Maya's First Day of Kindergarten

Maya started kindergarten this year (cry, cry) and she goes all day!  It's the first year of full day k in our new district.  She told us that she was nervous to ride the bus without her friends from her old neighborhood, but she hopped right now without hesitation and came back home smiling!

When Maya grows up she wants to be a "builder, book, princess, doctor & teacher."

Vera started walking!

Vera started taking her first steps in August (around the 20th I believe).  She would always go to this same carpet in our house to practice.  I love her perseverance.

The Move

We moved this summer, and we failed to take the obligatory picture of the new house... but the picture below is the last picture I took at our old house.  This picture always makes me feel a bit sad.  I had Vera with me while the movers took away all of our stuff and I cleaned.  She had to eat her lunch on the floor.  She clearly didn't mind :)

We spent the rest of the summer checking out some of the local spots.  The kids love the neighborhood pool, our finished basement, exploring new parks, and the play fountains at a nearby shopping center.

We have a nice flat backyard for our blow up pool!

There is a Starbucks next to these fountains (Mom win!)

Vera loved that she could play at the park now too!

 The Iron Pigs are our local minor league teams and the games are fun!  We enjoyed sitting on the lawn which allowed the kids to run around during the game!

Apparently this is a "pig"...

Our old house weirdly didn't have any windowsills.  This new house has lots of low windows with windowsills, which all of the kids find to be perfect seats!

Rose escaped THROUGH the fence the first time out in the yard... and I got to look like a lunatic chasing her around.  Fortunately, Dave found this collar bumpersonline and they keep her contained. For a rescue dog you'd think she'd be more grateful :) 

Shore Trip 2016

My mom is always nice enough to rent a house for my side of the family to enjoy for a week at the Jersey Shore!  It's always crazy but fun having so many little kids in the house.  The kids absolutely love spending so much time with their cousins and it keeps their bond so tight!

This year they had lots of fun playing in the sand together and jumping over the waves!

These two had fun playing in little blow up baby pools to keep cool on the beach!

I just love when he puts his hands in his pocket!

These group shots always crack me up!  Getting all of them posed is impossible!

Vera turned 1 (June 29th)

Vera turned 1 on June 29th and I'm just now blogging about it when she's 18 months old- third child problems!

Vera continued to be an easy happy baby!  She didn't walk yet but got around by crawl/walking on her knees!  She loved animals, especially dogs, and continued to be a portable little go-with-the-flow baby!  She said "mom" and "dada" and had a great appetite!  She continued to be a big and tall baby! Her hair started to get a bit curly.

Vera-  we're so lucky to be your parents, you make us smile and laugh everyday!

She could swing all day at this age!

"Yay, I'm 12 months old!"

Sister love!

Maya's Dance Recital (June 2016)

Maya tap danced away to "Sunshine, Lillipops & Rainbows) in June.  She did a great job with her little group of dance friends!