1st day of pre-k! and things to remember

Cate had her first day of school this week! She told me in the car the other day that she LOVES her new school (which is the same school, btw, just different classroom and teachers). Anyway, Pre-K has started very happily for our cutie patootie. Oh, and for those of you who know about Kate with a K...they are in the same class again this year. Much to both of their delight!

Here are just a few (ha!) pictures from our first day of school photo shoot!

Nate and I just love these little teeth!

Looks like she's been watching a little too much Project Runway...or maybe modeling just comes naturally? (Author's note: no, I don't let her watch Project Runway!)

I could not get Anna to look at the camera, this is the best shot we got with her!

Look at that cute face!

Looking so coy and innocent...hmmm....

I love this slightly grumpy look.

Of course we had to get some silly shots in...this was the best one.

We also went camping last weekend at Big Sur. It was wonderful. I'll do a post about that soon. Both girls had a blast. I just felt so grateful for my little family all weekend, it was overwhelming. We are so blessed.

A few things I don't want to forget:
- Anna's 7th tooth popped through this week. Our kids have the slowest growing teeth ever! So, 4 on top, three on bottom (the 7th is on the right...this is me documenting it for my own reference).

- We recently rented the Disney version of Robin Hood. Cate LOVES this movie. Wants to watch it all the time. Anyway, the first time we put it in and it came up on screen, it all came back to me...I practically have the movie memorized myself after all these years. Anyway, when I saw Robin Hood, that bright orange fox cartoon, I remembered thinking how I thought he was so handsome and dashing...and now, looking at the cartoon as an adult, realizing how funny that is. Well...last night Cate and I were eating dinner together and she said, "Do you think Robin Hood is handsome, Mom?" To which I replied, "Do YOU?" Cate's answer: "Yes. He's the handsomest in the world." Like mother, like daughter, eh? So cute.

- Cate calls drive-thru's at fast food restaurants "drive-outs"

- Whenever Cate sees a little white butterfly she'll say, "look, there's the butterfly!" so I recently asked her, "THE butterfly? Do you think it's the same one every time?" To which she replied,"Yes it's the same one." I asked her, "Do you think there might be more than one?" Cate: "No, it's the same one." Love that her little mind just assumes there is only one white butterfly in the world.

- Both Anna and Cate LOVE the Beyonce song "All the single ladies." And, to my defense, they heard it on the radio, made me keep it on there and promptly fell in love with the song. You can frequently catch Anna singing "Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh" at random times during the day. I have a video of Cate singing it, it's hilarious. I'll download that soon. PS, she thinks the word are "All the Single Lets! All the Single Ladies! All the Single Lets! All the Single Ladies." She also now knows that single ladies are girls who aren't married, and knows that she and Anna are both single ladies. Oh, the conversations we've had thanks to this song...

- Anna was walking around with just a diaper the other day (her favorite outfit, by the way) and Cate started calling her "Nipples"...we laughed, of course...Cate replied, "That's what I'm calling Anna." So, apparently that's Anna's new nickname, which will be short lived and confined to the walls of our home!

Cape Cod 2009!

Time to report on our week at the Cape this year! It was WONDERFUL! Nate's parents and my parents and Nate's aunt each rented a cottage on the same beach. At one point all of our siblings were there from both sides, which I'm guessing probably hasn't happened since we got married. It was such a fun week. Both families get along beautifully with each other.

Cate and Abby were really good together this year, the best yet. Cate couldn't get enough of Abby. Occasionally Abby needed a little downtime from Cate, but even when Cate showed up during the down time she was such a good sport and cheerful. It was really sweet. Okay, here goes!

The annual stair picture...which isn't technically on stairs this year, but it looks like it so that's good enough!

Cate loves this new dress I got from my friend Ciaran...and she received many compliments when she wore it! Sorry it's out of focus...

Mac, Brian's dog, who is calm and kind. A fun "friend" to have at the cape for the kids.

Hannah.

Jess and Anna. I love this picture so much.

Herm's annual belly battle with whoever happens to be pregnant...Cora and Herm are really fighting it out (note the raised fists).

Awww, sweet Anna cuddling with uncle Christian. She really loved sitting on his lap and playing games with him. It was very cute.

I think the following went something like this. "Mom, are you working? Hello, you're on vacation!"

"Work? What work?"

Look out, Diggnation.

Seafood Sam's dinner! Hannah is missing, and some people look a little upset. They're not. This was the first shot, so not everyone was ready. But I only had my 50 mm lens, so this picture had the most people in focus.

Everyone thought this was pretty funny. The wind blew into the house exactly right so that it would blow up my dress whenever I stood by the stove.

Anne and her cute friend Kristen, who fit right in with everyone. Cate was completely in love with Kristen by the time she and Anne took off for Utah a week later.

The soon-t0-be parents! Baby Boy Wallin will be here any day! :)

Nate and Hannah.

Sara, Jess (with her bee-ah) and Cuyler. By the way, it has been determined that Cuyler is in fact everyone's favorite, including my parents. We think he is in the will. Our parents will neither deny nor confirm this fact.

The beach where we stay has beach on one side of the houses and a salt marsh on the other side. The house my parents rented had a dock on the marsh. The owner of the house told us we could go crabbing with bacon. The girls LOVED doing this. It was very cute. The dock was a lot of fun. Too bad none of those boats were ours!

Colby.

Notice the bandaid? Yeah, Colby jumped on the bed and ended up having to go for stitches. Little boys sure do keep things exciting!

Cate.

One of the things I love about going to the Cape...it always brings out the curls on the girls.

Sara and our girls.

Hannah and Norman. Also known as Normah.

Abby and Cate dining.

Welcome to "Happy Tat!" (That's the name of our new tattoo parlor)

A few of us got a little mesmerized by applying temporary tattoos from the party I helped throw at BlogHer. We were able to create some pretty fun designs, especially with the henna version. Nate put three in a row on his neck and looked like a real tough guy all week. Well, until it started peeling off.

Abby's tattoo.

Anna's tatto.

Cate's tattoos.

Anna's other tattoo. It looks especially awesome so close to the diaper.

The Wallin crew.

Another stair shot.

Abby on the beach.

Grandpa Herms and Colby enjoy the water at low tide.

Cora at her finest.

Cora at her grumpiest.

The waitresses. (They had these cute matching waitress costumes and LOVED playing restaurant.)

Norman took these photos. I think they're hilarious. Apparently Cate and Abby got to lick the bowl when Mimi made a cake.

That's all she wrote. I was so burned out from SocialLuxe Lounge, I didn't take many photos during the Cape week. In fact, I didn't get one shot of Jake, but I know Pat did, so I'll add that when I get it from her. It was SO fun having Jake there this year...I think he even ended up having fun with the crazy Wallins.

Thanks to our parents for renting the cottages and making the Cape week possible. We are so grateful! Can't wait for next year!