Down By The Bay...

I was catching up on expense reports in the basement and Marianna was playing so nicely by herself...I just had to capture this video of her singing this song to her baby...

Her imagination is so great right now. I love the window that overlooks the playroom and catch her talking and singing songs to herself. Earlier, I walked in and saw she gathered every stuffed animal that she could find and lined them up in a row and was saying "chugga..chugga...choo-choo...ALL ABOARD!". Just melts my heart to see my baby girl growing up!

Down by the Bay Lyrics:

Down by the bay...Where the watermelons grow...Back to my home...I dare not go...For if I do...My mother will say..."Did you ever see a bear...Combing his hair...Down by the bay?...

"Down by the bayWhere the watermelons growBack to my homeI dare not goFor if I doMy mother will say"Did you ever see a beeWith a sunburned kneeDown by the bay?"Down by the bayWhere the watermelons growBack to my homeI dare not goFor if I doMy mother will say"Did you ever see a mooseKissing a gooseDown by the bay?"Down by the bayWhere the watermelons growBack to my homeI dare not goFor if I doMy mother will say"Did you ever see a whaleWith a polka dot tailDown by the bay?"

Last Days of Summer

I realized earlier today that compared to last summer, we hardly have any pictures of Marianna enjoying the summer as a 2 year old. So I broke out the camera tonight while DJ was grilling dinner and tried to capture a typical summer night at the Becharas house. Bubble Machine, running, picking flowers, etc...
In this picture, Marianna has mastered the fake smile, which we refer to as the happy face. "Say Cheese" is just a recipe for disaster!

I love the look on her face in the third shot...letting the bubbles just land on her face...a picture is worth a thousand words!

Finally, a smile!

Marianna's new thing lately is "watch how fast I can run to you Mommy..." and I just hold my breath, waiting for a trip and fall...

I taught Marianna how to dead head the flowers and it is favorite activity. Although you can see from the dead flower pot, we didn't get around to doing it all that much this summer.

Marianna's belly laugh is hysterical...sounds like something between a laugh and a cry but really loud! That is her belly laughing in the first picture...

After going through these pictures, I have decided we are not ready for fall!

William Robert Nicolas Riker

What a special and beautiful Sunday we shared with our friends today...our godson Will's baptism! He is so sweet and didn't make a peep the entire service! Matt and Sarah, we are so honored to be his godparents and we love him like he is our own. We love you guys!

The Riker Family...

"Only The Best Game Since '84..."

A quote from our friend Jim regarding the Tigers game we all saw/went to yesterday at Comerica Park.
One of DJ's vendors gave us 4 tickets, 12th row, right behind first base for one the best Tigers games of the year....and we basically missed it.
Marianna lasted about 3 innings in the fantastic seats until she was done and ready to hit the Merry Go Round that she had been hearing so much about (my mistake...)
Here is one of the only pictures as proof that we were actually near the stadium and entering the game.


After the first 3 innings, we met up with the Molloy's who were also in the same boat as us with their 2 year old, Kaitlyn.
So here are the majority of pictures from the event...at the Merry Go Round and water fountain!

Marianna wanted to switch "tigers" on the second go around to the really big tiger...

Next event, the water fountain!

And us leaving the game...way too early...to head to Greek town for Lamb chops, flaming cheese, garlic and to hear the cheers about the awesome game that went into extra innings in which the Tigers came from behind to beat the White Sox as they compete for first place! (HA...go figure :)

Marianna Lou Retton

Our future gymnast...She loves to swing on bars...the treadmill, at the park, the downstairs pedestal sink...doorknobs...I think in the fall it will be back to gymnastics for sure!

Check out her...flexibility... :)

Marianna has been practicing doing somersaults for a while but never could quite get there...until today. Once she had it down, there was no stopping the tumbling! Way to go, Marianna Lou Retton!

My Cousins are Here!

Yesterday was such a great day! A trip up to Okemos to see Marianna's cousins from South Carolina! Jill, Shannon, and Jack came in Sunday but it wasn't until Thursday that we got to see them finally. After a little snack and some catching up, we had a fun day at the playground and pool. I only took my camera to the playground and there were so many great moments to capture, I may have overdone it! Warning: this post is pretty long for a simple day at the playground. How many times a year though does Marianna see Shannon and Jack though??

Thanks, Grandma for the great snack and smiles (my favorite: Cheetos and Capri Sun!!)

This was an awesome playground! How come it wasn't there when I was growing up?!?!

So many times over this thing...who knows what it is, but it was sure fun!

Marianna had to do it several times, just like her cousins!

Grandma gives quite high pushes, not nearly as high as I would push her. Probably why she had so much fun on the swings though.

"I can do it all by myself"...how many times a day do I hear this??

Hands up down the slide..the only way to go!

Little Mariannita flying down first..

Back up to the top so Grandma could get one picture with her three Grandchildren :)

I don't think Grandma realized what a big slide that was...and that it curved!

The balance beam...

Another..."I can do it all by myself" moment...

I can't count how many times Marianna was on this thing! She loves to hang I guess!

Weeeeee....