i know- it has been a long time

alright- i know it has been a long time since the last post but it has been incredibly hot which has led to a lot of laziness and i am also pregnant which has led to a lot of tiredness. is that enough excuses?

let's do a quick recap since maria's first birthday. it got progressively hotter. maria started walking in july. she started out with a couple of steps here and there then she took more steps and less crawling, then a lot more walking until she stopped crawling completely. her grandma bonnie came to visit for 2 weeks near the end of july. we had regular play dates with james and evie at locomotion- an indoor inflatable playland for little kids. we also went to story time at the hampton branch library on tuesdays and fridays. we had lunch with my parents sometimes on thursdays, mostly on fridays. we went to the neighborhood pool 2-3 times a week. we went on vacation to utah/ idaho/ montana to see family/ friends/ yellowstone national park. maria now walks in circles, backwards, runs and is really trying to communicate. she says daddy, ma, doggie. when she wants to go outside (which is every 2 minutes) she grabs this little bell that hangs from the door knob and then gets her shoes. she even fetches our shoes and tries to put them on our feet for us to speed up the process of getting outside. she tries to help with laundry, sweeping and cooking. (yay! my sweet little girl!) she loves daisy very much. she loves crayons and pushing buttons.