June goes to the beach and camping

This past week, Jeff, June, and I were able to take a little break from reality and spend some quality family time together. We knew we wanted to go camping at the beach but after looking at the reservation list for the campground we wanted to go to, we knew going on the weekend wouldn't work. Jeff had worked really hard the week before so he was able to take Monday and Tuesday off. We started our vacation Saturday afternoon and headed to Dothan, AL. Our good friends' parents live there and were gracious enough to let us stay with them. This worked out perfectly to break up the trip so that June didn't have to ride in the car for more than three hours in a day. June had lots of fun with her "stand-in" grandparents for a night and they enjoyed June too. June also enjoyed meeting the family pets. They have three dogs in various sizes from a laid back golden retriever to a curious malti-poo. June loved them all. I wish we would have gotten pictures of our stay in Dothan. It was really fun. 

Sunday, we continued our journey toward the Florida gulf coast. We camped at Topsail Hill Preserve near Destin, FL. We got there mid-afternoon and set up camp.

That's my man!

June supervising

She was having fun playing in the sun

June was daddy's little cheerleader. She had fun playing and talking while mommy and daddy set up the tent.

June was getting a little tired. Looks like it's naptime!

She slept forever once she finally fell asleep

Finally four hours later after getting camp set-up and June taking a nap, we were able to head to the beach. The weather was warm enough, but wind combined with being wet made for it being a little chilly to stay too long. We had fun anyway.

Isn't it beautiful?

V's 2012

June
April 2012

This is the life

Looking out to sea

June was a little unsure at first, but decided that the sand was ok.

Walking in the sand

Mommy and June

At the water's edge

Daddy and June

Our Family

Mommy and June

She really wasn't a fan of the water. Even after sitting with her for awhile, she wouldn't let me go. She did start to look like she was having fun.

Standing near the water

Sitting on a sandbar

Letting the waves roll in

Getting my feet wet

Beautiful sunset

The last night of our trip, we made our way back to Alabama and stayed in the Conecuh National Forest. One of the main reasons for us camping was so that Jeff could take some pictures of the night sky without all the light pollution and Conecuh is one of the darkest spots in Alabama. Despite it being cold, he got some pretty good photographs. It was fun seeing how much a camera can pick up that our eyes can't. He was able to photograph some galaxies that he wouldn't have been able to see in Birmingham.

Our Campsite

June passed out again

When we got there, we were very surprised at how much colder it was than at the beach. It looked much too nice to be cold out. We had a great time and since it was cold, Jeff had a good reason to build a fire (not that he needs one anyway). Since it was the middle of the week, there were only older retired couples camping so it was nice and quiet. One of the older men was kind enough to bring us wood several times and a skillet to cook our breakfast in. The campground host was even nice enough to steal June in the morning and take her to his camper to warm up with the space heater. And when I say steal, I mean he said come here little lady and walked off haha. I had to follow him and knock on his door to get her back. Jeff said he was surprised how "aggressively generous" people are when you have a baby. After my initial shock at having to chase down my baby, June and I enjoyed conversation with the older couples. June had a great time with several "stand-in" grandparents this week. She is just getting ready to visit her real grandparents here in a couple weeks.

Hanging out in the sun

Sitting on the car to warm up

Look mom, a leaf!

Overall, we had a wonderful trip and June did great. Since it was so cold at night, we even got some family cuddle time. June sure is a good heater. We are looking forward to going camping again soon!

Watch out world!

June got her second tooth only a week after the first one popped out. That was on March 24th, but I figured I would wait a few weeks to post a picture where you can actually see the teeth.

 Look at those beautiful pearly whites!

This is June's favorite sleeping position: face down and toosh in the air.

This is the only way you will see Sincola anywhere near June.

Here is a picture of my first attempt at re-purposing old clothes. This is an old, out-of-style shirt of mine that I turned into a cute little sun dress for June.

Little monkey likes to use all fours while drinking her bottle

June has been practicing finger foods. She has gotten good with cheerio sized foods. We have only tried cereal and rice rusks so far.

June with her Baby Mum Mum

Here are a few pictures of June checking out her Easter basket. Can you guess where we will be going this weekend based on the theme of her Easter basket?

Here is June sporting her new shades!

June has also been working on pulling herself up. She is not quite there yet but she is getting there.

Practicing standing on her own

She can hold herself up for a little while

Using her stool to help her up

She really loves her exersaucer...

and playing with Mommy

This is June's most recent accomplishment. June has been rocking and pushing forward for several weeks now. She would put her hands forward and then pull back into a sitting position. We have just been waiting for her to take off crawling.  

her first crawl 

Well, last Sunday, April 15th, June finally got up the nerve to go more than two hand steps forward and she hasn't stopped since. The first time neither of us actually saw her crawl. I left her by the closet in the computer room and came back to find her in the hallway only a minute later. The second time, I set her by the door and she crawled toward me. We wanted to see if she could actually crawl before wasting time trying to get it on video. The third time, I got it on video and the poor girl was tired of having to crawl to mommy so she was a little crabby. Since then, she has discovered the ups to her new ability. She can get into so much more fun stuff!

              Like taring apart the newspaper

And getting into drawers

And crawling (getting stuck) under furniture!       

June turns 7 months

June turned 7 months on April 8th. She is really growing too fast. On the 7th, after two nights of no sleep for mommy or baby, we decided to take June in to see the doctor. She wasn't very fussy, but she had a slight fever and wasn't sleeping well. Our poor girl had an ear infection. Even though I know ear aches are painful, I was glad to know what was wrong so we could fix it. June went on antibiotics and within 24 hours was feeling much better. June is still battling that runny nose. They weighed her at her appointment and she was 18 lbs. 5 oz. which means she is up two pounds since her six month checkup. That's almost enough to move up to her 'big girl' carseat (must be 20lbs.). I'm looking forward to this so that I don't have to carry her up and down the stairs in that infant carrier. The drawback is that I will wake her up to move her if she falls asleep on the way home. This photo shoot was taken on April 7th. We took a walk around our neighborhood and since June will be crawling up stairs soon we thought we would do a stair themed photo shoot. These are all places near our apartment; parks, apartments, along the roads.

Sweet Baby Girl

(finally feeling better after getting some drugs in her)

June's preferred method of transportation

We found some eggs on our walk as well. I guess there had been and Easter egg hunt in one of the parks. June absolutely loves the Baby Bjorn. The added benefit is an extra workout for mom!

Cool tree in the park a block from our apartment

We thought these stairs were fun

First time on the swings and not so sure about it

Notice the sweet fountain in the back

Stairs that lead to nowhere

On the back of these greens, there is a golf course.

Daddy gets to wear June for awhile!

Don't worry, I'm hiding behind the pillar holding on tight. I wouldn't endanger my baby :)

We really liked this pillar

I love this one of June and Daddy

I just love the sun in this one