Stormy weather

Well, after all the hype about Hurricane Hanna, we ended up getting a bit of rain and wind yesterday, but not much more. We spent the morning inside, playing and baking apple bread, and then ventured outside around 4 p.m. to go puddle jumping and collect fallen leaves and sticks. We had a delicious dinner at Bernadette's (with the apple bread and vanilla ice cream for dessert), and then after the kids were in bed, Bernadette came over so that we could continue watching the John Adams DVD. Abigail Adams is my hero(ine)! (By the way, Nora took the pictures of Caroline, and Mommy & Caroline)

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. De Mille

Today was Nora's first day back at Loch Meadow Kindergarten. Yippee! She had a great time, and one of her teachers told me that Nora even taught them a song (the pirate song that we learned at story hour at the library). I'm so proud of her! Caroline was probably hoping for a little one-on-one time with Mommy, but it was not to be...had to stop at the bank and then do grocery shopping (to prepare for a possible tropical storm this weekend). We all had a fun lunch together...we discovered that Caroline loves cold apple slices. I was trying to take photos of her joyously crunching on an apple slice when she gave me this movie star pose. What a riot. After naps, we headed over to the Ocean View library to return books, borrow new books and play in their awesome kids' section. Then, I came up with the brilliant plan of buying Subway sandwiches for dinner and walking the kids over to the boardwalk/beach for a sunset dinner and beach playtime. It was fantastic...we got home just after 8 p.m. We need to enjoy as much of the good weather as we can, since Hurricane Hanna seems to be on her way.

C is for cookie

This afternoon we said goodbye to the last 6 Oreos from the package of Oreo cookies that has been living on top of our refrigerator for over a week. We each had 2 cookies and enjoyed them thoroughly, but Caroline was by far the most enthusiastic. Am I a bad parent for giving a 10 month old 2 Oreos? That's probably half of her caloric intake for the day. But it's so much fun to watch! Caroline is full of surprises these days...she can wave hello/goodbye, will clap her hands if you sing "If You're Happy And You Know It" or "Open, Shut Them," and has started to shake her head back and forth. She first did it last night, as I tried to feed her 2 day old stir fried tofu (can you blame her?!). While I think she's primarily using it to say "no," I caught her practicing the head shake today for no apparent reason. She's probably working on perfecting it so that she's prepared for the next time mom tries to shove more nastiness in her mouth. We had a good day today - met up with Alli Paul and daughters Claire and Elise at the playground this morning, and then had a short playdate with Taylor after naptime. Tomorrow is open house at Nora's preschool (which starts Thurs. - YAY!) and gymnastics, and will probably also include a trip to the mall to buy Nora some new shoes and a pretty outfit for Caroline for Allison's wedding. Enjoy the Oreo pics and the photo dad took of us Rudmann girls at the zoo on Friday.

More fun in the sun

We had lots of fun outside today, despite the onset of hot, humid weather. We took Pop Pop to the zoo this morning, had good naps, and then headed out to Virginia Beach to cool off in the surf, play in the sand, eat a healthy dinner of hot dogs and potato chips at Dairy Queen, and go on a few rides at the boardwalk amusement park. A great night and we're all sure to sleep well. While everyone was napping this afternoon, I made a paper chain to help us countdown the weeks until Daddy comes home...not only is counting 30 weeks less depressing than counting 210 days, it's much easier to cut paper for and assemble. :-)

Anchors aweigh

Where has August gone? It seems like it was just yesterday that Mike returned from his month long trip in July, and yet we found ourselves having to say goodbye to each other for 7 months earlier this week. Saying goodbye was a bit surreal...I think it's going to take some time for it all to sink in for all of us. Watching the ship leave was a starter...as soon as we approached the pier and saw all the sailors in formation on the flight deck, my eyes started watering, and then, when we spotted Mike in full uniform waving to us from a turret-like area high up over the bridge area, I literally choked up and the tears started coming. I'm so grateful Dad is here this week to be by our side, helping us all to keep our "chin[s] up" (inside joke, Dad). I don't think Nora really understands what's going on. She waved goodbye to Daddy and the ship, and then proceeded to run around the pier as if it were a playground. She has been asking for Daddy, though, wants to know why his car is in the driveway but he's not in the house. I'm posting photos from the pier, as well as some great shots of Daddy and his girls, taking during our month of quality family time.

Happy Homecoming

Yay, Daddy's home! We picked up Mike by the dock at around 2:30 p.m. on Friday and had a very happy homecoming. We stayed home on Friday for some take out pizza. Saturday morning, we made a quick stop at the commissary (where Nora and Caroline now ride in a cart together - see picture), then headed to the Botanical Gardens for some splashing around and another puppet show. Marg and Mike got a date night that night too (great beer and dinner at the German restaurant in Portsmouth, followed by "The Dark Knight" at the Commodore). Sunday was church, and after naps, a trip to Toys R Us for some new toys followed by a stop at the pool. Daddy took the girls to the zoo this morning to give Mommy her first morning off in almost a month. THANK YOU MIKE!
(P.S. And Nora dressed Caroline as a chef this morning - cute photo op I had to share!)

Rain, rain, go away

Yesterday was our last day home alone as just us girls and we tried to make the most of it. We hung around the house in the early morning and Caroline serenaded us a bit on the piano. Then we went to story hour at the library, where we learned a few new songs and Nora got to color a paper mermaid puppet (who we plan to use in our future puppet shows). Our grand plan for the late afternoon was to set up a free lemonade stand in front of the house for all of our neighborhood friends, but our plan was thwarted by an insane thunderstorm that rolled in right around 4 and lasted until after 5 (we sprung a few leaks in the house too, but I think I figured out the cause). So, we set up shop in the living room and served lemonade to Taylor and Judy, who came for a short visit. Then we joined Judy and her family at a Japanese steakhouse for dinner, where Nora got to watch her first cooking show. She was a little freaked out when the chef lit some oil on fire on the grill, but then she clapped when it was all over, so I don't think it scarred her for life. Caroline was asleep when we got to the restaurant, but woke up when she heard the clanging knives and utensils and stayed awake until we got home just before 9. Words cannot express how excited we all are that Daddy is coming home today...welcome home Mike!

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