Where did July Go?

I am not sure where the month of July has gone. It seems like it was the 4th of July yesterday. Joey and I have been enjoying our month of summer. We have spent many mornings reading stories and singing songs at the library story hour. We have spent our evening at swim class. We played in the backyard with Moe and splashed around in the wading pool. We have gone to the beach and the park. All in all, we have had a spectacular and busy month. Luckily for us, it has not been unbearably warm, in fact it has been a little cool.
We were able to take a little trip to Oxnard with grandma to spend a few wonderful days by the beach. Joey spent hours in the pool splashing around and practicing his kicking and rowing.Joey is enjoying a little juice post swim. I am sure he is eyeing the pool. He is certainly a water baby.
We visited and played at the Gull Stream Children's Museum in Oxnard. A great place for kids if you happen to be in the area.
Joey and did a lot of swimming together.
Here is my happy little guy poolside.

Another big adventure this month was the day we spent with grandma and grandpa boating. We spent the day at Lake Castaic. Joey enjoyed himself once he got over the fact that he had to wear his life jacket the entire time.

In fact, he enjoyed himself so much that he fell asleep while sitting up in my lap. I guess all that fresh air tires a guy out.
After our boating adventure, Joey got to play with bubbles, which is his new word. He tries to blow bubble by blowing on the wand, but then he tends to eat the wand. He has yet to produce any bubbles.

Summer is Here ....

and we are ready. Joey has is beach chair and is testing it out before our Oxnard beach trip. I would say he looks pretty comfy in the chair and is ready for some relaxation and fun.
Summer also brings on jam making. Here are my peach butter jars cooling after their processing. I cannot wait for a cool "winter" morning to crack open a jar and have the warm fuzzy feeling of summer in a jar.

This summer's home improvement project was installing sprinklers and Joey, who is a water baby, thought that this was a great project. I foresee many summer afternoons of Joey running through the sprinklers.

A Boy & His Dog

Joey has a new friend. He is a floppy eared cardinal and gold puppy had crafted with love by Auntie Marie. This was a belated birthday gift. Clearly this is one of the cutest little animals that she has created and it is certainly in the right colors.



Joey is enjoying his new little toy and I had a little fun getting Joey to pose for this last pictures. Anyone who has a mobile little one will understand the difficulty of getting them to sit still for the click of the shutter.

Catching Up

Between running after Joey and work being insane, I have not had much time to think let alone write. There is so much to catch up on.

Firstly, a big milestone for Joey was his first swim in the ocean and his first chance to really play on the beach on our recent trip to Cataline. Well, he loved it. He certainly is a water baby. He loves baths, pools, the dog water faucet and now the ocean. He was upset when the beach time had to come to a end. He loved floating in the ocean, wearing his life jacket and smearing us with wet sand. All and all it was a successful trip. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of him in the actual water, but here are a few after he showered.

The next big milestone for Joey has been to climb on our dining chairs and sit in them like we do. He is so proud of himself for being able to get up there all on his own. He is learning the phrase sit on your bottom, but often forgets and sets his sights on climbing onto the table which leads to a time out for our little adventurer.

The last new thing in his ever expanding set of skills is the mmmmmmm sound. Which he has taken to saying loudly when he eats something he likes. It also makes an appearance when I am eating something that he thinks he might like in hopes that I might share with him. This generally leads to me laughing at him and ultimately sharing my food with him.

The Difference a Year Makes

Last year on Memorial Day, we took Joey on his first "vacation." We went to Big Bear Lake and ended the weekend in San Diego for the wedding of out friend Marika. This year Memorial Day was spent in Big Bear again. Looking back at these pictures makes me see where we have come in a year.

He was a teeny tiny infant at this time last year. Now he is walking around, into everything and very entertaining. He is definitely on his way to being a little boy.

Barbara Ann and Uh-oh

Joey's new favorite sound is ba. He walks around the house going ba-ba-ba and my natural reaction is to break out singing Barbara Ann.

A Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann
Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann
Oh Barbara Ann take my hand
Barbara Ann

You got me rockin' and a rollin'
Rockin' and a reelin' Barbara Ann
Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann

This generates a quizzical look from Joey. I guess being embarrassed by your parents is nature and apparently Joey is starting young.

His other favorite sound is UH-OH. Which he will say when he drops something or if he just feels like it. I am trying to teach him when it is appropriate, but I think it is just something fun to say. But it is hilarious to watch him walk around going uh-oh-ooooooooooooooo.