Labor Day Games

Each Labor Day our community hosts the Annual Labor Day Games. The first year that we were here Julia was sick. No games. Last year I'd just had Brendan. No games. This year we made it! The weather was great and everyone had a great time. Julia was able to participate in the "Penny Pile" which is simply a big pile of sand at the beach that the organizers had hidden numerous pennies in. They do it by age, so the youngest kids (4 and under) got the first chance at it. Everyone was supposed to look for the "lucky penny" which was flat, had "lucky penny" written on it and was worth $5. Julia didn't find it but found her first penny and proudly brought it back to us. Maybe thinking she was done because we had to urge her to go back for more if she wanted them.

Next was the 3-legged sack races, by age groups. Julia and I participated in the Adult with Child group. They specified that there was no carrying of the child to make it to the finish line first. Darn!

We had a really fun time. Julia is in the striped shirt and jeans skort in these photos.

Brendan Boy Turns ONE!

It's hard to believe that Brendan is one. Not because the year flew by. It took a long time to get here! I know everyone says it but it really is amazing how much they change in a year. From being a true newborn, and having meningitis and spending almost a week in the hospital to battling the reflux and the other digestive problems, he's truly a changed little guy. He is completely healthy, happy and always active. Always. He never stops.

I know that I shouldn't compare, but I'm going to. This is really more for me and keeping a record than me thinking anyone is really interested in the things I'm about to write. :-) Julia could always nap and for a long time, and she loved it. She still loves her naps and sleeping, which is great now. When she's a teenager I'm sure it won't be the treat that it is for me these days. It was between 2 and 3 that she gave up the morning nap. Brendan already has. Julia would often wake up, still tired and it would take a bit for her to get started again. Brendan wakes up ready to go. We walk into his room and he's in his crib, jumping up and down, squealing and ready to get OUT!

Julia has always been very verbal and all about communicating with us. Always happy to learn new words. Brendan is more focused on exploring and he just communicates differently. He's more coordinated than she was at this age and is happy playing independently or with us. Julia's never really been a fan of the independent play.

Julia's always had a big appetite. She still loves her food. Almost all food. Meals take a long time with her. It's like she's making each meal an experience. Very little was and has ever been lost to the floor. Brendan seems to be a little more particular about what he eats, but it's still early. He eats relatively quickly and is the messiest baby I've ever seen in a high chair. More than half the food, at least, ends up in his lap, stuck to his bib, in his hair, on his face, in between his fingers and once between his toes. I dont know how our sitter, the amazing Cristina, keeps him clean considering that almost each time he gets a meal at home it ends up in a change of clothes or a bath.

Both of them love to swing, back and forth, as long as we'll indulge. They both love to laugh and jump and interact with each other and us.

The Year of the Cicada

Julia was born in the year of the cicada. When she was almost a year I had put her in the car one nice summer day, with all the windows down and then put all of our bags in the back of the car. When I came back I found a cicada on her. She was just looking at it. No big deal. Can you see it on her leg in this photo?

This past Saturday we were cleaning up our perpetually messy yard. The storms that had come through from Hurricane Ernesto brought down a lot of leaves and limbs, so we were cleaning up. While picking up sticks we found a live cicada. Since Julia looooooooves bugs, we picked it up, took it to Daddy in the backyard and let it crawl on us. Here are photos from our latest cicada experience.

Me. Love. Cake.

Since Brendan's birthday was on Friday, the 1st, we decided to have his party on Sunday. We had a brunch with friends and family. Brendan had never had anything so sweet as cake, in his entire life. He was kind of tired, a bit cranky and ready to get down out of the high chair to play but once he got a taste of the goodness that is cake he was all over it. That's my boy!

Let's Celebrate!

Baby Grant Parsons is sitting next to Brendan in this photo. They're 5 weeks apart and seem to be interested in the same things... putting as many toys in their mouths as they can, moving around and eating. :-)

Photos Taken on His Actual Birthday