June begins!

Abi as been really into Finding Nemo lately which has worked to our advantage several times as entertainment in various ways. This picture is an example: while grocery shopping and trying to keep my daughter happy and safe, she found a fish helium balloon at the fish counter. Being the cool mom I think I am, I let her carry it around the store with us while we walked. It created so much fun and many giggles and was even helpful for me to know right where she was until suddenly I heard her say, "Oh no, fish!" And this is what I saw. Apparently, the balloon had come untied from the string and flew right up to the ceiling. I felt bad and not quite so cool anymore but it created its own fun as we finished our shopping - every time we passed an aisle that gave us a view of the fish, Abi would point and yell, "Oh no, fish!"

Oh no, fish!

Here's this adorable picture! Starting to actually show...

18.5 Weeks

Popsicle face

Lizard riding

The zoo has a six-tank aquarium which is somewhat temperature controlled so it's the perfect spot to rest while Abi searches for Dory. She loves this place and can watch the fish for 20 minutes or more!

Finding Dory

This picture is just for those with humor like mine, so probably two other people in the world, but there is a deli in NYC that has printed on their overhang-thingy "Delicious food well-spoken here." I just can't help but laugh! What exactly are they trying to advertise? To me it sounds like you will be greeted by delicious food with good breeding and manners. Your lunch conversation might sound like this, "Well hello, delicious deli sandwich!"
"Good morning, paying customer! Beautiful day, is it not?"
"It is, delicious deli sandwich!"
"Here have a seat, paying customer. You looked exhausted from all that walking around the city."
"Why thank you, delicious deli sandwich!"
"Certainly, paying customer. Do you care for a bite to eat? I understand I'm delicious!"
"Why yes, delicious deli sandwich. I am actually quite famished. I think I will eat you now."
"Of course, paying customer. Dig in!"
Just a thought....

Because I enjoy grammar

Getting a little bigger though still wearing normal shirts...

19.5 Weeks

Juli's family traveled up here to pick her up and meet all her new friends! We got to spend an evening with them eating Brazilian! What a treat! One time I wished I had more tummy room! Juli's parents were so sweet, loving and grateful! We had a wonderful time conversing with them which proved hilarious at times because Juli had to translate everything and sometimes she forgot which language to speak which made us all giggle. We loved having the opportunity to share with her parents just how amazing we think she is! Good luck with your next step in life, Juli! Hope you remember Portuguese when you're in Brazil!

Brazilian Family Dinner

My dad told me he would visit me once while we live here in NJ so they fulfilled that promise this summer by having what seems to be the vacation of their lives driving up through Kirtland, OH, by the Great Lakes, through Niagara and Palmyra, NY, out to Boston, MA and back down to us. All of us siblings loved getting selfies from them along their trip! I'm so glad they did that! They stayed with us for a few days, so we took them to NYC!

Taking Grammy and Granddad to NYC

Abi and I drove Grammy and Granddad to the Statue of Liberty and then played in the park while they ferried out and explored. Once they finished their tour, we all ferried to NYC and explored the financial district of Manhattan. We even got Shake Shack for lunch which was, as always, amazing!

No Climbing into the Flowers

A couple days later, we drove in to NYC and explored a street fair while walking from the Temple to Times Square where we ate delicious NYC pizza, and then they went to a Broadway show while Abi and I played in Central Park. It was SO hot that day! I was literally melting to pieces by the time James caught up with us and being the knight in shining armor that he is, he came bearing gifts of Jamba Juice for his hot, pregnant wife! :) Love that man!

Splashing in Central Park

James took over chasing Abi through the playground so I could sit, drink my Jamba Juice and rest. What a wonderful family I have!

Abi LOVES swinging and James pushes her SO high! I can't believe it! But it's a testament to me of why kids need dads - so they can learn to take risks!

Leaning way back!

Cheesy smiles

We have about a dozen adorable photos of her just like this with a slightly different cheesy smile. I can't decide which ones are best so here are two...

And this is my favorite! I love her band-aid and everything! This picture just captures the essence of summer to me.

Adorable summer look. bandage and all!

James even pushed me on the swing! We had fun taking photos together.

Swinging with Mom

I didn't swing super long though because it turns out that something about swinging when pregnant or maybe as an adult or something causes motion sickness. I have never had motion sickness in my life until this moment but there was definitely a point that I had to stop and sit on solid ground for a while. :)

There are HUGE rocks in Central Park that everyone loves to climb on - Abi included. She has no fear and doesn't look back. This crazy girl!

No fear of heights

Since Mom and Dad were here for Father's Day, we grilled up a manly meal of chicken shishkabobs and grilled pineapple. :) YUM!!!

Happy Father's Day!

My cool dad found wiggly eyes at the park on the ground and came up with a fun idea for an activity to do with Abi. So he collected some rocks and brought them home and then he, Abi and I used Sharpie markers and the eyes to create some awesome characters. Abi didn't get it at first - she just pulled the eyes off. But after a couple were finished, she enjoyed them quite a bit and has since enjoyed them very much!

Rock faces!

This is Dad's sheepish grin because he accidentally taught Abi how to throw rocks in the house. He meant to toss a rock to Mom to show her his cool creation but Abi saw him do it and immediately threw her rock haphazardly across the room, too. We had a hard time not laughing which made it worse, so we've had to work on not throwing rocks a bit. I'm not mad though, because this came back to bite Dad as you'll see later.

Dad's sheepish grin