"Mi Familia" By Caroline Newark

I'm proud to display Caroline's first family portrait. She drew her family for the first time with Ms. Sandra, the nanny. It was part art, part Spanish lesson as you'll see. Caroline wrote "Mi Familia" on the top. Great penmanship, too! (Click image to enlarge) From left to right you will see Mommy, Daddy, Catherine, then Caroline. The gray ground is snow she said.

Big Bugs in New England

The girls and I took a ride down to The Garden in the Woods to see the "Big Bugs" exhibit.

We saw a lady bug, dragonfly, spider, ants, bumblebee, praying mantis and all kinds of great bugs.The sculptures were situated along the one mile nature trail among beautiful gardens. It was really nice. And on the ride home Caroline said, "That was an excellent adventure, Mom." Getting a comment like that made it worth every penny!

Dancing Queen II

Just call her "Dancing Queen II". At 9&1/2 months, Catherine is following sis's lead with her love for music and dance. Go, Catherine!

Every morning we listen to "toddler music" and dance. Yes, Mom dances, too. And Catherine has grown to love it. Her face lights up when the music starts.

Look What I Can Do!

Catherine is growing like a weed...or should I say a flower...a big, beautiful, bright sunflower! Last week she got her first taste of "real finger food" as opposed to the Cheerios and Gerber Wagon Wheels she has been eating for practice. I got it all on film...just for you!
"I like to eat, eat, eat, blueberries and bananas..."
(Be glad the 3 minute video wouldn't load to this blog...)

Of course big sis Caroline could not be upstaged by little sis. She recorded an impressive little bit for your viewing pleasure as well. (Show off!) What can I say? She demands that we talk and interact when I am driving the car. This is a typical activity when I'm driving...something that doesn't challenge my mental capacity as I focus on driving. (Yep, it is sideways again. Sorry!)

Staying connected with North Carolina

As most of you know, the move from NC to MA has been like a roller coaster ride. We feel we are finally settling in and wanted to share some special moments and memories with you.

With some encouragement from Auntie DiDi, I am attempting to create and maintain a blog of the girls (mostly videos) for your enjoyment. Its purpose is to keep all of you in touch with the girls, their growth, and our progress. While it may at times (okay, most of the time) seem to have a NC bias, we hope the New England family enjoys it just as much. So here it goes...Shelly's first ever blog.

In June we spent a week in NC. We love the Outer Banks and had a wonderful time there. One evening we set up an iPod for a little background music while preparing dinner. Miss Caroline could not resist the psychedelic jam. Enjoy! (And if you know how to flip this upright, please clue me in!)