37th Month

We got to see 4^th of July fireworks twice this month—once at Mercer County Park and again at Etra Lake Park. Susanna wasn’t a huge fan of them. The first time, she just sat in the car and cried, although Liam was a great big brother and tried to comfort her the whole time. By the second time, she sat in Mom’s lap with her ears covered and her head down. She whimpered a few times but stole many looks at the fireworks.

 Mom took the kids to see Cars 2 in the theater (Susanna’s first time)—enjoyed by all—especially after Mom got everyone popcorn.

 Susanna has fallen in love with the Pinkaliscious books.

38th Month

The weekend of August 27-28 saw Hurricane Irene hitting us here in NJ. Many parts of the state were flooded, but we were very fortunate—none of our trees fell, our basement stayed dry, and we never lost power. We all slept in the basement the night it hit us because there were tornado warnings. The following week we were supposed to go to the mountains in Bushkill, PA to meet Grandma Mel and Pop-Pop for a few days, but the house they had rented lost power in the storm. By Tuesday morning the power still was not back, so they came here and stayed with us for a few days before heading back to LA. We had a fun time with them—we took them to the Popcorn Park Zoo and the Jackson Jungle. Grandma Mel and Mom had some craft time with the kids. Their last night here, they decided to stay in a hotel so that we could all swim in the hotel pool—that was probably the highlight of the week for all the kids—it was actually the pool where Rachael used to take swim lessons.

 Susanna now also likes Splat the Cat books.

Mom and Dad have just about given up on the potty training for Susanna—she still has absolutely NO interest in getting out of diapers—even after many bribery attempts. She is proving to have a huge stubborn streak. She is just as difficult about sleeping through the night. Hardly a night passes that she doesn’t wake up Mom at least once.

Susanna is liking having time with just Mom again now that Rachael and Liam are back in school. Mom is liking it, too. But she does get excited to see Rachael and Liam getting off the school bus.

LSU football has begun and we have continued our tradition of watching it on the deck, grilling, and glow sticks. And having Maw Maw and Pots come from NY to watch with us.

 Mom took the kids to see The Smurfs in the theater. It was in 3D, so everyone had to wear the special glasses. Of course, Susanna lost hers shortly after the movie began, Mom let her have hers, and than had to watch a 3D movie without 3D glasses. Shortly before the movie ended, Susanna found hers and returned a very smudged pair back to Mom.

40th Month

A new backyard addition this month—a treehouse (well, actually, a tree platform with a railing)—it is being thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, even the neighborhood kids. We wrapped the trees with Christmas lights and Rachael made a “clubhouse” flag.

 Mom and Susanna met Liam’s class at Lee’s Turkey Farm for a field trip where we learned all about the farm, got to see lots of turkeys, and took a hayride. Unfortunately, because of all the rain we’ve have, Mr. Lee didn’t have any pumpkins to pick.

 Liam, Susanna, and Mom got locked out of the house one morning this month. After running errands, we got home to discover the power was out, so the garage door opener wouldn’t work. Mom also realized the security chain was still across the front door. Mom checked windows but didn’t find any unlocked. The neighbor had a painting crew working at their house, and they volunteered to help find a way to get us in the house. We discovered one of Rachael’s bedroom windows open, so the guys got their extension ladder and climbed up to try popping out the screen—no luck. Mom had already been able to pop the screen on the kitchen window, so one guy tried using a knife to get the window unlocked—no luck. Then Mom mentioned that the front door could be unlocked but not opened the whole way because of the chain. So, the guys got a screwdriver, reached in the partially open door and unscrewed the chain from the door frame, so that the door could be opened. Liam had been very concerned that we were not going to get into the house in time for him to go to school.

 Halloween weekend was busy with parties, both birthday and Halloween. Susanna dressed as Raggedy Ann. The big surprise for the weekend was that it SNOWED!! Two days before Halloween, and we had several inches of snow—went trick-or-treating in the white stuff.

 

41st Month

It finally happened! On November 14, Susanna decided to start using the potty!! Woo hoo!! The first couple days were accident-filled, but she quickly caught on after that. She isn’t quite ready to poop in the potty, but we’ll take one step at a time. She loves wearing her big-girl underwear, and also loves getting her potty treats of Squinkies and Hershey Kisses.

 Thanksgiving was a fun-filled event, with Grandma and Grandpa and Maw Maw and Pots coming to celebrate with us.

42nd Month

Susanna loves Christmas! She loves playing with all of the nativity sets, the stuffed Santas, and Mom’s nutcrackers. She also loves the chocolate-filled Advent calendars, although she doesn’t quite understand that she can only have one chocolate a day.

Santa was good to Susanna this year, giving her Duplo blocks, a Playmobil castle, and lots of books. Santa had a bit of an accident this year, though. He had planned on giving Susanna a Leapfrog Leapad, but it fell out of his sleigh as he flew through bad weather over Iceland. (He wrote this in a note to Susanna). He said that, as soon as he got back to The North Pole, he would get his elves working on a new one for her.

Grandma Mel and PopPop gave the family a wonderful gift this year—a membership to the West Windsor pool. The kids are very excited.

43rd Month

Susanna is now registered for preschool for next fall—she will go to Little Friends, just like Liam, and she will also have Miss Debbie for her teacher. When we got to the school to drop off the paperwork, Susanna got upset and didn’t want to get out of the car—we think she thought Mom was going to leave her there right then. When she realized she didn’t have to stay that day, she was a little happier.

44th Month

Winter is fast coming to an end, and we are amazed at how mild a winter it has been. Of course, the kids are a little disappointed that there hasn’t been any good snow to play in, but Mom and Dad are quite happy

 

Well, it’s official—Susanna finally does all her business in the potty!!

Grandma Mel came for a visit over Palm Sunday weekend. It was chilly and rainy but it was still a good visit. Grandma Mel even enjoyed Easter games at church with us. She also joined Susanna in her own Sunday School class.

Hardly a week goes by that Susanna doesn’t ask when she will get to go to school—it’s going to be a long few months until September.

 

In addition to preschool, Susanna will also get to enjoy going to her own dance class in the fall—she is signed up to take a ballet/tap class.

 We took a wonderful family vacation in May—to Baltimore to the aquarium, to the Air and Space Museum in Virginia, then we went to Richmond and Chester to visit all of our old friends there. Many of them hadn’t met Susanna in person. We also went to a couple museums in Virginia Beach and came home via the Cape May-Lewes Ferry

School is over—now Susanna has playmates every day again!

 

4th Birthday Cake