First Beach Trip of the Season

Since we are finally thawing out from the winter (albeit a mild one), we recently packed up and headed to the beach.  We had not been in quite sometime, especially since we just had our house on the market and felt we needed to stay close to home for weekend showings.  With our house sold and the beautiful weather, it was the perfect combination for beach visiting.

We were interested to see Sydney's reaction to being on the beach because the last time she was there, she wasn't mobile yet and was only about 10 months old.  Lucky for us, she is definitely a beach baby!  She dug in the sand, was mesmerized watching kids riding on boogie boards and flying kites, and even enjoyed putting her feet in the (chilly) water.  I'm looking forward to when it's even warmer to wade farther into the water with her. 

Checking out the ocean

Looking at the water with Daddy

Sydney and her daddy on the beach!

Enjoying a little snack

Talking about all she sees

While there, we also took a trip to the aquarium.  We have been before, but this time Sydney was the most interested she has been.  At each animal exhibit, she would point and name the animals she knew and actually looked at them longer than she has.  I absolutely love watching take in the fish, turtles, alligators, and crabs- all animals we look at in books and talk about but that are much more exciting to see in person.  There is nothing like watching a child gaze in amazement at things we have seen so many times.  We will definitely visit the aquarium more this summer!

Arriving at the aquarium

Petting the turtle

Walking on the interactive mat

Checking out the fish

Marsh outside the aquarium

Sydney as a crab!

Thank goodness the warm weather is upon us!

Playing in the sand

Silly Daddy!

Testing out the water

So grown up!

Farm Animal Days

Sydney and I went to Farm Animal Days, held annually by NC State.  The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences sets up animal exhibits perfect for little ones Sydney's age.  Sydney got to touch baby chicks, a baby goat, a horse, and a rabbit.  She also saw several cows, sheep, pigs, and turkeys.  I wasn't sure what her reaction would be to being able to actually touch the animals, but she was brave and touched each one she was able to!  Sydney loves looking at any book with animals and looking at the animals in our backyard (even though that's pretty much limited to birds, squirrels, and an occasional lizard or frog), so this was right up her alley!

Pointing at the baby chick

Touching the chick

Petting a goat!

Dairy cow- moo

To top it all off, we ended the trip with (FREE!) ice cream!  She and her friend Avery had no trouble finishing their snacks.  This is definitely something we will plan to do again next year.

Sydney and Avery enjoying some ice cream!

Yeah, I've got ice cream on my chin, what of it?

Sweet (and messy) girl!

18 Months Old!

Happy 18 month birthday, Sydney!  I am in awe daily of how much she grows, changes, explores, and learns.  I can't wait to see what the next six months hold, until she is TWO!

Here are a few fun things about Sydney right now:

• She says "thank you, Daddy" or "thank you Mama" when we give her something.
• She seems to be scared of bugs and even thinks little pieces of lint or dirt are bugs sometimes.
• If I start to sing a song that she doesn't want to hear, she says "turn off" (haha!).
• Her hair is finally long enough to put in a ponytail on top of her head.  Ok, so it looks like Pebbles, but I think it is super cute.
• She has started to sing and her first song is Ring Around the Rosie.  Take a look at the video at the bottom of this post.
• She has become interested in coloring lately...interesting thing is she favors her left hand!  I'm not sure it will stay that way, but I wasn't expecting it.