Independent Tummy Time

Guess what I did today?  I rolled over onto my tummy all by myself.  Daddy had just given me a bath and I was wrapped up in my froggy towel.  I was laying on the floor and daddy was sitting next to me.  I rolled onto my side just like I have been doing for a couple of weeks now, but this time I was able to get my arm out of the way and I ended up on my tummy.  I laid there for a few minutes.  I was very comfortable and content.  I think I am going to enjoy laying on my tummy.  

On the move

Well, grandma and grandpa flew back home yesterday and the house seems really empty, well, besides all of my things that take up space in the living room right now.  What to do now?  I think I will work on trying to get around by myself.  As you can see, I am determined to do just that.  My legs are strong, but my coordination isn't quite there yet.  Mommy keeps telling me that I need to learn to sit up by myself or crawl before I can walk.  I just don't think I have the patience.  When I am laying down, I raise my head and legs to try to get enough leverage to sit up.  Sometimes mommy helps me by letting me hang onto her fingers and I take full advantage of this help by quickly straightening my legs and jumping to standing.  I'd like to see what all of you think.  Let me know by taking the new poll.  (By the way Cheese burger and shake tied with Bottle in the last poll.  I still haven't taken a bottle.  I may just go straight to eating cereal with a spoon and drinking out of a sippy cup!)

Food

Oh, I forgot to mention that we took grandma and grandpa to one of mom and dad's favorite restaurants when we were all in downtown Seattle.  It is called Pan Africa Market.  They ordered two dishes between the four of them and shared.  The dishes were Chicken with Apricots and Dates and Chicken Groundnut.  The first dish's ingredients are pretty much self explanatory.  It is mixed together in a sweet creamy sauce.  The Chicken Groundnut has Chicken and yams in a peanut sauce.  All the dishes are served with a yummy salad that changes quite often.  This time it had spinach, strawberries and oranges with some sort of sweet mustard dressing.  Grandpa thought the combination of flavors were 'different' but they grew on him.  Grandma thought it was quite yummy.

For dessert we bought some chocolate dipped macaroons from a vendor in the market.  They waited to eat them until later in the day.  I have heard they are some of the best macaroons around.  Mommy would like to find a recipe that is similar to these so she can make them at home.  

Fish, Boats and Water

The theme for today:  Fish, Boats and Water.  Grandpa has been wanting to have some good fish and chips so today we drove over to Alki Point and ate at Spuds.  They have some of the best fried fish in the area.  They don't skimp on the cod and it isn't dripping with grease like some.  After lunch we hung out on the beach and listened to the water lap up on the shore.  It was really relaxing and it made me sleepy.  We had fun watching boats go in and out of the sound.  We also watched people put kayaks in the water and paddle around.  

It was a pretty and sunny day.  We were able to see Mount Rainier as we drove over the West Seattle bridge back towards Seattle.  It was still a little hazy, but this was the first view of the mountain that we have had since they have been here.  

Our next stop was the Ballard Locks also known as the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.  This is where boats can move between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of Lake Washington.  The locks also have a fish ladder where salmon come to spawn.  We arrived at the viewing room just in time to hear the park ranger give a talk on the Coho Salmon that are spawning this time of year.  We saw some big 30 pound fish swimming against the current in the viewing windows and we saw little salmon (called smolt) being pushed back out of the ladders so they can live to grow big and return again in a few years.  

The last thing we did before we left was watch boats come into the locks and travel from the sound to the lake.  The boats drive into the locks, the gates close and water floods into the locks.  This makes the boats rise to the level of the lake.  Then the gate on the lake side of the locks opens and the boats drive away.  Given the size of the locks and the amount of water that goes in and out, this all happens surprisingly quick.  It was another fun day playing tourist with Grandma and Grandpa.  

Downtown Seattle

Today we explored Downtown Seattle.  We parked our car in the garage under mommy and daddy's office building and took grandma and grandpa on a tour of where they work.  They got to see daddy's desk, but mommy doesn't have a desk there right now since she spending time with me.  They got to see the view of Puget Sound from the reception area.  It is a spectacular view.  

From the office we walked to Pike Place Market.  This is the place famous for throwing fish.  We watched some fish fly, ate some slices of fresh fruit and looked at all of the wares for sale in the booths.  Grandpa bought grandma another ring.  This one is made from twisted silver wire.  It has a pretty stone on it, but they can't remember what the name of it is.  

Next we walked to West Lake Center so we could take a ride on the Seattle Monorail.  It runs between the mall and Seattle Center.  Once at the Seattle Center grandma and grandpa went up in the Space Needle.  Mommy was going to go, but the estimated wait was too long and she didn't want to be away from me for that long.  So, while grandma and grandpa were in the Needle, the rest of us went into the food court to wait for them.  We ran into our backyard neighbors and they invited us to go the the Children's Museum with them.  They are members and they took us in as their guests.  It was a fun place and I can't wait to go back once I am big enough to play.

After grandma and grandpa came down from the Space Needle we met back up with them and went over to the International Fountain.  Lots of people were playing in the sprays of water.  I liked watching the water spray into the air.  It looked like all of those people were having a lot of fun.  It was a little cool for me today, but one day I intend to play in that water myself.   It was another full day for us during grandma and grandpa's vacation.