July 31, 2009

I know there are two photos today but believe me, it was necessary.  We went to the Hamlin Firemen's Carnival and parade tonight and there was something glorious about the skies.  It rained at one point but otherwise the clouds were big and fluffy and gorgeous and we got the most beautiful sunset!  

July 30, 2009

Alex has taken to carrying things around in his mouth like a dog - sippy cups, toys, blankets.  It doesn't matter.  It's a new way to transport things from Point A to Point B.  And I, for one, think it's adorable!

July 29, 2009

Would you believe I actually didn't take any photos today?!  Since Nathaniel has been such a character lately he's been featured a lot so it's Alex's turn.  Here's a photo of Digger taken at our friend "Bee's" 3rd birthday party over the weekend. 

July 28, 2009

This was taken at my Mom and Dad's house - I was playing around with my camera.  I think it's pretty and will last a lot longer than the real thing!

July 27, 2009

This is how my Bug fell asleep today for his nap.  Knowing him, I'm sure he literally stopped playing just long enough to fall asleep mid-motion!  

July 26, 2009

Oh, to be a boy who doesn't care that he's splashing in swamp water at Geema and Geempa's yard.  Who am I to say anything?  I used to play in these same puddles as a kid!  Passing on traditions, I guess.  Let's hope this puddle is still there come November so he can learn to ice skate on it when it freezes over (just like his Mommy did)!

July 25, 2009

A storm rolled through the Hilton Fireman's Carnival but Nathaniel's spirit was unaffected.  He made his own fun splashing in the puddles of that flooded the carnival grounds.  Who needs RIDES!?!  A three-year-old certainly doesn't!

July 24, 2009

Since we got rain again for the 142nd day in a row (give or take!), I thought this photo of my youngest watching the thunderstorm out our front door was a fitting image for the day.

July 23, 2009

One of the best things about summer is the local firemen's carnivals.  I love a good parade, carnival food is fabulous, and what better excuse for family fun than to support a local fire department!  Yesterday we went to support Hilton Fire Department (and indirectly, my parents, who were EMTs with Hilton for years!)  I love this shot of Nate standing to watch the goings on.  He looks so grown up and serious!!

July 22, 2009

Ever since we took away Nathaniel's "Boo Paci-fighter" he has had an incredibly difficult time settling down to sleep.  He spends hours in his room at nap and bedtime just puttering.  He sings, he chants, he kicks the wall, he sneaks toys into bed from his toy box/bins.  Tonight when he had finally quieted down, I went in to check on him and this is what I found:  

He had unstuffed his favorite teddy bear through a tiny hole in his toe.  And his construction hat was cleverly propped on top of his dresser lamp.  Not quite sure about that one.  This kid has too much (unsupervised) time on his hands.   (See yesterday's post for more proof!) 

July 21, 2009

When I got home from work today Dave called me into Nate's room to see what sort of troublesome mischief he had gotten into before he had fallen asleep.  Somehow he had smuggled a rogue marker into his bed at nap time and wreaked havoc.  Luckily it came off relatively easily using nothing more than a baby wipe.

July 20, 2009

I just love the look on Alex's face here...

July 19, 2009

Typical quiet Sunday.   Alex has found his tongue and spits constantly.  He also LOVES the "new" learning table we dug out of the basement and brought upstairs.  Unfortunately, so does Nathaniel.  He uses the top as a steering wheel to drive and is constantly fighting with his brother for it.  

July 18, 2009

Home at last!  Finally we can return to some semblance of normalcy!

July 17, 2009

It was raining on our last day in the 1000 Islands so we checked out this place called the Aqua Zoo.  It was pretty cool.  There were walls and walls of aquariums like these with various species of fish and aquatic animals.  Nathaniel got to see piranhas, an alligator, lobsters, eels, turtles, a nurse shark, amoebas, and many other creatures of the sea.  

July 16, 2009

Today we took the boys on a ferry ride to Boldt Castle.  Nathaniel kept calling it "Dragon Castle" and was telling people as we went in that there were dragons in there.  HA!

July 15, 2009

While we were camping we gave the boys their baths in our inflatable turtle pool and as you can see they had a lot of fun with that.  At least Nate had fun torturing Alex but in the this photo it actually looks like they're both enjoying the torture!

July 14, 2009

At dusk every day millions of gnats would come out of nowhere and just hang in the air like little clouds. If you look closely at this picture you should be able to see fairy dust looking stuff - (click on the picture to make it bigger and REALLY see them) - those are all gnats! In other pictures you'll see they show up looking like snow or fireflies. They were everywhere, but only for a short period at sunset. Once the sun was down, they disappeared. Odd.

July 13, 2009

Nathaniel found this caterpillar on a tree by our campsite and was mesmerized.  I love the look on his face here as he examines it with such intense scrutiny.  

July 12, 2009

Nathaniel is obsessed with "washing" my car, his Cozy Coupe, the front step, Aunt Wendy's dog, it doesn't matter.  While we were packing up to head out on our 1000 Islands Adventure, we gave Nate a sports bottle of water and a washcloth and he went to town "washing" my Honda.  It was a fantastic diversion to keep him from playing in the road while we were busy loading up the camper and truck. 

July 11, 2009

We went to a party at a friend's house today and the kids got into a gigantic water war.  It was great watching them run around having such fun!  It was pure innocence and joy at its finest.  Although the adults that got caught in the crossfire may not agree with me!  

July 10, 2009

During a visit to my parents' house today, I had let the dogs out to run around and Alex was rather unsure about these big furry creatures that were circling and lapping at his feet.  He warms up in no time but you can just feel his concern in this picture....

July 9, 2009

Today I got home late from work because we had a big after-hours CELEBRATION thing at my boss's house.  Since the party went late, I didn't get home until the kids were in bed and therefore don't actually have any good photos to show for today.   So I thought I'd show a photo I took at another recent party to give an example of the fun we had.  Only it wasn't Mojitos we were drinking...it was more of a Spiked Sprite, or a Tom Collins...but it was good.  

July 8, 2009

Today is my father's birthday.  In honor of the greatest man I've ever known...here's a flashback photo of my father with a not-quite 2-month-old Alex:

July 7, 2009

I love this photo because it shows Alex's THREE teeth!  Look past the rice and the brightest smile in the whole world and you'll see them, too...(click on the photo to make it bigger - that helps!)

July 6, 2009

Who says you should call before you stop by?!?

July 5, 2009

Today was our families' 4th of July get together.  Of course my brother is overseas so he joined us via Skype.  It was great to see him!  We surrounded that computer with a lot of love this afternoon!

July 4, 2009

Independence Day 2009

We stopped to see Daddy at work and spend his break with him. He had planned ahead and already had lawn chairs set up in the back of his truck for us to watch the City's fireworks from. Of course he had to go back to work before they even started but we were all set up nicely. During our visit, Nathaniel kept telling people we were going to see the bullets ("boo-yits") go "boom!" up in the sky. Once they started, Nathaniel narrated the whole fireworks show saying, "Yook, that one geen...that one boo" or "That a lady bug - you see die-no-sore, Mommy?" and when they'd pause for even a minute it was, "Oh, no! Boo-lets seeping!"

And yes...he insisted on wearing my sunglasses the whole time. And his hood (and mine, apparently) had to remain on for the duration of the show.

It was Alex's first 4th of July and he was very quiet for the whole experience. It doesn't help that I had to wake him up to leave after he'd been "down for the night" for two hours already but he just sat in his carseat and stared at the sky. Not a peep. Not once.

Here is a cool shot I got of the fireworks using a swirl method I'm constantly trying to perfect:

July 3, 2009

I put Nathaniel down for his nap this afternoon and when I went in to check on him I found this:

Any guesses as to whether or not he actually slept today?!?

July 2, 2009

This is Alex first thing in the morning...he makes waking up at the crack of dawn well worth it!

July 1, 2009

Welcome to my photo-a-day blog!

Last week (June 26th) we went to Harborfest at Charlotte Beach.  It was a fun family outing...I couldn't show the fun we had with just one photo, though, so here are a FEW photos from our evening of food, sand, music, boats, and FUN!

But all good things must end and the fun was eventually over...

Home to bed...