First Vacation!!

I've been so bad about posting lately...we've just been really busy and I was battling various illnesses for the past three weeks (strep throat, stomach virus, and then a cold). And, Marissa is so much fun now that it's hard to find time to post...I'd rather be playing!!

We just got back from our first trip with Marissa. We went to Seagrove Beach in Florida. She did really well on the ride down there, and got back into a good schedule rhythm after only about a day! We had a few bad weather days, but towards the end of the trip we had a couple of beautiful days.

Vacation with Marissa was definitely different than before she came along. Now, instead of hours leisurely lounging around on the beach, we shove beach time in between naps and feedings...it was hectic but still very fun. And, we had a few extra hands to help us out so we were able to get some more beach time while Candace, Grover and Meredith took some time out with Marissa.

She was just too cute in her little swimsuits. She was fascinated by the ocean...and liked dipping her little tootsie toes into the water. She also did great in the pool...and loved kicking (I guess the weightless feeling of the water felt weird and fun to explore).

I'll get a link to some photos posted as soon as I load them into Shutterfly.

In terms of where she is developmentally...she's changed a bunch lately. She is rolling over a ton, back and forth. She also tries to scoot along on her belly, but is still probably a long way off from crawling. She can't quite sit on her own, either, but is getting closer every day. She babbles pretty much constantly...makes excited squealing noises, laughs, and lately has started with a "ra ra ra ra" sound. Perhaps that will migrate into "ma ma ma ma?"

I'm going to start incorporating more solids into her diet little by little. We were taking it slowly for a while...I was trying to follow her lead. Now, she seems ready to eat a little more so we're starting two meals with solids...oatmeal in the morning and some sort of veggie at night. After her doctor appointment this month we'll see what our next steps will be. No sign of any teeth yet so I'm not sure exactly how advanced we can get...but I'm pretty sure that babies have an amazing ability to chew things with their gums...