{Social Butterfly}

Often as I have looked at blogs over the years, I have come across many first day of preschool

pictures.  I have always thought they were sweet with the happy little 3 or 4 year old all 

bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for school.  

It's amazing the emotions that arise from your own child hitting this milestone.  It's all I've been talking about...

sorry family and friends.  

As the day approached, Caroline was so excited.  I was thrilled as well to

know that she would be interacting with so many fun children, teachers, and new activities.

As the day grew closer, Caroline grew more giddy and I started to notice a little twinge in my heart when I thought of her leaving 2 times a week for 3 hours.

The night before she started, Adam gave her a father's blessing for the upcoming school year.  Both Adam and I were so touched by how serious Caroline took this.  I had a hard time being reverent myself because I couldn't help but watch Caroline throughout it as her little eyelids twitched from trying so hard to keep them shut.  

All of the sudden she looked so big sitting in the tall back chair.  

After she said in her sweet little voice, "Thanks for the blessing dad."

What a love.

So as a family we went to drop her off.  We took pictures, walked her inside, and Caroline started doing what she does best....being a social butterfly.  She was ready to be there, and I was not ready to say bye for 3 hours.  I left in tears with Adam's arm around me telling me it would be ok, instead of him having 

to comfort Caroline who was fine :)  

....and I was thrilled to score this little gem for Caroline in Georgetown at a cute little children's boutique.

Polka dots, scalloped eyes, leaf zippers, a cute little place for her name inside....could you just die?

A very magical place....California!

In August we took a trip to California with my family.  We were very sad that Adam ended up not being able to come.  He was off working very hard packing up our place in New Hampshire and then starting orientation at his new school George Washington.  It really wasn't the same without him,

we missed him A LOT!  We had such a memorable time though.

My family helped an incredible amount after I had a few breakdowns of not knowing if I could play

single mom anymore.  It all hit when we stopped for lunch at In 'n Out burger.  Caroline was starving, Olive was starving...(thinking: ok I just have to have to nurse Olive in this tiny seat while I get Caroline's food set out)....then Caroline had to go potty...(thinking: ok I can take her to go potty and nurse Olive in the stall GROSS!)....then Olive has a messy diaper (I left the wipes in the car....the tears start coming).  Well, you get the idea.  It all got better from there :)  Um, after the 16 hour car ride there.

I LOVE Disneyland and I loved seeing Caroline so excited to meet the characters.  Her mouth dropped and then she clasped her little hands up and smiled when she saw all the princesses.  

Olive would wiggle with excitement when she saw the fuzzy characters.  She was almost as excited as Caroline.

The beach was dreamy.  I could probably go to the beach everyday and just let Caroline dance around and run to the water looking for seashells.  We walked along the pier and the boardwalk, Olive napped in the stroller and ate lots of sand with a big grin on her face, and we also ate on the pier and had the best ocean view!

It's a little bit shocking when a big, cold wave hits you by surprise.  Our girls are two little fish, they love the water.

Sea World was incredible and I had not been since I was Olive's age.  We were able to hold live starfish, watch trainers ride on the dolphins, watch flip after flip from whales and dolphins, and walk in an underwater glass tunnel to see sharks.  

And yes, miracles do happen.  This is the one time they both fell asleep in the stoller the entire week.  They were tuckered out and I loved seeing them so content as I walked around Sea World and talked to Adam on the phone.

A new place and new eyes

Our little miss Caroline Ella has a new look for our D.C. adventures.  About 2 weeks ago she got her first pair of glasses and she LOVES them!  Right before her 3rd birthday she would look at me and her left eye 

would be crossed.  Other times I would see it drift into the corner.  Although

I knew this may be in the cards for us with our family history, it broke my heart to see

my little girl look up and say, "Hi, Mommy" with cross-eyes.  It's amazing what an incredible uncle and a sweet pair of glasses can do!  Adam and two of his sisters, and my sweet nephew Liam all

got the joy of wearing a patch along with their glasses.  They didn't love it to say the least.

Caroline just has to wear the glasses and she has been great about keeping them on.  Her little eyes don't need to accommodate and cross any more.

When I put it into perspective, I couldn't be more thankful that so far this is all our little one

has dealt with.  She is healthy, enthusiastically happy, and loves to give smooches.  I know many other little children who have and are dealing with so much greater a challenge, and my tender, aching heart goes out to them.  

We are alive!

We have arrived in Washington D.C. and our month of non-stop craziness has slowed down a bit.  Let me just try to summarize how the last month went. Adam left the first week of August and this was his itinerary over 3 weeks to pack us up, go to interviews, start school, and move us: New York, Philadelphia, New Hampshire, New York, New Hampshire, D.C. (saw each other for a couple of hours), New Hampshire, D.C. (together again!), New York, D.C.  Adam did all of that traveling and packing with such grace, no complaint.  He drove to D.C. while sitting on our granite slab just so that it wouldn't break in the truck and even napped on it for 3 hours.  He inspired me to try to keep my stress and complaining to a minimum and he buoyed me up with love letters in the mailbox.  With Adam gone, I was a single mom for 3 weeks and I can't tell you how many times I said "I am so glad that I have Adam to help!"  I did have the help of my parents which was wonderful, but there is something about the husband just knowing what you need when you need it and when you are just done.

It seemed as though when Adam left, our smooth night time routine went to pot.  Caroline began creeping out of bed and saying she didn't want to sleep in her room.  Just as she would get me up, Olive would cry and I would go help her and then Caroline would start to cry.  It was chaos and the girls were so good to be patient with me.  Again, I am so relieved that I am here right now with Adam.  

I also feel bad because while Adam was working his tail off day in and day out, I went off to California with my family.  We had such a great time and enjoyed Disneyland and the beach.  The 16 hour bumper to bumper drive there almost did me in, but things were much more enjoyable after that.  Caroline danced for hours on the beach while Olive ate fistfulls of sand.

We love our new place and love that we have a balcony and a place to get fresh air anytime of day!  We can't thank all of our friends in New Hampshire enough for helping Adam get on his way and for providing food, thanks Bells!  Also, thank you to our incredible neighbors, the Andersons, for taking such great care of homeless Adam for a week and for all your help with moving in.

another country heard from....

When I was little, my siblings and I loved to go climb on mom and dad's bed in the morning.  Often, one by one we would filter into their room and each time someone else came in, my dad would say, "Oh, there's another country heard from!"  It is such a vivid and sweet memory for me and we have been saying it to Caroline for a while now.
So to fill you in on what comical things Caroline has been saying, here is another country heard from....

The other day we were looking at a picture of the Little Einstens.  The Eifel Tower was in the picture and my mom said, "Caroline, that's the Eifel Tower in Paris.  Your mommy and daddy have been there."
Me: "Yea, and you were in my tummy when we went."
Caroline: "Yes and I said, Get me OUT of here!"


The other day we were riding in the car and I was looking through my mail as my mom drove us all around.  All of the sudden a big furry brown bug appeared on my hand and I was flailing my arms all around to get it off and shrieking at the same time.  After the bug was gone and I was not hysterical anymore Caroline grabbed my hand and said seriously, "Mommy, you are so brave."


For a while now as we tuck her into bed and give her a kiss, she grabs us and gives a very strong hug with her little arms and whispers, "You're the best mommy/daddy in the whole wide world."

I'm hosting a Matilda Jane trunk show this coming Monday, August 9th from 10-noon. Please come shop and just enjoy friends!  There are super darling clothes for adults and kids ages 12mo-12 yr.  You can check out the website at www.matildajaneclothing.com

Children are welcome and anyone can come.

Just let me know if you need the address.

{Bear Lake}

We were lucky enough this summer to go up to Bear Lake a couple of times with friends.  I just adore the families that we were up there with. A fun aside is that I was in nursing school with each of the girls who invited us.  Jess and I  made any monotonous day of school very fun.  For example, we took off one week to Jamaica in November without any set plans and flew by the seat of our pants.  

The traveling bug definitely got worse with Hailey, capped off with our semester in Ireland.  

These girls are like sisters to me.

It was so nice to get away to the lake and relax on the beach and on the boat.

I love being on boats!  I would be happy just to sit out on the water in a boat,

with good music playing, simply sunning and swimming the day away.  It is hypnotizing.

Tubing was hilarious!  We were going SUPER slow, but there were so many different facial expressions from Jess and I that make it look like we are going at turbo speed.  Note darling Tommy's voluminous hair in picture 1 and my attempt to match the volume in picture 2.  I think Tommy is the clear winner!