First Day/Last Days

Julia had her first day of school(!) today and had a great time. Most importantly, she is excited to go back tomorrow.


The first day of school means the end of summer and it's been a busy one. We took a trip to the Adirondacks and then to the beach for a birthday/retirement party for Pop-Pop. Kara's foot has been slow to heal so the girls spent two weeks with their grandparents while Aaron and Kara travelled back and forth. The girls had a terrific time and we are in debt to them for their generosity and care (but not enough to give them an additional grandchild...Nicole, we look to you).
Since we've been home, Kara and the girls have been entertaining themselves around the house which resulted in a fleece fashion show in 80 degree weather. Julia is Monkey See and Charlotte is Monkey Do. We have a pretty serious case of older-sister worship these days.
Aaron took Julia on her first camping trip (in the backyard) over Labor Day weekend and they both had a great time. Aaron was convinced that Julia had a great night's sleep, until she feel asleep on her floor for two hours the next afternoon.

Summer fun

We continue to have a good, fun summer (except Kara who has been on the couch for the last 2+ weeks after having foot surgery - she is fine physically but has to keep her foot elevated for three full weeks). Julia has been in camp at Aaron's school, which is run very much like school will be this fall (it is soon to be Aaron and Julia's school). She has been loving it and comes home each day with stories about her teachers, her classmates and her adventures there. The picture on the left is from her first day and the one on the right is from today (it is "Spirit Week" there and today was "Crazy Hair Day"). If you could count them all, you would see that Julia had 10 separate pony tails in!

Meanwhile, Charlotte and Aaron flew down to South Carolina to celebrate Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary with the entire Hudson clan (the bottom photo shows the whole group). Charlotte had a great time hamming it up for everyone. She also enjoyed going to the beach, where her favorite activity was climbing into holes that Dad or Aunt Val dug and eating as much sand as possible. Here she is before a day at the beach, first in the video (the bottle on the toilet is sunscreen) and then upon arrival at the beach itself.

We hope that everyone continues to have a great summer. See you soon!

Julia turns 3!

Julia had a great time celebrating her birthday, first in Chautauqua on Saturday and then with us today (no pictures of that, though they are very similar to this one).












Charlotte was happy to celebrate Julia's birthday with another cupcake.







Julia also had a lot of fun today playing with one of her birthday presents:

Happy Summer

We've just returned from a week of family reunions in Niantic (the Varjian reunion 2009) and Chautauqua (with Great Grandma & Grandpa Hudson and Aunt Val)

Here are our experiences in pictures and video:










Julia and Charlotte with cousin Michaela

Grand-Nana with her greats (from l to r): second cousin Zach , Julia, Charlotte, cousin Michaela, and second cousin Gabrielle. Though the girls' godmother Peggy was there, somehow we got no photos of the girls with her. Next time...







We should send this one to the Niantic Tourism Office:













In Chautauqua, Julia and Charlotte got to meet some of the Sesame Street characters. Here is Julia introducing Monkey to Bert and Ernie.


We also celebrated the Fourth with a parade, a band concert, flares and fireworks around the lake, and festive attire. Here are the girls with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, followed by Julia worn out after a long day and Charlotte enjoying her picnic at the concert.












Throughout the vacation, Julia and Charlotte had their first ever "slumber parties," sleeping in the same room. Though that went well, we are happily keeping the girls in seperate rooms at home. Julia also spent every night in an adult-sized bed. So, when we returned today, Julia upgraded to a twin bed from her toddler bed. Here she is right before the lights went out tonight.



Finally, two belated images. First, Charlotte walks all the time now, but here is one of our first Charlotte walking videos: (it is better described as a classic one-year old video, but it does contain some walking)


Finally, at her first birthday party, Charlotte was joined by no less than five younger friends (from l to r): cousin Michaela (3 months), Will (6 months), Tyler (10 months), Charlotte (1 year), Lindsay (3 months), and cousin Caleb (4 months). Still not sure how they are all there, looking at the camera with no adults in the picture and no tears...

Cake sure is good on your first birthday

Happy Birthday to Charlotte today!

First at her party on Saturday......and then tonight on her actual birthday

A Month in Pictures

The girls are great, and we're all very happy that the weather has turned for the better. The girls spend most days outside on the playground, in their playhouse, in the garden, on the hammock, or just rolling around in the yard. Charlotte walks her walker up and down the street, though no independent steps yet. Julia is finishing her once-a-week school this week. She loves it (even though saying goodbye to Mom or Dad was tough for a few weeks). So much so that she names her dolls (or us) the names of her teachers and classmates when she is playing pretend.

All the way back to Easter:

















And our happy girls, both inside and outside. Check out the new thumbnail on the right side of the screen too. The girls on the hammock with Julia is our neighbor Melissa.

Happy Easter (eve)

Julia's first Easter Egg Dyeing experience: