Baby doll

Abigail has been really obsessed with babies lately and has shown a lot of interest in a doll stroller that is a hot item during outside play at school as well. Since it has been so hot that it is hard to do much outside lately, we decided to treat her to her own baby doll and stroller on a recent trip to Target.

Here she is with her new prized possession:

Shortly after this picture we ended the concept that the stroller was for Abigail but she was so cute that I couldn't resist getting it on film!

Kitchen adventures part 2

Even though Abigail loves to mix mix mix in the kitchen, I think she likes to eat her creations even more.

Here she is chowing down on the blueberry banana muffins we have been making lately:

And in animated fashion:

Kitchen adventures

Abigail has shown more interest in mimicking our activities lately and is often curious about what we are up to in the kitchen.  We have been taking advantage of this lately by finding some cooking activities that Abigail can help with.

One of our recent favorites has been making muffins. Abigail loves blueberries, muffins, and the "if you give a moose a muffin" book so it has worked out well.

Here are some pictures of her in action. She really likes to break the eggs and mix, mix, mix!

Pool time

This summer we have also enjoyed going to the actual pool. Abigail has been taking swim lessons, just 15 minutes a week with someone who does private lessons at our pool in the complex. It has been great for her to learn more skills and for us to learn how to help improve her comfort level in the water.

Abigail has been working on going underwater, jumping in, kicking, floating on her back, and "crab walking" on the edge of the pool. She is getting really good!

Here are some recent pictures of her swimming with JP:

Practicing floating (she actually hates it but is getting a little more comfortable):

Crab walking:

And going underwater (super short but pretty straightforward):

Weekend adventures: Splash pad

The last two weekends we remembered that one of our favorite local parks has a "splash pad" or enclosed area with water activities that we thought Abigail would like when it got hot. Since we stopped going to the park, we forgot about it until recently.

Abigail was not sure what to make of it at first:

But after a few minutes she decided it was pretty awesome:

 She liked putting her hand and feet over the spraying fountains

 All in all, it was a blast!

We went back this past weekend but the camera battery died so I have nothing to show for it. I promise we had fun though!

Weekend adventures: Zoo in the summer

One weekend in July the temperature dropped all the way into the mid 80s, so we took advantage by heading to the zoo, along with most of the rest of Tucson!  The line was ridiculous but luckily with our membership we were able to bypass most of it.  We were worried about it being too crowded when we got in there, but it actually worked out fine.

The giraffes were wandering around and eating snacks.

 The elephants (way in the background) were showing off tricks

 And we got to go up close and personal with Abigail's new favorite animal, or at least favorite word to say:

 Plus the rhino was on the move!

 It was still hot by the end but it was nice to visit the animals after a break!

Weekend adventures: Children's museum

The hot weather has made us focusing on finding things to do indoors, so a few weekends ago Abigail and I headed to the children's museum for discount admission day.  It was a little more crowded than usual but we had a good time anyway.

Abigail loves pushing the shopping carts:

 Picking the fruit

 and creating tube pathways for the balls to roll down

 We also played with a sound wave machine for the first time and she really liked pushing the button to make things move!

We will probably keep going fairly often until it cools down!

Food and silliness

The other night Abigail and I were home alone and picked up take out burritos for dinner.

Abigail usually eats the extra beans and a few bits of the burrito I pick out for her but this time she was much more interested in taking bites of my whole big burrito.  Here she is in action:

And here she is showing off her latest animal noise. I don't know what it is about this one but I find it so funny!  Enjoy!