The Best You Can Get

Hello, beautiful sunshine!

 So today was filled to the brim with fun, sun, water, and sand...and A loved every minute. After a quick lap of the point...fine, we did only go the short loop...we headed to the Farmers' Market! I love the one at home, don't get me wrong, but you can't beat about 30 stands that take over a small grass lot, right down by the docks in Stonington. As you are picking out your fish, the fisherman is literally bring more off the boats, and while you are debating which bunch of carrots look the best, you can hear the rigging clinking back and forth on the masts of the boats....amazing.

Do you see the size of that swordfish! It is the second tray from the left if you aren't familiar and it is HUGE!

Her Aunt Amanda and her Daddy who biked (yes, you read correctly) the 20 mile round trip to the Farmer's Market!

I think A ate about 4 plums while we were there.

Then it was time for some water table fun with her oldest cousin. Although A has a lot of cousins, 4 here and 3 in Canada, there is not one that can captivate her attention, send her into a fit of laughter, or light up her face in smiles, like her oldest cousin E. I am not sure if it is an oldest to oldest connection, or the kid is just so perfect she bring out the best in our daughter...but whatever it is, I love seeing them together.

Splashing each other with water!

How fun does that look!

Cousin E and A, taking a playing break.

Pointing to the seagulls.

I can't believe our vacation is just beginning and already we have made so many memories.

xoxo

Daily Mom

We Made It!

Hello dry, sunny, beautiful Connecticut...well, not today. Apparently Baltimore was a little sad we left and decided to give us one more day of humid, nasty weather before letting us enjoy the dry heat in CT.

As we rolled in just before 1am last night, got A snuggled in her crib and starting unpacking quickly, we had no idea the weather we would wake up to in the morning. So as we rubbed the sleep out of our eyes at 6am and looked out the window, we were not pleased to be greeted with a hazy layer of thick Connecticut fog. But that certainly did not stop us from jump-starting our vacation! 

After getting A out of her crib and onto her changing pad, I started to really worry. I know I had heard my parents shuffling about, getting coffee downstairs, but I had been in A's room for over a minute and no sign of Gigi. After about 2 1/2 weeks of not seeing A, I knew she was in serious withdrawal mode, but she was nowhere to be found. Had she not heard us get up? Did she spill hot coffee on herself and couldn't walk? Just as the full panic was about to set in, I heard the pitter-patter of her little flip flops on the floor and breathed a sigh of relief....then I got kicked in the face.  A was so excited to see Gigi when she walked in, she started doing the 1 year old version of the worm on her changing pad and nailed me square in the jaw. I guess that is a small price to pay for a three week all-inclusive vacation. Well, that is what I like to call it when we stay with Gigi and Pop P, since they have more toys, books, sippy cups, a water table, bikes, and every other baby items you could possibly want.

So we started our vacation the way we start every day down here...walking a lap of the point before stopping at the playground for some morning fun!

First we have to take a walk for Preston, then A gets her fun time!
Gigi and A strolling by South Beach

Let the playground fun begin!

Weeee!

Nosey Nelly...

"Come and get me!"

"Hey, you guys still out there?"

One tunnel....hours of entertainment.

"Oh, we do not have this at home!"

Me: "Okay, A, time to head home."
A: "NO MOMMY" as she runs off...

xoxo

Daily Mom

ps...I know I haven't mentioned it before, or at least I don't think I have, but I took a mango seed (just starting to sprout) home with me from Canada...I know, I know, so illegal...and planted it when I got home. I have NO green thumb, literally I kill everything, but I wanted to give it a whirl and it just seemed to have so much potential, so I ignored customs when they asked me if I had any fruits or veggies, and smuggled it to America. And after about a week in the Baltimore heat it took off, and now I am so attached to this little tree, I transplanted it to a bigger pot and hauled it all the way up here with me in the car last night. So here it is now...grow, grow, grow little tree! Wish me luck!!!

This is it in a tiny little pot when it just started to sprout.

Then it out-grew its pot so I transfered it...

How crazy cool is my little mango tree!

Seriously...This is all Happening?

Wow, talk about a crazy day!

So it looks like we actually are moving...but before I get my hopes up I am going to be realistic and say there is a pretty good chance we are going to face another hiccup before closing. But regardless we have been working like crazy to get our house ready to go on the market, repainting the basement and the closet, fixing door handles, cleaning gutter, cleaning everything inside the house, staging the kitchen...you get my point. And today was our first real showing...well I guess not really-real since our house is not officially on the market, but this morning a realtor went through with a potential family...and they liked it and might want to come back for a second look! Yippee!

But before this exciting event transpired, we had a morning of utter chaos. At 6:30 we jumped out of bed and got to work. Since all four of A's godparents were over last night for playtime and dinner, I had a bit of cleaning up to do while my hubby slapped a second coat of paint on a few "under repair" areas. Then it was all about staging...which is pretty challenging when you have a 1 1/2 year old running behind you pulling everything you are doing apart. As the clock stroke 9am the realtor was at the door and the house was ready to go!

As I grabbed A and sighed a very happy exhale on my way to the car I thought the chaos was over and we could just relax...man was I ever wrong. When I got in my car I noticed it just didn't sound like all systems were-a-go, and sadly they weren't...my ac had died...and by this I mean no. air. period. Which on a normal day would not be so bad, but since the temperature was already pushing high into the 80's and we are driving in my car to Connecticut tonight to start our vacation...I saw this as a huge problem.

Okay, I can deal with no air, you know enjoy the nature a little and use the windows...but I don't think A could sleep (which is the plan) for our 6 hr car ride on the highway, through dirty Jersey (hey it is a bit smelly from 95) and across the GW bridge with crazy honking and swerving NY drivers, with the windows down. So on to plan B...I called my mom and dad for help! Luckily they have an extra car here and were more than happy to let us take it tonight! Phew...problem solved.

Now I just have to figure out how to get a whole lot of S&$# into a much smaller car :) I think I am just going to pretend it is a game of Tetras and rock it!

On a side note: I thought you would want to see some adorable pictures of A from yesterday as we played in the grass before her godparents arrived. Wow, you are good! I did say she had four but only one set made it before bedtime, so they are the only ones I snapped some pictures of....way to pick that up!

Always captivated by leaves

Calling to the birdie to come and get the leaf

She found another one!

Pondering life...

"Yuck, there is a tiny speck of dirt on my hands!"

"Ahh, it sure is nice under the shade."

"Mom, you are silly."

A and her Aunt Courtney

Getting kisses from Uncle Jesse

A quick photo with Mommy!

"Yawn..." and then it was time for bed.

Signing off from boiling B-more and will return from captivating Connecticut!

xoxo

Daily Mom

A Pool Date

Since it was another scorcher here in good ol' B-more, Nicole and I decided we would treat the kids to a pool day! After a grueling workout from our favorite instructor, Kate, we swapped our sports bras for our swim suits and lathered the kids in sunscreen. On a complete side note, Nicole had this awesome new sunscreen by Water Babies that is spray foam...super easy to apply and quickly rubbed in. Let's just say she beat me by minutes in the sunscreen applying department!

Then it was time to let them loose in the water! E and A always have so much fun together, but each day they become so much more grown-up and love actually playing together...not just parallel play. I can't believe how much they have grown up in the past 9 months, from kids who could not even really crawl to these little running, laughing, talking humans.  

"E, look at all the toys I found!"

"I am testing out the water, and it is niceeee."

"No seriously, look at cool watering can."

"Oh, this is pretty cool."

"I found a boat...brrrrrruuummmm."

"Haha, I wacked you in the bum!"

"Hilarious, E. I am busy with my car."

"Can I see it?"
"Yes, I am getting very good at sharing."

"Want to play matchstick with the leaf? I am it...splashhhh!"

"Bet you can't find it!"

"You are a little crazy. I am going to play with the car again."

"Fa-la-la"

"Hum, more water?"

"E, watch me practice blowing bubbles!"

"I haven't totally gotten the hang of it yet."

Moms: "Okay, guys time to get changed so we can have lunch!"
A: The Stare

E: "Oh yeah, almost naked with a girl"
A: "E, stop looking at my swimmy."

E and A waiting "patiently" for lunch :)

xoxo

Daily Mom