A Swingin' Summer

"Thank you Pop Jerry. I love my swing."

Pop Jerry's house is the place to be, let me (or rather my kids) tell you! Not only do we get to keep the company of wonderful family, we get to play in the pool, relax in hammocks, eat yummy food, and as of today, swing in an awesome tree swing. Grace was so excited when she got out of the car and saw this swing; it may as well have been Christmas morning!

Playing with boats on land

Testing out the new swing

Wheeeeeee!

All tuckered out

Why does time have to fly?

Dear Grace and Jackson~

We have had a wonderful summer so far, and I cannot believe it's the end of July already! We have been super busy...a week at the beach, trips to sesame place, swimming at pop jerry's, playing with your friends, attending music and dance classes. Every day seems to be filled with activity, so I have really enjoyed the past few days staying inside and playing in the mess we call our house! :)

We have big changes in store for us for the fall. Mama is heading back to work, and I am excited and so(ooo) scared at the same time! I am so overwhelmed with emotion about the whole situation that I find I'm not accomplishing much when I make it into school to prepare my classroom.. I have never, EVER enjoyed anything in life more than staying at home the past 4 years. It has been challenging (to say the least), so fun, so rewarding, and so special. You are truly wonderful children, and I am so lucky to be your mom. Things will certainly be different come September, but I have to believe that "quality" counts more than "quantity," and I enjoy every single second I have with you!

You both make every day magical, and I love you more than you'll ever know!

Dave and Jackson at Ben & Jessica's "Crab Fest." Jackson attempted to wait patiently while Dave and Grace played games in the front yard...however, it wasn't 30 seconds before I was running down the street after him!

Shy Grace clinging to her Daddy

My handsome, silly man

My beautiful, goofy Grace

Ballerina Grace!

My sweet baby Grace is such a big girl now! Memorial Day weekend marked Grace's first dance recital, and she did fabulously! We joined dance class in January, and Grace enjoyed it so much. Thursdays with Miss Rachel were so much fun; Grace worked very hard (as was evidenced by her intense concentration on the placement of her feet during her dance)! We're very proud of you, baby girl!

Jackson ran for the hills as soon as we arrived at the recital. He was far more interested in the geese than Grace.

Grace and her fellow ballerinas before their performance. You can see how seriously she takes this dancing business!

Mama and Grace

My beautiful ballerina

I can't believe how nervous I was before Grace came on stage. I knew how fun the pre-school dance classes were to watch, especially if there were one or two children who stood there, picked their noses, and twirled in circles. However, those children could not be mine! Grace did great! She even earned her very first ballerina trophy for a job wonderfully done! Bravo!

Passover and Easter

Time is just flying! We have had an extremely busy month, but we are having tons of fun and are spending lots of time with family and friends.

Grace and Jackson were able to celebrate both Passover and Easter this April. Grace put on an adorable skit at school, and we've been singing songs about matzah and baby Moses constantly. Jackson is fascinated with easter eggs, so we've been opening, filling, hiding, and finding eggs for months now! (Jelly beans were the all-time favorite.)

Grace enjoyed a lovely seder at school! They literally gave her 2 cups of raisins and chocolate chips...we had a great day after that!!

Grace and Allison laughing and playing (and kissing) at the Edelstein's seder.

We had a great Easter egg hunt at Pop Jerry's with Zachary. Grace hid all the eggs, then sprinted across the yard when the hunt began! We hid plastic and dyed eggs all around the outside of the house. We told them that they needed to be careful with the dyed eggs because they were breakable...Grace started calling them glass eggs and hid them all in a pile in the middle of the yard. Zach knew they didn't contain candy so he left them all to Grace; she was in heaven!!!!


Jackson enjoyed watching his sister and cousin run around like crazy fools. Once he found his first egg that contained jelly beans, he was content eating every single one of them while they hunted for the rest!

This was the result of his sister not sharing jelly beans with him!

Although this video probably won't be enjoyed by everyone, it makes me laugh harder and longer every time I watch it. Grace looks like she's going to fall asleep during the song, and finds energy only to yawn, pick her wedgie, and beat something up with a shovel! ...oh, and to clap for herself at the end of her performance!

Aunt Baba

Jackson is in love with his Aunt Becca, or Aunt Baba as he likes to say. He carries her picture around all day long and gives her kisses. If I happen to say her name in casual conversation, he runs to the door because he thinks shes's there...which is simultaneously cute and heartbreaking because she's always at work.

While we were having snack time today, Jackson brought her along...

We love you Neen! We'll see you this weekend!

Happy Birthday Aunt Becca and Grandpa!

Grace and Jackson love birthdays! Grace thinks that the parties are all about her, and Jackson can't get enough of the birthday song. So, considering that March 9th was Aunt Becca's birthday and today is Grandpa's birthday, we've been very busy! Grace worked very hard on making beautiful cards for her aunt and grandpa, which I need to take back so I can take pictures of them. (Grace is doing amazingly well with her letters...not only does she know all her capitals and most of her lower-case letters, but she is able to write most of them too! I am so surprised because this happened so quickly. I would have to bribe her with more candy than she should have in a year to sit with me for 10 minutes about 2 months ago, and now she can't get enough of her workbooks. The teacher (and mommy) in me is so super-proud of my girl!) Anyways, she made beautiful pictures for both of them, and we were able to celebrate with a birthday dinner last night! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Greeting the birthday boy at the door!

Jackson and Grandpa!

Aunt Becca and Grandpa generously shared their birthday celebration with Grace. She was able to make a wish and blow out the candles too!

Happy Birthday Aunt Becca and Grandpa!

An Average Day

Although some days I truly do want to pull out all my hair, most days I just LOVE being home with my babes. Grace is at such a fun and independent age, and Jackson is so curious and cuddly. I'm trying my best to capture the cute and amusing moments on camera, but as soon as Jackson sees the camera, he stops whatever he's doing to grab it out of my hand and throw it on the floor. And Grace is at the age where when we tell her to smile for the camera, we wished we had just taken a candid instead....We get the crazy, scrunched-eyed grimace that she thinks is a princess smile! Regardless, here are a few pictures of my two favorite kids.

Jackson, trying with all his might, to put on a shoe 2 sizes too small.

Grace loves doing crafts with LOTS of glue and nothing else.

I feel like such a cruel mom, but I love capturing Jackson's sad expressions after Grace takes something from him. Don't worry, he gets it back! :)

Grace, bundling up in what she believes to be appropriate snowy weather clothes.

Jackson eagerly awaiting the arrival of a school bus on our back patio. He knew it was school bus time, but wasn't sure why he couldn't see them. When he realized he was looking at the backyard, he booked it to Grace's room!

My baby girl

Dear Grace,

I love you so much. I say this to you about a million times a day, and I think it's because every moment I think I honestly do love you more than the moment before. You are becoming the most beautiful little girl....you're sweeter, smarter, and spunkier every day....and you are the best daughter a mommy could EVER ask for.

You find joy in everything which makes our days so happy....
*The other night you were eating chicken nuggets for dinner and became so excited when you nibbled your nugget into the shape of a "7." If only I could keep you this carefree and easily amused forever! ;)
*You belly laugh every single night when Jackson burps after drinking his milk too quickly.
*And nothing makes you happier than going into a closet filled with shoes...especially Gram's.

You are also a wonderful big sister and Jackson adores you more than anyone else. There's something so special about the relationship between siblings, and I feel so blessed that I'm able to witness your relationship grow. My favorite part of every day is when the two of you are getting into trouble while Mommy has her back turned. There's nothing better than hearing your laughter together... I love that you chase him up the stairs just to hear him giggle; I love how he tries to catch your eye every time he does something new. I've said it before, but I swear the laughter that I hear is different than any other kind...the bond between you is so strong, and I hope it stays that way throughout your lives. The two of you are a team, and I'm just so lucky to be the coach!

I feel like I could write a book detailing all the adorable and naughty things you do, but this letter is already way overdue. Tonight, you are actually out on the town with your Grandpa Rick and cousin, Zachary, so I promised myself I would post this letter. You are seeing Seussical the Musical, and it will be your 3rd play in less than 2 weeks!!!! I will be thrilled if your love of music and dance continues. You sat through a production of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, and you loved both of them so much. We'll see how tonight goes!!!

I'll say it again, because by writing this letter and thinking about all the things you do, my heart just overflows with the love I have for you....so, I LOVE YOU...so much that I could just eat you up...which I usually try to do!!!!! Recently, you have been very concerned with what the "big girls" do and how they behave. You have made it very clear to me that you will not need to hold my hand when you're big; I won't have to stay at your play dates; you won't have to ask what color you can paint your nails. Those things may be true, but I do hope you'll always know that should you want, I will ALWAYS want to hold your hand. I am your # 1 fan, and I can't wait to watch you grow into the beautiful big girl I know you're going to be!

With more love than you'll ever know....Mama Bear

Tutu time!

Last week, Grace started a ballet class. She's in absolute heaven, and I am so thrilled that she's loving it this much. Her recital is Memorial Day weekend, and hopefully, we'll still be loving it because we already had to pay for the costume! This morning we were getting ready for class, and Jackson decided to go through Grace's dress-up trunk. He walked over to the 2 of us, grunted, and handed us his costume choice. Grace and I never laughed so hard...it was so much fun! After parading around in the tutu, he picked up a wand and started saying "bibbidy, boppity, boo!" We have been saying it non-stop since Disney, so this in itself wasn't surprising. Of course, when I grabbed the camera, he threw down the wand and just wanted to play with the camera, but this is what we captured! ...Daddy will be proud!

Snow Day!

Yesterday we had a snow day! Although it was rainy and slushy most of the day, it was still fun because Grace and Jackson both get super-excited to see the snow out the window. I didn't get the video camera fast enough, but once Grace was bundled up, she went out on the back patio and started doing snow angels. What was so cute though, was the fact that she did them face down in the snow! My silly goose! Later in the day, we made it outside with Gram to shovel the driveway and watch the plow clear the streets....Jackson LOVED this! Grace also re-enacted David's Disney Marathon over (and over) again in the icy driveway! She is such a ham! (Please ignore my voice!)

Disney Pictures

Jackson and Mama on the carousel

My precious princess

Grace walking Jackson...on a leash

Jackson loved to crawl through this little tiny tunnel in Toon Town

My attempts to follow Jackson into the tiny tunnel

Grace and very favorite fairy, Fawn

Cuddle Bugs on the train around the Magic Kingdom

Jackson was fascinated with food wherever we went. On this trip, he had his first full juicebox and chocolate milk. He knows sweets when he sees them!

Daddy's biggest fans! Notice the mouths full of twizzlers!

Daddy, Grace, and Jackson with Donald Duck after the marathon!

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. Any time we were down in the lobby, Grace and Jackson would spend every minute running back and forth over this bridge. I swear no other children did this as much as them. Isn't it sweet how easily they're amused!

Jackson with Daddy at the Animal Kingdom! Jackson is pointing at the tigers!

Our "super" family!

My little Viking!

Goofy Grace posing with none other than...Goofy!