The Start of Summer 2010

Happy Memorial Day!!! We had a bunch of our friends and Jack's friends and cousins over for dinner to start off the summer. The weather was supposed to be iffy, but it held out for us thank goodness. The kids LOVED running around the golf course and sand trap, and Kingsley of course was the only kid to find a tiny puddle to play in too. All the adults had a great time as well, and were shockingly able to sit down for dinner after the kids finished, without much interruption. Ahhh...the calm before the storm of two more baby cousins being added this fall!! Looking forward to a GREAT SUMMER!!!

Sign me Up!

As Jack practiced his little golf swing in the house last week, I complimented him on how well he was playing. I asked if he'd like to take a golf lesson, and without hesitation he turned to me and said "sign me up!".

Of course, I without hesitation did just that. He drove his own golf cart to the driving range today with his golf clubs that he got from Christmas, and met Coach Leslie. He learned about the ready position (where his feet and tee should form a triangle), and back-through-and-show-your shoe (which helps him to remember that his swing shoudl form a circle. Despite his attention span dwindling by the end of 30 minutes, he seemed to really enjoy himself! He paid attention well, tried really hard and then told me (as he ate a granola bar afterwards) "golfing sure does make you hungry".

Jack at 3 1/2

Jack - you continue to be the most wonderful boy we know. You say the funniest things, ask the most intellectual questions, and are very insightful. You are a thinker, a conversationalist and definitely a talker! You are sensitive, silly and sweet.

You are into:
- the food chain (what eats what)
- the woods (you love pointing out trees and shouting "woods!", and I don't have the heart to tell you we live way too far in suburbia to have that many woods near us; you also love learning about what animals live in the woods)
- reading
- imagination and pretend play (my bed and our couches are constantly acting as boats that keep us safe from fish, sharks and sea monsters swimming below; you are often a t-rex leaving footprints on the floor)
- building forts and/or 'homes' for yourself, when you're pretending to be an animal
- your electric golf cart

Goodbye Peace Preschool

Today was the official end to Jack's stay with Peace Preschool. We brought his teachers little mugs filled with a 'school' of Swedish fish as our way of saying thank you, and then enjoyed a picnic lunch with his best friend Cooper.

19 weeks

I'm 19 weeks pregnant tomorrow..and it's definitely a girl! John, Kingsley and I went for my ultrasound this morning. Everything looks great, and sure enough - we're having another girl. We were 99% sure it was a girl, but somehow as the ultrasound tech said the words "it's a girl!" I teared up as if it was the first time the idea really hit me. Oh - I really can't wait!! The idea of two little girls in our family gets me giddy!!!

2 week trip to NY & SC

I'm ashamed that I didn't take a million more pictures than I did over the past two weeks. All I came back with were a few beach pictures of the kids, but we did a whole lot more than playing in the sand!

NY:

Jack had been really eager to take a subway ride, so we took the train into the city with him and them took the subway to the Museum of Natural History. He probably enjoyed the train and subway more than anything, but John and I had a blast in the museum. Jack was able to point out several of the dinosaurs from just their skeletons, so of course we were beaming with pride! The museum truly is amazing, and walking through there with Jack was unforgettable. We finished the day with a hotdog in Central Park...just perfect!

Grandma loved spending time with the kids - taking Kingsley on walks and playing ball with her in the front yard, and reading books to Jack and letting him stay up WAY past his bedtime (we came home late from dinner to find him shining a flashlight through the window).

SC:

We took another trip to aquarium with both kids - Jack was definitely more interested than Kingsley, asking lots of questions as usual. He especially liked the blowfish and jellyfish, and of course the sharks.

Mimi and Papa loved spending time with Jack and Kingsley - it had been so long since they'd seen them. After a week though - I know they were equally excited to have a quiet house! Mom kept saying "this is why they give young people kids".

Kingsley at 16 months

Kingsley - you are at the point of really starting to amaze us - understanding more and more everyday. You have the BEST smile and laugh, and really light up our lives.

You are:

- bold, daring and adventurous

- not afraid to get dirty

- fearless

- happy

- fiesty and tempermental - you definitely know what you want

- REALLY cute

- outgoing and flirty

You know how to:

- say mommy, daddy, dog (comes out "dee" or "doh"), bird (comes out "bah"), and thank you (comes out "da-da")

- point to your eyes, nose and mouth

- find airplanes and birds in the sky, and love pointing them out

You love:

- to follow Jack and copy most things he does

- watermelon, dipping just about anything in ranch, hotdogs, tofu and pasta with red sauce

- playing with dolls and stuffed animals - holding them, patting their backs, and pushing them in a cart or stroller

- jewelry, bags and your hairbows (you actually ask for them) - such a girl!

- music and dancing

- playing outside

- climbing

Our day in pictures

A lazy morning...

And a delicious Chinese dinner, with some leftovers (which also doubled as a purse)...

Crafty Corner: Nature Names

This morning, after I peeled my eyes open and had a much needed cup of coffee...I got the kids dressed, and we went out for the first part of our art mission. I told them we were going on a nature walk, gave each a pail, and instructed them to pick up anything from nature that they wanted. Of course we needed to talk about nature - what it is, and what we were allowed to take. I explained that all the plants and animals we see are part of nature, so sure enough Jack asked if we could get a bird. He pleaded that we could let it go after, but my answer remained a solid 'no'; we were to stick with leaves, flowers, twigs, flowers, grass etc. that were found on the ground (and not growing on a tree or shrub).

The morning was awesome! Jack was really excited to get out there and fill his bucket, and was equally excited to find a crunchy brown leaf as he was for a bright yellow dandelion (weeds were fair game). Kingsley loved just holding her bucket, and was much more careful and considerate in choosing items to go in hers (most were colorful flowers - purples and pinks - which I found really interesting).

When we got home, Kingsley chose to color with crayons, since I don't think she's quite ready for glue. Jack, on the other hand, was ready for his glue stick. His filled bucket really was beautiful, and though each letter of his nature name didn't get filled as I had envisioned, it turned out perfect. What a beautiful way to spend a morning!