When Laney was born, Aunt Kris gave Kaya a “busy bag” filled with lots of wrapped up presents. So, when I was busy with the new baby, Kaya could get a new toy out of her busy bag to play with. It worked beautifully, although we quickly learned to restrict the toy allocation to one per day. Kaya had mixed feelings about opening the last toy the other day (yes, the bag lasted 8 months!): a glow in the dark necklace. Her busy bag is now no more (although I’m tempted to hoard any birthday gifts she gets and put them in a bag for the same purpose). Thanks Kris!

The summer pattern of thunderstorms every night means that some mornings, our bed looks like this. (This was Sunday morning, in case you locals argue we didn’t have a storm last night). They really look like sisters in this picture.

It’s a good thing we don’t live in Boston anymore. Because Kaya thinks that 75 degrees is bitterly cold. Luckily she knows where to find her winter goods.

The benefits of having a big sister is that sometimes she gives you crackers. And then she distracts mommy for so long that you get to each a whole cracker before mommy even notices. Laney seemed pretty proud of herself post-cracker.

(This post is for grandparents only, pretty much)

Just so you know, we have a few birthdays coming up in our family.

Kaya’s birthday list: 3T sweaters/sweatshirts. She likes pockets. 3T nightgowns/summer pajamas. 4T anything. Coloring books that are little and can fit in the diaper bag. A sprinkler. A iPad mini case that can be hooked to the back of the front seat of a car for watching movies – I have no idea if that exists. Kid headphones – I don’t know if that exists either but I bet it does.

My list: Shirts for work. And this: (this was magically in my cabinet the other day, and it was delicious and I want more of this:)

We ventured to the museums of Raleigh this past weekend – this time we checked out the Museum of Natural Sciences (or something like that). We saw North Carolina’s own Acrocanthosaurus – but more fun, we climbed on some rocks next to the acrocanthosaurus.

We’ve been singing Happy Birthday America all morning.

Tommy, Yoya, and Kaya ran Durham’s quintessential race this past weekend: the point 262. It is a 0.262 mile long race that ends at Fullsteam, designed for those a little more the Rose-style than marathoners. Dylan and I drank a cold beer while they ran. I heart Durham.

Laney has two smiles – a big gaping open mouth smile, and the more rare and reserved but still very happy closed mouth smile. I finally caught the latter on camera. I think she looks like Daddy when she does this smile.