetres. One. Millimetre. Difference. Do you realize, Mrs. X., exactly how infinitesimal the difference between 7 mm ruling and 8 mm ruling is? Pretty small, I assure you. The thickness of a fingernail, approximately. But that millimetre, that small bit of nothingness, made me drive to four different stores, over the course of three sweaty August hours. And when I finally, finally found the last remaining 8 mm notebooks, I took no pleasure in my victory. I merely shifted my focus. To you, Mrs. X.

You wanna dance, lady? Let’s dance.

Because I am just batshit crazy enough to play your games. And, in turn, come up with some of my own.

On show and share day, my son will be bringing the video of his birth. It will be labelled, “Ben’s First Puppy.” Enjoy.

He will be given a list of words, and daily, he will ask you what they mean. Words such as, “pedophile”, “anti-semite”, and “skank”. Good luck with those.

At some point, you will attempt to teach him mathematics. And I’m quite sure that, like most of your ilk, you will require my son to “show his work”. And he will.

Through interpretive dance.

Because that is who you’ve chosen to tangle with, toots. A stay at home mom who is not entirely balanced, and has altogether too much time on her hands. But is, most certainly, A Mother Who Can Follow Directions.

Sincerely,

Ginny