SJ's boo-boos

I don't know who invented jelly shoes and why they ever were popular in the 80s, but they were and they are back to some extent now! Early this summer SJ and I came across them at Old Navy. SJ fell in love with them and asked for a pair. Since they were on sale we got a pair. SJ wore her new sandals proudly that day, but had an unfortunate trip and fall while running in them on the sidewalk. She had 3 of the biggest scrapes she has ever had as a result. We came in the house and she said she wanted to put her "other shoes" back on! So, the jellies were ignored for a while.

Then, her daycare sent home a letter stating the kids needed to have some sort of water appropriate shoes to keep at school for when they play in the sprinkler. Ah....a good use for the jellies! She will wear them on grass and if she did fall she wouldn't get hurt! So, at her school they stayed for several weeks I think only used a couple times. As most things that SJ likes the more you don't use something it becomes more interesting. SJ decided she wanted to wear her jellies home one day. She only wanted to wear them for the next day. So today after a quick errand out, SJ was running up the driveway. As she was running I had a flashback to the day she fell while running in her jellies. No sooner than that thought was finished SJ fell. It was a big, hard fall, too. "I fell," she cried! I guiltily carried her into the house, she quickly doffed her shoes, and then we patched up the scratches.

Two lessons learned: NEVER run in jellies - likely making them a very bad shoe choice for toddlers. And, act instantly if you have a flashback to your child getting hurt doing the activity they are currently doing (it will likely prevent the subsequent guilt if you do nothing!)

p.s. SJ wanted to show her Grandma and Grandpa her scratches, so this picture is especially for you!

Monkey Business

"Little Monkey" is one of my nick-names for SJ because she often holds on to me so tightly that I don't even need to hold on to her! Just like a little monkey! Yesterday she took it to the extreme and said she wanted to climb the wall. I was skeptical at first, but since SJ is pretty insistent (i.e. doesn't like to be told she can't do anything!) we gave it a try. She was actually able to hold on to the wall without any support! No, I did not leave her there to go get the camera. I'm hiding behind the wall on the other side - just in case, and Nathan is snapping the photo. SJ was very proud of herself and in her monkey-abilities!

Just Another Day at the Beach

A couple weeks ago SJ and I went with her Gami up to Salisbury State Beach. It was quite nice. The water was very cold, but when it was low tide, SJ loved running through the shallow water. She also got to work on her her sand castle building skills.

enjoying a dunkin' donut

We live close to Dunkin' Donuts no matter which way we turn out of our driveway. They are everywhere. They are so tempting.... On this particular day, SJ had just finished her swimming lessons and we decided to go get a treat. SJ has a new favorite donut - chocolate covered with colored sprinkles.

An Unexpected Lunch-time Guest

SJ, her Gami, and I enjoyed a brief visit to the zoo last Thursday. One of the peacocks was hanging out at the picnic tables. He didn't mind getting close to us.

The Tale of the Three Bears

Anyone who has met SJ knows of her Bear. SJ received her first Bear before she was born. It was a gift from one of my coworkers. Taking a hint from some friends we started giving SJ her Bear when it was sleep time hoping she would start to associate the 2 and make going to sleep easier. As SJ has gotten older her Bear has become a sleep time and any-other-time friend. She take Bear most places, reads to Bear, plays with Bear, and still sleeps with Bear.

When I realized that Bear's cleaning instructions were for hand washing only I decided to purchase some extra Bears to have as a back up in case something dreadful happened to the original Bear. Thus SJ now has 4 Bears: 3 in use and 1 in back up. I have tried to really keep only one Bear in current circulation and then bring out a new one when one needs laundered (thankfully they do hold up quite well to machine washing!) But, SJ seems to have a way of finding Bears that are in holding, therefore, there are often 3 Bears about.

Each of the current 3 Bears now has a name. There is Girl Bear, Daddy Bear (I think she named it Daddy Bear because the pink bow fell off,) and Mama Bear (a.k.a. School Bear - as we were hoping she could just keep one Bear at daycare for naps, but she can't bear the 5 min drive to daycare without a Bear from home.) Her favorite is Girl Bear and she can spot Girl Bear from a distance. Don't even think about substituting Mama or Daddy for Girl! I'm not sure if I'll ever get Daddy and Mama back into holding, but next laundry day I'll try. For now though she is happy with all 3!

Our Fourth

My Grandma Wilke would have been proud. I basically forced SJ to wear a red, white, and blue dress on the 4th. SJ protested quite well in her usual screaming way, but I would not give up! She actually wore the cute little dress until the afternoon. Unfortunately, I would have disappointed Grandma Wilke equally in that I failed to snap a picture of SJ in her dress. (A side note about my Grandma Wilke - she was a red, white and blue fanatic on July 4th and she snapped many (millions) of pictures on every occasion. I did give her another honor yesterday and donned a sparkly flag pin that I got from her.)

In the afternoon our good friends the Saffs came over for a cookout. As soon as we took the kids to the playgound it started to rain so we had to come home. It ended up raining enough and cooling off enough that we ended up eating inside. SJ had set up her kiddie pool for her and her friends and REALLY wanted to use it. So after dinner the kids suited up and went outside for a nice cold dip. SJ stood in the pool for about 10 seconds. I think Ethan only felt the water, decided it was too cold and spent the rest of the time bundled up in a towel on his mom's lap. Isaac, however, was not deterred by the cold. He played and played with the cold water and had a blast. Needless to say we were only out swimming for about 15 min. Then it got even colder and started to rain again!

Happy Anniversary

8 years ago today!

happy birthday to Aunt Ruthie

SJ got to spend some quality time with her Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Ben on Sunday. It was great to spend time with them especially because they really entertained SJ so it gave us a little break!