No more "pop"...

... for my little Luke Bear! What a Big Boy! It is official, Luke is done with his pacifier or "pop" as we call them in our house. We are on day 3 without "pop". I guess not being able to find his "pop" was all it took. After looking around a bit, he decided that sleeping with his "gankie" or his blankies and stuffed animals was all he really needed!

My sweet baby boy...

1st day of Pre-K...

...is FINALLY HERE! I can't believe it! Where does the time go? Just two short years ago, I was getting Katie ready for her first day of Pre-K at West Point. I think it is easier this time around because I know what to expect! No tears for John or Momma today!

John was excited for his first day of Pre-K!

John & Katie both ready to go to school...

John being silly in line with his friends, Luke & Daniel.

Waiting to go into his classroom...

John in front of his cubbie...

Working on a puzzle...

After putting away his puzzle it was time to find his spot on the carpet for Circle Time.
Mrs. Parrette read the book, The Kissing Hand. A sweet story about how Chester Raccoon and his mother prepare for Chester's first "night" at school. Chester's Mom shares a secret with him called the Kissing Hand. She kisses Chester's palm and tells him to put it to his cheek when he begins to feel lonely and needs a little love from home. Nothing makes you feel better than knowing your mother's love is always with you! So after a quick Kissing Hand for John and one for Momma, it was time for me to go!

John had a great first day at Pre-K! Love you, John!

Girls Day Out In NYC

...our days in NY will be gone before I know it, so I am determined to take advantage of as many days in NYC as I can before the Army says it is time to move again...I have lots of things to check off "my list" before we move, and on this Girls Trip to NYC, I was able to check off a few things! We started our day with the NBC Studio Tour! It was pretty cool to see behind the scenes of the NBC News and SNL! Now if only we could see SNL "LIVE". Keeping my fingers crossed for that one!

You were not allowed to take any pictures on the NBC Tour, so the we tried to take our picture before the tour....as you can see we were NOT very successful! Thank goodness for the NBC Studio Tour Photo above!

View from Top Of The Rock, 30 Rockefeller Plaza...

Brooke & I with the Empire State Building in the background...

"The Girls"...Samantha, Brooke, Me, & Kate...

Brooke and I on the Hop-On-Off-Downtown Tour Bus...

A few of the sites to see from the bus...

Looking up at the Empire State Building...

We "hopped off" in Little Italy for lunch...

The girls and I had a day filled with non-stop chatting and laughter, delicious food, yummy cupcakes, shopping, and lots of site seeing! I can't wait to do it again!

I have been to NYC many times since 9/11, but I haven't been to Ground Zero...it is hard to believe that almost 10 years later this is what it looks like...a large construction site full of emotion...

The World Trade Center Plaza before 9/11...

The Sphere" from the World Trade Center was relocated to Battery Park and an eternal flame was added and lit on 9/11/2002 in honor of all those who were lost. It is amazing how little damage was done to this sculpture considering all the damage that was done that day. It truly shows the indestructible spirit of our country! I ♥ NYC!

Home Sweet Home...

Donnie is finally home from his Alabama adventure! Who knew that 3 1/2 months could seem like forever? The kids are thrilled to have their Daddy home! I wish I could have captured their excitement as they ran outside to hug him as he got out of this truck! They couldn't get to him fast enough. So sweet! It is such a wonderful feeling to have our family back under the same roof! These are the moments to hold on to...

Pre-K Home Visit...

Mrs. Parrette and Mrs. Jones came to our house to meet John and schedule his in-class screening. Mrs. Parrette brought her Kookaburra puppet and sang Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh! John was extremely shy during their visit. I think he only said about two words. He did at least smile and nod his head a few times. I can't wait to see how much he grows-up this year! He is lucky to have such wonderful teachers! Katie also had Mrs. Parrette and Mrs. Jones when she was in Pre-K! We are looking forward to a great year in Pre-K!

1st Day of 1st Grade...

...THE BIG DAY is finally here! We got pumped up this morning listening to tunes by Miley Cyrus while getting ready for school! I tried to remain calm and not let my emotions get the best of me (for Katie's sake)!

Katie ready to walk to school...
A quick picture in front of the school sign, which she totally did not want to take, but gave in to her her mamma's wishes! And, she even smiled! What more can a mother ask for?

Waiting in line after we met Mrs. Vazulik...

Katie did great and only shed a few tears when it was time to go into her classroom! (I managesd to hold it together!) It has been a rough summer without her Daddy! I know that everything will start to feel back to "normal" as soon as he gets home! Only 4 more days! Happy 1st day of 1st grade, Katie!

Last Day of Summer!

Our last day of summer was spent doing whatever the kids wanted to do! As the last day of summer should be! We started our day off with donuts for breakfast! Yum! Then we went to the movie theater to see....
It was popcorn & Icee's for lunch at the movie...

No day is complete without playing at the playground!

Baking some cupcakes to celebrate the start of school!

Katie & John licking the batter bowl clean!

Decorating with Sprinkles, M&Ms, & Gummy Bears!

We spent the rest of the day playing around the house & getting ready for THE BIG DAY! Pizza & cupcakes for dinner! Delicious!!!

And the 1st Grade Teacher is...

Mrs. Vazulik...

There is always such excitement and anticipation about finding out who your teacher is going to be for the year! We walked to the school to see the class lists that were posted promptly at 3:30pm the Friday before school starts! I can't believe that on Monday morning I will be walking my oldest baby to 1st grade! I can't help but get a little teary eyed reading her name on the list and telling her the name of her teacher. Oh, where does the time go?

Katie in front of the 1st Grade Class List....

Katie's 1st Grade Class...

Bronx Zoo!

I am so glad that I can still manage to be spontaneous with 3 kids! We decided to join some friends on a last minute trip to NYC to visit the Bronx Zoo! In less than a hour, I had everyone up, dressed, feed, and a bag packed to head to the zoo! We had a wonderful time! It wasn't too crowded, just a little hot & sticky!


Katie & John riding the Bug Carousal...

The Butterfly Garden was beautiful! I love all the different butterflies fluttering around the gorgeous flowers...

The Koi Pond was one of the kids favorites in the butterfly garden...

Katie posing on the way out of the butterfly garden...

John...

Luke...

My beautiful butterflies...

Turtle crossing...

Another favorite was the Dora & Diego 4-D Adventure. I love how silly we all look in our glasses! The 4-D affects were great! Real bubbles, water spraying in your face, blasts of cool air, vibrating chairs! The kids LOVED it!

I love it when you catch the sweet little moments on camera...

Luke was super excited to ride the choo choo train, which he saw on the zoo map! After riding the Wild Asia Monorail, I think he finally got it! Choo choo train or monorail, it doesn't matter what you call it, he LOVED IT!

John ready to ride!

Katie & Luke...

My favorite animals to see were the lions. There were 3 new cubs. It was so sweet to see the whole family together!

Some of our other favorite animals of the day...

John getting a closer look at the prairie dogs...

Katie playing on the Rope Spider Web in the Children's Zoo!

John in the tree slide...

The kids & I at the end of a great day at the Bronx Zoo! I love being able to share new places and adventures with the kids. It's so fun to see things through their eyes! And even sweeter to hear their excitement as they tell Donnie all about the FUN day we had at the zoo!