Fall Fun at the Park!

We have been enjoying many beautiful fall days here on Long Island. A few Saturdays ago we took advantage of the nice weather and took the kids to the park after their naps. Michael had a GREAT time swinging and going down the slide for the first time. Mary Pat showed us how big she is getting by going to down "big girl slide" all by herself and swinging on the big kid swings. Of course, she also had a lot of fun playing with Michael on the baby swings! We had a great afternoon and can't wait to do it again soon. Enjoy the pictures!
The big boy enjoying the swing.

Some sibling fun on the swing set!

Mary Pat had to make sure she supervised Michael. Silly girl!

She was able to FLY down the slide by herself.

Michael and Daddy preparing to slide.

Mommy and Michael getting ready to slide.

Mommy wasn't very good at sliding but Michael thought she was funny anyway!

Mommy and her boy.

The Kolenik Men.

Mary Pat showing off her dunking skills!

Playing Catch Up!

The past few weeks have found the Kolenik household dealing with fevers, runny noses, and coughs. Although Mary Pat and Michael have been passing colds back and forth we have still found time to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. Mommy needs to play catch up with the blog posts so check back for updates throughout the week!

Mary Pat has still been going to soccer on Saturday mornings. She is starting to get the hang of kicking the ball and doesn't pick it up that much anymore! She also had fun putting on Daddy's socks and wearing them as "shin guards" a few weeks ago as you can see in the above picture. Enjoy many more pictures here!

Ready to go!

Getting good at kicking the ball.

More kicking.

Water break.

Practicing balance

She loved going over the cones on her "tippy toes"!

She even did it all by herself.

A Little Morning Hi-5

Hi-5 is a show on Discovery Kids that big cousin Victoria used to LOVE when she was a toddler. She could watch is over and over non-stop. Well, Mary Pat has inherited this love for all things Hi-5 and therefore the Kolenik house has inherited many videos from Victoria. Luckily Mommy and Daddy have also been able to record some episodes on the DVR so we don't have to watch the same ones over and over again. In the morning while Mommy is trying to get bottles made and get the bags ready for school she lets Mary Pat and Michael watch one episode of HI-5 in the den while she is in the kitchen. Normally Michael would sit in his bouncy seat while Mary Pat either sits in her potter barn chair or stands up to dance. On this particular day Mommy found both of her "tv zombies" sitting in baby seats. Mary Pat had decided that she wanted to use Michael's other chair in order to lay back! It was too funny to not capture on film.

Michael usually needs a toy to keep him occupied while Mary Pat only needs Hi-5!

Notice Michael is playing while Mary Pat is only focused on the show.

From the kids' point of view!

A Day of Firsts!

A couple of weeks ago Mommy picked Mary Pat up at school and this is the precious little girl that she found. Miss Michelle (the teacher) had given Mary Pat her very first ponytail! It was super cute and Mary Pat kept saying how pretty she looked. Mommy attempted the ponytail for soccer practice last weekend and things did not go very smoothly. We will be leaving all the hairstyling to Mary Pat's teachers for now!

Since Mary Pat had a "first" that day, Mommy decided Michael needed a "first" too. So, he had his first time in the jumparoo! As you can see from the picture below, he really enjoyed this new activity although he only lasted a few minutes before he had had enough. Probably a mistake to try it at dinnertime....oops!
Michael testing out the jumparoo! A rear view of Mary Pat's ponytail.

A side view of the ponytail too!

Mary Pat supervising the jumparoo activity. She liked showing Michael how the toys worked.

He decided to sit back and relax a bit.

Is Someone Teething??????

YES!!!!! At least Mommy and Daddy think Michael is teething. The poor little man will chew on ANYTHING he can get his hands on and LOVES his two teethers when they are cold. He had finished eating the other night so Mommy gave him the teethers to play with while she cleaned up the kitchen. He liked trying to put them both in his mouth at the same time!
He likes his hand and his fish teethers the best. Mary Pat had a foot teether that she loved so it's funny that Michael likes the hand!

See!

The Big Boy, The Highchair, and The Princess Table

Michael is getting so big! He has decided that he likes to squirm way too much while eating in the Bumbo seat so Mommy decided to try him in the big high chair. As you can see from the picture above, he was not too sure of the change in his seating arrangement at first. Overall though, this has been a good decision. Since he is strapped in he can't turn his entire body around and pays more attention to eating. He looks so little in the big seat though!

One MAJOR change brought about by this new seating arrangement has been where Mary Pat now sits to eat dinner. At first she was not too happy about Michael being in "her seat" and tried to pull on the tray to get him out. However, once Mommy showed her that she gets to be a big girl and eat at her princess table she was a happy camper. Over the past week she has stopped constantly getting up during and running around dinner time and is actually enjoying sitting at her table to eat while Mommy feeds Michael.
Getting used to his new seat once he figures out that he is still being fed!
The silly goose eating dinner at her princess table.

Happy girl!

ELMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two Sundays ago, Mommy and Daddy took Mary Pat to see Sesame Street Live at Nassau Coliseum. We told Mary Pat that we were going to see Elmo two days beforehand and she woke up every day asking if we were going to see Elmo then! Sunday finally arrived, Michael's babysitter showed up around 3:30 and we headed to the arena for the 4:30 show of "Elmo's Healthy Heroes". As soon as we walked in Mary Pat saw all the Sesame Street items for sale and was amazed, although a little confused. We got some snacks and headed to our seats which were awesome! As the lights went down and the show started, Mary Pat sat in complete AWE!! We really think she couldn't believe her eyes. Since the show started with Bert, Ernie, and Abby she kept asking "where Elmo is?" until he showed up during the first song. After that she was "in the zone" until intermission making sure to join in with the dancing, singing, and clapping the entire time. We would HIGHLY recommend Sesame Street Live to anyone with Elmo loving kiddos. It was well worth the ticket price to watch Mary Pat's reactions. Here are more pictures (pay special attention to Daddy's faces in the border of some shots!). Eating her soft pretzel before the show started.

Daddy and Mary Pat in front of our seats with the stage in the background.

Mommy and Mary Pat before the show. Notice the confused look on her face.

Daddy, Mary Pat and our snacks!

Her reaction as the show begins.

Bert, Abby, and Ernie opening the show.

The song starts and more characters appear......

She FINALLY spots Elmo!!

There he is!

She was then "in the zone".

Dancing during "Old MacDonald". Having so much fun!Clapping for the characters.

Being silly with Mommy during intermission.