September highlights

September was a busy month, including some adventures that shifted up our daily routine.

The second week of September, Abigail and I went up to Phoenix for a few days and Abigail got to hang out with Mai Mai Mary, who graciously hosted us and watched Abigail while I went to a conference. Abigail was so excited to be big enough to pull our suitcase!

Abigail was also very excited about a gift of Hello Kitty pajamas from Aunt Lisa!

We made it back to town in time for a birthday party for one of Abigail's friends from school, which was a nice small celebration. 

At the end of the month, we spent some time with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Matt, my old friends from college, who moved to Phoenix in the spring with their three kiddos. Abigail had so much fun playing with them and we also had a great reunion with our other old roommate, Nicole!

August in Ohio

JP had his first vacation during residency over Labor Day so we took advantage of his two weeks off to take a trip to Ohio. We had a lot of fun enjoying the nice weather and seeing the sights, and of course hanging out with Mai Mai Betty and Papa Jimmy!


One highlight was the Columbus Zoo where we got to walk among the kangaroos!

 We also visited the large population of gorillas that live there and Abigail got to pose with the big statue:

 We also saw wildlife closer to home--deer who like to eat the plants in the neighbor's yard and were remarkably unfazed by our proximity.

 Abigail had a blast with Mai Mai and Papa and enjoyed going on walks and exploring the green surroundings!

The letter A

Abigail continues to love books and her memory is very impressive. Here she is 'reading' one of her alphabet books:

Dancing girl

In August we took Abigail to her first wedding of one of JP's cousins in Phoenix. She had a blast dancing on the dance floor:

Streetcar

The last weekend of July was the opening of the Tucson modern Streetcar and offered free rides all weekend.

We decided to take advantage of a free adventure and went for a little ride.

Here is the street car in action:

Abigail and Dada after getting off the street car to find a little treat.

Success! An ice cream treat!

Riding along and being careful while the train is moving!

We had a fun time and it seems to be off to a good start.  We are planning to take the streetcar again when we go to the children's museum sometime soon since Abigail keeps saying she wants to ride the blue train again!