Ten on Tuesday v. 4

1. Marie's lost two teeth in the last week, with another on the way. I was okay with the little tooth on the bottom, but when I looked in the roof of her mouth and saw a permanent tooth growing in, I freaked. That tooth has pushed one of the top teeth out, and the other will be coming any day.

2. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried when she lost the second one. Kevin asked me why, and I wasn't sure if it was vanity (Hello, Nanny McPhee???) or because she's my baby.

3. Did I mention that she's not quite 5-years-old? Way too young to be looking like an awkward, grown-up kid.

4. One week of summer vacation down, and I think it's been about 50% successful so far. Lots of success on the playing end, not so much on the chores/reading end. I'm vowing to be better this summer!

5. This was supposed to be our summer of reading. Marie's really starting to pick it up, and could be a pro by the end of the summer. And I'm determined to get Kyle reading and loving other books besides "Big Nate" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." I got desperate and hid them all away:

6. I printed out reading punch passes that they can redeem for a treat, and they WILL be completing the summer reading program at the library. Man, they give a lot of good passes/prizes away! Yes, this is definitely going to be our summer of reading...

7. Marie had her friend birthday party on Saturday at the Hands-On House children's museum. It was perfect in every way. The kids ran around like crazy for two hours, had juice and cupcakes, and I didn't have to do a thing. Nothing to prepare, and nothing to clean up afterwards. We're not ones to spend a lot of money on birthday parties, but I thought the $100 fee was completely worth it. 

8. Kyle participated in a lacrosse camp last week. He really loves lacrosse, and has a blast throwing that ball around. But, he's a pretty cautious kid, and let's face it - lacrosse is a pretty crazy sport. So he's been very apprehensive about trying it, despite some aggressive recruiting. He gave it a go, and had a good time, but I don't think he'll be joining up. I'm just proud of him for trying. It was a big step just for him to try something new, all on his own.

9. Marie was pretty stoked about the gear, too:

10. We've moved into a pretty great neighborhood. Last weekend, they had an outdoor movie night. And a few days later, a giant Welcome to Summer ice cream party. Kid heaven.