making the most of the end of summer

With the end of summer coming fast we got a lot of outdoor activity crammed into the last week of August. There were so many pictures and videos that I put together slideshow / videos so this post wouldn't be 20 feet long... Here we go.

Splash Park at Beaver Brook Reservation in Belmont

Mom took part of a day off from work to take Riley over to this fun and...free...splash park. Riley had a great time, you can tell because he does his "Happy Dance" when his Mom asks him if he's having fun:

Davis Farmland

Davis Farmland is an amusement park with a farm theme (it's actually on a working farm) which is specifically for small children. It has a combination of attractions as you'll see in the videos; it's a large petting zoo, splash park and playground all in one. Kid heaven. We'll break this into three videos:

The Animals

The Splash Park

The Playground

This was an incredibly fun day made easier by our getting a babysitter for Kendall so that Riley could take full advantage of the park. He had a great day (as did his parents...)

Crane Beach

On the last day of August Shelby took the day off so that she and Riley could join a bunch of friends at Crane Beach in Ipswich. It was a perfect beach day and a great way to see August off for another year:

A Day At Crane Beach

We have had a great summer here this year. Perfect for outdoor fun. This was a perfect way to end it!


Jonathan

...and another one coming!

Discovered today that Kendall's bottom right tooth is just barely starting to erupt, -- it's still a teeny spec of white, but appears to be the reason why baby girl is gnawing on her fingers like there's no tomorrow.

Can't wait to see that toothy grin in the coming weeks!

Shelby

first tooth!

I was laying in bed with Kendall this morning and as is her custom, she grabbed my finger to put it in her mouth and chew on. I felt something sharp this morning and lo and behold my 5 month old is cutting her first tooth!
















It's the bottom left one. I wasn't expecting it yet, since Riley got his first tooth at 9 months. Also, she wasn't drooling, cranky or plagued with diaper rash. If only it would stay this way...

Shelby

hometown fun

Today, while Jonathan was helping some friends with their move, I ventured out with the kids to Wakefield's annual Safety Day in our Town Common. Each year, local DPW & safety vehicles are brought in, so the kids can explore and ask questions of the personnel. Riley enjoyed it as much as his favorite playground!

The bucket truck where he got a "hard" hat:

















Driving the back hoe:













"Naughty" Riley in the back of the police cruiser:













"Helper" Riley received a Junior EMT sticker after being in the ambulance:













Driving the Fire Truck:

















Climbing on top of the Fire Truck and enjoying the view:













Giving Sparky the Fire Dog a hug:













Climbing up the ladder truck and sporting his new Fire hat:































We even got to ride in an antique fire truck:













Kendall, who had been napping, was not amused by the clanging bell -- she screamed pretty much the whole ride:













In addition to free burgers & slushies, Riley had his picture and fingerprints taken for his ID card, courtesy of the Molly Bish Foundation:































It was a fun couple of hours and both kids did really well. I look forward to next year when J can join us and Riley can spend even more time exploring the vehicles. But it was worth it to give J up for the day so the Four Zs could complete their transition to Somerville. We excited to play with them more now that they're closer!

Shelby

Kendall is 5 months old!

Can't hardly believe that another month has passed already. Not a lot has changed, but I think Kendall looks a little older this month:












She weighs 13.9 lbs and continues to drink mama's milk 5x per day.

















She sleeps a lot in comparison to Riley -- at least 18-19 hrs a day. Riley was sleeping less than 15 hrs at this age.












She has good neck control now and doesn't squawk during tummy time. Now that she can roll both ways, she just changes position. After rolling on to her tummy consistently, we began putting her to sleep that way. This is how she soothes herself to sleep:












Now she's aware of the TV, I don't bother nursing her during one of my Netflix shows. She's way too distracted. Look what happened when I put her down to put Veggie Tales on for Riley. She was totally in to it (don't worry I didn't let her watch it!).












Now that her neck is strong and her back is getting stronger, she's started playing in the exersaucer at daycare and the jumper at home. She loves it -- until she's ready for her next nap.
















She loves to stand so I tried setting her up against the back of the couch. She kept herself upright for 5-10 seconds. Not bad!

















But you never know when those legs are going to give way, though!

















This is her standard "look" nowadays. She loves sucking on her two left fingers.












When she's awake, she's a happy girl and a lot of fun to be around. I was a bit worried that she might end up being the exact opposite of Riley -- our perfectly contented baby boy. While her excessive napping (and strong preference for her bed) do keep us home more than we'd like, she seems to have a sweet disposition.












It's finally beginning to feel like she's always been here. We love our sweet baby girl and are so thankful that she's a part of our family!












Shelby