The End of Week One

Sadly, we are back from Rehoboth, so I don't get to start every morning with donuts and bagels freshly delivered by John and Orelia.  I have plenty of photos to share, though, to remind me of our wonderful vacation.  Here are the last set from our first week.

Orelia loved her morning routine and couldn't wait to get on the bike with Daddy to head to the bakery.  (I also loved the sleeping in that the routine afforded me.)

We had a great first week, and Orelia had lots of laughs with her grandparents.

She shared a few laughs with her somewhat less exciting parents too.

Daddy was, of course, willing to go into the pool while Mommy watched from the sidelines.

Sometimes Orelia loved her floatie, but most of the time it seemed to bore her.  Being in Daddy's arms was much more exciting.

In the mornings and evenings, the family often gathered on the second story deck.

Orelia often took this as an opportunity to consume as many bubbles as possible.

Why anyone would find this appetizing is beyond me, but our girl also has a taste for sand, so maybe I should not be surprised.

Just don't try to tell her she can't eat the bubbles.  "As if," she seems to be saying.

When on vacation anything goes, especially if it means we can put our feet up basking in the sun on a beautiful porch.

The Morning Beach

Probably my favorite part of every day is our first outing to the beach each morning.  Things are quieter, cooler, and generally more relaxed.  Once our feet hit the sand, everyone is smiling.

Orelia's current favorite beach activity is stomping "castles."

This essentially means someone, usually John, is requested to make "more more more" for the sole purpose of her immediately stomping on them.  It's actually preferred that there are two or three available to be stomped, but in order for this to happen, she would need to turn her back and let one go untouched for ten seconds.  Almost unheard of.

She also loved going for short walks, especially with grandparents, to see the rocks or maybe consider touching the ocean (but usually chickening out).

Snuggles with grandparents under the beach umbrellas aren't half bad either.

Sometimes she decided the beach chairs are perfect for hiding behind and them jumping out for a peekaboo.

Being buried in the sand is fun so long as it's only a portion of her legs.  Don't even try and go as high as her bathing suit.

 There are always lots of laughs and smiles during our morning beach trip.

We are so lucky to have so many mornings where we get to enjoy our daughter having a blast while we sit under umbrellas with our feet in the sand.  There's nothing better.

The Three of Us

I'm not usually in a lot of family photos, and I'm in even less these days as my belly gets bigger and bigger.   On my dad's last morning with us, I decided I needed some photos of me and my belly and Orelia.

Orelia's little brother is less than three months from his debut, and my lap is getting smaller and smaller.  Somehow we still find a way for her to fit.

Orelia has always loved being carried and is the queen of "uppies" with everyone she loves.  Lately, however, there aren't a lot of times when Mommy uppies are offered.  The other evening when we finally trekked back to the car from the boardwalk, I deemed I would finally pick her up for the final stint where we walked across the street.  She literally cheered "Mommy!  Up!" and waved her fists in the air.  Success at last, I suppose.

She will kiss her brother via my belly when requested, and is pretty good about being gentle with me when we remind her of the baby.  Things are already different for her, and he hasn't arrived yet.  It will be a big exciting adjustment for all of us, but I'm sure she will do great.

Frills

It's only natural when your daughter has the curliest hair,

 That you find a swim shirt frilly enough to match.

Her frilly suits and springy hair definitely match her spunky personality.

The beach is the perfect place for a gal like her to be.

There is so much to explore, see, and build.

Everything is better in a frilly swim suit.

Two Weeker

We recently arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  John and I are on our first two week vacation since our honeymoon.

It's just a few days in, and I can already say that I highly recommend it.

Who cares what day it is when you know you have at least a week left.

 Two weeks to sprint on the beach.

 Two weeks to lounge with Daddy in the wind.

Two weeks to blow bubbles on the deck.

Two weeks to fly recently-acquired dog kites.  (She loves kites, guys.)

 Two weeks to hang out with grandparents who spoil her.

Two weeks to eat doughnuts for breakfast.

 Two weeks of bliss.

 Two weeks of this.

Orelia's Denver

We spent every waking moment of our Denver vacation doing activities Orelia would enjoy.  Her first morning was spent at the children's museum with Mommy (sans camera), and that afternoon she was wowed by the aquarium.

As my old boss said, "Leave it to you guys to go to the middle of the country to go to an aquarium," but Orelia had a great time.

 Orelia loved seeing the "ee-orses" and turtles.

 They had lots of very large sharks at the aquarium, and Orelia loves to get tickled to the "Jaws" theme song.  What a gal.  We had dinner at the aquarium restaurant, which essentially had tanks full of brightly colored fish on every wall so as to entertain the children better.  It worked like a charm.

The next morning we headed to the zoo to see what kind of creatures Orelia could spot on land.   She loves "raffes," and thanks to a wonderful Eric Carle book, likes to demonstrate how they bend their necks.

 The seal lion show was a huge hit with Orelia who kept asking for "more more more" when it was over.  We think she's going to enjoy Sea World in July.

 The zoo has a huge new elephant exhibit, and this "baby" elephant Billy showed off by taking a nice swim for us.  Now Orelia equates "agua" and elephants despite the fact that she may never seen another elephant swim for the rest of her life.

 We didn't dawdle at the elephants, however, since we had already told Orelia there was a train ride in her future and that was all she could think about.

 I swear, smoosh face means she's enjoying herself.

Smoosh face even made an appearance on the beloved carousel.

John and I were especially exhausted after the zoo, and we all headed home to take naps before our next adventure.

Denver has it's own "insect zoo" whose main attraction is actually a huge butterfly greenhouse.  

 Literally the week before we left for Denver, Orelia became obsessed with butterflies because we began to spot them flying around our backyard.

 I randomly decided to Google "Denver butterfly" and found out about the Butterfly Pavillion just outside of the city.

 Orelia had a great time and we literally saw a thousand butterflies.

 Every night was capped off with a swim in the indoor pool at the hotel and we all slept soundly after fun-filled days.  John and I didn't get to explore the trendy parts of the city or eat at any nice restaurants, but we had an amazing time as a family.  We knew that if Orelia was happy, we were all happy.