Our Summer: Part One

Here is our summer so far, in a nutshell (no particular order):

- Christina was invited to a fellow daycare baby's first birthday party and Dora was there. Christina doesn't seem thrilled in this picture, but she was actually very interested in all of the festivities.


- We spent time hanging out by the pool:




- Christina has spent a lot of time in her highchair. She eats so much, although now she hardly ever wants me to feed her. She loves her finger foods. Some of her favorites are shredded cheese, zuccini, blueberries and peas. I'm so proud that she eats such a variety of food, unlike me (where's the pasta?? lol). Here she is rocking the bib her Godparents gave her. Go Lions!


- We went to Toys-R-Us a few times recently. When I saw the "tot rod" I just had to have Christina try it out. Christina loved it, so I knew Nik and I had to get it for her birthday. We got it a little early because we wanted her to have it before I go back to work. This way there is lots of time to enjoy it (and the nice weather).

Christina loves her car so much. She never wants to get out of it and she'll even sit in it while we are inside and it is stationary. It is so cute to see her enjoy it so much. Here she is trying it out for the first time in the store:



And here she is in her very own tot rod!


Also at Toys-R-Us, we put Christina on one of those "rides" at the front of the store. It is the kind that you put the quarter in and then it moves and music plays for a couple of minutes. Christina seemed to have so much fun, and the cutest thing was that she refused to sit down. My little daredevil wanted to stand during the entire ride.



- We went to a couple of different zoo's. Her first trip to the zoo it was just me and my Mom with Christina. Grandma insisted on the dress, lol:




This was her second time at the zoo (a different zoo this time). We went with my sister Mackenzie, Nik's brother Alex, and my Step Mom.


Yummy stroller . . .

- We have taken several music classes and it is clear that Christina is a huge fan of music. She likes to dance and sing. I think her favorite song is Twinkle Twinkle, although she enjoys several songs. She also loves those egg shaker morracco things. When she gets a hold of them, she does not want to let them go! - We spent a lot of time down the shore at my Mom's house, on the boardwalk or at a restaurant by the water. One of our cousin's from England came to visit and we took him out to a fun restaurant right on the water. They had a live band and Christina really enjoyed the music and the view.





- Recently we took a day trip to Sesame Place and although Christina has never watched Sesame Street, she really enjoyed the parade and all of the shows. Well, she did get a little startled by some of the characters walking around, but she eventually warmed up to them.





In fact, she had such a good time that she was too tired to make it to the car:


- We've visited several playgrounds. We went on a few slides and Christina has done a lot of swinging. She loves to swing!






All of the running around meant that Christina usually slept in the car. Thank goodness I figured out a way to keep Christina's head from falling forward when she falls asleep in the car:



I guess this summer really has been wearing Christina out because I also found her passed out in her highchair a couple of times:


- Luckily we have gotten to spend a lot of time with a friend of mine and her daughter. I'm not sure how she feels about posing pictures of her and her little one on here, so I'm leaving them out. But, in addition to Sesame Place, we also went to Kid Junction together. For Christina's age there isn't too much to do, but it was still nice to get out and have her crawl around and play in a safe environment with other children.



FLI (Family Leave Insurance) which is the reason I get to have off this summer, is in place so that mother's have a chance to bond with their child. I have to say, we've bonded :-) But, we were also lucky enough to get some bonding time in with her Daddy. Look at what a cutie she is here:


- Even though we have succesfully managed to get out of the house and do something at least once a day, we have also had some fun at home.







- In addition to all of that, we've had the chance to visit with several friends and family members, spent lots of time in the pool, made new baby friends, and we still have a trip to Georgia next week for my sister's engagement party as well as Christina's birthday the weekend after. What a summer! From fun times and new experiences to cruising all over the living room and growing teeth, this summer sure has been eventful. Now if only I can figure out a way to have off every summer. Hmph . . . I think my sisters Mindy and Rachel had the right idea when they decided to become teachers.