Amanda's Visit!

We had a great time this week visiting with Charles's cousin, Amanda, who came to visit from Edmond, Oklahoma. Maria took to her right away - grabbed for her hand and wanted to play immediately! This is a big deal, because Maria usually takes about 15 minutes to warm up to anyone new. But Amanda was her new best buddy immediately. We met her at the airport on Tuesday - Maria had a great time looking at the planes, metro-link trains, buses, and of course the kids! Then on Wednesday we headed off to the zoo! Maria (and Amanda) loved the penguins, chimps, and snakes the best. Maria waved to every animal we saw and blew them each a kiss too. She's at such a fun age! Although it was the hottest day of the year so far, we had a good time exploring the zoo together. And Maria took a marathon nap that afternoon! (Mommy too)

On Friday, we explored the City Museum. If you've never been there, it's a great place to visit! They have a great aquarium, and TONS of tunnels, slides, climbing walls, and so much more. (Check out the website: http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp ) Again, Maria loved waving to every new thing she saw, along with loud squeals and deep "OOOOH!s". She's such a blast to watch right now.

Tonight, Nonna took us all out to our favorite local Mexican joint to wish Amanda farewell. We've had such a fun week with her. Maria had her first taste of salsa, and she LOVED it! The kid just couldn't get enough of it! She wanted to dip everything in sight into the salsa bowl - so much for double-dipping! She waved to every waiter that walked by, and charmed them all. What a ham!