To Market with Poppa

Today we took Poppa to the Saratoga Farmers' Market in Saratoga Springs. It was another beautiful day and we enjoyed the sites, sounds, and tastes of the market. A local restaurant had samples of a salmon artichoke spread on a cracker. Mom took a sample thinking she would split it with Gwen, but Gwen wanted it all. The guy handing out the samples asked Gwen, "How cute are you?" After quickly stuffing the cracker in her mouth, Gwen responded, "Two." While in the area, Gwen enjoyed a ride on the carousel in Congress Park and we made a few purchases at a favorite bakery. We came home with a dozen honey wheat rolls, three cupcakes, two cucumbers, two T-ball summer squash, and a yellow zucchini. Yum!

In the Log Cabin at the Library

This little log cabin sits outside of the library. Gwen loves the library, but the cabin gives her a reason to leave the library and head in the direction of the car. When Gwen first started walking last summer, she would walk unsteadily inside the cabin from the window at one side to the window at the other side. Mom could race from one window to the other on the outside of the cabin and almost always be there to greet Gwen. Now Gwen is steady on her feet and Mom can never make it from one window to the other before Gwen can! Doesn't Gwen look so tall in the doorway? She is holding "two Dora books." (We recently discovered the Dora book section and now Gwen loves to pick out Dora books each week. If only Mom and Dad enjoyed reading them as much as Gwen does!)

Gwen & Atkins

Poppa is a protein kind of guy. During his visit, he's frequently been making Gwen breakfast. She enjoys the bacon and cheesy eggs very much! She's seriously considering the Atkins Nutritional Approach. (Did you know that's the official name for the Atkins Diet?)

Grammie Knows Best

Even though Grammie Crosby couldn't come visit with Poppa, she sent along some fun for Gwen. Grammie always seems to know what Gwen needs and/or what Gwen will think is really cool.

Gwen was excited to get in the bath with these little, colorful capsules...

after some soaking in the water (for Gwen and the capsules), things started to get really exciting!

The little capsules grew into sea creatures! Neat!

And in case you didn't know, Gwen LOVES Dora. Now, with her new summer jammies, she can "wear Dora" too! Getting Gwen into her pajamas has become a complete delight. She has some difficulty parting with them in the morning, but agrees to take them off if she is promised she can wear them again at nap time. Her only question is "Where Boots go?" as Boots is not on the Dora shirt.

What A Doll!

Gwen looked especially beautiful today. Take a look!
The back,

the side,

the front,

oh...

and the doll!

Poppa & Lago Jorge

Poppa Crosby wanted to escape the oppressive Florida heat and see Gwen, so he came up for a visit! The weather today was clear, cool (compared to Florida), and just overall gorgeous, so we took a trip to Lake George. We went on a "historic cruise" and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Gwen was quite excited to go on a boat. As usual, lots of people liked to say hello to Gwen. Her new response is to put her cheek to her shoulder (as seen above) and say, "I shy." After the cruise we had lunch and got some delicious cider donuts and pie at Lakeside Farm before making it home for nap time. As far as Gwen was concerned, Poppa was the most interesting part of the cruise!

Happy Davvy Day!

Gwen got a special shirt (she calls it her "Davvy shirt") to celebrate Dad's day, and she was pretty serious about her job helping Mom make a card and a scavenger hunt for Dad to enjoy, along with a special dinner on his special day.

Gwen has a great Dad!
-She calls him "Davvy" (and sometimes Bubby...we're not sure why).
-For about the last month, Gwen no longer prefers "Jesus songs" at bedtime, she requests "Davvy songs" like "Daddy's Homecoming", "Happy Family", and "My Dad." The cutest is when Mom sings, at the end of "My Dad", "I'm very glad that he's my...", Gwen will yell "DAVVY!" It defeats the rhyme, but she just doesn't say Dad!
-Dad keeps that yard in tip-top shape which makes for lots of fun outside.
-When she feels whiskers on Dad's face, she reminds him that he needs to shave by always saying "need shave, need shave."
-When Dad leaves the room, Gwen immediately asks, "Where Davvy go?" even if she saw him go down the stairs to the basement or down the hall. When he leaves the house for the day, she may ask where he is over twenty times. Mom eventually gives up answering and tries to change the subject. Gwen misses her Davvy when he's not around!
-Dad has mastered the art of cloth diapers and is now moving on to potty training Gwen. Gwen gets the most "Hurrays!" and treats from Dad when she is successful on the potty.
-Gwen likes to go in the basement and sit with Dad when he's watching something on television. There is a big afghan she likes to sit with and she calls it "Davvy's blanket."
-While Gwen is sometimes very loving towards Daddy, sometimes she won't give him hugs or kisses. This makes Daddy very sad. Gwen usually gives in after a little while of playing hard to get.
-Gwen always asks Dad, but never Mom, if she can "Watch Dora?"
-Dad likes to read with Gwen, but when Gwen gets stuck on reading the same book over and over for days, the book mysteriously disappears. It is usually recovered a few weeks later behind the couch.
-Dad thinks Gwen is the cutest kid ever and loves her very much!

Mom and Gwen think Davvy is the cutest Dad ever, and they love him very much!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

First Swim of the Summer

The neighbors have a pool and we have an open invitation to swim! Today was our first time taking advantage of the pool, and Gwen enjoyed the water. She keeps talking about the "big pool" which, when Gwen says it, sounds like "big poo." (Mom was initially responding by encouraging Gwen to run to the potty, but now she understands that Gwen wants to talk about swimming.)

Outside with Gwen

Today I'd like to tell you about some of my favorite things to do outside.

This is my swing. I like to swing, and I tell Mom or Dad to push me "high!" Sometimes I swing my little people...or my hat!

This is my newest trick. It's hard to tell, but my feet are off the ground!

And lately I love to hug whatever I can wrap my arms around!

I also love to "play chalk" on the driveway. See those little lines to my right? That is my signature chalk masterpiece. I like it when Mom draws cupcakes and then a fork to eat them with! Did you want to play chalk with me?

WAIT! Before you go I have to show you the garden!

It's already grown a lot!

Gwen's Reading Nook

No-Neck Gwen

This morning, Gwen kept scrunching up her shoulders. She thought it was funny when Mom said that it looked like she didn't have a neck. She started saying, "No neck! No neck!"

little baby = BIG NEWS!

Our BIG NEWS is that we're expecting a little baby to join our family at the end of October. We got our first peek at the little one back on April 13th.
Today we found out that Gwen is going to be a big sister to a little sister. The little sister is already following in Gwen's footsteps by looking pretty cute! We're thrilled!