and "Nanny" )
it’s nice to have Felicity back in her environment. She is sleeping as I type this. A blessing. In fact, since we returned from Ohio she has only had one night waking to nurse and has slept in until 6:45, having gone to bed at 7:30. Perhaps we’re not long for the sleep-through-the-night. But I won’t hold my breath.
While I know she doesn’t NEED the eight million toys we have on hand, it is nice to give her the option. That said, at Nanny and Papa’s she was content to play with measuring cups and spoons and to chase the dogs. Fritzi wasn’t all that keen on her—she showed her teeth quite a bit—but I think Felicity thought she was smiling at her! Penny, Auntie Mandy’s dog, on the other hand, was sooo good with Felicity. 
Penny thought Felicity was her own personal toy and enjoyed her crawling on the floor. Felicity and Penny do have a lot in common, after all. They crawl along the floor, put anything in their mouths, and enjoy squeaky toys.
Being back has also made it clear that we need to spice up our routine.
We got our official beach pass a couple of days ago and have been attempting to get to the beach every day. It’s about a mile walk, which would be fine, but in order to take the stroller down to the beach we have to walk another mile out of our way to get to a ramp. So, Felicity was falling asleep in her stroller before we got down to the shoreline! Now, however, she is able to face the sand with wide eyes and an ambitious spirit. 
Amazingly she doesn’t put it in her mouth. Instead, she likes to watch it fall from her hands and she digs her heals into it and moves her legs back and forth. 
We have yet to introduce her to the water. It’s still been rather cool here, only climbing into the low 70s. We are, of course, happy about this, as it means that we haven’t had to wrestle with the window air conditioners. Last year at this time it was already in the 90s, so the cooler temps are definitely welcome. 
We are not looking forward to being hot and sticky. Although, that does mean that we could introduce the baby pool…So there is an up side.
We have been continuing to share in child care, which is rewarding and also a hassle. Our deal is that Chris gets up with Felicity at 6:30 and I get to sleep until 8:30 or 9, at which time I nurse Felicity down for her morning nap.
She sleeps until around 10:30 and I shower and get things done around the house. Once she’s up, it’s Mommy time. Today we are going to go to the mall since it’s raining outside. She likes hanging out at Barnes and Noble, playing with the Thomas the Tank Engine train set (birthday present idea, maybe?) and I like getting Starbucks. A caffeinated momma is a happy momma. I usually have Felicity until around 5, when Chris gives her dinner and I take a break. We have family time until 7:30 when she goes to bed. All in all it’s a pretty fine deal. 
Oh, I have a new job! I am tutoring a high school student in American History. She is re-taking the course and needs help with writing. She’s a smart girl who is more interested in art than American History and needs some motivating. I think I’m up for it, though, and the hefty North Shore paycheck is definitely making it worth it. This week I have already tutored for 4 hours (at $75/hour, and I’m CHEAP!) Needless to say, my worries about paying for Fall daycare are lessening.
Our calendar is filling up (Yes, Elisabeth, I got a calendar finally!) Every square seems to have multiple entries. I am excited about next Tuesday. We are meeting with a rabbi to organize Felicity’s naming ceremony. I think that we will do it over her birthday weekend so that family can be there for it. This rabbi has quite a few ideas and seems to want to include a lot of rituals in the ceremony. I am very happy about this, as he has suggested doing a lot more of a “bris without the snip.” If Auntie Mandy is willing, I think that we’ll use her talit to wrap Felicity in. I am leaning toward doing it at the house, as a typical Shabbat ceremony won’t leave much room for many rituals.
On a slightly unrelated note, I wanted to post some fantastic photos of Felicity at the zoo. We ventured to Milwaukee last week and went to the zoo with Elisabeth and baby Noah. Despite the fact that they are so close in age, Felicity is very interested in the baby. It reminds me of the way Fritzi thinks she's a big retriever. She just has no idea that she's little. As it turns out, she is exactly the same size as a baby Gorilla!
Felicity really seemed to like the zoo, or at least she seemed to like being outside and being carried. It was funny seeing Elisabeth with Noah strapped to her, me with Felicity wrapped around me, and the baby Spider Monkey hanging on his momma, too.
Felicity was able to recognize and name ‘cows,’ ‘ducks,’ ‘fish,’ and, well, upon seeing the Bonobos, she exclaimed, “Dadda.” 
We are looking forward to exploring the zoo again soon. And, just because I can’t resist, I have to post this photo of Felicity airing out after having her hat on all day! Enjoy :) 
