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!