What to do in a hurricane

Now that Irene is here, I'm making my list of what to do in a hurricane:
1. get water, flashlights, and emergency supplies ready,
2. backup all important documents (photos, etc),
3. Until the power goes out, run the A/C, dryer, oven, and all the lights ... that isn't a strict rule but we gotta do laundry and store up some edibles, after all!
4. and most importantly, update the blog!

So things are definitely interesting here in Maryland. We were struck by a historic earthquake earlier this week, and nary the damages have been noted that we now have a hurricane bearing down on us. At least now it looks like Irene will be much meeker in D.C. than in other places (New York, Philadelphia, etc) and also as she moves up the coast there's not much fury left in poor Irene. Still, there's only so much shaking of the windows that ones nerves can take from the 9th floor of a building not accustomed to the full brunt of nature's forces.

So, Zoë is doing fine, although definitely at her wits end being holed up with no way to release her energy. With a toddler's many moods, it is not the hurricane that I fear most. As you see here in this picture, Zoë, herself, is a force with which to be reckoned. But she's doing pretty well under the circumstances. She and her father have made the daring journey downstairs (did I mention that we live on the 9th floor of a building with an electric elevator, which is slated to shut down immediately upon power outages?) to kick around a ball and hopefully run all the sillies out.

She says the most awesome things these days ... like: "First of all, we need to get cupcakes, then we go to the choo choo mall, then we get my ears pierced." Not all her wishes were granted (despite being impressed by her articulation), but she wants her ears pierced to be more like Mommy and Didun, who was visiting past few weeks along with Dadu. You can see that Didun sort of rubbed off on Zoë ... and so did Dadu! But then again... "Dadu's a boy! Zoë's a girl", so the ear-piercing desire still remains. Stay tuned...

Also, it turns out that Zoë is a super hero -- did you know that? So no need to worry about Hurricane Irene! Perhaps this video will convince you that we will be fine. (Ninamashi, this one's for you, especially!)

From july-august2011

In case you find yourselves worrying about us, may we offer some pictures and videos to watch instead? Look at how much fun we have been having -- peach picking, train riding, ... and generally (witnessing Zoë) growing up! Here's a slideshow of our recent fun (those documented by a photo -- there are some videos too -- you might have to click on the link to access those).

Enjoy!