Father's day and Uncle Mike's 30th birthday

They were on the same day so we spent the day at Nana and Papa's house. All afternoon all Jackson could talk about were the cakes.

Maddie got her finger in there...with a little encouragement from Daddy.

Jackson could hardly contain himself.

Maddie

Maddie loves to jump and spin.

I knew it!

I'm just glad I have something to back it up with now. I got this off the channel 5 news website. I first heard of this from a fellow blogger but everyone else thought I was nuts.

BOSTON -- Experts are urging parents to keep their children in a rear-facing car seat longer than they might realize.
When Imani Stewart showed up at a car seat safety check with her 1-year-old son, she received some surprising news.
"I just found out that he has to stay rear-facing up to 35 pounds," she said.
Like most parents, Jacob's mom was familiar with the American Academy of Pediatric recommendation that says infants should stay rear-facing in their car seat until age 1 or 20 pounds.
But safety experts said many parents are unaware of new advice, calling for toddlers to stay rear-facing as long as the seat allows, which is often up to 35 pounds in most car seats.
"About half are turning them around too soon," child safety instructor Jonathan Otero said.
"We advise, if they can, stay rear-facing longer it will provider better protection," injury prevention program director Erin Christiansen said.
There's mounting evidence to back that up.
"Children who are sitting forward-facing have a 75 percent increased risk of serious injury or death compared to sitting rear-facing," said Dr. Lois Lee, of Boston Children's Hospital. "In a front-end crash, the head and the neck really go forward quite a bit, and you can image how they can get head and spinal cord injuries. If you're sitting rear-facing and you're in a crash, the car seat really protects the head and the spinal cord."
Many parents still question if their child's legs will be at risk of injury in a rear-facing seat. But safety experts say no.
"Don't worry about the legs. They're not going to break," Otero said.
"They do find ways to put their legs up or have them out to the side," Lee said.

The House of the Seven Gables in Salem

I've been given an exciting opportunity to create some products to sell in the museum store of the House of the Seven Gables. I'm working on some ideas with the museum but for now I need to get some good photos to choose from. Here's what I've got so far. It's mostly from the beautiful gardens on the property.

Video

MVI_6914, originally uploaded by Kerry Goodwin Photography.

This explains the current sate of Madison's broken crib.

Video

MVI_6913, originally uploaded by Kerry Goodwin Photography.

Cute conversation

Video

MVI_6912, originally uploaded by Kerry Goodwin Photography.

This video is from a few weeks ago. Just some giggling and an example of how it's OK for Maddie to push Jackson. He thinks it's hilarious.

27 Months

Dear Madison and Jackson,

We've had a lot of fun this month. I love the times we spend playing around, like when we do airplanes and I lift you up in the air with my feet and fly you around. Or when I kiss your cheeks over and over and you laugh so hard. Or when you take turns running into my arms over and over. I just love how fun and happy you both are.

That's not to say you don't both have your share of not so good moments. This month I feel like we've had a bit of a setback as far as your independence goes. Basically if you're awake you're insisting on food, drink, or to be sitting or playing with me. It's so hard to get anything done. I just keep telling myself it won't be like this for long and I'll miss it when it's gone.

Nap time isn't a guarantee every day anymore and that's a little depressing for me. I think Jackson would take one every day but Madison seems to stay up for over an hour after going down. Some days I have to go in and get Madison after Jackson has fallen asleep and lay down with her in my bed to get her to sleep.

New this month is the announcement of passing gas. This is always delightful when in the middle of Trader Joes Jackson exclaims loudly, "I fuf (fluffed)!!!" followed by a jolly laugh. You also announce it when the other one does it.

Bath time is still a nightmare. You both love run to the bath when I say "who wants to take a bath??" but getting your hair wet and rinsing it is torturous for all three of us. Auntie Rachael gave us a bucket that she used for Nichole that lets you pour the water without it going in your face. I'm still trying but so far you hate that more than the cup I use.

Dear Jackson,

I swear every day you get cuter and more fun. You really enjoy making people laugh so you will wait to see if someone is laughing at something you're doing and then you'll do it again. You absolutely love the kitty and insist on holding her any time you see her. Luckily she has never hissed at or scratched or bitten you even when you're laying on top of her.

A couple weeks ago at Auntie Rachael's house you figured out that if you rode a little trike up a hill a little bit that you'd be able to gain speed by going down. You were in heaven and did it over and over and over. Once the bigger kids saw you doing it they decided to go to the very top of the pretty steep driveway and do it too. They went so fast it was scaring me but they knew how to control the little car. Once you saw them at the top you made your way up there too. I followed behind you holding onto the back to slow you down. Once you figured out I was doing that you wouldn't let me near you! You did end up going down on your own and it was really scary for me especially since you were headed straight for the basketball hoop pole and crashed into it. Luckily you were fine. Yesterday you realized that you could ride your trike down our walkway into the driveway. Thankfully it's not very steep so i don't worry about it and you absolutely love it.

You are making such an effort to talk. You're pretty much able to ask for anything you want. I understand everything you say but I'm not surprised that no one else does. For instance for some unexplainable reason fire truck is "effay truck". I'll say, "say fire". You'll say, "fire". I'll say, "say fire truck". You'll say, "effay truck". And you think all red vehicles or all vehicles with flashing lights are effay trucks.

There is a PF Changs right near our house with the big horse statues outside. For months whenever we passed it you would exclaim, "COWS!" and I'd say, "those are horses". Finally this month you started saying "horhees".

You're definitely putting two words together now and generally speaking all of the time. You do still whine a lot but I'm always able to get you to say what you want before I get it for you.

I just bought you fake crocs for the summer and they are a size 7/8 and are a bit too big. You're wearing 2T or 3T shirts and 24 month shorts. You are still such a picky eater although you always eat great if you're not with daddy or me.

Dear Madison,

You are such a perky little thing. I love it when you skip around the house or the yard. Sometimes you'll skip around singing a little tune then look at me and get all embarrassed, giggle and run away.

Today you started asking the same question over and over, even if you clearly knew the answer. For instance "where's my cup?" when it was in your hand followed by the same question 20 seconds later. You've been asking where Mommy or Daddy is even if we're right next to you!

I would really appreciate it if you would stop partying in your crib and TAKE A NAP!!

Your fake crocs are a size 5/6 and fit you just right. Your pants are still 18 months but I've been buying you 2T shirts. They're a little big but not bad.

Daddy taught you that if you get a boo boo he will kiss it. Now anytime you even bump yourself you whine "KISS it!"

First ice cream cone

I've never done ice cream in cones before because I just didn't want to deal with the mess. Last Tuesday the kids spent a little time with Auntie Charlotte while I worked on a project near her house in Salem. She walked all over with them in her wagon and even met Uncle Paul for lunch. When I was done with my project I was able to meet up with them at the restaurant. Paul went back to work and Charlotte and I walked the kids back to their house. On the way we stopped for ice cream. I was right about the mess :-) It was worth it though.

Weather

While I was writing all of my posts below it crossed my mind that I should write about the weather and then Shannon just asked about it so here goes.

Besides last Saturday we have had a good two weeks of 65 degree weather. It's been rainy and grey and we've been wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts. Some days I try to rebel and wear summer clothes but I always regret it. I refuse to wear anything but my flip flops though.

8 years ago tomorrow Chris and I got married. The week before our wedding we were in an extreme heat wave. 98 degrees and crazy high humidity. This time of year is usually in the 80s but this year is messing with us. This is usually the kind of weather we get in May.

This is the second Tuesday in a row that we have not been able to go to the beach.

Playing in the yard

Last week I noticed a bird had built a nest up in the playhouse on top of the steering wheel. I mentioned it to Chris and he said "I'll take it down later". I said "NO!! You can't take it down! That bird worked really hard!" I bet she was also on a schedule because I checked in it yesterday to find these little eggs :-)

A good game of peek-a-boo out the playhouse windows is always a great photo opportunity.

We took the baby swings down so now there are 3 big kid swings. They just love to swing like this. They know to twist the swing around to make them spin around. They especially love it when they bump into each other. They think it is hilarious.

Kitty Love

Jackson is officially in love with the kitty. Any time he sees her he wants to pick her up. I'm still amazed how tolerant she is.

Kisses for the kitty

Love this one!

Graduation party for Olivia and Emily

Two of our cousins graduated on Sunday so they had a joint party at Olivia's house. Unfortunately it was a cold damp day but it didn't slow down the kids from running around playing in the yard for hours. There are a lot of young cousins and they all played so well with Madison and Jackson. It was so cute to see them playing and interacting with them.

Jackson eyeing the cake. I had to drag him away crying.

As soon as we parked the car that day Madison decided to throw up all over herself. Lovely. Luckily I had brought a sweater for her that she wasn't wearing yet.

They had a massive tarp over the entire back yard!

David and Rob (dad to Gracie and Gavin)

Jackson was in heaven with all of the attention and wrestling opportunities.

The graduates. They were 7 when I met them!

The kids played until after it was dark out. Madison and Jackson's cheeks were so red from all the exercise and they were all sweaty even though it was so cold out.

Fire truck parade and splashing in the pool

Last weekend we met Grandma in Lynnfield for the annual fire truck parade. Madison and Jackson kept saying truck over and over.

Chris as usual wasn't thrilled that I was taking pictures.

We were parked at a school that has a great playground so we let the kids play there for a while before heading home and filling the pool with water.

It was one of those days where it was hot in the sun but chilly in the shade.

Fun in the bedroom

The kids love to play in their bedroom. The other day they decided to get in the bookcase (which hasn't had books in it since they learned to crawl). I think my camera was on manual focus without me realizing it.

This is one of their new tricks. Maddie can get up but she can't get down.

Jumping like a crazy monkey clutching the coveted lens cap.

Being tickled.

Gram and Gramp's 60th Anniversary

On Sunday my mom and I took the kids to Fitchburg for a cookout to celebrate my grandparent's 60th anniversary.

My uncle had found a baby bird on the lawn so my cousin had been taking care of it.

There were also a bunch of birthdays to celebrate. Cousin Shelly let Madison and Jackson take turns blowing out the candles.

Jackson loved the cake.




60 years = 4 children, 6 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, 1 great great grandchild

Jackson was eyeing my cousin Jeff's motorcycle in the driveway the entire time we were there. They were both pretty happy when they got the chance to sit on it.

This is cousin Scott's granddaughter who is 4 months older than Madison and Jackson. She was at my baby shower :-)