Summer Lovin', Had me a Blast!

Aaaah, summer. I love summer, but I can say that about all seasons, and living in Utah is great for that exact reason, you get all four seasons when you live here. The great thing about summer is the fact there are no rules, the kids are out of school, riding their bikes, going to the sno-shack to get themselves a cold treat, and splashing around in the pools. I know I don't have any school age children, but I immensely enjoy watching all of them as it reminds me so much why I love this time of year and of my own childhood.

I've went out of my way this summer to make sure Avery gets to do all of the things children should do when the sun is shining and there seems to be no end to daylight. Rob's parents were able to come out this year and spend a lot of time with their grandchild and she thoroughly enjoyed every minute she spent with them. We all took her to the zoo and, now that she can understand the concept, she loved every second she spent visiting all the animals she usually only sees in books. She has also spent a huge amount of time at the park (this was the grandparents' favorite activity as well) and now that she can walk and climb all over everything it's fun to see her exploring all the trouble she can get herself into. She used to love going on the swings but it seems she is wanting more and more to just walk around and play in the dirt and try to climb up the slides.

We also have filled up her kiddie pool in our backyard and let her play in the water. She would stay in there all day if we let her (our labrador Laila would as well,) but after a couple of hours mama turns into a grinch and wrestles her inside the house so that she doesn't burn. How she still has her fair skin, I will never know. Thank goodness for powerful sunscreen, because anyone who has seen Avery knows she is the fairest child alive!

Speaking of the indoors, we still do our Little Gym class and Avery LOVES it! She has now been put into the older age group but she is the youngest in that group. I always have to remember that she is the youngest when I see a child doing something more advanced. I worry about why she hasn't done that said activity and then I realize the other child is two and a half and Avery's only nineteen months. She's getting quite good at a lot of the activities. She walks the balance beam with very little help from me (just spotting), she can do sommersaults by herself, she will hang onto the uneven bars and try to pull her feet up, and she will do a wheel barrow stand on the bar with spotting. Not bad for a nineteen month old!

We also get together with a playgroup once a week and it gives her a chance to see all her friends. We go to storytime at the bookstore, splash parks, many different learning activities, the aquarium and a lot of trails for long walks. She enjoys everything she gets to do and see.

I know this is somewhat of a boring post but I wanted to write it all down and remember how busy the summer of 2007 was. It's a bit sad that she won't remember a bit of it, but I will and now she'll be able to read about how busy a one and a half year old can be!

Comments

[Jen]

maybe i could come out to utah and be your little girl too?

sounds like so much fun.

[Lins]

Hey you sound like a brilliant Mommy! What great fun you are all having! Lovely photos. Do you have the book Dear Zoo? It was always one of Sam's favourites and he loved it when he actually went to a real zoo!

[Sus]

You must get Dear Zoo! It is still a favorite of Max.

She is one busy one year old!