Alexa chows down on Brown's doughnuts!

Yum... Doughnuts! When we got to the beach, we were greeted with a box of hot, yummy Brown's doughnuts from Aunt Jeanie. I picked out one and had planned to share it with Alexa. She had another plan: She wanted her own doughnut! And she ate the whole thing! Then she got busy digging in the sand. Finally, cousins Jessy and Seth came over to play and had fun burying Alexa's feet in the sand!

July 4th Bike Parade and Party!

What a great Fourth of July! We set off early for a Bike Parade with Alexa's cousins. We didn't have room in the car for Alexa's trike, so we decorated her red stroller instead. Check it out! Alexa wore her sunglasses and loved playing with the free stickers. But it was a VERY hot and humid day, so we cut the parade short and headed home.

Also this weekend, we joined Alexa's friends Catherine and Charlie for a July 4th Party! Alexa loved eating chips, opening the cooler, and dancing and giggling with Catherine. They kept running down the hall to Catherine's room and laughing. It was so cute!

More beach, this time with Alexa's big cousins!

The day started off rainy and overcast, but once the rain stopped we made a break for the beach. The good thing about the rain is that the beach was almost empty! Almost immediately, Alexa started grabbing handfuls of sand and throwing them on daddy's beach chair. She thought it was the funniest thing!

Alexa continued to stay busy... She used her watering can, put sand in her bucket, played some football and enjoyed more water ice! Meanwhile, I had a good time relaxing in a beach chair while Alexa's cousins chased after her and kept her busy!

Beach! Finally, we're back at the beach!

Alexa has been excited all week for the beach! We were talking about it in the car ride home Friday and when we pulled up at home (and not the beach), Alexa broke in to tears crying "Beach! Beach!" So she doesn't understand the concept of "tomorrow" or something that we're going to do in the future yet. On Saturday, we told her beach and we delivered! She was in heaven playing in the sand and even made a little friend who shared his hole. Good times.

After the beach, Alexa took a nice loooooong nap. Then we headed to Aunt Heather's for a family cook-out. Alexa had fun swimming in the pool with her cousins. She also had fun playing peek-a-boo with the door to their little play house. And riding on their sea-saw. And looking at the fish! And eating watermelon! Yum!

Big boy outfits for Daddy's mini-me

OKOKOK, I have to stop buying baby boy clothes! I totally admit that boy clothes are not nearly as cute as little girl clothes. But there are still some gems out there! Remember how I got obsessed with Tea Collection stuff for Alexa? Well. It turns out that they have some pretty cool stuff for little boys too! Check out this selection of Tea Collection outfits that I got for 1/2 off, plus some clearance Carters stuff. Totally leaning toward navy blue and darker colors... More boyish than pastels and sail boats!

Alexa's new favorite toy: Mega Bloks!

I had been wanting to get some Mega Bloks for Alexa for a while now. Good thing I waited! I wanted to buy her the pink/purple set. I'm glad that I waited until we found out we are having a boy because I was able to get Alexa this gender neutral set. And I got it on super sale at Amazon for $12.28 (regular $24.99)!! Since the day we opened the box, she has been obsessed! She loves building big towers and calls them "castles." So cute. I can't wait to introduce her to Legos, my favorite childhood toy!

Garage sale books!

On Sunday, we stopped by a garage sale on our way to lunch. And we scored a deal! Five kids books for $1 total -- that's only 20 cents a book! Alexa is now really into Curious George. She points and says "Monkey!" and "Lellow Hat." So cute.

Another outfit for our baby boy!

After lunch in Bethesda on Saturday, we did a little shopping and Mommy found this adorable newborn Zutano outfit for half off! Sure, it's very baby-ish. But it's cute. Our little boy can dress like a baby until he's 3 months.

Pool Play Date with Kaitlyn!

After Alexa's nap on Sunday, we headed for Virginia to have an afternoon pool play date with Alexa's friend Kaitlyn. There is a community pool right down the street from my friend's house that has a shallow kiddie pool perfect for toddlers! Alexa had a blast riding in the wagon with Kaitlyn. After initially clinging onto me, she eventually warmed up to the pool and played with cups. As we were leaving, she and Kaitlyn held hands and walked to the wagon together. It was so cute!

Alexa rides her trike to town!

We decided to head to town for lunch, but Alexa said "NO stoller - bike!" So we relented and let her ride her trike. She was a happy girl. Check her out, rocking her Babiators sunglasses! Actually, right after this photo, she looked at me and with a pouty face said in all seriousness: "NO photo!" So she's already learning how to deal with the paparazzi. After lunch, Alexa and Daddy raced home!

Alexa and Daddy get silly at Mussel Bar

What a great day! It started with swim class at the outdoor Bethesda Pool. Alexa went to her first class with Daddy last weekend. This weekend, Mommy got in on the fun! Alexa's friend Brandon is also in her class. They had fun kicking, jumping into the pool and blowing bubbles (sort of)! After swim class, we headed to Bethesda for lunch at Mussel Bar. Alexa and Daddy had silly face contest!

Play date with 1-year-old Anne!

We were in Hawaii when Alexa's friend Anne turned 1. So we planned a play date so the girls could play together and open Anne's birthday presents! Alexa loved Anne's retro red play kitchen. Anne loved the tunnel she got from Alexa for her birthday! My friend and I enjoyed watching how adorable the girls were as they played because they were SO CUTE!

Baby Brother's nursery

I've been slowly collecting stuff for our baby boy's jungle theme nursery... Here is a glimpse of what I have so far so you can get the idea of the look I'm going for. The color scheme is bright lime green (already on the walls) with espresso crib, glider and furniture (same stuff already in the room) and navy blue. Essentially, we're trading the hot pink of Alexa's nursery into navy blue! Easy peasy!

A few notes about where I found these items (clicky): Cloud-b sleep giraffe for crib with 20% off coupon at Buy Buy Baby... Jellicat navy blue plush elephant for glider at kids store in Columbia, S.C.... Silver wooden elephant from U.S. Wood Toys booth at a kids festival in Bethesda... Alexander Henry fabric blanket for glider from Etsy... Navy blue Koala Baby changing pad cover from Babies "R" Us ... Jungle animal prints for walls from same Etsy shop where I got Alexa's nursery prints... Kids Line jungle mobile with 20% off coupon from Babies "R" Us... Giraffe beanie baby from Grandpa Howard... Carter's jungle theme 3-pack receiving blankets, burp cloths and rattles on clearance from Babies "R" Us.

OK... This is hilarious.

It's a cartoon that appeared in The New Yorker earlier this year. Also available in a onesie (click here to check it out), which we might have to get for the boy...