Forts and Firsts

It's been nothing but rain here for 2 weeks. It hasn't been the constant pouring rain that the DC area had a couple weeks ago, but it's still soggy and gross out. So, we have colored, painted, splashed in puddles, chased Hokie in the rain, played with blocks and trains, watched movies...every inside activity I could come up with. So, on Saturday afternoon, with a fussy, teething baby and a toddler bursting with energy....we decided to build a fort. Jack wore himself out by carrying chairs around the kitchen, and then had a blast doing everything in the fort. He had his snack in there, colored in there, played cars in there, and even asked to eat his dinner in there...until Hokie came in too.

We also had a very exciting first this weekend! Emma has been cruising for quite a while, but she wouldn't take the leap from one piece of furniture to the other. Finally this weekend she started diving from tables to couches and on Sunday night, she took her first independent steps!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6roAd0Tgy0

We were lucky enough to have Grammy come visit us this weekend while Matt is underway. We loved having her here and miss her already!

Puddles, Purses, and Pumpkins

Last Thursday we took our weekly trip to the zoo...actually, maybe our second trip that week. It was a much cooler morning then we have had all summer, and the animals were frisky! Every single animal was out and moving about. The ones who have water in their exibit were walking in and out of the water. We even saw the tapirs running, giraffes playing with each other, and lions batting at grass in their enclosure. But, the most active, wild and crazy animal of all is pictured below.
The mommy giraffe and baby giraffe were recently weaned, and the baby giraffe is inside a small area on the side of the exhibit. The daddy giraffe is still in the exhibit, next to the baby, and comes over to visit. Here he is, standing next to the baby giraffe.

Some of Jack's favorite animals at the zoo....the bongos!

Took a quick break to pose by the sign leading into our favorite part of the zoo - home of the rhino, zebra, giraffe, elephant, lion...and more!

As beautiful, bright and sunny as Thursday was, this weekend was the exact opposite. It rained and rained and rained, both Saturday and Sunday. It rained hard for hours and hours. And, our backyard turned into a pond...complete with two ducks and an unidentified bird. In an attempt to attract more ducks to our yard (for Jack, who constantly calls for them when he is outside), Matt went outside and threw them some bread. They weren't very interested...but Hokie liked it when we played outside Sunday morning. Since we couldn't do much playing outside this weekend, when the rain let up for a bit, we took advantage and did some puddle splashing. I did a little splashing...until my boot sprang a leak. Then, I left it up to Jack.
Our backyard pond was pretty deep....

So deep, the water went over the top of our boots....they had to dry out after our splashing excursion.


While Jack and I were out splashing, Matt was inside watching Navy whoop up on USC (ok, maybe they didn't win, but they sure did scare 'em). Apparently while Matt was watching football, Emma was using up all of our anytime minutes.

The constant theme this weekend, cooler weather. The evenings and mornings have been crisp, and even the leaves seem to know fall is coming....

So, we decorated!

Jack's artwork wall is starting to fill up! He really enjoys walking by the wall and pointing to his pictures, telling me about them.

Today's artwork is Jack's shape house. Miss Debbie, his teacher, asked him what stickers he wanted. He said he wanted the one of Mommy, Daddy and Jack. Then she asked if he wanted the sticker of a mommy and baby for his baby sister. He then proceeded to tell Miss Debbie and Miss Kelley that he did not have a baby and he did not have a sister. I think he probably wishes he didn't most of the time!

The funniest part of our zoo trip...the tapir enclosure. We couldn't figure out why this one tapir kept running away from the other one...UNTIL we got to the sign :)

A Day of Celebration

Sunday, September 11th...a day of remembrance of the tragic events that occurred 10 years ago. But this year, Grandparents Day also fell on the 11th. In the midst of our teary eyed morning, watching the Today Show coverage of the 9/11 Memorial Service, we were able to catch a silly and smiley moment to say "Happy Grandparents' Day" to Jack and Emma and Amy's wonderful grandparents and great grandparents! Thank you to Grammy, Pop, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandpa Chuck and my Grandma and Grandpa for being wonderful, loving, caring people and inspirational role models for both Matt and I, as well as Jack and Emma. I'm really not certain if Jack was making a kissing face or a fish face, but, either way, it's funny. At least Emma thinks so.

Last night Jack had a special surprise - FIREWORKS! We had some wonderful friends over for dinner - Ed and Gwen. Ed was one of Matt's best friends from the Academy and the best man in our wedding. This was the first time we had the pleasure of meeting Gwen, Ed's lovely wife, since we haven't been stationed near them for quite some time. When we do have friends over, Jack normally gets a free pass to stay up late - until our friends leave. So, last night he was able to stay up way past sunset. Over the last few weeks, our neighbors have been setting off fireworks on the weekends....not the kind you buy at the stand outside the mall.....the kind you buy at a shady roadside stand in South Carolina. These are for real fireworks...the kind you see on 4th of July. They are so big and loud, the first time they set them off, Matt and I thought they were gun shots. (We do live in Norfolk, after all). Anyway, Jack was on the couch in the playroom watching TV and all of a sudden we hear the fireworks go off. Jack shoots up and jumps over to the window and shouts "FIREWORKS! FIREWORKS!" Of course, his partner in crime also jumps up next to him and they sat at the window for several minutes, watching their own personal fireworks show.
Today after naps, we took a leisurely walk to the park. Matt wasn't going to be home tonight, so we didn't need to be home to make dinner at a specific time. Jack, Emma, Hokie and I walked the long way around to the park on the sidewalk and then took the more "scenic" route through neighborhoods on the way home. We stopped on the bridge over a shoot off of Mason Creek to spy on an egret trying to catch his dinner. Jack told him to come to our house because we have fish in our yard. Maybe he'll come over tomorrow!

Today was a pretty good day at school for Jack. He did cry when I left him this morning, but Miss Debbie said he stopped after a minute or two and didn't cry the rest of the day. Unfortunately, he played a bit rough and knocked a little girl over during playground time and laughed so he had to sit in a time out. But, I guess a little bit of that is to be expected. We are working on "being nice to our friends" now. Today in school, they painted their hands and stamped a piece of paper and colored on the paper. On top of the paper the teacher printed "I am special". Jack told me his drawing is a boat on the water. They also made "friendship mix". A kind of cracker mix with pretzel sticks, yogurt covered raisins, goldfish and another type of cheesy snack cracker. Basically, all the kids get an ingredient and dump it into a big bowl. The teacher mixes it up and they share the mix....and they all share the ingredients each other dumped in. Ironic day for Jack learning to be nice to friends :)

A Day of Rememberence

As a child, I always remember my mom telling the story of where she was when she heard the news that President Kennedy was shot. There is a small list of events that most of us can recall exactly where we were at the moment we heard what happened. As young as I was, I can remember watching the Challenger explosion on a small TV in the Crofton Public Library, standing next to my mom. I was standing in my boss' office, watching CNN when we saw Saddam Hussein's statue fall. And of course, as most people are doing today, I am recalling where I was and what I was doing when those planes flew into the WTC, Pentagon, and that field in PA. I was at the pig barn at Tech, ultrasounding sows. We had two tvs - both supposed to be tuned to the ultrasound - but of course only one was on the ultrasound...the other, on the Today show. I still remember the chaos in the studio and unease that Matt Lauer showed when he shared the first piece with America. It was unbelievable. I don't remember when it actually sank in that this was real, not a scene from a movie....and that this was a terrorist act against America - a place that always seemed so safe. My experience, of course, is drastically different from Matt's. I still felt safe, surrounded by mountains in a small, college town in southwest Virginia. Of course I was worried about my family and friends in NYC and DC, but I felt safe. The Naval Academy went into a lock down, afraid that they could be targets. Matt's life, as well as many young midshipmen and cadets lives changed that day. It wasn't the same place they had entered just a few years before. And, that's a good metaphor for all of America. It's not the same place it was. I don't think we are constantly looking over our shoulders, but it does make you take notice and think if you see a random backpack laying around a train station or airport...something I would never have noticed before. It's on our brain. But, is that bad? Maybe not. Maybe it's allowing us to be thankful for everyday we have, everyone that we have....because we know how quickly we can lose them. I found myself for the first time this year thinking "I do not want to watch anymore of these 9/11 tributes and specials." But, as I was looking through Facebook this morning, I clicked on a video on a friend's profile of a small group of the Men's Glee Club at the Naval Academy performing a tribute to 9/11. By the end of the video, all the memories of that day came flooding back. And some questions....why did I not want to watch or hear about the tributes this year? Was it because I felt like they were all the same? Was it because I didn't want to feel that sadness again? Maybe it was a mix of many things...but I decided that we have to watch these things, we have to be reminded of what can happen to truly appreciate what is happening.

Thank you to everyone who voluntarily AND involuntary gave their lives that fateful day and everyday since to defend our country and those of us who live here. You are not forgotten, not today and not any other day of the year.

Reflections on the Week

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change. ~ Buddha
(The beautiful quilt my mom made for Emma to hang in her room.)

To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

Children make you want to start life over. ~Muhammad Ali

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature of a boy.
~ Author Unknown


The language of friendship is not words but meanings. ~Henry David Thoreau

A New Year

For some reason, fall always means "a new year" to me...much more than January 1st does. Maybe it's the very noticeable change of season. Maybe it's the crashing halt in your schedule from the fun, carefree days of summer to the hectic schedule of the fall. Maybe it's just lasting memories of school starting - a new class, a new backpack, new clothes, a new teacher.


Everything feels fresh in the fall. The crisp, clean air of the fall replacing the heavy, sticky summer heat. And, this fall was no different for us. Ok, I know it's not technically fall yet...but Labor Day has come and gone, college football is approaching it's second weekend and my neighborhood is already sporting Halloween decorations...so, to me, it's fall. This fall will also be a fresh start for me with the blog. I took a mini summer vacation!


Most of you know that we moved from Newport, RI to Norfolk, VA in July. We enjoyed a wonderful week long vacation with Matt's family to the Outer Banks, followed up by the whirlwind month of August trying to find a daily routine. We did capture the memories in photos...check them out on Facebook!


I've given myself some "new year" resolutions of course...I want to make some fun new things to sell on Etsy and I want to pick up my weekly mileage...a lot! I signed up for a 10k on Halloween weekend. I know a 10k doesn't seem like much, but getting back to running has been a slow process for me and I'm excited to have a goal in my sights! Next year I'll think about the "m" word :)


What a busy week for us. My sweet baby turned 1 yesterday (and I turned 31 - which I have decided sounds a lot worse than 30), my big boy started preschool, and my even bigger boy checked onto his ship this morning.


Emma and I had a double princess party (something I told Matt we were going to do before I was even out of the OR the day she was born - as soon as I knew it was a girl!). We decked ourselves out in matching tee's, tutus, and tiaras. It was a wonderful affair and we want to thank all of our amazing friends for attending, especially those who drove (or flew) from far away!

Jack started school on Wednesday. He is going to preschool 3 days a week at a local church. His class is nice and small - 10 kids - and he has two wonderful teachers, Miss Debbie and Miss Kelley. We thought our first day would be uneventful. Matt had the day off and we walked him in to class together. He ran straight into the classroom and never looked back at us to say goodbye. But, when we came to pick him up, we learned that he did a lot of crying that first day.

Today was Jack's second day, and almost the opposite. As we pulled into the parking lot, he told me "No Preschool". But, he was a bog boy and walked in with me. There were a lot of tears when I left. But, when I came to pick him up, Miss Debbie told me the wonderful news that aside from first thing this morning, there were NO tears today! He even received a "Good Apple" award and a smiley face on his hand for his excellent behavior today!

Even more proof that my little toddler is starting to grow up, as soon as he gets home, he walks in the house and takes off his shoes and socks, and sets them on the stairs leading up to his room.
Speaking of shoes, Emma got her first "real" (as in I will probably walk in these) shoes today. Of course she has baby shoes. You know the kind, they sneeze and the shoes fall off. But, with my little cruiser starting to take more risks between couches, I thought it might be time to let go of the summer bare feet and start the fall with some shoes.

We are all looking forward to another wonderful year - a wonderful "new year"...with our new ages, new schools, new houses and new jobs....and maybe our new shopping lists that include no size 6 diapers :) A girl can hope, can't she!