And some more....

Really, it was a lovely, lovely day.

a few more...

Three at last!

The boy turned 3 yesterday. Amazing and impossible, isn't it, that my baby Jack is a 3 year old. A boy. Not a trace of little to him, it seems. All kid, all the time, running around the yard with all the other kids yesterday. We had a most wonderful party, a most wonderful day. The weather was clear and deliciously cool, perfect summer with a hint of autumn to the evening. The party started at 11 and thanks to help from Lulu, all was ready. Bottles of pop in the turtle tub, tables dressed, yard looking better than it has looked all summer long. We were well attended and overrun with littles for the next few hours. Giant bubbles were a hit, as was exploring the "woods" and climbing on the mulch pile. Pizza was eaten on blankets on the grass (may not bother with an "eating table" at all next year!) Baby Ivy was passed from hand to hand and people mixed and mingled. Jack lusted over chocolate cupcakes (leaning toward the platter and even drooling a bit as he asked "one more??") and didn't have a single bite of the pink cake he'd requested. Far too many presents were opened in a flurry of wrapping paper with help from Greg's mommy Tiffany. Baby girls sat on blankets and the sun moved across the grass. John-John and Bella pushed Jack in his new fire engine for nearly an hour and helped the new Woody doll to climb the ladder as women cooed over babies and caught up. Preschoolers and families headed home for naps; Kate and Keith came by and the after-party moved to the deck. A small "family of friends" stayed for the day as Jack and Ivy napped and awoke and we ate leftovers as round 3 of presents was opened by one very tired boy. Perfect.

Favorite gifts thus far: The "old fashioned fire truck", Woody, the Duplo tractor set, the Playmobil fire engine, and the new monster truck. A massive playroom overhaul was carried out today to make room for the haul. It is frightening how many toys this boy has accumulated in these quick 3 years.

And quick they have been! Quick, and wonderful. Love you so very much, so very very much, my birthday boy Jack...

16 weeks old!

The girl would not stop lifting up her skirt today. Her new thing is grabbing. Everything. Oh, and her hair is long enough (in that one spot on top) to put an actual little tiny clip in it. She has recently rolled (tummy to back) another 2 times, but it is still not a regular thing for her. And she does not like to be left alone in a room. She has perfected the "terribly sad, pitiful and abandoned" look, in addition to (as you can see above) the goofy grin.

15 weeks and back to work we go...

End of an era tomorrow. Back to work I go. I will miss the hours each day that have been spent holding a tiny one. And even the hours each day spent making dinosaurs and wild things and train cars talk, on the floor in the playroom. I will miss daytime walks and time spent on the internet during naps. I will miss heading off to playgroups and festivals and shopping trips with my family every day. It's been a great 17 weeks off, that's for sure.

It will be a challenge to squeeze everything into two short days each week. And yet, there is a little part of me that will be happy to return to a routine. Not to mention some rather delicious alone time in the car two times each day...

In the midst of all this, we are planning for Jack's 3rd birthday party, re-doing the storage in my office, and mulching and updating the landscaping in the backyard. Never a dull moment around here.

And oh, yes, Ivy also turned 15 weeks old on Saturday. Here are some pictures for you...

And, just a few more random pictures from this week...

All growed up

Seriously. He really is.

I am not sure when it happened-- Perhaps on Tuesday?-- but it really has happened this time. He really is a kid now. Not a toddler at all. No trace in the slightest of my little baby.

Unbelievable.

I think it was Tuesday, actually. We were sitting on the patio at Chipotle with Melinda and Will (two double strollers at our table, my goodness) and Jack, the social little monkey that he is, befriended a 3 year old girl at a neighboring table. Before we knew it, he had pulled up a chair to their table and was sitting having a conversation with this young lady. Just the two of them. Talking together. No facilitation from the grown-ups required. "I like ice cream," our boy told her. "I like chocolate and vanilla. And I like green!" She shared her favorite flavors back, which included chocolate. "I like chocolate too!!" said the boy, obviously delighting in the fact that they had something in common. And on went the conversation, centered mostly on who else liked ice cream...The content was less important than the fact that our boy can now sustain a conversation with a friend. Somehow this is a turning point, a trait of a bona-fide child. No going back now. We've got a little boy in this house.

There are a million other little things that make him seem grown up these days. The way he says his words is changing. The bits of attitude he gives us-- "No, I WON'T say goodbye."--or the way he asks "Why??????" about every little thing. They way he plays pretend, making up names for his cars and little dramatic storylines for wild thing and old fashioned car and their garage. The way he remembers everything, from day to day and over surprising periods of time (he refers to everything that happened in the past with the word "yesterday" but some of those yesterdays were actually from 6 months ago!). The way he is all legs and arms and elbows and doesn't want to be kissed but gives good, run-at-you-and-wrap-like-a-monkey hugs.

Here are a few little tidbits about an almost-3-year-old boy:

He likes to do this funny little "breakdance" move-- 2 hands and one foot on the ground, the other leg kicked up behind and a little twist at the waist. Accompanied by this lovely look of concentration and pride. He thinks he is quite something when he does this.

Walking to Wade Oval Wednesday, he pointed out a sculpture. "Look at those beautiful rocks, mommy! Can we cwimb on them?" When I said maybe some other time, he replied, "Actually, they're kind of dangerous, it's dangerous but that makes it kind of more fun" "Did Daddy tell you that?" "Yes!" :) Gotta watch what we say these days!

"I love fresh strawberries! They are so fresh for my body!"

"It was my idea!" -- said when heading to the potty because the deal is, if it's Jack's idea to use the potty he gets a bonus M&M. And the boy knows it and so ALWAYS tries to convince us that it was his idea. He can also count out 4 items pretty well these days. He talks about 4 as "3 and one more" which I think is some pretty nice math thinking, actually.

*By the way, the boy is using the potty 3-6 times a day and staying dry when awake almost all the time. He won't wear a pull-up or underwear though. Or poop on the potty, though he's tried a few times and did poop in the grass in his playhouse the other day. So, progress but not there yet. The clock is ticking on preschool-- will we make it??

His faces. His silly face, his "I'm not smiling" face, his smile to prove that he's happy, his face to prove that he's sad, his stickingouthistongue face and the look of concentration he gets when he is building something. The face he makes when he is creating (startlingly realistic) truck and train sound effects. His handsome and perfect little face. I could just eat him up.

Except, of course, for the fact that he does not like to be gobbled on, these days. He's all growed up.

Hot times in the city

Yep. Had just about enough of summer around here. It is hot. Sticky humid water-from-the-air-condenses-on-you-if-you-even-think-about-moving hot.

Heat aside, Ivy and I have continued to have a lovely girl's weekend, just the two of us. Today we baked a key lime pie, did some cleaning, went to lunch at Eton Place with Gram, and went to book club. We also walked the dog around the block.

I am done in.

Blame the heat but having just one kid to worry about for the weekend is not the panacea of free time and bliss I thought it might be. Not that Ivy is difficult. No, really she's a delightful baby. But turns out Nat does a lot of the heavy lifting with her-- hauling her carseat around, bouncing her in it to get her to nap, holding her while I run to the loo. I am not sure its easier to be a single parent of one than it is a co-parent of 2, that's for sure.

I am looking forward to my boys coming home tomorrow. Even if they will mess up my nice clean house.