Fall is here

Heidi LOVES this dress.  The fact that it's pushing the limits of small, means nothing to her.  For Alex's first birthday, Tyler's Mom made her this beautiful purple dress.

 Nearly 5 years later Heidi can still squeeze into it and it's held up like it was made yesterday.  This dress is a testament to the superiority of (Susan's) hand made clothing.

 This week was a complete blur.  I tried to be fun homeschool Mom and I think I sort of succeeded.   I mean, we watched 'Finding Nemo' to reinforce our lesson on Australia and the Great Barrier Reef.  That's fun right?!

 Friday we finished school early and went to play group AND the Zoo.  That's fun.  The downpour at the Zoo?  Not so much.

 Here is a view of the hill that separates us from the Zoo.  If it weren't for that giant hill, we would be a block and a 2 minute walk away from the zoo.  To enter the zoo you have to go up a 2 story elevator or escalator.  The top of that is where we camped out for the first portion of the rainstorm friday.  Because after getting 3 kids out of the car, strapped in strollers, shoes on feet and bags packed- I wasn't turning back around for the car when we were 10 feet from the front gate and the rain started to come.

 We got to see the baby tiger in action.  A mix of school starting and the weather made for a very UNcrowded day at the zoo.  We lingered at all the exhibits and really enjoyed ourselves.

 Momma and baby tigers were pretty active today.  Trip 6 to the zoo and still not sure if snow leopard or bear are really alive.

 I try to do something special every time we go.  Friday was cotton candy.  The girls were in heaven.  $2 for 20 minutes of pure delight.

 Alex has started to notice that we are surrounded by small people.  I think it's frustrating for her that everyone her age is in school and most of our friends only have babies or toddlers.  My searches for Girl scout troops and gymnastic classes have come up fruitless.  On a side note- if you want to make a fortune come to Pittsburgh and offer classes for kids.  Piano, dance, drama, gymnastics, you can charge a fortune, everyone does.

 Alex discovered that dropping leaves into the giraffe pond created a fish frenzy.  It must have been feeding time.  The girls may not even have noticed the giant giraffes.

 The weather cooled down a lot this week and I fear it will be Ben and Kate who have the last laugh as we begin to slowly freeze to death in the moist cold and humidity.  Come December I'll be wishing we were sharing that gravel backyard and balmy 70 degree days.

 We are finally settling into a schedule.  Unfortunately it's one where Tyler doesn't make much of an appearance.  He gets up early to study, leaves around 7 and comes home late at night.  A few days a week the kids get to see him before bed or for a few minutes in the morning.  Saturdays he spends at school studying and Sunday we get him most of the day, except for a few hours after church.

 The Tiger's are kind of the first and last exhibit at the zoo.  When we arrived the Mom and baby were out and when we left it was the Dad's turn (I think).  Alex had stood at the window looking around and then gave up just as the tiger came into view.  Watching a giant tiger walk up behind your tiny child is a chilling experience and made my heart stop.

 Alex wasn't nearly as phased as I was.

 Saturday we went grocery shopping!!!!  I'd heard about this magical place called Trader Joe's before we moved here and I must say that it is magical!  I knew I'd have the only kids in that tiny store and I preempted our trip with a bribe.  "If you are good, REALLY GOOD, I will let you choose ANYTHING you want from the store."

 Alex chose a bouquet of tiny roses for Dad.  Heidi chose a lime.  And then because I couldn't believe she chose a lime, I let her choose a container of fresh baked whoopie pies.  They were huge and delicious and something I never would have picked myself.

 Then we came home to play, bathe and bike ride.

 Heidi is SOOOOOO accident prone.  It's unbelievable.  She tripped about 15 times at the zoo and crashed her bike at least 3.  Alex is only slightly better.  We need more bandaids in this house.

 I'm so glad these two have each other.

 Someday Heidi, you are going to look back and kick yourself for making goofy faces in EVERY picture I asked you to smile for.

 Alex is very smart.  She does well in school and through talking to her online teacher about her getting bored with Math and Phonics, I've found out that she is pretty far ahead of her "class".  I guess having her go to Preschool with an ex-Kindergarten teacher really paid off.

 But it could be that Kindergarten starts out super easy.  Heidi can do a lot of Alex's homework.  Or maybe I just have child geniuses?! I could be a bit biased.

 I'm pretty sure I would hate Pittsburgh and PA school if I didn't have these 3 gems to hang out with all day.  They are a ton of fun and I'm pretty sure we are going to have a rockin time together the next 20 years or so!

 Our new Sunday tradition is desert.  After church Tyler takes one of the girls to school with him to this informal PBL class thing.  The other kid is so heartbroken at losing Daddy that the only way I can make the tears stop is to bribe her with desert.  So 'left home child' and I make whatever treat she wants. Heidi wanted Brownies.  Brownies with frosting.  Brownies with frosting and M&M's.

 But the real trick to drowning sorrows is that once the treat is made, the kid gets to eat as much as she wants without Mommy saying stop.  Since desert only comes on Sunday I can justify it.

A sure recipe for smiles and tummy aches.

Heidi stalled progress for a bit on this beauty when she spilled the white paint all over the front porch.  But we are up and running again, and trying to finish without having to buy any more paint.