Pine Banks Park

Across the street from our apartment complex is Pine Banks Park.  Hidden within the forest of trees is a playground.  Last summer when I pregnant with Allie I would often walk through the park.  There were a few different trails and plenty of shade.  This summer I do the same thing, except I push Allie in the stroller and I don't do many of the trails because they are not paved. 

Today Todd and I took Allie to the big kid playground for the first time.  We knew there was a "baby swing" but we were skeptical that Allie would fit in it, or like it for that matter.  Boy, were we wrong!  She absolutely loved it!  She sat in there for 15 minutes, smiled and giggled the majority of the time, kicking her feet through the air.  I'm glad Pine Banks Park is right across the street, because the baby swing will give us something to do on those days we need something to do.

So Talkative

I love to hear Allie's voice...except when she's crying.  Allie seems to be very social. She likes to "talk" or babble. I often wonder what she is "saying" or thinking.  Is she trying to communicate or is she just making happy baby sounds?  I talk to Allie often.  I hope she doesn't get tired of hearing me talk to her.  I think Allie will be a sociable girl when she's in school.  She'll probably have a lot of friends and I'm hoping that she'll make friends easily.  On the other hand, Allie might be too social...like when the teacher is talking to the class.  I just hope she doesn't get into trouble in school for talking too much!

Here is a short video of Allie talking to herself...

8 Months Old

Allie had a great start to summer.  She went in the pool for the first time.  Todd bought Allie a floaty and she loved to sit in it under the canopy.  Allie would splash in the water with her hands and she even tried to drink it a few times.  Allie started to sit up this month without support.  She also began to pick up her Cheerios (Allie's favorite food now) and eat them all on her own.  She also really enjoyed eating yogurt, applesauce and plums.  Allie went on her first roadtrip to Vermont to see the green mountains.  She was a very good girl in the car.  Allie got really good at making the "d" sound and practiced a lot.  She also razzed a ton!  She was very entertaining to watch.

Road Trip to Vermont

Being relocated to Boston does have it's perks...for one, we get to see what beautiful New England has to offer.  I told Todd that while he is out here, we ARE traveling and seeing as much as we can.  Last summer we toured the city of Boston, walked the cliff walks of Road Island and drove around parts of southern Maine.  This past week, all three of us went on a road trip to Vermont, the Green Mountain State. 

Our first stop was Ben and Jerry's.  We went on a tour of the factory and ate a sample of the new flavor Late Night Snack (vanilla ice cream with fudge covered potato chip cluster and salty caramel swirl)...delicious!  Then we bought our own overpriced priced cream.  As you can tell, my little friend wanted some.

We stayed the night in Waterbury and the next morning we drove south to Killington.  With Allie strapped in the Bjorn, we boarded the gondola to get to the top of one of Vermont's tallest mountains.  Todd tried not to look down, or out the window for that matter...he isn't a big fan of heights.  Allie liked the gondola, but didn't like being contained in the Bjorn.  When we got to the top there were gorgeous views of the Vermont and the surrounding FOUR states.  I decided to wear my flip flops (it is summer) to the top not thinking that I would be hiking.  With Allie strapped to the front of me, I had a hard time keeping my balance on the uneven ground.  We didn't walk on too many trails.  I tried to give Allie and the Bjorn to Todd, but he wasn't having that.  For some reason he thinks the Bjorn is very manly.

This was Allie's first road trip and first time staying in a hotel.  We set up her pack-n-play in the corner and she slept all night long both nights.  We brought a handful of toys for her to play with when we had some down time.  We made sure to not lay her on the bedspread or the carpet...gross.  We also brought the Bumbo and the tray for her to eat in.  Overall, our road trip was a success. 

Allie playing on the hotel bed

Allie's 1st 4th

Happy 4th of July!  We sported our red, white and blue today in honor of the USA's birthday.  We weren't really sure how we would celebrate this year's Independence day, but then we were invited to the Shaver's house in Natick to watch the annual 4th of July parade.  We were warned in advance that this parade would last about two hours.  I don't know about other city parades, but when i was growing up our hometown parades were approximately 20-30 minutes.  We were also warned there would be MANY firetrucks that would blare their sirens often.  Really loudly.  Todd was a planner and brought along his earmuffs he uses at the gun range.  We knew they wouldn't fit Allie well, but they would get the job done.  She wore them without a complaint. 

Thank you Shavers for including us in your summer holiday.  It saddens me at times when we are in Boston, away from our home, especially on holidays you would normally be with your friends and family.  It was nice to be included in a family event and have somewhere to go at our home away from home.

Summer's for Swimming

When Allie I came back to Boston last week for the summer, her Daddy had a little gift for her...a brand new floaty to use at the pool here in our complex.  Todd and I took Allie to the pool for the first time.  Swim diaper, bathing suit, sunscreen and all.  Allie whined for a few seconds when I put her in it, but once she got used to the water temperature she was happy to hang out...literally.

7 Months Old

Allie is 7 months old and getting so big.  What a big month...Allie started eating solid foods.  Some of the foods Allie sucked, gummed and nibbled on were carrots, avocado, banana, prunes, pear, watermelon, broccoli and sweet potato.  She seems to like the carrots and prunes the best. We also gave Allie toast, hummus, applesauce, apples and pineapple.  Toast and pineapple are her favorites at the moment also.  We went out to lunch at Chili's one day and ordered Allie a kid's meal.  She had grilled chicken and pineapple chunks.  I finished working for the school year.  Allie is so happy to have more time with me.  We went on another play date this month too with 4 of Allie's friends.  It's such a great feeling to be free of work responsibilities...and to be able to spend time with my family of three!