Drake's Heaven

After lunch and before naps, we came here. I loved sitting with Bubba and watching Drake explore, climb, and slide.

DC

Yesterday we went down to Washington DC for a tour through the East Wing of the

White House. It was pretty crazy to be in the same house our President and past Presidents have lived. I loved how each room was decorated and they were all so beautiful. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take in our camera so I had to leave mine in the car. By the time we got back to the car it was so windy, cold, and rainy that we didn't want to get out to get more pictures. (We would've toughed it out but both baby boys have colds). Here are a few I did take from the car as we drove around to some other sites. It was a long day, but well worth the trip.

Help

This boy is difficult.

I know, I know - he's two. But what do you do when someone likes to hit your knuckles with toy cars (which REALLY hurts) or poke his brother eyes? Who likes to hold food in his mouth for ten minutes then spit it out all over furniture or the floor? Who throws hard objects at heads?

Time outs don't work, he just bangs his head against the wall or ground and we don't want brain damage. Spanks don't work, he just covers his diaper-covered bum and says "Top it Mammas, OUCH!" tries to kick me, and makes me feel like a horrible mother.

And the hardest part about all of this is, 20 times a day, in between the hits, kicks, throws, bites, and pokes, he comes right up to me, says "Tankjou (thank you) Mammas" and gives me a big hug and kiss, for something simple like handing him his little taxi that he just hurled at my face.

I sure love that little guy.

Halloween

Halloween came and went fast this year! Johnny won the costume coin toss and decided on a basketball theme. I couldn't be too disappointed, I loved the little guys in their getups.

Johnny was the punk referee. Why punk? He just happened to have the punk wig, bracelets, and piercings lying around...

Although it was too wet and cold for them to go trick-or-treating, they posed for a few pics and were rewarded with milks (Bubba) and candy (Dwake & Johnny).

Tribute to Fall

I love the Fall, it is my favorite time of year! Sunday we took the boys on a long drive through the countryside. The colors were at their peak, the weather was perfect, and I loved every minute of it. I loved it so much, that I want to share it with you! Here are my favorite pictures of the drive, and (especially for those of you that don't have Fall) I hope you like them!

I call these Knees Trees

Donkeys

Meet my new friends, Sheffield, Leonard, and Cobra.

Leonard is the happy, quiet one.

Cobra is the over confident,"you can't tell me what to do" one, always posing.

Sheffield is the goof, always silly and pulling faces.

They remind me of the three boys I live with.

Working Baby

I love that Johnny works from home. Although it means working more hours, and never really leaving his work, it also means having a babysitter all day. If I need to run any errands, I just wait until I put both boys down for a nap then quickly run to the store.

Sometimes, Bubba wants to be held ALL day long. It could present a problem if I'd like to shower and I don't want him waking Drake up with his wails. But not with Johnny around. If he is able, he'll gladly hold Bubba for me while I get ready for the day. I love it.

Three Words

I. Got. Photoshop.

You are going to be seeing even more of this guy.

Outing with Drake

Yesterday Drake and I walked around a cute little town called Skippack. I liked going in and out of antique stores and boutiques and Drake liked all the rocks he could pick up along the way. Drake is talking more and more every day, and it was funny to hear him say "Oooh pretty house, pretty trees, pretty car, yucky bugs, yucky rock, and yucky chairs (when he saw dirty antique chairs)"

Visit from Gigi and SuSu

Four hours after Johnny dropped my parents off at the air port we were lucky enough to have two new visitors! Mary, Johnny's grandma, and his aunt Susan came to spend a few days with us.

Drake didn't have to wait long to be the center of attention again.

After they spent time in downtown Philly, we took them to one of our regular stops Geno's (or was it Pat's?) for an authentic Philly Cheesesteak.

Then next day, Johnny, Drake and the gals spent the night up in NYC. They were able to see Mary Poppins on Broadway and stop by Good Morning America. It was very wet and cold, but they seemed to have a good time!

Drake remained spoiled. Here he is in his new fireman outfit.

And Bubba never got tired of being held, just tired while being held. He doesn't fall asleep on ANYONE, it looks like Mary's got a special touch.

I never got tired of SuSu getting up with the boys. The last two weeks I've gotten more sleep than the last 7 months!

The beautiful leaves at Washington's Crossing.

We headed to Princeton again to see the fall leaves.

My husband caught me checking him out...

I love this pic

I'm so glad we got to spend time with Susan and Mary. It was so nice talking with them late at night and seeing Drake get to know them. It was hard to see them go, and now I need more visitors!

Birthday Boy

My baby turned two! I can't believe it, time has gone so fast. We kept the celebrations simple. He got a few presents randomly through out the day for the next few days and it was fun to keep surprising him over and over.

That night he had his favorite foods. Macaroni and cheese, french fries, and apple juice.

He loved his Birthday hot fudge sunday

and he was kind enough to share some of the whip cream with his mommy

He gave it two spoons way, way up!

And over all, I think he had a good day.

Visit from the Allbee's

Shortly after we got back from Austin we got a visit from Mimi & Pappa! They were here for a week and we kept them busy. Here are pictures of some of our outings:

We started with breakfast at Shady Maple, of course, our favorite Amish/Mennonite Smörgåsbord. (not that we've eaten at any other amish/mennonite eatery, but I'm sure this one could beat them all)

After that, we drove around Amish country. The open fields are beautiful!

We drove on Hunsiker Road, through a town called Hunseker. My mom's maiden name, Hunsaker, derived from both names. Our ancestors lived in the area in the 1700's so it was fun to see homes that dated back to that time. This is a pic of my favorite.

Friday night, we got a babysitter and the adults went to the Sixers opening pre-season game. We had great seats and enjoyed our hot dogs, philly cheesesteaks, and crab fries while watching them win!

After the game we got to go meet two of the players. They were both super nice (probably 'cause Johnny's friend told them we spent loads of money on their basketball program, allowing us to get pictures with them). My favorite part of this moment was my mom saying, before the picture was taken, "I'm eye level with your nipple!" Why did she have to say nipple and not chest or arm pit or something? I love my mom and her choice of words.

Saturday Johnny and I went up to NYC for the day. My parents took the kids downtown to see Independence Hall and some of the sites.

On Monday we we to Washington's Crossing, where Washington crossed the Delaware River, and my dad took some family pictures. I love Bubba's face in this one, never mind that his hands are blurry.

We also went over to one of my very favorite places, the Princeton University campus, to show my parents how beautiful it is. Again, I love, LOVE Bubba's face in this pic.

It was so fun having them out and it was hard to see them go. Drake loved having his Mimis and Pappas here waiting on him hand and foot and spoiling him rotten, and I loved showing them this beautiful place. Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!