Alec is one today. Happy birthday Alec!

This is Cheryl - Caroline chatted with Aunt Cristen and then Grandma Z. tonight while she was sipping on some sody-pop and eating some sesame chicken. Consistent with her vague resemblence to an angry teen (above), she later would sing some karaoke (Mandy - to be exact), and then chase her embarrassing mom out of the room, slamming a door in her face, and shooing her upstairs.

Caroline, Boots, and Dora enjoyed the hot, sunny weather today, cooling off in a fantastic water slide (a b-day gift from Emma). Mommy also played in the water, but refused to allow photographic evidence. A good time was had by all.

As of today, we are still able to enjoy our backyard - mosquito season hasn't quite kicked into full gear. Jay bought two (2) bat houses - today he painted them black in anticipation of attracting some furry, flying, mosquito-eating guests. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is the best hope we have for limiting the mosquito population in our immediate area. If this doesn't work, I'm considering a slash and burn program for all of our vegetation. I figure we can follow that up by screening in the yard, pouring concrete over the entire area, and then using a good DDT/Seven fogging. Then no one can enjoy the yard. Especially not the mosquitos. Maybe that's a bit extreme...

Caroline looks to be about ready for a little haircut (and a thorough washing).

Caroline and Paige at the Little Gym this morning. This picture wasn't by suggestion; the girls were putting the balls under their shirts by their own design.

If it's Thursday morning, we must be at storytime at the Children's Museum.

As per our usual Wednesday morning, we went to SciWorks. Caroline was the only attendee at the Science Storytime - come on Winston parents! She learned about her second favorite animal, the penguin. Afterwards, she spent a good half hour on the track in the video, perfect for tiring her out for her afternoon nap.

Caroline had her 3 year old checkup this morning. She was 36.75 inches tall (50th percentile) and 28 pounds (25th percentile).

I lived. Caroline and I are about to head back to Winston, although she is demanding to be left here.

Caroline will be visiting with Grandma Libby and Papa Ira for a few days while I attempt to not die. As always, she could barely contain her excitement on the trip down, and has been having a great time since she's arrived.

Caroline went to the SciWorks story time this morning and learned about frogs. She also got to touch a snake and check on her favorite bird, the owl. Sadly, there are no ocelots on display - a fairly glaring omission among Winston-Salem's offerings.

The playgroup went to the Lazy 5 Ranch today to check out a bunch of animals up close. After strolling around a petting zoo area, we took a hayride where we could feed ostriches, antelope, giraffes, and buffalo. And I let Caroline know before the ride that if it should tip over, she didn't have to outrun the hungry animals, she only had to outrun the other passengers.

Alec was unimpressed.

(This is Cheryl) Caroline loves her new pj's from Grandma and Papa Steve. She gasped and said they were "fancy" (like her snazzy Dora pj's from Grandma Libby and Papa Ira) and she demanded to wear them after her bath. She's just about ready to close out her big day with some cuddling, and songs, and bedtime stories. In addition to some other artsy stuff, we got her an awesome Blue's Clues handy-dandy notebook (complete with eraseable crayon) today, and it seemed to beat last year's gift. Sweet! Happy Birthday, (decreasingly) wee one.

Unsurprisingly, Paige and Caroline still had room for ice cream cones after taking a few bites of their dinner and licking the frosting from their cake.

Although she had earlier parties with her friend Sophie when she visited two weeks ago, and with the Zukowski Clan last weekend when she traveled to NJ, today is Caroline's actual 3rd birthday. She got to open some presents from family and faraway friends this morning, and we had Paige and her family over this evening to celebrate.

After rounding up Mikey and Emma (not pictured) to join us at story time at the Children's Museum, we were disappointed to learn that today's installment was canceled because the librarian, Abbie, was sick. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Caroline played in the sprinklers well past the shivering, blue lip stage. Thumbs up parenting on my part - but it's not entirely my fault - I mean, who has a keg at a 3 year old's birthday party? Shortly after this photo, Caroline drove me home.

(Note to concerned readers - there wasn't really a keg, and I didn't make Caroline drive. It was bottles, and Caroline wanted to drive.)

They're saying "cheese" here - Cheryl thought they looked upset.

Emma had her birthday party today. Most of us left wet, full, and stained with icing. A fantastic time.

Emma and Caroline helped say goodbye to Allison (Matthew's mom) at a breakfast this morning at The Dessertery. The girls ate their weight in pancakes with lots of butter. We wish the Peck family good luck in their move to Boston.

It was Emma's 3rd birthday today, and Caroline celebrated with her at Tanglewood this morning (along with the playgroup) and at Miller this afternoon. Emma actually seemed a bit down for much of the day, likely because she's upset about getting older. Caroline did her best to cheer her up.

We celebrated Miss Caroline's 3rd birthday with a bunch of cake and candles and hats.

Caroline spent a glorious weekend hanging with her Grandparents Zukowski and her cousin Casey. She was absolutely in awe of him and his wee little appendages. She gave him lots and lots of kisses and hugs, and enjoyed watching him sleep.