Summer Trip

We took our first summer trip to Chicago with Nana and Papa this past weekend, and had a total blast. I was under the weather for the whole thing, but I wasn't going to let that stop the fun, so I stayed well medicated. Gemma was AMAZING!!! I was nervous about several things:
1. The 6 hour drive there
2. How she was going to sleep at night in an unfamiliar place.
3. How she was going to handle being held or in a stroller most of the day.
4. How we were going to fit in naps.
5. How she would handle a second 6 hour drive home.

I should have known I was worrying about nothing. She did great!
I don't think I have ever done so much walking/sight seeing/eating in one weekend. That was my third time in Chicago, but the first time I really got to know the city. I think I could move there! I'll recap...
Day 1:
Left Columbia at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Chicago at 3:30 p.m. Check into the hotel and immediately headed out for Navy Pier. Came back in time to put Gemma down for bed and grab dinner. (Next time you are in Chicago, eat at Big Bowl...AMAZING!!)
Day 2:
Got up early (thanks to Gemma of course) and went for a run with Scott. While we ran, Gemma, David, and Bev did some sight seeing. We met up at Buckingham Fountain and walked back to the hotel via Michigan Avenue. Took Gemma swimming so she would take a long nap. After nap, headed back to Navy Pier and saw a Cirque ShangHai show. (Let me tell ya, those people can bend!!!) Later that night we met up with Jacki and went out for tapas.
Day 3:
Signed up for a bus tour. Got off at the Hancock building and went up to the top and looked over the city. Had ice cream and went back to the hotel for Gemma's nap. After nap, went to lunch and had some amazing hot dogs. Got back on bus and finished the tour. Had Chicago style pizza for dinner and then went to check out where they were filming Transformers 3. (I really loved that they were filming a movie while we were there, it made the trip that much more fun.)
Day 4:
Had an delicious breakfast at Jackie's house, and then headed home :(

Great trip!

Just to prove we were there ;)

This kept her pretty busy when we were in the hotel room. Nevermind I brought actual toys.

She spent hours in this stroller, and such a great stroller it is.

Nana and Papa

Family photo

Excited for hot dogs!!

So sweet!

Sharing a cracker with Nana

Waving

Gemma has to be one of the most vocal babies around. She's constantly talking, and while I think it's the most adorable thing, I'm aware it will probably drive me nuts when she gets a little older. Over the last few weeks, it seems her personality has really started to show through and she has started doing a lot of "new" things. She has started:
- fake laughing when everyone else around her is laughing.
- fake crying when she "hurts" herself...drama queen.
- feeding herself finger foods. She rarely lets me feed her now.
- giving kisses (especially when she's tired).
-waving hi and bye, along with saying "Ba" when she waves good bye. I'm pretty sure it should be considered her first word :)
-looking for daddy. While she still loves me the most :) she gets crazy excited when David gets home from work, and she wants to know where he's at at all times once he's home.

Here's a video of Gemma waving. She has two waves actually, the arm wave and the salute wave. I apologize for the loud "bark" at the end of the video...that's David sneezing hahaha.

Daddy Day

Gemma got all dressed up to celebrate her amazing daddy.

Different kind of bottle

Well, not the best of toys obviously, but she found it very interesting.

Busy Bee

It's been busy around here recently. Gemma started saying dadada, which quickly turned to babababa, and I'm so ready for it to be mamamama.

We have taken her to the pool a couple of times and she absolutely loves it. Being in the water is definitely her thing. She was a little nervous initially, but it didn't take long before she was letting David and I toss her back and forth.

Grandpa and Grandma have been staying with us the last few days and Gemma is loving all the extra attention. She's definitely been more of a handful with teething, so I've loved having the extra help keeping her happy. The second tooth broke through last night so today she has been more like her normal happy self.

First time at the pool

hanging out with Grandma

"Patty Cake" with Zoey (aren't they cute together?)

She's so fun to dress!

Yes, we like to throw our daughter

This has become one of her favorite things! Notice her little legs kicking...so cute!

Happenings

It has been pretty eventful around here the last couple of weeks.

1. Baby boot camp: She got sick a while back and we developed some bad habits, so we had to re-do baby boot camp so she would go down for naps and bed time without expecting me to hold or feed her. Thankfully it only took one day...one LONG day! She now goes down great!

2. Eating solids: So far she has had a variety of veggies and has loved them all. I haven't had much luck with fruit though. She took one bite of apple sauce and refused to take another. Same with peaches. The only fruit she actually likes is banana, which makes her really constipated. I won't go into details about that, but let's just say, that was the WORST night David and I have experienced as parents thus far. Traumatizing! It was pretty bad for Gemma too of course, but at least she can't remember it anymore. I won't be giving her bananas again for a while!

3. Sitting up: She's not an expert yet, (I still need to prop a pillow behind her for when she falls) but she's getting much better at it. She looks like such a big girl sitting and playing with her toys!

4. First tooth: This process hasn't been all that fun. Teething makes for a pretty fussy baby, but I have to admit, it's cute to see her little tooth when she smiles.

I Love this video of her! Great example of her cute/sweet personality.