Nap time

As I walked up the stairs to check on Addy during her nap, I heard her run and jump in her bed.

She was obviously not sleeping.

or cleaning for that matter.

She has taken to spending her nap time moving Jack's bed, pulling every book off the shelf, and making a general mess.

If I could just get her to spend her nap time dusting, organizing and vacuuming her room, I would not mind her crankiness due to lack of napping.

Because it is a gloomy day . . .

I am going to dream of the beach. Can't wait for our next beach vacation.

Breast Cancer Awareness

This is my new favorite bumper sticker. Ryan and I laughed so hard and it made me think of my friend, Anna. So Anna, this is for you.

Certainly got my attention.

Florida Revisited

We traveled to Florida at the end of March to meet a new cousin and have fun with family.

Lillian Jayesh Patel

Adorable girl but sadly she had RSV while we were visiting. Poor baby and mama.

Jack and Mariam plugged into technology. I see this picture in our future again when they are teenagers. Jack loves "my Mariam" as he calls her.

5 kids and one great swing led to some good lessons in taking turns. This swing in the Patel's backyard is awesome and Grandma Shirlene became and expert and swinging the kids. (This is a picture of Uncle Jay with the swing but usually it was Grandma.)

Jack had a patch of dirt and some trucks. Life was good.

Jack celebrated his 4th birthday a little early so he could celebrate with Grandma and cousins.

This is one of his many presents from Grandma Shirlene. This is still one of his favorites.

This shirt (thanks Greenwood family) got quite a few laughs at the beach. With his long curly hair, board shorts and candy necklace, Jack was looking like the ultimate beach bum. He had a great time at the beach and a highlight was Aunt Tracie's creative Treasure Map and digging for the treasure that pirates left.

Jack loved the trench that Aaron Jones dug for the kids. Glad Auntie Kristina married someone with good skills to entertain our children.

To say that Addy loved the beach would be a vast understatement. She loved the sand and the water. Only problem is sand in a diaper makes for not fun walking. She was less than thrilled with that. However, if I could, I would rent a cabana on a beach everyday and watch my kids play. Perfect day.

Niagara Falls Aquarium

Ask Jack put it, "We're going on an adventure." He was right. We spent Friday morning at the Aquarium in Niagara Falls. We had great fun with our friends.

(although, the biggest adventure may have been trying to get all 3 carseats in the back of my car. Even with trading out for narrow carseats it was a VERY tight squeeze)

Jack loved these big jaws and teeth.

Addy measuring herself against a shark.

Jack named his crab, Muffy. He licked Muffy off his hand on the way home. (ewww.)

Nora showing us how the shark is "this big."

Highlights of the Aquarium:
Going with friends
The elevator (I think we rode it 20 times)
The Sea Lion Show
The "Nemos"
Playing outside
face painting
and the trip to Dairy Queen

Lowlights:
It is small
No hands-on exhibits

Overall, it was a great way to spend a few hours on a Friday and the drive was enjoyable as it was shared with a good friend. Can't beat that.

Loving Wilson

Last week marks the 5th anniversary of my nephew's short life. To remember him, my sister started doing service the year after he died. We've continued that tradition. Last year, I sent all of the cousins this wonderful children's book and asked them all to collect pennies for the Pennies for Peace program and bring them to our family reunion to help us remember Wilson.

This year, we decided to do something for Jack's integrated preschool class. His teacher gave us a list of things we could donate to his classroom and Jack and Addy helped us go shopping for the items.

This morning we delivered a bubble machine with bubbles, watering can, ingredients to make fun treats, potting soil and rice and beans to add to the touch table.



Here is Jack with his teacher Lisa and her aids Mary and Andrea after delivering the items.


We feel blessed to have Wilson as part of our family.

My baby is 4

Yes, he turned 4 on March 30th.

Hard for me to believe that he is 4 and only one year away from kindergarten.

He requested an excavator cake and I was able to make one with relative ease.

However, when he saw what I made he asked, "Where's the tracks?" He didn't want a wheeled excavator but one with tracks. Next time I will make sure to get the specifics.

He seemed to love the idea of the cake.

He even gave it a hug.

We didn't actually eat the cake but he did lick off all of the frosting. What a lucky birthday boy.

Jack brings a lot of excitement and enthusiasm to our lives. Life would be pretty dull without Jack. Sure do love that kid.