Major Breakthrough!!!!

I think it's now safe to say that Patrick is potty trained. It's unreal! Thursday and Friday he went on the potty all day at school but wouldnt go at home. But yesterday he had a breakthrough. He wanted to wear his big boy underpants all day and stayed dry! Even through a nap! We're so proud of him! I'd say he's pretty proud, too! What do you think....

It just can't be...

...that my baby started 7th grade today. Seventh Grade! God it even sounds old. I am having a hard time this year. I had gotten better over the years...not getting emotional the first day of 4th...5th...even 6th grade. But SEVENTH? 7th grade? No matter how I type it, it still sounds as bad. I just can't believe it. I mean, come on...wasn't just yesterday she was starting Kindergarten?
Look...look at this face...

And here she is this morning....

Fun in NYC

Patrick is constantly asking (more like begging/screaming/crying) to go on the train to New York. So Saturday we decided to take a trip in and see Peggy. Ron and I left Patrick with Peggy (and her awesome playground at Lincoln Towers) and we went to see the Grateful Dead exhibit at the NY Historical Society. (Which was really cool. We really enjoyed it) Then Peggy brought Pat over and met us and we went to the "amusement park" in Central Park where the ice skating rink is in the winter. Pat had so much fun on all the rides. As did Peggy; since she vounteered to be the one who joined him on the rides he wasn't allowed on by himself.
Then we headed to Mickey Mantel's for lunch and headed home.
It was a great day. Patrick was worn out. But when he woke up just as we got on the train, the next 3 hours was: "I WANT TO GO BACK TO PEGGY'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Thankfully it stopped when he went to bed.
Here are some pics...

Genius or master manipulator.....

Ok, so clearly our son thinks he has this figured out. He hasn't touched the potty since getting his prize for the poop. We are assuming he is thinking, 'well, if I wait a while longer, then go on the potty again, I can get another toy...then another...those idiots will buy me anything I want as long I keep stringing them along.' Well he is sadly mistaken.

POOP HAPPENS!

Patrick pooped in the potty!!!! I know some people might ask why I would post this information, but others will understand our excitement! To the people who would ask why...I say to you - be happy I didnt post the picture I took. (Ron wasn't home, so we HAD to show Daddy!) He still isnt 100% there yet, but I NEVER thought he would hit this milestone so fast. Hopefully this is the beginning of being fully trained!!

And since he has the best memory, he was quick to remind me that he gets a big prize for going poop in the potty. So tomorrow we will be off to Toys R Us.

Summer Concerts

If there's one thing we love about the summer, it's that it's concert season. So far we've been to Further and Dave Matthews. Both shows were awesome. Although it was a million degrees at Citifield for DMB, the seats were great.
Next up is Heart in Atlantic City.
We just wanted to post some pics from our nights out..

AHOY MATEYS!

After more then 2 years of planning, the cruise has come and gone. I really can't believe it's over. But it was a great time. Although Ron and I wished that Patrick was old enough to go to the Kids Club, and wasn't throwing fits every 5 minutes, we did what we could to enjoy ourselves. Mainly by getting out after Pat went to sleep and all the girls (Ally, Brittany, Alexis, and Emily) would hang out in our room. It was so wonderful to be able to spend quality time with my family. Our lives are so busy and we never really have the time anymore. It meant so much to me to be able to really get to know my nieces and nephews as adults, to have all of my brothers and sisters together laughing and having so much fun together.
Allyson had a great time with her cousins. They had a lot of freedom on the ship. The teen club was awesome. They loved being able to go eat lunch together in the restaurant with their boring parents, walk around the ship and do whatever they wanted. It was perfect for them.
Patrick liked the room and probably would have stayed in it the whole time if we didnt make him do things. He even came on stage the with me to sing karaoke. But most of all, he LOVED our waiter, Irwin. Irwin was THE BEST! He took such good care of Pat and was always one step ahead of him. He knew the food he liked, when to bring it, and what to do to make him smile. The last night on the ship, he kept hugging him. Even this morning, Patrick was asking when he was going to see Irwin. If we ever cruise again, I want to find this guy!
Bermuda was beautiful. We wish we had more time there, but have already talked about going back. THe people are so friendly and we never felt unsafe in any area.
I could go on and on about the trip, but in a nutshell it was wonderful.
My parents were so happy all week. Their party was a success. And my Dad was already trying to convince us to go on a cruise to Alaska next. (To which we all looked at him with the same "are you insane" loko on our faces.)
What I took away from this week was just how important family is. And that even though we are all quite different, and sometimes have issues with each other, we all love each other so much and I hope that we can all stay as close as we were this week.
There are over 150 pictures from our vacation. I am going to attempt to put up a slideshow, but I have them all on Snapfish, so I will send the link out.