Monday, at camp, the kids were tie-dying shirts and we were told to send them in clothing they could get dirty. These shirts fit the bill and the boys added to the ensemble with their winter hats. It was only 80 degrees. Why not?

Can you tell that Amaya did her own hair? She sat, very focused, in front of her vanity mirror.

Nana took the kids to Starbucks for breakfast before camp. When she got to the table where the kids were waiting, the couple next to them commented that Amaya was a big sister with twin brothers. When Nana corrected them and said they were triplets, the couple said that Amaya had told them that she was 5 years old and the big sister, and her brothers were both 4. Apparently she totally sold it. This girl.

Fun with nose plugs.

Watching the washer.

Always safe with Morminer.

Eating a cracker sandwich for breakfast lol.

Megan’s mother was out of town this week so Taco was an afternoon visitor Tuesday-  Friday. <3

The kids love Mikey! Megan says they love him more than they love her. I challenged that but she says it’s because he never tells them what to do. Which is true. But still not reflective of who they love most. 🙂

Steven was so excited to uses the “big” vacuum. The best thing about this is his outfit. He looks like a crime fighting baseball playing cleaner.

Amaya has been obsessed with their teacher, Miss Bree. In fact, if she’s angry with me she’ll tell me that she’s going to live with Miss Bree. Last night she told me that we’re her pretend family and Miss Bree is her real family. Hearing all that, I had to get a picture of them together – and they made it very easy. I love that the kids love the teachers at their school so much.

I was in Orlando Wednesday and Thursday and was happy to see that, Thursday morning, Amaya earned her newest prize for staying in bed – a Princess Sophia crown!

Picture for Mommy while I’m away.

Did I mention that Amaya loves Mikey? She wrote that herself and even drew the heart.

Friday morning SSA had a 2nd trip to Starbucks for breakfast, this time compliments of Daddy!

Friday afternoon was more bike riding…

Even Taco joined in.

After last weekend’s success at the pool I wanted to try it again, this time in the outdoor pool the kids use during the week. Everyone was excited and I had Madison with me for an extra set of hands.

Someone wore TWO bathing suits.

This part of the pool is 3 feet deep. Amaya went in right away and Sammy was coaxed in pretty easily. Amaya’s always in the pool during camp and Sammy has ventured in a few times. I could barely get Steven off the steps. He was so frightened and kept insisting that the water would be over his head. I took a cue from last weekend and convinced him to let me hold him in the pool. Then I lowered him down a few times so he could see that his feet touched the bottom. It worked! Most of the time he didn’t want to leave the side of the pool but he went in and was incredibly proud and excited to be in the water.

Chitchatting with Amaya.

A granola bar break. Afterward, I showed the kids how I can jump off the diving board. I forgot how much fun that is! Another swimmer then showed the kids how he dives, which absolutely enthralled them. Madison wrapped it up with canonballs!

After our break everyone got back in and Amaya came across a very sturdy pool noodle that got everyone’s attention. Fortunately, we came across two more.

At first Steven still wanted to hang on to the ledge but eventually he got the hang of it and said, “It’s like having a ledge everywhere I go. Now I can go everywhere I want.” Sweet boy.

Great afternoon! We can’t wait to go back!

Swimming wipes you out. I love how Sammy lounges. Always have.

Jason got Amaya a canopy for her princess coach bed. It’s perfect! Steven calls it a “parachute carriage bed”.

A month or so ago, the kids potted vegetable seeds at the Maybury Farm Festival. Amaya dumped out most of Steven’s dirt and he’s been disappointed that his plant isn’t growing so he and Jason went to Home Depot to get new supplies. “It’s not dirt, mommy. It’s soil.” Steven is back in action!

Compliments of Sammy… want to entertain 3 young kids? Let them play “Cat” for a while. It was so funny. They absolutely loved it.

Today we went to Kensington Farm Center with my friend Bethany and her trio, who are the same age as SSA. We packed a lunch, suncreened up and headed out!

Amaya is definitely past her fear of farm animals. Yay!! She even fed a goat.

Sammy’s turn feeding the goat.

Quickly snatching his hands back when the goat took his food. 🙂

Steven was thrilled that there was a brown sheep at the farm. “It’s Morminer!!”

Lifting 20lb bags with pulleys.

Our tall girl.

The whole gang! Bethany and I have been friends since before our kids were born so it’s awesome to watch them grow up together.

Amaya picks flowers wherever she goes so guard your gardens, folks.

When we left the farm, we were delayed while everyone took in this very large butterfly. Massive. Humongous. Enormous!

Jason’s getting ready for the National (ball card show) and Steven’s helping out and playing “ball card show” along with Daddy.

Cuddling & singing with Daddy, too.

We wrapped up our Sunday with pool time. Even here, Amaya wants to put her face in the pool and blow bubbles.

5 years ago TODAY, Jason and I learned we were having triplets. And here we are today. The wildest news turned out to be the best news.

Have a great week!

Bedtime dance party! I love any picture where the kids are holding hands and playing together. I’m so curious how their bond will evolve and change as they grow up. I hope, hope, hope they stay close.

We’re still working on our star charts for staying in bed all  is night. Sammy and Amaya are motivated and earning prices pretty quickly. (Here, Sammy is with his new Shimmer doll.) Steven is having a harder time. We’re going to try buying the prizes in advance so there’s something very tangible to work toward.

Tuesday was a picture perfect day so Megan made the most of the weather and took SSA to a splash pad.

Madison came to babysit on Tuesday night while I plans out. Before bed, everyone got busy making dream catchers. The kids made them at school when Steven was at Grandma Sunshine’s house so Megan had the idea of making them at home because Steven wanted one, too. Amaya has made about 30 since lol.

Out on a boat with 7 other local triplet moms. It was such a good time. I had the oldest kids with the youngest being about a year old. I have it a lot easier right now than the moms in the thick of young toddlers.

Wednesday night was Sammy’s turn for a sleepover at Grandma’s house. He was so excited that he wanted to pack before camp.

While Sammy went off with Grandma, Megan took Amaya and Steven to Maybury Farm. Amaya was SO brave and actually pet the animals – a horse and the bunnies! I’m proud of my girl for trying. (Everyone was in yellow because it was color war day at camp and their bunk’s color was yellow.)

Is this the best, or what? Someone is beyond excited for an ice cream brownie.

Thursday morning… look at the waves in Amaya’s hair from a braid in her ponytail. <3

While Steven and Amaya were at camp on Thursday, Sammy and Grandma Sunshine hit up two local parks.

I finally printed the third year blog! Whoo hoo! It’s always a relief to know I’m not relying on digital files. This takes us through when SSA turned three and now I’m on to year four. It would be great if I could get that done before they turn five. I’m determined to catch up one of these years. 🙂

It been a week of Lincoln Logs. Lots and lots of houses and barns have been built. SSA aren’t quite adept at building on their own yet but they’re getting there. Working around the doors and windows is still tricky for them to figure out.

Our perfectionist. One who gets pissed.

Chilling out before bed. Shimmer’s getting a lot of love.

Nana came to visit this week and arrive on Thursday night. We ordered sushi for dinner and got some extra which Sammy and Amaya devoured for breakfast on Friday morning. I love watching them eat sushi. I still haven’t taken them to a sushi restaurant but that might be on the docket soon.

Friday afternoon, everyone showed Nana how they ride their new bikes!

Can’t end Friday night without Shabbat with Nana. 🙂

It was a rainy, rainy weekend so we made the most of it by going to the pool at the JCC. Amaya loves to swim and the boys have some nerves so this was a chance to get Amaya more time in the pool and work with Steven and Sammy on their comfort level.

The kids swim Tues, Wed and Thurs at camp, usually in the outside pool. Their inside pool is used during the school year and on rainy days. It’s zero entry and has a shallow side blocked off from a deeper side. On the deep end, there’s a two foot shelf the kids can stand on before it drops to 4 feet. The deep side is where the instructors hold lessons during the year.

Amaya was ready to come over to the deep end right away.

She just wanted to jump and jump and jump.

Sammy warmed up pretty quickly. He didn’t want to go underwater but he liked when I helped him swim but holding him under his arms and letting him kick.

Steven wanted to come over to the deep end so badly but he was really scared to do it. There was a long period of hemming and hawing and false starts before we finally made it happen. At first he just clung to me but, soon enough, he loosened up. He still stayed in the one corner but he was happy and proud to be there.

Sammy blowing bubbles. And even Nana got in the pool!

It was a lazy, grey Sunday morning in the Land of Cheltenham.

Helping Nana prep for tonight’s dinner.

Piling on Daddy

Building with Nana

A million books read!

We spent the afternoon back at the pool building on what we tried yesterday. For almost the entire time there we were the only ones in the pool!

“All aboard the underwater train!”

In the background you can spy Nana with Sammy. She graciously jumped in when I was too cold to keep on swimming. These kids have stamina!

Amaya takes after me and gets cold fast. You still have to drag her out of the pool though!

It was a great weekend. I’m curious to hear if this weekend’s time at the pool has any impact on them at camp this week.

Have a great week!

This week Amaya and Sammy got back into taking selfies. We had a few starts and stops to help them coordinate pushing the button and looking at the same time.

Watching animal videos that Grandpa Homey sent us.

My friend Hannah got us this book about problems. Steven looked at it and said, “Oh, his problem is a big rock in the sky! Or maybe a big thundercloud, actually.” Lol

Just a cute face. <3

The kids still love “science” on the deck.

Except for days like this when Sammy is the last man standing after Steven and Amaya were chanting, “We hate science. We hate science.”

Steven had a PLAN on Wednesday night. And the plan was that he and Amaya would sleep together in the big bed and Sammy would sleep with them on the floor. He brought everything into the room and got it ready. Poor kid had to live with my “no” after all that work.

He still slept in there, though, after saying that Amaya had been meant to him and he didn’t want to sleep with her. At least they have options.

Thursday night was a sleepover at Grandma Sunshine’s for Steven! The first of the season!! He packed himself and was ready.

Safe and sound, and having a great time!

I was AZ for work on Friday and took a red eye home on Friday night so I slept all morning on Saturday. We’re transitioning to new dishes so storage lids made for great lunch plates for SSA.

We recently returned to a star system to motivate Steven, Sammy and Amaya to stay in bed until their green light goes on and it’s working!! Whoo hoo! We generally give them small prizes but they’re ready for new bikes so we used this as an opportunity for an upgrade. It was Wednesday morning when they earned their 6th star so everyone was eager to get shopping on Saturday afternoon, especially after their test rides the weekend prior in Cleveland.

Steven and Amaya chose to wear my shirts which had to be pinned in back.

Hello Target!

Sammy’s new Storm Trooper bike!

Amaya’s new princess bike. She looks so OLD!!!

Putting air in the tires. 🙂

Steven is still most comfortable on a “bike with three wheels”. When he’s ready, we’ll upgrade.

This morning Jason spent more time outside with the kids teaching them how to use the breaks and turn their bikes around.

Last night the kids wanted to eat dinner out on the deck and it was an easy yes. Stuff like that is what I loved about summer. I do wish we had lightening bugs in our area, though.

Deep in conversation.

Steven and I went for another bike ride in today’s scorching heat. This boy, man. He’s so self-assured and aware of his interests and disinterests.

Sammy wanted to taste the “spicy” drink Amaya had in Texas. Jason made it happen and supplied everything needed to make Sammy a Shirley Temple. 🙂 Kid loved it.

Just two more photos this week.

One from 4 years ago. Look at these boys! I want to go back in time and scoop them up for hugs.

And I’ll end with Poppy Steven. On Monday, 7/9 we remembered 35 years that he’s been gone but, for sure, he is never forgotten. He even lives in the hearts of 5 grandchildren who never met him but know how important he was, and is.

Have a great week!

It was another busy, busy week in the Land of Cheltenham.

Typical week to start with Amaya giving me the stink eye because there was something I wouldn’t let her do. Her stink eye and pout-faces are spectacular. She has magic eyebrows.

You can kind of get a glimpse of it here. I snapped this picture as I was leaving the drop-off room. Amaya and Steven took out this box to play with and some other kids wanted to play, too. Amaya had 95% of the contents but was sulking because the other kids “won’t share”.

Megan sent me the photo from 4 years ago and it was impossible to resist a re-shoot. Megan hatched a plan and got it done lol. What a difference four years make!

Amaya and Sammy 🙂

A serious conversation between Amaya and her Daddy. She looks like such a big kid, I can’t believe it.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday evening, poor Strawberry bit the dust. It was a confusing time for the kids. Well, the boys. Amaya seemed totally unfazed, though she was excited about the Fish Funeral.

Sammy thinks about death a lot and took it the hardest. “I wanted Strawberry to live longer.” Steven asked if we should give Strawberry more food to make her alive again. I asked Sammy why we couldn’t do that and he said, “Because she died and she doesn’t have muscles anymore.”

Everyone took a moment to say goodbye to Strawberry. “Goodbye Strawberry. You were a good fish.”

Then we gathered together for the big goodbye.

Poor Bubba.

I promised the kids we’d get another fish on Thursday. They agreed they wanted another red fish named Strawberry. So it shall be.

Later on, Sammy asked Amaya if she could use magic to make Strawberry come up from the potty. Apparently Amaya did something related to coins that Sammy thinks is magic. Amaya told him she can only do it with coins but I think it’s interesting that he asked her. Death has got to be very confusing to four year olds.

Far less somber…randomly, Amaya has been telling us she’s ten years old. She thinks it’s hysterical.

“I’m this many!”

“Stevie! Let me pick you up!”

“Sammy! Let me pick you up!”

Fourth of July!!

Steven and i took an early, and rare, trip to the grocery store together. “Daddy pushes me and lets go! Can you do that, too?”

The kids and I spent some time outside and got to witness an amazing ant in action. This tiny, tiny ant was pulling a bug 5x it’s size by the bug’s wing. And the bug was still alive! It was incredible. Steven watched for ages and we talked about how strong ants are. Very strong. Eventually the ant ran out of steam and the bigger bug escaped. the big bug was struggling – it couldn’t fly and couldn’t make it off the driveway so Steven got a leaf and we moved it to safety on the grass.

Morning story books with Daddy – Last Stop of Market Street.

It was a hot, hot day but the kids had seen a “festibal” down the road at Suburban Showplace and were talking nonstop about going, and about riding the ferris wheel, so we decided to brave the weather.

Waiting to go in, standing in each others’ shadows to cool down.

First stop, WATER.

I gave it a 99.5% chance that all three kids would back out of the ferris wheel but Sammy wanted to go for it! He and I were the only riders and up we went! He was nervous at first but relaxed pretty quickly and was excited to see I-96 and Grand River from up high.

So high!

Amaya was crying when we got down and immediately went to hug Sammy, saying she missed him. <3 Either Steven or Amaya mentioned that the ferris wheel seemed a lot smaller from far away. 🙂

It was hot out, and an original forecast called for afternoon rain, so the fair was practically empty. We were there from noon to 1:30pm and there was hardly anyone else around the entire time. Awesome for us but probably not so great for the people running the fair.

We found the area with the kid rides and everyone made their choices.

Steven was the most reticent and needed to watch for a while before deciding if he wanted to go on the ride. Checking out the helicopters with Daddy…

In the end, Steven went on the Groovy Bus and sports cars.

Amaya and I went on the carousel and then she went on the spinning dogs and dumbo.

Sammy went on the Groovy Bus, the boats, the helicopters the spinning dogs and dumbo. I’m guessing he’d have gone on every ride if he could have. And Amaya definitely pushed past her comfort zone and had a blast. She told me that, next time, she can go on the carousel by herself.

Steven

Sammy

Sammy

Sammy

Steven

The kids had a blast and are already excited for the State Fair over Labor Day Weekend.

The rest of our 4th of July was wonderfully quiet at home.

I took Thursday and Friday off to use up some vacation days before they expire. I binge watched 6 1/2 episodes of Agents of SHIELD from 7:30am to 12:30pm when the kids got home from school and then we had a wonderful afternoon together.

My boys wanted to sit next to their mommy while they ate.

Chutes & Ladders! It’s nice that we can actually play board games together. SSA need some help with the counting and movement but they’re totally into it – and all of them really want to win.

We wrapped up our day with a trip to Meijer where we brought home Strawberry the 2nd! We’re taking it slow, following instructions and hoping this little guy makes it longer.

Sammy: If Strawberry the 2nd dies we’ll have to get Strawberry the Last
Steven: No, Strawberry the 3rd!

Remember when Amaya didn’t have hair? Look at the now!

“My hair is as long as Charlie’s!”

The kids have sandals with three straps. Always marching to her own fashion beat, Amaya loves to find the most convoluted ways to secure the straps.

Today we got to visit with my friend Mike, his wife Kerith and their 12 year old daughter Annabel who are visiting from Atlanta. It was so nice to see them and Amaya took to Annabel immediately. She loves hanging with “big girls”. Maybe because she’s 10 years old. 😉

The heat finally broke a bit so we went to the splash pad at Kensington Park in the afternoon. I had no idea there was this little beach right on the lake. I definitely want to go back with everyone when we’re prepared for a beach afternoon.

Watching the water slide. It’s huge and curvy and looks like SO much fun. Technically Amaya and Sammy are tall enough (just) to go down but we’ll give it another year.

Steven at the water cannon.

This weekend was one of our favorites of the year – our visit to Cleveland to spend the night with my friend Hannah and her kids, including identical triplet girls born in April 2014. It’s our third year and a row and I hope we can continue this for years to come.

It was only a 2.5 hr drive but it ended up taking us almost 5 hrs. We stopped at Meijer an hour in for some quick pick-ups and ended up there for an hour. SSA found a new way to ride the cart with me, though!

We stopped at a Service Plaza for lunch and there was one person working – taking orders and making food. It took a half hour to get our meals and, when you throw in a bathroom stop for three 4 year olds, it was another 45 minute delay.

Sammy’s face sums up how we felt on that BK line.

But we made it! This year the kids dove right into to playing with their friends. It was awesome.

Water blasters!

Sammy and Amaya were both excited that they got up the nerve to go down the slide into the pool. I didn’t actually realize how impactful it was for Sammy until he told Jason almost immediately upon getting home.

Hannah generously let Steven and Sammy play with the hose. For a looooooong time.

Steven

Sammy

There is a picnic table where we planned to eat but Amaya saw the fancier table in the distance and asked if she could eat there instead. One by one, other kids started to make their way over there, as well. She’s with Betsy (who she keeps calling “Abby”).

TV time before bed.

The theme of the weekend was BIKES. Oh boy, were Steven, Sammy and Amaya excited to ride bikes with pedals. They’re actually working toward pedal bikes of their own by earning stars for staying in bed for 6 days and I think this was the icing on their motivation cake. Bikes, bikes, bikes, bikes. It was how they spent a good party of yesterday and almost all of this morning.

This is the bike Amaya wants.

This is what Steven is hoping for. “Is this a training bike, Mommy?” He’s thrilled that he learned how to pedal. “Daddy, my friends taught me how to pedal.” (Amaya then insisted she was the one who taught him.)

Hi Sammy! Sammy really wants a “bike with two wheels and pedals and a break.” I think, with training wheels, we can make that happen for him. And, if it doesn’t work, we can always backtrack to a trike since he’d grow into the bigger bike eventually anyway.

These kids are going to spend a lot of time on their bikes over the next few months!

Sammy: “Mommy! Look at the rainbow I’m making!!”

The whole gang – the 6 Birchman girls and 3 Cline kids.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We wrapped up our weekend in Cleveland with a lunch date with my friend Ginny and her newborn son, Wes!

Now we’re home, and ready for a new week! Have a great one.

Once again Monday seems like a loooooong time ago but it was Steven, Sammy and Amaya’s first day of camp! They go Monday- Friday form 8am- 12pm – the same as their school schedule. They have swim or splash pad on Tues, Wed and Thurs and are with new “teachers” and some new kids, too. After their first day they said, “We like our teachers and made new friends.” What more can I we ask for!?!

I came home Monday night and Steven was drawing rainbows and trying so hard to add hearts. They kept looking like M’s and the poor guy was super frustrated (and pissed). Thankfully Megan was there to help because, when I offered, he said, “You can’t help me! It’s for YOU!”

For months, Amaya’s dresses have been sitting in a laundry basket in her closet. Megan had the great idea to get a bar that was accessible for her height. Genius! She was thrilled and she and Steven spent a solid half hour working together to hang all of the dresses.

The finished product!

Sammy and I had plans to go to NY on Wednesday night. He was bouncing with energy about the trip and had been asking to start packing for a solid week before we left. The weather for Wednesday looked terrible so, rather than risk a delay or cancellation, on the way home from work on Tuesday I called an audible and made plans to fly out that night. I wish I had Sammy on video when I told him. “We’re going tonight!?!?”

We finished packing quickly and by 7:45pm were off to the airport.

“Mommy, can I hold your hand the whole time because this is Mommy-Sammy time?”

First time standing on the airport train.

We didn’t leave until 10pm and within 5 minutes of take off this boy was OUT.

I was even able to carry him off the plane and transfer him to his stroller. 100%, Sammy is our best sleeper. In fact, he sleeps so well on these trips because he’s alone in a room with no one to wake him before he’s ready to get up.

Since I came in a day early, I worked from Nana & Papa’s house on Wednesday. My colleagues got a kick out of the idea of me working from my sister’s childhood bedroom.

Early in the day, Sammy got some quality time with Papa.

Then he spent the rest of the day hanging with Chase, Charlie and Nana and Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s house.

Post-surgery Chase needs to wear a face mask to play games like soccer and Sammy wanted to be like his big cousin.

Making each other laugh at bath time. I love this cousins picture. 🙂

Wednesday night, around 8:30pm, we lost power back in MI. Jason took Steven and Amaya into his bed in case it was took dark to navigate if they needed him later. Steven was fast asleep so Amaya told Jason to carry him and she’d get Morminer. In this picture she’s rubbing his back as he sleeps. <3 I love how these kids care for each other.

Thursday was a vacation day for me so we hit up one of Sammy’s favorite restaurants for lunch – Benihana!

With Savta!

Of course Nana was prepared for a wait at the table. Who wouldn’t want a story from their great grandmother?

He was so excited to see cooking start at a neighboring table.

Watching the chef – completely enthralled.

Sammy likes a lap for the part with the fire.

It’s hard to tell but the chef set it up to make it look like godzilla was blowing the fire. He was great!

If you take Sammy to Benihana, be prepared to add a lobster tail to his order lol. He did awesome with the chopsticks, too.

Sammy had mentioned that he wanted to go on the carousel so, after lunch, we headed over to the Nunley’s Carousel. First, he wanted to look for “beautiful things” with Savta. (And again, after our rides.)

Sammy prefers the bench to the horses. On our second ride he did watch me on a horse while he sat on the bench on his own.

We rounded out the day at the Goldberg’s house. Chase saw the shirt Sammy was wearing and immediately went to change into his matching shirt – both gifts from Aunt Dale and Uncle Arnie.

And we finally got to see Uncle Dave!!!

By the time we got home a downpour hit and Sammy was thrilled to get to stand out in the rain with an umbrella. I love the simple joys for 4 year olds.

Meanwhile, back in MI, Megan met up with Mikey and Taco and took Steven and Amaya to a big party at the JCC complete with a petting zoo and inner.

“I pet a sheep like Morminer!”

Amaya still has no interest in petting animals but she was ready to chow down.

Friday was a planned work day for me, visiting schools. I headed out early while Sammy, Nana and Papa prepared for a beach day. First order of business – cleaning a school bus to get it beach ready.

When we first woke up, Sammy asked if Nana had a big shovel with plastic at the end. He knew/remembered exactly what he wanted and fortunately the shovel is still at the beach – ready to dig holes for umbrellas with Papa.

He had a great day and I ended my meetings at 4pm just 15 min from the beach so I was able to meet up with my Sam Man.

We rounded out the day with dinner on the bay. Fried shrimp for mommy & Sammy. He really got a kick sitting on the edge of the dock, watching the fish.

Sammy went to bed and, shortly after, sat up asking what day it was & crying. He realized it was Friday and he hadn’t lit the Shabbat candles with Nana. We couldn’t have that so out of bed it was to light candles and enjoy two big pieces of challa with butter.

The big adventure back in MI is that Amaya was going to a wedding with Daddy as his +1! She has been soooooo excited for weeks. She even got to wear fancy new shoes with “heels”. Since Amaya was going to a wedding and Sammy was in NY, we wanted Steven to get to have something special of his own so we arranged for our sitter, Penni, to take him out to dinner. Steven wanted to get dressed up for that, too. These kids fill me up.

Amaya and Daddy – ready to go!

Making friends

Saving a seat for Daddy lol.

Amaya made a friend and stuck by her side all night!

Our girl. <3

Jason said, “It’s time to cut her off.” 🙂

She had a blast!!

Meanwhile, Megan decided to make it a special afternoon for Steven, too, and took him to glow-in-the-dark putt putt! His first time!! He told Megan it was “awesome”.

With his mile of tickets Steven redeemed prizes for all three Cline kids.

Then it was off to dinner at Garage with Penni! He knew exactly what he wanted to eat (noodles with butter). There was a bit of drama when the shape of the noodle was different than it had been but Penni was able to get him through it and they had a great time out together!

Saturday was another beach day that I got to enjoy from the start. This time we headed down to the ocean! It’s a looooooong walk from the cabana but Sammy was ready.

This kid was SO much more comfortable in the ocean that he was 10 months ago in August ’17. Last year he didn’t want the water touching him at all. This year he had a blast in the waves, with tight hands holding his. It was so much fun!

Digging and exploring with Nana.

Our last night in NY was a big adventure to a Yankees game with Aunt Sara, Uncle Dave and Chase. Off we go!

It was a long, long walk from the car to the stadium and up to our seats – mostly because we missed a perfectly positioned elevator. Sammy was taking it all in, though, and loves drinking water like a big kid. He was so funny all night. “The Yankees are terrible!” “The Detroit Tigers are my favorite team.” “The Red Sox smell like poop.” Can you hear Jason’s influence anywhere there? (That last one might have been me telling Sammy that Yankees fans think the Red Sox stink.) 🙂

Uncle Dave was so much fun with Sammy!

Right by our seats is a new Kids’ Club with space to play and family bathrooms.

THIS FACE.

We stopped off to get his “First Yankees Game” certificate and Sammy convinced me to get him cotton candy.

I think he liked it!

It was a great time at the game and a GREAT 4 days in New York. Next thing we knew, off we were to Michigan to reunite with Daddy, Steven and Amaya.

I’ll leave off this week with a video of Steven celebrating Morminer’s birthday.

Have a great one!!