So much for free cameras. The pictures today were all blurry or too dark, the batteries drained really quickly, and it no longer seems to recognize the memory card I added. Oh well. Caroline had a blast at playgroup this morning, then took a really long nap (she was really tired from keeping me up for hours in the middle of the night) and then watched Toy Story. After she watches Toy Story 2, perhaps within the next few weeks, she will have seen the entire Pixar ouevre. Then we're going to dive into the Wes Craven collection. I think she's ready.

Caroline and I went to the mall this afternoon to avoid the horrible humidity and then torrential downpour. As soon as Caroline saw the carousel, she begged for a ride. And I got sick, again. But she had fun.

So we made it back from NJ last night, after suffering through only waited with us in lovely Newark airport, much to Caroline's delight. We had a fantastic time celebrating at Grandpa Steve's 60th birthday party. Thanks to the family for their hospitality.

The routine was back to normal today, with a morning trip to Little Gym and an afternoon of errand running. We were planning on having some friends over to Turkey Hill Park this afternoon, but the heat was unbearable. It's supposed to be cooler starting on Wednesday, so we're planning on going to a movie tomorrow with Aaron.

I have yet another new camera (well, new-to-me at least) - cousin Catherine gave us her old digital camera, which has better resolution than mine (3.1 MP; mine was 2.0 MP), is a lot lighter, and, most importantly, takes a picture almost as soon as you push the button. My biggest gripe with my old camera, and my camera phone, is that there was a delay before the picture would take, giving a distracted toddler plenty of time to turn away from the lens. Thanks, Catherine.

My girls got in a nap on the way to the airport this afternoon.

Cheryl got a haircut. We went to her dad's 60th birthday party today. Cheryl will fill in the details tomorrow.

No trip of Caroline's to the Jersey Shore would be complete without a ride on a carousel with Poppa Steve at the Seaside Boardwalk.

I really need her to wear more hats. She actually kept this on for about three hours this evening.

Playgroup was at a local nursing home today. The turnout was significantly larger than last time, and there were loads of toys to play with. Caroline's friend Mikey accompanied us on the trip, and Caroline was extremely vocally upset when we dropped him off afterwards. Hopefully they'll still get a chance to hang on the weekends once he's back in daycare.

We played hide and seek tonight when Cheryl came home. Caroline didn't fully grasp the concept of hiding, as when she was hiding with Cheryl, she would yell "Daddy, come find me." I would like to point out that I'm really good at the game, easily better than Cheryl, and clearly better than Caroline.

The black band in the lower right corner of some of these pictures is from the cheap phone case I bought last week - apparently, it's already lost some of it's elasticity. D'oh.

Caroline and Emma at storytime this morning.

We went to the pool this afternoon. True to form, Caroline made my life very difficult. Twice. I tried to capture her special face, but this was the best I could do.

Emma, Aaron, and Matthew came over to play in Turkey Hill Park. Alec was quite an attraction. Despite the relatively cool and overcast morning, by this afternoon it was very hot and muggy; after a few laps pulling the younguns around the backyard in the wagon, I was soaked in sweat. I earned my dinner tonight (and the dozens of samples consumed at Costco earlier today).

Caroline enjoying a Fresca on her way between the Little Gym and grocery shopping.

After a very tearful goodbye to the Grandparents Z, Caroline recovered enough for a trip to the first day of the new session of the Little Gym. Despite having attended for over a year, she refused to show off for the two new kids. Cheryl tells me Caroline is way into singing along to the songs and following directions when she takes her - either Caroline wants me to look bad, or Cheryl is lying.

Caroline can't get enough of Grandma's chocolate pudding pie. She can definitely get enough of most of the things I cook.

With babysitting services provided by the grandparents, Cheryl and I took advantage of the rare opportunity to see a non-cartoon movie. We saw likely Oscar contender Snakes on a Plane.

Grandparents Z arrived on Thursday evening, and since then Caroline's been all smiles. We've also had many fantastic dinners, as Grandma's meals aren't restricted to my 3 ingredient limit.

Another shot of Caroline enjoying Grandma Z's multi-ingredient cooking. She's also been enjoying the extra attention, even letting Grandma sing her "You Are My Sunshine" without the expected tears and shrieks.

More eating - Caroline's uncharacteristically enthusiastic dinner-time eating deserved multiple pictures.

I've been sending pictures directly from my phone to the blog, such as this one today at storytime at the Reynolda Manor Library. It's hard to enter text on the phone, so I haven't been. Caroline has been really ornery today, probably because she has a runny nose. She'd better get well soon, as it's going to be a very busy weekend for her.

Caroline got her friend Aaron to become members of her favorite store today. Hopefully he'll become a regular on Caroline's and Emma's many visits.

Caroline tearing up my wallet. She loves counting her money and playing with my credit cards.

The weather was dandy today - low humidity and cooler temperatures. The family enjoyed a walk to the park this morning.

For some reason, Caroline insisted on putting on the tiger costume that she wore for Halloween when she was five months old. Although it was really tight, she had a good time amusing us by slowly shuffling around the downstairs.
This afternoon Cheryl took her to see the Ant Bully. They both enjoyed it. And I enjoyed some free time.

We went back to SciWorks this afternoon, because it was cheap ($1 each), it was raining, and Aaron was going too. Caroline got a lot of exercise, but not much learnin'. She probably also picked up some swell diseases too.

Playgroup today was back at the best pool in North Carolina. All the kids and moms and dad had a fantastic time, and it was a fight to get the kids to leave. And despite repeated coats of sunscreen, Caroline has a very nice tan.

My new phone also takes bad video. Caroline went to the library storytime, we ran some errands, danced in the living room, napped, and took a walk. And made some videos on the walk.

Caroline and I had a fantastic time in NJ. Thanks to Cheryl's family for their hospitality.
Unfortunately, although many pictures were taken, not many were with my camera.
The flights back were uneventful, and we actually landed a bit earlier than scheduled.
Today we met up with Emma and her parents at Costco and the girls had a great time together. Sadly, Emma is leaving for about week starting tomorrow.
By renewing my cell phone contract, I got a new phone - finally I have a camera phone. Expect the pictures to be even lower quality now. This was the best from today.

I went to the city last night, leaving Caroline to survive alone with her grandparents and aunts and uncle in Toms River. I think she did ok.