Vacation

Since we're about to head out for a week at the beach and I don't know if I'll be able to upload any pictures until I return, I thought I'd show y'all so photos from our time at home. This has been my first week home from work...so my first official week of summer vacation! Woo-hoo! Here are some photos of what we've been up to this week.Apparently Alley isn't ready to give up pumped milk yet! She rolled over to the pump, hooked her arm in the strap and started army crawling over to me! What a hoot!!Here are some pictures that I took outside while we were playing on a blanket (I had completely forgotten my camera took pictures on black and white...fun fun!)Alley has found her toy "box". She would pick up a toy, shake it and then put it in her mouth, and she did that with every single toy in there...once she finished going through her basket and had shaken and tasted each toy, she found the ones that rattled and kept shaking them and squealing...I think she likes noise!

Tired

Now this is one tired girl!

Today we had a nap struggle, as you can see, but I think we might be over the hump...hopefully tomorrow I'll having my napping queen again...I hope! Anyway, we are enjoying being back with Alley and seeing how much she's grown (she totally grew while we were gone for a week!). She has started army crawling but she pushes off with her feet...it looks hilarious! We've decided she's trying to show her support for her Uncle Will since he is now back in the army...Will I think she has a thing or two to teach you about army crawling:)
Here is a still photo of her sleeping in a moving swing...silly girl! And below is a picture of her while she's army crawling towards the camera.

St. Louis

I made it!! I survived my first trip without Alley...whew, but boy am I glad to be home!! Andy and I flew to St. Louis for the NATA conference and had originally planed on bringing Alley. Then a little over a week before we left I started feeling like it wasn't a good idea...so Mimi and Papa stepped up to the plate and stayed with Alley for 5 days 4 nights (what great parents and grandparents!!).
Andy and I had a wonderful time visiting my birthplace and just touring around. Here are some pictures from our week.The arch - the next couple are pictures of the grounds around the arch...check out the flood level!You can't go to Cardinal country without going to a Cardinals game! As you can see by this picture of Andy and Isaac (Andy's assistant) We went to THE brewery:)

This is the stable that holds a few of the 250 Clydesdales that the Busch family own...note the chandelier and the stained glass windows (which were also in the stalls...)

We had a wonderful week filled with convention classes (for Andy) and visiting with friends...but, we are glad we are home!

Happy Father's Day

I want to wish all the father's out there Happy Father's Day! We have had a wonderful first father's day so far. Andy got a new grill from Alley and me (he's been drooling over grills for awhile now!) and we had a nice lunch at Granny's house with my parents, John and Dan (my mom's cousin). Here are some pictures from the day:
Here's Andy and his mini-me...she kept sticking out her tongue and grabbing for the camera (she has this new obsession with electronics - I hope she's not a "gadget" girl!!!)
As of yesterday, Alley has been going from the sitting position to getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth...Lord save us!!Then the face plant and she's back to rolling around...she's so proud of herself!

Swing

So Alley has always loved her swing and recently she has decided that taking a nap in it is no fun...so she is now sitting straight up in it! (it's a swing that reclines all the way back!!). Here's a video of her and the swing.

Saturday fun

Saturday was a day for the girls. Andy left really early in the morning for a meeting in DC so Alley and I had all day to play together. We did a lot of things like running errands, working on taking naps (ugh!), playing with Maggie, reading stories, and we ended the day with going to a friends house for a BBQ. They had bought a little pool because of this crazy extreme weather we are experiencing here in Virginia, so I had to try Alley's new bathing suit out and see if she liked water (prep for the beach!). Here are some pictures of the day:Alley kept grabbing Maggie's fur and pulling on it...and sweet Maggie would just start licking her while Alley squealed. Here's a picture of just that:
Then here are some pictures of Alley in her new bathing suit trying out the pool - she kept squealing every time I put her in the pool and if I took her out she would lunge for it - I think she likes water!:)

Happenings...

I'm awful...I have this wonderful new camera and an adorable little girl and for some reason I don't seem to put the two together often enough and take pictures on my little girl! I am definitely a slacker...so, tonight I got the camera out and took some pictures of Alley in her little ducky tub. I must say, I am a "delete" button fanatic (I need to go to counseling for that!), but here is a cute one that I kept.
Alley is now trying to pull up on anything and everything just so she can stand up. She's not quite there yet, but if you give her your fingers she will hoist herself up off the ground...I think we're in for it pretty soon!!! Anyway, here's a shot of her in her little tub trying to stand up...silly girl:)The little booger is looking mischievous and proud of herself all at the same time