New Jersey Trip

Last month, we went to New Jersey for a few days to see Jeff's parents. Jeff and I were able to get away for a couple of days by ourselves while the kids stayed with Mimi and Papa. We went to Long Island, NY and spent some time exploring the beaches of Montauk and the Hamptons. We love traveling without our kids from time to time!! Thanks, Mimi and Papa!

While we were in NJ, we took the kids to the Jersey shore. On our way to Ocean City, we stopped to see "Lucy the Elephant," this enormous elephant statue where you can pay money to climb to the top. We skipped the tour and just took the picture. Little kids seem to think she's cool...otherwise, I'm not sure I really see the point of an elephant statue on the beach. But maybe that's just me. However, we did come away with a nifty wind-up elephant toy that Kaitlyn loves.

After our visit with Lucy, we went to Ocean City to explore the boardwalk and the beach. We found a place with rides, and Kaitlyn was in heaven. For the first time, she rode some of the kiddie rides by herself and was quite proud of herself too!

Some rides are just more fun with other people. Like this cool Thomas the Train ride that went over and around the whole amusement park. I think Papa liked it too.

Kaitlyn had been looking forward to going to the beach all day. But when we finally got there, she wasn't so sure about the sand and water. The only way she would get close at first is to be held.

Ethan looking super hip in his shades :)

We tried to cajole Kaitlyn to dip her feet in the water. Then we tried to lead her there by her hand. You can see how well that went! She was having NONE of it!

The ocean in New Jersey wasn't exactly warm in early May. In fact, it was so cold that it made your feet hurt after a while. Ethan wasn't quite sure what to make of all the new sensations. But as always, he just went with the flow.

Mommy and Ethan.

Finally toward the end, she got brave and went close to the water. But only because she thought it was fun to scoop up a shovel of sand and dump it into the ocean. Notice that she's careful not to get in the water.

And sweet little Ethan was so exhausted after our day of fun that he instantly fell asleep on top of his teddy bear when we got back to Mimi and Papa's house.

We were excited that we were going to be in NJ on a Sunday so that we could go to the church where Jeff grew up. After church, some of Jeff's longtime friends (and their families) came over for lunch. It was pretty crazy with all the kids, but lots of fun too! We had a blast catching up with people that we don't see very often.

Somehow we ended up with lots of pictures from the beach, but not so many pictures of the kids just hanging out with the grandparents and great-grandparents. We'll do a better job next time!

Kaitlyn's Birthday Party

We had Kaitlyn's birthday party yesterday at our church's pavilion and playground. While the skies were sunny, the temps were a little chilly and it was very windy. To give you an idea of what I was dealing with, the balloons in the picture above are helium balloons and are supposed to be vertical, not horizontal. Fortunately, I had a big roll of duct tape with me and was able to tape down the plastic tablecloths.

The kids headed to the playground and ran off some energy before lunch. They had the whole church playground to themselves.

What is it about swinging on one's tummy that is so fun??

Kaitlyn and her friends enjoying lunch.

Those of you who know Kaitlyn know how much she loves anything having to do with transportation. So when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted this year, she never wavered from a Cars cake. So I paired pink and green girly decorations with a black and red Cars cake :) I don't think we'll be winning any awards for color coordination this year!

We moved one of the tables out into the warm sun for the birthday cake celebration. True to form, Kaitlyn ate all of her icing first, and then she ate her cake.

After the party, we went back home and Kaitlyn got to open more birthday presents from Gran and Papa Bell. It was like Christmas in May! Now let the process of de-spoiling begin :)

One last birthday story...this morning was Birthday Sunday at our church, a time when all the kids with a birthday in May go up on stage and the congregation sings Happy Birthday to them and then says a prayer. Kaitlyn was one of the first kids on stage so she stood front and center the whole time, fidgeting with the bottom of her dress and looking very cute. Everything was fine until the end of the prayer. When we all opened our eyes, there stood my sweet, innocent little girl, at the front of the stage, with the edge of her dress pulled up high all the way to her chest, showing the whole congregation her pink bloomers. Jeff and I burst into uncontrollable laughter while one of the teachers graciously helped her pull down her dress. And she had no idea what had just happened as she happily ran off the stage to enjoy some birthday cake. I love the precious innocence of childhood!

Friends

Last week, Kaitlyn had lots of fun hanging out with Hannah B. at our house, while I got to spend time with her mom Rebekah and precious baby Elanor. The girls played really well together and were quite content to play on their own with minimal assistance from the moms (which gave Rebekah and I a chance to enjoy adult conversation!). They spent most of the time outside playing on the swing set or investigating other interesting things in the yard before reluctantly taking a break to come inside for lunch. We're already looking forward to the next play date!

Kaitlyn is Three!

Somehow my little baby girl turned three years old today. I'm not sure how this day could have come so quickly. But if you ask her how old she is, she dutifully holds up three little fingers and proudly states that she is "frwee." So I guess it must be true.

Last night, we made cupcakes for her preschool birthday celebration. For someone who doesn't really enjoy baking (cooking, yes--baking, no), I had fun making these festive little things. Thanks, Pillsbury, for packaging the icing and sprinkles together. Brilliant! :)

Kaitlyn loves cupcakes. When she got up this morning, I asked her if she wanted some special birthday eggs for breakfast--a rarity on preschool mornings when we're usually rushing to get out the door. She politely said, "No, I'll just have a cupcake." (by the way, she did not get a cupcake for breakfast!)

In Kaitlyn's preschool class, the kids get to wear a special "birthday cape" on their special day. She'd been watching other kids wear it throughout the year and was excited about finally getting her turn.

Enjoying a cupcake in class...

...and enjoying another one at home. Since her official birthday party (and cake) is on Saturday, we just had a mini-celebration at home after dinner. I put three candles in a cupcake and let her blow them out.

And she got to open gifts...with a curious little brother watching her every move.

Ethan was pretty content with the leftover packaging.

One of her presents was a tent/tunnel contraption. She had a blast crawling through the tunnel and hiding in the tent before bed. And when I'm ready to put it away, it collapses flat and takes up very little space--a must for our house!

The birthday festivities will continue this weekend, so I'll post pictures of that in a few days. And hopefully I'll find some time to blog soon about our New Jersey trip and other fun things. But until then, Happy Birthday Sweet Kaitlyn!!!!!