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Pearl went potty all by herself and when I clapped for her Enzo joined in. Here’s a reenactment just seconds later.

-Morgan

I love her narration! Daddy? Daddy? Daddy? Daddy? -Morgan

As many of you know, yesterday was my birthday. Morgan took the day off and we brought the kids to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. They both loved it!



After the museum we met up with our friend Stavros for lunch at the Boat Basin Cafe, overlooking the river.



It was one of my best birthdays ever!

xoxo
Jill

I love our gym! Yesterday one of the wonderful ladies in the kids’ club gave Pearl a pedicure while I worked out. Pearl LOVED it. She can’t wait to go back so she can get her fingernails done.

I have been very busy with writing deadlines but that hasn’t stopped us from having fun! Here are a few updates:

Pearl graduated from Mommy-and-Me at the end of May. It was so cute. Mrs. G gave her a special graduation certificate and a STICKER BOOK!

Afterward we celebrated with a mother/daughter trip to Friendly’s.

That Tuesday (Pearl’s actual birthday) Grammie and Aunt Maureen arrived for a visit!

Enzo looks sad in the picture above – but don’t worry – he was just hungry! We gave him some rice and beans and he was much happier:

Of course, the next weekend was Pearl’s birthday party!

That’s all for now. I’ve got to get back to work!

xoxo

-Morgan

-Morgan

Dear Pearl,

You are three years old! This year has been filled with big milestones, challenges and so many sweet, funny moments.

Your third year started with a wonderful summer. It was terribly hot and I was very pregnant, but you and I got to go to the kiddie pool almost every day. You would play with your rubber duckies in the water while I sat nearby and then you’d enjoy a juice box and a PB&J sandwich before we went home for nap time. I remember getting so emotional in those last few months before Enzo was born, thinking about how the days where it was just the two of us swimming, running errands or just playing in the back yard were going by so fast.

Of course the biggest change this year was the birth of your little brother. It was a tough transition at first. You threw lots of tantrums and it was obvious you missed getting all our attention. You didn’t really acknowledge Enzo at first. The only time you seemed to notice him was when you would ask us to “put Enzo down.” Sometimes you’d also say, “Want Daddy to hold Enzo” if you wanted me to hold you. There were times when I felt so guilty. Guilty for not giving you all the attention you wanted. Guilty for letting Enzo cry when I had to help you on the potty or in the bathtub. Guilty for not knowing how to handle it all. But you and your brother are amazing kids and you let me off easy by giving me lots of hugs, smiles and giggles every day.

As the months passed, Enzo started moving more and you started showing more interest in him. You learned that when you yelled, “Bee-bop!” he would laugh so you began saying it if you heard him cry or when the two of you were eating breakfast in the kitchen together. Those were the times when I remembered why Daddy and I wanted you to have a sibling. I hope this is the beginning of a great friendship between the two of you and I thank God that you will always have each other.

Of course this year was also filled with lots of other important moments!

You are almost completely potty trained (I put all those gory details in another letter that I hope you will read when you have your own children).

You have transitioned into a big-girl bed and I have to admit that it’s nice to see you in it because it makes you look small again.

You went trick-or-treating for the first time.

You can find all 50 states on a map. You know how to spell your name. You know all your shapes, colors, letters and you can count to 100 by 10s!

You and I went to Mommy-and-Me class at Stepping Stones preschool and I got to watch you mature from the kid who couldn’t sit still during Circle Time to the girl who knew every word to every song, who loved finding out what the “color of the day” was and who knows how to wait her turn (most of the time). Of course, you still can’t resist tasting glue sticks, but we all have places where we can improve. ☺

Time keeps going by so quickly and I try to write most of what we do in your calendar, but there’s no way I could ever capture every precious, sweet, wonderful moment with you. I guess all I can do is make sure our hugs are tight, our snuggles are long and my memories are vivid.

Happy third birthday, sweetheart.

Love,
Mommy