Something New

The other night I got out our old jumper toy for Eliza for the first time. It's the perfect way to keep her near and entertained during Cat and Jack's bath time. Eliza loved it, and so did Cat and Jack.


Once they had their pajamas on, I let Cat and Jack play with Eliza in the jumper. The first time, it went just fine...

But the next time I had Eliza in the jumper during bath time, and I left them all unattended for a few minutes (along with the basket of baby toys to help them entertain her), I returned to lots of giggles and an explanation: "We covered her in toys!"

Cat was very excited about the fact that she managed to get every baby toy in the basket stuffed in the seat or attached to one of the straps of the jumper. Eliza wasn't as excited. In fact, she looked a little nervous. But she didn't cry! Such a trooper...

I need your help!

I'm making a book from our 2009 blog posts and I would love to have a great quote on the back cover to summarize what our blog is all about. But... I can't decide which one is the best! So I'm asking for your help. I put a poll on our sidebar with my top 4 choices and I would love to know which you like. Or, if you have a different quote you think would work well, just let me know in a comment. I need to order the book by Monday, though, so this will only last until Sunday night. Thank you!!

Side note: Making this book has been a labor of love, to say the least. If you're interested, I'll post about the pros and cons of Blurb. (Right now, there are many more cons than pros, but I'll try to be objective.) Just let me know if it's something you'd like to hear about.

Hard-Wired

Since Jack was about 18 months old, his world has revolved around things that GO. For a while, it was cars. Then he discovered Thomas the Train, and he hasn't looked back since then. He still enjoys cars, trucks, and tractors, but given the choice, he would go for a train every time.

Late last year we received a Thomas the Train DVD, which he LOVES. Then for Jack's birthday he got a small toddler-sized Thomas set, which he also LOVES. So imagine his utter joy when he received 3 BOXES of Thomas the Train toys: engines, train cars, tracks, etc. He was the beneficiary of a family who moved from our town and whose children who were no longer interested in these wonderful toys. (Thank you Nicole!!) And a day hasn't gone by since that he hasn't played with them. I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "Choo choo! Woo woo!" "Play! Trains!" "Train track!" Or a more polite version, "Make a train track, Mommy!"

We keep the wooden set out in the living room and he has gotten pretty good at assembling tracks on his own, although he'd rather have some help. I love that he gets so excited about these little things; it doesn't bother me one bit. But I'm constantly amazed at the fact that this obsession exists. I don't remember Cat being so fixated on one type of toy at the age of two, or, well, ever. He must just be hard-wired this way.

Cousin Week

Cat had a whole WEEK with her cousins (my sister, Megan's kids) last week. She loved it and by the time all was said and done, they were still getting along.

Cat stayed with my Mom (about 3 1/2 hours away) for a few days, and got to spend a lot of time with cousins playing, swimming, watching movies, and even going to EdVenture. (I was TOTALLY jealous about that. I'm dying to go.) Thanks for sharing your pictures, Megan!


Then, Megan brought her family and Cat down on Wednesday and they all spent a couple of days at our house. We decided to hang out on the beach on Thursday, which was lots of fun.


Cat, Colin (6), and Will (9) played in the ocean most of the time, and had some sand fun too. Drew (3) went back and forth. Jack only wanted to be in the water in the bucket, until it was time to leave, when he warmed up to the idea of going in the ocean. Noah hung out with Eliza most of the time and she had some good ocean fun with him.

There is a playground on the other side of the parking lot from the beach is a good shaded playground, so we ate a picnic lunch for everyone then had a little playground time before heading home for the day.

Thanks for the great time, guys!

Playin' In the Rain

I'm pretty sure this is one of Cat's favorite things about summer. And I can't blame her, I LOVED getting to run around in the rain in my swimsuit as a child. The only bummer is when it thunders and lightnings, cutting the fun short, which happens most of the time during summer storms here. But at least we have a few minutes of afternoon fun outside without being in the blazing heat! This time, Jack also joined in on the fun. Who can resist a Little Mermaid umbrella and a free waterslide?

Funny as it may seem, Cat is usually chilled enough after a good romp in the rain that when she's finished she asks for hot chocolate. And it doesn't take too much coaxing for me to oblige. :-)

5 months old!

Eliza is such a fun, easy baby. She has recently developed a bit of a Mommy-attachment, but we can handle that. She still lets other people hold her about half of the time, especially if she's fed and well-rested.

This month, Eliza started sleeping in the crib, all the way across the hall! Soon after, we spotted her sleeping with her bum in the air, just like Cat used to when she as a baby.


Eliza also discovered her feet, and now knows the joys of a good toe-nibble every now and then.


She has also started scooting (?) around, moving bit by bit on her tummy. The bonafide boot-camp crawl is right around the corner! She's grabbing at things more and more, and laughing out loud. Love it!

Happy (late) Birthday, Cat

Yes, I'm still behind on my blogging. In that way, blogging appropriately mirrors the rest of my life. :-)

Cat turned 5 about a month ago and we had a wonderful day. We were very lucky to be able to spend the weekend with lots of family; my Mom was in town for a few days, then on the day of Cat's birthday, two of Ben's brothers and their families joined us for a good old fashioned summer celebration, complete with pink and purple streamers ("How did you know those are the colors I wanted??"), balloons, hot dogs, a slip-n-slide, a kiddie pool, squirt guns, and Air Trekkers. (Thanks for that contribution to the festivities, Mike!) There was even ice cream... in the form of a cake, because Cat recently decided she doesn't like cake or frosting. But at least the caked-formed ice cream had sprinkles and candles, so we did what we could.