Another summer winding down, another birthday coming!

6! We are going to host a party for friends at Benner's Farm in East Setauket... Still pricey, but at least outdoors!

To catch up on events of late - after the passing of the greatest dog EVER, Sunny Bun; then her daughter, Willow; then the wee one, Clementine - we are with two rescues: Indiana Bones, a feisty elder Boston Terrier and Cadbury, the big, young, goofball Chocolate Lab. Papi has come to terms with the newest family members and all is very very well.

Loli has spent most of her summer at day camp - Camp Harbor located at the Harbor Country Day School. Talk about a lovely place of learning. If money were no object we would send her here for sure - such nuturing and community. She has thoroughly enjoyed every day there.

I'll b e back in a few weeks to review the birthday bash - with pictures!

Over a year!?!

SCANDALOUS!!

it's May 24, 2014 and Miss Lola is now 4 years, 8 months old. she's still a tiny little thing, but has not recognized that as any kind of impediment and is as rough and tumble as any of the other bigger [but mostly, younger] kids in her preschool.

we [Scott and I] did, however, make the decision to have Lola undergo some testing to determine whether or not she was making all of the proper amounts of grow juice - for her. the tests were not pleasant and mostly scary, and, in the end, we learned that she is healthy, but not making nearly enough growth hormone on her own. 

it boiled down to making the choice of either committing to a lengthy program of nightly synthetic hormone injections to make up the deficit. or not.

we chose:

armed with her beloved blanket, a variety of band aids, and after much delay [blame the weak parents here] we took the plunge together. 

time will tell how effective the program will be - in the meantime, she is sleeping more soundly and eating [and pooping] more than ever.  

Where does the time go?

Always fun with Jack & Mindy! Burke Family Reunion: York, Maine

3rd Birthday: Trenton, Maine

Lights out! Hurricane Sandy, 10/2012

Giordano's Christmas 2012

Memory making with the Blossoms: San Francisco, CA, February 2013

Big Snow! - The Blizzard of 2/10/13!

Christmas Angel MMXII

Carrying on a tradition that we started when Lola was born, here's this years version of our Christmas angel.  Feel free to print it out and make it your tree topper too!

She will not let us do this when she's 15 so we need to take advantage now

pffffbbbt!!

Lola is three years old this Christmas. She's very full of herself  and wants to do everything on her own. Lately, as she is still potty training, she's been wearing Dora the Explorer big girl underwear over her pull-ups, jumping everywhere, talking up a storm, and she no longer wants things, she neeeeeds them.  Her latest favorite thing is punctuating her sentences with loud pfffbbbts and having dueling pfffbbts matches with her daddy. Here she is in action, on our trip home with the Christmas tree.

Class picture

It's very nice to have a class picture day where everyone gets dressed up and someone besides us is taking a picture of Lola with a real camera, not their phone!

Lola at 2 1/2 years old

First time using the potty

Lately, many of the toddlers at daycare are getting potty trained and all the kids are given an opportunity to sit and give it a try around changing time.  So we decided to put her potty in her bedroom and offer her a chance to sit when we change her diaper, emulating the  daycare center. She'd occasionally sit on it fully clothed, or more often, sit one of her dolls on it to give it a try. 

Yesterday, without any prompting, Lola asked if she could sit on the potty. We took off pants and diaper and she sat down and just smiled at me as we passed the time.  I asked her if she was pooping and made the intense face she gets while pooping, she emulated me, grunted a bit and we were both surprised to hear the sound of pee hitting the bowl!  Afterwards we both took a good look at her handiwork and had a congratulatory ice pop to celebrate.  Yay for milestones!!!