BEACH TRIP cont.

Grahamy!
Papa and Graham looking for rocks

Nana and Papa came down Wednesday evening and spent the last leg of our trip with us... thankfully! Otherwise, our vacation would not have been a vacation at all.

Graham's rock...

Papa and Graham...

Our walk down to the beach (about a block)... too long for little legs...

Nana and Graham waving to the ocean...

A motion shot of Graham and Clara playing ball...

Five months apart and they could almost be twins!!!

Nana and Graham checking out the water...

The whole gang...

Our little fam...

A group shot... including Graham's back...

BEACH TRIP cont.

Graham laughing at some cows in a local zoo/wildlife preserve...
Graham and Papa walking through the raptor center...
Nana and Graham examining their collection of rocks, of course...
Graham carefully avoiding the turtles in the little pond...
LAST ROCK!!!

Graham and his rock...

We're leaving for our beach vacation this Saturday, so check for pictures in a little over a week. Graham has been counting down the days (literally) and we are all ready for a break! Here are a few pictures of the same-old-same-old...

My outside boy... Still a fan of the water, bucket and everything that fits inside...

Hall Soccer with Daddy...

J-U-M-P SPELLS JUMP!!!

Here, Graham is demonstrating two of his new favorites: jumping and spelling! He loves to pile his "amimals" onto his mattress and then jump and watch them bounce around. He also shares the family infatuation with words. He learned his letters quickly and has memorized an astonishing number of words. He loves to say "j-u-m-p... JUMP" while he is jumping. We spell continuously throughout the day. We spell the names of our family members, his animals, our food, the places we visit and it is amazing to see how much he retains. Graham has earned the nickname "Dennis-the-Menace" due to our daily struggles over his mid-day nap, but he continues to amaze me with his focus, humor and patience.

FOUR BIRTHDAYS AND 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION

We celebrated the 4th of July with our friends the Tafts and the Sharps. Charlie grilled ribs, chicken and hot dogs for us and we relaxed with potato salad, watermelon & tomato salad and a variety of other yummies. The kids played together for hours and allowed us to celebrate longer than we anticipated. Here are some pictures of the kids...
Here are Graham and Clara at the "kid table."

These two are already the best of friends!Looking for rocks of course...
Graham is throwing rocks into the kiddie pool on the deck, hence the look of glee on his face!
Up and down the stairs...
We have a tradition of celebrating the July birthdays together. Here we have yo (1st), Scott (19th), Laura (14th) and Charlie (15th). Carrie made the chocolate & cherry cake herself.

The kids always gravitate to Scott (or "Sock" as Clara calls him). We joke that we're going to up and leave him since they often just beg for his attention.

JUST LIKE DADDY

Graham likes to sit on the couch, "just like Daddy!"

GRAHAM THE HAM

No more hoodie towels. Graham wants to wear his towel around his waist JUST LIKE DADDY!

Such a ham for the camera!!!

A PEEK INTO THIS PAST WEEK

Graham is still a little weary when it comes to swimming pools, despite his lessons last year. Soon, it will be time for more lessons.

I spend a lot of time standing in the kiddie pool and catching Green Ball since Graham definitely prefers to toss objects into water.
Austin and Amy... We were visitors at their neighborhood pool!
Graham sticking to the water table...

Saturday morning at the park...

Fun!
Where's the kid?
Clara doing the chicken dance on the chicken...
G and Uncle Charlie playing soccer...
Phew!