Fun in the Summer Sun

Well, now that Jason has started back to work, we are settling into a nice routine. I've actually managed to work it out that going to the gym is part of our normal routine. Luckily, my gym has babysitting included so I pack up the girls and head off for my workout. Plus, it gives the kids some time out of the house and a chance to socialize with other children. Jason is enjoying his new job ( I think he likes the time away from the insanity in our house ) and the chance to do a little exploring in the city. As for me, well, what can I really say about a day full of a teething toddler and a cranky infant...ahh, the joys of motherhood.

Update on the kids...Julia is getting smarter and smarter every day. She is picking up new words like crazy and even starting to string them together in phrases. She surprised us recently with a four-word sentence....she told the dog "That's not your ball!" We have also begun the potty training adventure. She is really good at going on the potty. It's the telling Mommy that she has to go, or caring that she wet herself part that she's not so good at. We've also been doing a lot of counting and learning colors. Another big surprise...Julia can count in Spanish. Go Dora The Explorer. I guess she is really paying attention.

Keira recently had her two month check-up and is doing well. She has grown like a champ. She now weighs 12 lb 12 oz and is 23.6 inches long. That puts her in the 90-95% for both length and weight. Her acid reflux is getting much better thanks to the help of Zantac and rice cereal. The colic is slowly fading as well which allows us to see the lovely little baby that Keira is. She smiles, coos, and laughs a lot more now. She is also sleeping through the night and even spent her first night in her crib. Quite an accomplishment when you consider she slept in her car seat for the past 7 weeks. Strangely enough, it was Julia that woke up and not Keira on the first night. Thanks to a little more sleep, all of the Neals are a little happier!

They really do love each other!

ahh, refreshing!

Julia LOVES corn! But only Jersey corn ;-) Believe it or not, we really are the "Garden State"

Miss Keira, just hanging out.

POTTY!

At our friends' son's birthday party.

Happy 1st Birthday Henry!!

Julia and Henry had a lot of fun playing together.

On the park choo-choo with Dada

Down the slide.

Up the slide.

Juice break!

Daddy and Keira at the park.

Kiss me....I'm Irish! And adorable!

Summer Vacation - Storybook Land

Well, we decided to take advantage of the end of Jason's layoff by going on a summer vacation. Nothing overly exciting, but a week at the shore. We were given the idea to go to Storybook Land while we were there. It was just a quick up the parkway and tada....out of nowhere...there it is. It was HOT that day. I mean HOT HOT HOT! We quickly discovered which rides Julia liked, and which ones she didn't. The ones that go around in spinning circles are a definite NO. She did have a blast, though, on the old time cars, the train, and the ferris wheel. Our favorite destination, however, was the North Pole. We had walked by it several times throughout the day and I thought it was just a cement post that had been painted white with a North Pole sign placed on top. Boy was I wrong...and grateful! It was solid ICE! What a nice way to cool down. We'll have to keep that in mind next time.

Daddy and Julia in front of the giant watering can.

Mommy and Julia on the carousel.

Daddy and Julia on the "Olde Tymer" cars.

This balloon ride was a no.

The flying dragons were a definite NO!

Thank goodness for ice cream. We needed a cool down break!

On the ferris wheel. She didn't mind this one.

Keira hanging out. She did really well considering the heat.

Julia at the Easter Bunny's House.

Ahh, relief! I would have hugged it if I wasn't holding Keira.

Julia wanted to lick it! She did think it was pretty cool, though.

Summer Vacation - The Pool and the Ice Cream

After our very hot and adventurous day at Storybook Land, we decided it was a good day to just relax a little. We spent most of the day in the air conditioning and doing fairly regular day to day things...watching Dora, coloring, reading, taking naps, etc. We ended up at the pool. Julia had fun in the shallow end, flirting with a boy...yes a boy (about 8 years old) who spoke only French. When she got cold, Daddy went for a swim and after that we went for ice cream. Make sure you look closely at Julia's cone as the pictures progress. We literally had to hose her down when she was done.

Monkey...ready to go swimming.

Jason taking advantage of a few kid free moments

Julia watching Daddy swim.

Mmmm, iceee cone (ice cream cone).

No idea how she got it on her forehead.

I can't believe it didn't fall off!

She figured out she'd never make it all the way through the ice cream, so just skipped ahead to the cone.

A hole in the cone...and what a jip on the ice cream!!! The cone was empty!

Daddy and Keira

Our little sweet pea!

Summer Vacation - Lake Day

We spent one afternoon at the lake. Julia loved the lake! The water was mostly shallow so she could go way out and still be able to touch. She got very comfortable in the water. Maybe a little too comfortable. And, we've discovered that her flirting skills are becoming more adept. She seems to have a preference for little French-Canadian boys.

Julia wanted buoooys (berries) for breakfast.

Playing in the sand.

Whoops! Caught Daddy not looking.

Like Father, Like Daughter

Well helloooo there, mi amor!

Our little water bug

Mommy and Keira hanging out...we really were there.

Wheeee! That's fun, Daddy. Do it again!

All cleaned up and playing outside.

Summer Vacation - Zoo and Beach

So to round out our summer vaca - we decided to make another trip to the Cape May County Zoo. Unfortunately, our timing was way off. We went out for breakfast and then off to the zoo. Problem was that by the time we got to the zoo, and parked the car, and got our sunblock on, and got into the zoo...Julia was whooped. It was nap time. We ended up staying on a half hour. We went into the World of Birds (she was not impressed) and the Reptile House. She loved the reptile house. I could barely keep up with her. Thankfully she wasn't the only unruly child running away from a parent in there.

Daddy and Keira sleeping in.

Daddy and Keira at breakfast.

Julia was "DONE" with her french toast.

sleepy girl

Inside the World of Birds...I think those are Caribbean Flamingos

Can we go yet?

On one of our last days we finally made it to the beach. We had been waiting for an extra set of hands to help us out....enter Grammy. Thank you, Grammy. Anyway, my hopes and fears were realized almost immediately. Julia loved the water! Yay...she loved it....oh no!...she loved it. She was chasing the waves and they were chasing her. But boy oh boy was the water cold. It was time to go back to our spot and warm up. Julia was playing in the sand and had some lunch and then it was naptime. Unfortunately, she woke up sick...and I mean sick. It was her first time ever throwing up. What a mess. And it didn't end there. In the car, and then it spread slowly throughout the family. It literally took our family a week to recover from vacation because we were taking turns being sick. Anyway, we're all feeling better now and having fun looking over our pictures. Hope you did, too.

mmmm, juice.

I'm gonna dig over there.

ok, maybe I'll dig over here.

yummy...shovel

Happy Summer!