Aria LOVED having visitors

Chesapeake Bay blue crabs....mmmmmm!

Grandma Lala and Aria on the swingset.

Cousin Cat and Aria swinging...

More August visitor pictures...

Grandpa Jon and Casey...

Another of Casey's fans ;)

Jon and Marc cooking crabs on the deck..

Chris' family comes for a visit in Aug...

On the sidewalk near the duck/snapping turtle/catfish/egret pond...

Rachel and Cousin "Cat" feeding the ducks...

Chris and his brother walking Casey and Aria

Walking down the road with Aria and Cousin Cat in our neighborhood

More Thanksgiving pictures...

Aria and her great-grandfather...

Aria and her wonderful Cousin Luke..

Aria and her cousins

Pictures from Thanksgiving...

Aria and her Aunt D.

Aria and her beautiful Cousin "Cat"

Aria LOVEs this ball...

My little gymnast. She loves to run with her hands behind her...

The last days of the ball popper...a favorite toy.

Aria puts EVERYTHING in here now and we have to suck out with the vacuum cleaner.

Aria, Cousin Abby and Aunt Sarah...

Abby giving Casey some love...

...Casey loving Abby back.

Visitors...

Rachel pushing Aria in the swing in our backyard...

Aria's grandfather, Jon, cousin Luke and Auntie Mel, waiting for crabs to cook in 117 degree weather...

Aria and Cousin Abby in the mini pool.

Pictures!

Aria in her new pool...and wearing one sock...

In her new swim suit, a gift from Grandpa and Grandma Lala...and cups from her God-mother K....

Aria loves these socks she got from her Grandpa and Grandma Lala ...She will bring the sock over and sit on the floor and clap (her sign language for help) until you put it on her foot!

Lovin' it!

We love it here! There are a number of SAHM's (stay-at-home-moms) on my street--I've met a few of them the past few days, my MOMs group is terrific and people are so friendly here in Chesapeake. I swear we've met someone new everyday just feeding the ducks at the pond at the end of the road!

Babysitters are $6/hour here :O ! I have recommendations for a few teenagers who live up the street and met the very nice mother of a woman from playgroup who baby sits in 4 hour blocks at her home as "mom's time out".

Aria is still having fun in her gazebo, walking backwards, twirling and having VERY LOUD conversations with herself in public places.

Hurricane Bertha is kicking up some surf so C is hoping to hop on his long board tomorrow and catch some waves in Va Beach.

Twirling

TONS of bunnies in our new neighborhood!! Casey and Aria love them!

Casey's favorite place...

Note Casey in the background...

Photos of the new playhouse!

Back on the right coast =)

We spent a wonderful week with our cousins and friends and family in Northern Virginia before driving south to near Richmond to spend a few days with Chris' family on our way to Chesapeake. We were lucky to have help with the move from Chris' dad and his wife, Chris' sister and her husband. It was so wonderful for all of us, but especially Aria, to spend so much time with our families and friends. Our first day staying with my sister, Aria's cousin L who is 3 1/2, looked at Aria who was sucking her fingers, holding her "lovey" and smiling at him and said to me "Aria loves me! She's beautiful." It was all I could do not to cry! I miss my friends in CA and my supportive play group and it is going to be an adjustment living in the south, but watching Aria play with her relatives, family friends was priceless.

I will post pictures soon, but today we bought a few belated birthday gifts for Aria--a swing for the play set that came with the house, a plastic baby pool and the gazebo pictured below--which we promptly built inside (without the roof) so that we don't have to swelter in the 95 degree-100% humidity-daily thunderstorms-overwhelming smoke from the peat moss swamp fire a few miles away. Gotta LOVE Virginia...