Summer vacation

The O'Gradys are on vacation! We've had a wonderful couple of days so far, knocking around Denver and Boulder. We've been hanging out with friends, spending time with family, and thoroughly enjoying the hot and sunny weather outdoors. Tonight, Jason and I celebrate our anniversary (7 years!!). Tomorrow, we'll drive up to the mountains for a few days. I'll write more later, but here are a few quick pics from the trip so far.

Meet the newest co-pilot for Southwest Airlines

Blasting monsters with Cora

Beer tasting with Uncle Roger, Aunt Sue, Scott, and Brian

More beer tasting...Avery Brewery in Boulder. When in Rome, right?

Molly mermaid

Molly had her first solo swim class on Tuesday night. No parents in the water. No singing and splashing. This was serious stuff. Molly hung on to the side of the pool with the other kids and practiced floating on her back, kicking, and even jumping off the side. All with a swim belt on, of course! She had a huge smile on her face for the entire length of the class and has been talking about swimming ever since.

All dressed up and ready to go

Waiting patiently

Floating -- it's a little blurry because of the zoom. Parents had to watch from the balcony.

While I was observing the class from above, I realized what a difference there is between age 3 and age 4. Last year, Molly had meltdown after meltdown at ballet class, so we decided to take a little break from activities. Now, at swim class, she's totally fine. But the younger kids, who looked closer to 3, all freaked out and refused to leave their parents or get in the pool. Interesting. This gives me hope that Molly will be ready for soccer in the Fall. She better be...Jason signed up to coach!

Anyway, this last picture has nothing to do with swim class, but it's about the cutest one I've ever seen of James. I felt like it belonged on the blog!

James is in a really adorable phase right now. He just likes handing stuff to people. So cute!

Let's hear it for the dads

My Sunday started early. My dad showed up at 7:00am to babysit Molly so Jason and I could run a race. I left without saying "Happy Father's Day."

Later that day, I realized I forgot Jason's card at work and wouldn't be able to give it to him until Monday. I hurried through an art project with Molly while he mowed the lawn just so he would have something to mark the day as special.

Of course, I had every intention of calling or texting my father-in-law, but then got caught up getting the house ready for people to come over that evening.

This would not have happened to me on Mother's Day.

I feel terrible. I have such great dads to thank and I did a lousy job of showing my appreciation.

My dad taught me to love sports, to work hard, and to always tell the truth. Without him, my finances would probably be a mess. He thinks everything that Molly does is just delightful.

Jason is the most modern of modern dads. He does almost all of the cooking, grocery shopping, and daycare pickups. And he never makes me feel bad about any of it. Molly and I both know, at all times, how much we're loved.

My father-in-law would drop everything this minute and drive from Virginia to Chicago, no question, if we needed him to. He makes Molly laugh harder than anyone else can.

These dads are so great, they almost let me get away without saying, "Thank you." I know I'm one day late, but I hope the message is loud and clear. Happy Father's Day!

Stickers work!

It's been a month since I first wrote about Molly's nap time troubles and I'm happy to report that...the stickers are working! I think we've done it for 4 weeks now, with Molly going 7/10, 9/10, 6/6 (short week), and 10/10. Nap time struggles are pretty much nonexistent these days. She's even slept a few times.

This is what good behavior looks like :) Molly's teachers clearly know what types of stickers will motivate her. 

I can't give all the credit to the stickers. We talk about listening and being good at nap A LOT at home with Molly and at school with the teachers. We've brought in a few really cool books, including a princess encyclopedia (thanks, Jake and Corinne!) that make nap time a little more interesting. We've slowly been returning the toys that we initially confiscated. And we've been laying on the praise and high fives whenever she has a good day.

But I have to give most of the credit to Molly. She's been working really hard and I can tell she's proud of herself. She's listening better at school, better at home, and seems to have ditched the bratty behavior that we were so concerned about. Relief.

I know we can't spend too much time basking in the glory of Molly's sticker success. We've got to keep working on it and coming up with ways to make those two hours easier to deal with. She's got another year and half of naps to get through until Kindergarten finally starts (ugh). But I'm feeling pretty good about the way things are going right now. Next up...table manners!

Living like tourists

I'll have to keep this post short! The Blackhawks are between periods. They're up 4-3 vs the LA Kings and the winner goes to the playoffs. Intense! But, we had such a good weekend hanging out in Chicago and I took so many cute pictures, it would be a shame not to get them on the blog.

We were total tourists this weekend. Jason had to work a convention at the McCormick Center, so Molly and I decided to pack a bag and take full advantage of downtown hotel room. Here are the highlights:

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. I love this photo -- we have so few good ones of the 3 of us. 

Navy Pier Carousel

Enjoying some frozen yogurt (there was a lot of eating this weekend)

Watching the seals at Lincoln Park Zoo

Finally found a playground! We walked all the way from the Magnificent Mile to the north end of Lincoln Park before we spotted swings

Awkward hug with Lucy (Lindsay's little cutie). This pic isn't the greatest, but it was the only one I got of the two of them before my phone died

Our last touristy thing -- breakfast at the Rock and Roll McDonald's. It's not very rock and roll anymore, but Molly didn't care. She got hotcakes!