October - our social calendar is packed!

This past weekend, the Jak family headed out east to pick apples at Lewin's Farm. (Picks to follow.) That night, we made homemade applesauce from our apples, and hopefully this week we'll be making some sort of apple pie or apple crisp. Apple crisp just sounds like October to me!

Next weekend we're off to Philadelphia to go Sesame Place with our friends. In October, Sesame Place has The Count's Halloween Spooktacular! Elliot and friends will be dressed up in costume, we'll ride the dry rides, watch the parade and some shows. Excited for our first October trip to Sesame.

The following weekend we're continuing our tradition with Aunt Vik and Uncle Fuzz by heading to Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo. We're so excited for our new addition to our tradition - baby Lily!!! Again, the kids will be in costumes and we'll check out all the animals.

Pumpkin picking is our activity for the following weekend. We'll head out east again, though this time maybe we'll pick up a famously delicious Briermere pie. We really like the place we went last year, we're planning to go there again. I have to look up from my pictures where exactly it was! We'll do a corn maze, hayride, and pick our pumpkins.

The final October weekend will be spent Trick-or-Treating, of course! We'll do Trick-or-Treat Street at one of the local schools, and then go around our neighborhood on October 31.

A busy month, but exciting for sure! Elliot loves all the pumpkins and ghosts that we've been putting around the house.

Also, today, October 5, we're thankful for our PopPop (my Dad!) who is celebrating his 59th birthday! Happy birthday, Dad!!!

Absentee and Updates

Wow, I am TERRIBLE at updating this!

We had a very uneventful summer (which in some ways is quite a good thing). The new school year is off to a good start. Elliot began 3-year old preschool at The Laurel Hill School. She is doing quite well with not only the transition of starting full day preschool 3 days a week, but also academically. She has begun reading and math with the 4-year old classes, and has already learned to read her "-an" words (i.e. Fan, Dan, Man, Nan, Ran, Can). We are really proud of her!

Mommy Steph and Daddy Dave have begun our tenth year of teaching, which seems unbelieveable. Luckily, we both have the same schedules we had last year, which makes a new school year start off a little more easily. With all the teacher job cuts around the country and especially on Long Island, we were both not only safe, but our jobs remained untouched.

I'm All Done Sleeping

The other day, Elliot got up from her nap and I was laying in bed reading a book ("Eat, Pray, Love"). She came into my room and said, "Mommy, I'm all done sleeping." And I said, "Okay, honey." She then crawled up in bed next to me and went right back to sleep.

Don't Test Me Girl!!!

Elliot is supposed to be napping. She's been in her room over an hour. She keeps coming out of her room, which she knows she's not allowed to do. She's overtired. She's hot (it's over 90 degrees today)! The central air and her fan are on, but its still hot. The last time she came out of her room, I said, "The next time you come out of your room, I will take all your animals out of your bed and put them in a garbage bag. Do you understand?" "Yes, Mommy." Five minutes later? "Mommy?" I sighed. I didn't want to do it. But what kind of parent would I be if I threatened and didn't follow through?

Chute!

Elliot has a toothbrushing chart. Not because she refuses to brush her teeth, but because Daddy and I get too busy at night getting her ready for bed to remember to make her brush her teeth. I made a sticker chart for her. After every 8 stickers (for four rows - 32 total) Elliot earns a prize. Tonight we went to Toys-R-Us to get her a new toy. We all chose Chutes and Ladders, a great classic game that we thought would be perfect for her. Let's just say that she was a bit too tired to make it through the entire game, but we did at least start a game. (What good is a reward if you don't get to enjoy it right away?)



I also forgot to add yesterday that we packed up Elliot's hook-on high-chair, the last visible sign that we had a toddler. I mean other than 42 million toys. :)

Tonight she also set the table for dinner. What a big girl and a great helper!

Slow down! You move too fast...

Elliot grew up very much this weekend. She can now turn on and off lights by herself, got dressed by herself, and got on the potty by herself. When did she get so big?!

As the years go by...