Thursday, July 31, 2014

Summer fun at Grandma's house

Last Friday was the annual Springs golf outing in FDL. Patrick and some grouping of brothers, wives, family, friends golf each year --- this year it was Patrick, Jeff, John and Corey.  
James, Isaac and I went along and spent the day with Grandma Carol, Amy, Claire and Jack. 
Both groups had great days - but I only have photos of Grandma's house activities!


The meeting of the bikes - deep conversations! 
 

Claire wanted to pull James around on his bike since he could reach the pedals - he doesn't look to sure here, but it actually worked pretty well. 
 

Jack was waiting all day for Grandpa to come home to ride the John Deere. While he was waiting, he practiced driving in the garage - hat and all! 
 

Claire spent some time with Isaac too! 
 

Not quite sure what was happening here - but was happy I captured it on film! 
 

Miss Claire doing her hair on her bike --- this five year old can do awesome buns and braid her own hair! Add mom's sunglasses and she looked like a movie star! 
She also braided my hair later that night --- I loved it! 
 

Jack was helping Grandpa by cutting the lawn before dinner.  
Grandma Carol got a 'new to us' kid picnic table and Claire was helping to clean it.  
At some point the hose came out and the kids got a hold of it... 
As you will see - they had a blast playing in the water! I was sitting in the right place and got some really fun photos. 
 

Pure joy - I love the looks on both of their faces! 
 

Jack often had the hose and James was definitely soaked first - but both were having such a great time, no one cared! 
 


Love the mist in this photo. 
 

Caption: "I need more hose Grandma!" 
 

Running through the mist... pants starting to sag from the water weight! 
 

 Again - such joy! 


Check out this sag - at this point, it was time to dry off and change clothes for dinner.
What a fun 20 minutes :) 
 

Fresh, dry clothes and Gilles for dinner - the perfect end to the day! 
 

Grandpa got home and the kids were so excited to see him. All 3 of them swarmed to tell him about their day - couldn't even stop to let him take a bathroom break! 


Jacks favorite part of the day --- riding the John Deere! 


Such a sweet photo - cousin snuggles while watching the Disney Channel. 
 

Isaac got some quality Grandma and Auntie time too! 
 

Thanks for a terrific day :)

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Pool Party!

To celebrate our first 90 degree day (I don't think it actually reached 90) we pulled out our new baby pool and had the Macey over for a pool party!


Loving the pool!
 

James enjoyed swimming and "floating" on his back. 
He also likes to put his head and face in the water. 
 

Macey enjoyed playing too and did great despite hurricane Jimmy next to her!
 

Posing for the camera! 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Isaac's First trip to Pearl Lake

By the end of Isaac's first week we were all getting a little antsy to get out of the house. So we packed up the car (with WAY more stuff than we probably needed) and headed up to the cottage. 
Extra hands, beautiful weather, change of scenery --- what more did we need?!?


James with Grammy and Buppa in the paddle boat. 
 

Isaac napping on the pontoon boat - so relaxed! 
 

Isaac seems to be fitting right in --- falling asleep on the couch after a hard day on the water... check! 
 

James was testing out Daddy's goggles before Patrick went for a swim. 
 

Lots of beach time with Grammy. James really likes the rocks - though he has not yet been trained to pick the rocks OUT of the water and throw them up on shore --- he IS really good at throwing the ones from the beach back INTO the water! 
 

Jimmy James up close and personal 
 

Isaac on the pier - swaddled and bundled in a towel and sporting his new hat. 
 

James is becoming more daring at the beach (not necessarily a good thing!) With his life jacket and water shoes on - he now runs up and down the pier with one of us chasing after him. He loves to play with the toy boats, airplanes and other toys. 
I think the caption for this photo should be... "attack!" 


Other nap photo --- this kid is proving to be pretty chill! 
 

James and Buppa in the toy boat! 

Overall a successful weekend! 
Well done Isaac...
We might have had to send you back if you hadn't passed the Pearl Lake test :) 




Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Settling in as a family of four

Well Isaac is officially two weeks old today and we are all settling in together. 
Patrick went back to work this week and James is still going to daycare for his usual schedule. This allows him to have fun with his little buddies and of course gives me some time to bond with Isaac.


Isaac snuggled into his soft blanket for a nap. 
 

First bath at home - we decided that it was a good thing this kid was born in July - he was not a fan of being cold - it was a pretty quick bath! 
 

Snuggle time with the boys -- Patrick has been really great and giving James Isaac time. 
They are working on being gentle and being buddies! 
 

James was due for a haircut - so Patrick took him to see George last week. It did not go well and George (bless him) was only able to get about 1/2 way through.  Patrick and I tag teamed James on Thursday and with the help of a sucker and my phone - got him to relax and sit still.  Only problem - we are not professional barbers! 
It is certainly better than it was - but it is pretty clear that it was a home-grown haircut! 
I figure every kid will have a bad cut at some point in their lives ---  this can be James'! 


Patrick took on some projects while he was home - a great shelving piece/ island for the kitchen (pictures to come) and some fencing for the garden.  James was a big helper! 


Sunday, July 20, 2014

And here come the visitors!

We are enjoying all of the love and support coming from family and friends - check out some of the great smiles and snuggles Isaac is getting! 


Grammy and Buppa came to the hospital the first night - Jen was kind enough to come over and stay with James so Mom and Dad could come and meet our little man. 
 


Our stay in the hospital felt much shorter given that Isaac was born in the evening - so many visitors came to our house instead. This way James got to play with everyone too! 
 

 The Ellestads came Friday night for pizza and birthday cake on the deck! 
James enjoyed showing his cousins his new train set :) 



 This family knows how to take a great photo! 


Proud cousin Claire holding Isaac! 
 

Popsicle break! 
 

Daddy and his boys
 

Grandma Carol and Grandpa Ted  got their snuggles in too - 
meeting two grandsons in one day - pretty special! 



Jen, Owen and Molly meeting Isaac - Owen was pumped to have another boy! 


And a sweet little Isaac photo - I love how babies pose/ snuggle with their hands!