Hurricane Ike

We never thought that we'd be affected by a hurricane (or the remnants thereof) living in Ohio, but we were wrong. Yesterday, tropical depression Ike rolled through the area and caused quite a mess. For several hours yesterday afternoon, there were 50 mph sustained winds with even stronger gusts. One neighbor lost half of the siding of the back of their house, and another lost a tree. We lost a few shutters, but I was lucky enough to be in the front yard when they came loose, so I was able to chase them down.

This morning, we woke up to find out that we were part of the lucky 10% of area residents who HAD power... all the schools and businesses were closed today. Grandma and Grandpa Eichstadt lost power yesterday afternoon, and are being told that it could be days before it's back on. With 2 little ones in the house, we're certainly thankful that it wasn't us. We'll have to see if I get another day off of work tomorrow. In the mean time, we'll be heading to the park with the kids to enjoy the mid-70's temperatures that came in the wake of the storm.

It really makes your heart go out to those in the gulf states who bear the brunt of these storms... I can't imagine. Amy's uncle John lives in Houston, and rode the storm out in his 8th story apartment, and he seems to have made it out unscathed. I have a lot of coworkers in Houston, and spent a considerable amount of time there in 2005 for business. One weekend Amy flew in to visit and we went with Uncle John to Galveston for the afternoon. Looking at the pictures of the aftermath just makes you sick. Here's a post-Ike picture of the restaurant where we ate lunch that day.

Family Update

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I'm in the process of getting caught up on the last month or so of pictures... with the kids it's not always easy to find time to escape to the office to pick out pictures to upload. Anyway, enough excuses, if you head over to the photo albums, you'll find a whole bunch of new pictures under August and September family photos. Also, I've updated the Tuesday pictures... Emily's getting so big! Hard to believe that she's already over 10 weeks old, and she's already much bigger than Abbey was at 16 weeks (close to 13 pounds).

In other "Family news", Abbey has started official potty training. She's been using the potty sporadically for some time now, but we weren't brave enough to take the full-time plunge. I'll tell you... it's a wild ride that first time you let her out of the bathroom without a diaper on!!

King's Island

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Abbey, Amy and I enjoyed a day at King's Island yesterday. Every year, at the end of the season, Procter and Gamble rent out the park for all of their employees, retirees, and families to enjoy a free day they call "Dividend Day". We're happy to partake, since GE cut morale-boosters like this from the budget in the Jack Welch days, long ago.

Last year was the first time we took Abbey, and this year was even better (Emily enjoyed the morning with Grandma and Grandpa). She's 36 inches tall (by about 3 hairs on her head), so she could ride quite a few more rides this year than last. She had a blast riding the various pint-size rides, culminating in a ride on the Wild Thornberry's River Adventure... basically a log flume for kids. It was the only "Moderately Thrilling Ride" in the park that would allow 36-inchers. (Most of her rides were prominently labeled "Low Thrill Ride", a claim that Abbey would certainly contest).

In the end, Amy didn't ride any real roller coasters, and I only rode one, but it was totally worth it to see Abbey have such a great time. We were sure to collect our bag of P&G goodies (mostly faltering international products or manufacturing overruns/defects... but hey, it's free!) And before you ask, yes, we got home in time to watch the Notre Dame/Michigan and Virginia Tech/Georgia Tech football games.

Emily's Baptism Weekend

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Family and friends were in town this weekend for Emily's baptism. Nana and Poppy flew in from Delaware, Grandma and Grandpa came over with Quinn and Makenna, and Godparents Mark and Erin came in from eastern Ohio. We definitely missed David and Kate (Dave was in Malaysia for business), and especially Ginger and Andrew, who suffered an appendicitis attack a few days earlier. On Saturday, we enjoyed a barbecue with the whole crowd to watch (in horror) the Notre Dame football game. On Sunday, we the baptism was beautiful, and everyone returned to our house for a brunch and celebration.

Both Abbey and Emily were baptized in the same gown, a garment that was handmade by the girls' great-great grandmother, over 100 years ago. It's a family baptism gown that's been worn by many family members through the years, and one that's an honor to have been able to use for both girls. The detail in the gown is just amazing.

Abbey's idolization of Makenna continued in force, with Mark and Erin's girls there to join in the fun. I think Abbey summed it up, as Makenna and Quinn left, when she told me "Daddy, Makenna awesome!" Not sure where she learned that, but she's been saying it ever since.

We had a nice extended weekend with Nana and Poppy, who, thanks to retirement, were able to come early and stay late. We all really cherish these opportunities, since Nana and Poppy live so far away.