The Clan McKinnon

Uh, I'm seven months old now, I'm done with my nap.  I still have just a pretty, but gummy, smile. My parents really think that my teeth are coming now but then again, they thought that two months ago and nothing happened. I'll keep you updated on any new breakthroughs.  I love to pull myself up to standing (if given the right prop)! I shed my dress so I could properly show off my crawling technique. Daddy installed the gate at the stair today to help celebrate my seven month birthday!

I've had various kinds of playdates over the past few days. My cousins Ella and Nathan came over to play one afternoon... And I got to play in the backyard with Conor! I don't have to wait for Conor to come within my grasp, I can go get him!

On our way to the big airport to fly home, we stopped by the little Malcolm McKinnon airport. Same name as my great-great grandfather, but this airport was named after a different guy.  My first third plane ride! As noted previously, due to a lost camera, I don't have any pictures from my first plane ride so here's one from my third trip (JAX-DTW). They were all pretty much the same, I napped, played, ate - the altitude didn't seem to bother me too much. Boy, vacation can be exhausting!

The reason for this leg of our trip was for a wedding of one of Daddy's friends - which was the same day as my parents' 6th anniversary!  Daddy's 25-star hat was a huge hit of the evening.  We had a fabulous celebration. I stuck around after the ceremony for the first part of the reception before heading back to my room to stay with my first non-family babysitter.   I didn't leave though until we took some nice family photos in the beautiful setting... ...with my pretty dress and pink patent leather shoes! 

Our adventures took us on another plane ride, this time to Jekyll Island, Georgia. The Jekyll Island Club Hotel started as a private club for big-money families in the early 1900's and now is a nice resort open for everyone to enjoy! I enjoyed our trolley ride historic tour that I needed to snooze while walking back to our room. I went on my first bike ride - Daddy pulled me behind his bike in a comfy trailer. Once again, I found the perfect place to take a nap. Unfortunately, I don't have any better pictures of our bike ride around the island because Mommy kept our small camera in her pocket and it fell out during the ride. Boo. There were beautiful, huge Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish moss all around the island. We lost the pictures we took of us in the trees but we did have a few nighttime artistic pictures taken with our good camera.

Next up was a visit to the Mystic Aquarium.  I was mesmorized by all the moving fish and bright colors! We stopped by Mystic Seaport and explored some of the old ships on display.  We were looking forward to going for an evening stroll along the docks in downtown Mystic, but a big rainstorm arrived while we were eating dinner. 

Polo shirt, popped collar - that's the way the Fowlers roll! I couldn't get enough of my horse ride on James' knee! We kept busy on vacation visiting many places but we always found time for play everyday. Which was essential since I needed to practice my new  inch-worm crawling technique!

Well, technically it was Long Island Sound. We made a trip to Hammonasset Beach State Park and I got my first real taste of the ocean (literally).  We had a blast playing in the sand.  And of course, I had to taste the sand too. On our way back, we stopped in the quaint little town of Essex. I was napping though from playtime at the beach, so just the boys went out on the dock along the Connecticut River.

We stayed with our friends the Fowlers for several days and got to enjoy their pool! I had a blast in the water - spinning and splashing!! I became good buddies with my new friend William! And William got some good practice for his soon to arrive little brother or sister!

Mommy & Daddy packed us up for a whole week away from home. We flew out to Connecticut to visit some family & friends. One of our first stops was visiting with my Mommy's relatives and I got to play with my second cousin Lily! It was a fun playdate - with Lily learning how to share her toys that are at her grandparents house! Trying to take a picture of a six month old and an eleven month old at the same time was an adventure! But finally we both sat still...momentarily... On a side note, I accomplished a great feat during my playdate - I sat up all by myself!

We enjoyed a nice backyard barbeque with a few friends for my first Fourth of July! There were even our own fireworks but I was soundly sleeping by the time the explosions started.  I'm definitely staying up for the show next year!

I had lots of fun swimming in Portage Lake while we spent the afternoon out on our boat.  Watch out Daddy! Uncle Gavin snuggled with me to warm me up after my swimming adventure.

I had my first taste of big kid food - rice cereal! I wasn't too sure of it. I think more ended up on me than in my mouth. But I'll keep trying!