The Resourceful Traveler

When it comes to traveling with a baby, I've found that it is very important to be resourceful.

Here we took a bench in a rest area off I-39, and turned it into a play area and centrally located flirt station. This 30-minute diversion from the car carrier led to a more pleasant remaining car ride.

Here we encounter an uncommon toy: McD's ketchup cups. She loved scrunching and munching on these things. With plenty of these to grab instead of my hot cup of coffee, both of us were happy.

Clapping Lessons

Lydia learned to clap to the music at Aunt Debbie and Mike's wedding reception. Daddy and Lydia both were so excited!

We returned home, and Lydia retained what she learned!

Hi from the Kenyan Rift Valley!

Went to the IL State Fair, sampled some tea, and got our picture taken. The tea people sent us away with a code to retrieve the picture when we got home, and here it is.

"Waiting for the Bus"

Rock Island Trail

Teething

Take a good look, because this is one of the last times you'll see Lydia with no teeth. She has two emerging on the front bottom!

Lydia goes Camping

We arrived at the Starved Rock campsite Friday at 6pm and pitched our tent. We set Lydia inside to play and take in her first tent experience.

Soon after, it started to rain hard. The rest of the group needed to finish setting up. Lydia sat somewhat dry by the coolers and watched. Ben hung a canopy, so we were still able to grill dinner. Lydia, though, just got a jar of pureed pears :( Soon enough, Lydia, you will get to enjoy the crunchy gooey mess that is a s'more.

The next day, after a long stormy night, we all went hiking through Matthiessen State Park. Ben kept complaining about how hot it was. Maybe it was because he was carrying a hot bundle of 15 pounds on his back? And the temps were in the 90's??

Down and up canyons, through streams and dells, we made it to the Visitor's Center. We enjoyed cool ice cream cones. We threw a little frisbee. We relaxed on the grass.

Not without a few bug bites and a little dirt on her toys, our little camper survived her first trip! Yeah!

Good Sitter-Upper

Sitting up has to be one of my favorite skills that Lydia has learned so far. She can play independently in her pack'n'play. Sometimes she lunges forward, though, and you have to pick her back up. Seeing her crawl can't be too far in the future!

I can also let her sit on our dresser to talk to the pretty girl in the mirror. She likes to steal my hairbrush while she's up there too.

Lydia visits Chicago

City Girl. Big Windy City Girl.

The weather was beautiful for a stroll by the lake with the skyline in the background before

we met up with Valpo friends at the Shedd Aquarium. The fish, coral, sharks, jellyfish, sea turtles were all awesome to see, and the dolphins did tricks during the FantaSea show, yet to Lydia, this all paled in comparison to her ever-fascinating feet!
Back at Grandma Doris' place in Crystal Lake, Lydia got in the water like the fish we saw the day before. She had plenty of lifeguards around to
finally try out the water hippo. With a little bum assist, she was at the perfect height to enjoy the pool, and she was loving it!

6 Months

I am 6 months old! I can roll, but I'd rather just sit up all by myself. I am heavy in Mom's arms, weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces. My 6-month sleepers barely fit because I'm 25.25 inches long. Won't you come over and play with me today?

Diane & Larry Visit

On July 25th, Aunt Diane and Uncle Larry came to Peoria to visit!

Lydia played with her new cell phone they got for her, and then we went out to eat. Lydia slept through lunch though-the noise was just right. :)

Sit 'n Tumble

Don't worry, she was still smiling after this.

Splashdown

I had been waiting all summer long for this trip to the East Peoria pool. I had visions of Lydia sitting in her purple hippo inflatable, riding around in the water, squealing with delight. But disappointment of all disappointments: they don't allow inflatables! Ugh. Yet all was not lost, because wading in the shallows with friends, being splashed by little boys, and watching Kathlynn explore the pool by crawling was oodles of fun. 'Can't wait for Lydia to start crawling too!

Pictured with friends Michelle, Clair, and their beautiful daughter Kathlynn at the kiddie pool on Sunday.