Monthly Archives: September 2014

Otter Banks

Posted on by

This year we were really late (as in last week of June) in deciding if we were going to go on vacation for the year.  We ended up finding what appeared to be an awesome condo on paper.  It was a little more than we wanted to spend, but we decided to go for it.  It was three bedrooms/three bathrooms  and it was right on the beach with a pool, kiddie pool, and hot tub. It was modern with an open concept kitchen dining living area. 

Sunday – Sunday was departure day.  We left at 9:30, one hour past the target leave time, but honestly who thought we would actually leave at 8:30? Certainly not me:).  It was actually a good thing we left late because we made record time getting down to the beach.  There was no traffic and the girls were so well behaved.  We made it to Nags Head in 6 hours and that included a lunch stop at Red Robin.  We checked in to the condo (thankfully it met expectations), we unpacked, explored the grounds, and then went to dinner at Mama Kwans Tiki Bar and Grill (yummy). After dinner Justin and I went to Harris Teeter to buy groceries for the week and since Karolin was with us we were able to leave once the girls went to sleep.

Monday – Can we say windy!  The winds were insanely strong Monday…so strong in fact that swimming was not allowed at the beach as the rip tide was extremely strong.  We spent the first part of the morning at the pool.  The girls had a great time playing in the baby pool and the hot tub.  YES, the hot tub.  The pools hot tub is unlike anything I have ever seen before…first of all it is huge…and it is almost like 5 little hot tubs in one….but in addition to that there are always lots of kids in it.  At first, I thought the girls were too young for the hot tub but after seeing all the other kids in in…many as young as Avery and Emerson I guess you could say I followed the crowd…and you know what, I’m glad I did….because Avery and Emerson loved the hot tub…and again every time they are in it, I think to myself holy crap, they are becoming kids!

Monday afternoon after the girls nap we went down to the beach.  It was very breezy and a cool wind.  The girls had a great time playing with their pails and shovels. Neither Avery or Emerson wanted anything to do with the ocean.  Harper on the other hand seemed to like the ocean and the sand (for the most part).

Tuesday – Tuesday still remained very windy. Again, the riptide was very strong. 

We started Tuesday morning at the beach followed by a little bit of pool. 

The girls took a good afternoon nap.  Harper woke up first in a playful mood so Justin snapped a few in her bathing suit cover up…we have the same pictures of the girls from our beach trip two years ago…

When the girls woke up, we headed to Jeanette’s Pier. It was so windy and the waves were in full effect that there were even surfers.

Avery wanted to push the umbrella stroller the whole time except when a few seagulls started to fly above us and she just wanted to be held as she was petrified of the seagulss.  And Emerson was continually refusing to take her picture (in fact a common theme throughout the vacation).  I think we  bribery to get these next few pictures. 

 

Even captured one of doing what Karolin does best….taking selfies!

In fact, sadly I think I was trying bribery for all of the photos….some of that bribery was ice cream, which was the next stop on the itinerary anyway….But even with that bribe, this was the best we could do!

 

Tuesday night the girls watched their first movie!  They watched Frozen….which Avery sometimes calls “Cold” when she can’t remember the name.   We weren’t sure if we were going to let them watch the whole movie in one night but they both did great.  Emerson stayed glued in one spot on the couch silent the entire movie.  Avery stood on a chair in front of the T.V. and did a combination of watching but her share of talking throughout the movie (mostly related to the movie though) .

Wednesday – More time at the beach and the pool…and the hot tub….

 

….some fun time indoors at the condo….

….and date night for Justin and me….yeah!  We went to the Nags Head Pier before dinner….it was still REALLY windy!

The light was great and Justin was underneath the pier taking pictures.  Justin has been challenging me recently to take a picture with good light and so I took him up on it earlier in the day on a morning walk and decided I would take him up on it again as he was taking pictures.  I decided to capture him taking pictures.  So I took my first one….not so good and I knew it.  Then I saw where the light was coming from and took this.  Then he moved positions, and I took probably the best picture I have ever taken in terms of composition and light.  It was of Justin and his tripod taking pictures of the pier as the sunset.  I showed Justin and he was beyond impressed.  It really was a great picture…we talked about it all the way to the car.  When we got to the car, Justin realized the memory on his phone was low and the picture didn’t save.  DAGGER…seriously, two days later as I write this I am still beyond bummed about this.  The picture was truly awesome.  Seriously, I was bummed….I figured something on draft might make me feel a little better…especially being that we had a one hour wait at our next stop Blue Moon Grill…we went there twice two years ago and have been thinking about the shrimp and grits ever since.  It met expectations…the food really is excellent.  The girls had a good evening with Karolin….they watched Frozen AGAIN!

Thursday – Thursday we decided to take a little break from the pool and the beach.  We started the day with a trip to the aquarium.  There was a little sea otter by the name of Otter Banks that Karolin wanted to take home with her:). Here is Mr. Banks himself….

We saw a sea otter, lot of fish, an eel, alligators, turtles, sting rays, hermit crabs, and sharks. The girls even played and of course we tried to capture it all!  Unfortunately the family pictures came out somewhat blurry but I liked them anyway.

Outside the aquarium was a pier that we took a quick stroll on.

After the acquarium, we went out for lunch…I can barely write about it as it was such a disappointment, and an expensive unhealthy one on top of it. Two years ago, when we were here Justin got hush puppies from this take out place and they were to die for (and dirt cheap).That same take out restaurant has a related sit down restaurant right next door.  We wanted to eat in the restaurant as we were far from our condo and we were headed to the Cape Hattaras Light House next, which was someone near the restaurant.   Anyway, we sit down, I order the hush puppies to start and the waitress says they don’t have hush puppies.  Turns out the restaurants have different food and also turns out we could have eaten in the one that we took out from two years ago.  Oh well…I’m not quite over it yet, but I’ll get over it soon.

After lunch we went to see the Cape Hattaras Light House.  It was really awesome and a peaceful setting.  We didn’t go into it as all three girls were in single strollers and the only way up was stairs.  However the stroll around the area was so peaceful and quiet.

We took an evening stroll along the beach with the girls.  It was much more leisurely in my head….but I guess a lot of things are with three young ones….well we were able to get a few pics anyway.

The girls have had a great time playing together at the condo and have truly been playing together quite well.  They have been doing a lot of jumping on the bed and cuddling on the bunk beds. 

Friday – Friday morning Justin and I woke up early to go watch the sunrise.  Karolin had actually awoke real early one morning to find shells and happened to catch the sun rise.  She said it was beautiful and suggested we take the opportunity to watch it. So off we went shortly after 6:00, which was especially hard as it was not a good night’s sleep four  hours sleep just wasn’t cutting it….Justin set up his tripod but after a short time realized it was too cloudy to see.  He did capture a few of me looking for shells and then we took a short walk on the beach. 

We spent the morning at the pool, followed by the afternoon at the beach.  The girls both got buried in the sand courtesy of Karolin.  And Harper even had a fun time playing with the pails and shovels.

Before dinner we went to the Avalon Pier.  We played in the Arcade area for a little while before heading down below the pier to take some pictures. 

 

Saturday – Our last full day of vacation….the last day is always bittersweet because in the back of my mind I know that vacation is coming to an end.  We decided to visit Jockey’s Ridge Sand Dunes in the morning.  The plan was Justin and Karolin would take Avery and Emerson while I stayed behind and walked the neighboring trails with Harper as she slept in her stroller.  The plan didn’t work out too well as the girls had a little bit of a meltdown.  They made it up a short way before they claimed they needed water or wanted to be picked up. 

After lunch and a quick nap, the plan was to head to the pool.  However, I had gone for a walk with Harper as she napped in the stroller and then sat on the beach by MYSELF for a half hour as the girls still slept and the beach was literally a different beach than it had been earlier the week…the wind had stopped, it was actually hot, and the ocean was calm.  We had to visit the beach one last time so we made a quick stop there before heading to the pool.  Avery and Emerson still wanted nothing to do with the water, but they enjoyed playing in the sand. Harper on the other hand had no fear of the water.

 

After the previous night’s dinner out for pizza with the girls, Justin and I decided we were going out just the two of us.  We went to Kill Devil Grill and it was delicious.

We had a great vacation…great weather, fun times, good company, and tons of memory making moments.

A Week Of Firsts

Posted on by

Monday the girls had their first day of ballet!  They looked so cute in their lavender leotards, white tights, and ballet shoes.  We took a few pictures before we set off for the studio.

There were a total of four girls in the class….I think it’s possible one may have been missing, but I’m not sure.  Avery was pretty quick to join in and follow the teacher’s instructions and did a pretty good job.  Emerson was about 50/50….for about half the class she followed instruction and the other half she either sat down or was running in and out of the studio to find me.

No tears were shed though and Avery thanked me for taking her to dance class as soon as it was over and told Grandma about the purple dots and the beanbags that they used as props.  I have no doubt that the girls will become more comfortable as the month goes on.

Thursday was the girls first day of pre-school.  We took a few pictures at home before we left for school since I figured my chances of getting a picture of them at the school was probably slim.  (BTW, Avery’s right eye was really irritated the night before pre-school so we had to take her contact out, which unfortunately made her extra squinty for her first few days at preschool).

I tried one more though as we walked into the building.

We have been talking about pre-school regularly since May, if not before then.  I anticipated Avery would barely look back when I dropped her off.  Emerson I knew would be reserved, but I thought she would hold back tears.  I WAS WRONG!  The good bye did not go over well….in fact, it was quite horrible!  We got to the school a few minutes early and as we waited for the doors to open Emerson sat quietly observing all the kids and parents while Avery boisterously jumped on me.  Once we were able to go in, the three of us walked to the classroom and the girls placed their bags on their designated hooks.  Then they went over to Ms. Denise to get their hands washed and as they stood in line, I could tell they started to get more reserved, but were still okay.  I started to say good bye and give them hugs and Emerson simultaneously started to let me know that she was tired.  I told her that she could take a nap when she got home which was not a satisfactory response for her.  Slowly the words she was tired became louder and louder and slowly we made our way out to the hallway and slowly her position went from standing and a little whine to laying out on the floor kicking and screaming.  During all this, Avery followed Emerson out to the hallway and Emerson’s tantrum set her off into full blown tears as well.  

Her teacher’s Ms. Kristen and Ms. Denise and even the Director of the Preschool Ms. Marnie were awesome though and told me that I should go if I felt comfortable and they would handle it. Let me add that there were at least two other classrooms too and the three of them were willing to focus on my children alone.  I’m pretty sure my children were the only two children that had visible meltdowns….

I gave the girls one final hug and walked off as they were still in full blown meltdown mode…I quietly let Ms. Marnie know I would be waiting outside to make sure they were okay.  After about 15 minutes she came out to tell me that they were “OK”….she said she couldn’t say they were loving school; but they were calm at the moment.   I rode home in disbelief of the events that had just occurred.  I fully expected Emerson to be reserved but really did not anticipate tears from  her and I certainly didn’t anticipate tears from Avery.  So I was very pleased when I received an email from Ms. Marnie less than two hours after the class started that said the girls “are settling in beautifully” and “are a pleasure to have in class”.  It will be interesting to get the girls perspective on their day when they get home and even more interesting to see how the second day goes tomorrow, particularly the drop off (which Justin is doing tomorrow).

Day 2 Update: According to the girls and their teachers, they ended up having a great day, as evidenced by the paint on their clothes and faces!  We talked a lot about the day and excitement was coming from everyone, so I thought for sure the Friday drop off would be better.  The drive was good, we set expectations, and even took a few more pictures.  We were ready….or so I thought.  Once we got in the classroom, pretty much the SAME repeat of yesterday (although Emerson was a little calmer in the sense that she was not on the ground this time and was truly trying to take deep breaths in between the sobs)….and again Emerson’s tears set off Avery’s tears.  I quickly left again at Ms. Kristen and Ms. Marnie’s suggestion.  Apparently they rebounded in 5 seconds and once again had a great day!  I imagine we will have a few more repeats of this next week….I will just have to do a better job of getting out of the classroom even quicker next time!

The Extended Birthday Celebration

Posted on by

I imagine that with all three girls having birthdays within one week of another, we will likely be having joint parties and extended birthday celebrations for years to come.  We decided to go big this year….and I mean 65 people big and a moon bounce slide combo. Going into it, I knew that we would probably alternate years with doing big birthday celebrations and other years with doing smaller family gatherings.  This was a year for going big though.  I think in part it had to do with last year’s birthday celebration being small as I was 38 weeks pregnant.  In part it also had to do with the fact that we had just moved in to our new house with an awesome backyard and many of our friends had yet to see the place.  So maybe the girls’ birthdays was just an excuse to have a party?!?!?  We decided to have the party on August 16 which was after both birth dates which allowed us to focus on enjoying their actual birthdays without having to focus on the party too much until the week before the party.

Even though we were having a big party for the girls, we still couldn’t let their actual birthdays go by without a small family celebration. Avery and Emerson’s birthday breakfast consisted of a ceral bar with a candle in it. They both were thrilled with blowing out their birthday cereal bar, so much so that I started to wonder if the afternoon presents were even necessary!   We had a quick breakfast so that we could be at Kid Junction when it opened at 10:00 as their birthday was on a Monday and Justin and I each were able to take the morning off, but only the morning and not the whole day. The girls had a great time playing and the grocery store is still by far the favorite room of the girls. What was super awesome this time was that Harper truly got in there on all the fun this time and was not only pushing her own shopping cart, but also she was pushing it backwards AND laughing about it because she knew exactly what she was doing.  For some reason the girls weren’t really into the slides and mazes this year as they had been the previous two times we were there….they were scared of them this go around….with the exception being the “baby” slide area.

Avery and Emerson had plenty of cards to open during the day including one from GiGi and Papa Mac that contained a Minnie Mouse Crown that literally took Mommy longer to put together than Dadddy’s frozen pizza took to cook.  Sadly, I think it would have taken me even longer than 15 minutes had Karolin not been in the room to give me a hint as to what I was doing wrong….sad, I know!

The birthday celebration continued in the evening with some Chinese Food for dinner courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa followed by a small little cake and ice cream courtesy of Giant. 

The celebration continued into the evening with opening of presents including a new kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa.

Turning three also meant “big girl” beds, which meant taking off the railing and putting on the crib rail!

Fast forward one week and one day, and it was Harper’s birthday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Harper’s 1 year photo shoot.  

We celebrated with a cake for Harper, which she wanted no part of whatsoever, and cupcakes for everyone else.   

I had actually made two cakes the night before her birthday…one for her Harper and then one for everyone else.  I was multi-tasking (making dinner for the current night) the same time that I made the cakes that I totally forgot to spray the pan with Pam, which equated to a disaster and a cake that I couldn’t serve.  Thus the gourmet store bought cupcakes, which turns out I probably didn’t need due to the fact that Harper wanted nothing to do with the cake.  Harper’s big presents were her very own baby doll and Pottery Barn Chair from Grandma Barbara and Grandma Adele which she was pretty excited about as she loved playing in Avery and Emerson’s chairs.

The Big Party!  The Big Party was Saturday August 16 and it was a hit. Justin and I for once decided to go all out….although money is always a consideration, we decided for this party it really wasn’t.  That included a moon bounce combo that truly made the party and really made the party a backyard party and eased my concerns and the obvious about our house not having a walk out entrance from the dining room or living room.  The kids had a great time playing in the moon bounce and some of the younger kids had a fun time hanging out in the ball pit.

The majority of our friends were able to come.  We also had plenty of family including Grandma Adele, GiGi, Uncle Russell, and the entire Petchenick clan.  We also had a few new neighbors who we look forward to hanging out with more in the future.  We of course over estimated on everything with regards to how much everyone would eat and drink so we had A LOT of left overs, but most things especially the beer will not go to waste.  

We had two awesome cakes that Karolin made from scratch that were delicious.  Everyone gathered to sing happy birthday and mid way through I realized I forgot to have someone video it :(.  I thought about having everyone sing a second time but decided against it.

Really though it was a great party…my only regrets were that I didn’t get to have meaningful conversations with some of our friends…but I knew before the party started that would be the case and we didn’t get better pictures…but again that was attributed to us trying to enjoy the party and not being so focused on capturing the event. We heard from most everyone that the party was awesome.  I even made goodie bags (which wasn’t in my original plan) but I’m glad that I did as I think the kids thoroughly enjoyed them as evidenced by Camden on her way home from the party….note to parents….check your rearview mirror if your kids are quieter than normal…lol. 

And because we didn’t get a chance to take any pictures with Grandma Adele at the party we took some the following day at Mom and Dad’s house.

I’m hoping that as the girls get older my chances of getting a picture where they are all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time will increase…oh well…at least these make me smile.