Fourth of July Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July Weekend!  The weather in Cincinnati was amazing so it made the festivities way more enjoyable.

Cora, Celia, and I took advantage of having the 4th off work and we headed to Cincinnati Zoo.  If you haven't noticed, we love the zoo.  I love that the Cincinnati Zoo is small enough that you could cover everything in one trip for the non-pass owners, but pass owners can change up their route so it feels completely different each trip.  This year I changed my pass so we would have unlimited train and carousel rides.  Cora didn't really think much of the train ride, but I think she'll really like it after we ride it a couple times and she gets used to it.

They added a couple animals to the Africa exhibit so that area was definitely on our short list of things to see.  Most of the new animals weren't used to their new habitat yet so we didn't get to see them despite checking multiple times.  We'll see them in one of our future visits.

We finished with the Africa exhibit we walked in the direction of the manatee house.  I haven't brought Cora there since I was on maternity leave, so it was something new for her.  She was a little nervous near the tank, but really warmed up after a couple minutes of sitting around.

We went out to lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon napping.  Ben made some steak, mashed potatoes and roasted veggies and we spent the rest of the holiday hanging around the apartment relaxing.

On the 5th, Cora and I went over to my parent's house for a block party.  It was fun seeing a bunch of the neighbors I haven't seen in years and they loved meeting Cora.  There was a pig roast, tons of food, and The Bluegrass Mafia performance.  All of the kids loved the band and spent most of the night dancing around.

Sunday, Cora had a little playdate with her Grandma and Grandpa while we spent some time cleaning up the apartment.  I hung out and had dinner when I was picking Cora up.  We were talking and Cora said "Grandpa" for the first time.  It was a long activity filled weekend, but we had a good time.

Georgia Trip: Sunsets

We stayed in a house on the river that gave us some awesome views of the sunset... and if you know me, you know that I love a good sunset.  Here are some of the pictures from our week of amazing sunsets:

Georgia Trip: Cora at the Beach

This was Cora's first trip to the beach so I was a little nervous to see whether she would like the beach/ocean/sand or not. Cora has done swim lessons and loves baths so I wasn't worried about the water portion of the trip.  The first beach day, we went to was in a small bay that was less crowded and there weren't many waves.  Cora liked the water and loved splashing around with her cousin.  The sand seemed weird to her since it stuck to her hands, but she got used to it quickly and found a couple rocks and shells to carry while she walked around the beach.

The rest of the week we went to a different beach.  We call this one the wedding beach because my cousin got married there a couple years ago.  This beach was a little more crowded and had more waves.  Cora DID NOT like sitting on the beach and letting the waves hit her.  She liked going in the water, but would cling tightly to me.

When I was getting Cora ready, my cousin mentioned that she had a watermelon swimsuit too.  She threw it on so they could match.  My cousin is great with Cora and they had a fun time playing with each other throughout the week.  Aren't they adorable?!

We ventured to the beach almost every day of the week.  Towards the end of the week, Cora was getting used to going to the beach and loved waving at the ocean when we got there.  I'd take her in to swim a couple times, but she mostly enjoyed hanging around under the umbrella and sticking her fingers in the sand.

On the last day at the beach, she got a little more adventurous and started to walk off on her own.  She was a little wary of the whole situation at first, but once she got more comfortable, she really enjoyed swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand.

We had a great time visiting the beach during our trip and it was such a relief that Cora loves the beach since beach time is pretty much 50% of our vacations.  I enjoyed watching my cousins and other kids playing on the beach and dreaming of future days when Cora will be running around playing in the ocean with her cousins and siblings.  Sigh... perfect!