Dylan's Birthday...1.5!

Dylan turned 1 and a half on the 26th of June. We had a half birthday party for him of course. This year we tried not to go overboard...but I don't think we were very successful. It was a great day, and I know one little monkey enjoyed himself very much!

Look who's turning 1 and a half!

Getting the hang of opening presents...he is actually getting less and less excited about the wrapping and more excited about what is inside!

He got a stuffed octopus friend from Goggie and Poppie...


...and a trampoline, which he loved!

He also got some talking creatures with real movable mouths that he was not too sure about!

But his favorite by far, had to be the big gift that Mommy and Daddy got him.....a motorcycle!

A boy and his bike.

Uncle Sonny showing me how its done!

Me on my new hog!

"Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You"

Mommy's handywork...Goggie helped too!

Mmmmmm...cake!

I think someone is getting the hang of this whole cake thing!

Ice cream is yummy too!

One more suprise outside....

My very own water table and sand box! WOOHOO!

Hilton Head Vacation!

We went to Hilton Head with the entire family the week of the 19th through the 26th. We stayed in a beautiful house with a pool right in Sea Pines. We all had such a great time, we didn't want to come home. Dylan especially enjoyed the beach! There wasn't one thing he didn't like about it except for when it was time to get back in the car. I am so thankful, because our last visit to the beach didn't go so well. Yes! I have a beach baby at last! Now only if we could find a way to get there more often! Here are some of the many activities we enjoyed:

THE BEACH:

Beach Bum

He loved playing right at the water's edge...

...and with his boat.

He kept shouting, "WAATTTEEERRRR"!

Beach Combing

WAVES!!!

Chillin'

Dylan had a smile on his face the whole time!

Life's a beach!

THE STABLES:

Horsies!

Billy goat

He was definitely not fearful at all of any of the animals!

Bambi

I had a nice long rest after my day at the stables.

SAILING:

Jason and I on Ken's sailboat.

Sailing "The Nuge's" boat!

PLAYING IN THE PARK:

Look mom, I found a leaf!!!!!

Relaxing on the lawn.

My goodness son, I do believe you have worked yourself up a major fro!

He loved rolling in the grass...he is definitely all boy!

Dylan ran himself silly...and tired every night!

The Johnson's

TROLLEY RIDES:

Look poppie, we're on a trolley!

Mommy and Dylan on the trolley.

The whole gang!

Swim Lessons!

We enrolled Dylan in first level swim lessons through AquaTots. It was an interesting experience, and the main thing we got out of it was him learning to climb out of the pool, so I guess we will call it a win!

Climbing out....

Our biggest challenge was keeping him out of the kiddie pool....

He loved playing in the pool that was just his size...

and making new friends!

Cars and Trucks and Cycles, Oh My!

Saturday was the County's Child Safety Day, so we stopped by the event to check it out. Dylan is extremely obessessed with any and all modes of transportation so this was right up his alley!

Officer Dylan!

Horsies!

In the fire truck with Mommy.

His favorite was the bicycle, he was a little frustrated that he couldn't make it "go".

Dylan takes safety very seriously!

Lake Hartwell!

We went to Megan's (Uncle Matthew's girlfriend) families' beach house for the weekend to relax and have some fun in the sun. They have a beautiful home on Lake Hartwell, and we had the best time!

Me in my life jacket...am I a cool little dude or what?

I really didn't know what to make of being on the boat...

???

...in fact, I was so overwhelmed, I finally just fell asleep!

The boat ramp however....

...was more my style!

Mommy & Daddy both tried their hand at wakeboarding. Here's a picture of John, I'll spare you a picture of thunder thighs doing her thing! :) We both had a lot of fun, but man, were we sore the next day!

Tantrums and the Terrible Twos!

I read recently that the "Terrible Two's" is an awful description for the phenomenon known as toddler tantrums, because they in fact, usually start around 15 months (check!) and they last until you send the child off to college (oh boy!) Lets hope that's an exaggeration! Tantrum season is upon us. The first couple were hilarious, the public ones are morbidly embarrassing, and then you get to a point where you continue on with what you are doing and find that if you take it with a grain of salt, they are much easier to navigate through until you find your happy child again. What seems to work for us at this stage in the game is diverging all attention to something else, or to help Dylan talk out his frustrations. I'm sure in a lot of ways, the game will change and in some aspects become much easier and in others, that much more of a challenge. Ahhh...the joys of parenting...