4th of July

This was, like many holidays, the first 4th of July where Alyse was able to participate and "enjoy" the holiday.  She loved the food, the family time, the popsicles, the fireworks, and the flag waving.

Two pictures of Alyse with Mommy and Daddy.  We were trying to get her to smile, but we got as far as getting her to open her mouth.  She was having fun, but she was definitely not in the mood to smile for a photo.  She really just wanted to run around.

Alyse with Aunt Kathleen and Aunt Patricia.  While she didn't want to smile for the Mommy and Daddy picture, she did manage to give a smile to Daddy as Mommy took this picture, so at least we got one smile out of her.  She does love her aunts though.  :)

Flag-waving was particularly fun for Alyse.  She loved just waving it around and watching it.  I think it was fun for her that she was the one in control of the flag.  She also liked the colors. It got chillier at night, so we put on this cute little ladybug jean jacket Mom and Papa gave her.

Alyse and Daddy taking a stroll. Alyse loves to go on walks on her own, but we keep reminding her that she needs to hold hands. She gives in when she realizes that is the only way she will get to go on a walk.  She loved walking up and down the street on the 4th of July, which I think is because then she got to see all of the fireworks families were letting off up and down the street.

This was the end of the night, before we left.  She got as much flag-waving in as possible.  This was after she shared a popsicle with Papa.  She loves popsicles, and enjoyed the bomb pops Nonna and Papa had. 4th of July was a fun time, even if we didn't get to go to see fireworks.  Alyse enjoyed spending time at Nonna and Papa's more.  :)

Zoo and Museum

So, it definitely has been a while since my last post.  As I thought, it is a lot more difficult to write posts during the school year than it is during the summer. I just seem to have no time.  But since it is fall break, I finally have some time, so you will be seeing a bunch of posts at once.


We left off with Father's Day (even though it was posted in July), so this first recap post details the beginning of July.


Alyse loves tart things, like lemons and limes.  Below is a picture of her enjoying a freshly squeezed lemon.  :)

Clearly she enjoys lemons.  If she sees someone eating one, she wants to have it so she can suck out any remaining juices.  Adorable.


Another thing Alyse loves is ice cream.  In July, the Denver Zoo had an ice cream social that was free for members and included all the ice cream we could eat.  Who doesn't like free ice cream? Plus, it was Blue Bell ice cream, making it an even better deal that we couldn't pass up.  Since Alyse enjoys ice cream and the zoo, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have some affordable family fun. Needless to say, Alyse loved every moment!

Alyse ate her ice cream...

And ate...

And ate some more.  She loved being able to use a spoon by herself to eat all the ice cream she wanted. (Although she only ended up eating half a scoop and Mommy oh so generously helped herself to the rest.)

By the end of the night, Alyse was pretty tired. She just held her juice and kept her pacifier in as we went around watching the animals. Even though there were a lot of families there, it was a pretty relaxing evening because they had so many different ice cream stations for us to go to.


That same week, Alyse and I went to the Denver Art Museum with Aunt Kathleen and Aunt Patricia. It was a free day, so we figured we would take advantage of that opportunity. (Obviously we like free events.)  :)

Alyse with her Aunt Kathleen and Aunt Patricia on the roof of the art museum.

Alyse and Mommy. :)

Alyse in a cool tile exhibit.  The whole exhibit was tile and Alyse was so excited that I let her walk around on it.  She wanted to just run all over, so of course she was disappointed when she had to go back in her stroller.  Also, it was a little annoying that the museum security didn't allow drinks or food in the exhibits.  I understand why, but would they rather have a screaming 1 year old?  Of course, when they weren't paying attention, I let Alyse drink her milk and have snacks.  We also took some time to enjoy snacks outside of the exhibits, but she still wanted her milk and juice in the exhibits.  Obviously the art museum isn't fully kid-friendly.


Both trips were a lot of fun, and I am excited to see how Alyse enjoys exploring during each new adventure.