Funny Things Ally Says

I have been meaning to do this for a while, but I think I am going to start compiling the funny things that Ally says. She is a little too smart for her age and has a rather advanced vocabulary so she comes up with some good stuff. Today on our way to school she looks over at the construction site on the side of the road and says, "Holy cow thats a big dump truck! Mom, do you see that?"

Rewind: Discovery Kids Museum

When Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Henry came to visit in July we decided to make a trip to the children's museum in Bloomington/Normal. We heard good things about it but weren't quite sure what to expect in terms of Ally sized activities. It was so fun! The place has three floors of fun stations and activities for kids of all ages. It was a little overwhelming at first but once she got the lay of the land she jumped right in. The first floor had a small area with a slide and tunnels to climb through, water area, a grocery store, pizza making and delivery, trains, and a big health and wellness area that included fun experiments for you body parts. Ally really liked the slide the best. The second floor was the ag area with lots of farm related stuff and some machines you could build and play with. Ally liked to put balls and scarves into the tubing and watch it fly through the maze. The third floor was the art and theatre area with a puppet show, stage, art room, and a giant glass wall to paint on. She definitely got into the painting and had a great time making a mess with that. There happened to be a girl scout troop up there so she liked watching the big girls play on the stage.

Overall we really enjoyed the museum and think it will be even better for us as Ally learns how to focus her attention. She was moving from activity to activity very quickly and it would probably be tough to spend much more than an hour or two there right now. We got a family pass so we plan to visit often and bring friends.

Rewind: July Sullivan Family Reunion

The weekend of July 23-24 we went up to Oshkosh for a few days. We actually left on Friday and stayed until Monday to give us some extra time and we also got to pick up Uncle Corey on the way so he could come too. We had a family reunion at the lake on Saturday so we spent most of the day playing in the water and eating. Ally is a little fishy so she had a blast jumping around, digging in the sand and playing with all the other kids. The water was fairly clean and a decent temperature. Mom, Kelly, Mark and Grady kept her busy in the water and we even got to go out for a short ride on the new pontoon boat- which was when she fell asleep. There are a few kids her age there and she was very excited to see so many people. The highlights included getting a dollar from Great Uncle James Humphrey because Ally can say his name clearly (an only family joke) and raiding Great Great Grandma Bea's candy dish for M&Ms just like we used to do. On Sunday we played over at Grandpa Joel's house and Ally had a great time with Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Paul. She was doing all of her tricks and everyone was very impressed with her singing, reading and counting skills. Monday we had to head for home but we could not leave without meeting Nicky and baby Adelle. Ally wasn't too interested in the baby girl but I was so happy to see them and hold her. She is adorable and growing so fast! Ally hasn't really cared much about all these babies we have been visiting lately, mostly because all of them have been boys until this time. She was a little concerned about me holding the new baby and was playing a little shy with Nicky but she was very gentle and gave 'baby dell' little hugs and pats on the head. We had a great weekend and Ally came back with 2 new princess barbies to play with.

Lucky

Ally has a new friend, his name is Lucky. He stays at Grandma Julie's house and Ally loves him!

Note: She has had this since Christmas but just recently decided he was fun and not scary.

Our Baby Can Read

I have been trying to capture this on video for weeks and I finally got most of it by secretly taping her from behind. She absolutely loves this book and knows every word and all the actions that go along with each animal. It is adorable!