Friends & Family « W+J Family Blog

Archive for the “Friends & Family” Category

So long, summer…..

Thursday, September 8th, 2011 by Amy

We’ve had a fabulous first summer in Brooklyn! There are lots and lots (and lots!) of things to do with kids in the city, many of them free. And we took full advantage! Lots of trips to the free city pool, the beach, museums, zoos, aquariums, boardwalks, free concerts, parades, plus playgrounds, parks, and bike rides galore. I feel so lucky and incredibly grateful that, for the first summer since Natalie was born, I was able to be home with her and Miranda. It’s certainly been a summer to remember. Tomorrow, Natalie goes to school for her first day of kindergarten. A whole new chapter in her life and ours.

If I were up to date with this blog, any one of these events would have gotten its own post. But since I’m behind, I’ll let the (millions of) pictures do the talking….it’s a slideshow, because it would have taken me forevvvvvvvvver to post this many pictures individually. Enjoy!

Posted in Friends & Family, Out and About, Photos, The Girls · Comments Off

A Day in NJ

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 by Amy

We took full advantage of a day in NJ a couple of weeks ago: a visit to Howell Living History Farm, Robert’s awesome baseball birthday party, and dinner with Grandma and Kary. I took tons of photos at Howell, then got lazy with the camera the rest of the day. It was so nice to be able to hang out at the farm, see friends, and spend time with family too—especially on such a beautiful day. And as much as I enjoy the city, it was refreshing to be out in the boonies for a day. I was especially excited that we got the farm while the lambs were still little and cute.

HugsNatalie and Miranda are getting more and more affectionate with each other. It's lovely to watch their relationship develop.

Crossing the streamIt wasn't quite warm enough to go in yet.

"moooooo"Up close, mooing cows are incredibly loud.

City girl visits the farmBrooklyn represent!

At her old hang-out

Mama sheep & lambs

"Look at this pretty flower!"

Posted in Friends & Family, Out and About, Photos, The Girls · Comments Off

Hallelujah!!!!

Thursday, May 12th, 2011 by Amy

[HAAAAAAALLELUJAH!]

[HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!]

[HALLE-AAA-AA-LUJAH!]

After 4 years and 3 months, Natalie is sleeping through the night!!!!!!

I repeat, Natalie is sleeeeeeeping throoooooooough the niiiiiiiiiight!!!!!!

[HAAAAAAALLELUJAH!]

Ok, to be fair, she hasn’t been waking up the same way a baby would since she was a little over two years old, but she was waking up every. single. night. and coming into our bed to sleep. And we’d tried various things to curb this behavior, but it never worked for more than a week or so, when we would all revert back into the same bad habits.

Most recently we tried rewarding her with a TV show in the morning if she stayed in her bed all night, and no TV if she came into our room. The third night she came in saying, “I don’t want to watch my show tomorrow.” I was feeling really defeated.

And then one day, in March, she stayed in her bed all night. I think it was a fluke, but we jumped on it. I gave her chocolate as a reward. Rainbow non-perils to be exact. Before breakfast. Hey, after 4+ years of interrupted sleep (more if you count the pregnancy) mom gets a little desperate. We marked the success with a sticker on the calendar and told Natalie that she could choose a toy from the store if she could get seven consecutive stickers.

Natalie's Reward Fairies

After she picked out the fairies from the toy store, we wanted to offer Natalie an additional incentive to keep the momentum going—because 7 great nights doesn’t break a 4+ year habit! So, we promised her a party if she could fill the rest of month up with stickers on the calendar. Natalie loves parties, so it worked!!! She was so excited, she was telling anyone who would listen about the party she was going to have (with cake!) when it wasn’t even her birthday! Ultimately, whatever the reward, she was just ready.

Party time!!

The nice thing about offering a party as an incentive was that it was a reward and a celebration at once. Natalie got to bask in her accomplishment in with her friends–her pride was palpable—and enjoy yummy cake shaped like a bed! And we got to tell Natalie that once she had her party, she wouldn’t need any more rewards to sleep in her bed all night. And, a month after her party, she hasn’t.