POTDs: Lukas at Nest

Alex.was feeling a bit under the weather today (the puking on himself, me, and our bed at 3am last night variety), so I left him with Natalie and Oliver and headed to our Mommy & Me class alone with Lukas this afternoon. Since Alex had already gotten to go once alone, it was a happy coincidence that Lukas got a similar experience. Since it was such a mild day and things have slowed down at work, I through him in the sling and we walked to class and back.  He was down-right adorable on the ~1mile walk over, pointing out (and exclaiming --  very talkative kids in this family) every single parked car, taxi, bike, dog, and person that walked by us.  So much city life to take in!!!  Since I usually have them in the stroller, which means little interaction, it was nice change of pace to have some special one-on-one time and a "conversation" the whole walk over.  

At class today, one of the other kids had a truck from the Cars movie.  Since Lukas' favorite pasttime is trying to play with Oliver's Cars cars, I knew it was only a matter of time before he got his hands on this one.  Sure enough, while all the other kids were playing in the sensory bin filled with Rice Krispies (remember, Lukas has an affinity for Crispix), he took the opportunity to stake claim to the truck.  

POTD- Oh Lukas

All of our kids love climbing in/out of, sitting in, and being carried around in washbaskets, cardboard boxes, etc. They must be part cat!  Last night, I put the big pot we use to make spaghetti sauce down on the floor and Lukas immediately clammored to be put inside. Moments later, he's screaming, because its too small (even for him) to sit comfortably in. As soon as he's free, he's trying to climb back in.  Ha!  Once I started taking pictures, Oliver wanted in on the action.

POTD: Ready for Halloween

After we got home from bowling on Monday, Natalie and Oliver hung up our new spider web and spiders (bets on how long until Alex or Lukas swallow one?) and Oliver and I decorated the front door.

Yesterday, I bought our remaining family costumes - must say, this is the first time in a very long time that I am excited for Halloween!

POTD: Lukas fun

Lukas vetoed the PM nap today. This is how I finally got him to sit still (he wanted nothing more than to run, run, run in the basement.)

POTD: Fancy Schmanzy

Last night Adam  and I attended the opening night of the Philadelphia Orchestra with some of my Junior League friends. Love an excuse to get Adam into his tux!

POTD: Cool Shades

A quick photo from our trip home last night - Oliver & Mommy went up to the bungalow solo this time. 

POTD: Hershey Fun

I'm at a two day conference at the Hershey Hotel.  Jana and Oliver tagged along - they are spending today at Hershey Park and hanging out around the pool at the hotel tomorrow. 

Just got word from Jana that Oliver is having a blast.  No surprise - this fire engine carousel is his favorite!

POTD: Photo Fun

Since Lucas was asleep, and Ricardo {Oliver's monkey} was also dressed in brown, just like Alex & Oliver, he was our stand-in for the brother photo this time around.

POTD: Sick Dayssssss

Sick days aren't so bad when there is an ipad close by with Netflix episodes of Curious George!  Oliver has been sick for 3 days now with a nasty cold.  He's been up at night unable to sleep because of the cough, has a fever, and looks just awful.  He's finally on the path to recovery, but Lukas is showing the early signs of the same thing.... oh oh....

 

Making a Poopie-face because he's sick

 

POTD: Learning to Share

Pauline emailed us this photo yesterday with a note that said "Reading books.  Alex stole Lukas' toy and started crying when I gave it back to Lukas. But luckily Lukas is a really good sharer."

POTD: Rainy Day Reflection

Today I am thankful to have wonderful au pairs as our childcare arangement.  It was a monumental effort to get Oliver to daycare and myself in to work this morning, because of the rain.  I shudder at the thought of getting three kids out of the house every morning - just imagine how early we would need to get up to have everyone out the door by 7:15am! The bus wouldn't even be an option.  Actually, the cost of 3 in daycare fulltime (not to mention the collasal hassle) would likely make me a stay-at-home mom.

Somewhere under that umbrella is Oliver waiting at the busstop this morning!

POTD: Gymnastics Fun

Today is Pauline's last day having the kids solo.  Tomorrow Julia arrives and the two of them will overlap/alternate duties for the next three weeks.  Pauline and Lukas took Oliver to gymnastics this morning and just reported that he's having the time of his life in class!

 

 

POTD: New School

Today was Oliver's first day at his new daycare.  The old daycare wasn't awful and we liked his teachers, but the owners/director really didn't have their act together and we were concerned about the high teacher turnover (parents talk, and we were hearing lots of concerning stories from other classrooms, we felt it was only a matter of time before we would be the ones with concerns). 

 

I'm already in love with the new place!  Adam said they called him at work around this 11am to let him know how things were going.  A few minutes ago, I just got an email/photo of our lil' guy and this note - I just wanted to send you on a picture of Oliver doing a Science experiment with the other children earlier on today. He is napping right now and seems to be having a good day.

 

 

The new daycare is across the street from Adam's office, which makes drop-offs/pick-ups easier.  The only drawback is that we need to provide lunch (and they don't have a microwave, so I can't just send dinner leftovers). 

POTD: Halloween Adorableness

We forgot to put the boys in halloween-themed outfits yesterday, so we did it today.  I love, love, love this shot I got of Lukas!  I think it is my favorite photo of him to-date. 

 

Here are Oliver & Alex in the same outfit.  Oliver was 6mo at Halloween, so a bit older than Alex.  Do you think they look alike?  Once you get past the blue eyes, pasty complection, and baldness, I'm not so sure anymore... 

POTD: Alex loves his feet

Now that he's found them, Alex doesn't want to let go! Even for diaper changes.

POTD: Delightful Toddler Entertainment

I love how the simplest thing can entertain and delight a toddler. 

 

This morning as we were getting ready to leave the house, I noticed a guest name badge in my bag from yesterday's trip to NYC that I had forgotten to return.  I clipped it to Oliver's shirt and he was tickled pink!  While he was eating breakfast, I scribbled his name on a piece of paper and slid it in to the name badge.  He was so excited to go to school wearing it. 

 

 

POTDs: Working From Home Perk

Yesterday, Oliver came up in the later afternoon, as I was finishing up a project, and quietly colored on the floor next to my desk.  Today, Alex fell asleep while I was cleaning out my inbox. 

Getting to see the boys when things are quiet is a definite perk of my days working at home! 

 

POTD: Coordinated Outfits

Pauline just made my afternoon by sending us a picture of the day (potd).  She and I both really love put the babies in coordinated outfits.  They are growing out of 3mo clothes, so we're trying to squeeze in a final wear out of some of the cutest clothes.

POTD: Monkey Music Grandma

I've been trying to work from home on the days Pauline is caring for all three (Wed & Thurs) but it doesn't always work out that way.  Today I am travelling around Philly & Baltimore and Grandma's on hand today helping Pauline in my absence.  The perk of an extra set of hands is the ability to leave the house with all three (Pauline isn't quite ready for handling solo). So off they went to Monkey Music Jungle!

POTD: Rolling Babies

Having a "wish I didn't work" day...

Pauline reports that both babies are rolling over today during tummy time!!!  First she told us Lukas was able to roll from his belly to his back.  Not to be outdone by his brother, less than an hour later Alex rolled from his back onto his belly (a more challenging feat).

Alex has been a wiggle worm lately shuffling himself about 180* when we put him in his crib - his head always ends up near Lukas's feet.