Summer Time

I am considering this summer like our first New England Summer.  But wait Megan, you have been in Boston since August 2012.  Yes Yes, I know.  But last summer I finished teaching with a little over a month before Rebecca came.  I was SOO large and going out into the humidity was just not on my 'To Do' list.  And then we really only had a monthish left after she came and I was just focused on keeping myself and my new baby alive.  So yea, this summer has been like our first New England Summer.  And while the humidity is pure torture, we have really enjoyed getting to experience more of New England. 

We have been able to have lots of Mom Group Dates with other women around Boston, which is amazing because these women are smart cookies.  They've been around for a summer or more and know the best places to go, when things are free or discounted, and they are so great to share their knowledge with this west coast farm girl (even when I ask really dumb questions).

We've also been lucky enough to have some great family time.  Benn was able to work his class and work schedule out so that he has Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings free.  So if he doesn't have work he needs to do, he gets to tag along on our outings.  We are trying to take advantage of the time he has now because it won't always be this way. 

We have been able to experience a variety of places so far and quite a few of them revolve around water.  Miss Rebecca is a total fish.  She absolutely loves the water, even if it's a little chilly.  She was a little unsure of the sand at first but that didn't last long.  Thankfully she hasn't found it very appetizing so far...let's hope it stays that way!

I'll leave you with some fun pictures of our outings so far.

 We went to a the Boston Children's Museum because we had a discounted pass.  They had a whole area for babies to crawl around.

 At the Boston Children's Museum they had a little water bed type thing.  She was not a fan.

 A new fancy playground opened and so we had to check it out.  Its about a 5 min drive from our place.  I think Rebecca will enjoy it way more once she is walking more than 2 or 3 steps by herself.

 We wen to a petting zoo using a Groupon that had tons of cool animals.  We were able to touch an alligator.  By 'we' I mean, I touched it and then made Rebecca touch it.

 Some dear friends of ours moved to Maine and we had some fun at a big park.  Benn is trying to wrangle these 3 cuties, all within 2 months of each other.

 These next few are all at a beautiful pond about 15 min from our place.  It's free, has a little playground, a nice sandy beach, and the water was great.  Only downside is the geese that hang out there.  I heard they can get kinda mean and bite.  One kept hissing as us and it was kinda freaky.  So as long as you keep an eye our for them (and their poo droppings), you are in for a great time.  Oh, and parking is free.  Double bonus!

 I love this picture of these two cuties playing together.  Benn is such a great Father and Rebecca is a total daddy's girl.  Her happiest part of the day is when Benn comes home.

 The first splash park we went to was in downtown Boston.  Rebecca wasn't as big a fan of this one, but I am pretty sure it's because it was a little chilly that day.

 We made an IKEA run and scored some amazing birthday presents for Rebecca.  She was a little confused while we walked around the showroom and she wasn't allowed to crawl over everything.

 The Ocean and all it's glory!  This particular beach we went to was absolutely splendid.  The water was simply wonderful!  Temp was perfect and Rebecca loved crawling around in it.  She loved when the waves would come in and splash her.  I walked in with her up to her chest and she was in heaven.

 Rebecca has finally started trying to 'play with' other babies.  This cute boy wasn't really sure he wanted to play so it was pretty funny to watch Rebecca chase him around and maul him when she got the chance.  Luckily he can hold his own and did a little mauling right back.  This may sound bad, but I was kind of glad.  Rebecca is just bigger than most of the other babies and her attempts to play with them don't always turn out to be pleasant for the other baby.

 Strawberry picking was horrible and wonderful at the same time.  We left with about 10 pounds of delicious strawberries that were made into jam.  We had some tropical weather coming through so humidity was horrendous.  And we would have waited to go picking but they were afraid the tropical storm would ruin the rest of the strawberry crop so we toughed it out.  Even if the jam doesn't turn out, the day was worth it after we got some strawberry donuts and a strawberry lemonade slushie.  I would go back to that farm JUST to buy those 2 things.

 You can't really tell, but Rebecca was super sweaty from just sitting in the stroller while Benn and I picked.

We had the rare opportunity to get in an actual pool at a friends house.  You can't tell in this picture but she was in paradise.  She loved it soo much I am going to see if there are any other swim lessons we can maybe do with her.  A total water baby!