Happy St. Patrick's Day

...a couple of days late.

Sylvia has enjoyed the beautiful weather here in Pennsylvania. We've played in the backyard a few times. She loves the slide and swing and especially Zipper.









(I find most of Sylvia's holiday shirts at Goodwill which is good because she usually only wears them once or twice.)

Airplane

Sylvia took her first plane trip on Monday. Her and I are in PA for the week visiting friends. She didn't seem to mind the take off but missing nap on the second flight was a different story. She really did very well overall.

That's our plane in the background of the shot.




We had an extra seat for our second flight. Sylvia liked the man sitting next to us and liked to read magazines like he was doing. She also tapped him on the arm quite often and he would laugh at her.

Grand Bear and Starved Rock

The Hoefer family went to Grand Bear Resort and Indoor Water Park this past weekend. All fifteen of us made it but not all were feeling as well as others. It was a fun weekend with family. As you can see from the pictures below, Sylvia loves the water. She enjoyed the baby pool and slide, wave pool, kid's slide, and the lazy river.











A few of us took a hike at Starved Rock State Park Saturday afternoon. Sylvia was taking a nap so I got to carry our nephew Carl.
John, Dan, Zander & Evan

Dan & Evan

John & Zander

me & Carl

We took Sylvia to the playground at the resort. She really enjoyed the slides. I think we will be frequenting the park this summer.




Dan and I headed to Ikea on Sunday to purchase some furniture for our house. Thankfully my parents took Sylvia back to Iowa City for us. She would not have enjoyed our five hours we spent at Ikea and the extra two hours in the car. We didn't make it home until after 10:00pm.

Rain Gear

Thank you for the rain gear Nana and Papa. After seeing our last trip outside to play in the puddles, Nana decided that Sylvia should have some rain boots. And who can resist a matching rain coat. So, Sylvia is now very prepared for the spring rain which is good since it's been raining constantly recently. I wasn't going to post all of these pictures but I couldn't resist. The boots are still a little big but she was able to get around in them once I got her off the carpet. My next task is to teach her to stomp her feet in the puddles instead of splashing her hands in them...at least as long as it's cold. We had to go back in for mittens and they were sopping wet by the time we came it. The last picture is my favorite!



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Photo Shoot

Sylvia got this sweater from her Aunt Ginny for Christmas. It was a little big at first but now fits perfectly. Just the right thing for a photo shoot. I cannot believe Sylvia is already 15 months. Her hair is finally long enough for a little ponytail on top or little pigtails in back. She gets to watch a show when she gets her hair done.

One of Sylvia's favorite things to do these days is ride her wooden rocking horse. She gets pretty wild and I too wondered if she was too close to the dresser here but she didn't hit it.






Sylvia also enjoys playing in her room. There are toys in her closet, a mirror for admiring herself, and a rocker & footstool to play on.

Dress Up

A few weeks ago, Sylvia played dress up for the first time. There are bins of hats, mittens, and shoes within reach in her bedroom. Sylvia picked out these two hats and handed them to me to put on her and then she gave me the mitten and stuck out her hand. She wore them around the house for quite awhile. There's even an mirror in her room for her to admire herself.

Pool & Museum with Henry

If you haven't been able to tell already...we spend a lot of time with our friends, Henry and Linda.

In preparation for my family's trip to Grand Bear Resort (an indoor water park) we took the kids swimming. Sylvia still loves it as much as she did last summer. It's getting harder to pose the kids for pictures now that they know how to walk.


We also took another trip to the children's museum. Linda is pregnant so I am the designated slide goer downer. We do not know who the little girl waiting for us at the bottom of the slide is, but she liked the kids...and she liked to scream.


Sylvia didn't even know how to walk last time we went to the museum so it was fun to watch her navigate herself around...especially down this ramp. She walks on her tip toes a lot so she figured it out pretty quickly.




A trip to the grocery is always a must. Sylvia and Henry were more interested in the bakery this time. I think she was disappointed to find out the cookies weren't real.




I've got at least two more buy one get one free coupons so I'm sure we'll be going back before long.