Victorian Summer

Victoria keeps growing up.  The previous two summers she was just too little to really appreciate playing at Grandpa's house with her cousins.  This year she loved every minute she spent down there. Unsurprisingly we found out she LOVES to swim and play in the water.  Its the funniest thing, she swims standing upright kind of running in place.  Funny and adorable, it gets her from place to place.

Fun at the Park

For Kristine.

We took a bike ride to a park we'd never been to before.  After an hour Victoria refused to leave

 

All on her own

I got called over to our exchange student's room and this is what I saw.  She thinks its fun and does it all the time. Enjoy.

More Fun in the Sun

Here are some more of our favorite daylilies in our expanding collection:

Entrapment

Scarlet Apache

John Peat

Always Afternoon

Peach Magnolia

Here is some fun in the backyard.  Peter even got in on the fun :)!!
Dave bought this AWESOME wagon and Victoria never fails to ask for a ride when we are out in the yard.  It even has fold-up seats and cupholders.  It had seat belts but we did away with those right after construction.  Victoria is good about holding on to the sides and likes to switch from one seat to the other while we go in circles around the yard.

I had to document how attached Victoria has gotten to her blankie.  She has always liked having the silky blankies with her during nap times, but she has increasingly become attached to this particular blankie.  Not only that, but she likes to suck on the thing until it turns into a slobbery mess.  She strokes the edge of the blanket while slurping down on a corner and soothes herself to sleep or just comforts herself when she feels like it.  Needless to say, we have to wash them a lot.  It's a good thing we have two, thanks to Meg and Aunt Nicki!!  Unfortunately, Victoria also KNOWS that we have two and often demands to have both of them.  Too smart for her own good.

Last Saturday, we got to visit the nearest American Hemerocallis Society Display Garden.  Just outside of Geneva, Grace Gardens was a fun day trip. They had an Open House and I got to meet the owners.  We ended up bringing home 14 new cultivars for our collection.

Here's an update on our raised bed.  Not only have the plants grown with cucumbers, heads of broccoli, tomatoes, and carrots taking off, but it has become OVER grown.  I got a little ambitious with my plant selections and now the giant zucchini leaves and squash vines are taking over.  I'll have to thin it out.  And, we'll have to be more selective next year....or add another bed.

And, of course, another trip to the zoo.

I got admittedly tired of having to lift Victoria up on the swingset to go down the slide.  It was time she got one her own size that she could climb on her own.  Thanks to craigslist, we have a slide/hangout spot to keep Victoria busy during our gardening time.

Summer Adventures

We've had a great time this summer getting out and about.  During June, we made a few trips to the zoo and Victoria was SOO much more interested in the animals.  We had an annual membership last year but she would pay more attention to the other kids than the animals and we didn't end up going much.  But, as you can see, she is far more observant of the animals this year.

Watching dada's favorite: the penguins

And, when she was done walking,
we watched the tigers while she "roared" at the glass.

She liked them so much she wanted to become one!

We also recently discovered a nice miniature golf course near our house.  It has a beautiful stream running through the middle of it, has well-tended grounds, and give a military discount so we can get a round and an ice cream in.  Victoria likes to interrupt as often as possible so she can climb up the grass and put her ball in the hole.

We've also done a LOT of gardening.  It's a little-known fact that, despite the amazingly cold and snowy winters, Syracuse is a great place to garden during the summer months.  The weather has been mostly temperate and the longer days mean I get more time to be outdoors after I get home from work.  And, now that Victoria is getting older, she is more willing to spend time outside with us, too.  It also helps that she has FINALLY started walking!!  Exactly one week before turning 18 months old, Victoria gave up her scoot for good and walked on her own.  She had taken a few steps and even gone about 8 steps unassisted, but with all her stability and interest in getting up on the furniture, she still struggled to stand up directly from a seated position.  Then, one Thursday, she figured out that piece of the puzzle and off she went!  Now she doesn't get as dirty outside (until she demands to hold the hose) and she is getting more independent.  I didn't think she could get any more independent than she is already is, but she is.  She is also getting into a routine that, as soon as we get her home from our neighbor's house (aka daycare) she wants to get out and look at the flowers.  She also likes to pull the flowers off their stems....She sees mama dead-head the spent daylily blossoms and tries to help out, but ends up pulling off new blossoms instead.

Dave and I have gotten into collecting daylilies and have learned a LOT about them.  There is such an amazing variety and so many that thrive here in our tough climate that they are hard to resist.  It's really nice for me, too, because I grew up watching my mom tend her daylily collection.  I never had any land of my own to even think about planting flowers, but now that we  have our home and the time to work outside, it's become a new obsession.  Dave and I joined the American Hemerocallis Society (check them out at www.daylilies.org) which is dedicated to researching and promoting daylilies.  They also have the official registry of different varieties.  Here are some of our new additions:

Victorian Princess

Jungle Beauty

Siloam Bo Peep

Indian Giver

Last but not least, Dave and I built a raised bed on the East side of the house.  I planted a variety of veggies from carrots and broccoli I'd started from seed to cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers we bought starts of at a local nursery.  We had tried a veggie garden last year in the back yard but didn't get nearly enough sunlight to keep them growing.  Fingers crossed for this year's attempt!!


And, just because it's fun, here is my daredevil daughter being spun in our office chair.  Sorry the video is sideways...

Niagra Falls Mini Vacation

With the end of the my spring semester, Kristine and I decided we needed a little vacation before getting back to summer classes and work.  We really wanted to go camping, but the forcast showed three days of rain, so we opted for an overnighter at Niagra Falls instead. Camping would be postponed until later in the week when the weather was better.  Kristine had never been to Niagra Falls, and I hadn't been in probably 20 years so it looked fun. 

We stayed at the Sheraton on the Falls, which is right in the middle of a touristy area with lots to do and places to eat.  Here is Victoria checking out the view from our room.  As soon as we got in, she immediately went to the window.

Kristine and Victoria.

It wasn't very crowded and must not be peak season yet.  Walking along the edge, we could feel the rumble of the water pouring down.  With all the mist generated by the falls, there was constant rainbow. 

Victoria seemed very taken in by the falls and was content to watch what was going on.

Of course she had to pull out her hair tie 10 minutes after Kristine made her look so nice.

Food prices were suprisingly high.  The cheapest meal we had in the entire two days was at Wendys.

Victoria on the other had thought Wendy's was the best.  Especially the yogurt and drinks

Part of the hotel package was two days of access to the indoor water park.  It wasn't the biggest water park, but the slides were fun and Victoria loved it.  She divided her time between fighting the waves in the large pool, and playing around the slide in the little kid area. She is definately a water baby and will love her lake time with her cousins this summer.    

Sooo Helpful....

Evidently Peter was not eating his breakfast fast enough for Victoria, so she decided to help him out.  

Here are a couple random picts.

 Hair.  We started putting her hair up in little whale spouts and pig tails.  This is what happens after Victoria decides to pull them out. Pure awesomeness.

I don't know what it is, but Victoria loves getting into small spaces where only she fits.  This is at church in fancy dress.

We went to the mall and of course we had to ride on the carousel. Victoria loved it so much we had to go twice.   

Kristine and I decided we were tired of moving cars and parking  each other in so we turned our one car driveway into a two car driveway.  Victoria was utterly fascinated by the work going on outside. 

Yesterday she started putting her head on the ground and looking at me through her legs.  I don't know why this is so entertaining for her, but she thought it was really fun.  This is the best I could get before she stopped. 

 We set up her princess activity table.  As soon as she saw it she knew it was for her.  Its still a little big and she hasn't quite figured out coloring yet. but soon it will get a lot of use.