Cookie Monster!!!

Day Trip with the Mamas! 

3 Mamas and their little ones headed over to Sesame Place for the day.  It was a great time, and the park is very well laid out for the kids.  A nice mixture of both water and dry rides.  

I wasn't sure how J would do with the characters, but my mind was quickly put at ease.  Upon entering the park we rolled right up to Count Dracula and Zoey and as soon as J saw them, she wanted out of her stroller.  She walked right up to them and seemed to find them more fascinating than anything.   All the kids had a really good time and we'll def. be back another year.

The 3 Amigos on their way to the carousel.  

Cookie Monster!!! The face says it all 

ohhhhhhhhhhh! So excited 

Right up at the stage to watch them all dance. This however, was not close enough.  J took a walk over to the stairs to get on stage with her furry friends. 

The water park section- a lot of fun! 

Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Rain, oh my!

NY has had a very busy week- Wednesday we had an earthquake and on Saturday a hurricane touched down.  Thankfully, we were untouched by both, but it certainly was a busy week!   The earthquake center was all the way down in Virginia, so we only had shock waves up here, but for a city that hasn't had one in well over 15 years, it was a bit shocking.  Buildings downtown all evacuated, and as J and I returned from our walk along the seaport we found our streets flooded with people.  After 9-11, the buildings don't take any chances and immediately get everyone out, so J and I came upstairs, grabbed our emergency info bag and headed to Battery Park, the lowest area of downtown.

That same low lying area would be cause for concern in just a few days as hurricane Irene came up through the Carolina's.   Friday there was a mandatory evacuation of all Zone A areas of downtown.  This ment all streets up to Gold Street and wrapping around the tip of Manhattan.  All the news reports pointed to this happening, so we had packed up and left Thursday evening, heading to PA.   Thankfully, the hurricane didn't hit us to hard, only causing slight flooding in our direct area (south street had some flooding), but many parts of NY, NJ, Conn and VT weren't so lucky.  

Currently, Woodstock, VT, where Stephanie lives is completely under water.  With no water or electricity, clean up could be awhile.

21 Months

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity.  Between time down at the Jersey Shore, spending a few days out on Long Island to watch Logan and Piper, two weddings, and our normal activities, J's been a trooper.   Here are some of her updates:

Sleeping: We tried to move her down to one nap, but she seems to still do best with 2 naps a day.  The first is usually 1.5-2hrs and the second around an hour to 1.5hrs.   She is an excellent sleeper, although she will occasionally fight sleeping in the car.  Her must haves when sleeping are her buddies Pooh and Minnie and her binky.

Food:  "Oaaaattmmmeeeaalllll" is what can usually be heard before any meal time in the Donlan house.  Jocelyn is on a huge Oatmeal fix and although will accept other foods, this is usually her first request.   She's been going through some ups and downs with the amounts she eats, and is a bit of a grazer.  She will have just a few bites, then give us the "all done", go down and come back 5 mins later for a bite.  J's always very interested in what others are eating and if she even suspects you have something better than her, she'll go in for a bite.

Playing: As previously mentioned, "Playroom" time (playing by herself in her room) is going great.  We are up to 30 minutes and J seems to be enjoying this alone time.   She has also started to really interact with other kids (and cousins).  When at the playground, she'll watch what the other kids are doing first, and then slowly head over to give it a try.    With Logan, she just jumps right in (literally). 

Speaking:  J doesn't stop talking.... ever.  She is onto full 3-4 work sentences and is a full blown parrot.  If you say something, she is sure to be repeating it.  J has even begun over the last week or so, to sing.  We'll hear her in her room, or in the backseat, practicing the songs she knows.  Have to say, she carries a pretty good tune!

Toys: Jocelyn is very into her shoes and buckles right now.  She'll spend a solid amount of time trying to get shoes on and off, and will also sit with a seat buckle (from her high chair or stroller) and work on clicking it on and off.

Dressing:  J is becoming more opinionated about what she wants to wear, although she is distractible and doesn't put up to much of a fight.  The outfit she wants will usually have flowers that are "pretty". She is also very into her shoes and will even take yours on and off your own feet.

Funny Antics: *When J sees a picture of herself, she gets very excited and says "youuuuu!" With time we figure she'll figure out you is really me.
*  J was spending a few days at Mima and Pop-pops while Chris and I were up at Linda's wedding.  She was napping when we arrived to pick her up, so when she woke up, I went upstairs to get her.  Upon opening the door, she shot up out of her pack & play and began to excitedly point at the door and yell "Burrtooooonnnn!  Burt, Burt, Burt, Burt....."  she heard him downstairs and needed to see him immediately (even before Mommy or Daddy).  True love!

Flower girl Debut

Chris's good friend Lance got married this past weekend and asked if both Chris and Jocelyn could be in the wedding party.  Chris had a tough time making it down the aisle, but J aced it ;)

Our little Flower girl 

The Best Man and Flower girl 

Lance and his groomsmen, Chad and Chris 

Concentrating very hard on those flowers 

Jocelyn did well, and made it down the aisle once Daddy came and took her hand.   

Lance and Ashley 

A little rain doesn't stop this party! 

Big smiles for her Daddy! 

"Yeaaaa Seaside!"

We were fortunate to get back down to the shore for another long weekend and a great visit.  J was a lot more at ease with the sand and was quite comfortable playing in the waves! She wanted to sit down at the shore line and have them come up over her, and even when one splashed in her face, she just laughed.  "Yeaaaa Beach!" (one of her cheers)

"Walk with Nana!"  J had a blast walking the shore line and picking up shells with her Nana

Second time around J was much happier with the sand.  Notice, she even has her shoes off! 

Beach baby! 

Lazy Day's of Summer

This has been a wonderful summer! Full of warm/hot days, small pools and lots of running around.  Wednesdays were our designated "Long Island" days and we went out first to visit with Mysh and the girls and then once she went back to work, just over to Mima's to help out as she watched the girls for the month of August.  

I had the 'privilege' of watching all 3 girls for 2 days while Mima and Pop-pop were up in Boston.  With a bit of juggling, and some help from my friends (thank you Danielle, Candice and Missy!) we made it through.  

These are some pictures of the last few weeks out on Long Island.  

Getting ready for some pool time 

Mima helps fill up the buckets of water 

Slate boards! 

"Now I've got them!" J LOVES Logan's shoes (well she loves all shoes, but especially anything that is Logans) 

Success! She got them on! 

Logan was kind enough to share, and allowed J to keep one on.  Rest time with the Mickey cups.  Notice the similarly bruised knees on the girls 

Piper taking it all in - 3mos 

Logan, Piper, Emmerson and J.  It rained for a few hours that day, and Danielle and I were very thankful we have only calm girls! They were quite happy having tea parties, dancing around and working on puzzles 

Piper is a very happy and easy-going baby. Loves to just watch the older girls play 

Playroom time

We started doing Independent playtime with J a few months back.  It started with playpen time, and a few weeks ago, moved onto room time.  The transition was rough at first- the first week she cried and screamed for most of the 20 min.  We took a break when we went down the shore, and upon returning, J has turned the corner.  Yesterday she actually asked for "playroom time" and dragged the gate over to her door.  Big improvement from having my super asking "is everything OK with Jocelyn?"

At the moment, she does 30 minutes of room time each morning after breakfast, and spends most of her time with puzzles and her toys. 

As a reminder to myself, I'd say just stick with it because they get used to it after a few days and just like in her playpen, begin to enjoy this alone time.

*mid August- J now not only requests "Playroom time", but pulls out the fence on her own and today, looked up at me said "kiss" and then went right over to her toy box to start playing.   Next to CIO, this is the best thing I've ever implemented  with her.