Fun New Pics

I had a great coupon for Picture People, and this is what I came home with....

Such love....

Someone's plotting some mischief....

Our Little Man- I love that you can see the plane behind him- his favorite!

And we had a family pic taken- Al comes once a year....

The Milton Kayak Race

Al loves to kayak- and it's a good thing my Dad made him such an amazing kayak as a wedding gift! Today, there was a local kayak race, as part of a town's celebration to benefit the local theater.

The day did not start off looking so great... This is the sky at 8:30am at the drop-off-point.


Very cool and rather daunting if you are about to enter the water in a wooden or metal boat...



The finish line was in the town of Milton- where there was a new playground for the kids to play on, and the coolest old, metal train for the kids to ride for only .25 a ride!! Addie was SO proud to ride all by herself! We will certainly be going back to this park!


Alden wasn't so sure about the whole train-ride... as long as he was on my lap, he was happy and LOVED waving to all the people we passed!

Notice Gooey (Addie's favorite doll from my Mom) is buckled in as we wait along the riverbank as the kayaker and canoe-ers paddle across the finish line.

Waiting for Daddy- and throwing any loose rock nearby, into the Broadkill River....

"Go Daddy!!!!" The kids were both screaming for Al- most of the people around us were retired with grandkids their ages, and they were all smiling and cheering for Al, too! I was stopped by several of them, to be told how sweet and cute it was to see the kids get so excited to see their Dad!

Even after paddling 10 miles in 1 hr and 45 min, Al still had energy to ride the train, again, with Addie- she had talked about NEEDING to take Daddy on the train- she didn't want him to miss out on the fun- so sweet!

Even though it was HOT, and we got rained on, we all had fun! Maybe the kids and I had more fun than Al- but he assures me that he enjoyed the torture of paddling 10 miles....

Dress-Up Fun

We had a fun time playing dress-up!!

Alden the Fire Fighter


Oops! He had trouble keeping the hat on...



Welcome Cinderella!


Proving she's Cinderella- the shoes fit!

I was dressed up as Santa- and Addie took this pic- I wish it wasn't fuzzy- but my camera took 3 fuzzy pics in a row.... Grrrr....

I love my 2 munchkins and treasure this play time I have with them!!

Addie's First Dentist Visit

Addie had her first experience at the dentist today- and it was fantastic for all parties involved! At first, she wasn't so sure about it, but the hygienist was kind and patient, and she warmed right up! The dentist said until she is 5, they will just clean her teeth. Then at 5, they will x-ray her teeth- and we will actually get a good idea of her future orthodontic needs (ie so we can start saving for braces....). Addie had a blast- and the fact that all the nurses kept coming over to see the "cutest little girl"- helped! After we were done, we met-up with friends at the local mall for Chick-fil-A, and then we ran a few more errands. All in all, we had a wonderful Mommy-Daughter-Dentist Day!

Learning about the tools.


Having her teeth "tickled"- she kept giggling!



Showing off all her "treasures"- Dora toothbrush, toothpaste, balloon, stickers, treasure-box dolphins, and floss (who gives a 3 yr old floss?!?)


All done- All smiles! Off to meet friends for a special lunch treat!

Alden's 2 Year Stats

Alden had his 2 year check-up today.
Weight: 27.5 lbs- 50th percentile
Head: 19"- 50th percentile
Height: 32.5"- 5th%

He is hitting all his milestones perfectly. It just appears that he will be our short, chubby, little man!

He was perfect during his exam- he LOVED the arthroscope that the Doc let him play with- maybe we will need to get him his own flashlight....


And in celebration of his 2nd year- here are some beach pics- Addie wasn't into having her picture taken, so I just took pics of Alden! Happy 2nd year, Bud!

Happy 60th PopPop!

This weekend, we celebrated, Italian style, my father-in-laws 60th birthday. It was such a blast- anytime you spend 6+ hours eating swimming, laughing, etc, it's fun! PopPop was kind enough to share some of his spotlight with Alden, and we celebrated him turning 2. It was a great weekend!!

3 generations


All 3 grandkids playing with their gifts from Aunt Connie


Vincent was a HUGE hit- wrestling and tickling all 3 kids- and they LOVED him! Hard to believe he's going to college in a few weeks....


The cousins deciding the best way to get me wet...

PopPop LOVES his tie that has the 3 grandkids pics on it.

Vincent helping build with Alden's new legos

Helping PopPop blow out the candles

Helping Poppy eat both slices of ice cream cake- yum!

Awesome Parenting Moment

I am obviously an amazing parent (LOL!). Alden was having a melt down this morning and he put himself in Time Out until he calmed down!! These moments don't happen often, so I want to celebrate them when they DO happen!! Maybe this is happening because he's a mature 2- I can hope, right?!? Love you buddy!!

Home Birthday Celebration

Today, as it is the official birth day of Alden, we had a little celebration. His birthday party is on Wed (pics and post to come once it happens) and he will also celebrate with his PopPop in NY over the weekend. Whew!

It all started this morning with the traditional Dunkin Donut complete with candles!!


Yum! He LOVES his food- especially anything with chocolate!!


After fun at the beach (pics to come- thanks Allison for taking some pics!!), a quick naptime, and then on to GIFTS!!


Roar! He loves his dinosaur and football from Kuda and Anesu.


SO excited about this airplane and construction DVDs from Nate!


Yay! His own non-girly airplane!!


The best part- rice-crispy "cake"!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Alden!!

Alden Peter Perreca
Weight: 25lbs (he's been sick this week and is down from 30lbs a few weeks ago....)
Height: 32"
Passions: Airplanes, girls (Madelyn, Hannah, Avery and older women with gray hair), anything with wheels, eating, splashing in the pool, shoveling on the beach, jumping on his bed
Favorite Passtimes: Playing with his Matchbox cars, flirting with women, eating, looking cute
Most Commonly Used Words: Mama, Dadden (Dad), Addie, Anna, Avery, Grayson, Madelyn, Food!, AIRPLANE!, beach, banana, ice cream, bye-bye, vroooooooom, uh-oh, mine, share, shoes, more please, thank-you, car, truck, motorcycle
Favorite Entertainment: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Thomas the Train, reading books with Mommy, music that has a strong beat to dance to, playing with and sometimes teasing, Addie, flirting with Madelyn and Hannah and tormenting Avery.

He has grown so much since last year- this slide show is just a summary of this past year. What a blessing he is- and continues to be!!

Fun in the Park

The kids earned free Dairy Queen ice cream, so the other night, we got their ice cream and went to the park to enjoy it! There aren't many perks to Al's job of having to work late (11pm), but being able to enjoy an evening in the park is a way we keep ourselves busy!

Enjoying the chocolate icecream before running around!


Showing me how much he liked his ice cream!


Such a happy girl!!


My girl-watcher- these boys were catching the caterpillars in the park, and were discussing them- and she just stood there and listened to them- so cute!


Mr. Dare-Devil

Call for Help!

This morning, I read this:
Proverbs 5:12- 14, & 23 "And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! I have not listened to the voice of my teacher, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation...He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray."

It is amazing how God gives you words you need to hear when you need to hear them. I have been struggling with how to best parent my 2 kids who are totally different and unique yet often frighteningly similar. Trying to just "go with my gut" has lead to more stress and strife. Reading these words this morning showed me why- I need to seek out wisdom from those who have gone before me, who have experience with raising godly children. After all, my heart is desperately wicked, who can know it? Thus, I need help and am not afraid to ask for it!!

I love my kids and want to raise them to be the best that God wants them to be- and I need a little help in this area! If you know of any good books to read, please post a comment here or email me- I'm all ears!!