Sea World

Last weekend, Neal had to go to Orlando for a work event that was taking place at Sea World. We decided that all of us should tag along since we could fly for free, had a hotel set up and paid for and because the meeting would be fun for us. The weekend was great and gave us a chance to get away as a family!

Most of the day it was just the girls since Neal had to be at the pilot event starting around 11. We first headed to a Pets show as a family - Meredith loved watching all the dog and cat tricks and just thought it was all hilarious! After that, I took Meredith and Jillian around to see the other exhibits and shows before having lunch with Neal. After lunch, the rain started, but we were lucky enough to be in a show that was nicely covered. Then finally, we got to meet up with Neal again so that he could take Meredith on some rides and then we all went to go see Shamu together! Even though we had just been to Sea World in San Antonio a few months ago, Meredith really seemed to enjoy this trip! The park, is of course a bit different so it gave her new things to do and see plus, I know she just loved getting to do stuff with Daddy too! Jillian enjoyed this trip a lot more too - going from a sleepy 2 month old, wanting to chill in her stroller the whole time, to a very curious almost 6 month old who wanted to be up looking at everything and everyone!

The Sea World pros ready to go!

Meredith loved feeding the dolphins little fish and trying to pet them.

After feeding them, we headed below to see the dolphins under water.

So these pictures are pretty bad, but this was Jillian's favorite part of the day - she loved watching the dolphins swim by - anytime one would pass us, her little feet would kick like crazy and squeal! Too cute.

Again, not a good picture, but I had to include it - Meredith couldn't wait for Daddy to join us so they could ride the rides - they were roller coaster buddies all weekend!
Riding Baby Shamu
She really got into the Shamu show - she was so excited with every jump and splash and loved doing the little dance they taught us.

Chow time!

So after several weeks of Jillian watching every fork jab go from my plate to my mouth complete with open-mouth motions as I took a bite, coupled with a new earlier morning breakfast time that Jillian has come to request, we decided tonight was the night for her first try at cereal! Meredith of course, kept refusing to call what I was feeding her cereal (it sure doesn't look like the Honey Nut Cheerios she eats!) I think she really enjoyed it - she did great taking it in and not giving much back and kept opening up for more!

Immediate reaction to the first bite was more confusion than anything - probably thinking, where is the stuff that is on their plates?

She decided to take matters into her own hands and see if she could do better.

When I regained control of the spoon, she was still wanting to help.

Hopefully this dinner of rice cereal will leave her with a full and happy tummy for bed tonight!

Line Leader

Oh, how I forgot that the highlight of any school day could be when you were chosen as line leader! Today when I picked up Meredith she was so excited to tell me today was her day and to show off her super-cool superstar line leader badge! We of course didn't take it off all day!

Jillian is 5 months old

Yesterday was Jillian's 5 month birthday! This month has been so much fun watching her change and grow into her adorable personality. Some of my favorite moments are watching her light up whenever she watches Meredith. And that love is also shared with our dog, Coki - her eyes can track her four-legged sister like nobody's business! She is so vocal - loves to coo and squeal, somethimes even surprising herself with the noises she can make. Her favorite ways to play are with lots of kisses (this has been a pretty constant fave and one I can't deny her!) and her new one is Peek-a-book. Meredith has joined in the fun in trying to make her laugh by popping out from behind Pinky or blankets whenever she can. Jillian still loves her exersaucer so much, which is a huge help to me, to know she loves to play by herself when my hands are a bit tied. She is watching us eat like we starve her all other times of the day, which I hope is the culprit behind her new wake-up time of 5 or 5:30 - so food us up for this little one next. She is also so mobile! She rolls like crazy sometimes ending up across the room from where I put her without me even turning away and now she is trying so hard to push up to get herself moving. I think she has convinced herself that she really can crawl, she just hasn't made her legs and arms cooperate quite yet. She is very determined and I know that once all her muscles catch up to her mind, we won't be able to stop her!