Not Sure Why We Buy Toys

We seem to spend a lot of time and money researching and buying educational toys for Princess Pea. I'm starting to think this is totally not necessary because her favorite toys seem to not be toys at all. Nick jokes that he's buying her a case of bottled water for her birthday because she loves playing with the bottles. Here are some of her other favorites:

The exersaucer is a toy, but this is not how you're supposed to play with it.

The carseat seems to be entertaining as well.

The best toy of all? The tupperware cabinet!

Perdido Key 2009

Nick's family goes on a family vacation each year, usually to Florida. This year the destination was Perdido Key, FL near the Alabama border. We rented three condos on the beach and had a blast! We drove 12 hours through the night to get to Florida and Allie slept almost the entire way. We got checked in and the fun began!

We shared a condo with Nick's sister and the triplets. All for kids seemed to like having one another around to play with. Allie liked stealing all of the boys' food, sippy cups and binkys. She also learned some new words from the boys throughout the week, mainly "no-no." She now tells on herself while she's doing something she shouldn't be which is hilarious.

Allie didn't seem to mind the sand and actually liked the ocean. The zero-entry pool was another big hit with Allie and the boys. They could walk or crawl in and out of the water as they pleased which was so nice.

Nick spent one day deep sea fishing and caugth a 6 foot bull shark! I didn't take Allie to the dock when they got back so I've only seen it in pictures.

Allie had an allergic reaction to just about every sunscreen we tried. Her poor little face swelled up and got all red and splotchy. Her pediatrician recommended asking the pharmacist for suggestions and we finally found a winner in Blue Lizard Sensitive sunscreen. No more problems the rest of the week!

All in all it was a fabulous vacation! We enjoyed some delicious food, wonderful weather and great time as a family. Here's a group shot of all of the kids.

I took way too many pictures to post here (surprise, surprise I know) so you can see the rest of them here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtW7hy4btWLDwA

Our Little Superstar

We had Allie's 6 month pictures taken at JC Penney and were very pleased with how they came out. While we were there, they asked me to sign a release for them to use Allie's pictures in their advertising. I signed the release, not really thinking anything of it. They called while we were in Florida to let us know that they had chosen one of her pictures to be on display in the store. Of course we had to go in to see it and take her picture next to it. Yes, we're big dorks. If you stop by the JC Penney at Bridgewater Falls, be sure to look for her picture on the wall!

Hanging Out At Home

When we returned from Shadywood Farm, we had 3 days to get ready to leave for Florida. This meant that there was lots of laundry and packing to do and a lot of time spent at home. It was kind of boring, but Allie didn't seem to mind. She got to play in Mommy & Daddy's room which doesn't happen very often. Here she is playing on our bed:

One of her favorite activities is crawling up and down the hallway, especially if we're chasing her. She'll crawl down to the corner and just sit and laugh. It makes me question why we buy toys when things like this keep her so entertained.

She also got to sample some new finger foods in an attempt to keep her entertained and away from the suitcases. She seemed to be slightly more interested in playing with the food and making a mess than she was in actually eating the food. Oh well, she's still the cutest baby ever!

Shadywood Farm '09

We spent the majority of the month of August traveling as a family to various locations across the country. We were away from home for 19 out of the first 24 days in August and either visited or drove through 9 states (Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina). Allie was a total trooper the entire time. Much better than we expected.

Our travels began with a trip to Butler, PA for the annual family reunion at my Grandma's farm. It was so wonderful to spend 4 days with family and just relax by the pool. We also got to meet the twins, Sophie and Sebastian, for the first time. They are a few months younger than Allie and it was really neat to watch the three of them, plus big sister Charlotte, interact. We didn't get a chance to visit the cows at the dairy farm next door but hope to do that next year. We had a great time and are looking forward to Shadywood Farm in 2010!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Allie and her Great-Grandma!

Hanging out with Daddy by the pool.

Enjoying a picnic in the grass.

Allie loved the mirror at the top of the stairs. She kept giving the baby kisses. It was so cute!

Miss Sophie being her adorable self.

Big smile from Sebastian!

Allie loved swimming in the pool.

Sophie must have told Allie a really funny joke.

The three babies. I think they're second cousins or something (Their Mom is my Dad's cousin).

The rest of the pictures from our trip can be found here:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtW7hy4btWLDDA

We'll see everyone again next year!

8 Months Old!

Yes, I know that this over a month late, but how could I not post these adorable pictures from the day Allie turned 8 months old? Allie has turned in to quite the little monkey. She will no longer sit still and play, she's either crawling or pulling up constantly. She's mastered Mama (the sweetest sound EVER!) and Dada and continues clapping and waving like a pro. She gets cuter by the day if I do say so myself!

The Updates Are Coming!

I have not abandoned the blog, I promise! We've been in and out of town the entire month of August and I just haven't had a chance to get everything updated. Expect a ton of new posts in the coming days!