in the PEN

Blue has a talent that I am sure is common among crawling babies of getting into exactly the things he is not supposed to. For a week or so after the crawling began I was chasing him around the house pulling his fingers out of Lucy's food bowl and away from dangling cords. We needed a safe place that he could freely explore, so we bought him a pen. Is that ironic? I think it is.



It takes up a good chunk of our sunroom but we weren't really using that space anyway!

general SOCCER hilarity

Blue has a blue ball that he loves to roll and follow across the floor. I playfully cut in and stole it from him with my foot and he thought it was hilarious. Laughed so hard it almost turned to crying.

price of LOVE

Poor Lucy - now that Blue can crawl she gets very little peace. Blue is her biggest fan and without fail I look over and he has pulled himself up onto her bed and she has moved herself down to the ground. He knows how to "pat pat" as we call it but with Lucy he still pinches. She is sweet about it though. Just moves away.

water SPLASHIN' fun

What a fun long weekend! Ashley was in town for a few days to celebrate the Davises 60th birthday. And we had a great time, as always. Plus, we visited the splash park around the corner from our house for the first time and it was a big hit. Both Ashley and I went back separately over the next two days with Blue. I can definitely see popping over when we need to get through a slow hour. Water is the only way to survive this heat.

happy FATHER'S day

We had a great weekend - both Graham and I got to see our dad today. Plus, it is Graham's first official Father's Day. Blue gave him an extra special hug.

future so WHITE

And in other breaking news... We have a tooth! One of the bottom ones broke through his gum last night. Still working on a picture. Could be a bit before there is anything worth looking at. If all goes well for him in life yesterday will have been the last day of his life without teeth.

and he's MOBILE

That's right! He's crawling!!! He has been going a few steps forward for a few days now but I think he has mastered it mentally and is officially on the move.



That is his Aunt Ashley offering up a little incentive and words of encouragement. I think it is interesting that Blue skipped the army-crawl-scoot and went straight to proper-form-crawling. I guess it makes sense for a kid who hated tummy time. Got to baby proof the house now...

FISH to water

It has been so hot here, perfect swimming weather. We don't have a convenient pool option near our house but my parents live right by their neighborhood pool! So we took a dip. He is going to be a swimmer someday I think. He seems to be really comfortable in the water and will already kick his legs as you steer him through. He also loved watching all the older kids play with their bright floaties.

baby MEET up

We had our second baby meet-up with our birthing class on Sunday. All the babies are within about a month of each other in age so it is fun to see the different personalities and abilities. Several of the babies are crawling - Blue is almost there but can only move backwards - and some seem happy just to sit and watch. Blue was one of the biggest babies which surprised me a little. And he was a toy hog! But he made up for it by smiling real sweetly at anyone who looked at him...

We waited just a bit too long to take a group photo and several of the babies were on the edge, Blue being one of them.

big FUN time

Blue spent the night with my parents last night - these are the photo updates we got during his stay... Play dates! Pool time! Wagon rides!

happy EIGHT months

This eight month old loves watermelon...

Don't worry about the look on his face, that is what he does whenever you put something in his mouth. Even if he loves it. The first bite is always a little questionable. I buy these watermelon sticks pre-cut at Central Market and they are perfect for teaching him to feed himself. They don't crumple under his tight grip but they are easy enough for him to bite off. We tried banana cut into sticks and it was a huge mess. Which could be okay if he was actually getting food into his mouth. But he wasn't. He is still the sweetest kid. Loves smiles and hugs.

cool OLD church

On our way out of Paso Robles and up to the San Jose airport we stopped by this old church Mission. It was really beautiful. The walls of the chapel were covered in paintings done out of powdered dyes and cactus juice. But they were subtle and old and the colors were just so perfectly matched.

what'd i MISS?

We made Blue a pallet in the closet. Here he is waking up from a nap. At home we swaddle one arm in at night and both arms out for daytime naps. But on the road we always swaddled one arm in. This mostly just keeps him from rolling around too much or trying to stand up in his crib.

happily EVER after

Ok, so it was windy everywhere...

Here we are at the wedding. It was located at a winery in Paso Robles. It rained all day until the wedding and then it stopped!


My mom got this outfit for Blue and it might be my favorite to date. His two best colors - white and blue - and stripes! Unfortunately, I had to cover up my pretty green dress because it was just so cold.

it's PURPLE underneath

This beach was beautiful but so windy. It was located a mile down an unmarked road and seemed almost like a neighborhood pool. Only instead of a pool it was an amazingly beautiful beach. Just underneath the top layer the sand turned purple!

big ROSY cheecks

By the time we finished our walk that strap was soaked...

forgot the SOCKS

At the time of our trip, Blue did not own any socks in his size. It is so hot here it just seemed silly. But we probably should have bought some for his trip. It was a little chilly at times. I came home and bought him some socks which he will probably never use. I always do that - dress for the day before. To keep his feet warm on our redwood forest stroll we bundled him up in his sleep sack! I was wishing there was someone to carry me through the forest wrapped up in a big sleeping bag.

wild BLUE yonder

Sunset over the Pacific...

17 mile drive

We were going to do a little Photoshop magic when a nice couple showed up and offered to take one of us together!

This was on what is known as 17 Mile Drive. It is basically a loop around Pebble Beach, with the coast on one side and golf courses on the other, with the occasional amazing house thrown in. We stopped and had burgers at one of the clubs and an older couple went absolutely crazy over Blue. The lady offered to babysit if we ever happen to move to Pebble Beach... And the gentleman was convinced that Blue would be president someday. Said he had never seen such a "sharp" baby!

oh, the CHEESE

I couldn't pass up this cheesy photo op...

oh, the WONDER

Graham really loves being outside, learning about the world - all the plants and animals are fascinating to him. We were staying in Monterrey for our mid-week vacation and so we set one day aside to visit the aquarium.

The big tank was undergoing renovations but there was still plenty to see. Blue seemed to be genuinely curious about the strange creatures swimming behind the glass.