Duck, Duck...Duck

On a wet summer day we met up with our besties and checked out the local fair for the first time. We saw a lot of animals and not much else, but it's still fun to get out of the house, enjoy the fresh country air and hang out with friends.

Besides enjoying a lunch of funnel cake and diet coke we also enjoyed the Optimist Club's tent of children's activities. After sitting on the ring toss (seen in the far back) and being admonished for sitting on the ring toss, Riley made her way over to the duck pool. I think there was an objective to this game that involved more than plucking them out one by one to investigate them, but she didn't care. In our world "ucks" plus "wawa" equals FUN.

Beat The Heat

We had a mild summer and most days I found myself exclaiming over the blue skies, cool breezes and lack of humidity. But it was summer after all and there were a few days that were hot enough to send us running for our nearest watering hole.

Or in this case fountain park, conveniently located 5 minutes down the road.



Where we can run


splash



giggle




and jump




to beat the heat.

To Please My Blog Reading Masses Few

We followed the yellow brick road for 17 hours over two days and just over 1800 miles, but it was totally worth it to see this...

Riley's First Boat Ride

and this...


Running through Weston with Gampy

and this...

Riley's First Lake Swim

Two weeks just isn't enough time when you are having as much fun as we did. I have so much to blog about and so many pictures (courtesy of Tata) to post and I promise I'll get to them as soon as my new venture this year (more on that another day) settles into more of a routine. But for now I am one exhausted lady.

Who misses her family very much. And wishes we could have clicked our heels three times for the 18 hour and 3000 mile+ trip back home.

Life as we know it with a 1 1/2 year old

Our sweet baby had her 18 month check up today and we're so happy to share with you that R. Boo is perfectly healthy and developing well. The doctor was thrilled with her and just couldn't stop gushing over how talkative she was and how much she giggled and laughed.

Our little over achiever has grown quite a bit since her 12 month visit. At 18 months and 6 days Riley is 35 inches (just short of 3 feet tall) and 32.5 pounds. She is in the 99%+ for height and weight and her head circumference is in the 80% range. She did the best she has ever done at one of these visits until it was time for her anemia blood draw and 3 shots: a combo of hib, hep a, mmr, polio and dtap. She definitely screamed, but recovered quickly. We couldn't help but be amused when she kept touching her sore spots later and saying "oooooch".

So what's life like with our darling 1 1/2 year old? Nothing short of pure happiness, a lesson in patience, and a lot of love.

At 18 months Riley is super talkative and is stringing words into phrases and questions like "what's this" and "where go". Juice, cheese, go, down, rocket, and whoa are just a few of the words she's picked up, but my favorites this month are "peeeese (please)" "tink, tink, tink (think, think, think)" and "dye dye (bye bye)".

She continues to comprehend more words than she can say and can follow instructions when she feels like it, responds to her name, and enjoys imitating things we do and games we play. She absolutely loves pretending to be snoring and asleep and then waking up with a shout which is something we do often to make her laugh.

She continues to be very active and loves to be on the go. She is happiest when she is able to run about as she pleases and we've found some great new locations to allow her to do that this month. We're not quite pool rats, but we visit the pool often and enjoy taking her for quick trips to a splash pad nearby. I am so happy that she's inherited my skin tone and even with sunscreen she is our little brown baby this summer.

This summer has been geographically challenging for us, but it's allowed us to visit family and give Riley some great new experiences in the last month. We've visited the beach, zoo, and botanical garden to name a few and we're set to embark on a rather large road trip in the next few days.

She keeps us on our toes and there are days our patience is tested, but we simply can't imagine life any other way. Happy 18 months sweet girl! We love you to pieces!

The 18 month old and the Sea

It was love at first sight.


To say that Riley loved the beach would be an understatement, but I can't think of a better way to describe her first beach experience. She was simply over the moon about the endless expanse of water and the never ending sand box at her finger tips.

She squealed over the waves lapping at her feet and laughed hysterically (while I panicked) at the whitewash knocking her over.



She built and toppled sand castle after sand castle and giggled with delight when we buried her legs and toes in the sand.



We had to drag her away after three hours of all out fun in the sun and went home to enjoy the second best thing about a beach trip...a three hour family nap.

Lions, and Prairie Dogs and Giraffes, Oh My!

Two weeks ago we woke up to find that another unbelievably gorgeous July day had begun. The sun was out, the air was cool and a breeze was blowing through. We decided that we could not waste this day indoors and made a snap decision to take the princess on her first trip to the zoo.

Although the zoo was smaller than most, and one whole section was closed, it was the perfect size for her first trip. We spent 2 hours walking through the exhibits and getting up close and friendly with the animals. We rounded out our trip with a ride on the beloved "choo choo" around the park. Riley had a blast and we did too! We can't wait to hit up the DC zoo this fall, but until then here are some pics of our wonderful day!

Rocking her "sun-gs" on the ride there.


Talking with her little monkey friends.


Enjoying the lion exhibit, except the only lion was facing the wall way in the back and wouldn't turn around.


On our family choo choo ride.

Guess where?

Riley had another first on Friday and here's a clue for you all until I have time to tell you about the fun...