Thursday, August 27, 2015

Greek Festival 2015

Last weekend, at the behest of our real estate agent, we took the kids to the Port Jefferson Greek Festival. It was interesting! We navigated our way through a maze of flea market and promotional tables, and at the back was a fair with rides.

We bought a bunch of ride tickets thinking that I was going to ride everything with James, but at the first ride I was told- no adults allowed. Oh sadness. So James went on his first real ride alone. He looked nervous, but he claimed it was fun when he got off and he asked to go on the next ride.

Greek Festival 2015
Getting off his first ride. Checking that the ground is still there.

We found one we could do together- the Ferris Wheel. Definitely not a scary ride until you start visualizing all the ways your 4-year-old might escape the ferris wheel. I held on tight.

Greek Festival 2015
Ferris wheel fun!!

Greek Festival 2015
We are in the one on the far left- you can see us!

Next James went on another solo kids ride but this time he was psyched. He watches a cartoon called My Big Big Friend and said the ride looked like that. He had his own big friend and flew around on him.

Greek Festival 2015
Big elephant friend

Greek Festival 2015
Flying!

Miranda thought it was a bunch of BS that she couldn't go on any rides and gave us the poutiest face to express her displeasure. By now we had run out of tickets anyway, but we were pretty sure James didn't want to hear about that. So we lured him away from the ride with Greek diples (honey rolls pronounced dip-less) and cookies.

Greek Festival 2015
Diples are my new favorite food!

Greek Festival 2015
Munching on honey cookies

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Miranda is 16 Months 2015

Oooh boy, we're having full-blown toddler meltdowns here this month. Every. single. day. She's probably teething. She already has 4 molars, and 7 front teeth (8th in the works) but I think she's getting her canines too. She's probably also having crazy growth spurts because she's outgrowing a lot of stuff. She's size 2T and nothing smaller. She's sleeping poorly at night, and napping even worse during the day.

She adjusted well to the new house for the first week or so, and she seems to love all the space to explore inside and outside, but she just can't handle disappointments of any kind. She rules everything. But we're starting to burn out on tantrums-ville. I just lie her down gently when she's having one now and walk away. I call it parenting.

Grandma Visits- July 2015
Going up and down steps= fun

Grandma Visits- July 2015
Singing and clapping together

Grandma Visits- July 2015
Sprinkler run!

Nana Visits- August 2015
Just going on a little indoor picnic

Nana Visits- August 2015
Walking with Dada in Port Jeff

She LOVES books. James did too, but this seems more somehow? She brings us a never-ending stream of books all day and we feel compelled to read them to her, especially if she brings us different ones. Her favorites are Potty, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Dora and the Rainy Day, the Belly Button Book, and ¿Dónde está el ombliguito? But this list isn't exhaustive.

August 2015
Pretending to read out loud.

She's kind of the boss of James. She's kind of the boss of all of us. She's so deeply uninterested in the word "no" that she hasn't even bothered to learn to say it. She says yes, but just shakes her head no when she doesn't want something. Mostly she communicates in other ways. She understands a lot of what we say and makes herself very understood too. 

August 2015
Going for a drive.

August 2015
They are buddies still.

August 2015
Oh hi.

One new thing, is that James will start preschool after Labor Day. In an effort to make him feel more comfortable we enrolled him in his school's summer "camp" program for three weeks before school starts. James is psyched. Miranda, however, hates seeing James and Dada go off somewhere without her. She sits at the door like she does when we put her shoes on to go out. James thinks she should be able to go because there are kids her age at his school in the daycare rooms. He pretends to be at school at home and tells her to go back to her "center" when she's bothering him.

August 2015
Girls' time on James's first day at "camp"

August 2015

Saturday, August 22, 2015

First Date Night in New Town- August 2015

We have lots of new places to explore! About a week ago, while grandma was here to watch the kids, we ventured out on first date night here. I liked the sushi place we found, but I love love love the place we went to for drinks on the waterfront. I think it was called Wave. It's friendly and the view is beautiful.

August 2015
Post-sushi dinner at our new localrestaurant

August 2015
Outdoor bar

August 2015
Sunset on the waterfront

Date night was great!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Cedar Beach- August 2015

Grandma, Kevin, James, Miranda, and I went to the beach and it was actually fun! We had the lowest possible expectations that we'd spend the entire trip trying to keep Miranda from jumping into the ocean by herself and having tantrums when we tried to hold her or something equally horrible (she's very independent). Haha, but really, Miranda spends most playground trips trying to run out of the playground into the parking lot. (James was our good baby it turns out.) She was actually a little scared of the ocean and happy to stay away unless I held her. When she was on the beach she shoveled sand into a frisbee very happily! James was also good! He enjoyed both the ocean and the sand and followed all our rules! We might even go back soon.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Just getting comfortable.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Girls in the shallow end, boys on the deep end.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Grandma made me so happy by taking these photos!

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Fun!


Cedar Beach- August 2015
Life is good.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
The beach is rocky, but we have a rake.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Making it rain on the castle.

Check out Grandma's chair. Apparently canopy chairs are the trendiest thing on the beach and lots of people had them. Pretty smart and no umbrella installation needed. Miranda's shorts-on-the-head look is less stylish but easily achievable.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Loves Grandma

Cedar Beach- August 2015
My hands and my heart are full.

One little asterisk is that to get the five of us in our sedan I had to sit wedged in sideways between the two car seats. I love how the kids both acted like I was making them uncomfortable. What age does that self-awareness thing kick in? Oh, 25? That's too bad.

Cedar Beach- August 2015
I make it look good.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Grandma Visits- August 2015

Grandma visited! It hasn't been a month since her last visit but she was eager to see the new house, and we were happy to have her come back. More than happy. James was downright ecstatic.

Grandma Visits- August 2015
Day 1: Playing on deck with Grandma- our little cheapo pool is holding up!

Day 2, Kevin and I got to run some house-related errands while the kids had a blast with grandma.

Grandma Visits- August 2015
Day 2: Scored ice cream off ice cream truck with Grandma

Grandma Visits- August 2015
Miranda steals James's cone

Day 3, we went to one of our local beaches for the first time. The kids were actually good! (Beach post later.)

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Day 3: Beach with Grandma

Cedar Beach- August 2015
Beach love.

Grandma and Kevin also went to see Kevin's job place and went for drinks that night. No fun date night pictures available.

The following day, she had a fun afternoon with James. She took him shopping and then rewarded his patience with treats at Friendly's. She also watched the kids while we went out for dinner which was really nice.

August 2015
Day 4: Sundae at Friendly's

Before she left on the 5th day, she got to walk around Port Jefferson, take the kids for smoothies. And when she left she took the ferry to Connecticut! We're psyched to try it ourselves on the next Cape Cod visit.

August 2015
Day 5: At the library

August 2015
Fun at the library

August 2015
Goodbye Smoothies

Thanks Grandma! See you soon!

Friday, August 14, 2015

Nana Visits- August 2015

Mom and Bob came to visit the new house. Saturday we relaxed (by which I mean Bob and Kevin installed the air conditioner mom bought us). We grilled out for dinner, and so we had our first little dinner party in the house, seating six people around the dining table. This is huge because we used to have to eat in different rooms at our old place (kids in the kitchen, adults in the living room sans table).

Nana Visits- August 2015
Dinner party

Nana Visits- August 2015
Other side.

Nana Visits- August 2015
Night time snuggling.


Nana Visits- August 2015
Reading the next morning

Sunday we actually made it out of the house for some Port Jefferson walking, shopping, and eating.

Nana Visits- August 2015
Back at the PJ Ice Cream Cafe because why not?

Nana Visits- August 2015
Girls' Club

Nana Visits- August 2015
James, Nana, and Bob enjoying some ice cream

Nana Visits- August 2015
A little shopping at Port Jeff Motorcycle

Nana Visits- August 2015
A little stroll with Dada

Nana Visits- August 2015
Family picture on the dock

Nana Visits- August 2015
Reading Miranda's current favorite book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Nana Visits- August 2015
Miranda thinks it's hilarious

Thanks for visiting Mom and Bob, and thanks for the air conditioning!
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