Upon finding out that we were going to have a baby many people decided to give us advice. Much of this advice was very good, including some fine words of wisdom about the first six months from Bryan Keating: "Road trips!" We took this advice to heart and brought Lexi on her first road trip at six weeks of age (first to Tappahannock, Virginia which is about 2 hours away from our house and then to Charleston, Rhode Island which is about 9 hours away from our house). Since then she has also traveled to Rehobeth and Bethany Beaches in Delaware, Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, a few spots in Connecticut, Lake Champlain and Burlington in Vermont, Long Lake in Maine, Newburyport in Massachusetts, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and West Hollywood, California. At five months of age she has already been to eleven states!
Here are a few photos and stories of her summer adventures.
In early August she joined the party for her aunt Kate's birthday in Las Vegas. Her friends Maya (9 months) and Callie (2 years) were also there to celebrate and all three enjoyed hanging out in the cabana by the family friendly pool at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Since we were already so far west, Lexi and I decided to head to Los Angeles with Callie and her parents (Sasha and Kevin) for a few days of visiting. We had a great time exploring the neighborhood and soaking in the lovely California weather. Callie was always checking on Lexi and helping her out when toys were dropped or a pacifier was needed. Lexi decided that two year olds are wonderful to have around.
In mid-August we headed up to the beach house in Rhode Island where Patrick spent much of his summertime as a child. The house was built by Patrick's grandfather Brendan. We visited with cousins Adam, Molly, Ben, Matt and Jess. Lexi met Ada (daugther of Ben and Becky who is two months younger than Lexi), and Lucas and Julia (three year old son and one year old daughter of Matt and Jess). Lexi was particularly excited to show Ada how she plays on her mat and less excited about the stormy weather at Charleston Beach. During the drive up to Charleston Lexi's first teeth popped through! By the time we reached the beach house she had the nubs of two front bottom teeth and her mood was much improved from what it had been when we were packing for the trip.
After Rhode Island, Lexi and I continued on to New Hampshire and Maine to visit her Grammie and Grandaddy and spend some time with my Aunt Peggy in Uncle Wells at Long Lake where I spent much of my summertime as a child. Lexi was a bit scared of the lake itself, probably because the water is dark and she saw me swimming around in it which must have been very confusing for her. Her Grandaddy tried to dip her toe in the lake but at the moment her foot touched the water she began to screech. He quickly put her on his lap and patted her back to comfort her but she did not fully recover until she was certain that both she and I were safe from the lake's clutches. Her favorite parts of Maine were almost certainly watching Uncle Wells make funny faces at her and riding around on her Grandaddy's shoulders or in the crook of her Grammie's arm.
Lexi took her second trip ever to Vermont. The last time she was there was this summer in late July and early August. Vermont sure has changed a lot in the last 2 1/2 months! Now it is chilly, the leaves are all gold, orange and yellow, apples are abundant for eating, and everyplace is decorated with pumpkins. Lexi has also grown up quite a bit since her first trip to VT. She is much more adept at grabbing things now, she eats solid food (including applesauce), and she can sit up unassisted. She is also noticeably bigger as many of our friends pointed out (she weighed about 14 pounds last time and now she weighs over 16 pounds).
Above: (top right) Lexi in downtown Stowe before the hike; (bottom middle) DeLeons on the summit of The Pinnacle
