Pre-school Trial Run

Caroline had her first day of pre-school, sort of, today. This was a big deal since she has never gone to any type of daycare setting where there are no parents or grandparents and lots of kids etc. Even at gymnastics or at swimming there wasn't that much interaction and we were there.

She was very excited and woke up bright and early, which was good since normally her wake up time is after the school starts at 8:30am! We got dressed, snapped a few pictures, and were on our way. I gave her a little pep talk about what to expect, asking teachers if she needed anything, etc. and we arrived. We walked in and Caroline went straight for the toys she knew from our walk through session last week with Daddy. While she played I chatted with the teachers and she was introduced to her "buddy." She gave me a quick wave when I said, "Good bye" and that was that. I waited a few minutes in the parking lot, I'm not going to lie. I had the phone volume on high and was ready if I was needed. I wasn't though. I came back 3 hours later and peeked in the window and there she was, at the table with the other kids, playing Play-doh. She fit right in. The teacher said academically she had no concerns, Caroline already knows her colors, numbers, and alphabet and, knew answers and asked appropriate questions.  I told her I was a little concerned with the social aspect of the kids, teachers, and leaving me. She said she wouldn't have known that Caroline had never been to daycare. She had no separation anxiety, followed directions, was considerate to other kids, waited in line and did really well. She said I did my job well. I was a proud Momma! So proud, when she handed me her Fathers Day card she made for Daddy and the activity she did, which involved using scissors for the very first time, I about cried!

We chatted on the way home, after I finally convinced her it was time to go, and she was hungry and tired. She couldn't wait to show Daddy her crafts and tell him about her day. Now, we just have to go the whole summer before we can go again :)

 Her very first time using scissors!

She told everyone there she shouldn't play with them and

told me as soon as I got there that they let her use them :)

We told her they were safe pre-school scissors :)

 Her Fathers Day card :)

 Enjoying a little R&R before nap time :)

Next stop, Home!

We woke up Sunday morning, Mothers Day, in Aberdeen Maryland. I woke up first, but as soon as Caroline saw me awake and she ran and got my card :) We got ready and packed up the car one last time. Then, we headed to breakfast, passing a ton of Little Leaguers going to breakfast as well. Yup, we realized that we were in the heart of Cal Ripkin Jr. country and all of these boys were spending the weekend with their dads! Caroline got her last fix of biscuits for breakfast before we left the south for good and we hit the road.
The drive home was pretty uneventful. We only made a few stops and as we went through NY Caroline took a quick snooze. We kept pushing through while she was asleep, putting off lunch as much as we could! While in NYC we got to see one last interesting thing. As we were going over the bridge and I said, "Aren't you glad we are almost to NE and home?" 10 blackhawk helicopters went by, right over the G.W Bridge! They were pretty low too! There was a civilian helicopters out in front and then they hovered over them as they went by. Filming a movie perhaps? Who knows, but Alan just wanted to get home at that point :P
With a quick stop in CT. for a bite to eat we were making our way through New England pretty fast. When we hit our road Caroline and Daddy celebrated and we couldn't open the door fast enough to greet our puppies! While we would have been happy staying in SC for longer, if we couldn't be there we wanted to be home!

These little feet make me a very happy Mommy :)

NYC skyline in the distance with the Freedom Tower with its new spire

There they go!

and finally, testing out the stroller here at home :)

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Memorial Day! The entire weekend was cold and rainy, but not today. It was a beautiful day from the get go. A little colder than last year so we had wear some layers under our beautiful dress, but that was the only thing putting a damper on our day. The sun was out and bright, the air was warm, and we had lots of fun. Caroline loves Memorial Day. She lives for getting into her cute patriotic outfit and marching along with the parade. She has so much fun climbing in and out of the fire trucks and waving at everyone from the side, or from her own personal float :)

Afterwards, we hit the nursery and picked up some plants and then home for lunch and nap. After that, we headed to the marina for our first boat ride of the season and some burgers. A little Dairy Queen, a bubble bath, and a nice bed time story made this day complete! This is another picture heavy post, but there were so many great ones to pick from that it was difficult picking just a few!

Looking at herself in the mirror!

She was giggling as we walked back, not asleep!

She was eating grapes, oh what a life!

On the road again...

On the first leg of our trip back to Maine we made a few pit stops, but actually ended up taking less than the previous ride down. We hit our average of 1.5 hours before the bathroom was requested just before South of the Border. We wanted to stop there and take some pictures and grab a sombrero for the little one anyways. Afterwards, we made pretty good time, stopped for lunch, and then drove up to D.C. Daddy took a wrong turn and instead of jumping back on the highway we decided to go with it and check out the Washington Memorial and the Capital Building. We got out and stretched our legs a little and walked around. Then, once we got back into the car we were curious if could get to the White House without it being too much of a pain. Just a couple of blocks away and we were parked and taking another stroll. After our fun, we got back into the car and headed to our hotel for the night. While we were sad to leave South Carolina, the day had still been fun!

 Sleepy baby. A little physical exertion and she was done :)

Her favorite part was swinging on the fence

 Being an imp with Daddy, 

we decided that this would be Daddy's classic face for years to come :)

Crashing at the hotel

We turned the chair and ottoman into a little bed for her, complete with her own down comforter 

and she couldn't have been happier. 

We were happy to each have our own bed too! :)