Grandpa's Birthday

Living the good life in Grandpa's backyard.

Here I thought I was caught up...and I wasn't. I went back through photos and my memory was jogged. I haven't told you about Grandpa's birthday celebration or a couple of other things. SO, here we go!

Grandpa and LM

When we were in Indy way back in early June, we celebrated my Dad's birthday and Father's Day all at once, a few weeks early, mainly because we were in town. It was nice to be able to take part in those celebrations.

The group gift, with special lighting.

Usually for such occasions, all of dad's kids go together for a gift of something he wants. His previous miter saw broke just before this get together, so a miter saw it was! Dad is using it to work on the room in the photo. It was previously a "florida room", or a room without heat and air conditioning, but is now being brought into the house as a "normal" room. My dad and Torchy had put the saw on display, complete with extra special lighting! Later on, S went out and took a few more photos:

Dad, posing with his new saw.

An up close and personal view.

Of course, the other great thing about getting together for Grandpa's birthday is an opportunity to visit with not only Grandpa, but also everyone else.

LM had a nice time playing with Rolen.

Grandpa walked LM all around the yard, talking and looking.

Uncle Rick took a swing break with Rolen.

Kylie and Cora also had a nice time swinging.

And so did Deacon.

LM made the rounds of course, here with Torchy.

And with Veda.

And Jessica.

Charming Aunt Sherri.

Uncle S caught up with Cora and others.

Not to be outdone, Gibson practiced standing!

When he wasn't holding Gibson, Steve hung out at the grill with Dad for a bit.

In fact, the birthday boy received a lot of attention.

He received a few other gifts...

...and some help blowing out his candles.

And he took in all the signatures on the group gift card.

Lots of names.

Later, Grandpa made LM a grilled cheese.

This pretty much solidified Grandpa in LM's memory forever.

He loves grilled cheese. And Grandpa, of course.

Grandpa was swatting at LM with a paper.

LM thought this was HIL-AR-I-OUS.

Cora was showing off her camping medal.

She got it because she was a winner. Uncle S questioned this..."Are you sure it wasn't because you're a whiner?" To this, Cora replied, "NOOO! I'm a WIIINNNNERRR!!!" OK. Got it.

Awwww...

I also tried to get some finch photos.

None of them were stellar.

Some birdie friends on the other feeder.

LM, fighting sleep, finally succumbed on Grandpa's lap.

Maybe one of my favorites of the whole weekend.

What a smart and pretty girl I have as a niece!

Cutie pie Gibby with his dad.

We had a great time.

And were so glad to take part.

Baby Ethan

One of my colleagues at work had a baby! So, of course, I ran right up there to try to take some newborn photos. I thought I would try to utilize the skills I learned when LM was a newborn. Only now, perhaps it would be easier because I get to sleep at night!

Melissa was kind enough to indulge my need to take some photos of her baby. Here are my favorites...you will see it was easy to get some good shots, as baby Ethan is a beautiful subject!

Oooohhhh - baby feet!




I liked this one in sepia.


Lady, you still here?


Sleeping smile.


I'm a watchin' you...


Nothing sweeter!

Thanks again, Melissa. I had great fun.

See you soon!

Father's Day

S had his first official Father's Day in June, and of course we celebrated it in style. LM gave him a keychain that says, "These keys belong to LM's Daddy". He loved it. And, we got together with his family for a Father's Day lunch. Here are some photos from the lunch and of LM at S that I took on that day:

Playing piano with Papa and Daddy.
(See the video here.)


Papa and the grandkids.
You cannot have five happy children 3 and under.
We have proven this fact.


A little better. Lots of cameras - you never know where to look!


Sam and his boys.


Getting ready for the three generation shot...


There they are!


Daddy and LM just after bath time.




I love these boys!

See you soon.

Minneapolis

Right after the family reunion, I had a convention to go to in Minneapolis. Since it is a busy time at work for S, my mom went with me to watch the boy at the convention. We drove from Indy to the convention. We did the drive in two days, and LM did pretty darn good. He mostly slept, which helped a lot. When he woke up, though, he was ready to GET OUT. So, of course, there were more stops than normal.

While I was at the convention, Mom and LM hung out, walking around downtown Minneapolis or playing in our hotel room. We brought a laundry basket of toys from Mom's house to keep him entertained. He stayed on his routine pretty close, and slept amazingly well. At the end of the week, LM and I flew back to Dallas and Mom drove back to Indy by herself. I very much appreciate her willingness to go with me. It really helped me get to the convention and take care of the little guy too.

Here are a few photos from our time in Minneapolis:

This is a photo from the hotel where we stopped on the way up.


Entertaining the boy on the drive...


...eating snacks to keep the boy happy on the drive!




A particularly rough lunch on the road.
Can you tell LM was not having it? I bet you can!

Mom and LM outside orchestra hall.


Where we ate dinner one night.
We had to ask if it was family friendly. It is.


LM had this fun corn cake.


Sculpture in the hotel lobby.


The outside of the hotel.


Have I mentioned LM doesn't like to keep his socks on?

I know, I know. All babies at this age like to take their socks off. I get it. But, I also think LM might be showing a tendency to like bare feet...he's so adamant about getting them off. I am a proponent of bare feet myself - always happier when my shoes are off, the true hick in me shines on - and I wonder if LM has inherited this trait. We'll see!

Playing in the Minneapolis hotel room.




Funny face, hanging out with Mama on the bed.

So that's about it! Car drive, hotel room, meals. It went well, thanks to Mom. And, LM got to add three more states to his list!

See you soon.