Girls

I LOVE having 2 girls so close together! However, it continues to amaze me how different they are! Ellie is so solid... Audrey so tiny and petite. Ellie is so blue eyed and blonde...Audrey so dark-eyed and brunette. Ellie so fair, Audrey more olive. Ellie is so "headstrong"...Audrey so easygoing. And Ellie is all Kriebel (looks like Dave's dad)...while Audrey is more "Standbridge". Audrey has just learned to pull up! Cannot believe it. She still sleeps in our room in the pack-n-play. I can't bear to part with her. (And Ellie is still attached to her crib and wants no part of her big-girl-bed so Dave can't blame it all on me!)

Barney.....UGH

Some random fall happenings...Barney (Ellie's favorite, second only to Dora) came to our local ToysRUs. She was a bit nervous at first....but I have to say it was quite cute! She didn't want to leave him. Everytime we drive by ToysRus now she says, "Mommy see Barney there?" "No Ellie, Barney went home". He may have gone home, but I continue to suffer through him everyday, frequently. On-Demand is nothing but torture for parents!!!

She sits She eats She smiles

Audrey is all over the place! She has mastered the army crawl. She goes right for the cords and eats any piece of dirt she can find. (Not that there is any in my immaculate house of course) She is so fast! My mom calls her greased lightening because she just flips all over the place when you try to change her diaper. She is babbling like crazy! She still looks so tiny in the high chair!

First Day of School

Yeah! Emma is beginning fifth grade and George third. Charlie is going to morning kindergarten. He seems too little...I'll miss my buddy. His best friend Nicholas who lives up the street is in the photos. They are holding hands walking into school. Its too cute. Someday they will hate that picture!

50 Things...

I "paraphrased" this from an article I read in Philadelphia Magazine. The article is entitled "50 Things You Love Down the Shore". We did most of these things this week...and some I have done in my younger days. HaHa. I can't resist posting it...as I am still on a high from our vacation. We had a great week! Those of you not from the area will not understand much of it. But those who are will sigh and remember years of memorable trips to "the shore". I have so many great childhood memories of going to the shore with my family every summer. I hope my children are absorbing it all and will appreciate the time we spend there year after year.

1. Roll down the car windows as you go over the bridges.
2. Get stuck in beach traffic.
3. Wear a beach tag.
4. Read on the beach.
5. Reminisce.
6. Eat donuts.
7. Secure an umbrella in the sand.
8. Bury dad.
9. Put your toes in the water.
10. Build a sand castle.
11. Jump the waves.
12. Walk on the beach.
13. Dock and drive.
14. Do puzzles on a rainy day.
15. Buy a t-shirt.
16. Pee in the ocean.
17. Fly a kite.
18. Sightsee.
19. Nap on the beach.
20. Watch the dolphins.
21. Feed the gulls.
22. See a cover band. (Secret Service...OMG)
23. Play miniature golf.
24. Go to a bar and don't act your age.
25. Play skee ball.
26. Waterslides.
27. Run on the beach.
28. Run on the boardwalk.
29. BYOB
30. Send a message via airplane banner.
31. Go barefoot.
32. Check out a lighthouse.
33. Flirt on the boardwalk (tweens)
34. Go to an arcade.
35. Change behind a beach towel.
36. Buy jersey produce.
37. Step into a photo booth.
38. Play at the beach.
39. Swim in the bay.
40. Watch fireworks on the beach.
41. Eat at the counter.
42. Don't dial an area code.
43. Stay late at the beach.
44. Get a sunburn.
45. Rent a bike.
46. Ride the rides.
47. Go fishing.
48. Bird watch.
49. Watch sunsets over the bay.
50. Stop at Frank S. Farley

And I have added a few of my own...based on our family experiences.

1. Rent a big ass beach cart for the week.
2. Pack a lot of beers in the cooler and don't forget the plastic cups to avoid the fines.
3. Remember, a seagull taking a dump on you AND stealing your sandwich out of your hand is not a bad thing...its a right of passage. (Yup, happened to me this week)
4. Five bottles of spray on sunscreen = gone!
5. Take outdoor showers...we've got it down to an assembly line science.
6. Eat Mack and Manco Pizza.
7. Check out every ice cream shop.
8. Don't let your kids bring live starfish, hermit crabs or sea turtles back from the beach...they will be dead in the morning.
9. Ignore constant comments and "God Bless Yous" regarding how many kids you have.
10. Go back every year, no matter how many times husband says "we are never f****** doing this again." Its like childbirth, you forget the pain and remember the good parts.

Sea turtle...Thea bonded w/ this thing. She was devastated to have to put it back in the ocean. Despite the fact that I am NOT an animal person, I must admit the thing was really cute!

Crayola Factory

I always have these big plans at the beginning of the summer...day trips and such. Before I know it, summer is close to an end. We never made it to the Aquarium or the Philly Zoo, but we did squeeze in a trip to the Crayola Factory. Now I have been there before and have been "underwhelmed", but I decided to give it another try since the kids, especially the boys, are so into drawing right now. They had a blast. Thea drove there...turnpike and highway driving. Very nerve wracking for me but she did well. We're headed to Ocean City NJ tomorrow for a week. Then its back to school time, YEAH! Charlie is starting kindergarten. I'm not quite prepared for that. He's been a really good buddy the past 5 years. I hate to give him up...:(

Sea Isle City NJ

Kriebel and Wertz cousins Sea Isle August 2007

Went to Sea Isle to stay with my sister Joan and her family. We were supposed to stay for just 3 days...ended up being 5 days. Thea was in Atlantic City with her friend the same week and she called us to say she missed us so Dave picked her up in AC on Wednesday and she joined us. It was a lot of fun!!! Thanks Joan and Eric! We're headed to Ocean City on August 25th for our annual week at the shore...just us Kriebels.

Growing like a weed

Even though she is still a peanut (just 13.6 lbs) she is rolling all over the floor, grabbing everything, getting ready to sit. I just want her to slow down! Its not fair that they grow so fast!

elmo

Dave's cousin Greg has a 4th of July bash every year. Started out years ago as a keg party which you had to pay to attend! Maybe its because Greg is now a married man and many of his buddies have kids, but the kegger has become much more child friendly...they had a balloon lady and glowsticks for the kids. Yikes. I think I really pissed his Uncle Jake off by bringing my own sidewalk chalk. They made a mess of his driveway. Here's a photo of an Elmo hat compliments of the balloon lady...FYI Audrey is now 6 months old. Not sure where the time went...

Random...

Just some random photos to share...Thea's (miraculous, LOL) graduation from North Penn and a rare photo of all 6 that I took to frame for a gift for Dave...not an easy task, I assure you!

Eight

George David turned 8 on May 2oth. He is in the "I like to make goofy faces" stage so its impossible to get a good picture of him. This photo doesn't do him justice but I'll share it anyway. We all know he's a handsome lad, right? Here he is with his first Webkinz...they are a hot item and impossible to find around here. I had to suck it up and get it on ebay. Emma's birthday is next...she will be 10 on June 13th. Then we are on birthday hiatus until Dave's (36th) in October. Whew!

Love and Mascara

Ellie got into my mascara...seems like yesterday when Emma did the same thing, at the same age! She was quite proud of herself. The kids thought it was hilarious.

Tired

Now, I am well aware that many of your kids fall asleep in the car, in the stroller, face down in their dinner plates, etc... but MY kids usually only sleep in their beds...which is a good and bad thing. Good because they sleep about 11-12 hours a night. Bad because they don't sleep at all during a 16 hour car trip to Atlanta. So that is why this photo is unusual to me and I am inclined to share. I put Teletubbies on for Ellie so that I could get some laundry done. This is how I found her a few minutes later....

Four Months

God Bless

Well, we had a beautiful day for Audrey and Jack's baptism. It was so neat to have them baptized on the same day. Joan and Eric are Audrey's godparents and my sister Beth is Jack's godmother. Most of you know the story behind the christening gown, but here it is for those who don't and are interested. Dave's mom bought this gown right before Allyssa (Michele's oldest) was baptized. It has a slip underneath it on which all of the grandkids' names and baptism dates are embroidered! All of the 12 grandchildren have worn it and have their names on it. (Correction, Thea didn't wear it but her baptismal information is on it.) Its so cool to see how it has gone from having just one name on it, to 12! Not sure if there will be a number 13, but I AM sure that if there is, it WON'T be ours!

Anyhow, after church, we had a family gathering at our house. In keeping with tradition, the kids (Dave, Eric and Michele included) played a fierce game of wiffle ball. Andy, you missed it!

Daddy

Easter

My sister hosted Easter dinner this year. We were joined by Dave's parents as well. It was fun...can't believe there were flurries here on Easter! The Easter Bunny is so going to kick that stupid groundhog's ass!

Powder

I have a few things to say about this:
1. Now I know how Carpet Fresh was invented (by a mom!)
2. At least it wasn't Vaseline! (LOL Jenny)
3. Powder will not stick to areas coated with tears, slobber and boogies.
4. Everything else has child-proof caps, why not this?
5. The next time Charlie yells that Ellie is "covered all over with smoke", I will know that she probably is not on fire.
6. My kid will smile for a camera under any circumstance
7. Supernanny come quick!

Bumbo and Big George

Just a few photos from this past weekend. I tried to put Audrey in the Bumbo. Her neck is not quite strong enough yet but she lasted long enough for a quick photo shoot. Also, a rare photo of my dad holding Audrey. He only holds them for short periods of time when they are this little!

New York

We got tickets to see RENT on Broadway for Thea's 18th birthday. She was going to invite a friend but that didn't work out so my sister Joan filled in. We had a great time. I LOVED the show...wasn't sure that I would. Thea is a huge fan of the movie and has wanted to see it for some time. She loves going to visit my sister Beth in New York. She once said that Beth was the person she most admired. I think its because Beth is young, single, successful and "fashionable". Thea always begs to borrow her clothes! I can't complain. I like that Thea admires her. I admire her too. Anyhow, Thea has now seen 4 broadway shows and she is only 18! I didn't even go to New York until I was 30. There is definitely a benefit to having a sister live there! Mamma Mia was by far my favorite show. I have seen it twice and would love to see it again! It is a show that is centered around all the music from ABBA. You want to stand up and dance during the whole show! In fact, most people do, at the finale. Yes, I admit to dancing but it was dark enough that nobody noticed my sorry white boy moves. Anyhow, I would definitely recommend it for older kids/teens. Wicked is really good for kids too! Dave took us to see that in Philly last March. Enough rambling...

Last photo is of Thea with fake hair! FUNNY. She looked like Paris Hilton, only MUCH prettier!