Fun with GiGi and Sean

A couple of weeks ago, GiGi and Sean came to Kansas City for a week to visit!  They drove all the way up from Savannah, and we had so much fun hanging out all week!  They got here on Monday afternoon while I was napping, so I was very surprised to see them when I woke up!

Laughing with Uncle Sean during bath time Monday night.
He's so silly!

I got to stay home from day care with GiGi all week, and Mommy came home from work early every day.  On Tuesday we stayed home and played all day, and then Tuesday night we went to a park to have our pictures taken.  I took some really good pictures with Sean and a couple with Mommy and Daddy, and after that I was supposed to have my picture taken smashing a birthday cake, but I was too tired and got really grumpy.  We had to do try that again later!

Posing with Uncle Sean and Odie

Kiss from Uncle Sean!

Family photo shoot time

Laughing at GiGi while taking pictures! 

All dressed up

GiGi got this really quick picture with her phone right before
I started crying because I was too tired to eat cake!

Wednesday we went to the Sea Life Aquarium at Crown Center downtown.  We saw fish, sharks, turtles, sting rays, jellyfish, and all kinds of other cool stuff!  It was awesome!  Then after the aquarium we had a little extra time, so we went to a toy store at Crown Center and just walked around and looked at all the toys.  They had so many puppets!  Then Mommy dropped GiGi off at the Plaza to have dinner with Daddy and took Sean and I home to eat dinner.

Looking at the fish from a bubble inside the tank with Mommy 

Checking out the stingrays with Sean

Amazed by the big tank

In front of the big tank with Sean

Sean got to touch some star fish

On Thursday, Daddy worked from home in the afternoon and we went to the park.  I played in the sand and sat in the swing, and then I rode on the rocking horse, which is my favorite thing to do at the park now!  Sean had fun climbing and going down the slides.  It looked like so much fun!  Can't wait until I'm big enough to climb around on the playground with him!

Riding the rocking horse at the park

Then Thursday night we went over to our friends the Sweets' house to have dinner and visit while GiGi and Sean were in town.  We ate lasagne (yummy!).  GiGi wanted to celebrate my birthday while she was visiting, so I also had my first mini birthday party!  I ate a cupcake and opened presents from GiGi, Daideo, and Sean.  It was awesome!

My first birthday cupcake

Hearing "Happy Birthday" for the first time

Opening presents

I love my dance & wiggle puppy!

Playing with Sweet Daddy

On Friday Mommy and Daddy had somewhere to go after work, so I stayed with GiGi and Sean and then went to bed.  When I woke up on Saturday morning, Daideo was here, too!  He flew in on an airplane on Friday night and then drove home with GiGi and Sean so that GiGi wouldn't have to drive all the way by herself again.  We went back to the Sweets' to have breakfast and then they had to get on the road.  We forgot to take any pictures with Daideo before he left!  I wish he could've stayed longer, but I'm glad I got to see him again for a little bit!  I love my Daideo and GiGi and Uncle Sean!  And my Aunt Brennan, too!  Can't wait to see them all for the holidays!

Tybee Island

Last week I took my first (of many!) summer beach trip to Tybee Island, GA.  Tybee Island is near Savannah where Daddy's family lives, and we have a family beach house there.  When Daddy was growing up, he used to go there for a week with his family every summer, and now it's my turn to keep the tradition!

Beach baby!

Mommy and I left first on Monday morning and flew to Jacksonville, FL.  GiGi and Sean came to pick us up, and we were supposed to go to the zoo, but it was raining so we decided not to, which was a bummer.  We started driving straight to Savannah instead, but when we were about halfway there, Sean got sick in the car!  Our vacation was off to a rough start!  Mommy and I finally made it to the beach, but GiGi and Sean went to their house in town to spend the night since he wasn't feeling well.  They came to meet us the next day when he was feeling better, and then on Wednesday night Daddy came, too!

Day one at the beach playing with Matey

Fun in the sand

New beach toys = awesome!

Sharing Mommy's chair 

 I got my very own private beach pool!

"Building sand castles" aka, destroying the towers Mommy makes for me

Love my GiGi!

Family of beach bums :)

Sean LOVES playing in the waves, but I'm not too sure about them yet.

Playing toys with Uncle Sean

Bubbles!

I got my very own pool on the porch at the house, too!

Making big splashes

Water is so much fun!

I took a bath in the pool almost every day when we got back from the beach!

On Thursday night, I had my first birthday party with Matey and Grandaddy 

The balloon was my favorite part!

I wasn't too sure what to do with the cupcake. 

I ate a little frosting, but I was pretty full from dinner.

It was a busy week!  We went to the beach every day, and I really liked it!  I spent a TON of time in my pool at the beach and on the porch at the house.  I really love playing with water!  Mommy took me out in the big water with the waves a couple of times, but that was little bit scary.  Maybe next year when I'm bigger I'll like it more.  In the afternoon the beach got bigger and there were big puddles of water in the sand.  Mommy and Daddy said it had something to do with something called the tides.  I loved to sit and play in those the few days when we were out at the beach late enough.

Eleven Month Update

Eleven months old 7/22/13

Sorry this post is one week late!  I turned 11 months old last Monday, but Mommy and I were on a plane headed to Savannah for my first beach week at Tybee Island.  I'll tell you all about my trip soon, but first here's what's going on with me this month!

Too busy to sit still for pictures!

Eleven Month Stats
Weight: 23 lbs 11 oz
Clothes size: 12-18 mos
Diaper size: 3


Eleven Month Habits
Eating:  I am almost done using a bottle already!  I have gotten really good at using my sippy cup since I've had so much practice with water at meal times, so now I am using my sippy cup to drink my milk during the day and I only take a bottle at bed time.  I am still drinking breastmilk that Mommy pumps for now, but I will be switching to cow's milk soon!  I eat 3 good meals a day and sometimes have a snack at day care in the afternoon, too.
Favorite foods: berries (except raspberries, I don't like those), bread, and pasta (especially macaroni and cheese)

Sleeping:  I go to bed around 7-7:30 and sleep until 6-6:30 in the morning.  I still take a morning nap and an afternoon nap every day.  I've been better lately and haven't skipped any naps at day care, but I still nap for shorter there than I do at home.  Last week on vacation, I took some super long naps because I was so worn out from all the activity.  One afternoon I took a nap for 3 hours!

Eleven Month Skills
Mobility/play:  I'm crawling!  I'm getting better and better at it, and sometimes I even try to follow Mommy or Daddy out of the room if they try to walk away.  I have pulled up to standing by myself once, but usually I just get to my knees and get one foot up and then get stuck.  I love to stand and can cruise a couple of steps, but I'm kind of wild so someone has to be pretty close by when I'm standing in case I wipe out!  I've had a couple of crash booms so far.
Favorite toys: lift the flap books like Dear Zoo and anything by Karen Katz, music table, stuffed animals, anything I can shake that makes a fun noise, and I also love to look at pictures of people (especially other babies)
New words: dog ("gog"), fish ("ish"), I've said Da-da a few times (usually sounds like "Gah-gah")and last week I said GiGi a couple of times while I was visiting Daideo and GiGi in Savannah!
New signs: I can sign all done, but I will only do it every once in a while

Other Favorite Pics

So happy to be crawling!

Pool time with Mommy 

Happy 4th of July! 

Daddy put a little too much jam on my toast...yum yum! 

Playing in my backyard pool

I LOVE my doggy!

Video of the Month
Check out this video of me practicing my crawling and discovering the dog bowls... They're really noisy!

Eat More Chikin

Happy Cow Appreciation Day 2013!

Today, Mommy and Daddy and I did something very silly!  We got dressed up like cows and went to a restaurant called Chick Fil-A.  See, it's a tradition that Mommy and Daddy started with their friends when they were in grad school living in Atlanta before I was born.  One day Mommy and her friends saw a sign outside the Chick Fil-A restaurant when they were driving by that said on one day that summer, if you came to the restaurant dressed up like a cow, you could eat for free.  It was called "Cow Appreciation Day" because the cows want you to eat more chicken and less beef!  So, she and her friends made costumes, and they went.  The first year only the girls dressed up because the boys thought they were too cool, but they had to pay for their food and the girls didn't!

Every year since then, Mommy and Daddy have gotten dressed up and gone, sometimes with their friends, sometimes with Aunt Meredith and Uncle Chris, and sometimes by themselves.  This year was my first time (hopefully of many)!  I got to eat my very first chicken nuggets, and they were pretty delicious!

First taste of chicken nuggets 

Yummy! 

Sharing with Mommy

Taken from the view of my chicken nuggets :)

Playing with Mommy's drink cup

It was a blast!  Can't wait to keep this tradition with my family every year!

Here I go!

Here comes trouble!

I haven't been feeling very well this week, but I've still managed to find some time to figure out this crawling thing a little bit while I've been at home so much!  I've been trying for a while but kept getting one of my feet stuck when I tried to get on my hands and knees, so I would just sit back up and try again.  This week I figured out how to go forward a few steps!  Check me out!

I've been practicing a little bit every day, so hopefully I'll be quicker soon!  Next I want to learn how to stand up by myself because I LOVE to stand at the furniture in our hearth room!

Aunt Hilary's Wedding/GiGi's visit

Last weekend, Aunt Hilary and Uncle Jake got married!  It was a super busy weekend for Mommy and Daddy cause they both had jobs in the wedding, so GiGi came to visit and hang out with me.  It was so much fun!  GiGi got here on Thursday afternoon, and Mommy had to go get her nails done, so she dropped GiGi and I off at home to hang out.  It didn't take me very long to get used to GiGi again!  She's so silly and fun to play with!

Play time with GiGi

Then on Friday, I got to stay home from day care!  Daddy had to go to work, but GiGi and Mommy and I hung out at home all morning until Mommy had to go to the bridal luncheon.  Then it was just me and GiGi again!  Then Mommy and Daddy had to go the the rehearsal and dinner that night, so GiGi and I got a lot of quality time.  We played and played and played.  GiGi made me work a little bit, too, practicing standing up and signing words like "more."  We even went to the park!

Swing time

Riding the rocking horse with GiGi

Saturday, Mommy and Daddy were gone pretty much all day, but this time I got to come along for a while, too!  I stayed at home with GiGi again until after my afternoon nap, and then we went to Nana & Papa's church, Grace Covenant, where they were having the wedding.  I put on a fancy dress that Nana made for me and took some pictures with the family.  They were all dressed up really fancy, too!  Aunt Hilary looked so pretty in her fancy white dress!  Then I went to the nursery during the wedding with all the other babies.  I guess they were afraid we would be too noisy in the wedding, or something!  The nursery was pretty fun, except they forgot to turn on the air conditioning on that side of the building, so it was really hot with my big fluffy dress!

Practicing my smile for pictures! 

I brought Gerald my stuffed Giraffe as my date.  Daddy says I can't have real dates until I'm 30. 

Family picture before the wedding 

We had to get one with GiGi, too!

After the wedding was over, there was a party called a reception, and I got to go for a while!  Mommy had to stay with the Aunt Hilary and Uncle Jake and the rest of the wedding party, so I went to the party with GiGi and Daddy.  I was pretty tired from all the activity and all my playing with GiGi, so I took a little nap in the car on the way to the party.  When we got there, though, I was awake and ready to go!  There was a high chair for me at our table, so I got to sit and eat with GiGi and Daddy and listen to the speeches and, of course, play some more!  I was trying to grab everything off the table, but Daddy and GiGi wouldn't let me have most of it!  I got to see Mommy for just a few minutes and take a picture with her and Aunt Hilary and all of her other friends and their kids.  After that it was time for me to go.  I got changed into my jammies and had a bottle, then GiGi took me home.  I wish I could've stayed for some dancing, but it was already 8:30, which is an hour and a half after my bed time!  Maybe I'll be able to stay and dance at the next family wedding!  ;)

Play time at the reception

Sunday morning I decided to let Mommy and Daddy sleep in late until almost 7:30 since they were up super late.  Then we went to a brunch at Nana & Papa's house with all of the family who lives out of town.  I got to hang out with some of my little cousins, which was fun, and I took a nap while Aunt Hilary and Uncle Jake opened all of their presents.  After brunch, it was time to head home to relax.  Mommy and Daddy got to spend some time with GiGi since they hadn't spent nearly as much time with her as I had!  On Sunday afternoon, we went to visit some old friends of GiGi and Daideo's, the Sweets, for a little while.  They were pretty funny!  They have a pool in their backyard!  Hopefully I'll get to go swim there soon!  On Monday morning, Daddy took GiGi to the airport to go home.  It was a super fun and super busy weekend, but I had such a blast!  Can't wait to go to the beach in a few weeks and see GiGi again!