Mommy has a friend over to play

My high school friend Jen came to visit us this past weekend and we had a great time. She lives in New York City but is doing an internship in Kentucky this summer, which makes us neighbors as far as states are concerned. I so enjoyed staying up late into the night, talking and catching up with an old friend. I keep telling myself there will be more of this kind of fun, grown-up/teenage behavior as the kids get older, but sometimes that's so hard to believe. Having small children makes me see how much I've always taken for granted the ability to just hang out with my friends. Sigh...

Cora has been in zoo camp this week. They apparently studied forests yesterday and she came home full of news -- she described the four layers of the rainforest, told us what kinds of animals and plants live and grow there, and told us that bamboo is used for chopsticks, buildings, and boats, among other things. Oh, and she also got to pet a two-toed sloth. She explained that their fur grows from their belly downwards because of the way they hang on the trees, and that it actually turns green in places because algae grows on it. Today, they studied the wetlands. She told us wetlands are like a sponge and that they are helpful because they control flooding. It seems like a pretty great program, if you ask me. I'll have to keep you posted on the next few days' featured bioregions.

Oliver said "cow" today, which was a milestone. Up to this point, whenever we would point to a picture of a cow he would just say "moo." He and Brian also talked trucks and colors tonight as they read books together. It's fun to hear him acquiring new words, but still amazing how few he has in comparison to Cora at this age. Not that I'm concerned or anything, but it just goes to show you how different two kids with the same two parents can be.

Brian was a super-dad over the weekend and really freed me up as much as possible to spend time with Jen. Not that he's not always a super dad, but he was especially super last weekend...

More soon...keep checking back!

Beach memories...

Ah, Summer...

How the days fly by. Please forgive our lapse, faithful wingateupdate readers... The kids and I (Kate) thoroughly enjoyed phase two of the vacation -- after leaving Grandma Carol's house, we squeezed in a visit to Bethlehem, PA to visit Great Grammy Stella and Aunt Tootsie, then headed to Pop Pop and Grammy Rena's farm in WV for a few days. Oliver and I visited friends in Morgantown during the days, while Cora and Pop Pop (and Grammy on her day off) did it all on the farm. And I mean ALL. They fished, they rode bikes, they read books, they played with the dogs and cats, they rode horses, they cleaned the horses' stalls, they had a campfire, they saw deer and a whole flock of turkeys, they visited the beavers down at the pond, they fed the hummingbirds, they went to a parade, they fixed a broken bench, they had just candy for dinner one night... Needless to say everyone was pretty wiped out at the end of each day (except for that candy night). Cora soaked up every minute. That's how she prefers life, it seems -- constant stimulus, constant activity, constant interaction. I was just glad to have someone else providing it all for her.

Now we're back home, enjoying fat tomatoes and baby okras from our burgeoning garden. It's always a difficult re-entry process for all of us after a vacation ends, but so far so good. Oliver still says "Uh-oh" as frequently as ever, but he is adding in some new words every now and then. Brian's massage class is going well -- he just taught his second class today. I'm still busy unpacking and catching up on email. We'll be sure to post some new pictures soon, but I just didn't want another day to go by without posting something.

The days have begun to run together here, but one thing is clear: today is our last full day. We're determined to eke every ounce out of the sand and surf and family before 10am Saturday when we check out.

Happy Birthday Cora!

Fourth of July finally came and went, and Cora is now five years old. She has been waiting a whole year for this. Just after turning four she asked how soon she would be five. She hasn't asked about turning six yet, so I think she's going to savor this milestone for a while.

We were gearing up for a great fireworks display last night. A barge full of fireworks positioned itself in the ocean just as it began to get dark. Then the wind started whipping and a gigantic thunderstorm obliterated all chance of any fireworks. The storm was a great display itself, with high winds, driving rain and dramatic jags of lightning striking the water. We stood on the porch and watched; Cora even stayed out there for a while with cousin Rusty.

The Ocean

The ocean seduced both children yesterday. Cora loves to stand at the line of surf and let the water run over her feet. She goes into a meditative state, watching the waves come and go. She will stand there for ten minutes, not saying a word, with a smile on her face. Then she'll let out a wild squeal when a big wave crashes in. But overall the water seems to calm her.

Oliver was still spooked by the ocean yesterday. We edged him near the surf in our arms or sitting on the sand. When the waves approached he let out a concerned whimper and clenched us tightly. Then, yesterday afternoon, just as we were preparing to leave, he went nuts. He started charging into the waves, cackling and laughing. He pranced on the sand and gyrated with delight. I could barely keep him from diving headfirst into the surf. Several big waves doused him pretty throroughly, and he just cackled some more. I'm not sure what flipped the switch, but the the ocean is now his friend.

We made it!

We're halfway through our first day at Bethany Beach, just inside the Delaware state line. Cora is contentedly slurping on a Hawaiian shaved ice and Kate is putting Oliver down for a nap.

We're not roughing it by any stretch of the imagination--we're staying in a gorgeous ocean front condo with all the amenities, wireless internet included.

Both the kids ot their first glimpse of the ocean yesterday. Cora has been to the ocean before, but it's Oliver's first trip. Cora got to the top of the stairs, saw the ocean and said, "Um, let's go to the pool." She wasn't too sure. Oliver was very concerned as well; too much newness to process.

A good night's sleep helped. Cora and Kate took a walk on the sand this morning with a bucket and collected shells and other treasures. After a while we went down to the water. As we walked close to the water Cora said casually, "Daddy, I want to hold your hand." Then she crushed my knuckles in a vise grip. We just stood in one spot for about twenty minutes while the waves washed over our feet. Then Cora said, "Daddy, let's move a little closer." We moved up, and before long we were just a yard or two from the breaking waves, getting splashed. Cora was squealing with delight, saying over and over, "This is great! This is super-dee-duper!" and other variations on the theme.

Oliver, meanwhile, took an hour or so to warm up to the notion of the ocean water touching him. But slowly, surely, just like Cora, he realized it wasn't so bad.

Beach Bound

It's Saturday morning and I've been awake for about five minutes. The kids are occupied at the moment and the computer's available, so this is a fine way to get the morning cobwebs out.

We're beach bound today after our first day of travel. Everything went smoothly, all things considered. It only took two days or so to pack our bags and get the house relatively clean for some friends who will be staying at our place while we're gone.

We got to the airport early with both kids in good spirits. I remember when Cora was young I thought we would never be one of those families you see at the airport with a luggage cart full of a teetering pile of bags. We are one of those families now. It's unavoidable. One extra kid really tips the balance. The luggage increases, but there are still only two adults to carry it all. We checked both car seats, three bags, and had four carry-ons to boot.

As we stood in the ticket line we saw a prime example of how not to behave while traveling. A guy in military fatigues stormed to the ticket counter without waiting in line. He started yelling at the counter agent from about five feet away: "We gotta get going here!!" We couldn't hear the conversation from behind him, but his head bobbed and changed color in a way that we knew violent things were coming out the front. The Southwest people knew just how to treat him--they made him wait. After we checked our million bags he was still standing there about to implode. Our ticket agent admitted that, had he been nice, they would have sent him straight through to his gate.

We moved on to the security checkpoint next, and the metal detector beeped when I went through. I was moved into a holding pen until a security guard could come over with the metal detector wand. On the first pass the wand beeped right over my groin. Ahh, yes...my belt buckle. I took the belt off and set it aside. Second pass, it beeped again, right at my groin.
The guard: "Sir, I need you to lift your shirt. You may have a metal button on your pants."
Me: "I think I should tell you about my penile implant."
He appreciated that. Sure enough, I had a metal button in my pants. Before he patted down my legs, he advised me to hold up the waist of my pants so that we wouldn't "expose your penile implant."

The plane trip was smooth--Oliver was due for a nap and conked out right after takeoff. He slept until we landed. Cora had the window seat and stayed glued to it, watching the clouds go by and admiring the clouds.

G'ma Carol swooped us up at the airport and we headed to Mary Pat's for a wonderful evening of Afghani food, conversation around a backyard fire, s'mores and a pomegranate margarita nightcap.

Cora was delighted to see Cousin Elise, her hero. She slept in Elise's room last night on an air mattress slumber party style.

A few hours in the car today, and then....beach!!