West Park

Sunday, the day of virtually no naps for Miss Melanie, we headed to West Park, right around the corner from our house on 116th Street. The zoo was planned for the weekend, but the napping situation was getting in our way. Mel loved playing in the water at West Park; we weren't even sure how she was doing it, the water was so cold. It didn't stop her - or the other kids - though!

Friend Time!

In the midst of lots of Melanie time over the weekend, I was lucky enough to spend time with great friends! My friend Erika came over for dinner on Friday night, and it was good to get caught up with her. Saturday night, Christal & Laura came over and we celebrated Chris' birthday by walking to Stone Creek for dinner on the patio, followed by a visit to P.J.O'Keefe's. It was a great weekend of girl time on top of family time :)

Where did Sleeping Beauty go?

Last week, after bragging on what a great sleeper Melanie has been, she turned a corner. Starting last Monday night, Melanie and her crib seem to be on the outs. I'm not sure who made who mad, but somewhere along the line, they parted ways. Mel wants nothing to do with said crib. Not for bedtime, not for naps..... it's making Mommy & Daddy very sleepy to have to rock her to sleep and ensure she is definitely sleeping before putting her down. Zzzzzzzzzz.......
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Last week, Mel had a playdate with Aya, a little girl around the corner who turned one on May 15. They ate strawberries together, watched bunnies in the backyard of Aya's house, and generally got used to each other while Aya's mom, Lida and I, got to know each other. By the end of the event, they started warming up to each other (more than Melanie's initial shove of Aya), so progress was made.
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Melanie has gotten good at picking up her toys - she's a big help at daycare, and now she's picking up at home too. This, too, shall pass, I'm sure; but it's fun to see her memory develop for where things go. She really likes playing outdoors, so we make sure to get plenty of outdoor time in each day. She likes to go for walks - whether she's walking herself, or being pushed in her little "car." Tonight we walked to Marsh in her car, and then after dinner took a long walk around the block, where she was on a major hunt for puppies. One of her favorite toys right now is her sets of puzzles. She can't quite put them together, but she loves playing with the pieces. Tonight she got major joy out of putting one or two pieces in their slots. She also loves playing with her ball. Whether it's a Cubs baseball or her cousin Wyatt's kickball he left over here.... she loves saying - and playing with - "ball."

Sunday = perfect day!

On Sunday, other than my locking my keys in my car at church (dumb story...) we SO enjoyed a gorgeous weekend!!! Jeff & my dad played golf while the girls tried to enjoy a day at the pool. I say "tried" because Mel swam, but also fought a nap all afternoon! It was truly a gorgeous day, though, and it was a fun day in Frankfort!

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....

Saturday night, after Mel was soundly asleep after all the festivities.... we were out on the porch, and saw the hail start falling. Not thinking much of it, I went in to unload the dishwasher, and turned on the radio, to learn that we were under a tornado WARNING! I told my weatherman husband, who came in to watch the weather map, which I never understand. He confirmed that the tornado was heading straight toward us, so we desparately tried to figure out whose basement to go to. Our neighbors Tom & Paula were having a dinner party, so we felt a little odd going there..... As we were brainstorming, we saw neighbors running across the yard to another house, and so we followed them! Oddly enough, we ended up in the basement of neighbors caddy-corner from us who we'd NEVER MET! Weird. But thank goodness for them! -

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Now - onto Melanie's behavior during said tornado warning. At this point, she'd been asleep for more than an hour. I picked her up, covered her in a blanket, ran her across the raining street.... and attempted to put her in a side room by herself. Well, that didn't work. She woke up, and literally the whole time we were there, was happy, played with the other kids - there was a neighbor, Megan, who just turned one on May 15! Melanie literally never fussed once. So when we went home, I put her straight back into her crib...... and she fell right back asleep!!! it was like magic! The perfect baby!

Gorgeous weekend!!!

Friday night, Jeff, Melanie and I went to dinner at 106 Street Grill; eating outdoors on a gorgeous summer night was perfect! Mel got to run up & down the street before and after dinner, so she was more than thrilled! This has become our routine every night.... Melanie LOVES hanging out outdoors!

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Saturday, Gigi and Molly came to visit, and it was the cutest visit ever. When Molly & Melanie saw each other, it was like two long-lost friends reuniting. Molly started squealing at the top of her lungs, and Mel started hugging & kissing her. For the hour they were here, Mel didn't really STOP hugging & kissing her. They both just giggled and had so much fun together the whole time. Mel was a little put-out by the fact that Mol couldn't walk; she attempted a few times to pick her up by her collar and make her walk! I was frantically looking for my camera while they interacted; I finally got a video of them, and then found my camera. None of it does the justice to the cuteness that was their interaction. it was awesome; just ask Gigi.

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Later Saturday afternoon, Jeff, Melanie and I went to Trader's Point Creamery for free ice cream cones. I think Mel will really like TPC as she gets older; there are a lot of fun things to do to learn, but there are also fun meal options to have for adults! From there, we went on to two highschool graduation parties, and Mel was asleep before we pulled into our subdivision!

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Melanie's pigtail

I picked Mel up at daycare today to find her squatting next to a crying baby, trying to soothe him! The daycare ladies say she's very nurturing, so it was funny to see her down on her knees soothing him! It's fitting, how much she loves on her "baby" that she has here at home - hugging her (pats on the back included), kissing her, even feeding her.... However, the best part of picking her up at daycare today was her hairstyle, which was not how she was sent to school. I didn't realize her hair could even do this!

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After I picked her up, we went swimming at the subdivision pool - I'm still working hard at my pool assimilation plan! Melanie is getting very comfortable with the water, now I just need to work on her attention span! In the water, out of the water, in the floaty, out of the floaty, in my arms, etc.....I'm looking forward to having her "swim" with Charlie in the near future; then she will want to mimic his every move, just like always!