buffalo

Snowboarder's sister, Sarah graduated from law school (wootwoot!) this past weekend up in Buffalo, NY so we all took a trip out there to see her. We flew out Friday afternoon after little nael's last-day-of-school picnic and we didn't get in till after 11pm EST. Yuck!

The following day, we headed out to Buffalo in the early afternoon. It was a looong graduation ceremony but the kids hung out with snowboarder, Nonny and Tita Amy in the lobby while Papa John, Danny and I stayed to listen to the speeches. One of them given by the Prime Minister of Kenya!

The dinner celebration was at an Italian restaurant with Danny's parents joining us which was nice. Then, Sarah and Danny took us to an ice cream shop for dessert which nael loved!

picnic

Yesterday was little nael's last day of school and this morning, the school had a class potluck picnic at Applewood Park. Nael had so much fun in the playground with all of her school friends...riding the merry-go-round, going up and down the slides, and running around in the park! Baby J had fun too and wanted to do everything that big sis was doing at the playground.

school girl friends

Little nael had all her girl classmates come over today. A total of 7 girls at home all in aprons for a day of baking cookies and making muffin pizzas for lunch. Baby j was the only boy and was loving it. With the help of Allie's mom, the girls measured the cookie ingredients and mixed them in the bowl. While the cookie dough was cooling in the freezer, the girls played in the backyard with Allie's mom watching over them while I prepped their pizza ingredients. Then they were back in the kitchen, armed with cookie cutters shaped like hearts, bugs and animals. As the cookies were baking in the oven, the girls then made pizza muffins. It looked like all the girls enjoyed themselves. I know nael did.

tiny town

Took the kids to Tiny Town this morning and met up with snowboarder's sister, Liz and cousin Teddy. Little nael and Teddy played in the playground for a little bit then they both rode the little red caboose while Liz and I along with baby j sat a few rows in front of the caboose. Nael's friend, Allie also joined us on the train with her mom, Tanja. Teddy had to go home soon after but we stayed a while longer and had lunch with Allie and Tanja. As a treat, we also had ice cream and for the first time, little nael finished her ice cream twist right down to the last bite! Feeling re-energized, little nael and Allie headed back towards the playground, stopping along the way to play in and out of the tiny houses/buildings. At the playground, all 3 kids got on a swing at the same time and baby j actually stayed in the swing for a long time. Finally, the kids got tired and we all called it a day. Final stop....the gift shop to buy a small train to replace the old Tiny Town train we bought last year that is now broken.

little nael is not so little

Little nael had her 4 year well check up with her fave doc, Dr. Jodi. Nael's stats today were, 38 lbs. and 42 1/2 inches tall!! She's in the 70th percentile for weight and a not surprisingly 95th percentile in height. She had a fun time with Dr. J today, laughing out loud together and giving out silly answers to Dr. J's questions. "Nael, do you have dinner with your family or with your friends?", asks Dr. J. "I go out with my friends", says nael then they both burst out laughing with Dr. J asking, "Do you drive or take a taxi?" and nael responding, "I take a taxi". This goes on for a while and on our way home, nael tells me she thinks Dr. J is silly just like her!

teeth

Little nael had her 4 yr old dental check up today and she was a trooper. She was actually pretty excited to go and kept asking me when she was going to see the dentist. Last year, Dr Sean just checked her teeth with no cleaning. This time, after getting her teeth checked and counted by Dr. Sean, Mr. Taylor, the dental assistant who was very nice, cleaned nael's teeth and also gave her a flouride treatment. Little nael didn't flinch at all and seemed very relaxed while she lay on the examining bed. Afterwards, Mr. Taylor gave her a Princess toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss to take home. She was also given a choice of a purple tshirt or an insulated lunch bag as a birthday present. I was hoping she'd pick the lunch bag but since her favorite color is purple...

Before we left the dental office, nael played around for a little bit in the play castle where there were costumes, hats, books and toys. She tried on a few costumes and was having fun pretending to be a clown, a princess and a witch.

putt, putt

Was a beautiful sunny day today! The kids and I went to Vitamin Cottage this morning then headed to our neighborhood park to meet one of nael's friends. Our timing was off because by the time we got there at noon, there was no one at the park. We stayed anyway for a little bit. Little nael played in the playground while I fed baby j his lunch and basked in the warmth of the sun. Later in the afternoon, while waiting for baby j to wake from his nap, Allie came over with her mom and hung out with nael in the playroom. Afterwards, we all went to the mall to play miniature golf at Putting Edge. Now this is no ordinary place to play mini golf, Putting Edge is basically an indoor Glow in the Dark mini golf and arcade. Not surprisingly, as soon as we walked in, nael was pretty excited to see everything glowing in bright neon colors. Since this was nael's first time to play, we had to tell her what to do. Then the 2 girls were off, putting away while Tanja and I along with baby j in the stroller followed. We didn't bother taking score, as both kids were too busy putting and running around the nooks and crannies of every hole. We managed to get done in less than an hour and both kids still wanted to play more. Baby j, on the other hand, was mesmerized by all the neon glowing signs and shapes that he didn't even squirm out of the stroller.

haircut

I gave in. Snowboarder has been wanting baby j to get a haircut for the last few weeks. He thinks baby j has a mullet. I, on the other hand, love baby j's curls in the back and don't want to cut it. I think it's kinda cute! So, finally, snowboarder said he'd do it himself or take baby j somewhere for a haircut. I told snowboarder I'd cut it myself but needed him to distract baby j while I do it. So we planned on doing it this past weekend. Well, this weekend came and went. Snowboarder had to work a few hours on Saturday and was busy with his "noisy car" (as little nael refers to snowboarder's 1972 Porsche) all day Sunday. And so today, I finally did it. I gave in and cut baby j's hair. Snowboarder was at work so with a little help from little nael, I had baby j on his high chair and snipped away...

sisters

Snowboarder's sisters, Amy and Sarah are arriving this week and little nael is pretty excited. Sarah is arriving on Tuesday amd Amy is arriving on Wednesday. The sisters are here to celebrate nael's 4th birthday and to see cousin Teddy as well. Frick and Frack are celebrating their birthday together so we are having a carnival-themed double birthday celebration on Saturday, May 9th.