Fourth (5th) of July Parade

We capped off our Independence Day weekend with a trip to nearby Haddonfield, NJ for the annual 4th of July Parade -- this year, held on the 5th so that the locals could wear their "4th of July, 2010" shirts twice, I guess.

Before the parade, Morgan flashed her cheesiest grin for a photo. Nicely done.

While we waited for the parade to arrive, Morgan blew bubbles. Meanwhile, the baby living in Ariella's belly was thinking to herself, "Aw, man! Why couldn't my delivery date have been sooner? I'm missing all this fun stuff!"

Morgan's favorite parts of the parade were the Mummers, the String Bands, and the firetrucks. Her least favorites were the creepy guy who was taunting kids with his hand puppets, and the equally creepy person dressed up as a Gelatti who was handing out coupons to Rita's Water Ice.

Andy's favorite was the neighborhood association that dressed up like Magnum P.I. (Hawaiian shirts, baseball hats, and cheesy mustaches -- even on the kids). Only in America, folks. Only in America.

Escaping from the Heat

For the past two weeks, South Jersey has been bombarded with temperatures in the 90's. Even a nasty thunderstorm couldn't break the humidity -- although it did knock our power out for 13 hours last Thursday. Yuck.

On Sunday, Morgan finally escaped from the heat in her wading pool, along with cousin Alex. Ariella gave the weekend cool-down an extra jolt with yummy ice cream sandwiches.

Of course, Morgan isn't the only one who's looking to escape from the heat. Our little baby-to-be has been making moves to get out of her 98.6-degree hideaway. She's in her 37th week now, has her head down, and could push her way to the outside world any day now.

Remember our post in March about Morgan's future-telling Cabbage Patch Kid? Well, the doll's birthday -- July 6th -- is this coming Tuesday. Will that be the day?!?

Pool Party!

Remember that tiny little flower girl who sprinted down the aisle at our wedding? Well, she's 7 now. And two weekends ago, we celebrated her birthday with a fun Hello Kitty pool party.

At first, Morgan opted for the kiddie pool, while the big kids slid down the water slide.

But before long, she was taking the plunge just like the big kids.

It didn't take long for Morgan's lips to turn blue from the cold water in the pool. But luckily, it was time for Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty and breaking the pinata.

"Look, Mom, there's candy in there!"

Matching necklace, bracelet and ring... best party favors ever!

Big Girl Bed

Morgan has been waking up at 5am and asking to sleep in our bed lately. So we figured that was a tell-tale sign that it was time to convert her crib into a bed. So this morning, we pulled the front off her crib, and PRESTO!!! It's a big girl bed!

(... now if we could just get her to agree to brush her teeth. Hmmm.)

Scrabble Anyone?

Jenny and Jon escaped the oppressive heat in the attic the other night by playing a game of Scrabble in the dining room. The next day, Morgan really wanted to "play ABC blocks". So we did.

Her best word: "JAFUIDI"

7 letters... 18 points... triple word score = 54 points! Nice job.

Strawberry Season

New Jersey continues to prove that its worthy of the nickname "The Garden State". (So far, the only plant life our yard hasn't been able to support is grass.) Last weekend, we were pleasantly surprised to see that our strawberry plants produced a delicious crop of red, juicy berries.

Ariella and Morgan searched through the leaves and quickly filled our basket. Many of the strawberries were big -- and, as Morgan demonstrates below, some were "teenie."

With a big basket of berries at their peak ripeness (plus another basket we bought at the grocery store earlier in the day before we realized ours were ripe), we needed to eat them fast. So after dinner, Morgan got to enjoy her first taste of chocolate fondue. Yum.

The Unofficial Start (and end) of Summer

Memorial Day weekend is often called the "unofficial" start of Summer. Unfortunately, with our little one due in mid-July, our Memorial Day weekend trip to the lake will have to take the place of our usual week-long vacation. So we were forced to cram a week's worth of summer fun into just three days.

We arrived in Connecticut late on Thursday night, so Morgan hit the beach first thing Friday morning. "Mayie and P-Pa's giant bathtub!" she said.

The beautiful weather on Friday gave Morgan and "Mayie" (aka Andy's mom) a chance to model their new summer beach wear.

On Friday night, we checked another Summer tradition off our list by making a trip to get We-Li-Kit ice cream. (Yum!) After her ice cream, Morgan wanted to burn off some calories on the tractor. (After all, she's showing off some belly in her new swim suit this year.)

On Saturday morning, we took Morgan to the park to burn off some toddler energy. She enjoyed the swings and slides. But the real highlight for Morgan was chasing the ducks and geese.

On Saturday afternoon, the Truax gang came to visit. Morgan hadn't seen the aunts, uncle and cousins since last Summer but once she got reacquainted, she was thrilled to play clay with Sarah, and then play flashcards with Aunt Tina.

On Sunday, Andy and P-Pa finally got the chance to put the final few sections of the dock into the water -- which gave Andy, Ariella, and the thing living in Ariella's belly a chance to lounge in the sun.

Of course, too much sun is a bad thing. So Morgan demanded that she and Ariella sit on the porch under some dirty Sham-Wows. (I guess Morgan thinks Sham-Wows soak up UV rays, too!)

By mid-afternoon on Sunday, the temperature hit 80 degrees, so it was time to get in one good swim before we had to hit the road home. Andy was the first one to take the plunge (and keep his streak of 38 straight summers swimming in Alexander's Lake alive!)

Morgan said "Daddy make big splash in P-Pa's bathtub!" And then she had a great time making some big splashes of her own.

After driving home Sunday night, we were up bright and early on Memorial Day Monday so we could meet Morgan's buddy Cooper at Philly's Please Touch Museum.

Dr. Morgan made sure Daddy wasn't carrying a baby in his big belly, too. (Nope. It just looks that way.)

Morgan and Cooper held hands all the way from the Alice in Wonderland exhibit to the Carousel. Too cute.

But our weekend wasn't over yet...

After a long nap, we headed to Cooper's grandparents house for an afternoon pool party swim. Just like Morgan, Cooper's usual summer travel plans are out the window (Bonsteel Baby #2 is due in early August). So Cooper is cramming a summer's worth of activities into one weekend, too.

It took us 4 days, 3 states, and over 600 miles in the car. But we feel like we've had our Summer vacation, even though it's only June 1. So now we can rest up and get ready for the big event due on July 18. (After all we've done this weekend, resting is going to be very easy.)