Look who's sitting up

Ok, so he's been sitting up for the greater part of a month and half now, but considering how I am still trying to catch up on laundry from our summer travels and blog posts since spring break (back in March), I'm posting this now in an effort to catch up.  Besides, this boy is cute, cute, cute!!  My favorite part about Zaby is his smile - it is so contagious.  He has so many different kinds for different occasions.  He pretty much sits around all day with a grin on his face.  He does the funniest things with his lips.  I want to capture them all to always remember.  You couldn't ask for a happier little man.  Without further ado

 

 He looks so grown up in this booster chair.  However, this captures his biggest smile.

 His smile of adoration - I get this one a lot!

 I love this face!

Now that he can sit, he doesn't like lie down.  If I lay him on the floor to say, change his diaper, or put on his pants, he tries to do a sit up.  He has been successful a couple of times. 

 Of course, he likes to reach for the toys that are just outside his reach, so he still falls over a lot even though he is pretty good at sitting alone. 

 Did I mention that his favorite toy, thing, food, etc. is paper - any kind of paper will do.

He always manages to find it and get it no matter its location in the room, and his proximity.  I don't think I have ever pulled as much paper out of any number of people's mouths as I have his.  

 Alas, since sitting is old hat to him now, he isn't really content to just sit anymore. He has tried to crawl (has successfully scooted forward on occasion), and he's really into standing. He doesn't pull up on his own, but if you rest him against something, he can stand for quite sometime. His favorite place to stand is against the bathtub. Something about the tub makes this bud-the-bud extremely happy.

 

4th of July

We found ourselves celebrating Independence Day at the Robert Moses beach on Long Island, NY with our great friends the Wheelers whom we met during our time in Illinois.  Arriving around 8:00, we beat the traffic and the crowds.  However, within an hour of claiming our place on the beach, it became packed with people and umbrellas as far as the eye could see in both directions.  Eli and Eliza quickly became friends.  The parents of these two cute munchkins were secretly happy that they hit it off so well.  If marriages could be arranged....

After a breakfast of original New York bagels, we claimed our spot on the beach.  After I finished laying out the blanket, I looked around for Eliza.  I found her sitting on this red chair belonging to our neighboring beach bums.  Not knowing these people at all, she waltzed right over, stepped over their blankets, and made herself at home in "my red chair."  When my initial shock died down, our new acquaintances (who happened to be from another small suburb of Philadelphia), said she could sit there as long as she liked.  Hilarious!!

 

It didn't take Zaby long to fall in love with the beach. He quickly became a bonified sand baby - covered in head to toe with grains of sand.  I'm not sure how much sand he ingested, but based on the handfuls and handfuls we thwarted, I'm sure he managed to eat A LOT. 

 

We played in the sand, ran through the water, played in the sand, tried boogie boarding, and built sand castles.  Brooklyn became very adept at boogie boarding.  I managed to catch a few good waves.

 

 

I am so in love with this picture - it just melts my heart.

 

 

In all that sand playing, Zaby managed to make friends with baby Annika (1 month younger than him)

 

Eliza's favorite part of the day was running through the water as the waves came in.  If only a camera could truly capture the joy.

Some of us took a snack break, others took a nap, then we were right back at it again.

 

 What a silly girl!!  Whenever I ask if I can take her picture, she either closes her eyes and smiles or turns away!.  I totally love this girl!

 

Around noon, after four packed hours of beach fun, we decided to head back to the place we were staying.  Traffic was much heavier coming back.  So many people decided to venture out to the beach that some of them closed because there were too many people.  We were super glad we got there early. 

 Hopefully the beginning of a blossoming friendship!  How cute!

Bruce took this picture of me (proof that I was there) on the way back while we were at a standstill on the road.  At this point, Bruce, the driver, was the only one awake.  Maybe it was a good thing we were stuck in traffic - the kids and I got a good nap in!

 

After a fantastic lunch prepared by Kara's mom, we spent the afternoon in her aunts pool.  I was a little surprised at how eager Eliza was to get in the pool - she is usually hesitant because the water is often cold.  She did manage to fall off of the floating pool recliner.  Luckily I was right there to quickly pull her back up.  It didn't seem to phase her a bit as she eagerly jumped right back on it.  

 Later we rowed out on the private lake in Kara's aunt's backyard.  Eliza sure does look cute in a life jacket. 

 What a relaxing time on the water - for me anyway, Bruce did all the rowing.  Baby Zaby was taking a nap and missed out on the rowing fun. 

 We ran ourselves ragged that day - packed full of so much fun, it was almost surreal.   A wonderful BBQ with friends, and fireworks over the lake, what a great way to celebrate our country's Independence Day. 

 Thanks Wheelers for the fun weekend.  We sure miss hanging out with you, and are glad that we got the opportunity to spend this holiday together. 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 



Go for a drive??

Her first exposure to the Little Tikes coupe car was in Grandma Richards' basement.  I took her with me to a garage sale last week, and we unexpectedly came home with her car.  While at the garage sale, she hoped in the car, and started "driving it down the driveway."  I guess I couldn't say no after that.  Nor could I wait for a more appropriate time to give her this much desired gift (i.g. birthday, Christmas) because she rode it home - or rather I pushed her home in it while also pushing Zaby in the stroller, and carrying a couple of bags full of goodies. 

 

However, the $4.00 I spent on this has been well worth the investment.  She rides in it nearly everyday.  She still has a difficult time propelling herself, so I usually push her down the street.   She absolutely loves it. 

 

Amazingly enough, she is sometimes willing to share it with her brother. 

 

Got my seatbelt - I'm ready to go. 

I'll take my brother for a ride. 

In the words of Eliza, "Zaby feet up!  Stuck!"

 

Honk the horn with  my tongue

She is into taking pictures with her eyes closed lately.  Silly girl!

Oops!  Look at me on my side

A Walk to the Park

We took advantage of a sunny (not rainy) afternoon, earlier this week, and took a walk around the neighborhood.  Both Eliza and Zaby were excited to be outside, and even more happy when we stopped at the park.

 

After 6 attempts, I gave up trying to get them both looking at the camera. 

"I can't wait to see where we are going"

"This is sooo much Fun!"

What a good looking baby boy

1...2...3... GO!

Resting at the bottom

"First time was a blast!  Here we GO!!"

"If I kick my feet enough, I can slide right off the bottom and sit up.  It sure surprises mommy"

She is getting too brave.  I was amazed that she attempted such a feat, and a bit nervous when she suddenly let go while still in the air.  Luckily, she landed on the slide, albeit a bit forcefully.  I knew she wasn't too shaken up by it when she climbed back up to the top and did it again. 

"Yes Daddy!  Let's do it again"

"That's what I call a fun afternoon!"