A Trip to Mount Dora

Calleigh was up this morning at 6:30 talking away in her crib. She usually gets up between 7:00 - 7:30 so I'm not sure what caused the early morning. Maybe she was excited about our field trip today! We left for Mount Dora around 9:45 - - I specifically planned it so that Cal would be taking her morning nap on the way up there. It was a beautiful day for a trip. It was about 75 degrees and nice and sunny. We got there around 10:45 and Aunt Toni met us about 10 minutes later. Calleigh nursed quickly and then we walked around for about an hour and went in some stores until we started looking around for a place to eat. Besides the fact that I am a picky eater, I also was a little picky because I wanted to find a place where I could get something for Cal (soup and sandwiches that many of the places served just don't cut it). We ended up having to drive a short ways away to a cafe. It was a very good choice because I was able to get a side order of macaroni and cheese that Cal gobbled right down. Sadly, I forgot her bib so she was certainly wearing some of her lunch when we left.

We went back to the town after that and walked around a little more. If you've never been there, Mount Dora is a really quaint little town about 30 miles northwest of Orlando. I've lived here for almost 10 years and I've never been there! The highlight of our day was our dessert. We found a cupcake shop (Dad, you'll appreciate that!) and we each enjoyed a scrumptious cupcake. I had no problem selecting a red velvet one but it took Aunt Toni a little time to finally pick out a chocolate one. I gave Calleigh a few small bites of mine and naturally, she enjoyed it. That's actually the first sweet thing I've given her (except for fruit). Our last stop was to see a horse that was waiting to give someone a carriage ride. Cal did some staring and tried to put out her hand but I wasn't sure how close we should get. We left around 2:15 to come home and Cal took another nap on the way back. All in all, it was a great trip. Aunt Toni is always great company!

Kelly and Steve got here about 12:15 last night. We were not up to welcome them. They got up around 7:30 this morning because they were heading down to Disney. When Kelly came down the stairs, Calleigh gave her a big smile. Kelly noted that she has changed a lot since she last saw her at Christmas. So speaking of Disney, do you know that the price for a one day admission is now $70? If you want the park hopper - - which allows you to go to any of the 4 parks for ONE day - - it is $115! Can you believe that?? I'm sure I will take my kids to Disney one day (if I can afford it) but I have no intentions of turning them into big Disney fans. I'm glad I'm not one myself at those prices. At any rate, Kelly and Steve are making sure they get their money's worth by staying until it closes at 11. So we won't see them tonight either.

Today Calleigh turned 11 months old. As I was thinking about that, I was contemplating how fast the time goes by and what things I will remember about her when she's older. I don't want to just remember that she weighs 19 pounds and some ounces. I want to remember things about her personality and what her likes and dislikes are. So without further adeiu, here is my list of Calleigh favorites:

• Watermelon
• Closing doors that are open
• Looking at trees
• Lasagna
• Taking my sunglasses off my head (when they’re on my face, she doesn’t care about them. Weird)
• Throwing the tennis ball to Dewey
• Getting into Dewey and Marlee’s food and water
• Putting her hand in the container of Puffs to get some out. (Puffs are little snacks.)
• Climbing the stairs
• Sitting down in the grass
• Putting her washcloth in the water and then sucking the washcloth
• Her binky
• The book “I Love You Through and Through”
• Being held by Daddy at floor level as she “chases” the dogs
• Sitting on Daddy’s shoulders
• Getting kissed on the back of her legs (this makes her laugh like crazy!)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something and I'm sure these will change at any time but for now, these are some of things that make Calleigh, Calleigh.