Foodie

I seem to have a lot of photos of Emma Claire in the high chair while eating (or sleeping in the case of the picture in the center of the collage). For a child that didn't eat solid food until she was almost 1 year old, she does pretty well. Still need to work on her pincer grasp instead of the raking motion she uses, but all in all she gets the job done.

Christmas List

I like to have my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving which means the kids need to start making their lists. Yesterday at dinner seemed to be the perfect opportunity.

Chloe demanded to know why Santa needed this list so early. I think the "wonder of Christmas" is starting to wane. She's made several remarks as such.

Oliver made his Christmas wish list in about 5 seconds. When he saw he still had one blank left he said, "Let me watch TV and I will tell you what I want after I see commercials." Scary, especially since I tell him all the time that commercials and ads want him to want the product and it probably isn't as fantastic as they make it.

Emma Claire's list. We kind of did it for her. I added "my own room" because while we are in the rental waiting to move into the house she is in our room. We also need to purchase her a dresser for her new room.

Oliver's list. Somewhere underneath the squiggles is his name printed. He decided he needed to "sign" it in cursive instead.

Chloe's list. We have obviously moved on to the bigger and better (and more expensive) items.

Handsome Guy

Oliver's pre-school photos came back yesterday. Such a handsome little guy....

Pumpkin Patch

Oliver's preschool went to the pumpkin patch today. It started overcast and rain was in the forecast but just as we got there the sun came out and it got HOT!

Not the best pumpkin picking weather.

Emma Claire slept through the majority of the pumpkin patch romp and Oliver was all about playing with friends and the pumpkin was of no importance, which is why he jumped off the hay ride and grabbed the first pumpkin he saw and called that adventure "done!". 

On the hayride to the pumpkin patch.

 

Oliver in the pumpkin patch.

Playing with the water pumps for the duck race.

Getting filthy in the corn crib.

Me, completely sweating with Emma Claire sitting low in the carrier. I had to take off the carrier and just carry her as it was so hot.

House Work

Count down to move in....

Work has begun on the barn! It should take two weeks to remove all the pine boards and sheetrock. 

The "RainMeister" Scores Two Wins in Micro

It was double-race day on Sunday and misty rain was coming down. Despite the bad weather and track conditions, Chloe managed to win her first Micro race, and then she did it again a few hours later.

It was some great racing and the second race was a battle to the end.

We are all proud of Chloe, but this morning, Oliver said, "Chloe, thanks for winning a micro race for me!".

Emma Claire is getting ready to watch the long day of racing. **Yes, the R*ed B*ull is a prop.**

Getting ready to win it!

The races finished late and part of the podium had already gone home.

14-Months Old Today

 

Emma is 14-months old today!! She has been home just over two months. Here is the 14-month Emma Claire update--

·         She can pull herself up to standing and cruise the furniture. She thinks this is the greatest skill and she loves to show it off. At night, when she wakes, even if it is 3:40 a.m., she will POP up to standing and giggle. It’s just unfortunate that no one else finds it delightful at that time of the morning.

 

·         She has started the monster walk while holding fingers. She is a little unsure about this still.

·         Her hair is growing. Still not long enough to put a bow in, but its growing.

·         Her feet have grown to “normal” size for her age. They are still small, but at 12 months old, her feet were tiny. About 3 month size tiny. The pediatrician told me we would “watch” them, but the small size shouldn’t delay her walking. But now, they have grown and she can wear socks now without them falling off!!

She can finally wear these darling leather and wool lined slippers brought back for her from by Bryan and Sue from New Zealand.

 

·         Emma Claire is not a sleeper. She is a cat-napper. She will steal naps in the car when we are picking up/dropping off older sister and brother at their activities. She won’t take a nap in her crib for anything and putting her down at night can be hard work.

·         She likes to play “peek-a-boo” and dancing is a new favorite activity.

·         She still LOVES to be held. Forget any brand of baby carrier. She isn’t having it and she will tolerate the stroller for just so long.  

·         She still prefers her meals in the liquid form. She takes 3-4 bottles a day. I am not rushing removing the bottles as she only started eating solid foods when we got her. Lately, she wants to feed herself the solids, so I have had to think of foods that she can eat easily and feed herself easily considering she hasn’t fully developed her pincer grasp. So far—pasta, banana (which is the one food that can be hit or miss with her), some soft cheeses, blueberries (which she doesn’t care for), cut up pancakes and waffles and peas. Mealtimes are a battle between Oliver and Chloe as to who will sit next to Emma Claire. The dogs have learned that hanging out underneath the highchair is easy pickings.

 

 

·         The kids and I finally decided on Emma Claire’s Halloween costume. There was much debate. Chloe wanted her to be a minion from “Despicable Me” and Oliver and I thought a caterpillar would have been cute. We then thought she should be a white tiger/Siberian Tiger in honor of Harbin, China, but the white tiger costume is on back order! After seeing the story of the panda twins on the news, the kids and I decided she should be a Panda. She’s going to be a cute panda.

 

 

A Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Finally! There seems to be light at the end of the VERY long tunnel we have been in since committing to buying the new house.

We knew buying a foreclosure would/could take a long time, we NEVER imagined it would take this long and we never imagined it would all be caused to complete ineptitude.

The house we are buying is fantastic and we completely love it. It is a unique property, a large house on over an acre of land with a large, finished barn (That the listing agent and documents call an “outbuilding”. A shed is an outbuilding, this is not an outbuilding. It’s a barn.). Making it even more unique was that it was a foreclosure and it also needed to be brought to code. The previous owners made some modifications that didn’t meet code. They took out permits for the work, but never submitted plans or had the village inspect the finished product. Thus, the village will not give a certificate of occupancy on the house until the plans have been submitted and the work brought to code and it has been inspected. The bank that owns the property (it’s really not a “bank” per se, but a government-sponsored enterprise that is also publicly traded and holds the majority of mortgages in the U.S. Its better known as an old-fashioned girl’s name) hired an inspector/engineer, had all the modifications needed to bring the house to code listed, including the cost for the building plans, and came up with an estimate they were confident in. The bank and the listing agent promised us they did the “due diligence” and the repairs to bring the house to code wouldn’t exceed $xx,xxx amount. The bank did not want to do the work themselves and priced the house accordingly and offered a great mortgage to us to buy the house and make the repairs. It wasn’t until the house inspection that the engineer who originally looked at the code violations on the house realized that he forgot to include the barn repairs to the bank estimate. The barn has pine board over insulation, which is a huge fire hazard, and needs to be sheet rocked in order to meet village code and for us to be able to move in to the property. Seems the bank, listing agent and engineer weren’t as diligent as they thought. It was a BIG mistake and the repairs cost A LOT of money—like I could go buy a nice, new car kind of money.

The "outbuilding" in question.

Since this was a huge cost, deal killer and the bank was negligent in its due diligence when it “promised” us the repairs wouldn’t go past $xx,xxx amount, the bank was now on the hook for the repairs to the barn. It was the only option. BUT… It’s taken 9 WEEKS for the bank to sign off on the approval allowing the work to begin. NINE WEEKS!!!! It’s just beyond absurd that it takes that long for something that simple to get done, especially when this house is sitting on their books and they are paying for the upkeep, maintenance and taxes on it.

We have had to renegotiate the sale contract and resign it TWICE since the offer and closing date was agreed to back in May. Two closings were set and passed and we have waited and waited for this piece of paper to get signed. Each time we have renegotiated, interest rates have gone up and the bank has had to pay more money at closing because of it. It’s a better deal for us, but we are in temporary housing with all of our stuff in storage. Not a great way to live.

We have had to dig through boxes of stuff for items we packed that we thought we would have access to because we were supposed to close (originally) at the end of August. Things, like winter coats and all the automobile, RV and boat paperwork so we could get everything registered in NY.

I dug through boxes and boxes looking for which one contained my social security card. In order to get a driver’s license in NY, you have to show them your SS card. I’ve had no luck finding the box containing the card, I suspect its packed somewhere behind all the furniture in the storage facility. Since I couldn’t find it, I planned on getting a new card issued but can’t now because the government is shut down and the SSA is only handling SS checks/payments. Ugh!

But, now it seems there is movement. On Friday, we found out that everything has been signed off and the formal approval finally reached the contractor. Work will begin the week after next!!! Hopefully we can close in November.

Apple-Picking

Oliver's pre-school had a field trip to go apple-picking today. It was a gorgeous day. Absolutely beautiful weather. Perfect temperature.

After Chloe got on the bus, we headed over the mountain to where the apple orchard is located. It's a beautiful area (my personal favorite in the county, but a little too difficult to commute into the city). Where we lived before, it took 45 minutes to reach the closest apple orchard. Now, it's a 15 minute drive.

The morning began with what is a long-standing tradition for the pre-school, to serenade the family who owns the orchard with an apple song the children learned at school. Then, the pre-schoolers and parents were loaded on to tractor's pulling trailers and we went for a ride through the apple orchards with stunning views of the Hudson Valley as it starts to show its fall colors. Of course, I was hauling a 13-month old and was trying to keep my four year-old from jumping off the trailer and couldn't snap any photos of the scenery.

Oliver picked a quarter peck of apples--about 10 apples total. We came home with 4 apples. On the tractor ride back, Oliver taste tested his apples, taking a bite out of each and determined they didn't measure up. I think he did eat one total apple before tossing it aside for a apple-cider donut being handed out as a snack.

Oliver in his apple-picking hat.

Mmmmmmm, apples.

I did find it ironic that we all went apple-picking, which is totally edible and sat down at the end for a snack of apple-cider DONUTS. Apparently the apples the kids picked were for show? Oliver knew a good thing when he tasted it--of course, he tasted and discarded a lot.

How 'bout them apples?

 And, my favorite photo of the day....

 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

Bulleted Updates

Some updates and random photos--

• Emma Claire has started to feed herself, which is a big step. She hasn't mastered the pincer grip yet, but it doesn't keep her from trying.
• It was Chloe's school open house/meet the teacher. I had to bring all 3 kids to school because Matt was out of town and we don't have a local sitter yet. It was good to hear that Chloe is adjusting nicely and making friends.
• It's getting cooler here--like cold enough that I better start looking for the box that we packed the kid's coats in cool.
• I got an update from Oliver's pre-school teacher. She told me that she can't remember teaching a pre-schooler with a better command of English. He corrected the teacher's aide in class when she asked him if he "was good" after he fell on the playground. He responded, "No, I am well." I didn't know I was raising a pre-school grammar snob.
• Apparently Oliver's favorite phrase in pre-school is, "I am going to have to tell my Mom about that!". He also yelled out, "Lets get this party started!" when he learned it was a classmates birthday and they were having cupcakes.

Emma Claire smiling!!

• Emma Claire's first two word sentence---"Get Out!" and she made sure to say it with the same forcefulness that her older sister uses when telling Oliver to "Get Out!" of her room or when Oliver is telling Flash the dog to "Get Out!" of his room when he wanders in during the night and wakes him up.
• Emma Claire is also starting to point at things, even though her "pointing" is something between a Hook 'em Horns sign and a "hang loose" gesture. I will randomly ask her where things are trying to get her to point to them. I will always point to them afterwards and say, "There [whatever I am pointing to] is!" At the track, I asked her, "Emma Claire, where is Daddy?", hoping she would point at Matt. Instead, she looked at me and said clear as a bell, "There he is."
• Emma Claire started pulling herself up to standing this week. She is so proud of this new ability that she kept doing it over and over again this evening in her crib. I didn't think she would ever lay down and go to sleep.

• Oliver started gymnastics classes again. He LOVES it and was so excited when he found out that there was a gym where he could take classes. It has helped make the move easier for him since he still gets to do the activities he loves. The bonus is that this new gym has a very large boys gymnastics program, one of the largest in NY state and much larger than our last gym.

• What happens when you have two sisters and you are the only boy? You get your toenails painted by your big sister....Oliver was totally on board and told me he wanted blue toenails "like Uncle John!" (who came to visit last year with...you guessed it, blue toenails).
• There was a 3 foot copperhead snake sunning itself in front of our driveway last week. On the way to the bus we walked right by it---didn't even notice. A neighborhood came and warned us. It disappeared later in the morning and came out to greet me when I went to take the trash out. Luckily the landscapers were on hand and they called animal control (after one of the very large men let out a shriek when he saw the snake).
• I opened up underneath the kitchen sink to be "greeted" by a little gray mouse. Totally waved at me. Not.Even.Frightened. It just kept on rummaging. After I got my wits about me, I sent it packing...for good.
• I have had to learn to slow down and look for deer. They are everywhere. On the way back from dropping Oliver off at pre-school, I turned a corner and there was a doe and three babies in the middle of the road. I am also going to have to look up deer resistant plants.
• After my encounters with deer, snakes and mice, I shouldn't have been surprised when Chloe brought home a 4-H membership flier in her school folder. It apparently rivals Girl Scouts for membership in our area. Call me surprised....

Club Racing

Sunday was a club race at our home track. Chloe qualified on pole for the final race and came in 2nd overall. Many people at the track were cheering for her to win, but it wasn't her time...yet.

 

After Oliver's soccer game on Saturday, we all went to the track and after dinner Emma Claire and I headed home for the warmth of our own beds. We returned to the track Sunday morning to watch the racing.

 

 

 

Why both Oliver and Chloe like to sit on the footrest of the stroller is unknown to me, but Emma Claire likes to use them as a footrest.

Oliver playing on the iPad with a track pal.

The micro and mini line-up.

The final podium.

First Goal!

Oliver had his second soccer game and he scored his first GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!! He was super excited.

 

Oliver practicing with Daddy looking in the background.

Oliver is hysterical and very enthusiastic when it comes to soccer.

 It was a crisp and cool Saturday. Chloe was a little miffed that she was being forced to attend an hour-long soccer game. We had to remind her that her siblings sit through hours of kart racing and swim meets and that she could give up an hour to watch her brother play. Lucky for her she found a giant mountain of mulch to keep her occupied. I, however, got miffed to see her using her brand new high tops as an ax to climb the mulch mountain.

Emma Claire had a snack with me and watched and cheered. We sat in the back of the SUV to keep out of the cool, fall wind.

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. Both Chloe and Oliver started at their new schools. I didn't sleep well last night. I tossed and turned and prayed and hoped that Chloe would have a great day and make lots of friends in 4th grade.

I was a nervous wreck this morning. I wanted things to go perfectly for Chloe, who seemed nervous.

She disapproved of my snack choice I packed her. Her beloved seaweed. She told me she couldn't take that on the first day of school! What would the others think?

We opted for Sun chips instead.

We took the obligatory first day photos and we hurriedly packed into the car and I fretted that Chloe would be late for the first day as we creeped along at 15 miles an hour behind a driveway sealcoating truck.

Our rental "town"house is anything but in town. Its in the sticks where its hard to get cell phone reception and I had to complete a rural post delivery form in order to get our mail. Its another 10-15 minutes further from the school than the house we are purchasing.

We made it to school with time to spare. I walked Chloe to the front, saw the assistant principal and asked that he help Chloe make it to her classroom. I then ran back to the car and started crying/sobbing. I really hope things go smoothly today for Chloe.

I then drove Oliver to preschool, trying to keep my black mascara from running down my cheeks. We were the first to arrive at Oliver's class and his first words to his new teacher were, "My mom cried this morning in the car! Yea, I heard her."

As I explained why I was crying to his teacher, Oliver toddled off, happy to be back to school and didn't seem worried that he knew none of the other children. He was ready and didn't even look back! He had found his cubby, unpacked his backpack and was already playing with the other children.

I prayed things went as smoothly for Chloe.

Golden Ticket Race

This weekend was the BIG race weekend for the "golden ticket" to the Rot*ax world's in November. Chloe has been improving her times and is beginning to challenge the leaders. In preparation for the big weekend (and since it was a holiday), Chloe and Matt went to the track to practice on Thursday and Friday. Chloe's kart was running fantastic and she had great lap times during practice. Unfortunately, when it came time to the actual race day, Chloe's kart wasn't running as well as it had previously. Chloe still managed a third place finish on Saturday.

Chloe receiving her 3rd place trophy after Saturday's race.

Saturday's podium. Some of the top micro drivers in the country.

Matt changed the motor in Chloe's kart to get the performance back for Sunday's race. Chloe qualified 4th and at the start of the race she was punted off track by another racer. Chloe fought back, passed three drivers (including the kid who knocked her off-track) and made it back to 4th, where she ended up finishing for the race. Chloe was disappointed in the outcome but during tech inspection, two drivers (1st and 3rd place finishers) were disqualified and Chloe came in 2nd.

Chloe making her way back to the front of the pack.

Oliver at the awards ceremony with TWO lollipops.

Sunday's podium.

Sunday's podium with the golden ticket winners.

Chloe didn't get the coveted "golden ticket", but a her close pal did, as was expected.

As Chloe continues to improve, its been recommended we begin letting her race in the bigger, national race events which means we will be spending a lot of time in Florida this winter racing in the winter tour.