More Pool Fun....June

Roxy enjoys barking at us while we swim...I'm hoping this will be a short lived habit. I think she's interested in coming in and nervous for Abby all at the same time; just a protective big sister!
Anyone can float with "Dora" water wings, right?? Holding daddy's hands to jump in

Happy swimmer! She loves swimming with us now.

Yummm....salt water pool tastes great!

My two cuties!! I love them!

Abby with a huge smile while watching daddy attempt a hand-stand in the water! (Behind Abby is a quick glimpse at our new pool fence....I will post more and house photo asap!)

She LOVED being tossed in the air repeatedly! Of course she kept repeating "more, more, more"!

More air-time!

All giggles with dad!

Look everyone, no hands! These Dora wings help me swim!! Next time I am putting her in the wings with a life vest to see how self-sufficient she is with both!

Baby #2 Update!

So we just wanted everyone to know our Baby #2 status......I had my 20 week doctor appointment yesterday (June 23rd) and everything is great. It was just a normal appointment, so no ultrasound; they just listen to the heartbeat and take my stats. But it was my first appointment at he Naval Hospital (which is also where I will deliver). It is about a 30 minute drive from our house close to Norfolk.

Our BIG ultrasound is scheduled for next Tuesday the 30th @ 7:45am to find out the gender and see the baby in-utero again! He/she has been moving around a lot in the last 2 weeks, and kept me up a bit even last night.....I'd almost forgotten about this part of pregnancy!!

So, as soon as we know next week if its a he or a she, you will TOO!

Little Drummer.....Girl

Daddy just HAD to have a Guitar Hero Band system to go with his new Playstation 3, so here is Abby discovering the new "toy" the morning after he set it up! She knew just what to do with the sticks and drums right away.

First pool experience

When we first started going in the pool here at the new house, Abby wouldn't go any farther than the steps at the edge, but after 10 days, I guess she felt she was ready (and trusted us enough) to go in with us!

Here she is with her daddy on her first time "all the way" in! As you will see in future postings, she is now very comfortable with the water and loves to play!

Floor time!

Abby seems to love our new hardwood floors...(and so do I, but just not for the same reasons). She loves to plop down and lay on them as the day progresses and she gets tired....here she is fake-napping!

Coloring more!!! Propped up on the fireplace with her Dora coloring book, and sprawled out on the floor!

Childrens Museum Visit

We had a very fun visit to Portsmouth's "Virginia Childrens Museum" today. We met my girlfriend Julie there with her daughters, so Abby and Emily got to see the exhibits up close! It was a lot of fun and there was more to see than we had time for, so we'll have to go back again.

Emily & Abby....checking out the giant clock
Abby is about 7.5 dollar bills tall! (really she is 33"....got measured yesterday at the dr!)

Driving the firetruck..Abby steered while Emily shifted gears; neither could reach the pedals!

The "Bubble" exhibit....this was very cool! It had a few different bubble stations; this was one where you stand in the blue center and pull a rope down and a giant bubble surrounds you....until it pops!!

Story time.....there was even a reading room for kids to, well, read!

Abby and her "Elmo"....or as she says it...."Melmo"

TRAINS!!! "Choo Choo Trains" are Abby's new fascination the last few weeks. She knows exactly what they are and mostly what they do. We need to get her some train engines to play with at home!

The Giant Computer.....this exhibit was definitely geared toward the older kids, but cute nonetheless. It gave you an idea of what the inside of a computer looks like, as well as this giant stepping keyboard!

Abby's catch of the day.....a giant Nemo!

Park Fun

So there is a cute little city park just across the street from the entrance to our court, and we walked Abby and Roxy over there tonight to play for a bit before bedtime! She had a great time! Her favorite part is ALWAYS the swing....but she had a lot of fun with her daddy on the slide too!

Our BIG swinger! All she says is "more more more" whenever the swing starts to slow down!
Here she is co-sliding with daddy. She loves to do it together.

Oh, but in case he forgets, she ALWAYS reminds him where he should sit on the slide.

So she taps the spot and says "here" in her cute little Abby talk.

"Weeeeeeeee"

Big Girl Bed!!!

Well, its official!! Abby is now sleeping in her very own big girl bed in her new room! I wasn't going to introduce it so soon after the move, but decided to try it out one day for naptime and it was an instant success. So.....it stuck and the crib is now empty and waiting to be filled with another cute Smith baby in November.

Abby knows whenever we say its time for "night-night" we walk in there with her and she climbs into it all on her own and lays down. We close the door, and asleep she goes! She's slept through the night almost every night since! She only needed her mommy a couple times the first night and since then its been a breeze.

Her favorite past-time this last month is coloring. Her favorite shape to draw is a circle....and she's really good too! And she says the word after she draws it. She's pretty good about staying on the drawing surface, but we keep an eye on her to make sure our pretty white walls stay that way! Orange and purple just are not my colors!! Here she is coloring with a pen (her favorite tool) next to Roxy by the back door). I made her sit on the towel to ensure the safety of our floors while I supervised!

Old friends made new again....

One of our favorite parts of moving back to Virginia was reconnecting with all of our Navy friends we've met over the years that were still living out here. So today we had our friends Dan & Julie and their daughters Emily & Reese over to play and swim! The girls had a good time together!Abby & Emily eating lunch side by side on the floor! My cutie patootie!

Self-portrait of myself and my "cheese" camera monster!

Pool times

We've been here less than a week, and already we attended our first kiddie pool birthday party! Abby had a great time...didn't venture into their pool (they have an in-ground pool too), but fun nonetheless! The cupcake at the end was definitely her favorite part!

Final Travel Photos....

Here are our final travel moments that we caught while we crossed the country.

Abby loved to ride on the bellhop cart at this hotel!
And she got ahold of one of my bras and the dog leash and decided they made good accessories! Who knew!

This was a happy meal toy, cute little binoculars that she figured out how to use! Apparently you see better through them when you're naked!

And of course, no photo shoot is complete without a cute bootie shot!!! Don't you just want to pinch it!!

This is how we travel.....

This is how we travel cross-country! Abby loves the hotel telephones!

And here is the back-seat crew....and "pile-o-crap" in the back!