I'll have ketchup with that, please.

Last night we all went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, Leone's. We had the party for Tyler's baptism there and they catered Tyler's first birthday at our house. Needless to say their food is GREAT! We were able to get a table outside, enjoy the Yankees and the Cubs on the T.V. and Tyler was able to move around and watch the cars go by. The whole way there, he kept saying "I want pizza for dinner." No problem! We ordered him a cheese pizza and when it came, Tyler told the waitress "Can I have some ketchup, please?" I guess anything goes with ketchup and when you are 3, ketchup is considered 6th major food group!

Open wide! Yum, yum, yum!
Dips away!

"See mommy, I DO like tomatoes!"

**To all my college friends out there: I was a bit grossed out at the thought of my son dipping his pizza into ketchup but then I recalled EVERYTHING that went with ranch in college.... Frito's, pizza, CHEESE STICKS! And all the fried veggies you could eat. I guess when you are up until 4A.M. studying, anything goes with ranch!

Sticker Monster!

What comes out late at night when you are sleeping?

The Sticker Monster, that's who!

Watch out, here he comes!

Safe!

While we were at the park yesterday, Tyler played a ton of baseball. He was even able to practice his sliding skills and slid into home plate MANY times on the DRY field! Here are some pictures and a short video I took of his great skills!

"Was I safe, mommy?" (I think the Yankees could have used some of these runs yesterday! I am sure that we could work out a great deal with the ball club and come to a quick contract agreement!)

By the time we left the park to come home, we had used an entire thing of wipes. Tyler was filthy! But the messier you are, the better time you have! I loved watching him have no fear as he dove for the plate time and time again! Go Tyler!

Life is a picnic in the park!

Yesterday we headed up to Look Park in Northampton, Massachusetts for my work party. We had such a great day! The weather was absolutely wonderful and the park was great! This was only the second time in all the years that we have lived here that we were there. This was our first time bringing Tyler and because of him we were really able to see what the park offered!
Across the street from where our site was, there was a baseball field. Tyler had a great time hitting pitches, fielding balls, and sliding into home plate!
After lunch, Ty put on his bathing suit and visited the sprinkler park with all the other kids. All of the mom's and dad's were really wishing that we also had our bathing suits on-- it was really hot in the sun!
On the way back from the sprinkler park, we stopped and showed daddy the frog we spotted earlier in the day. We kept hoping he would jump for us, but he never did! I guess he was happy and content in the cool mud!
Later in the day, we took a train ride around the park. Tyler made a new friend yesterday, Kenny, one of my staff's boys. They had so much fun playing Frisbee, baseball, and hide-and-go-seek! We were happy that we were able to sit and relax for awhile as they played together! Thanks, Kenny!
The train drove us by the zoo, so we had to stop in and take a look. Tyler made friends with a goat-- they were about the same size! We also saw Bald Eagles, a Peacock (who fanned his tail feathers), Deer, and a bunch of other animals! It really was a nice surprise to see some of the animals there!

At the end of the day, we made the trek back home, and Tyler fell sound asleep! Those little legs did not stop all day long. It really was a great day spent together and well worth the drive!

Happy Summer!

Happy official start of summer! After a long Winter, a quick Spring, we are happy Summer is finally here!

In the morning when Tyler wakes up, he comes into our room. On sunny mornings, he always says "it's summertime outside!"-- this applies to sunny mornings in January or July, and 9 degree days or 90 degree days!

I hope everyone has fun relaxing, playing, and being with friends and family on this first summer weekend of 2008.

Enjoy!

One fish, two fish...

Bow-tie fish?

I guess that is what the catch of the day is at Lake Monroe in Bloomington! My parents have lived at the Lake in Bloomington now for over 7 years and every year my dad sets out at the beginning of the fishing season (is there a season or is it just when the temperatures are warm enough?) to make a big catch. I guess he finally had a successful trip this week! Congratulations Grandpa and Tyler can't wait to fish with you!

It's raining, it's pouring....

...the 3 year old is **finally** snoring!

All day long it was overcast. I kept thinking to myself "When is the rain going to come?". The answer-- tonight during bath time! Needless to say, when the thunder and lightening hit, Tyler was out of the tub in a flash. He (like many other kids) does not like storms.

What really got him out of the tub were the rain drops he could actually see-- also known as hail!Frank risked life and limb to go outside and grab some for Tyler to see. Here is Tyler playing with the hail. He was really interested in the fact that it was cold and icy (what can I say, the kids loves the ice!). Before Frank arrived with the hail, this was the position Tyler was in:

Poor guy! He was really freaked out!

He eventually braved the open air again when I tried to reassure him that putting on his jammies may make him feel warmer and safer. I am not sure that he believed me because when Frank went to the window to look outside, Tyler joined him, still minus the jammies:

Notice the wet on the back of Frank's shirt-- he was soaked when he made it back inside! Tyler was really fascinated by what was going on out there. He was brave enough to watch the lightening and listen to the thunder without diving back under our covers. Right now he is fast asleep. It only took LOUD Beethoven on the radio, a comforter (I guess he didn't realize summer starts Saturday!), and a lot more reassurance by his mommy to get him to relax!

Happy 4th Birthday, Skylar!

(Skylar, age 15 months, taken at Tyler's 1st birthday)

Dear Skylar,

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 4th birthday to you! We hope you had a great birthday and we wish you lots of fun in your 4th year! Save a peice of cake for us!

Love,
Tyler,
Aunt Jen, &
Uncle Frank

Our Father's Day

What a great Father's Day we had! This morning, we let daddy sleep in, and Tyler and I were able to spend some quality time together. Then, we made Frank his favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes. I got a little creative with the griddle and made a Mickey Mouse pancake for Tyler and a heart shaped one for Frank. Tyler gave Frank his Father's Day gift he made at school-- a koozie decorated with footballs, basketballs, and frogs. You can see Frank modeling his new gift below:
(As a side note, daddy put it to good use tonight while watching the U.S. Open!) When the sun came up this afternoon, we all decided to head over to the driving range. After all, if daddy wasn't able to play a round today, he could at least hit some balls! Tyler and I got some ice cream (with rainbow sprinkles, of course!) to enjoy while we watched our Tiger Woods hit balls.
Here is Tyler with his ice cream picnic-- no bees were around this time! And below is daddy after a really good shot!
Overall, it was a great day spent together, nice weather in the afternoon, and a wonderful Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Dear World's Greatest Daddy,

Happy Father's Day to the best father my son could ask for! You are smart, kind, funny, and a great model for Tyler to have! Keep up the excellent work! Tyler and I both hope that you have a relaxing Father's Day with your family. We love you!

Love,
Tyler and Mommy
Dear World's Best Grandpa,

Happy Father's Day/Grandpa's Day to you! We are sorry that we can not be there to celebrate with you but know that you are in our thoughts and we will celebrate in a few weeks when we see you next! Thanks for being such a great grandpa and teaching us all so much!

Love,
Tyler, Jennifer, and Frank


Dear World's Best Papa,

Happy Father's Day/Grandfather's Day to you! We will be thinking of you today and wish we could be there to celebrate with you! Thanks for all the games you have played, books you have read, and questions you have answered! We love you!

Love,
Tyler, Jennifer, and Frank

And.... Happy Father's Day to all the other father's out there who play such an important role in our lives and their children's! We appreciate you and are thankful that you have this day to remind you how much you really mean to us all!

The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.

Tim Russert

Life Lesson #248

When a bee approaches, RUN!

This morning we were able to spend some time outside. I weeded, Frank golfed, and Tyler did a little bit of everything-- he played on the swings, shot some baskets, and hit some balls with both the baseball bat and his own golf clubs. While we were outside he asked if he could eat lunch outside. I thought that sounded like a great idea.

Tyler was starving and polished off his peanut butter and fluff sandwich and pineapple:


And even took a few mintues to cuddle with daddy for a picture:

After lunchtime it was going to be quiet time. Tyler busied himself on the deck with bugs and some leaves and Frank and I cleaned up the yard below. While I was cleaning the toys up, I heard "Ouch!", and then the tears started.... I raced up the stairs onto the deck to see a bee flying away. I realized right then, my baby was stung! Ouch, indeed! Frank and I brought Tyler inside and after a bunch of convinceing he let us look at his elbow and out some ice and medicine on it. He was a lot happier after I took out the Spongebob Band-aid though:

I guess this was a lesson learned for us all. Tyler will never look at bees in the same way again, and I really should have pursued that degree in medicine, right? I guess all of us mother's are doctors and don't even know it!

Keeping it cool.....

Just like everyone else I talk to, we are suffering here from the heat. I am anxiously awaiting the storms that are predicted for tomorrow night. They are supposed to signal the end to this heat wave, but it is still supposed to be 89 degrees on Wednesday (that is still heat to me...). On my ride home tonight the car and the banks registered 99-102 degrees....

Unfortunately, my plants and my garden are all suffering. After dinner I went outside to water everything and Tyler joined me. I decided that he needed a bit of colling off as well, so I turned the sprinkler on for him....

I finally got a good shot of my Energizer Bunny. I used the black and white on my camera.

After awhile, Tyler became braver and got closer to the sprinkler. Notice he is wearing his shorts. Once again I had to explain to our little exhibitionist why he couldn't be 'naked nake' in the yard.
Dancing with the sprinkler...

A short video I took. It's not that great of quality, I had to keep my distance because of the sprinkler and the camera. Don't think it didn't cross my mind to join him!

My Epiphany

I never had a problem with turning 30 years old. I never had a problem when I turned 31, either. However, I am finding that being 32 has been not such a smooth ride. Last fall, after suffering from headaches all day long, I had an eye exam. The diagnosis? I needed glasses. I thought to myself, "Self, you can deal with this." Some mornings I spend five minutes with the tweezers pulling out grey hair. It wasn't until this past week that I really felt out of sorts, though....

Frank and I have been trying to empty out the fourth bedroom, a.k.a. the Junk Room. We had a spare dresser that I had mentioned to someone at work and she asked if she could donate it to one of her clients. I told her "No problem!" Frank and I moved it downstairs into my car and I drove it to work and passed it on to my co-worker on Monday. By Wednesday, I was a little slow to get out of bed and by Thursday, I could hardly move at all.... My back simply was killing me! What happened to "no good deed goes unturned"?

After multiple phone calls to my doctors office, a lot of Ibuprofen, and advice from lots of different people, I left work early, and had Frank drive me to the Emergency Room. I felt like a fool. I simply could not move, I was not comfortable sitting, standing, or sleeping! When my name was called in the waiting room, I was brought back into my assigned bed, and I was handed the johnny to put on.

That's when it hit me. I am getting older. (Notice I said older, NOT old.) As if this realization wasn't enough, the doctor who treated me reassured me with "85% of people have back problems at some point in their lives." Thanks, doc. I guess he didn't realize I was having an epiphany at that moment and that I am NOT 85% of people!

At least this whole episode was short lived. I was given some meds to take and by Saturday my back was feeling well enough to clean the house and move around. Hopefully I have learned my lesson and will hire someone next time!

Baby, it's HOT outside!

At the beginning of the week when the weather forecasters gave the 10 day outlook, I couldn't believe my eyes. They were predicting the 90's for this weekend, and closer to 100 for Monday. On Friday, it was supposed to be near 80 degrees outside and it didn't even make it out of the 60's! Then, Saturday morning, it was overcast, humid, and muggy, and chilly, all at the same time. I for sure thought that the weatherman had done it again-- blew the forecast. Then I looked outside at noon, the sun was out, and my house was unbearable. The Cheapskate in me lost out to the Comfort Queen. I turned the central air on. I can't believe I did it on June 7!

Anyways, after it made it to the 90's yesterday and again today, we are all glad that the air went on at this point. After all, as I was going around in the morning and opening up the windows, I found that most of the windows were still the storm windows from the winter-- it really hasn't been warm enough to worry about opening them all up! My question is, "What happened the the 70 and 80 degree weather????"

Yesterday, Frank had to proctor the S.A.T. and Tyler and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. After a crazy and busy week, it needed it! In the afternoon, we went over to Tyler's friend Olivia's house and the kids had a great time playing outside in the water. As we adults all stood there, dripping with sweat, we all wished that we had our bathing suits as well and could join the kids! Maybe next time! We all had a great time hanging out together and the mommies were able to even squeeze in a little "mommy time" at the end of the night!

Tyler and Olivia drinking from the spray mat....
Wipeout! The kids were having a blast running across the mat and then sliding. Remember how much fun Slip 'n Slides looked until you set it up and REALLY tried it?

5,4,3,2,1...

DERBY!

Last summer, we were able to visit a lot of little fairs around Western Massachusetts. One that we went to, was the Four Town Fair, in Northampton, Massachusetts. I was drawn to this one because they advertised a Demolition Derby. We were free that weekend, so we took the afternoon and went to the fair. Well...... We got there mid-afternoon and we had walked the entire length of the fair, ate, went on some rides, and took in a lot of scenery-- all in 90 mintues. What do you do next? We people watched! Luckily, Tyler was amused easily, had a bit of room to run around, and was happy...

As it got closer to enter into the arena for the Derby, we bought our tickets and found seats. It was a home away from home! I thought that people like that only existed in the Midwest. I was wrong. I guess small town people are everywhere! It was great! As the cars started lining up for the auctual event, they made announcements "Please sit as close as possible to your neighbors, the event is sold out!" (Huh?) and "Last night we had to stop the event due fights in the stands. This will not be tolerated!" All I could think was "What have I gotten myself into?"

We had a blast! Tyler had so much fun watching the cars crash, the firetruck putting on engire fires, and the tow trucks hauling away the broken down remains of cars! For weeks afterwards, he would play "Derby" with his Cars, complete with "countdown". Last week, I was making dinner for all of us and this was what I saw in the family room:

Derby Time!
Tyler uses his drawing board as the arena and even does the countdown (starting from 5!) and then goes at it! I am proud to say that my son learned to count backwards from an afternoon at the Derby! Can't wait until this summer's!

Daddy's Barber Shop

Tonight was hair cut night at the Genovese household! Frank has gotten very good at cutting his own hair and knowing that it is getting warmer out, we decided to give Tyler a "summer do". I very a little nervous about this-- the last time I tried to give him a hair cut he had a huge bald patch on the side of his head..... THIS time Tyler said that he wanted Frank to cut his hair, I guess he knew how funny it looked the last time I did it!

BEFORE:
Notice the ketchup face. Daddy's Barber Shop opened up right after a yummy dinner of hotdog and corn on the cob-- both dipped in ketchup!

DURING:


My bathroom was COVERED with hair from both of their haircuts! Thank goodness for the dustbuster. Frank did a great job with the cut and I was able to get in there with the scissors at the end.

AFTER:

Fresh from the bath! Not a bad job-- maybe we both have a knack for hair cutting-- any takers?