Instruments

Katie's Nana has a bit of a habit.  Everytime she and Katie go out to a store together, Katie comes home with a new toy.  Now, the toy may be something very small/simple.  Usually its something from the $1 bin in Target.  But, all the same it never fails that Katie comes home with SOMETHING! 

The most recent purchase by Nana is a harmonica.  A two, almost three year old with a harmonica is.....hmmm....Entertaining....to say the least.  Anyways, here is a video of Katie playing her new instrument.  Also - you will notice at the end of the video that Katie decides to play an entirely different instrument (my leg).  To be clear, her daddy taught her that - not me. 

Pool Day

Earlier this week we made plans with a group of our friends from Richmond to get together at the pool.  We all have little ones close to the same age and thought it would be a good chance to say our good byes and let the kids have a final playdate together. 

Matt has a group of friends which he has stayed in touch with since middle school. I used to say that girls were far better at staying in touch than guys - but its just not true with this crew. Its amazing to me how closed they have stayed. In fact, most of the wives became friends through these men. Such a wonderful group which Matt and I are going to miss tremendously. We just have to make a promise to plan get togethers.....from 3+ hours away. I did tell them that our house in Roanoke is always open for VA Tech game visitors. :-)

Maymont

I'm at the end of my work week and I can't think of anything exciting or interesting to blog about.  So, I'll just post some pictures.  I was going back through some photos from June at Maymont Park and Nature Center. 

 Katie showing her fish face...LOL!

 At the Japanese Gardens....by the pond.

Things to Remember...

Life is flying by right now.  Setting up an apartment in Richmond and a house in Roanoke, working, Matt going to school and working, and of course spending time with Katie.  There are so many things I want to remember about Katie's childhood.  The big milestones and the little everyday things that make me laugh.  At this pace, I know if I don't write it down I will forget it.  So here goes my recent list...

• I love how Katie calls a stethescope a stethescoat.
• I love how she says Mommy I'm "saturated" when she means "frustrated"
• I love how she can take a bath towel, lay it on the carpet, and pretend its her car.  She asks me to get in the back so she can drive me to school.
• I love how she lays down for bed at night, and we turn on her music, and she says...."Mommy will you lay with me for a whole lot of songs tonight."  And then she is asleep by song 3.
• I love (and often hate) that she asks "WHY?" about 100 times each day.
• I love that she is learning the pledge of allegiance at school and gets it right about 10% of the time.  The versions she comes up with are quite entertaining.
• Okay - I don't love the tantrums.  But I definitely don't want to forget them.  Sometimes I want to laugh at her and sometimes I want to scream.
• I love when she says to me "I had fun with you today Mommy" right before she falls asleep.

We are in the process of planning Katie's 3rd birthday party.  The options we have given her are Monkey Joe's, Romp 'n Roll, or the Children's Museum.  Despite the fact that her party was at the Children's Museum last year, she has asked to have it there again.  No matter how many times we ask, the answer hasn't changed.  So, we are going to have a bit of a repeat.  Not my first choice, but hey....its her party.  Oh, that reminds me of another thing I don't want to forget.  Katie's favorite book right now is Franklin's Birthday.....or virtually any Franklin book.

Pictures from this post are from today.  We went to the mall for a bit since it was raining and we couldn't go to the pool or the park.  The upside of being indoors is that Chick-Fil-A had 2 cent sundaes.  YUMMY!!! 

Da Riva

With record temperatures headed our way, we decided a water weekend was the best defense.  Friday evening - Matt, Katie and I packed up and headed down to Popa and Abu's river house.  Sadly, it had been 2 years since our last trip down there.....Jake's high school graduation party. 

We arrived late Friday night, put Katie to bed, and prepared for round 1 of the extreme storms over the weekend.  Fortunately, the river house didn't lose power.....but our place in Richmond did.  Katie woke up the next morning super excited.  She and I went down to the dock early to see the fish, crabs, and jelly fish (tons of them).

Later in the day - once Rob and Claire had arrived - we all headed out on the boat.  Katie and Claire took turns sitting on my lap or Uncle Matt's.  Also, Popa took them out to see a special bird's nest.....it was so cute to watch the girls.  Both in the their life vests, peering out over the front of the boat, like best buddies.

After a nice dinner Saturday evening, we headed back to Richmond.  The trip home was terrible!!!  We drove through a tornado warning - complete with a hail storm, multiple trees across I-64, and horrible rain and wind.  Such a wonderful day - but we were so happy to reach home safely last night.  Phew!  Special Thanks to Popa and Abu for such a fun weekend....

Two more days in Richmond until we leave for Roanoke for a the rest of the week.  Hopefully we will be able to get the rest of our boxes unpacked, and get the Roanoke house - somewhat - in order.

Last Day...

I've got a glass of wine in one hand....laptop in front of me....boxes all around me.  No pictures on the walls, no curtains on the rod, no dishes in the cupboards.  I just put Katie to bed for the last night ever in our home at 1903 Colgate.  Tomorrow we will wake up here for the final time.  And, of course, I'm in tears.

Why is it so hard to leave this home?  We have been here just shy of 6 years.  Not that long when you consider some couples live in a house for 30 years, raise their families there - then leave it for a maintenance free retirement spot.  I tried to remind myself today of military families and how frequently they move.  Is it easier for them? 

I spent time with Katie this evening explaining that this would be our last night in this house and that after tomorrow we won't be coming back.  Her response was...."But why mommy?  I like this house."  Please drive a knife directly into my heart....then TWIST!

I'm posting some pictures of our house here...and we are also doing a little scrapbook of pictures.  The idea came from an article my cousin sent me about preparing a toddler for relocation.  The article suggests taking pictures and doing a memory walk before you leave.  This gives your little one time to say goodbye....and also gives them a way of remembering the house after you are gone and someone else has moved in.

MADNESS

Our housing situation is total madness right now!  This weekend we made it through phase 1 of our relocation from Richmond to Roanoke - that is phase 1 of 3.  We close on the house in Richmond Friday June 22nd.  This weekend we moved all the things we had in our POD, plus the garage items.  In 2 weeks we will move the rest of the house (Phase 2).  Did I mention how much I like moving (NOT!).  Seriously - who likes moving?!?!?

The odd part about all this is that we aren't actually leaving Richmond until August.  Through the end of July, Matt will be working and finishing up a final summer class.  I'm in the middle of a HUGE project at work that will last until November.....so we are staying here for a bit longer.  Where are we living you might ask??We are renting a furnished apartment for a couple months to carry us through the transition period.  Yep that's right....two houses....none of which are the house Katie is accustomed to.

Poor girl, she is not going to know where her real home is through all this craziness.  We have done everything imaginable to involve her in the moving process......taking her on the house hunting trips, letting her "help pick" the house, letting her pack a box of her most precious items to carry with us.  She's done WONDERFULLY well.  I thought she wouldn't be able to sleep in the new place this weekend....but she surprised us and did great.  Amazingly, she sees it all as one big adventure. 

I'm just waiting for when this whole thing is going to blow up in our face.  My concern is when Katie starts a new school in the fall, when we are officially relocated to Roanoke, when Matt is eyeball deep in schoolwork, and my project is nearing its end - that's when its going to hit her.  Time will tell.

Pictures from this post are from the Flying Squirrels Baseball game this past week.  Katie and I took Papa and Nana on Memorial Day.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate our American freedom - taking in a baseball game, eating a hotdog, and watching my father teach my daughter about baseball.  Good stuff!  :-)  Thank you to all the troops who have served and continue to serve us each and every day!!!