10 on Tuesday - the Fabulous Vacation Edition

1. Most of you know that we just returned from an AWESOME vacation at the Isle of Palms, SC. We rented a big beach house with the Cobbs and the Shertzers - it was our second annual joint family vacation. Here's what I want to remember about our lovely week:


2. William talked for days before we left about flying on a "jumbo jet." Not a plane - a jumbo jet. The airport was definitely a highlight of the week for him!

3. See?





4. I hauled my bulky camera all the way to SC and didn't take a single picture. Let's just say it feels sort of pointless when your two best friends are professional photographers and any pictures you take are going to look kind of pathetic by comparison. Also, I'm lazy. :) Check their blogs all this week for the gorgeous images of our trip!

5. We all fell in love with Isle of Palms. Great island, amazing beaches, right across the bridge from every convenience imaginable. And just a 30 minute drive to Charleston! I think it is safe to say we'll be back.

6. To our utter surprise and delight, Caroline adored the beach. Loved the sand. Loved the surf. Loved the water. She was, quite literally, as happy as a clam the entire time we spent at the beach!

7. William, on the other hand, was a little un-nerved by vacation. He seemed sort of insecure all week long. We had this conversation about a million times a day: "You cleaned this moo-moo Mommy?" Yes, William. "Thanks, Mommy." I don't know why.

8. My conversations all week long with Caroline consisted entirely of "go put on a suit," and "come put on sunscreen," and "time to eat." I swear I barely saw her all week. She was very independent, completely enamored with being together with Sarah, and in a really good mood all week. At one point during the week I turned to Erin and said, "having girls 3 weeks a part was the best decision we ever made." I believe her response was amen. AMEN indeed!

9. Vacationing with 2 other families is totally the way to go. Built in playmates for the kids. 6 adults to split the work. Friends to hang out with after bedtime. It literally felt like a party all week long.

10. Oh my goodness did I eat too much! The appetizers and the cocktails started as soon as we got back from the beach, and by the time the adults sat down for whatever fabulous dinner had been prepared, nobody was even hungry. Not that that stopped anybody from eating. Or from having dessert every night. It is goooood to vacation with friends who love to eat and cook. Let's just say I've banished myself from eating anything yummy for the next two weeks. But 4th of July doesn't count. :)

Baby's 1st Pedicure

What, there is no place in the baby book to log the first time you take your daughter to have her nails professionally done???

I've actually always thought it is a bit much to take young children to get their nails done. But combine knowing she'd love it with trying to spend more one-on-one time and add leaving on vacation, and there you have it. :)

PS - Having a daughter is kind of awesome.

PPS - she picked glittery gold, fyi. :)

Happiness is....

...when a new family with children moves in next door. Heaven is when you are already friends with that family and they have children exactly the same ages as your own children.

They've been here less than 36 hours and Caroline and William already think they should be 24/7 playmates. Caroline wanted to "peek in their windows to see if they are up" this morning at 7 0'clock. This poor family - they aren't going to get a moment's privacy!

Right now, the two 4 year-olds are outside running back and forth between our two yards while the 2 year-olds are napping. The mommies have plans for Friday afternoon cocktail hour. Pure bliss, I tell you!

I heart summer. :)

Sniff, Sniff

My baby is a 3-year-old preschool graduate! Caroline's class had a little graduation ceremony today - the children marched in with their graduation caps and sang all of their preschool songs. It was adorable. :)



Caroline and her teachers:



Caroline and the preschool bff:

Caroline and her first "boyfriend." They fell for each other in the fall. She's since moved on to two other young men. Sigh.

The one on the left is her current "love interest." He has even sent a love letter to the house, and flirts like mad. Do you know how much trouble we are in once this child hits junior high?!?!?

This is one of Caroline's closest friends. His family was literally one of the first we met when we moved to Boston. These two took a year of gym classes together as 2-year-olds, went to playschool together as 3-year-olds, and are in the same class this and next year. Our families also feed to the same elementary school, so I hope these two will be buddies for a looooong time.

It was a sweet day, although I'm not sure if there were more tears shed for the end of preschool or the start of a long summer entertaining our children!

He'll Be a Great Dad Someday...

Caroline has a friend over, and while William was napping they were playing dolls. After his nap, William and I were cuddling on the couch when he noticed that a baby doll was on his workbench. He sat up, scowled, and said "baby on my bench??" He ran for his bench screaming "no baby on my bench! No baby no!" and threw her on the floor.

I think we need to work on his nurturing skills. :)