Summer Concert Series

Last night we went to the one of the Fishers Summer Concert Series, Dave and Rae. It was a fun family event, and we all had a good time listening to the music and hanging out. There were lots of families there and many pets as well. I even ran into one of my former students. I didn't realize that Fishers had so many children. Wow! I guess it IS one one of the top 10 places to live in the US.

We enjoyed free ice cream from Dairy Queen, and Piper got her first taste of a popcicle. She wasn't sure about it though. It was a little sour and very cold. She made some really funny faces, but I couldn't catch any of them on my camera phone.

Friday Flashback

Every Friday I will post a photo that is dated from a few months ago. Here are a few of my favorites from last September when my little one was actually still quite little.

A Walk Along the Canal

We went downtown and walked along the canal a few days ago, thinking maybe we'd feed the ducks. Eventually the ducks came out and we were able to toss a few bread crumbs at them, but they were not really all that interested.

Interestingly enough, we came across a group of people walking (or trying to walk :) on a slackline. A slackline is basically a tightrope that is tied between two trees. Soon, someone came up with the idea to tie it across the canal over the water. I watched this eagerly, as I had observed that they didn't seem to be able to walk more than a few feet on dry land. It took forever it seemed, to get it tied up properly, and then the fun began. Finally one of the guys managed to walk all the way across the water without falling in. He did a great job keeping his balance.

Splash

First Steps

Baby girl took her first steps today...three in a row. Does that count as walking yet?! :) I knew she was close, and was happy today to see her let go and move her feet. She's been standing alone for about a week now, she just needed that motivation or confidence to move. I was holding one of her toys out in front of her as motivation. Hopefully she'll make more gains everyday. I was so hoping she'd walk by the time I went back to work in three weeks. Yay!

ETA: she's just over 10 months old now.

Shoes

An observation I made while at the fair, was whether or not the babies were wearing shoes. My reading has taught me that children who are learning to walk learn best if they are barefoot, and therefore my daughter usually is without shoes or socks. This also has to do with the fact that it is summer now too, and personally I hate wearing shoes when it's hot. I think she actually only has two pairs of shoes currently.

I noticed most of the babies at the fair were wearing shoes and or socks. Very few were barefoot. I'm not sure if this was a result of their parents dressing them to "go out" or if they just wear shoes anyway. Curious...

At the County Fair

Even though yesterday was a sweltering 90 degrees outside, we spent a few hours at the county fair. I guess we should have waited a couple more days since most of the animals were not even there yet, and that was most what we wanted to take Piper to go see. Still she was able to pet some and had fun seeing all the people and sights. We watched the human cannonball as he flew over one of the rides into net. We played a couple games, the classic duck pull-Piper liked that one, and the mouse game where the poor animal runs into a color hole.

Typically we sampled the calorie laden fair food. Erick ate gyros and I had a beef brisket sandwich and an elephant ear. They were a lot better when I was a kid. I guess I like mine crispy not doughy. Piper had a bite, but I wasn't going to let her gorge herself on it. I had Cheerios for her stashed away anyway. I wanted corn on the cob, but it didn't look that great. Maybe I'll find some at the state fair.

At the "Carwash"

Since the car was getting pretty dirty, especially after Erick drove it to Ft. Wayne and back the other weekend, we decided to wash it and make it pretty again. I had my little one all situated in the grass with toys and books, but as you know children don't necessarily do what you want them to do. She was all over the place, and when I wasn't looking, managed to crawl over to the blacktop and into the puddles of water. Boy, does this kid love to play in the water! She had a ball splashing and making a mess of herself. Daddy gave her the hose and she swung it all over and around and eventually drenched herself.

Ten Months

Went to the mall yesterday to pick up Piper's 10 month pictures. They were out to lunch so we hung out to wait for them to return. I thought they turned out fairly well. I saw one of my former students and her mom there. They were excited to see me and Piper. I miss that year's class, they were a really good group.

We went to the food court to waste some time and get a snack. Erick took her into the play area to see what she thought about it. She was the smallest one in there, it was cute seeing her standing up holding on to the caterpillar toy and crawling through it. I thought it was interesting that as soon as she arrived, Erick set her down on the floor, and within a few seconds she was surrounded by all these other kids who were very into her. I thought, "Wow that must be what it's like to be famous." I guess it was because she's still a baby. There was another little boy there who looked to be a few months older than her. He was adorable toddling around, and would give up at times and just crawl to get where he was going faster. It's hard to believe that Piper will be walking soon too.

Neighbors

My daughter loves our next door neighbors, specifically the youngest boy. Hes probably 11 or so, and he has so much fun playing with her too. They like to come over and play with our Wii, and he's really good about playing with Piper and keeping her occupied while the big kids play. They are good kids and I'll miss having them close by when we move. I know they'll find their way over to our new place though, and we'll see them at the pool and volleyball court. It makes me sad to think how much they're left alone. I wonder what their mom does for her job? She works a lot, and I'm sure it must be difficult being a single mom to four kids.

A Beginning

"Funky Munky" is a small pink stuffed monkey that my daughter loves. I tried to come up with a blog name that was unique and memorable, although I now realize that funky munky isn't all that original per say.

I'm hoping to be able to post frequently on the comings and goings of our family. I love to take photographs, so I'm certain to include lots of those, along with some ideas borrowed from other blogs I've noticed and enjoyed. Our family life may not be interesting to others, I can't claim to be entertaining to all. Mostly, this is just a way to record memories and journal. Hopefully it will make sense and someone will enjoy it.