SeaLife Arizona Aquarium

Since Jeff has Fridays off during the summer we have tried to take advantage of the extra time and do some fun things as a family. We decided to take Emery to the SeaLife Arizona Aquarium at Arizona Mills Mall (June 22). I think I had fairly low expectations due to the fact that it was an aquarium inside of a mall but still thought that it would be something fun to do in air conditioning that Emery would hopefully enjoy. Boy did that place exceed my expectations and we had a great afternoon! Now the trick to looking at these (and any) pictures of Emery is to look at her eyes. She smiles all the time but when we pull the camera out she gets mesmerized and doesn't smile. However, her eyes are very expressive so just look at them and you'll see how much she loves the aquarium.

This is when we very first walked into the aquarium and Emery got her first look at the stingrays swimming around. She LOVED it. Look at how big her eyes are!



How cool!



She is really having the greatest time!

I think this is the cutest picture with the turtle right there by her.

Looking at the star fish.

This was a 360-degree room so there were fish swimming all around you.

Under the Sea

Hanging out with Mom

Emery loved this tank

This was a tunnel that you walked through and you could see everything on both sides, above, and beneath you.

She was having a blast!

The Lionfish was by far Emery's favorite thing at the aquarium. Just look at that little face!

She kept trying to grab it every time it swam by. She had pretty great aim and timing too!


 

Looking at the octopus on the ceiling.

Jellyfish 

Seahorses

After the aquarium, we put Emery in the stroller and walked around the mall to do some shopping and eat. We looked down after about 5 minutes and this is what we saw...

...I guess that means it was a successful day.

The whole time Emery would look at something and then look at us like "how cool!" It was so fun seeing her little face take everything in and we know this is just the beginning of many fun family adventures to come.

5 Months Old

June 14, 2013

14 lbs, 9oz

25 1/4 inches long

 

Loves:

-Chewing on anything she can get her hands on, including her hands.

-Squealing

-Flying

-Playing in her exersaucer--she's starting to be able to hit the button that makes noise

-Playing with her friends on her playmat

-Her newfound baby

-Spitting with her tongue

-When Dad comes home

-Her sheep

-Singing songs

-Playing in her bed first thing in the morning before we come to get her

 

New Things She Has Learned:

-Spitting with her tongue

-Getting her binky in her mouth on her own

-Sleeping on her tummy (she's still not sure whether or not she likes it yet, maybe once she can roll back over onto her back. For now she just gets stuck)



The Achievements of a 4 Month Old

Yes, Emery is 5 1/2 months old now but I wanted to document exact dates of achievements in our sweet girl's life before I forget them...

Squealing: Sunday, June 9
Emery started squealing one Sunday afternoon. Jeff and I were in the kitchen making dinner and she was laying on her playmat in the living room. Now, she normally yells at her toys if she is frustrated with them being just slightly out of reach from her mouth. Nevermind that she can squeeze them or grab them with her hands and feet. If they do not reach her mouth she is yelling at them. That alone is cute but what came next had us and still has us laughing every time it happens. First, it was one little high-pitched squeal. Then, another. Then they became louder and longer until she was just squealing up a storm. She probably laid there and squealed for an hour and a half just loving life. Now she squeals more frequently but especially when she's on her changing table grabbing her feet.

 

Rolling Over on Her Own: Wednesday, June 12
Emery had been so close to rolling over for weeks and it seemed like every week we were sure that this was going to be it. The night before the big accomplishment she was seriously so close that Jeff and I were dying watching her almost get over and then end up on her back. Emery was getting so frustrated with it too so we were sure it would be soon. The next morning I went into the kitchen to get a drink while she was, again, on her playmat. When I came back she was on her tummy! We celebrated, took pictures, texted dad, and were so happy! The next time she did it I was sending an email and I feel her grabbing my foot. When I looked down she was on her tummy again. Now it's an hourly occurance and we're working on getting her to flip back the other way which she did once in her pack n play. For now she just yells at us once she's done being on her tummy until we come flip her over.

4 Months Old in Pictures

Sticking Out That Tongue

4 Months Old

She loves chewing on her thumb. Not sucking...just chewing.

Playing with the ball

Like I said, she likes chewing on things

This is my favorite action shot of all time. We constantly hear her grunting in frustration only to see that she is just trying to eat something that is out of reach.

Playing in her Bumbo

Just hanging out

Rolled over all by herself!

Flying with Dad

Drying off after bath time

She found her toes

They're her new favorite toy

Playing in the exersaucer

Our Little Swimmer

On Memorial Day (May 27) we went to Jenn and Ryan's house for a little party and some swimming. This was Emery's first time swimming and I was so excited for her to finally be able to put on her cute little swimsuit. We were a little worried about how she would do and I was paranoid that she would get an ear infection. She loves baths and Jenn's pool is always so warm so we were hoping that she would love it. I'm not sure that she loved it but she at least liked it. She stayed in there for about an hour and just kind of hung out in the zone. I think she almost fell asleep one time too. She was so cute in her swimsuit and little hat and did great. It is so much fun to watch her do all of these "firsts" and fun adventures with our little family.

 

When you live in Arizona, swimming is an essential summer activity so we're very glad that Emery enjoyed her first swimming experience. Getting a little squirming baby out of her wet swimsuit and swim diaper is much more challenging that I would have guessed so next time we'll just get her out before she gets tired and hungry. Thank you to Claire for the swimsuit and Grandma for the hat!

The Peach Festival

We are lucky enough to live right down the road from Schnepf Farms and they host a variety of different festivals for free throughout the year. After a week of dealing with the traffic from the event we decided to spend our Saturday morning there and it was a great decision!

We went in the morning since it's already starting to get a little toasty around here. Poor Emery had no view of anything while we were walking to the sampling tent since the sun was in her eyes.

Once we got to the tent to sample all things peach, they had a huge fan and it was shaded and Emery started loving life. They had everything--peach jam, peach syrup, peach salsa, peach dressing, peach marinade, peach grilling sauce, peach candy, and peach gum.

Then, we decided to go look at the animals. We got her out of the stroller so that she could see them better. They had goats, chickens, a pig, a donkey, and 2 cows. Now, Emery loves cows. She has a toy cow that is her favorite and the cow page in her Farm Babies book is her favorite. One cow wouldn't come over and the other one seemed like he would love some visitors. I got the camera ready and while Jeff was holding her up, the cow licked them! Jeff said it mostly got her arm and his finger and he jumped real quick out of the way. It was hilarious! Our 4 month old got licked by a cow! She seemed totally fine and I tried getting a picture but I wasn't quick enough. This did not just happen to us. After Emery got licked we were looking at other animals and 3 other people did too. As Hayley said, "The licker has now become the lickee."

Looking at the animals

Goats

Chickens

Chickens

Goats

The cow that wanted nothing to do with us

Right after the cow licked Emery. You can see her in the corner as Jeff is pulling her away

Donkey

Emery and Dad. Doesn't she look huge?!

All in all it was a great day! We went home, ate lunch, took naps, and spent the rest of the day as a family. Things can't get much better than that!