The Pahk

Weather's getting nicer out. The parks are getting crowded. Awww yeah. Spring in Hoboken. Here are a few pics from last week. It was a bit windy out so we had to wear our hats. Thought these were great shots anyway. Again, no point to this entry really except to show how effing cool my kids are. That's right. Youknowsit.


They look so old here...RIGHT!!!


My little man. Eat your heart out ladies.


I'm the boss biznitches! That's right.

Bubbles

This post is really just an excuse to put up some cute pics of my kids. Plus they really really REALLY like bubbles. More than Elmo. But not more than Salt and Vinegar potato chips. Ch ch check em out.

Big Boy & Big Girl Underpants Hooray!!!

So I just want to start by saying that this is not one of the 10 blog posts I promised but rather a new one I just wanted to quickly document because yesterday was a historic day.

Mason AND Jacob both wore their big boy and big girl underpants ALL DAY LONG. Even to Jewish school and they had no accidents. (OK -- so they wore diapers for their naps...but STILL) Besides that they were in underwear all day without 1 accident. I was SO proud of them that when we got back from Jewish school I gave them a special treat of "sour chips". Essentially I let them eat Salt and Vinegar potato chips while they watched Yo Gabba Gabba before their naps. Ha ha.

They did great! And I'm so proud of them. I think Jacob might have done it because he was wearing his Oscar underpants and they are his absolute FAVORITES because they are green. And Oscar. And he dare not soil them. Mason well, because she is Mason. And she rules the world.

Cast Decorating

One thing Mason and Jacob were looking forward to was decorating Mason's cast. Thanks to everyone who sent her stickers! But I found out, that stickers don't really stick to casts. Rather they fall off and stick to hard wood floors. But...she had some "jewels" to decorate with that actually stuck quite nicely. Only problem is when Mason started to take them off and eat them. Not good. We removed all the bedazzling. She's settled for a little crayon on the cast. Maybe we'll move to marker next week.

Here is a little video of the cast decorating festivities.

Mason Gets An Operation

The title to this entry is the same title I gave to the little book I wrote for Mason to prepare her for her surgery. I mean, how do you explain all this to a 2 1/2 year old? Write a book...duh...

So here's the dillio people. A few months ago we discovered that little Mason had an extra bone growing in her left thumb. It's actually pretty rare. So the doc recommended that she go for some other tests to make sure it wasn't more serious blah blah blah. Well an echocardiogram and some genetic testing later everything was negative. It was just a complete and total anomaly.

The bone was causing her thumb to grow at a funny angle so the doc said it had to come out. Which it did last Tuesday at Hackensack Hospital. Poor girl had to go under for 3 hrs! But she was a rock start. Didn't really cry at all. I can't say the same for me. She was MUCH MUCH braver than I. That's for sure.

And since she is only 2 1/2 the doc had to cast the whole arm after to ensure proper healing. Otherwise I'm told she would rip it right off. The cast or bandage or whatever. She has to wear it for about 4 weeks and then all will be done. Yay! We have one week down already.

Quick - super cute story - we had to get up super early to leave to go to the hospital. Our original plan was to get Mason out of the room without waking Jacob. But they both knew what was happening and Grandma Sherry came in to help out and watch Jacob. Anyway...Jacob actually awoke earlier than Mason that morning. And when we went to get them up (about 6:15) Jacob was standing up in his crib holding his blue blanky. Then he told Harvey, "I want to give this to Masey to take to the operation." Awwww...I couldn't believe it. It brought tears to my eyes and we hadn't even left yet.

We asked Mason, "Do you want to give your blanket to Jacob?"

"No" she said. Ha ha. Crazy girl. She smiled and decided to give hers to Jacob. So they exchanged blankies for the afternoon. Can you stand it??

All went well. And she's doing great. Much better than you or I would be if we had a cast or reconstructive surgery done. Again, she barely even cried. Not even when they put a mask on her to give her gas to put her out. She cried a tiny bit when she woke up (i think because we weren't even there yet) The nurse came running to get us because little Mason woke up faster than normal. Crazy girl. Then she cried a tiny bit when they removed her IV - but besides that she was a rock star.

Would someone just tell her that she can't climb at the park and do forward rolls. She's insane.

Anyway -- here are some pics from that day. My big brave girl!



Mason and her little purple sock monkey -- pre-op. She waits patiently whilst watching Mickey Mouse.


She snuggles with Daddy in Jacob's blanky....aww...


This is Mason when we got home from the hospital. She is so proud and happy! Literally this is probably 4 hours after her actual surgery. She really is nuts. And brave.

Passover 2011

Passover 2011 came and went. And I must admit, I personally had a hard time keeping to it this year. I blame Mason's operation and all the stress. But whatevs. I'm a pretty good Jew and I think God still loves me. So that's comforting. The kids were excited about it. Here is a little video of their Seder Plates they made with Miss Paula in Jewish School.

The North Carolina Girls

One of my best friends from forever was in town last week. She had her first baby in Hoboken like 7 years ago. And then moved to Raleigh, NC. Here is a pic of her kids and mine playing in the park. They all had a blast. Especially Jacob, who loves hanging out with older women.

Making Pancakes

I used to buy the mini frozen pancakes for the kids. I think they were Eggo. Or maybe Aunt Jemima. I can't remember. But they were frozen. And wicked easy to make in the microwave. But then the kids just stopped eating them. They didn't like them any more. They were frozen. Eh. Whatevs.

I started to think, maybe we can make real pancakes! As like, an activity. That will take up some time in the morning and then they can eat them after. Worked like a charm. They absolutely love it. Well, they love making them. And watching them cook. Mason loves eating them. Jacob sometimes likes eating them. Depends on the day. Mmm...pancakes.

Little Gym Part Deaux

Another year, another season of Little Gym. They love it. Ch Ch Check out my future Olympic athletes.

Cole's Birthday

Our across the hall neighbor had celebrated his second birthday a few weeks ago and had a party at Kidville in Hoboken. Kidville is a very fancy, expensive playspace/classes for kids place. Mason and Jacob had never been to Kidville. It was pretty awesome I gotta say. They had a blast.

They played. And put stickers on tambourines. Mason decided that she doesn't actually like kids that she doesn't know and was sad because she didn't want to share the whole gymnasium with the other children. Seriously.

They were both horrified by the pizza that was served but Jacob was quite happy drinking TWO juice boxes. All in all, it was a most excellent afternoon.


Yup, they're still the cutest kids in Hoboken.


I sent this picture to my cousin Lindsey and her reply was, "When can I take her out for a drink. She looks like she might be ready this weekend."


Hands down the cutest kids at the party.


This little girl was all over Jacob. I think he liked it. He likes older girls.

Nana Papa Visit Reprise

So I just wanted to share a few more pics from Nana and Papa's visit. Yes, these are from the end of March but whatevs. That's just how we do it. A great time was had by all. We miss Nana and Papa (and their snacks) very much and hope to see them soon.


Papa reading Peppa Pig to the terrible twosome.


Nana gets down and dirty with play-doh...Sesame Street Style.

Mase & Jake Fast Facts 04.25.11

Fast Facts that come to mind from the past 2 weeks:

-Jacob and Mason can both count up to 14.
-Mason is getting bossier by the day.
-Jacob is an awesome dancer.
-They both have still not had hair cuts and it's getting close to that time. Real close.
-Jacob doesn't say "toot" any more when he passes gas. He says. "That a faht." Just like that. And "excuse me." Yes, he's a gentleman, his middle name is Galahad.
-Mason now weights 29.6 lbs. Not sure about Jacob since he didn't have an operation, but I feel like it's about the same, maybe a touch lighter.
-Jacob is taller.
-Mason is still a shorty. But taller than Grandma.
-Their favorite books at the moment are Peppa Pig from Auntie Mel and Nana and Papa. They can't get enough.
-Mase & Jake are both awesome at emptying the dishwasher.
-Jacob loves to vacuum. Like really vacuum. And do laundry. And he loves the weather. He's just like his Aunt Jennie.
-They both still refuse to eat pizza.
-Jacob still hates chocolate. Or cupcakes. Mason can't get enough.
-Jacob seriously can take a picture on my phone and put it into a text message then he hands it to me to send it to someone.
-Mason is really good at eating a full bowl of cereal in the morning. With milk. Like a big girl. Even with her right hand. (she's left handed)
-They are both wearing big boy and big girl underpants. But not all the time. And they still have accidents. We're easing into the whole thing.

That's all for now off the top of my head.

After this entry I have 10 more. That's right TEN to share with you all. That's how behind I am. I'll try and bust em out tonight. LATER!!

An apology to all our fans...

So so SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO very sorry that I haven't updated the blog in weeks. I know it. You know it. My mother knows it. You get it.

But we've had lots and lots and LOTS going on . Which I'd like to get into more detail soon. Very soon. But I promised myself that I would write just a little quick something something to our fan base to let you all know that we are still alive and kicking. Here's the short of it:

1) We are still successfully sleeping without our pacifiers! Woo-hoo!

2) Our naps are becoming few and far between. (both mommy's and mason's and jacob's thus...no time to write on the blog).

3) Mason had surgery last Tuesday to remove an extra bone growing in her thumb. She is doing GREAT!!! Surgery was successful. Poor thing has a cast on her left arm up past her elbow. Again, promise to do an entry on this real soon!

4) We have decided to move. It's getting crowded and we need more space so the past few weeks we've been moving our stuff to a storage space. Piecemeal. In our car. Harvey is a machine I tell you. He's all business. And the best husband ever. Anyway, we put our apartment on the market a couple weeks ago so if anyone is looking for a gorgeous 2 bedroom/2 bath in hoboken give us a ringy ding.

So those are the main points. Here are a couple recent recent pics of the kids. And I hope to write more tonight or tomorrow. Love you all!!

XO

NO PACIS! NO PACIS! (pronounced pass-eee)

OK. So maybe I don't know how to spell the abbreviated word for pacifier but Mason and Jacob are wicked smaht! So smart that I'm proud to announce they slept all through the night without them. They didn't fall asleep until 10:00 so I thought maybe they'd sleep in but, um, no. They were up at 7AM sharp.

And they've also gone down for their naps today without a problem or a paci.

We'll keep you updated on their progress. But this is HUGE people.

Mark this historic event

Today is bittersweet.  My parents have been visiting and hanging out with the kids but will be flying back to U.K. tomorrow.  Mason and Jacob said they'd give their pacifiers (dummies for the British) to Mum and Dad so that they could take them back to England and give them to cousin Sam.  Afterall Sam's still a baby and doesn't have any pacifiers of his own (well, that's what we told Mason and Jacob).  So just before bed the twins placed all their pacifiers in a box and sealed it for Sam.  It wasn't easy getting them to go to bed.  Both suddenly realized their folly but it was too late - Ann and I stood firm and after a couple of hours of crying, whining and manipulating, I'm proud to say they've both been asleep for more than an hour.  Without pacifiers!  Yaay for our big kids!

Calamity of the marble game

Jacob and my dad were playing with the kids' marble game when one of the supporting struts came off.  Of course my dad would be able to put it back together without any problem.  Fortunately I had the flip video camera ready to record this clip for America's Funniest Grandparents.

Snowy Day

Jacob and Mason enjoy playing in the snow (what kids don't?) and so they've invented a game to play on those few days it hasn't been snowing this winter.  It's called snowy day and it goes like this: Jacob and Mason go into their bedroom and take all the clothes out of the laundry basket.  They then throw them into the air - it's a snowy day!  Sometimes they play this naked after a bath.  There are some pics below (but not the naked ones).

 Here comes the snow...

 Jacob starts an avalanche!

... and Mason suffers the consequence.  It's a very snowy day!

Let's go Red Sox!!

As you can say, Mase and Jake are very excited about the upcoming season.