More Fun!

Lydia's personality is developing by the day. Now that I am spending the summer with her, I could venture to say that it can change by the minute. Today, she surprised me with the simple act of responding differently to a new toy. She was able to understand that the ball goes in the hole in order to make the sound and the music that she liked to hear. She repeatedly would put the ball in the hole of her toy as it was intended to be used! Many times she will still bang the balls together or crawl after them, but I was pleased to notice this development! I grow even more proud of her with each new tiny development!
This morning was full of errands. We dropped Brett's work car off to get an oil change and ran to the Maui Jim headquarters to pick out a new pair of sunglasses for me. As part of my birthday gift, Brett surprised me with a certificate for a new pair! We were surprised to get a great discount from one of our friends that brought the cost of the sunglasses down 75% of their original cost!! Therefore, a 200$ pair of sunglasses only cost us $50.00!!! I was equally surprised by the notion that the Maui Jim headquarters grows PINEAPPLE in their landscaping! By coincidence, Lydia was wearing her hula monkey outfit! She wasn't too pleased to be placed in the woodchips for an impromptu (I carry my camera everywhere!) picture! If you look closely, there is a mini pineapple! It was adorable and reminded us of our honeymoon in Hawaii when we toured the Dole plantation! After Maui Jim, we dropped Brett back off to get his car and Lydia and I went to GermanTown to visit Aunt Shelly during her garage sale! We even found a few treasures! I picked up an adorable Halloween Outfit at Shelly's and a few toys at a sale near her house!
Lydia and I returned back to Peoria in time to shop at the Metro Center and walk the whole shopping complex. We purchased a few things from Britches and Bloomers for her photo shoot with Patty tomorrow (stay tuned for those pictures). By then, I knew Lydia was getting sleepy so we came home for a few hours to charge our batteries, nap, test out our new clothes, do a wardrobe change, and head back out. Our adventures took us to Toys 'R' Us on the hunt for more finger foods that Lydia might enjoy. There aren't a lot of options out there so I have had to get clever with some of the things I have at home. I did find some organic peanut butter and jelly snack sandwiches and some dried fruit. It is a good start. I also had to pick up some more organic graham crackers and yogurt bites that she likes. After Toys 'R' Us, we went to Northwoods to pass some time, but I lucked out with some clearance deals at Gymboree! I bought Lydia three complete outfits and a coat for less than $30.00. If you shop there, you know it can be expensive, so to get that many outfits for that price MADE MY DAY! I picked up a few new headbands for Lydia at Clarie's before we decided to head out to meet Daddy and his friends at the ballpark. Lydia loved hanging out with "uncle Tim" and really watched the game the majority of the time. Lydia and I left at 8:15 as it was getting near her bed time! We look forward to more games that the park this summer!


I can't get over how much fun I am having this summer with Lydia! Upcoming plans include a trip to Woodstock to visit my parents and go to the Shedd and Brookfield as well as meet Oma in the Quad Cities to see their zoo. I plan on us revising the children's discovery museum as well as taking a few trips to the Peoria Zoo and Wildlife Prairie Park. Next week is the Emergency Expo that we plan on attending and baby day at the Children's Musuem! We will continue to have swim lessons and go to story times as well! So much fun stuff to do!