Michigan Trip Binder Park Zoo

It's been a long time since I've ventured back north to the great white tundra. People often ask why, and my reply has been "last time I went home in Feb. '96 we set record lows every day". Well it was time to show off the little girl so we packed her up and flew north for the summer; at least a week out of the summer.

During this very short stay, I realized that when I left it all behind (not looking back) I did not retain many memories of the area. Things do not seem nearly as large: distances are much shorter, rivers and lakes smaller, and houses are more modest. With this realization I told everyone I saw that future visits would be much more frequent.

The trip started out with a visit to the Crumptons who live in Detroit. We flew into DTW on Tuesday, July 24th and went straight to Cousin Debbie's house. The following days were spent in Battle Creek at Mimi's house where we were visited frequently by family. On Saturday, July 28th (my birthday) we went to Aunt Sally and Uncle Bob's place on Blossom Lake where a Johnson family reunion ensued. Beer drinking, swimming, and pontoon boat rides made for a beautiful day, not to mention seeing all of the family amongst which I was raised.

One beautiful afternoon Melanie and I, my cousin Aaron, and a high school buddy Gary headed off to the Binder Park Zoo with all the kids (including Trevor's 2 daughters Liv and Belle) to experience "Wild Africa".

Drew, Belle, Ryan, Jane (Not seen but behind Ryan, one of Gary's twin daughters), Gary and Natalie

The twins scheming on how to get Corinne out and themselves in.

Interesting fact: twins are notorious for sibling conspiracy and will stop at nothing to accomplish a task-Good Luck Gary!!!

Speaking of... Where are the twins?????

"Carousel Belle"

Kaleb, stuck on the giraffe that didn't move up and down.

Liv...Ridin' a cheetah (Aaron left and Belle behind)

First Teeth

As promised, I was finally able to snap a few photos of Corinne's grin with her two prized teeth! No word yet on the upper two teeth which makes a nursing mama happy for now :-).

She still hasn't taken off crawling yet, but she does manage to get where she wants to go by a series of sits, scrunches, and scoots. The bar on this stool is just her height as she attempts to pull herself up.

Road Trip

Anyone who knows me (Melanie) knows I love a good road trip. I'm trying to warm Corinne to the idea lately by traveling with her as much as I can. We recently went to Beaufort to dine with Kentucky friends, Britney and Phil Chaney. They left 3 year old Ryan back with grandparents to enjoy some adult time out. Corinne wanted to prove she was one of the adults by eating at the table with everybody. From her grin you could tell she thought she was big stuff. :-) We'll have to use our imagination on that trip since we were negligent with the camera.



We also made a similar trek down 17S to Savannah to visit the DiSilvestros. The girls' day began with lunch and polished off with an afternoon swim in their pool.

Folks, are ya gonna feed me or do I have to eat the tablecloth? Geez!

Brittany and I sporting the latest fashion in shades...

Cruising the pool in style!

Whew! Zonkered after a busy day. At least Mom gets a quiet ride back to Charleston. Thanks for a great visit!

Carrots anyone?

Corinne officially enters the adult world of eating with carrots. It may not look like it, but she actually got some in her mouth and enjoyed them. She loves to assist with the spoon, taking charge of the dining process. Warning: once you view, you may never think of a carrot in the same way :-)

Check-up

We returned from Corinne's six month check-up today. Weighing in at 15lbs 13oz and 27" she knocked me out with her general acceptance of her shots. After the initial loud protests and wails, she settled in to her favorite pasttime...chewing. There are 2 new teeth on the bottom now. We'll have to try to snap a photo of that one!

North Carolina

I spent last weekend in Apex, NC, with Mom and Dad and Derek's family. Corinne practically begged for bedtime after strenuous days of watching her 2 year old cousins, Owen and Gus. Very soon she'll be crawling and will chase after the Wonder Twins.

Gus was a good sport sharing his music mat with a willing student, Corinne.

Corinne is just turning six months, so we've started the slow and sticky process of eating rice cereal. Fun times. Aunt Amy and gj assisted with the initial rite.

Capturing Corinne's grin has become something of a challenge. She is such a happy baby getting a kick out of everything around her; her laughs contagious. Once she sees the red flash light on the camera her face instantly transforms to 'deer in headlights'. Have you noticed?

(No, that's not a deer leg, its T-cuz! Always in the fray :-))

As always, it's good to see family and get into another world, a new perspective for a weekend. I brought home some great ideas for storing toys (Amy, I was taking notes). Thanks for a wonderful time.

~Melanie

Picking Figs

Each summer our fig tree expresses its happiness by bearing plenty of hearty fruits. Roman freezes them to enjoy in his smoothies every morning. One of Roman's coworkers uses them for fresh fig preserves...yummy! Roman educates Corinne on the fine art of picking the ripe ones.
While trying to clean the house with Corinne on hip, I knocked our lotus votive on the floor. It ended up in the dog bowl. Funny work of art.

And a floor update...
Roman and I maximize the evenings when Corinne is sleeping to continue laying the new floors, painting trim, etc. The handiwork is quite impressive.

Corinne's room

Next, we'll start our bedroom. It feels like we're getting a brand new house!