Jack's first official visit to the dentist

trying on the sunglasses

what a little flirt!

"Open wide!"

Last year, he screamed the entire time and the only thing the dentist could do was to count his teeth.  This year, it was completely different.  Jack was a little charmer--talkative, funny, inquisitive, and absolutely adorable in his black sunglasses.  He had a great time--I think it was more of a social occasion for him than a dentist appointment.  His favorite thing?  Blowing air into his mouth using one of the dental tools.  Best of all, no cavities!  According to the dentist, he has beautiful teeth.  And all of his teeth are there--good news--but the cleft seems to have turned a couple of them so that they didn't come in straight.  She said that he may need braces in the future--we can SO handle that!

Jack is (in)famous!

I went to the grocery store with Jack this evening while Elizabeth helped a good friend plant his vegetable garden.  We rushed through the store and then got in line to check out.  Our neighbor was in line in front of us, so I began to talk to her and her two daughters when one of them started to laugh.  That's when I heard Jack's voice booming over the store's loudspeaker:  "Blah blah blah blah!"  Gasp!  I turned to see Jack at the register next to us, holding the microphone to his mouth, grinning ear to ear.  I ran to grab him just as he blasted another couple "blah blahs" into the microphone.  Janie and her girls couldn't stop laughing.  Me?  All I could do was to apologize to the cashier, who told me with a smile that she'd always wanted to do that herself!

backyard fun

If you could've only heard them scream in excitement!

Elizabeth's notes

"hi.  hofaly you got some thing to fix the refrigerater and there might be a lot of dust back there.  oh and by the way, could you take a look at the stove to.  and just call if anything goes wrong..."  (I called a repairman to come to the house to fix our refridgerator.  He found the problem but had to order a part in order to fix it.  He came back last Friday to install the new part, and Elizabeth wrote him a note--just in case he had questions.  In between his first and second trip, our oven stopped working, so we had him fix that, too.  I love the part where she mentions that there might be some dust behind the fridge (she knows my housekeeping abilities only too well), and the part where she says, "In case anything goes wrong" (like if the house blows up or something...).

 "A thing not to do...Never marry a lopster.  it will hurrt."  (Can't argue with that logic).

"cus it will bitt!"

Mother's Day weekend

We had a fantastic weekend!  Jack and I took Elizabeth to dance (we got to watch the girls rehearse on stage for the recital); the three of us had lunch out; and then we took Elizabeth to her Daisies meeting.  She made me a beautiful flower arrangement there made out of colored tissue paper and pipe cleaners.  We rushed home to drop off Jack with Papa and to pick up Nanny, and then we three girls went to the nail salon and had our nails done!  It was a first for all of us.  I have never seen Elizabeth so excited--Mom and I had the best time, just watching her!  She smiled ear to ear the entire time.  She picked out the nail polish color (I expected something totally outrageous--she chose a lovely shade of pink) and had a little white flower painted on each thumbnail.  Perfect!

On Sunday morning, Dad took us all out to brunch (yummy!).  Afterward, we stopped at the playground and then came home to have a little family birthday party for Jack.  The highlight of his day?  There were two:  his Harry Potter costume and his new Power Wheels ATV.  Just look at his face!  The battery wasn't charged, so he only got to sit on it (hence the reason he's not wearing a helmet), but that didn't spoil his excitement.  It's going to be a great summer!

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Jack is FOUR today!  Oh, my goodness--he is growing up so quickly.  He's definitely not a baby anymore.  And he is ALL boy. I have to share these pictures now (more in another post). We had a little party for him on Sunday, and he opened some of his presents at that time.  One of these was a Harry Potter costume, complete with wand and round glasses.  He absolutely loves HP.  He hammed it up, right down to holding his hand to the scar on his forehead.  So theatrical!

busy, busy, busy

We had a busy weekend:  On Saturday, we went to dance, of course, then stopped for a fast-food lunch before going to the library for Elizabeth's very first Daisies meeting.  All of the girls in her new troop had been on a waiting list since last September, waiting until a troop leader stepped forward.  Well, one finally did, last month.  Now they have seven or eight meetings to learn what they need to learn before becoming Brownies in the fall.  One of the things she did on Saturday was to decorate a white t-shirt with fabric paint.  It's cute--she painted a daisy with 10 petals (each petal represents something in Daisies), a peace sign, and her troop number on it.  I also have to mention that she didn't fuss at all  when Jack and I left just before the meeting began.  Another sign that she's growing up.  After Daisies, because the weather was so nice, we went to a couple playgrounds.  When we got home, the kids decided to play in the yard.  Jack pulled out his t-ball stuff and practiced his swing (he's really good), and Elizabeth decided to ride her bike.  She wanted me to help her because she hadn't mastered riding it without training wheels, but I told her to give it a try by herself.  I turned to watch Jack and seconds later heard her yell, "Mom, look at me!"  There she was, pedaling down the driveway all by herself!  Woo hoo!  I'm so proud of her!

On Sunday, we had a picnic at Portland Head Light and played on the playground there for a while.  We took Duncan with us, and he was a big hit with the kids on the playground.  We drove home and dropped off the dog, then went to the store for a bit, and, because it was such a nice day, went to the same playgrounds that we went to the day before.  Then, home for baths and bed.  Another busy weekend.

And, before I forget, I have to add this:  Last week, Elizabeth told me that she wanted to get her hair cut in a "bomb" for the summer because it would be cooler. (Sounded dangerous to me). I think I managed to convince her to wear her hair up in a pony more often instead.