These pictures are from our recent trip to St. George. I like to think of this trip as practice for the trip that's coming up which is to Panama City Beach, Florida at the end of the month. My family rented a beach house and we will all be staying right on the ocean.
While it does sound fun for Athena to get to see the Ocean for the first time, there is so much about traveling with a toddler that makes me nervous. With the trip to St. George we drove there, but we will be flying to Florida. It's been a long time since we flew with Athena, the last time was when she was 6 weeks old, and since then, she requires a whole lot more stuff to make a temporary comfy home.
We will be total newbies at the whole gate checking of a stroller and various other items of necessity so if you have tips, let me know. Also, I'm working on my bag of tricks for the plane so let me know of any non-screen time related fun options that have worked for your little people and Thanks in advance.
Happy fourth of July! It also just so happens this is the day that my Athena Boo turns 8 months old too. As you can tell from the pictures she is beyond thrilled to be taking pictures with her mama...
I decided today would be a pretty great day to give you all an update on this crazy baby!
1. We are pretty sure we are about a million more times fond of her than she is of us. She is not a snuggly baby and we joke that she is only lukewarm on her own parents. Even though she's an independent lady, this does not stop us from giving her a million kisses a day! Her personality ought to be interesting to see how it plays out in daycare.
2. She also doesn't seem to give much thought to other babies. As I mentioned before, I take her to Little Gym classes so I can get her acclimated to other kids and adults. She's always the first to want to leave circle time and get to climbing! Now THAT is her jam! She always leaves the circle and goes to the parallel bars and waves at the people in the circle like "hey suckers, this is where the real fun is!" It's actually pretty funny.
3. She is incredibly strong and determined. She can pretty much do any of the climbing tasks independently at Little Gym and anything that involves jumping or hanging! She's like a tiny body builder and she ain't got time to chit-chat with other babies! Once she learns a skill she is dead-set on learning the next! I am in shock of the things she can do and accomplish, daily.
4. She said "Mama" last Sunday and this weekend said "Papa" and it melts our hearts! When she talks it looks like she has a mouth full of marbles and it's adorable! She's very good at mimicking what we say or feeling our mouths and watches them move to practice making sounds.
5. She loves to talk with her grandpa on Facetime and does her signature wave to him through the phone all the time.
6. She can climb the entire staircase by herself, and really quickly too might I add! She started this at about 7 months and hasn't looked back. Don't worry, we are always right behind her.
7. She loves to make out with herself in the mirror or in her reflection of the dishwasher or stove and it cracks me up every single time!
8. She is not exactly a smiley baby as you can see in these pictures. Seriously, getting her to smile in a picture is pretty hard. But she is really silly and makes us laugh all day long.
9. She appreciates her sleep and always sleeps a solid 12 hours at night. However the last week she has been trying to only take one nap a day and it is exhausting keeping up with her all day! She is just way too into living life!
10. She loves to watch her mama get ready. watching me brush my hair and then brush her hair is a morning ritual. She stares at me when I put on makeup and get dressed. This gives me hope that I have a future shopping buddy and spa partner on my hands.
I have the tendency to unintentionally dress us alike. It's happened on several occasions where I haven't noticed till strangers in public are like "Aww, how cute, you match!" Then I look down and realize we are both in stripes.
This outfit matching was intention and her outfit was one of the very few clothing items I bought before she was born. I remember seeing this little gingham Gap romper on lots of my friends kids last summer and loving it so much I just had to get it.
My top is only $21 and my jeans are MAGIC! Honestly, I am in love with these jeans. The pockets have flaps made in that attach all the way to the zipper and hold you in in all the right places. My girlfriend Briana told me about them 5 months ago after she had her baby and I'm not sure what took me so long to go try them on. Needless to say, we both think they are the perfect mom jeans and they smooth out that dreaded "mom pooch" like magic!
I've been kind of on a gingham kick lately which seems to happen every Spring. It's just such a fun easy pattern that is timeless and looks great on practically everyone! Here are a few of my favorites I've been crushing on lately.
I'm not certain I really like these mint pants on me, but I've had them since last year when this whole mint craze broke. I figured I'd give them another try.
How about you? Are you sick of mint or embracing its return this spring?
