151/365: 100% big boy bed

Tonight, we took the side rails off of Sam's bed! Thank goodness for 100% big boy bed

150/365: the climb

We walked outside today to find this quickly moving turtle...you can't believe what you hear that turtles are slow because Mr. Slowski not only moved fast but he walked right over to the curb, made a few attempts and then successfully climbed over it! He made me think of the lyrics of the song, The Climb...
"There's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain't about how fast I get there. It's about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb..." Thank goodness for the climb

149/365: Luke's first family trip to the beach

Typically Memorial Day weekend is filled with cold weather, rain and disappointed people hoping to kick-off their summer on the beach, but this year was very different. The skies were blue, the sun was out and the beaches were packed with everyone happy to enjoy the first taste of the summer season! Luke hit the beach for the first time...he mostly napped and the water was too cold for him but he felt the sand and loved watching his cousins dig, build and play for hours! Our summers together have always been special, but this is the first summer that we are complete...thank goodness for Luke and his first trip to the beach

148/365: delicious watermelon

What a perfect way to start of the summer season with a delicious watermelon! I picked a great one that we will take to the beach and Mimi & Pop picked a great one to after for dessert after our BBQ! I had so much and will eat so much that I cut up a batch for Sam to bring to school for a snack for all of his friends! I can't wait for Luke to be able to enjoy these summer treats. Thank goodness for delicious watermelon

147/365: Tot Shabbat

We love Tot Shabbat at Beth Israel! The last Friday of the month, the synagogue has a wonderful children's service followed by dinner and a craft and Sam loves it and so do we! Rabbi Weis does such a nice job gearing the service to the little congregants. He gets them up and moving with songs, instruments and dancing and tonight he showed the kids the Torah, passed around the yad and talked about the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, when Moses received the Torah from God. Thank goodness for Tot Shabbat

146/365: a great haircut

Ever since Sam was a year old, we have been taking him to Shear Sensations in Margate for a wonderful haircut with Margie. She is patient and always so excited to see Sam...along with every other hairdresser and bubbie in the salon! They even get excited when I call on the phone to make the appointments! When he leaves, Sam says "bye ladies!" and they all melt :) Sam's curls look great until about 6 weeks when they get out of control and then we pay Margie a visit. Thank goodness for a great haircut

145/365: Cape May Zoo

 

Sam had his field trip today to the Cape May Zoo and I chaparoned...what an adventure! First, they weren't sure there would be room for me on the bus so in all of my "warning" Sam that I may need to just meet him there and he could ride on the bus, they had room for me to which Sam exclaims, "I don't want you to go on the bus with me!" And if I couldn't go, he would have wanted me...ah, the words of toddlers! So he didn't want to even sit with me, which made me wonder why I volunteered myself. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and the weather was great! Sam had a blast with buddies, enjoyed the animals and LOVED the bus ride, too! Thank goodness for the Cape May Zoo

144/365:

143/365: bath pictures

Sweet sudsy smiles...thank goodness for bath pictures

142/365: Mimi & Pop visits

It is always a fun Sunday when Mimi and Pop hang out with Sam before heading back to Philadelphia. Sam asks from the minute his eyes open when they will be here and he loves just hanging out and watching (or barely watching) TV and cuddling up with them! You can certainly see the love and excitement in his face! Thank goodness for Mimi & Pop visits

141/365: being sneaky

Sam has caught onto my photography hobby and isn't too thrilled with being one of my favorite subjects. Lately, whenever the camera comes out, he requests that I not take his photo. Sometimes I bribe him but he is a tough negotiator. And he doesn't understand that I want to just photograph him naturally...not always looking for a fake, big smile while screaming "cheese!" Today, while he played outside, I took advantage of my zoom lens and captured some pretty neat candid shots. Thank goodness for being sneaky

140/365: perfect piggies

Ten little piggies went to the JCC, then those same little piggies came home, the other ten piggies took a walk with Mommy, then those same little piggies went in the crib for a nap...but then all 20 piggies met up at the end of the day. Gosh, how I love those piggies! Thank goodness for perfect piggies

139/365: big bites

Sometimes the day goes by and I am at a loss for a photo...at dinner tonight, I made Sam little pizza bagels. Lately, he is into making his own concoctions so he put applesauce on the one bagel, then stacked them and went on to eat it like a big mac! Looks like we will need to take him to a deli where they serve up a sandwich where you aren't sure if your mouth can open wide enough to take a bite :) Thank goodness for big bites

138/365: perfect features

A cute little hairline, adorable ears, big, beautiful eyes, a button nose, wet little lips, smooth fluffy checks, sweet expressions....I could go on all the way to his delicious 10 toes! Thank goodness for perfect features

137/365: pretty purple flowers

It has been so damp and dismal these last few days and it's going to continue through the weekend, which puts a damper on my being inspired for a photo during my outdoor walks with Luke. That is until I took notice of these pretty blooming flowers on the side of the house. I took this photo this morning when you could still see the wet morning dew. I have said it before, but I love how this blog project makes me see and appreciate simple things like capturing water droplets on petals. Thank goodness for pretty purple flowers

136/365: kale

My new favorite zero-point snack! I wash it, dry it, spray it with a little olive oil and sprinkle a little garlic and kosher salt. Bake it for 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees and it gets nice and crispy and satisfies a salty, munchy afternoon craving. If I can just find a few more quick fixes like this one, maybe I can get out of this little weight loss slump. Thank goodness for kale

135/365: fun apps

Until recently, I didn't even know what an "app," short for application, was and now it is so much a part of American dialect that I would imagine, it will soon find its place in Webster's dictionary. The next generation is going to grow up in a very fast-paced cyber world and Sam is certainly showing that he will be able to keep up! He has already expressed an interest in teaching Luke how to work the I-pod, DVR and On-Demand features. He requests "skyping" with family members, loves computer games and can work the remote control better than all of us! His interest in technology is both a blessing and a curse...we try hard to limit his time and avoid meltdowns when it's time to move onto something else. As they say, "there is an app for everything" so Sam was excited when Daddy found an "app" for Super Whyy, one of Sam's favorite shows lately. In this photo, I played with the metering setting to capture the light from the Ipad hitting his face. It is amazing how you can master techniques when your subject is in a trance :) Thank goodness for fun apps

134/365: balloon animals

Today we celebrated Sammy's gal-pal, Jordyn's 4th birthday! She had a great birthday bash complete with a super cute puppet show and an AMAZING balloon artist! The things this guy made were unreal...electric guitars, Spiderman, unicorns, bunny rabbits...he was SO good! After waiting and waiting among all the kids, Sam was the last little munchkin to get a balloon creation and he was surprised with this adorable dragonfly that took up our entire trunk! Thank goodness for balloon animals

133/365: St. Jude's Trike-A-Thon

It was the St. Jude's Trike-A-Thon at Sam's school today and apparently we took the "trike" part a bit seriously! I snapped a bunch of photos but this one cracked me up...all of Sam's pals are getting set up on their Tony Hawk, big, bad bicycles and trailing behind is Sam on the little engine that could, toddler trike...ha! It wasn't a big deal that his knees were hitting the handlebars because he preferred to wash his bike rather then ride it. Anyway, this is a fun spring event to raise money for childhood cancer research and in our case, thank goodness for the St. Jude's Trike A Thon to alert us that Sammy needs some new wheels :)

132/365: new direction

I always go the same direction on the bike path when I take Luke out for walks, so today I went the other way and I just love the shady archway that the beautiful trees make. It is this direction that I walked past what will be the boy's elementary school, Seaview Elementary School. I really enjoy my walks with Luke! Thank goodness for a new direction

131/365: lollipops

Sam came home from school today with a lollipop! I think I have avoided lollipops for so long...I hate how they are sticky and then make sticky hands and I just never gave them to Sam but now that he is older, he is good about keeping it in his mouth until he is done and ready to trash it. He really liked that orange flavor, just like his Pop! Thank goodness for lollipops

130/365: Great signage

I was taking Luke for a walk today in this beautiful weather and came across a sign on the ball field fence right by our house. In the fall, Sam will be ready for soccer and I am so excited to see my boys in action...kicking balls into goals, catching them in the outfield, passing pucks to pals or throwing a perfect pitch. When that time comes, this is a nice sign to keep in mind for all onlookers since people certainly get competetive, often times it is the parents. As long as the boys are having fun, I will be right there cheering them on! If and when they decide they aren't interested, I will secretly be relieved to avoid potential injuries and we can certainly look into less contact sports :) Until then, thank goodness for great signage

129/365: Stage 1 foods

This morning was Luke's 6 month check-up and developmentally, he is right on point...rolling, babbling, grabbing his feet, moving toys from one hand to the other and he giggles & smiles perfectly! But there is continued concern about his weight gain; he is only in the 10% for his weight and even though I have introduced cereal and bananas, Dr. Chang suggests moving on to all stage one foods including proteins, fruits, veggies and as long as he is eating and not turning away, I could even give him two jars in a feeding! So tricky...first, I had Sam who would have taken a 12 ounce bottle if I made it for him and he just about ate the color off his bowls at this age. Luke, on the other hand, is less interested in food and bottles. He mainly cries when he is tired, not hungry, so I am really going to have to push it a bit more. Right after the doctor's appointment, I went to the market and stocked up on all varieties. We have one month before a weight check so hopefully he will start packing on the pounds, then I can say, thank goodness for stage one foods

128/365: motherhood

I was already the luckiest girl to have the best mother and then became luckier to become a mother to my beautiful boys! Today was a beautiful day on the Ocean City boardwalk filled with happy families enjoying one another so we fit right in! The day started out with a few tantrums and ended a bit the same...I actually said at dinner that Mother's Day dinner would be a lot more relaxed without kids...ha! I am certainly looking forward to the day when the boys make me breakfast and I can really be queen for a day, but until then, I will enjoy the little moments, even the cranky, stressful ones because nothing means more to me than soaking up these precious years! Oprah Winfrey said, "biology is the least of what makes someone a mother" and my mother has proven that. I hope to be able to do the same for Sam and Luke. Thank goodness for motherhood

127/365: meeting in the middle

Sometimes it is too much for either of us to travel all the way to Philadelphia or everyone to come all the way to Atlantic City so we have found that for some celebrations and get-togethers, it's best to try to meet somewhere halfway between us. Sometimes it is in Cherry Hill or Philadelphia, but tonight to celebrate Mother's Day together, we met in South Philadelphia for dinner. The kids love being together every little chance we can so these little halfway visits make for the perfect "fix" until an overnight comes along. We physically meet in the middle and dealing with the kiddos requires a lot of negotiation so on so many levels, thank goodness for meeting in the middle

* We missed Luke in this photo but after some crankiness, he was fast asleep :(

126/365: great mommy friends

For the first time, we were able to plan a night away, just us moms! We went to dinner, danced the night away and stayed over in Atlantic City! It was so nice to talk to each other without interruptions about juice boxes, potty breaks or who wasn't sharing with who....we made a great toast to great friends! Megan said that often times you socialize with other parents just because they are your kids' friends, but we actually love spending time together regardless that our kids are buddies! We have all helped each other through challenging times and rejoice with each one of our celebrations. Thank goodness for great mommy friends

125/365: John Lennon lyrics

Close your eyes, have no fear, the monsters gone, he's on the run and your mommy's here....
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

Before you go to sleep, say a little prayer, every day in every way, it's getting better and better...
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy

Out on the ocean sailing away, I can hardly wait, to see you to come of age, but I guess we'll both, just have to be patient, yes it's a long way to go, but in the meantime, before you cross the street, take my hand,  life is just what happens to you, while your busy making other plans...
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy...thank goodness for John Lennon lyrics

124/365: American troops

I feel like this blog, aside for being a place to document Sam & Lukes' escapades through the year, it is also a place to document thoughts and feelings about current events. It will be fun to look back years from now and like a time capsule, see what was happening in the world, how much gas cost, or what singer or style is the latest craze. So a few days ago, Osama Bin Laden, was finally found and killed. I am sure the boys will read in their history books about his horrific plan to take down the NYC world trade center buildings that he successfully executed in 2001. The world has not been the same since September 2001. I remember our first flight with Sam when he was 13 months old and the airline security asked me to remove his little shoes and tears started to fill my eyes at the thought that children will never know what it was like to just get on a plane. We live in fear. That event was our generation's JFK assination, in that we all remember where we were on this nightmare of a day. Ever since that day, I tear up whenever I hear our national anthem and we all continue to hope and pray that our troops return home safely to their families. Thank goodness for the US troops

123/365: its all in the presentation

Motivation for weight loss comes and goes but I am really feeling like it is time to buckle down and stop wasting time. Ironically, I hit this same breaking point around the same time after Sam was born. I am trying to limit carbs and up the exercise in the hopes that pounds will start to melt away and old clothes in my closet can resurface again. Yesterday, I made my own tuna with diced celery and scallions and to limit the carbs and calories, I portioned it out into pieces of romaine lettuce to have for dinner last night and again for lunch today. I was satisfied and enjoyed it, maybe because it looked so pretty. Thank goodness for the presentation

122/365: being "zero"

Luke is 6 months old today! Time goes by so fast, it is scary! He giggles, rolls, is starting to sit up better on his own and he has been doing well eating oatmeal with bananas in the morning. It brings me right back to when I pushed Sam around in the stroller and strangers would look at him and say, "What a happy baby!" or "Wow, look how he looks at you!" and "He is so verbal and alert!" It is like I had handsome twin boys, but 3 years apart! We can't imagine life without our sweet baby boy...he completes our family! Sam can't seem to grasp the concept of measuring age in months, not years, so in Sam's words, thank goodness for our little Luke still "being zero"

121/365: nap for the non-napper

It is so great when those very few times (I can count one on hand in the last 6 months!) that Sam will nap at home...today he fell asleep for 45 minutes in the car and when we brought him in the house and was cranky, we put him on the couch and told him to take his time getting up...an hour and a half later, we gently woke him up because it was almost dinner time! This proves that he could certainly still benefit from a nap but like my previous "metaphor" blog post, that would be like trying to convince an person suffering from anorexia that they should really have a snack! At least for one day, we were spoiled with both boys napping at at the same time! Thank goodness for the occasional nap for the non-napper