The Not So Redneck Riviera

Thomas and I took Virginia to the Redneck Riviera (aka Panama City Beach, Florida) in late July for a vacation with Mimi and Papa. We hadn't flown in a plane with Virginia since January of this year - our longest stretch of non-flying yet - so we didn't know what to expect from Virginia at this age and stage. We were beyond pleasantly surprised to find that things had gotten much easier. We borrowed GayGay's iPad, and Virginia was entertained by Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes for much of the trip. Thank you, Steve Jobs! She also enjoyed ample snacks from the flight attendants (Biscoff cookies and Ben & Jerry's - Delta rocks for having ice cream aboard its flights). She didn't nap, but that was to be expected.

As you can probably imagine, the beach was a hit. Panama City is a lot nicer than when I was a kid due to a lot of redevelopment. We stayed at Aqua which is a nice high rise resort where my dad and his friend share a condo. Virginia spent many hours in the pool, playing in the sand, and even jumping major waves with daddy in the Gulf. We hit up the Back Porch for dinner,Pier Park for shopping, and Miracle Strip at Pier Park for amusement park rides. Virginia ate lots more ice cream and also chowed down on her first crab claws (we told her to "bite and slide" and she got a big kick out of it).

Hurray for the Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July is a major event in Alameda. We are home to the longest hometown parade in America, which is kind of a strange distinction to have, but we wear it with pride. Alameda has two downtown areas, so the parade is made to travel a very long distance to show merchants in both areas a little love. Everyone in the town attends - it is such a great slice of small town living!

The parade route travels just one block from our house, so we camped out with GayGay and PopPop and some lawn chairs this year. Virginia donned her Independence Day best - a dress courtesy of Auntie Lynn. She got lots of compliments from everyone at the parade (the parade committee chairman stopped just to photograph her after spotting her on the sidelines), and she seemed to eat up the attention.

After the parade, we attempted (unsuccessfully) for Virginia to take a little nap, and we then went with some friends to our neighborhood block party. Several homes on our street share a common backyard pool, and they open up their homes for a multi-family extravaganza on a few holidays a year. Virginia swam and swam and also jumped on their trampoline for hours. She then slept for 13+ hours that night - the Fourth was a success!

My Fair Lady

We took Virginia to her very first Alameda County Fair this year. This was a major event - it was probably ten times the size of the South Alabama State Fair that I grew up attending, and we couldn't even begin to cover it all in one day. We focused our energy on carnival rides and eating kettle corn, and called it a day!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Even though it has been an unusually cold summer this year in the Bay Area, we've taken full advantage of the few hot days we have had to have some summer fun! Here's Virginia enjoying coastal living, swimming lessons, and kiddie pools.

Crab Cove in Alameda (less than a mile from our house!):

Swimming Lessons with Mommy at Patti's Swim School:

Kiddie Pool and Bath Toys in our backyard:

Practicing strokes at the Claremont Country Club Pool:

Yale 10th Reunion

Thomas and I took a weekend off from parenting in early June to travel to New Haven for our 10 year Yale Reunion! We had a blast, and we heard that Virginia didn't have too bad of a time her self spending the weekend with GayGay (pony rides, trips to McDonald's, and lots of time with Phoebe dominated the weekend).

As for us in Connecticut, we stayed quite busy with Mory's trips, singing with the Whiffs, trips to Thai Taste and the Elizabethan Club, visits with the Mack family, and lots of catching up with friends at the reunion events.

Playing Catchup

As I write this post, it is early August and we have not posted on BabyHarvey.com since May! Suffice it to say that we've had a busy, fun, and very full summer with Virginia.

Here are a few video clips from May of 2011 to show what Virginia was like when we started the summer. As you will see, she's inherited her father's love of singing! And also her father's spirit of adventure and danger!

Almost Famous

A few weeks ago, Uncle Biggie flew off to Paris to work on a series of commercials with the animators of Wallace & Gromit. Knowing how much Virginia loves her some "WaGromit," Biggie began to work his magic and realized she would be perfect for one of the ads (which called for cute baby photos so that Yahoo! Mail could promote its new photo sharing feature). We submitted a bunch of our own shots for consideration, not really knowing where it would all lead.

Apparently, little V passed the cuteness test (was there ever any doubt?) because she is now featured in her very own Yahoo! Mail ad. The ad is running on the web only - between Hulu clips and videos on abcnews.com and the like. Virginia's GayGay/Grammy is also featured in the main photo in the ad, and you may even see a small shot or two of me in one of the smaller photos. (Don’t look too closely!)

Here's Virginia enjoying her 15 minutes (well, actually 15 seconds) of fame:

Easter

Virginia awoke Easter morn to a basket full of goodies and her very first Easter Egg hunt at our house - apparently the Easter Bunny had paid us a visit in Alameda. She loved the egg hunt - the was the first time she's really understood all of the rituals of a major holiday, and it was so fun to watch. She ran around the living room asking us each time she found a new egg "Anybody seen one more egg?"

Later, we got Virginia all dolled up in her Easter best (a smocked pink dress from Mimi!) and headed with both sets of grandparents to St. Clement's Church in Berkeley. St. Clement's is the church Thomas grew up attending. This was Virginia's first time being dropped in the church nursery and she apparently held up quite well until the last 15 minutes, when she completely lost it after awaking from a little nap.

Virginia happily playing at the nursery, pre-meltdown:

Luckily, there was an amazing Easter egg hunt in the churchyard afterwards, which saved things somewhat. Virginia far exceeded her five egg limit, but no one seemed to mind.

Unfortunately, I'm a little worried we scarred her for life since she - many weeks later - still talks about how "Mommy and Daddy at the church... crying.... miss Mommy and Daddy." Next time we take her to church it is going to have to be called something else just to avoid the painful memories!

Gilroy Gardens

One of the highlights of our weekend with Mimi and Papa was taking a visit to Gilroy Gardens. It is a small amusement park located about 20 miles south of San Jose that is specially geared towards the toddler set. The founder was a great garden lover, so the landscaping is immaculate - it gives Disney a run for its money in that department!

Many of the rides were just Virginia's size and speed. She had a blast on the carousel, the spinning goldfish, and on the train around the park. We loved it so much we bought season passes - a deal at $35 each (and Virginia is free).