You Can Never Have "Two" Much of a Good Thing

Jennie, my tiny little 6 lb, 5 oz newborn baby girl turned two on December 8th. How did that happen? It is really possible that its been over 730 days, and countless memories in between, since she changed my life forever? In this age of digital photography, we have about 11 GB of  photos of our daughter... no joke. I picked out a few from the last two years to share:

December 8, 2009

4 months old

8 1/2 months old

15 months old

1 year old

20 months old

17 months old

22 months old

23 months old

December 8, 2011

Its been an amazing two years so far - a journey I wouldn't change for the world. At two years old, Jennie is blossoming into a sweet, organized, talkative, independent, and loving little girl (among other things, too!) Jennie can be a little "two" bossy, but I love her strong personality and take charge attitude. She is developing friends at play group and play dates. She likes to sing songs, read books, and dance. Even if she asks me to read the same books 6 times per day, I don't think it's "two" much - especially when the next day I catch her "reading" it herself from what she has memorized. Jennie loves to go outside and walk to the park - she loves to swing, and feed the ducks.  She loves her routines, and is a creature of habit. Jennie loves to play with her baby-doll, and will do everything from feeding her, burping, changing her diaper (including wiping and putting on "cream," haha), rocking her to sleep, singing her songs, and giving her baths all by herself. I love to spy on her when she is playing pretend by herself. I can never get "two" much of that!

Everyone thinks they have the best child in the world - and I know that I have the best little girl in the world for me. I have loved every moment of the last two years (OK - lets be honest - almost every moment) and I am looking forward to all the adventures I have to experience with her for years to come. Especially interesting will be adding baby number two in about two weeks! Jennie is going to be an amazing big sister. 

Happy birthday Jennie Anne! And many more.....

"...These are a few of my favorite things..."

So many things in a child's life run the risk of being fondly remembered "in the moment," but forgotten over time. There are so many little things that Jennie says or does right now, in this moment, that I don't want to ever forget. Here is a small sampling:

-When Jennie wants me to carry her (like into the store), rather than her walking, she says, "Mommy, carry you." This is because I will ask her "Jennie, do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?" Adorable.

-When sitting on my lap, Jennie will spontaneously turn around and give my belly a kiss, and tell me, "Jennie big sister when baby out."

-Jennie still calls munchkins from Dunkin Donuts "dough doughs." I am 100% certain she can say "donut" just fine, but I keep calling them dough-doughs in hopes that she'll hang on to it for a little while longer.

-Jennie copies everything I do - it is so cute. She even leans her elbow against the door to public restrooms to open it like I do rather than touching the handle with a hand. She doesn't miss a thing!

-When I ask her if she needs a dry bum, or a new diaper, sometimes she looks at me matter of factly and says, "No Mommy, Jennie pretty dry."


-Jennie loves to play with her baby doll. She often comes into the kitchen from her play room carrying baby doll, holding its toy binky in the mouth, and lightly bouncing her. She then tells me, "Shhhhh Mommy, baby-doll sleeeeeeepy."

Rocking and reading Baby-Doll one of her current favorite stories, "My Name is Mudpie"

-There are lots of sirens and such around Watertown, and when she hears a fire truck, police car, or ambulance that she can't see, she says, "Probby next street."

-Jennie negotiates with the best of them - if its nap time, she'll say, "Play couple more minutes." If its time to leave the playground, she holds up one finger and says, "Big girl swing oooonnnne more time." There isn't much she won't negotiate for right now.

-Jennie tells everyone she sees, strangers and all, that she sleeps in a big girl bed now. She is so proud, and loves to share it with the world! (By the way - she is a champ in her big girl bed - its been over a week, and she has not once gotten out of bed. I don't think its crossed her mind as an option! She wakes up in the morning and calls my name - doesn't get out until I'm in the room. Amazing.)


I love all the cute ways that Jennie says things - and I know that all too soon she will be saying things the "right" way, and it will mean she is even more grown up than she already is! These are the moments, the memories, that make me love her more and more every day. I don't want to forget all the details that helped forge who she is, and why she is so special - my baby girl, always.

Minnie Mouse, the social butterfly

"Jennie Mosca" - sing to the tune of the old-school Mickey Mouse song

Whose the princess of the house, where we eat and play? 
J-E-N, N-I-E, M-O-S-C-A!

She's pretty and she's bossy, and she'll always get her way. 
J-E-N, N-I-E, M-O-S-C-A!

Jennie Mosca.... Jennie Mosca... forever will she wear her smile wide, 
Wide, WIDE, WIDE!

So come along and sing our song and play with us all day. 
J-E-N, N-I-E, M-O-S-C-A!

Cleverly composed by a loving Daddy months ago when we realized "Jennie Mosca" lines up perfectly with both "Minnie" and "Mickey" Mouse. 

These days, I have trouble keeping up with Jennie's social calendar. In fact, I keep a separate Monday through Friday note pad on the fridge just to keep track of her weekly commitments. Between play groups, play dates with friends (which also means mommy friends!), walks to the park, swim time on Fridays, and family visits she is quite entertained! She knows which regular events occur on which days. She loves her play group so much, that most mornings she asks me if its Tuesday yet. She looks at me expectantly, and says, "Mommy! Tuesday? Play group?" When Tuesday "finally" rolls around each week, I have to line up a series of things to do in the morning until 11 am when play group starts so that she doesn't ask every 5 seconds if it is craft time or circle time. Its certainly a labor of love, entertaining a toddler!

This past week, Jennie was especially busy with Halloween events and parties. On Thursday, she had her first class at the Arlington Boys and Girls Club in the morning with her pal Nathan. They had some open gym time with lots of new toys to mess with. Then, Jennie's favorite part of any play group or class, circle time! They sang songs, used a parachute, and also got to use instruments. At the end, Jennie got her first Halloween goodie bag complete with a bracelet, pop, and mini play dough. She was thrilled! My favorite part of Jennie liking lolly pops is that she doesn't eat them. She sees "big kids" having them, and wants one, but just likes to hold it. She'll lick it once or twice and get furious if you take it away, but doesn't really eat it. It is amazing how quickly kids copy each other, and innately learn from each other. I am so thankful that Jennie has so many opportunities to interact with other kids - even if a few of the things she picks up are not so great, she gets LOTS of positive experience.

Decorating cookies with Dennis

Later Thursday afternoon, Jennie attended the VHB (Justin's company) Annual Halloween party. They set up the gym in the office with tables from each department with crafts, treats, and other fun things. There was even a professional story teller this year. Jennie decorated a pumpkin, a cookie, had candy, pizza, and juice. She made a Halloween card, played ring toss on a witch's hat with her pal, Lily, and told anyone who would listen that she was Minnie Mouse. What an amazing party!

On Friday, Jennie had another party to attend, this time sponsored by the Watertown Family Network. First of all, I have to say that this organization is the best! They also hold her weekly play group and lots of other wonderful events (for free!) for Watertown families. I have met lots of other moms (and all their kids that are Jennie's age) through the network. Lots of towns have Family Networks (they are partially funded by MA early education money) and I highly recommend that you look into it. Jennie dressed up in her kitty-cat Halloween outfit, and had a blast at the party. 

Waiting for the concert to start

Intently listening!

There were more crafts to do, snacks, and even a band! Debbie and Friends played a concert for the kids. If you have kids, and can't stand listening to the songs that are sung by little kids (I personally have no tolerance for it) then check out their website. Great tunes for tots. What a joy it was to see her watch her first live concert! Sometimes she just sat and stared at the band, listening and soaking in the lyrics. Other times, she was a dancing machine and laughing and giggling.  I loved every second, sharing this experience with her, just as she loved every second.

Last, but not least of course, came Halloween! Jennie was so excited about being a trick-or-treater. We had been practicing what to say, and what would happen (preparation is always key!). While at the grocery store in the morning, the deli clerk asked Jennie what she was going to be for Halloween. Jennie's face immediately lit up, and she burst out with, "Minnie Mouse! Knock on door, say Trick-or-treat, get candy! Say thank you!" It was hilarious - the deli lady was a little surprised at the narrative, and delighted. I was laughing out loud telling her, "She's not excited at ALL about tonight!"

Great-Papa's house

We started by visiting her Great-Grandfather's house, then hit up her play group pal Maddy's (lives across the street from great-papa), and then went to her Great-Aunt Lynn's house down the street from there. When we visited the first stranger's house in the neighborhood, Jennie assumed that you just go inside and visit and play with that person's things. I mean, I couldn't blame her - this was really her first trick-or-treating experience, and the first three houses she went inside to visit! It was too cute. She got the hang of it after a few more houses, and really was enjoying herself. After each house, she would say, "Next house now!" I have to admit, it was super fun stopping by all the houses, and having people oogle over her and tell us how cute she was, and polite. She said "thank you" and "Happy Halloween" to every person. Justin and I were certainly proud parents!

More Candy!

Off to hit a few houses with her cousin Owen

I am cherishing every moment I get to share with Jennie. Although her social calendar can be busy, I think it is so important that she is able to interact with lots of kids and grow socially. I love seeing the look on her face when Tuesday finally rolls around and I love how she will sit in anticipation at the craft table, waiting to see what she'll get to make. I love seeing her copy the older kids at the play ground. I love observing her "concentration" face when she is learning a new song. It is incredible to see her wait her turn patiently for a toy, and turn to me and ask "Jennie's turn?" when another child is all done. But you know what's best of all? Simply that I get to experience all of this with her. I am incredibly thankful for our situation, and feel so lucky that I'm able to stay home with Jennie... even if we are rarely "home." 

The Binkie Chronicles

1 month old - "Don't you dare take my binkie!"

The decision was made:
After much debate, it was decided that the binkie needs to go. Although Jennie had "good" binkie habits - only in the crib for nap and night time - we wanted to end the binkie habit all together. Our goal was by 2 years old, but we realized this inconveniently coincided with the arrival of her new baby brother or sister and our need to get her into a toddler bed. Way too many transitions to do at once! I didn't have a hard and fast date for dropping the habit, but then on Saturday night, October 8, Jennie woke up twice in the night crying and calling my name. When I arrived in her room both times, the light was turned on and she was begging for the binkie that had fallen out of her crib onto the floor. She had never done this before - but I think she was getting anxious about all the talking we have been doing about the binkies going away. Two things happened after Saturday night:
1. I moved the crib over about a foot so that Jennie could no longer reach the light switch.
2. It was decided that Sunday night would be the first go at ditching the binkie.

Day 1 - Sunday, October 9

7 1/2 months, middle of July wrapped up
in her beloved fleece blankie and a binkie

We had a fun filled day of apple picking, pumpkin selection, and other festivities at Lookout Farm in Natick, MA. Great family place if you've never gone! Way over priced for the fruit, but had everything you could imagine for little ones including a train that takes you all over the farm. We got home around 1:45 pm, which is rather late for her nap time. Jennie went to her crib with the usual binkie and blankie. You know, one last "ha-rah" with her binkie. However, we missed her fall-asleep-window, and nap time never came. If only she knew it was the last of her binkie naps! At 3:15 pm, she came out of the crib. When she was distracted later that afternoon, the tips of her binkies were snipped off.

9 months old,snuggling up for bedtime

Later that evening, Jennie was practically begging to go to bed. We went through all her usual routine, and when it was binkie ime, we explained that the binkies were broken, like we had talked about for a few weeks. She didn't seem to care at first - until she tried using it a few times, and it obviously wasn't quite the same. She asked if she could throw the broken binkies in the trash, and I told her she might want to hang on to it for the night, just in case. Into the crib she went, and there wasn't any trouble... yet. After about 10 minutes in her crib, she started crying for something incomprehendable. I went in, and she was asking for her Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animal. No problem - I gave it to her and told her to go to sleep. Done deal.... no joke! She passed right out. Not taking a nap in the afternoon may have actually helped her to fall asleep with out a "working" binkie. However, later that night, around 10:30, she woke up and was wimpering. I went in and she was half asleep sitting up. I laid her back down, and whispered that it was nite-nite time. She was clutching the "broken binkie" saying, "Mommy, binkie, binkie. Binkie broken. Binkie broken." It was so sad! She turned her head over on her pillow and fell asleep for the rest of the night.

Day 2 - Monday, October 10
Down for her usual nap about 12:45 pm. Asked for her binkie, and when she got the broken one again, she said, "In crib." Didn't want to use it. However.... for the next 45, she talked, sang, called my name, and asked to come out. After that, she started to cry inconsolably. First try at a binkie-less nap = FAIL.

Bed time went great - fell asleep super fast. Again, after no nap, she was so tired by the time bed time rolled around that she was practically begging for her nite-nite time. No waking in the night, but she was up an hour earlier than usual in the morning.

13 months, binkie and her "hoodie-footies"

Day 3 - Tuesday, October 11
Talked in her crib for about 10 minutes once down for her nap - then fell asleep! Only lasted an  hour, but no tears. Things are looking up?

Bed time went great - was still over-tired, and fell asleep quickly. Woke up at 6:30 am (only 30 min earlier than her previous norm).

Day 4 - Wednesday, October 12
Nap time hit its peak of disaster today. Auntie Lauren was over to witness the melt down, and it wasn't pretty. As I put her down in the crib, she said "Mommy, out." I knew that was trouble. She then started crying as soon as I shut the door. I spoke to her, but the crying only increased. She wasn't asking for a binkie; she was confused as to why she had to stay in her crib when she didn't feel tired. After 20 or so minutes of serious yelling, I went in and rocked with her, and sang to her. She was still letting out some sobs as she slept in my arms. I had tears running down my face as I sang to her because it was so sad. I kept thinking - what on earth and I doing to my baby?? I put her in her crib and she slept for 90 minutes. She woke up and smiled at me, so I felt a little better.

Bed time = success. I think that part of this process is all set. She slept until 7 am.

Day 5 - Thursday, October 13

21 months

This morning, Jennie took a big step and threw away her "broken" binkies. We then went to Toys R Us and she picked out a "binkies all gone" present. She chose a shopping cart with play food in it. She proudly tells anyone she sees that, "Binkies all gone! In the trash."

I added some extra singing and rocking to her nap time routine to help her relax and get into nap mode before I put her int he crib. Seemed to be successful - feel asleep after 5 min or so of protest. Slept a little over an hour. Bed time was great, again. Doesn't seem to need the broken binkies. When she mentions it, I remind her that she threw them in the trash, and she is totally OK with that.

Day 6 - Friday, October 14
Keeping up with a longer soothing routine, and she feel asleep with NO PROTEST, for 90 minutes. Is this really the end of the battle? Bed time was just as good as it has been.

Day 7 - Saturday, October 15
Daddy was in charge for the day while I had an outing with my sister at the Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield. Went great! No nap protest, and she slept almost 2 hours. Bed time was great, too of course.

Getting ready for nap time with Grammie and her cousin, Addy

It is now Monday, and naps have been good, bed time even better. She still has a little trouble settling down at nap time (esp if she thinks she's missing out on something, like Nana and Papa hanging out in the living room on Sunday while she's supposed to be napping) but otherwise she keeps falling asleep and taking great naps. As I type, she is working on over 2 hours! I am so proud of her. I knew it would be tough for her, but I wasn't expecting it to be so taxing on me too. However, what kind of mom would I be if my little girl's emotional troubles didn't bother me, too?

Justin and I have a friendly over-under bet on when she'll have a whole day without mentioning her binkies at all - Thursday, Oct 20th. I took the over, Justin took the under. Either way, we are apparently free-and-clear of binkies and it feels good. Onward to the big girl bed....

Up, Up, and Away!

Can't wait to take off!

Jennie went on her first plane ride on September 24th and thankfully Jennie and all her co-passengers lived to tell the tale!

My mom (Nana), sister (Auntie Kiki), and I (Mommy, haha) took Jennie down to Florida to visit my brother and his girlfriend (Uncle Michael and Shelly). They live in Gainesville, so we flew direct from Boston to Jacksonville and then drove to them.

Pointing out Airplanes

Jennie was a great traveller! I am not sure what I was expecting, but I always seem to underestimate her ability to adapt and be well behaved. She is an amazing little girl. We did a lot of "prepping" for the big trip by reading books about flying on airplanes what happens at the airport, so Jennie was ready to go - in fact, she was narrating the whole experience. We got up to the ticket counter to check bags, and Jennie said, "Giving bags to nice lady!" We went over to security, and she was saying, "Bags on belt, like grocery store." It was quite funny to see that she was disappointed when she wasn't required to take off her shoes. Ready for everything!

Since Jennie is an avid airplane watcher (she never misses one, no matter how small, up in the sky), she LOVED seeing them in  person out the windows of the airport both on the way down, and on the way home. By the time we were ready to board the plane Jennie couldn't wait to see the inside and do all the fun activities that were promised to her; things like eating snacks, reading books, coloring, and playing with toys. Who knew these things would be so exciting when put in context of a plane ride?

Reading her Doggie a story

During the flight down, we were quite fortunate to have the two rows ahead of us empty. Jennie did great sitting in her seat (had her own with a travel car seat), but also liked roaming about a little. Interestingly, she really liked the experience of getting her diaper changed in the minuscule airplane bathroom. She probably thought it was funny to see her Mommy (with a 6 mon preggo belly) try to finagle the whole situation. She kept asking for another diaper, even though she clearly didn't need one.

There were no problems with her ears on the way down the FL. Jennie was certainly in her own little heaven when she got to use her binkie on the airplane. Usually, it is strictly reserved for in her crib, but I really wanted to help her with her ears. Now that the trip is over, we are currently preparing to shed the binkie - but that is a whole new blog post that will (hopefully) be coming soon!

passed out cold after a long morning of travels!

Once we arrived in FL, we got into the rental car and drove to Gainesville. Jennie was a trooper - it was a lot of sitting in one day for a little girl! Thankfully, the drive was quicker than we expected, and then our visit could really start. We gave her a little time to see the house and check out the place, but then it was definitely nap time. She passed right out and slept for over 3 hours - by then I needed to wake her up so that there was any chance she would go to bed that night! Jennie typically naps for about 1.5-2 hours, so over 3 is unheard of. Travelling makes everyone tired though, right?

Jennie LOVED that Uncle Michael and Shelly had a cat and a dog. She instantly bonded with the furry friends and even gave them kisses and hugs each night before bed. She also really enjoyed their neighborhood pool. She went swimming every day - jumped off the sides of the pool with Auntie Kiki and Shelly, fished out the "buggies" with Nana, and practiced kicking with Uncle Michael. The weather was certainly good for swimming - sunny, hot, and very humid every day. We also ventured out to see some local botanical gardens and to a butterfly "rain forest" at the University of Florida. Jennie loved this - butterflies landed on us, and there were fish and turtles to see in the water. The four days went by so fast. It was hard to leave after having so much fun!

Playing on the people-mover with Nana
while we waited out our delay

The flight home was a little more difficult - we got delayed for over an hour in the airport which had us boarding at Jennie's typical bedtime. However, Jennie did not fall asleep on the plane. She was way too excited and interested in the whole experience. Oh, and she really wanted her diaper changed again in the miniature bathroom, hehe. Her ears hurt a little when we were landing this time. I think it was partially due to how overtired she was. She had hardly napped that day, and it was 10 pm. My heart just broke when she looked at me, her eyes welled up, and she said, "Mommy, ears!" and pressed her blankie to the side of her head. She only cried for about 5 minutes, and then just snuggled with me for the last few minutes of the flight. What a trooper!

We went to go get our bags, and Daddy was there waiting for us! Jennie was so excited - babbling about her trip, and she even remembered to wish Daddy a "Happy Birthday!" like we talked about on the plane. Once in the car, Jennie lasted about 30 seconds before passing out cold. 

I was so impressed with how Jennie behaved and handled the travelling. She was curious, interested, adorable, and quite simply a little angel. It'd be nice to think that Justin and I have something to do with it - but I honestly think she is just an easy going kid who loves new experiences. Hopefully our future children will be a lot like her! 

Daddy's Girl

The two loves-of-my-life have an amazing bond. Justin and Jennie's relationship is sweet, unique, loving, and make-your-heart-melt adorable.

It makes me indescribably happy too see how they have secrets with each other, and have routines that I am not part a of. Jennie is more fearless and daring with Justin than with other people- any one who has seen them horse around has seen this in action! I love that she is willing to try almost anything (as long as its not a new food... haha) when she's with her Daddy.

 She will jump off a dock into his arms, and giggles the whole time. She lets the waves at the beach splash her in the face because Daddy is there holding her hand.

She'll pick up "dirty" things from the river or from the ground so that Justin can tell her what it is, or laugh with her about how "yucky" it makes her hands feel. If you've ever seen Jennie eat, you know that this is quite daring for her - she ask for a napkin about 50 times per meal because she doesn't like to have her hands dirty. But with Daddy, she'll dig her hands in the sand at the beach and happily bury his feet before remembering that she wants to wash off her fingers in the "rinse bucket" that we have to keep handy for her.

Jennie will sit on top of Daddy's shoulders to get a better view, but she won't do that with anyone else. It is a beautiful thing to see her take risks and explore with her Dad - it is amazing to watch the joy on his face spread over to hers. Jennie trusts him so completely - at this stage in her life, she goes to him when she's mad or sad and knows that he'll make her laugh. She throws her whole body at him when they play and she knows he'll catch her. I know that in the future, he will always be there to protect her and catch her before she falls - physically, emotionally, or however she needs him. She might be a Daddy's girl, but Justin is also wrapped around her little finger and would do anything for her.

Jennie LOVES to ride in her car seat in Justin's truck. She can see more things, have Daddy point out all the tractors, and get a front-seat view of the world going by. Oh, and Daddy won't stop playing her Raffi music over and over and over in the car, even though Mommy has a limit. She knows that when she has a day with Daddy, she gets to have an extra brownie when Mommy usually says no.

When Justin is at work, Jennie thinks most of the doors closing or cars pulling up on our street are Daddy. When I tell her it is not, she looks at me with a scrunched up "concerned" face and says, "Not Daddy, neeeeiiiiiighbors. Daddy woooorking. Aaaw-fish." (translate: aaaw-fish = office). And when Daddy does come home, her  face lights up like a Christmas tree, she drops all toys or activity, and races to the kitchen to give him a running hug. So sweet!

Jennie loves to watch her Daddy play softball. In fact, for quite a while, if you asked her what Daddy did for work, she would tell you baseball. This is because all day, Daddy would be at work, and then we'd go see him playing baseball with his work team once a week before he came home. Therefore, Daddy working equaled baseball. Justin tried to explain that if he played baseball for a living, we wouldn't be renting an apartment, but Jennie is too young to understand.

She is such a darling cheerleader at his games! The first game we went to, she was actually very sad every time he had to run out to the outfield to play when his team wasn't batting. She would start crying, and yell "DAAAAAAAAAADDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" repeatedly. It was so sweet, and was breaking Justin's heart. But now, she walks up to the team bench, and says, "Hi Boys!" to all the players and yells cheers like "Go Green!" and "Yay Daddy!" when she watches.

Jennie might still look to me for a hug and kiss when she gets hurt, or to sing her Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star before nap and bed time. But Justin will always be the one that Jennie sees as her hero, her partner in crime, and her protector. I am so fortunate to have an incredible, spunky daughter that is supported, loved, encouraged, and cherished by her amazing Daddy. What more could one ask for in life? ...except to see it all blossom again this winter with another baby.... =) Life is GOOD.

The Beach Bum heads to the ER

Wells, Maine

We recently got back from a whirl-wind week of vacation and beach. We ventured up to Maine for five days at the beach in Wells. It was fantastic! Both sets of Jennie's grandparents were there, as well as aunties, uncles, great-aunts and uncles, etc! Jennie had a blast - the frigid water temperatures did not deter this beach bum. She was shaking and had blue lips more than once - but still would pitch a mini-fit if you took her out of the water!

 

We left Wells on Wednesday last week, and headed home for a day. On Friday, we headed down to Marshfield, MA to stay at Jennie's great-Papa Mosca's beach house for the weekend. Justin had hardly got the car and truck unpacked when Jennie tripped and took a header into the lobster-pot coffee table! It was a small cut, but right smack-dab in the middle of her forehead. We called the Marshfield police to see if they knew of an urgent care clinic near by (rather than going to the hospital) and they insisted that they send a paramedic. With in a few minutes, we had the fire chief, a fire engine, a police car, and an ambulance for a quarter inch cut on a 19 month old. They determined that the cut would probably heal on its own, but would leave a far bigger scar if we didn't get it stitched up.... so off we went!

on our way to South Shore Hospital

Jennie was in better spirits by the time we arrived at the hospital, after all she had her binkie, blankie, and doggie with her! The binkie and blankie were a special treat because normally those are only allowed in her crib. But hey, the poor girl was getting stitches; I was willing to give her anything she wanted!

getting numbed up and messing with her hospital bed

Jennie was such a trooper. She had a blast looking at the fish tank in the pedi-ER waiting room. She flipped through the books, and messed with all the gadgets in her room. The worst part of the whole evening (of course) was when she had to get the stitches. They had to wrap her whole body in a "super-swaddle" so she didn't move, and then an assistant had to hold her head straight. The worst of it all was that the blue surgical cover they use (with a little hole where they worked on her forehead) covered her face. The whole time she was getting stitched she was fighting, and sweating, and crying, and calling out, "Mommy, Daddy! All-D! Aaaalllll-D!!!!" (all-d = all done). It was heart breaking!! But, when all was said and done, she had two stitches in a little quarter inch cut with the promise of a straight, small scar rather than a big one on her pretty little face.

On our way back, we stopped to get a pizza for dinner. The Mama Mia's in Marshfield has a Dunkin Donuts right next to it - which Jennie saw as we picked up the pizza. After she asked for "dough-doughs," we of course agreed. That was when we knew she was feeling better for sure - she chanted "dough-doughs! Pee-ha! Dough-doughs! Pee-ha!" the whole way back to the cottage. So cute!

The rest of the weekend was, thankfully, less eventful! We had great weather, more family, and more beach! Although we had to be careful to keep her wound dry, it was still a wonderful time. Hopefully in the future our vacations will not include trips to the ER - but I also have no illusions that this will be the last trip, either.

walking the beach with Great-Papa

Happy 4th of July!