Home Again

Clint and I made a last minute trip to Detroit to visit my dear friend Christina---FINALLY!  It has been almost 3 years since she moved up there and she has been bugging me for a while to come and visit her.  So, we hopped on a plane and partied like a rock star all weekend (LOL).  We had a really good time, but it is good to be home.  I really missed Summer.  I was away from her for 4 nights which is the longest I have been away from her since she was born.  I did get to talk to her on the phone for the first time while we were gone.  She actually said Momma and a few other words (some clear and some not).  It was cute.  She also left me my first voicemail from her one day.  She said Momma  and that was all it took for me to fall in love with her all over again.  Such a doll she is.  I replayed it many times while I was gone. 

She seemed so happy when I got back which  made me really happy too.  She has been such a joyful little girl since we got home.  Silly and always ready to laugh and play.  I really did get lucky with her.  I hope I don't do anything to screw her up...LOL. 

I have come across a few pictures which have jogged a few memories out of my head.  It seems like I am forgetting to write so much, but it is happening so fast that I can hardly keep up myself.  She is growing up.  She is not really a baby anymore, but she doesn't really seem like she is old enough to be a little girl yet.  Where is the time going?

1.  We went to Playworld Down Under with Alicia, DJ, Liliana, Kelli, Justin and Katelyn a few weeks ago.  It was Summer's first trip there and she really had a good time.  She especially liked the slides, but usually wanted to climb up them to get back to the top.  Eventually, she did accept that she had to go up the steps to get to slide.  The girls all got to ride on a little Merry-Go-Round type ride after they played.  Then we cashed in the tickets that the parents won (LOL) and got them prizes.  I got Summer 2 bracelets and a plastic frog.  Needless to say I didn't have many tickets....unlike the other parents.  We all had a good time I think.

2.  I was repotting some plants at the condo on my balcony and Summer came out to "help" me.  If adding to the mess I was already making is any help...hmmm.  Anyway, there were a few shallow puddles of dirt/water on the concrete.  Summer was immediately attracted to these and decided she needed to put her face in them.  She loves to blow bubbles in the pool or bathtub.  Oh yeah, did I mention there was dirt involved?  If you have seen the pictures, I am sure you already know there was.  It was quite a site to see and if I remember correctly, I had Clint clean her up afterwards so it was actually worth the pictures I got from it. 

3.  Clint and I have taken  Summer to Coolidge Park several times this summer.  She likes to play in the small fountains, but she is not too keen on the big fountains yet.  It is okay though because the water in the small fountains tastes good....LOL...she doesn't seem to mind the taste anyway.  I don't let her sit there and drink the water out if it.  If I really did that, I would be constantly scolding her which means there isn't really much of a point in taking her to the park.  So, I let her play and have fun and do her own thing as long as I know her life is not actually in danger.  Clint tried to get her to go in the bigger fountains with him the other day, but they ended up not doing that.  This past week, I had my niece and nephew with us and they had a good time too.  Before we got in the fountains, we rode on the Merry-Go-Round.  Summer and I rode on a cat.  She liked it, but was ready to get off by the time the music stopped.  At least she wasn't begging to stay on!!!

4.  Summer also loves the playground at the mall.  Sometimes I play with her, and sometimes Clint will stay in there with her while I go shop.  We also have play dates there with Liliana every once in a while. 

5.  Suckers ~ Summer loves suckers.  We got one at the bank the other day and another one from somewhere else.  I usually let her eat them when she is sitting in her stroller b/c then she can't get too much stuff sticky.  We have not really had any sticky issues yet, but I am sure they are headed my way.  It is cute to see her reaction when you hand her the sucker.  She has this look like she is so happy/surprised/grateful...like the sucker really made her day.  So, they are a nice treat for her whenever we get them. 

Here are a few videos that I came across today when I was going through my pictures.  I will try to do this more often for all you grandparents who don't get to see her much.  I must admit I do love showing off my little angel.  She makes my world go around.

Sliding  --   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn06LeSFraY

Eating breakfast  --  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AMxQU6bltk

 

Our summer vacation

We had a great time in Panama City.  We traveled down in three cars.  My mom and Tre took the granddaughters.  Clint took the guys in his truck, and me and my sister rode in my Corvette with the top down until it got too hot.  We had a good time listening to some old tapes I found from high school and some country music which we sang our hearts out to. 

When we got there, we headed straight to the beach because our room was not ready.  But, we didn't have to wait long to get in.  After we settled in, we had dinner in the condo and enjoyed our first night as much as we could.  We went to the beach and pool every day.  Some mornings I took the kids to the beach and/or pool which was fun for me.  Summer was not always an enthusiastic partner, so she didn't get to go every time we did. 

We tried to swim out the the sand bar a couple of times so we could get some sand dollars, but we had no luck.  We did encounter a few jelly fish which was not a highlight of our day.  We got to see sharks, rays, and dolphins swimming down the coastline several times.  It was pretty neat. 

There were more fireworks on the 4th of July than I have ever seen in my life.  It went on for over 3 hours.  It was pretty awesome.  We watched them from the balcony for a while, but after the kids went to bed we went to the beach to join my brother.  Summer did not get to see any fireworks since they started after she was in bed....maybe next year. 

It went by WAAAYYYY too fast.  We did not get to do all the things we wanted to do like go deep sea fishing or play miniature golf.  But, we didn't really miss them.  We had a good time just being together.

Momma, Momma, Momma

Yesterday, on the way to work, Summer said, "Momma, Momma, Momma."  She has said my name before, but it has been a while since she has actually called me by name trying to get my attention.  She has never done it like this and I don't think I will ever forget that car ride.  It was so sweet.  She also started saying "please" yesterday too.  So now when I tell her "No ma'am" to something, she is smart enough to say "please" so that I will let her have/do what she wants.  It is cute, but I am still gonna have to stick to the no when it is absolutely necessary.  I would update more, but I gotta get ready for work.  I'll try to add pics later tonight.

Busy, busy, busy

I have been really busy since we got back from Florida.  I thought I would take a minutes to add some pics for the grandparents out in Vegas who don't get to see Summer often.  She is growing every day and doing new things too.  She asks for her (my) toothbrush now when she wants to brush her teeth.  It sounds something like brush.  She says bite when she wants a bite of your food.  She signs eat all the time.  She loves to eat!  She can say "bear" now which is one of her must have items.  She goes to bed with bear, she gets up with bear, she gets out of bed with bear -- if she sees bear, she wants bear.  It is cute.  She said belly button this morning when she found hers.  She is saying so much now that it is hard to remember what I have already told you and what I haven't. 

Clint and I are in Nashville for the evening, so I must get ready to hit the town.  I will update more on our vacation next time.  I will save those pics for that update.  In the meantime, enjoy these.