Great Weekend!

My parents came to visit us this past weekend for my mom's birthday-Happy Birthday! We decided to go to Point Pleasant Beach on Saturday. We have always had great times at the beach in Septemeber and this was no different! Perfect weather, no crowds and beautiful light in the afternoon!
This was Jacob's first visit to the beach ever and Stella's first and only of the season. We aren't really beach people. I worked a lot of summer weekends and we had so much rain that there wasn't a lot of opportunity. Hopefully next summer will be different because Stella LOVED the sand and the water. Jacob seemed to like the sand until he put a handful in his mouth.
There are a gazillion pics and created a slideshow so folks who want to can see them all but here are a few that I liked.

Grammie and Jacob



Jacob with his Grandpa Kitchen!

A rare shot of the four of us.

One of my all time favorite shots of Brian! TeeHee!

I bet he never thought he would be doing anything like this 6 years ago!

Grammie, Grandpa and Stella on the carousel.

She LOVED riding the rides and would get so excited when she saw us! So stinking cute.

I am pretty sure I can speak for all of us that it was a really wonderful day filled with sweet moments and we created memories we will hold in our hearts forever. Ok, that might be a bit much but it was a pretty good day!

I actually got some really beautiful shots of Stella and Brian and thought this was pretty cool...be sure to click on it to see it bigger.

Stella in Daddy's arms at 16 days and then again at 2years 8 months.

Stella and Brian in Ocean City, MD September 2008 and Point Pleasant September 2009

A Special Day!

Stella started preschool yesterday and she did GREAT! She was so excited and even let me braid her hair a few times to get it right. Jacob had gotten up at 5:30am so was back down napping while I got her ready and we took some pics with Brian before he left for work. When I told her it was time to go get Jake she ran up the stairs and bounced into his room saying "Get up little man, it's a special day!"

Although she wouldn't put it on it was so cute!

The kids were asked to bring a teddy bear with them the first day of class. Here is Stella making sure Brannen was in her bag. Brian bought her that bear while I was pregnant with her. So sweet!

Looking so grown up! I know I have been saying that a lot lately. sniff sniff.

I asked her to stand by the sign and she kept saying....No mommy, school is this way!

She went right in and got to playing with the other kids.

Never even looked back at me! I knew she would be fine but geesh!
After I left Jacob and I got in the car and he stared at me while I cried.

She was sooo excited when I came to pick her up and couldn't stop smiling!

This is one of the cutest sights ever....plus she was thrilled to wear that backpack!

All in all she did amazing and she was even really nice to Jacob the rest of the day so that was a treat. She also shocked Brian and I later when she drew an almost perfect S in chalk in front of the house. She had never done that before! We are quite sure it wasn't anything that happened at school but still pretty cool. It was a wonderful feeling to see Stella so confident and excited and I hope tomorrow goes just as well!

Today is Brian's mom's birthday and I love knowing that she is smiling down on her little namesake Stella Barbara and keeping an eye on her!

Birthday boy!

Yesterday was Brian's birthday! We had planned to head to the shore for the day but he got a special gift on Friday when a cat scan revealed a kidney stone! The Dr suggested he stay in town so we spent the day hanging out as a family and telling daddy happy birthday as often as possible. The stone hasn't passed yet and more xrays are in the future to determine the next step. Hopefully he enjoyed his low key b'day and might get a few sick days to put those new Wii games to use!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Stella being 'sad' that the slide was too hot to slide down. She looks so grown up!
She is in this phase of telling us when she is sad or happy! Either one is usually painfully cute and it is so cool to see her understanding her emotions and being able to articulate them just a little better. We are like a broken record telling her to use her words and not tears and it just might be working!


She used to squeal and go bonkers laughing when she was Jacob's age now after about 3 pushes she is "all done".


Thankfully Jacob is all squeals and giggles.

I included this rare exchange where Stella was pushing Jacob in the swing and they were both loving it! She has her moments with him that are a sign of improvement!

She was being extra fun as a gift to Daddy for his birthday!

Little Tree Preschool!

This should really be another post but it is a miracle I am on here now so we are double billing!

Last Friday Stella met her teachers at preschool. Brian and I had attended our first of what will be MANY Back to School Nights! We are so excited we found this program and hope it is the perfect fit for Stella that we think it will be. She really seemed to enjoy meeting the teachers and other 8 kids in her class and when we got in the car she was all smiles saying "I made new friends".

Showing me her first assignment-bring in a teddy bear!

Her first class is tomorrow and I know she won't even look back as she throws me a wave goodbye but I am sure I will be bawling like a baby! TeeHee.

I don't have too many cute shot of Stella and I together but I got this with my cell phone and I thought it was kinda cute!

Grounds for Sculpture

Yesterday we went to the Grounds for Sculpture which is in Hamilton NJ. Essentially the town next to ours. It is a fabulous place that we enjoy each time we visit. We dragged Jon with us-have I mentioned he recently moved to Robbinsville? So fun to have him along and it was a beautiful day. This place is really neat and should be seen if ever find yourself in the area!



Stella and Jonny!

Stella and Daddy checking out the art!

Anyone who visits here must take this picture-teehee.

A number of the exhibits recreate various expressionist paintings

Jacob-as usual-was just wishing her could get out of the dang stroller!

Taking a rest

Look how grown up my bird is!

Click on this to see it large-Stella is in the foreground trying to pick a piece of fruit. She was so confused!

One of my all time favorite shots of Stella. She is such a pretty girl!

Jacob looking a little orange for some reason

playing in the fountian/art with Jonny

What is better than big sticks and stuff that makes a loung noise when you bang on it?

Superman rides are actually better....

And piggy back rides are even better than that!

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend got off to a great start on Friday when Stella, Jacob and I met up with Lauren, Danny and Ryan for a 'stroll' around Princeton. Strolls have a whole new meaning now that Jacob is 22+lbs and Stella is about 31lbs. Add that to the 50lb stroller and I get a nice little work out! Thankfully Lauren and I go back far enough now that I could be all sweaty and worn out and she didn't hold it against me. Thanks Lauren! It was a beautiful day and it had been too long since we saw them so it was was good to catch up. Stella and Ryan couldn't be cuter together and here are a few pics to prove it! I can't believe I didn't get a single shot of adorable Danny. He is doing so great and I can't believe he is already 7 weeks old!! Then again I can't believe Jacob is 10 months. The time goes too fast. Just look how grown up Stella is!



Ryan tries to give his girl a kiss bye bye!