Winning: My First Year: 4th of July Festivities & Wedding Fun

On Monday Mom & I went to a new yoga class called Mama's Movin at Mama's Wellness Joint. We had so much fun in class. Mommy got a great yoga workout in & I forgot she was even in class. I got to crawl around & play with other babies that were walking, crawling and playing with toys. I met some new friends & even got to hang out with Hayden, who brought her mom along. We're definitely looking forward to going back to class again. Monday afternoon we went to see Dr. Berger for my 9 month check up. I showed him my three teeth & we discovered that I have three more teeth getting ready to pop through (my fourth tooth popped through on July 5th - I now have three teeth on my bottom and one on the top). I weighed in at 21.5 pounds and 28.5 inches long (Dr. Berger thinks I'm actually a little longer & the nurse just miss measured). On Tuesday I crawled out of my room - up 3 steps. Mom was amazed that I crawled up the steps for the first time like I had been doing it for months. Now I go up and down the steps for fun.

On Wednesday, we picked Daddy up from work and went to the Camden Aquarium. What a fun day with Mom and Dad. We saw lots of fish, sharks, turtles, an alligator, a hippo, sting rays & I even got to touch a starfish in the touch tank. We stopped at a little deli for lunch before going to see the fish. I really enjoyed my pasta salad - TASTY!

We got to watch the hippo get fed some yummy Bok Choy. I took a long nap on the way home & then we headed out to our neighborhood cocktail party to kick off the 4th of July festivities. Our neighborhood has been throwing 4th of July parties for 51 years. Last year Mom and Dad went to the cocktail party and then the BBQ on the 4th. This year we only went to the cocktail party at the Hass' because we left for Grammy & Pop's house for the 4th of July. The cocktail party was a lot of fun. I got to meet many neighbors and toddle around the house. 4th of July was a gorgeous day. We left bright and early to get to the beach after my morning nap. Grammy, Pop, Uncle Mario & Aunt Ari all joined us at the beach. We went to the north end of Asbury Park beach, which thankfully wasn't too crowded. I played in my baby pool, dug in the sand with Pop, played with sand crabs and walked the boardwalk. I didn't want to take a nap in my beach tent, so we went for a nice long walk to check out the shops. I fell asleep in my sling and woke up back at Grammy's house.

We grilled on the BBQ once I woke up from my nap. After dinner, we all showered and headed down to Ocean Place in Long Branch to watch the firework show. We snagged the best spot in the house at the top of a parking garage. The fireworks were beautiful and so extremely loud since we were directly behind them. They were exploding right above our heads. Grammy made me some headphones with my bunny blankie wrapped around my head to cover my ears, so that my ears wouldn't hurt. I was so tired that I fell asleep five minutes into the half hour firework show.

Friday morning we went to see Great Nanny & Great Pop for breakfast. We brought over bagels & chatted around the table all morning. I napped for a while and then showed off my moves. Great Pop got a kick out of me standing up, crawling & walking along the edge of tables. He told us a story of how his brother Victor walked at 8 months old -- somehow walked out of the house, down the stairs and a police officer found him on the sidewalk toddling down the road. Great Nanny doesn't think that story is true, but Great Pop told us the same story three times that morning. We met Mom's friends Nichole and Lindsay for lunch at the Avon pavilion. I had really tasty chicken salad and got to see the ocean once more before headed back to Philly. I whined the entire car ride home because I wanted to stay at the beach, but Mommy told me that we had another fun evening planned. We got home, dressed in our best and headed to Emily and Campbell's welcome dinner. Many of the wedding guests arrived from Hong Kong and Australia. We only traveled to the Main Line from Chestnut Hill, but were psyched to celebrate their wedding weekend. I got to meet the flower girls - Catherine & Madison. I flirted and chased (crawled) after them all night long. They had lots of fun entertaining me.

Saturday while I napped Mommy treated herself to a manicure and pedicure. I got to hang with Dad for the morning, which is always a nice treat and great to give Mommy a break every once in a while. We were all dressed and ready for the wedding ceremony by mid-afternoon. The ceremony was at St. John Vianney Church in Gladwyne. Mom told me to be on my best behavior. I listened to the priest and smiled as Emily and Cam tied the knot. I was a perfect angel during the ceremony. I met a very cute older woman Lizzy (she's 14 months old). We chatted for a bit and said we'd see each other at Sunday's brunch. After the ceremony, Mom, Dad and I went home to meet Allison the babysitter. I had a lot of fun playing with Allison while Mommy and Daddy went to wedding reception at Gulph Mills Golf Club. I went to bed by 7:30PM and didn't give Allison any trouble at all. Mom and Dad had a great time at the wedding and even stayed out at the after party for a little bit. Here are some photos from the ceremony and wedding reception:

Sunday we went to the farewell brunch at Campbell's dad's estate. He lives in a beautiful home that was a private mansion, then owned by Bryn Mawr College and then became a private residence again. I got to play with Lizzy and meet a 4 year old boy named Max. It was a hot day, so we stayed in the shade and checked out the house. I played with some really cool large stuffed animals, while Max played us songs on the piano. It was a very fun wedding weekend and we're glad we got to celebrate with Emily & Campbell. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and playing at the house -- staying cool indoors to beat the heat.