I love my sister

We've been so busy having fun, we haven't had time to write a blog post in a while. Last Wednesday was a big day for all of us. Mom thinks Hazel giggled for the first time! She did it again this weekend and today. It is really cute. She is a smiley, happy baby.

Hazel's really growing up before our eyes. She's very alert, has a very strong grasp, and coos a lot now. She's also starting to fall into her own little schedule. She likes to take a nap at 9:30 in the morning and she likes to go to bed at 6:30. Her other naps just happen throughout the day. Mom and Dad can't believe she's already old enough to be consistent, but she's really just doing it on her own each day. Mom and Dad are excited because when things are predictable, their lives are easier!

Speaking of Hazel, I have been much more interested in her lately. I try to touch her (and grab her when Mom's not looking), I have been pushing her in her swing, and I even hugged her! Yesterday, I kept trying to put my turtle birthday hat on her. Mom kept saying it's too big for her, but I kept trying anyway. Finally, when Hazel was asleep in her swing, I was sneaky enough to make it happen. It really made Mom and me laugh, but it woke Hazel up. Hazel has been more interested in me too. We really look at and smile at each other a lot.

The other thing that was really cool last Wednesday, was Mom cut my hair really short, which made me look like a big kid, and more importantly, we joined the Austin Children's Museum. We went again today after I got out of camp and had a great time. I like all the fun stuff there is to do there, like climb the stairs and ride the elevator. Oh, and they have lots of blocks, a chicken, a cow, a fish pinata, drums, and little pretend houses I like to play in too.

A highlight from this week is my teachers told Mom I said "more crackers" at camp. I have yet to demonstrate this to Mom and Dad, and the jury's still out.

When we left camp today, we took a detour on our way to the car. Mom showed me a cool garden with a fountain in it. At first, I cautiously stuck my hand in the water. It doesn't look like much, but the rushing water is very loud. Mom thought it was cute and took a couple of pictures. Then I was brave and jumped in! It was a nice cool ending to my hot day of camp.

By the way, July was the hottest on record (which started in 1860!) in Austin. It is more than 100 degrees just about every day. We are READY for fall. I've been spending a lot of time on the weekends riding around the neighborhood in my bike trailer, but it's almost too hot for it. Yesterday morning when Hazel napped, Mom pulled my pool (and my nice new swimsuit) out. It was great.

When we got home today, we had even more fun. I helped Mom make some rice, then she turned around for a second and when she looked at me again, I was standing behind her, eating a whole apple I found on the kitchen table. As usual, she laughed at me, but she cut the sticker off and made me wash it before I could eat the rest. At least it was organic!

Here are tons of pictures of how much fun I'm having with Hazel. There are also some of me riding around with Mom, splashing in my pool and the fountain, and playing at the Austin Children's Museum.