Especially for Grandma

"Dear Grandma,

Here is a picture of me wearing the onesie that you stamped for me! I was extra careful not to spit up on it and I wore it for a whole day!

Love,

Jayden"

The Chore Chart

After some inspiration from watching Nanny 911 (Yeah, I know, but I was desperate for something to watch one afternoon!) I decided to implement a chore chart for Sydney. There are a few tasks that we are tired of asking her to do over and over and I thought if she could mark them off and be working toward earning something she might have better motivation. I am happy to say it is working so far. Even before the start date she was asking when she can do her chores. She is excited to mark off the boxes herself when she finishes a task! And, best of all, she says "don't help me, I'll do it myself!" when she is in the midst of performing a chore! I am so thankful. She can earn a maximum of 5 points per day for chores. She also can get extra bonus points for showing extra kindness, respect, or obedience. So far she has earned 15 points in 3 days. When she reaches 100 points she gets her prize, which this time is a fish!

S thought it only fair that baby J have his own chore chart so she made one up for him. His chores include: eat, rest, play, and fall asleep. I thought she did a pretty good job at making it and she was sure to include only those activities a baby really can do! She says his prize will be a new outfit.

Beach, part 4

On our last day, we finally took baby J into the pool. He donned his swim diaper and swim shirt and his faithful sun hat. He really seemed to like the pool!


That afternoon we also got to wear our tie-dye shirts that everyone made the previous day. This is the second year the family has done this at the beach. Even baby J got some tie-dye onesies and a tie-dye burp cloth!

Beach, part 3

S and Taylor loved giving J lots of attention! Taylor often asked if she could "pet" baby Jayden. (She just got a new puppy at home!!)

I think this was S's last day at the beach. From here on out she only wanted to play in the pool!

Beach, part 2

While at Holden Beach, I got to visit with a college friend, Jennifer, who lives in North Carolina. She brought her 3 boys to the beach house and we all had a great time! The older boys and S had so much fun in the pool!

NC Beach Vacation, part 1

We all enjoyed a wonderful Holden Beach, North Carolina vacation with some family! We stayed with our gracious aunt and uncle at their beach rental and were joined by some other extended family and some family friends. It was really a lovely house with a pool and right on the beach. The weather was warm and not too humid.

S met a new friend, Taylor, and they had a blast together swimming, doing crafts, and playing in the sand. S always wanted to dress like Taylor, which this day was made easy since Aunt Linda bought the girls matching dresses!

J had lots of people to hold him and help him nap. While we were gone J moved on to only waking up twice in the night rather than 3 times! Must have been that salty air!

J also got to go to the beach. He didn't mind his feet in the sand or in the water. I think it helped that the water was almost as warm as his bath water. When not swimming little J got to enjoy a new bouncy seat tucked inside a little baby tent!

Happy Birthday America!

One year ago we spent our Anniversary (a.k.a. the Fourth of July) eating a frugal breakfast at Friendly's, shopping at Lowes, packing up our house in Boston, and working on our house in Arlington. (We did get to enjoy the Boston fireworks last year, too so it wasn't all work!)

This year, our 10th Anniversary, we enjoyed a breakfast of cereal followed by a trip to downtown Boston with some friends. This evening we will do some grilling with the family. We won't be doing any fireworks tonight, unless you count watching them tomorrow on TiVo. You might be wondering why we don't do more "romantic" things for our anniversary. Well, we wonder that, too, but this year we have a 6 week old "excuse" named Jayden and last year it was the big move to Arlington. We have promised each other that next year we will go on a trip sans kids - they'll both be old enough to be left alone (well, with grandparents) and we won't be moving! Here's looking forward to next year!!

Ahh...Found It!

Big Sister Helps!