Visit With Friends

Joe's long time friend Matt, and his family visited our house on their way to their vacation further North in Maine. We always have a nice time visiting with them and this year, Matt's youngest daughter Emma was rather taken by Cooper and he loved playing with her as well. Cooper is still recovering from his surgery and has to wear his ever adorable cone so that he can't get to his incision. We had a nice cookout for dinner, complete with incredible downpours for about 5 minutes, just as Joe was beginning to cook!

Rockin' Out

Laina earned this new guitar. It took her two weeks of stellar behavior to earn this reward and she definitely worked hard for it! She's having a great time playing with it and she makes me want to sign us both up for guitar lessons!

"4"

Laina is progressing wonderfully with her writing skills. She can write all her letters and has started showing interest in writing numbers now. I love how you can see her concentrating so hard in the first picture. And she's written some beautiful fours....just in time for her upcoming fourth birthday!

Gardening and Sprinkler Fun!

Laina, Daddy and I headed outside on this wonderfully gorgeous day and enjoyed the sunshine (finally!). We did a little bit of gardening and then when that was done, we broke out the sprinkler and Laina and Daddy had fun getting wet! Afterward we headed in for lunch and then went out for an ice cream cone! A perfect summer day in Maine!

Emily's 1st Birthday Party

And just like that, little Emily is turning one. How does this happen? Where does the time go? We had a great time at Emily's party, visiting with everyone and wishing the birthday girl a happy fun day. The weather was great, the food was wonderful, the company was fun and we had a super day. Laina had such a fun time playing with Tess and Olivia and the girls looked rather adorable in their matching outfits!

Sunflowers and Healing Feet

Laina and Daddy are growing sunflowers. They hope to have sunflowers this big in the backyard, but these came from a floral arrangement that Di & Tom gave us. Laina really likes the big beautiful sunflowers and wanted to play with them.


Joe broke his toe the day before Father's Day. He's getting better but its a long slow healing process. He has to wear this delightful boot and every day I tape three of his toes together. Laina is my assistant and helps me out. Even Cooper is getting used to the morning routine and doesn't try to bite the tape anymore! Laina wanted to be just like Daddy and came down wearing two different shoes and only one sock on one foot. And of course, they both have on their Steelers Superbowl Champion t-shirts. CUTE!

Boo Wins Reward!

A few months ago we started using this responsibility and reward chart. We've had good success with controlling some of the behavioral issues that have emerged with our wonderful little three year old. Laina's responsibilities are listed on the left and include: be nice, take bath, use the potty right before bed, no accidents at school, table manners, brush teeth, first time and say please and thank you. For the most part Laina earns all her magnets. The ones she tends to struggle with are "be nice", which means yelling and/or arguing with Mommy & Daddy and "first time", which means she's not doing something the first time we tell her. This chart represents a near perfect week and Laina was very proud of herself. At the end of the week, Mommy and Daddy discuss how Laina did overall and decide if she earns a reward at the end of the week. Last week she earned a reward and she chose to purchase a new battery operated Cinderella toothbrush that spins when you turn it on. Good Job Laina!!!

Laina and Her Boyz

Today, Laina and I went over to Karla's house and enjoyed a play date with Karla, Colby, Cassie and Max. We had a nice afternoon together including a delicious lunch! Colby has some pretty cool ride on toys so the kids definitely had a blast. And finally, we could enjoy some sunshine - ahhh!

Laina and Colby play cars and computer

Laina and Colby with Colby's very cool train

Laina having fun with a puzzle.

Tooling around!

More riding!

Just chillin' at the end of a fun day

4th of July Fun!

We had a relaxing Fourth of July and did it up, "Maine Style". First the annual parade at Ocean Park, then we toured a few lighthouses, then back home to have lobster dinner! RED lobsters, WHITE crashing waves at the ocean, BLUE sky above the lighthouses! The only thing we forgot to include was any fireworks! We usually only watch them on TV but this year opted for renting movies instead.

At the parade

Spring Point Lighthouse

Spring Point

Mommy anxious about the huge gaps between rocks. Laina having fun!

On the stairs near Portland Headlight

Mommy & Laina at Portland Headlight

Daddy & Laina at Portland Headlight

LOBSTERS FOR DINNER! DELISH!