Happiness

A Very Special Day!

When Grace woke up this morning the first thing she said to me was, "Mommy, are you ready for your pedicure?" I wasn't quite sure what Grace was talking about...and how did she know the word pedicure?! Grace then said, "Daddy is not wearing his work clothes today!" Today was my birthday and Bob completely surprised me by taking the day off from work. He had planned a very special day for me. The first thing on the agenda was a pedicure appointment. I was so surprised. Bob casually mentioned that they have Mommy & Me pedicures. I thought it would be so much fun and such a special treat for Grace and I to go together! Bob called the spa and they said they would be happy to fit Grace in for a pedicure appointment too. Hooray!

Here is Grace getting her first pedicure at the young age of two! I have had three pedicures in my life, the first one being the day before I got married. :)

Grace's pedicure was so much fun for her. I had the very best time sitting next to Grace and watching the excitement and look of pure joy on her face. Grace got to soak her feet and she had a foot and leg massage with lotion. Grace's toes were filed, polished, and painted with tiny purple hearts.

Grace chose a pretty pink polish for her toes. She thought it was so funny to have tissue in between her toes as they were drying. Everyone at the spa came over to see Grace as she was getting her pedicure. She looked so cute getting her toes done!

All day Grace kept saying, "Oh, Mommy. Our toes are soooooooo pretty!"

Jack decided to pass on getting his first pedicure today! While Grace and I had our girl time together at the spa, Jack and Daddy spent some guy time together. Daddy took Jack to Cabella's where Jack enjoyed looking at the animal and fish displays. Later, we went out for a nice lunch, shopped, and enjoyed the rest of our afternoon outside. Thank you so much, Bob, for this very special day. I had the most wonderful birthday. The very best part of today was just being together ~ you, Jack, & Grace are the very best gifts of all!

Nature Made Bracelets

This morning Jack, Grace, and I went on a nature walk. Just before going outside I attached a loop of wide tape (sticky side out) around Grace's wrists and around Jack's feet to make a tape bracelets/anklets. As we walked along our road and through the woods, Grace and Jack picked up pretty bits of nature on their sticky bracelets/anklets. When we returned home I removed the tape from Grace and Jack and we closely examined the natural "gems" they had collected (bark, grass, leaves, rocks, buds, leaves, pine needles, twigs, etc.). We also talked about and described each nature item in detail.

Unfortunately, I was carrying Jack in a sling so I wasn't able to get a clear picture of him on our walk. Jack had a great time kicking his feet to collect pine needles and twigs on his anklets. I am planning on repeating this activity at least once per week. It will be a fun learning experience for Jack and Grace to see how nature changes as summer approaches!

Staying Cool

It was 94 degrees here today ~ a record high. Jack stayed cool this afternoon by playing outside with his water mat (thank you Cousin Rose & Kimberlee!). Grace & I added lots of cool water to Jack's mat. I also added some marbles to the mat in order to increase the tactile/sensory input for Jack as he was playing. Grace added some silver glitter to the water too (she couldn't resist!). Jack loves his water mat. This was a great sensory activity for Jack and the perfect way for him to keep cool on this very hot day.

Alphabetical

Just before we left this morning for story time at our library I put two bins of magnetic letters out on our porch for Grace to play with while I got Jack ready to go. I went inside to get Jack dressed but left the door to our porch open so I could see and hear what Grace was doing. I watched Grace working quietly as she sifted through the letters in the bins. I was very impressed to see that Grace had found each letter of the alphabet all the way up to K and had put them in alphabetical order on her easel. I was curious to see if Grace would keep going so Jack & I stayed inside and read a few books together while Grace continued to work.

After some time Grace ran into the living room and said, "Mommy and Jack, I did ALL the letters." We all stepped out on our porch to see what Grace had done. I was so proud of Grace as I looked to see that she had lined up all twenty-six of the letters of the alphabet in their correct order. Yeah, Grace!!!!

Missing

Oh no...our camera is missing. As soon as it is found I'll post pictures!

Ogunquit Beach

Missing Maddy & Poppy

Maddy & Poppy left for Vermont this morning. We are always very sad to see them go. Thank you, Maddy and Poppy, for such a special visit filled with so many good times and lots of laughs!!Jack fell asleep for his morning nap just as Maddy and Poppy were getting ready to leave. Maddy quietly went into Jack's room while he was sleeping to say goodbye. It was such a sweet moment for me seeing my Mom gently touch Jack's cheek and give him a gentle kiss while whispering, "I love you Baby Jack." Grace gives Maddy and Poppy a final wave goodbye. If you look closely in the picture above you can see Poppy holding Ella and Monkey. Our sweet Grace wanted to give Maddy and Poppy one of her Ella's and a Monkey to bring back to Vermont with them. You'll have to check Maddy's blog to see what adventures Ella and Monkey have! www.ellaandthemonkey.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Pepere!

Happy Birthday to Pepere! One of Grace's favorite thing to do is cut paper. When she heard it was Pepere's birthday this week Grace went right to work cutting special pieces of paper for him. Grace has her paper saved inside a special project that she and Jack made together for Pepere. We all can't wait to see Pepere again to give him these special birthday wishes. We love you, Pepere!

Zebra Jack

Working Together

Maddy and Grace worked together to make a beautiful turquoise tutu for Eliza Jane. Grace used the tape measure and her scissors to cut the tulle to thirteen inches. Maddy was so impressed and so happy to have Grace working with her. Maddy is planning on doing a sewing project with Grace at every visit. Grace loves her tutu for her good friend Eliza Jane!

A "Big Fun Day!"

We had a very busy day! The little ones are sleeping and the bigger ones are almost sleeping. As Grace says, I'll post lots of pictures of our "big fun day" tomorrow!

Earth Crayons!

Grace made these beautiful earth crayons yesterday. We peeled the paper off of several blue and green crayons and then broke them into smaller pieces. We placed the crayon pieces into small paper cups and put them in the oven on 200 degrees for approximately ten minutes. After letting the crayons cool for one hour we peeled the paper cups away to reveal these beautiful earth crayons.

Grace and Jack used their earth crayons to color their paper globes to celebrate Earth Day today!

Meow!

Gracie girl & Maddy worked on a fun project this afternoon - decorating a cat opera mask. Tune in tomorrow to see if you can guess who is behind the mask!!

Spring Sports

Celebrating Earth Day in Style!

We were all very excited to have Maddy & Poppy here. They left Vermont yesterday morning at 8:00 a.m. and arrived eight hours later (oh my). We always wonder what takes them so long! Grace and Jack are celebrating Earth Day today in style with new coordinating watering can and bucket shirts and green hats made by Maddy.

A Special Project To Celebrate Earth Day!

We have been busy getting ready for Earth Day tomorrow. This morning Grace made a special Earth Day project using blue and green crayons. We will share the finished project with you tomorrow!

Our Beautiful Gracie Girl

Grace woke up about a half hour before Jack did this morning. While waiting for "Jack-a-roo-roos" to wake up, Grace decided to sit at her art table. Grace worked quietly for a long time using her scissors, markers, a hole puncher, stickers, and marker dots. Once Grace was finished she showed Bob & I several beautifully decorated scraps of paper and told us that they were for Baby Jack. What a sweet little girl. Grace adores her baby brother and we are so very proud of the loving daughter, big sister, and person that our Gracie girl is.

Family Fun Day At The YMCA!

We attended Family Fun Day at our YMCA after Grace's swimming lesson this morning. Grace had fun bouncing in a bouncy house, playing a frisbee game (seen above), and meeting & playing with new friends in the gymnasium. Jack enjoyed watching all of the action around him. After the great time we had at Family Fun Day, Jack took a little nap to get ready for our fun-filled afternoon!
Happy, happy, happy, happy birthday to Maddy today! Maddy & Poppy are coming to Maine on Tuesday and we can't wait to see them. Maddy, we hope you had the very best day. We all love you so very much!