A sure sign of fall

 The first year we lived in our house, we were barraged with acorns in the fall.  Really, no exaggeration!!  You needed to wear a hard hat when you went into the back yard!   And the clank when they hit the metal top of the shed was so loud!   Then for the last three fall seasons, we've wondered where all the acorns went.  We've had almost none!

Well, They'rrrrreeeeee  Baaaaacckkkk!!! 

I don't know what determines whether or not we get acorns.  The summer heat?  the previous winter's snowfall?  rain amounts?  We've had plenty of all of the above, so I don't know.

But this year, we are getting acorns by the bucket fulls, literally, as you can see, and Daddy and Jocelyn are having a good time collecting them.  Most of the acorns are big and fat, and missing their "hats", but here's one I found that was ready and waiting for the collection.



Jocelyn and Daddy discussing where to hunt next!

 So, I don't think the squirrels will starve this year, but I am wondering where I put my hard hat!  :-)  Here's hoping your acorn collections are as plentiful as ours!  Happy Fall Everyone!

Here comes Autumn!

Today is the first official day of Autumn.  As pretty as this time of year can be, I always dread it.  I hate it when the time changes and the days are shorter and the sun goes down SO early!!  We will soon be buried in mountains of leaves that need raking.   I hate to be cold, and after last winter, don't get me started on snow!!

But I'm mostly sorry to see this summer go for Jocelyn.  This was the first year that she really enjoyed the pool.





We had some really fun vacations with family in Indiana and Pennsylvania, and a great trip to Niagara Falls.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And we LOVED our day trip to Sesame Place!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jocelyn rode her first pony at Aunt Tina's house and another at the Howard County Fair.  She got her first haircut and made her first attempts at potty training.  We joined another Mom's Group and have met lots of new people.   Jocelyn started classes at My Gym and is learning what it's like to follow directions from someone other than Mommy.
We've had a busy and eventful summer, and in many ways, I'll be sorry to see it go.   However, if I look to the Fall and Winter to come, we really do have lots to look forward to.  Soon we'll go apple picking, and what fun that will be!  Then Halloween is coming and Uncle Scott and Aunty Rachel will be visiting us that weekend.  Maybe they'll even go Trick-or-Treating with us!  I'm sure Jocelyn will love "helping" to rake all those leaves.  Then there's Thanksgiving, Big Santa Time, and soon after, Jocelyn will be turning 3 (Oh My Gosh!) and having her first real Birthday Party. (I'm already brainstorming on how to make that loads of fun!)  So I suppose saying "goodbye" to summer isn't all bad. 
But I still don't want to talk about that snow!!

Aunty and Friend

Last weekend my friend and Jocelyn's adopted Aunty Joye came for a visit.  Joye has been my friend since 1996!  When we met, she was married with no kids, and I was in the midst of a divorce.   We've each been through plenty of life transitions since then.  Now she has 5 kids, her LPN, and she is going for her RN, and after years as a stay at home mom, is working part time.  I went through many years single, working full time, eventually went to college and got my AA, got married and had a baby, and now I am the stay at home mom.  It's crazy to think how our lives have changed over the years, but she still remains my nearest and dearest friend.



Jocelyn had to check out Aunty Joye's shoes!



We always swear we won't stay up too late talking, but we did again this time!!  I'm exhausted!  But it was so wonderful to get to spend time with Joye shopping, talking, and reminiscing.  Don't know when we'll get together again, but I'll miss her!

Aunty was nice enough to take a picture of us while she was here too!

Ponytail!!!

At this point, I'm waiting for the screaming!

I wear a ponytail just about every day of my life.  I like my long hair, but have no patience for it in my face, especially since Jocelyn was born.

Today, for the first time ever, Jocelyn decided she wanted a ponytail just like Mommy!!  Last week when we were at Sesame Place I found some hair ties with Sesame Characters on them.  How timely!!  and How Cute!

Not sure what the tongue is about...

I'm not sure if we've started a trend, but I've been waiting so long to be allowed to put something in her hair, I hope she'll let me do this again.  She did keep Cookie Monster in her hair until nap time, so that has to be some kind of record for sure!!  Guess I need to add this milestone to her baby book too! 

It changes her face completely!

Mommy Joanna

The day we took Jocelyn home!

Who is Mommy Joanna you ask?  Well, she was Jocelyn's primary nurse when she was in the NICU.  We call her Mommy Joanna because she was, in so many ways, Jocelyn's temporary "Mommy", and she was so wonderful to her, and to Pat and me.   She was so wonderful that after Jocelyn finally got to go home, I sent a letter to the head nurse in the department (with a copy to Joanna) telling her about our experiences.
I'm thinking about her again because yesterday I had a wonderful chat with her on the phone.
I had called the NICU to find out if there was a NICU reunion scheduled for this year.  There has been only one since Jocelyn was born, and they used to be yearly.  Unfortunately, the answer was "No" and I'm sad about that, but anyway...
When I called, they connected me to the charge nurse, and Joanna answered the phone!!  I was so excited when I realized it was her, and was amazed that she remembered me, but there's a funny story behind that.

This was early in Jocelyn's stay in the NICU.  She was still in the incubator, and was not yet drinking from a bottle, so she had a feeding tube.  Joanna let me feed her one night, which meant I held the syringe that was connected to the tube that drained my precious, pumped, breast milk into her tummy.  Well, Joanna stepped away for a minute and the syringe came off the tube and milk poured out all over Jocelyn, her blankets and bedding and everything!!  I was in a panic.  Everything is SO sterile, so I was afraid to touch anything.  Joanna came running back to help.  This was the first time I held Jocelyn, of course it was at arms length, up in the air, through the incubator holes, and while Joanna changed all her bedding, but I still held her!!  After cleaning everything up, we gave Jocelyn a baby bath and resumed feeding.  What an exciting night for me!   But Joanna seems to have blamed herself!  It's a funny story that apparently, neither of us has forgotten. 

Anyway, long story short, Joanna told me yesterday that she was recently up for promotion to the charge nurse position and she had to write a letter explaining why she felt she deserved the position.  She said she used this story and the letter I wrote to her supervisor as her example, that despite everything, we still loved her and considered her a wonderful nurse.  Joanna got the promotion!!
She said the last sentence in her letter was "No use crying over spilt milk".  How appropriate!
We will always treasure our memories of Mommy Joanna, and be forever thankful for what she did for all of us so early on in Jocelyn's life.

First Day at My Gym

Today Jocelyn started going to classes at My Gym.  It's a local kids gym with fun climbing equipment and games for kids.  I had taken her to their Open House and she had such a good time, I decided to try out the classes.  I was a little nervous about how she would do on the equipment, and this is the first time she had to deal with structured circle time activities, but she did very well, and I can already see that she will be a pro at the routine in no time!

The trampoline is the starting favorite!

Walking across the ladder with Ms. Melissa

We can't wait for next Friday!!

Sesame Place

On Tuesday we FINALLY made it to Sesame Place. I have wanted to take Jocelyn all summer as she is a HUGE Sesame Street fan, especially of Elmo. We decided to drive up and back on the same day, and other than being pretty tired, we all handled it surprisingly well.

I must say, it's pretty neat to get a picture in front of 123 Sesame Street!

It was so hot on Tuesday!  We decided to start the day enjoying the water park areas.

Then we moved on to visiting characters!

And finally we saw some shows, took a flying fish ride, and ended with some shopping.

What a great day we had!  Can't wait to go again next summer!

(Might need some recovery time though!  The morning after was a rough one...  :-)