Jersey Girl

At almost 22 months old, it was time to educate Elizabeth about her New Jersey roots. The Loser/Page/Gudritz/Brown clan gathered in Avalon for a fun long weekend at the shore. Elizabeth met her Great Aunt Nancy and Uncle Doug and cousins (first cousins, once removed - but who's counting?) Sarah and Callie for the first time on this trip. She also saw Great-Grandaddy for the first time since she was five months old.

Each time Elizabeth visits the beach, she seems to like it even more than the time before. She loved jumping in the waves and managed to sweet talk Grammy and Sarah into taking her further and further out into the water. She also enjoyed her first surfing lessons with Uncle Doug and Sarah.

We had a great trip and loved being together with the family.

Visiting with Great-Grandaddy and Callie:


Surfing lessons:





Sharing tunes with Uncle Peter:


Daily dose of ice cream:





Helping Uncle Peter with his luggage:


Ingenious playroom at the Philly airport:

SYTYCD

Among Elizabeth's favorite shows this summer is So You Think You Can Dance, which just happens to be one of her mom's favorite shows as well. She was particularly taken with a certain Cha-Cha number a few weeks ago. Here is Elizabeth captivated by the SYTYCD dancers. If you watch until the end, she will give you her review of the routine.

Concrete 1, Elizabeth's Face 0

Poor Elizabeth. At the end of a lovely afternoon spent in the backyard enjoying the beautiful (cooler) weather, she tripped over her own feet and landed face first on the concrete patio, scraping up her forehead, nose, shoulder and arm. It looks much worse in person than it does here. I'm glad she doesn't have photos scheduled anytime soon!

Just Say "No!"

Guess what Elizabeth's favorite new word is?



Although we do enjoy this new ability to communicate with her, we are quickly learning not to ask yes or no questions unless we are ready for the answer to be "no!"

Another Sunday, another trip to the Piedmont fountains. Today we went with our friends and their son, Benjamin, and baby Carter (not pictured).




And finally, a photo of the aforementioned mocassins purchased in Leland last weekend. Grandma Wendland would be so proud!

Up North for the Fourth

A few weeks ago, we hatched a plan to escape the heat and head up to Michigan for a few days. We are so glad we did! We had perfect Michigan summer weather while we were there and were able to spend most of our time outside.

We arrived in Suttons Bay on Friday afternoon after driving up from Grand Rapids. Elizabeth had fun getting reacquainted with Grammy and Grandpa's house and the toys that they keep for her there. We ventured up to Leland for lunch on Saturday. While we were there, we restarted a family tradition when Grammy bought Elizabeth her first pair of moccasins. They are adorable and I will post a picture of them soon. We then went on to Glen Arbor for more shopping. Where can you find a fantastic selection of toddler-sized Tevas? Glen Arbor, that's where! We also made a stop at Cherry Republic to get some of our favorite cherry salsa.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at the beach in Suttons Bay. Elizabeth had a great time playing in the water. We had a picnic lunch at the beach and then went home for Elizabeth's nap. When she woke up, we headed out for a ride on the boat. I think the boat ride was the highlight of the visit for all of us, especially Elizabeth. She had a blast helping Grandpa drive the boat and sitting with Grammy while we zipped across the bay back to the marina.

We are so lucky to have such a beautiful place to visit in the summer and to have Grammy and Grandpa to host us.

Cherry Republic:


Toddler Tevas: cutest thing ever?


Morning at the beach:









Afternoon on the boat: