Mommy and my "VACATION" in Dayton

bbbbbWe arrived in Dayton late afternoon on Tuesday and spent the rest of the evening playing outside and playing at Gammy and Poppy's park. Well, I'm sure you know it's not actually Gammy and Poppy's park...but it is just about a very nice 3 block stroll away so I like to call it Gammy and Poppy's! Poppy had the day off Tuesday so he was home when we got in town which was a very pleasant surprise!!! Poppy played with us the whole evening and pushed me in the swing at the park....but not too high per Gammy's instruction!

On Wednesday, we went to Gammy and Poppy's pool.....aka. The Kettering Zoo (more on this nickname later)...again not technically Gammy and Poppy's but it's the Kettering pool and Gammy and Poppy live in Kettering...so I refer to it as Gammy and Poppy's. :) Gammy warned mommy that it was going to be very crowded but mommy had no idea what she had signed us up for until we walked through the gate. Mommy's jaw literally dropped to the ground....it was so crowded that there really wasn't even room to swim...people were practically piled on top of each other. Fortunately, there were about 4 or so different pools and the baby pools weren't nearly as crowded as the big pool! Another plus, during rest break, the big pool cleared out and mommy, Gammy and I were able to enjoy some roomy swim time for about 15 minutes. We had a great time at the pool and even saw a few of my 2nd and 3rd cousins there!

Snack time - healthy of course...grapes! Perfect for a hot summer day!

On our way out of the pool, I got to see a fire truck up close!!!! I thought it was sooooo cool and made my car/truck "motor sound!!!!!"

Hmmm.....what else did I do at Gammy's....played with my cars, of course! Do you see the fireplace opening behind me???? That's where I liked to drive my cars the most!!!! :)

Thursday morning, we went to see my Aunt Lori and her new house and my Grandpa Sacksteder. I missed them both so was so happy to see them.

On Thursday afternoon, we went to my (great) Aunt Mickey's pool with my 2nd cousins, Rachel, Jake, Sam, and Will. My Aunt Mickey lives in a beautiful development that has a wonderful pool...hence the reference to Aunt Mickey's pool!

It was another beautiful day (and I should say, we had the most wonderful weather during our "vacation" in Dayton)!

I played with lots of pool tools that the other children so kindly shared with me.

Drank some of the "oh, so clean" pool water.

Swam with Gammy!

Posed with Gammy!

Played with my second cousin, Will!

Walked around while I ate a little snack. I'm actually quite funny sometimes when mommy let's me have a snack outside of my high chair. I like to walk in circles and hum and smile lots while enjoying my snack!!!

Asking mommy if she wants any? "No, thank you," mommy said.

Walking in my circles, humming, and smiling (while enjoying my snack)!

Thursday afternoon we took Gammy's much anticipated trip to feed the ducks. Gammy has been wanting to do this with me for a long time so we drove the short 5 minutes to Lincoln Park (after Gammy called the city park department to get their permission to feed the ducks). As soon as we stepped out of the car, the ducks and geese must have smelled the quarter of loaf of bread that Gammy was carrying and immediately starting "chasing" her! Mommy and I thought it was the funniest site watching Gammy run from the ducks and geese throwing bread behind her to try to slow them down!!! Gammy, being her brave self, decided to stand still and see if they would wait patiently at her feet (and not attack her)...which they did. WHEW! Once we realized that these were kind ducks and pretty kind geese, mommy and I fed them too. Every time the piece of bread I threw got eaten, I cracked up!!! Oh, those good 'ole belly laughs of mine....mommy just loves them!!!

The cute, calm, innocent ducks and geese....

swimming so calmly....

How quickly they turned when they got a sniff of the bread....run, Gammy, run!

Here duckies, you can have my water if you leave my Gammy alone!

MY MA-MA!!!!!!

ME!

After we ran out of bread, we took a stroll around the pond.

And watched the goose clean itself.

And watched them swim.

Then when it was time to go, I blew them kisses.

Lots of kisses!

And waved Bye-Bye....until next time!

Friday morning, we went to see my great-grandma, Ruth. Ruth had not seen me yet and I'm 14 months! I was so excited to see Ruth and as soon as mommy said we are going to see Grandma Ruth, I said "Uth!!!" Grandma Ruth pulled out a bucket of toys for me to play with and we all chatted and caught up with each other. It was a short but very sweet visit! We miss seeing Grandma Ruth as much as we use to since my great-grandpa passed away almost two years ago now but hopefully we will see Grandma Ruth as often as we can when we go to Dayton.

(Sorry for the poor picture...it was getting close to my nap time and I was ready to leave...hence mommy's keys in my hand).

Friday afternoon before we our "vacation" in Dayton was over and we had to leave, my Grandpa Sacksteder came over for another visit.

Grandpa and I sat at the end of the driveway watching the cars drive by.

Pushed my shopping cart.

Watched more cars.

And then..... I found The Puddle! My first puddle!!! And did I have fun!!! See for yourself!

You can't just splash with your feet in your very first puddle! You've got to REALLY experience it! With your hands!!!

And bare feet!!!

And both at the same time!!!

Oh, the simple joys in life that children remind everyone about!

When it came time to say good-bye to grandpa...he didn't mind a wet hug...

and a sweet kiss!

One last activity before mommy, Bailey and I got in the car. Another quick visit to Gammy and Poppy's park to burn off that last bit of energy!

We went down the slide, swung on the swings, and we played a fun game of tic-tac-toe.

The much dreaded moment came when we had to say our good-bye's. Mommy hates this part (and so do I). :( We had such a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL time in Dayton!!! I think mommy and I will talk about it for a long time to come. We have already planned for another "vacation" to Dayton in August and are very much looking forward to it! Thanks Gammy and Poppy for such a fun time! We LOVE YOU and MISS YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!

Mommy, Bailey, and I packed up the car and hopped in for our second leg of our "vacation"....a weekend in Columbus! We were going to be seeing daddy too as he was meeting us in Columbus for the weekend!!!! That helped us wipe the tears away a little easier this time.