Sister's in the City...

The beginning of December, my sisters flew out to New York to hang with me for a few days.  Bonus!  They brought their girls along to play with Finners.  Finnley was thrilled and they had the best time.  We spent a day out in our area and then two days in the city.  We all bunked up into one hotel room (Thanks Ty!) and hit the town doing and seeing all that we could.  Here are a bunch of pictures from our weekend, in no particular order:

These girls were the biggest troopers, and were rewarded with daily diet cokes and a little shopping at American Girl Doll store.  

Sisters meet Shake Shack, Shack Shack meet my sisters.

Rockefeller Square.

We rang in the Christmas season with the Rockettes!  

The girls loved it, and I loved that they did a live nativity at the end.

Santa at the ABC Home Store - Best Santa in NYC!

Late night dinner at Juniors and Finnley getting her second wind after crashing at dinner.

It was fun having my sisters out in our town as well.  They were able to come to one of my spin classes, and snuggle my other kiddos as well.  Its never fun to say goodbye to family, especially knowing we weren't headed home for Christmas, but we had such a great time and I loved having them here!

Thanks girls!  Love your guts.

She Lost a Tooth...

It was bittersweet.  Finnley lost her first tooth this past Sunday.  It had been a little wiggly for a while, but she decided she wanted it out and started to really work it.  I told her to stop, and that she wasn't allowed to lose a tooth and grow up anymore than she already has.  She didn't listen.  She worked it and worked it, until the next thing I knew, she was in the bathroom with dad getting tips on how to loosen it even more.  She had it out in no time and was, well, excited would be an understatement.  

She wanted to take it to school the next day and show her class (gross, i know!) so, she didn't put it under her pillow until the next night.  She wrote a little note to the tooth fairy, asking if she could keep her tooth.  She now has the cutest little toothless grin, in which she is constantly sticking her tongue, straws, and anything that will fit, through the gap.  Who knows...she may be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" come December.

Finnley's First Day of First Grade...

Well, school is back in session.  I was feeling really ready for my kids to start school....until, they started school!  Now, I'm missing the lazy days of summer.  Miss Finn, on the other hand, is loving school.  She was counting down the days until she was back in the classroom.  "See ya in 6 days school..." "See ya in 3 days school..." she'd say each time we drove past her school.  

On the morning of her first day I asked her if she wanted to be driven to school or ride the bus.  She excitedly announced that she wanted to ride the bus. When it pulled up at the end of our lane, she hopped on with the biggest smile ever.  She confidently waved goodbye and then turned around to catch up with her bus buddies.

I have to say, it makes me so happy that she loves school as much as she does.  I'm happy knowing that she is enjoying learning, meeting new friends, and is a confident student.  We love our Finners and miss her while she's at school, but we are also proud of her and love watching her grow up into a beautiful young lady.

Field Day...

 

I always loved field day.  It meant a whole day of playing games outside, and, that school was almost out for the summer.  I didn't love going to school.  I am, and always have been, a homebody.  This also means I lasted through very few sleepovers.  Finnley, on the other hand, loves school and doesn't want it to end...ever! She's the type that needs to be doing something constantly throughout the day, and school has been the best outlet for her. I'm also convinced that she could sleep-over-hop from grandma to cousins houses without missing me for one second. 

Field day was a huge success in her eyes.  She enjoyed all the games, the competition, and hanging out with her friends.  As always, I loved watching her interact with her pals, and watching her tote Remi around to say hi to all her classmates and teachers.  Remi, was a good sport and let Finn and her friends take turns hauling her around by the underarms.

 

 

Only two more weeks of school for this chica!  I'm thrilled...her, not so much.

Avalon...

 



Mitch has been on call the last TWO Saturdays.  Bummer.  Double bummer, they've both been rainy kind of depressing days.  So, when my kids started going stir crazy inside, we decided we were going to go on a hike in the rain.  We'd been hearing about a place called Avalon, but hadn't been.  It turned out to be beautiful, and the perfect "hike" for kids.  There were all sorts of trails leading to different places.  My kids took the lead and I just followed with Remi on my back.

 



 

I was nervous that my kids would poop out, or that Dieter would want to be held or something like that, but they did great and it was a really fun, and much needed, outing.  Remi was her usual happy self.  This girl amazes me with her happy personality.  She would just tap on my shoulders or cheeks with her dainty little finger tips, or sing a little "song" as we walked. 

Finnley wanted my ipod and earphones to listen to music as we "exercised" because her jacket had a hole for the headphones to fit through.  She was singing along to whatever song she was listening to, and it was so cute to hear her.  She didn't know hardly any of the words, but she was belting it out.  I'm sure in her head she sounded amazing!  Love this little sass. Her very favorite show right now is The Voice.  She knows all the contestants names, songs they've sung, and even remembers how they wore their hair, etc. 

We sure missed our Daddy, but were glad to have a little adventure in the rain and discover a new part of Long Island.  We'll definitely be taking you back Mitchie!

/

Newsies in the City...

 

My parents came for a quick visit back in mid-April.  It is always so much fun having them here, and this time around was no different.  I hardly took any pictures, except for our day in the city, but we enjoyed beautiful weather, relaxing morning walks, gut laughing while watching Dancing with Stars, yummy dinners out, and a date night with just them and us. 

 

My dad is not a huge fan of the Big City, but, he offered to watch the little kids while my mom, Finnley and me headed in to catch a show.  It was such a fun afternoon/evening and I won't soon forget it. 

 

After shopping around Herald Square, it was time to head up to our theatre.  We decided to take a pedi-cab up to Times Square and had fun as we weaved in and out of traffic.  Finnley was great company and thoroughly enjoyed her time with the "big girls".  

 

After a quick sloppy joe from Schnippers, we headed to the Nederlander theatre for Newsies!  I was so excited, and Finnley was thrilled.  We sat on row two and my little lady was in awe the entire time.  She loved it.  Little known fact: Finnley is a hoarder - for real!  At one point during the show, they threw out fake newspapers.  Finnley collected about 12, and still has them. (I'll throw them out eventually....as I do with all her "special treasures"). 

 

I was sad to see my parents leave, knowing it was going to be months before I saw them again.  They were such a delight and I loved having them around - as did my kids.  Thanks to my mom for helping motivate me to get my yard in shape, and for spending many hours planting, weeding, etc.

Love you both to the MOON and BACK!

Six...

Miss Finnley turned SIX at the end of February.  I know its totally cliche to say it, but seriously, where did time go?  She woke up to breakfast in bed (and her whole family) as well as a fun-filled day with all things Finnley!  

This girl is such a fun, high-spirited, smart, loving little girl.  She loves life and loves her family.  She is the best big sister to her brother and baby sister.  She is my best helper!  She entertains, feeds, cleans-up, helps out, and mostly does what she's told.  I won't lie...she also pesters, talks back, dawdles, won't try new foods, and sneaks candy every chance she gets.  I wouldn't trade her for the world!  

We got to go into Finnley's classroom for her birthday and celebrate by eating cupcakes and reading one of her favorite books.  I love any chance I get to go into Finnley's classroom and see her interact with her teachers and friends.  Usually siblings aren't allowed in the classroom, but on birthday's they are.  Dieter was so thrilled.  He helped hand out the juice boxes and napkins and got a special seat right next to Finnley at her table.

One of the traditions in Finnley's class is that she gets to pick six friends to act as candles, and then after they sing "Happy Birthday" to her, she gets to blow them out one by one.  Her smile was so big and the excitement was about to burst out of her body!

Remi definitely stole the show.  She had many admirers and a constant group of kindergartners trying to talk, touch, and get her to smile at them.

It was a special birthday for our special little girl.  We love our little Finners more that one blog post could ever express.  Thanks for being our first!