Second Weekend at the Lake

We made our second trip to the Lake during the weekend of July 29-31. This time around, Aimee, Henry and Alex were also visiting. This gave Morgan and Gwen 2 more people to swim with -- and gave us a chance to snap the annual "Dock Shot" of the cousins (seen above, the first 3 years of Dock Shots can be seen half way down the post linked here).

Murky weather on Friday (and a very late night traveling on Thursday) didn't stop the kids from playing on the beach and in the water. But, as you'll see, the clouds finally broke on Saturday and gave us a picture-perfect lake day.

On Friday morning, Morgan was eager to get in the water. Before long, she was floating all by herself (with a little help from her "floatie").

Meanwhile, Gwen opted to stay on shore -- which was a bit of a surprise considering her dare devilish tendencies.

Even after a day filled with swimming and playing, Morgan still had enough energy left to practice a couple karate moves with Alex.

The sun was shining bright on Saturday morning. So as soon as Gwen finished chasing the cats around and Morgan, Alex and Mayie made a snack, we hit the water again.

Morgan had a blast jumping off the dock to Andy, and synchronized jumping alongside Alex.

We were all really proud of how quickly Morgan learned to navigate around with the floatie. She swam from our dock to the neighbor's dock and back.

A family of ducks paid us a visit on Sunday morning before we left. Alex, Morgan and Gwen grabbed some old bread crusts and gave them a big breakfast.

We've already had more "lake time" this summer than we did all of last year -- and we have our "big" vacation still to come.

Gwen's 12-month Checkup

On Thursday, July 28, we took Gwen in for her 12-month checkup. Despite getting three shots in her legs, she was all smiles by the time we left the doctor's office -- proving what a big girl she has become. But if that's not enough proof, her 1-year measurements don't lie:

Weight: 20 lbs, 8 oz (34%)

Height: 30 inches tall (74%)

Head: 18.75 in. (84%)

By comparison, when we weighed Morgan on the way out of the doctor's office that day, she was barely 30 lbs. (Like we said, Gwen's a big girl.)

Gwen at 1 year

It's official: Our little baby girl isn't a baby any more. In fact, in the last month, Gwen has done quite a bit to shake-off the final bits of baby-dom and jump into full-fledged toddlerhood.

Gwen took her first few steps in late June (6/25, to be exact). On the morning of her first birthday party, she gave us a special gift by walking for real.

Gwen's little squawks and squeaks are starting to sound more and more like words. "Ma-ma-ma" and "Da-da-da" are pretty common, and sometimes they actually seem like she's trying to say "Mom" and "Dad" (or "Morgan" or "Dora", depending on the situation).

She is eating a lot of table food now. Like her big sister, she loves macaroni and cheese. She's also a big fan of blueberries and yogurt melts. She got her first taste of Sour Cream & Onion potato chips at her birthday party and decided those were pretty tasty, too. She has also started experimenting with using spoons and forks when she eats.

Gwen is also really getting the hang of playtime. Whether it's playing peak-a-boo behind her bib, making her doll dance, banging on her new drums, tapping her games on Mom's iPhone, or coloring (her favorite), Gwen's play seems to gets more and more intricate every day.

Here are some more photos from Gwen's 12th month.

Gwen's class had "Baby Olympics" a few weeks ago. Gwen didn't take home any medals, but according to at least one anonymous teacher, the games may have been rigged. We expected a full investigation from the International Infant Olympic Committee.

We mentioned earlier that Gwen is getting better and better at playtime. The unfortunate downside is that she gets herself into everything now, and can leave a one-baby path of destruction behind her now. Oh well.

Gwen loves to color. Now that she has gotten over trying to eat the crayons, she is starting to work on her technique. First, lefty...

Then righty...

And then both...

Gwen has even tried painting with sidewalk paint!

A few weeks ago, Gwen helped Mom pick out hats and decorations for her birthday party.

When it came time to get the food ready, Gwen really wanted to help. So, after months of watching Morgan help Mom, Gwen finally got her chance. (Like we said, our little baby girl isn't a baby any more.)

Gwen's Birthday Adventure

Maybe we should have called it a "Birthday Safari" instead of a "Birthday Adventure". After all, we endured jungle-like heat during our trip to the Philadelphia Zoo for Gwen's birthday. The 100-degree temps didn't keep us from celebrating Gwen's big day, though.

After meeting up with the Cooper, Cate, Nicole and Jeff, we headed into the Lizard exhibit where Gwen came face-to-face with an iguana and Morgan stared-down a crocodile.

After getting our fill of slimy green creatures, we headed over to see the apes and gorillas.

"Where are we going next, Mom? Where? Where? Where?"

After a pit-stop for lunch, we were off to the children's petting zoo section. Morgan, Gwen and Cooper took turns climbing on the frog statue. And then Morgan and Cooper took turns riding on a pony named "Bubba".

Gwen wasn't too happy when Mom poured water on her head to cool her off. But she quickly realized it was a good way to temporarily break the crazy heat.

By the time we reached the zebras and giraffes, everyone had had enough of our jungle-like weather and was ready to return to civilization (and air conditioning). We headed home and let Gwen open the last of her birthday presents.

Gwen practically ran across the living room to see her special gift: a Radio Flyer Scooter!

After dinner, we sang an encore version of "Happy Birthday" and let Gwen blow out another candle (this time with some help from Morgan). And, just like at her birthday party, we let Gwen give an encore of her cake-smashing performance!

"Awesome! I'm covered with cake and frosting AGAIN!! Being 1 is GREAT!"