December 24, 2009
December 17, 2009
November 02, 2009
Emma is Six!
Today is a very special day here at Another Delco Guy because our little princess turns six today. She came into the world six weeks early, and it's been one surprise after another since then.
Emma is a super sweet little girl who loves her brother more than anyone. She is always ready with a big smile and hug to cheer you up. Emma has overcome her tendency to take it easy and has grown to love her dance class this year.
Taking care of her babies and cooking are her favorite things to do at home and she loves to snuggle up and read before bed. A trip the Chick-fil-A makes her day, but Emma also love to eat vegetables of all kinds.
Emma makes us proud every day and we are so happy when she brings us new artwork or reads to us from Olivia.
Happy Birthday to the best little girl in the world! Daddy loves you very much!!!
October 21, 2009
September 14, 2009
August 18, 2009
John Is Famous!
There are benefits to having a significant other who is in public relations. One is that the kids get in the paper with startling regularity. Emma has been a front page girl three times in the last year and today it's John's turn.
He had a great time last week as the Coco Key Honorary Bat Boy at the Camden Riversharks game. And now he's even more excited to be the focus of media attention for even a few days.
Special thanks to Brian Burgamy (#7) for spending some one on one time in the dugout with John and also to Dom Principato, of Deptford, who helped John get comfortable in the dugout before the game.
It was a thrill to be on a beautiful field playing catch with my son as the guys got ready to play last Monday. Thanks again to everyone who made it happen, especially Char.
June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
There is no doubt that the most fulfilling part of my life is being a father. I won't say it's always the easiest thing in the world to do, but it offers the most reward of anything I have ever done. John and Emma do it all for me. They wake me in the morning, they make me watch the clock at work, they thrill me with their accomplishments and they wrench my heart with their struggles.
To say that being a dad has its ups and downs understates things to a laughable point. Everything about it is a balancing act. Whether it's juggling the calendar around 8U games or keeping up with the ever-changing roster of best friends for a precocious little girl, putting them above me isn't that hard.
Maybe it's odd to say, but these two kids have helped me grow. I'm still a kid inside in a lot of ways, but they force me to make the tough choices, to teach, to correct, to develop and indeed to learn. I assume it is this way with all dads, but who knows. I'm too busy with my own to do much asking around!
We've had a lot of changes in the last year. As a dad, it's been a time of growth and fun. We've had some great times like celebrating the Phillies World Series, John's First Communion and Emma learning to read, and some tough moments as well. Through everything, they fulfill me in a way that I never could have imagined in the days before they came into my lives.
While it's mostly my kids I am talking about today, it is being a father that I am thinking about. I've got my new Wii Fit here and some beautiful school art projects from John and Emma. Later today we'll head over to Delco for the Annual Father's Day Crab Fest. We'll watch the Phillies try to break the streak against the Orioles and some of the action at Bethpage Black.
I'll be thinking about my dad and his dad as well as my mom's dad. They were great examples to me. I will also be thinking about all the kids who have lost dads though their service to our country, either here at home or abroad. I can't imagine missing out on being a dad. It's an experience I treasure.
Thanks Dad! I appreciate all the sacrifices you have made and continue to make for me. And I know John and Emma do as well.
Happy Father's Day!
June 12, 2009
May 30, 2009
Wiffle Ball Party!
John's teammates Marcus and Kevin turn 9 today, so we're at the brand-new Big League Dreams for a Wiffle Ball Birthday Party. John and his buddies are having a great time.
The place has three different 'fields' of varying sizes where the kids can play. Plus there are party rooms and snack stand.
It's a converted ice rink that just opened as a 3 field facility with 1" long artificial grass and a great stereo system. If you're looking for a place for a boy's party in Burlington County, check out Big League Dreams on Fostertown Road in Medford! The fields rent for $75 an hour, party packages start at $350 for 20 kids, they have open gym on Saturday nights for $10 per kid and they're even planning a summer camp for $200 a week.
In case you couldn't tell I think this place has a great concept. I just hope that enough people hear about it!
February 28, 2009
Emma Has Curls!
One of the things that Emma has been begging for while here mother has been away is to let her hair grow. She really wants Dora hair, and I am partial to Suri Cruise's look, but it's only been a month, so today we tried to create some curls. She's really excited. I think the little feathery curls are a bit reminiscent of a 70s look.
Very cute!
November 02, 2008
Emma Is Five!
It's a bit hard to believe that my princess turns five today. The day of her birth is such a vivid memory for me that It seems much more recent that five years ago that I got a call waking me out of bed telling me Emma was on her way. I dropped John off at his grandparents and drove the 29 miles to the hospital in 28 minutes.
She was 8 weeks early and not ready to wake up. She's still a bit of a terror if she's not ready to get up in the morning. I went with her to another hospital that was better able to take care of her. After the ventilator and feeding tubes were installed, Emma rallied a bit and held my hand for the first time.
She's a very tough kid who deals withe the world on her terms. Still, she is the sweetest person I know and loves her family and friends deeply. I am very happy she has not outgrown tickling or cuddling with her daddy. I know she will, but I am not ready yet.
Besides her special friend Bun, Emma really loves her brother John. When she's upset, she always says the same thing, 'I want my brother.' It's great that they are such good friends and that he is always there to comfort her.
Grandma and Pop live in Pennsylvania and Emma loves when they come to visit. It's always a special treat when she can have a sleep over! While Andrew is the cousin her own age, she is very much into her cousin Ellie, and recently confided that she wants a little sister to take care of.
Emma has always loved to cook and to draw, and it's been a wonderful year of watching her mature in both of these areas. She can pretty much make an entire cake, loving to crack eggs and mix things. She sets up elaborate tea parties and school rooms and nap times for her six babies and is capable of amusing herself for hours at a time.
Like most girls, Emma loves to shop. She's still a big fan of shoes and the color pink. Her trips out on the weekend with Char wear her out and induce two hour naps, but she loves them.
Emma is the most wonderful little girl in the world!
Happy birthday princess! Your daddy loves you very much.
June 30, 2008
John's 8th Birthday Party
We had a great day yesterday, with over 40 guests filling our house and yard to celebrate John's 8th Birthday. John had a great time seeing his family and friends, and "especially enjoyed having cake, blowing bubbles and running around like a maniac."
You're only 8 once.
Special thanks to Cathy for the macaroni salad, my mom for multitudinous appetizers, Gram for pasta salad, Arlene for baked beans that got rave reviews, Carin for the cold, sweet watermelon and Heidi for the cookies that Emma especially loved.
Thanks also Anne and Carlo for the supplement to the summer beers and Joe for the nice bottle of red.
The signature totem poles and Indy decor were also courtesy of Arlene.
In the 94 degree heat, the grill chores were handled Jim and Patti and no one is more grateful than me!
Finally all the hard work and effort was really done by Party Planner, Chef and Coordinator Extraordinaire --- CHAR!!
Thanks to everyone who made it such a great day for John.
June 20, 2008
Emma Graduates!
Kindercare Pre-School Graduation is this afternoon and Emma got the award for Most Helpful. She's the sweetest little girl in the world and I am SO proud of her!
June 17, 2008
2008 Tabernacle ES Field Day
Another Delco Guy is live at the Tabernacle ES Field Day. My job is to shepherd Ms. Lacey's class aroubd the stations for the next two hours. Wish me luck!!
June 16, 2008
My Little Reporter
We ae on the way to school and Emma has been asking me a lot of questions as we roll through the haze of Burlington County. I was wondering what way up until we stopped for a few minutes and I realized is 'writing' down everything I say in her notebook.
So much for any thought she will be wealthy.
June 12, 2008
Gracie H is 6!!!
And the photos are up on my Flickr photostream.
You can't tell from the photos, but it was 98 degrees. Everyone was happy though. The kids were happy because there was a "kid wash." The adults were happy because there were mojitos!
We had a great time!!!!
May 10, 2008
TAA Rookie All-Star Game
We're here live at the Tabernacle Rookie All-Star game, where left fielder John Lee-Pesotski is 2 for 3 with an RBI. His Green Team defeated the Yellow Team in the bottom of the 4th on the strength of an RBI double by Tiger teammate Chris McCauley.
Everybody had a great time and all the folks at TAA did a great job putting the night together!
May 07, 2008
March 08, 2008
Jump Rope For Heart Photos
The TES Jump Rope for Heart raised over $8400 today for the American Heart Association. Photos of the fun are up here. Have a great rest of your day!
March 02, 2008
Lego Census Complete!!!!
John is very proud to have completed the following census of all the Lego people here at our house!
Lego People Census
2-Mar-08
Number Description
56 Total People
5 Boys
51 Can't Tell
40 Have hats
16 Don't have hats
March 01, 2008
January 21, 2008
Another Great School Project
John spent a good bit of the morning finishing up his diorama project for Mrs. Lacey's class. He came up with all the ideas himself and was able to do the whole thing with only a tiny bit of adult assistance.
He chose to read Arthur's Computer Disaster and then did his project on the book, showing a scene from the book.
He converted a Nike shoebox into Arthur's house, complete with Arthur's sister DW and his friend Buster, all made out of clay. He added a royal blue felt carpet and some snazzy construction paper walls to make it all very homey. Some LEGO furniture rounded out the scene.
Along the way I had to drive him to the store to get the clay, glue and construction paper. Then I presented a lesson on the safe use of scissors. After a few mis-steps on measuring and cutting a remedial lesson on rulers was in order. He only needed a bit of demonstration on the clay modeling, which surprised me. I am sure there will be a wide array of project levels presents at school tomorrow from the totally parent-created to the woefully under-supervised. John's will be on the honest end of the scale, but fairly well-executed.
Now he just needs to get it to school in one piece!
November 16, 2007
November 02, 2007
October 16, 2007
A Rite of Fall
On Sunday, as the Eagles were downing the Jets coming off the bye week, the family and I headed over to Johnson's Farm in Medford to pick out our pumpkins. We, of course, took some photos.
It's a virtually required rite of fall for suburban families to trek to some local pseudo-farm with rides and face painting and fresh-baked pies to find the fall decor. We joined approximately all of South Jersey on Sunday in a giant field/parking lot and surveyed the situation with dismay.
Two different lines of over an hour before you got to get on the hayride out to where you could actually PICK pumpkins.
People EVERYWHERE. Tired children. Swirling dust.
I punted.
We decided to select from the pallets of pre-picked pumpkins available for weenies like me. The children chose $32 worth of pumpkins to decorate the front steps and house with. That's over 46 pounds worth.
They enjoyed it immensely. They also loved the side trip to Maggie Moo's on the way back home, though John would have preferred Coldstone. When we finally staggered home, we put up the Halloween lights out front and the various orange and black decorations throughout the house. Yes. I said Halloween lights.
It's just amazing to me that Halloween and "harvest" have become such a holiday. I can remember a few decorations as a kid and a trip to Linvilla for a pumpkin. But I sure don't remember 2 hour lines and swarms of people at Target fighting over who gets the last set of faux tombstones.
When did this explosion happen? I've heard the theory that hallmark is responsible for the geometric expansion of the Valentine's Day to the juggernaut of spending it is today? Who is behind the Halloween/Harvest? Pumpkin farmers? Hay bale salesmen?
I went along and all ... but I don't get it!
October 01, 2007
2007 NL East Champs!
As a father, yesterday was pretty tough for me.
My son is a Yankees fan in a major way. Last spring, we had decided that there was a good chance yesterday would be an important game and that we should be in Baltimore to watch the Yankees clinch the AL East.
It never entered my mind that the Phillies would be back home in Philly clinching the NL East while I watched the scoreboard at Oriole Park.
I wore full Phillies regalia including a bight red shirt and cap. I got a good number of friendly "Go Phils!" comments and even saw 2 other guys in "P" hats. The scoreboard operator kept us updated, and between the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings showed video highlights of the Phils scoring.
In the 8th, they showed the video of the Phils rushing the field and put "Philadelphia Phillies 2007 NL East Champions" up on the big board.
While I was overjoyed, the major feeling was RELIEF! We had finally made it. The long up and down ride of the season was over and we are ready to take care of business.
We clapped and cheered and high-fived and accepted the congratulations of the Yankee fans. While I wasn't in South Philly, I was happy yo be in a ballpark among the baseball faithful. I'm meeting some Hummer driving real estate sales man Yankee fan from Westchester county in the Bronx for the World Series in three weeks. I don't know his name, but we sat in Section 27- yesterday. I'm sure he'll remember the crazy Phillies fan. At least I think he will. He drank a few beers.
I'll see you in Center City at Noon for Mr. Greengenes and the Phils for a rally at City Hall!!!!
August 19, 2007
A Night In Camden
There aren't many times when some says that they had a great night in Camden, but we sure did last night!
John, Emma, the GF and I headed over to Camden last night to catch a Riversharks game at Campbell's Field in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge on Delaware River Waterfront. We saw a Sharks win, fireworks and John got to run the bases.
6,810 South Jerseyans turned out to see the show and I didn't see many disappointed folks. The minor league teams sure know how to entertain fans, with contests, a merry-go-round (Emma loved it!), three different mascots and a lot of fun.
We had great seats right behind home plate, but not the greatest for photos. Still, I got a few and they are up.
Coincidentally, we met Bob Nehring, the Sharks' Director of Group Events this morning at Wawa and he was a really nice guy and seems genuinely happy that we had a good night at the park .
Get out to a game before the season ends!
June 26, 2007
Happy Birthday Buddy!
It's hard to believe that it's been 7 years since that stormy, muggy June night that John made me wait until 6:26 am until he was finally born. I vividly remember that even before he was out of the womb he was screaming and crying, begging for food.
After he was fed and cleaned up, he settled down a bit and has been a great kid for the last seven years. He loves baseball more than anything and is big fan of the Yankees and SportsCenter. I had a great time coaching him on the Marlins this year and on the Orioles last year. I hope he never loses his love for the game.
John is a fun kid and enjoys his classmates and especially gym class. he is a smart guy and had a good year in first grade. Like me, he is a bit quick to anger and more than a little rambunctious. I am sure he will always be a bit of handful for his teachers.
I have alwyas loved that John wants to be a part of everything and is eager to help me whenever he can. Most of the projects I have done around the house have been completed with him at my side. It's a great thing!
John is loving and sensitive, and is especially good with his little sister Emma. I am proud of the moments that he shows her special attention and caring. I hope that they are always as close as they are now.
I had a great day celebrating your birthday with you today, John and I look forward to our part in Moorestown.
Happy 7th Birthday Buddy!!!!
June 25, 2007
Back In The Swing of Things!
Sorry for the long absence, but we've been on the road!
Some photos of Emma getting us back into the normal cadence of life are up at my Flickr site. She had a good time yesterday, hitting the ball off the tee in the back yard. John got into the act a bit, helping her refine her swing a bit. It was hilarious to watch it!
We are back from our trip to the center of all that is Mouse. Disney was HOT. I mean weather-wise. They made lots of jokes about deodorant testing. It wasn't funny.
We'll have a full wrap up of the Disney trip and some photos up later in the week. Today is a rest and recover day.
We're looking forward to John's birthday tomorrow, but it will be a low-key affair with just a few of use getting together on Wednesday to celebrate.
June 18, 2007
Heading to See the Mouse!
The family is still slumbering, but I admit I was too keyed up to sleep.
Why?
We leave for Disney World in a few hours!!!
The kids are very excited and so am I. We will provide regular updates and photos. We're hoping to see some manatees and go to Sea World in addition tot he Disney parks. John also wants to get to Universal. We'll see what all we get in.
The Southwest fare was good, Starwood points pay for the room, but god the park tickets are expensive!!!
Photos from yesterday's Pesotski Father's Day Crab Fest are up on my Flickr site.
Have a great week!
June 17, 2007
June 14, 2007
Another School Year Ends
It's hard to believe that John's last full day of first grade is today and that Emma finishes up her school year today as well.
John's had his ups and downs this year, but it's mostly been a very good first grade experience for him. He is in reading enrichment and doing very well in math, but struggles with 'chattiness' and his 'social nature,' especially with the ladies.
Hmmm. Where's the problem?
Emma learned all of her letters and numbers this year and absolutely ADORES her teacher Miss Terri. She will be very sad going back to Kindercare next year, but not being with her 'special friend.' Emma also managed to learn how to use the potty and has been wonderfully behaved a ll year.
We've got a busy summer planned, with trips to Disney World, Maine, Rhode Island and Boston planned, along with our regular roster of back yard parties and gatherings.
We'll keep you posted with stories and photos all summer long. Lots of new photos of Field Day and our other adventures are up at my Flickr site.
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