Fireman Matty

We went to visit Grandma today in Dover, and she made Matty's day!  She setup a tour of the Dover Fire Station!  Matty loooves anything to do with firemen, stations, trucks, etc...  He has a huge photo album full of pictures of "emergency vehicles", as he calls them, and he was so excited to take pictures today to add to his collection.

We got the best tour by Fireman Greg!  He was great - took us to all the different rooms in the station and told us tons of stories along the way.  He's been a fireman for over 40 years!

It took Matty's love of firemen to make me realize how much these guys really are heros... and they do it all without getting paid.  Be sure to give to your local fire department!

This was a big day for my little boy!  He is going to dream of firetrucks in his sleep tonight - just like I think he does every night :)  Wait till you hear what this little boy has planned for this weekend!  Here's a couple clues.. it's fast and loud and involves a huge monster!

One Last Hurrah

We went down to Ocean City for the last time of the summer this weekend... although it definitely did not feel like summer!  It was cold and rainy most of the weekend.  Despite the nasty weather, we still had a great time just hanging out.  We did make it out on the beach once before the rain moved in! 

Till next year, Ocean City!

These two were so excited to be wearing cozy pajamas!  They love their jammies and their sippies of milk so much :)

Looking for his prescription sunglasses that the angry ocean stole in August...

Gracie would have run right into the water if we weren't holding her back.  She is fearless!

Just thought I would add this picture of Gracie Girl's typical spaghetti face.  She is such a mess!

Matty's First Day of Preschool!

Matty started preschool today!  He told me yesterday that he didn't think it was a very good idea for him to go to preschool all by himself.  Matty is typically not a clingy kid, but he also has never really spent any significant time away from his parents or grandparents so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Well, all my worrying and nervousness was for nothing when he walked right into his classroom and never look back! :)

Daddy, Gracie and I all went to send Matty off on his big day!  As soon as he got into his classroom, he hung his backpack up in his cubby and got to work in the play kitchen.  I thought I would make it out of there without any tears, but then I saw one of his little classmates holding a picture of his mom and crying his little heart out.  My heart was breaking for him then I walked into the hallway to see his mom standing there listening to him.  Poor guy and poor mommy!

Mike hung out with me for the next 3 hours for moral support.  It was the longest 3 hours ever.  I missed Matty so much!  I walked into his classroom to find Matty happily playing with cars (of course) on the floor.  I said, "Hey Matty!" and expected him to come running into my arms at the sound of my voice.  But that didn't happen.  He looked up and said "hi" and kept on playing.  The teachers said he did great.  When I tried to get him to go, he didn't want to leave!  His teacher told him she would see him in 2 days, and he got up, put all the toys away that he was playing with (without me asking him to!), and took my hand.  Ugh - he is getting so big!

I've been pumping him for information since we picked him up, but he hasn't told me much!  So far, this is what I know about his first day:

• His new friend named Sam stole his crackers.
• Two of the girls in the class took poops.
• He colored.
• He learned to walk in a line and that was very funny to him for some reason. :)
• He chased Sam around on the playground.

Ha!  If only I could be a fly on the wall!

Mushroom Festival!

It's Mushroom Festival weekend!  We have been going since the year Matty was born and always have a good time.  Last night we went out to dinner and to the parade.  The kids loved the parade - Matty and Gracie are both amazed by firetrucks.  Gracie kept saying "whoa!" when one came by and Matty squealed with excitement each time the next truck came by us!

We got home from the parade way past bedtime, but that didn't mean that the kids were going to sleep in today.  Why would they sleep in?  It's Saturday - nobody sleeps in on Saturdays, right?  Anyway, today's adventure was fun but challenging.  The kiddos were tired and hot and they had the attitudes to prove it. 

I have taken pictures every year at the Festival, but this year we had our hands full.  I remembered to take a couple when we got back to the car. :)

Gracie Girl felt much better after her nap and fashioned Daddy's new t-shirt for us.  She LOVES playing dress up with anyone's clothes and shoes :)

Preschool, Here I Come!

This morning we had an open house at Matty's preschool!  He got to meet his teachers and his classmates for the first time!  Matty was a little unsure and a lot excited for this day!  Being the fashionable kid that he is, he insisted on wearing a tie for this special occasion!  Ugh - my heart is melting!

He did great, and he has some wonderful teachers!  Now we are just waiting for the school year to begin - next Tuesday!!

Dutch Wonderland!

Friday was a very exciting time for Matty and Gracie - they went to Dutch Wonderland for the first time!  We have been wanting to take them all summer but are so happy that we waited until now to go.  Not only were most school-aged kids in school, but Gracie was big enough to ride a lot of the rides and the weather was gorgeous! 

We had the best time ever!!  Nanny and Pa came with us which added to the fun times for sure!  We got to the park at 10:30 and closed it down at 6:00!  The kids were so well-behaved - no tears or meltdowns eventhough it was such a long day.  All in all, it was a wonderful day in wonderland!

Get ready for picture overload!

Matty and Gracie rode ponies for the first time ever!

The cutest cowboy ever!

And the cutest cowgirl ever!

Gracie is such a brave little girl!  She went on the huge slide with Daddy!

Monster Trucks!  The highlight of Matty's day!

On the riverboat!  Ha!  Gracie's face looks exactly like how I felt.  I did not care for the swampy boat ride at all :(

Red mouth after a special treat of cherry water ice!










Look at that cute little Amish girl!  haha!



Gracie hoarding the dog carrier purses in the gift shop.  This picture was proceeded by her whipping the dogs across the store when we told her she could only have one.  Gotta love her :)