August 2012

August can be summed up in one word; HOT! It was hot in Virginia and even hotter in Riverside.

Lily didn't even wait to change before climbing in the pool. Puppies, too. But then again, if the hose is on, the boys will be there.
We turned the car seat forward this month. (The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests leaving children rear facing until 2 or older.) But man, she likes looking out the window.

She has also started role playing more and pretending a lot more. I have had more pretend cups of tea this month than in my entire life. She has also started the "Mommy? Game" in which she asks for me and I answer and she asks for me again. Repeatedly. The other day, when I stopped answered her for the umpteenth time, she started playing the game with Dolly; not to be confused with Beebee. She was ask "Dolly?" and answer "What?" all by herself.


We had one cooler week in August where we had some morning cloud cover and were able to head to the park before it got too hot. She is just now enjoying these baby safety swings. Although, I am starting to miss her wanting to sit on my lap to swing.

However, the slides still remain a favorite.

Baby Austin Keys was born in July, and Lily already adores him. Occasionally, we let her and her cousins hold Austin (or as Lily calls him, Boston) using the Boppy pillow. She now uses the Boppy to hold all of her dolls. She pulls the pillow up, places a doll or two on the pillow, and starts ooing and awing over the baby and giving out the sweetest kisses.

August also marked Lily's second birthday. We didn't throw a party but instead got with different groups of cousins to celebrate. Here she is hanging out with the Vizon cousins opening gifts from the Vizons, Grandpa and Grandma Atkinson, and Mommy and Daddy.

She adores all of her cousins and now knows which ones belong to which family. She knows sibling sets and which Auntie goes with which. It's really a lot of fun.

August was busy but we have already hit the ground running with September!

D.C. and Nationals Baseball

While we were in Virginia, we headed into D.C. for an afternoon/evening. We picked up the Metro train outside D.C. so we didn't have to drive, or pay to park, in the city. Best decision ever!It was Lily's first train ride, but Kevin and I are old pros. (Not really, we downloaded a map to keep with us, but we never did get lost.)

We walked around the American History Museum for a while and then headed out to the Mall for a little lunch.


It was pretty hot. The last time we were there we practically froze but I think I would chose the cold wind over the humid heat.

After lunch, and to beat the heat, we headed back into the museum.
There were quite a few hands-on exhibits that Lily could enjoy.



After the museum we headed over to a Nationals baseball game.

It was Lily's first ballgame and she was a trooper!

Hopefully this is one of the last times you see Beebee out of the house . . .

She loves her Daddy.


And she picks on Mommy . . .
Wonderful time!

Virginia in August

For Kevin's final class of the summer we headed to Fredericksburg, Virginia for two weeks. There is a lot a things to see and do, but not all are geared toward toddlers. We visited a couple of Civil War battlefield, the library, and a handful of other historic places.

One of our favorites was the site of George Washington's boyhood home, Ferry Farm. The property was large and green, and open to explore. We walked down to the river and were devoured by what I assume were mosquitoes. It was probably only 90 degrees, but these I.E. girls were not used to the humidity. Lily doesn't actually sweat yet, and felt clammy most of the time. But she loves to explore and has recently found her love of climbing. She has never been much of a daredevil, but if there are stairs, she is going to climb them.

Here she is on the stones added to show where the archaeologists believe the main house once stood. They are still doing digs on the property and the archeologists were very friendly, coming up to the visitors to talk about the current dig.

We packed a lunch every day we went out and at Ferry Farm we ate in the garden among the watermelons and the grape vines. To our surprise, a little turtle crawled out from underneath the bench we were sitting on. I may have shrieked a little. If you ask Lily what the turtle says, she replies with "snap, snap, snap."

We also visited Chatham. Originally a plantation on the north side of the river, and used as a hospital for the Union, the gardens have been restored to how it looked in the 1920's.

The property was beautiful and although we loved exploring, it was probably the hottest day we were there.

We had snack but didn't stay for lunch; it was just too hot and humid.

We had a great two weeks exploring and playing. We went to 2 of the 4 battlefield sites, but neglected to take any pictures. There is so much more we would like to see in Virginia, but agreed we should come back in the fall or spring.