Alexa's visits downtown CHICAGO!

We took Alexa downtown today to meet up with Daddy's friend and his family. Here we are walking through the city and taking the El!

Our destination... Crown Fountain at Millennium Park! It was such a hot day, that we thought the kids would enjoy cooling off. Alexa sure did! She wasn't sure what to think at first, but once she sat down in the water, she loved it! What a great fountain!

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Alexa's 1st Fourth of July fireworks!

We spent a wonderful evening with my college friends at a lakeside park in Wilmette, where we had a picnic and waited for nightfall to watch the fireworks. The park was teaming with families and children! There were pony rides, amusement park rides, a band, food, ice cream... Tons of fun stuff going on!

Alexa enjoyed playing with my friend's Mandy and Michelle. She also had fun with Jen's daughters, who were fascinated by her! As the evening wore on, however, she fought against sleep... She finally passed out in my Ergo carrier at 9 p.m. But when the fireworks started at 9:30 p.m., she didn't stir! That's right, despite the loud noise, Alexa SLEPT THROUGH her first fireworks show!

We still had a great time. She'll just have to wait until next year to see some fireworks!

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Alexa loves eating ribs at Merle's!

Once in Chicago, we realized how hungry we were! Luckily, we met up with my friends who were about to dive into a feast of ribs at Merle's! After eating most of the meat on the bones, I gave a couple to Alexa to suck on. She loved them! We also gave her a few pieces of mac & cheese, which she sort of liked. She ate her baby food as well, but we are trying to get her ready to eat table foods!

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We're off to Chicago! Alexa's fist airplane ride...

You'd think this baby had been a jet setter since birth (wait, wasn't she?) because she was such a good traveler! We got to the airport early. Daddy dropped us off at the terminal and went to park the car. We made it through security and boarding. Once in our seats, Alexa discovered the window and entertained the ground crew by banging on it! Ha! She also enjoyed playing with (eating) the safety card.

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I nursed her for take-off to help with the pressure. And after a short nap, she was full of energy! Every toy or diversion only entertained her for about a minute... And there were a lot of minutes in the short flight to Chicago! Luckily, we made it with no crying. She sucked on her pacifier and looked out of the window on our way down. Our good little traveler!

Alexa loves Challah!

I've joined a group for non-Jewish mothers raising Jewish children called Mother's Circle at the 6th & I Temple so that I can learn about the traditions, values and food associated with the Jewish heritage. At our first meeting, we made Shabbat candle holders and practiced the Shabbat blessings. So I got some Challah and we celebrated Shabbat together as a family!

As you can see, Alexa especially enjoyed the Challah! At first, Alexa wanted to eat the whole thing. Then Daddy showed her how to pull off a piece. She then proceeded to suck on her piece of Challah all dinner long! We did too. It was yummy!

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Eating watermelon can be MESSY!

On our walk back form the BBQ joint last weekend, we stopped at a Farmer's Market and bought a watermelon and some peaches! Here is Alexa trying out the watermelon... At first, she was like, WHAT is this? Then when I held it to her mouth so she could taste it, she seemed to like it. And when I put it in a mesh bag she could hold, she really liked it! Watermelon is kind of slippery, yo.

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Super cool in Mommy's sunglasses

Alexa won't keep her own sunglasses on, so once we got hit by some bright sunlight, I put my sunglasses on her to try to "teach" her how nice they can be. She, um, sort of liked it. But what she really wanted to do was rip them off and put them in her mouth...

Uh oh ... Alexa discovered Daddy's credit card!

Mommy enjoyed a nice day at the spa, thanks to my Mother's Day gift from Daddy and Alexa. Afterward, we went out to lunch and Alexa decided to "get" the bill. But once she got ahold of Daddy's credit card, she would not let go! Uh oh! This could mean a lot of trouble for us as she gets older...

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Alexa climbs stairs! Wow! (video)

As we continue this never-ending process of baby proofing, we learned that teaching a baby how to climb stairs is actually a good thing, just in case they end up on stairs that don't have a gate. So, we decided to show Alexa how to climb the stairs in our basement!

Well... Alexa didn't need us to show her anything! With a 1-2-3, she was off! And she climbed the whole flight on her first try. Amazing! Click HERE to watch her on the stairs. Our amazing little baby! 

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Alexa also had fun taking shoes out of her shoe basket and playing with her walker. She is becoming quite a handful! 

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Swim class & a walk to get some BBQ! Yum!

Oh boy, today was HOT! Luckily we had swim class this morning because it was great to cool down. Here are Daddy and Alexa in the pool. If you look carefully, you can see Alexa paddling! Our teacher told us to put a toy just out of reach and see if the babies will paddle toward it. Alexa was declared a natural because once she saw that toy she wanted, she took off! Our little swimmer!

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After swim class, Alexa passed out for a long nap! When she woke up, we decided to walk to Bethesda Community Store, which I read about in the newspaper as being a hidden treasure for sandwiches or bbq. Turns out, it's just up the street from us! After a short walk, we grabbed a table and enjoyed the best bbq ever! Delish! Oh, and check out Alexa's new travel high chair - it clips onto any table!

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Photos from Danny's Lemonade Stand!

We just got a wonderful collection of photos from Danny's mom. On Sunday, we walked to our neighbor friend's lemonade stand. It was hot and the lemonade was a wonderful respite! Another friend brought his twin girls to join the fun. But Alexa was more interested in the newspaper than the lemonade!

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Danny, by the way, is turning into quite the Casanova. As soon as we arrived, he walked up to Alexa and exclaimed: "She's a cute baby!" Daddy nearly had a heart attack. Just wait until she's 13!

Alexa loves her new walker! (video)

Alexa was very sad to say goodbye to her good friend Drew, who moved back to Las Vegas this week. But she was very excited to get Drew's walker, which his mommy decided to leave behind. It's her favorite new toy! Thanks, Drew!

Click HERE to watch her in action... Want to see more? Click HERE to watch her do another lap with Daddy!

Alexa stood on her own! For a second... (video)

These pictures are from yesterday, while we were hanging outside with Daddy after our morning run. Alexa wanted to play with her friend Stan the Man. Click HERE to watch... And notice how 30 seconds into the video she takes her hand off of Stan and stands on her own -- for a second! Yay, Alexa!

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Happy Father's Day!

What a great day! I took Alexa jogging with me this morning so Daddy could sleep in. Here's my little munchkin all ready for our run!

After our run, we got some Starbucks and breakfast to bring home to Daddy! He opened his cards and presents. Here is Alexa with her Daddy as he's about to open his gifts.

Alexa made handprint artwork for Daddy in daycare! She also made him a photo book!  E-mail me if you want to flip through the book yourself and I can send you a link.

After all the fun, we walked to a neighbor friend's house to check out their lemonade stand. In the afternoon, after her nap, we went out for a Father's Day lunch and watched the Yankees game.

What a great day! Alexa is so lucky to have such a great daddy. She loves him so much! So do I!