The little red wagon

From Brooke1

As we carried our bag of beach supplies, a diaper bag, a bucket of fishing tackle, a fishing rod, 2 beach chairs, a baby and a toddler off the beach on our 1st trip, we realized there had to be an easier way. That, and another beachgoer not so subtley suggested (by persistently shouting across the sand at Matt) that we needed to invest in a beach cart. But, not any beach cart was sufficient for Matt. He hit the internet and bought the cadillac of all beach-mobiles at the tractor supply company. Now, we'll be able to haul up to 800 lbs worth of stuff to the beach with no problem in our red, metal beach wagon. Good thing Brooke is only at 25 lbs! Some kids get a Radio Flyer, The Palmtag girls a heavy duty metal beach wagon. Brooke loves it and it's already made it's first trek across the FL beaches.

From Brooke1

Here are the first of our Halloween pictures. Brooke and I carved pumpkins last week. I let her color the face and I carved what she drew. I also took a few pictures on one of our many walks. The Esplanade (a row of specialty shops and restaurants on the water next to our house) is decorated for fall. Brooke was especially fond of the scarecrows on the benches.

A Bee Movie

Brooke's Halloween costume has arrived, and, apparently, is a big hit. She knew just what it was and wanted to wear it immediately. She was a little confused about not being able to fly even though she had wings, so I helped her out a little bit. Brooke was also feeling a little musical that night and did some world-class drumming and singing. See the video below. Yes, that is Luci crying in the background. It's not a sound we hear very often. Poor thing was very tired.

Palmtag Girls

Enjoy some of the shots of our 2 Palmtag girls. This is my first shot at making a movie with our pictures. Just press the play button below the picture to see the movie. Brooke and Luci seem to be pretty taken with each other. Luci is all smiles when she sees Brooke is nearby, and big sister Brooke is very protective of Luci whenever we head out. If strangers get too close to take a peek (it happens frequently), Brooke puts her hand out and says "My Luci!!" I'll be adding to the movie as time goes by.

A Day at the Beach

From Brooke1

Last weekend, we had our first trip to the beach as a family of four. All in all, it was a success and we're ready to do it again soon. The beach was beautiful and uncrowded when we arrived at 9:00 AM. Shade from the condos still covered parts of the beach and helped us last longer through the morning. The day started out in the 80's, but warmed up to almost 100 by the time we left before noon (naptime for Brooke!). It's hard to imagine that it's snowing up north when many of you are. Perhaps the photos will tempt a few visitors this winter!

When we got to the beach, Matt immediately set up his fishing pole and caught baitfish. Brooke helped Matt pick the fish from the net and throw them back in the ocean. Not long after we got there, the pole started to bend and a fish was on the line. Matt reeled in a snook, which is a great fish to catch. It was too small to keep, but fun all the same. Brooke loved the fish, but wasn't excited to have her picture taken that day. Whenever she saw the camera she'd say "No pictures, Mommy!" Matt let Brooke attempt to reel in the next few fish. The pole was a bit big for her and the fish broke off before coming to shore. Next time, we'll bring the Barbie pole for her.

From Beach

Luci spent the entire day snoozing in her sling (she LOVES the sling) while Brooke dove into the sand, digging and building. Later that day, Brooke was still pretending to dig back at the condo using spatulas and spoons. Brooke also appears to have overcome her fear of the ocean. She's always loved water, but she was strongly resistant to swimming or walking in the water at our NC beaches. Luckily, the waves are very gentle here and not as unpredictable. Matt had Brooke walking into the ocean and 'swimming' in the water. She even saw her first ctenophore!! To those non-marine folk, it's a small 'jellyfish' common in coastal waters that doesn't sting. It's pretty special to me since I've worked with them quite a bit over the years. When we got home, Brooke kept saying, "Mommy, I caught a ctenophore!" It was a proud moment for me.

From Beach

Learning to laugh

Our roller coaster ride summer is finally over. We welcomed our dear sweet Luci to the world, survived a month apart while Matt started his new job, moved 1000 miles south to FL - in 2 trips, and sold our house (with lots of drama included in the process). Throughout it all, our 2 girls have thrived. Brooke has adjusted to her new sister, new (albeit temporary) home, a new crib (we stll have no idea where the hardware to her NC crib was packed by the movers so we had to get a new one!), and a severe reduction in toys (still in boxes in storage). Luci is filling out and transitioning from newborn to infant. She is getting so fun. She started smiling a few weeks ago, but my camera's been too slow to capture it until this week. Now she's cooing and laughing. She is just as busy as Brooke was and very strong. We call her a 2-hander-baby because you need to keep 2 hands on her or she'll try to launch herself out of your arms. She also loves tummy time and Brooke gets down on the playmat with her every day to do 'sharing'.

Now that we're getting settled here and the bulk of our stress is behind us, I should get a chance to enjoy my time home with the girls. We're getting into our new routine and I've managed to track down the libraries for toddler storytimes and some fabulous parks. We love to go to Mackle Park where they have a gated water spray park for kids (and mommies!). Last weekend we bought a new tandem stroller which should make outings much easier. I learned the hard way that side by side strollers do not fit through all store doorways and can be cumbersome to push around. The tandem stroller is fabulous!! Brooke likes it so much, she had to sit in it in the living room when we came home with it. So far my biggest challenge as a stay at home mom is to get both girls to nap at once. It's a much needed break so that I can get a little nap myself or catch up on some work.

From September

I'm sure there will be much more time for fun here now that our lives have calmed down a bit. We are gearing up to start exploring the area and will have the camera ready!

Sold!! or It's all over but the crying

From September

We are so relieved that our NC house is officially sold. This past month has just been such a headache. We are ready to move on now and start the next chapter in our lives. 117 Pond Drive was a great home for us, and we loved living there. Selling it was just not easy, and we can now add our names to the list of Americans personally effected by the crash of the housing market and the recession. We're leaving the new owners a better version of the house we enjoyed since they nickel and dimed us for a month making repairs, etc. All we can say is that we're glad it's over and feel blessed that we were able to sell our house (even at a financial loss) and that it all worked out in the end. We were so fortunate to have a fabulous friend as our realtor to hold our hands through the process. We never could have gotten everything done without her, especially from 1000 miles away. We will definitely miss her and all our friends and neighbors back in NC. We hope to have many visitors once we find our next home.

From Brooke1