Sending Love

We're thinking of you today Grandma Ruthie!

Happy Birthday Sofia and Matias!

We can't believe you're FOUR years old!

We love you!

Before His First Cup of Coffee

Just like Mama in the morning...

Summer Love Is in the Air

Do you remember Ollie's first kiss? Well last week, Elodie came over for a roof deck pool party...

The kids were all having fun in the pool together.

But Elodie seemed a little stand-offish to Ollie.

So he asked Emmett what he thought he should do.

Emmett said "I'll be your wing man, Ollie. Here, take my seat!"

So Ollie sidled on over and made his move.

The other girls seemed a bit jeaolus.

But Elodie wasn't so sure she liked her second kiss from Ollie.

Well, on second thought, maybe it was tolerable.

Keep trying, Ollie, you'll get the hang of it!

Visit to Friends Out In New Jersey Farmland

What's a New York summer without a visit to friends out in the farmlands of Jersey? A few weeks ago we visited our friends Maxine and Zelda (and their parents) for an overnight in a cute town near Princeton.

And what better way to go get some morning bagels and coffee than in a little red wagon?

Ollie decided he liked that ride so much that it was time to go find some even better rides... so we headed off to the local fair for funnel cakes and ferris wheels.

The spinning teacups were his favorite. (Mama forgot to bring the camera, so these pictures from Papa's phone are not the best—which is a shame because we wish you could see the grin on his face.)

And what's this!!?? No, it's not a flesh-eating zombie in a flower hat... it's just Zelda after she'd eaten a whole lot of freshly picked blackberries.

The kids had a lot of fun practicing their farm and harvesting skills at a local farm where we were able to pick our own veggies.

Ollie was a little unsure at first... um, papa, i'm more of an enginerd type, don't you see my tshirt?

But pretty soon he got into it.

And picked a whole bag full of beans that he carried back himself.

After the farm, we still had to pick up a few more ingredients for our backyard bbq and pool party. So we stopped at the supermarket where Ollie had his first shopping cart ride. 

And while the adults were cooking and drinking beer, the kids posed by the pool.

Future bathing suit model?

Then it was time to dive in.

Thanks for having us out for a great visit guys!

Eeeeeeeh? Chuuuuice!!

The Lil Man is learning how to drink from a big boy cup.

Lunch with Papa

We usually try to go in once a week to have lunch with Papa.

There aren't many high chairs down in the Wall Street area, but Ollie doesn't mind. He likes getting to sit in the big people chairs.

But only for about 5 minutes. Then either Mama or Papa ends up running around with him while the other one eats lunch.

There's just too much to see to bother eating. He especially likes looking at all the construction with Papa.

After lunch we usually go home, but sometimes we'll have enough energy to find a playground and fool around for a little while.

This one was especially nice on a 97 degree day with its bonus water features. First Ollie just got his feet wet.

But it wasn't long before he decided it was hot enough to do more than that.

Another unusual part of the playground were these big foam blocks that some of the big kids had arranged into a ramp. Ollie loves watching the big kids.

And then copying whatever they do. A very successful lunch date with Papa! We love you Papa and you're awesome!

Who Is That Brave Boy?

In the past, when Ollie has been confronted with something new, he generally sits back and observes for a while before jumping in to explore. But when we took him to the petting zoo at Prospect Park a few weeks ago, it was a whole different story.

He had a quick stare down with the goat.

And then uncharacteristically and bravely stuck his hand right out to feed it.

And then he couldn't get enough. He wanted to feed every goat...

Sheep...

And llama he could find.

Our little man is full of surprises and we love it!

Who Needs Toys?

Ollie doesn't. As long as he has kitchen items and cardboard boxes to play with.

 let's see, this looks like it could be a fun thing to play with.

 hmmmm... i wonder if i could still drum if i only had one arm... sure could!

will my fingers fit in here?

even better, will my tongue fit in here?

Might as well schedule our deliveries for 6:30 am since someone makes sure we're up by then anyway.

Box head.

Does anyone feed this boy?! look at those ribs!

But clearly he's eating enough vegetables to stay strong.