My firemen

This is H's self-proclaimed fireman outfit. And he really wanted Daddy to dress as a fireman with him. This is the result. So sweet.

Tahoe!

My first experience with Tahoe happened many years ago now and it involved a long journey, a very tired pick-up truck and an unexpected pit stop in Truckee. I swore I would never return. But lo and behold, after J took a fishing trip this spring swearing it was a stunning place worth revisiting, we took our first family vacation. Armed with some great locations from a Tahoe veteran we spent our wedding anniversary enjoying beautiful lodgings and the amazing outdoors. Thank you to each of you who helped us have such a wonderful family adventure. We really needed one.

Daddy goes fishing

We picnic while daddy is fishing

Trying to keep ourselves interested as the fishing continues

Just loungin'

What a cool park on the edge of Lake Tahoe

An unexpected dip in the lake

H loves the water

And has no sense of self preservation when it comes to water

Geese!

Donner Lake in the morning - cold but fun

Exploring with Daddy

These pinecones are amazing. And there are so many of them!

So beautiful

Figuring out how to use a straw

Last bit of fun before we head home.

Second Father's Day

It all started with a card. H was super excited to use a pen.

Then H gave Daddy the prized card and gift.

Then H helped Daddy with his workout.

In the afternoon, we took a trip the Marina.

It was SUPER windy. H decided to hang with Daddy...

kp

Until we found a less exposed area and a nice patch of dirt. Where we played for while until we decided to go home for dinner. Salmon cakes and corn and tomato salsa. Yum.

what's up?

Rockin' it

H loves to dance. You give him a simple beat, even just clapping your hands, and he instantly starts grooving. I am sure a lot of this comes from the fact that there is a lot of music being played or sung at our home. And we love to dance and so H is just absorbing the family culture but it is so funny to watch. There are three distinct dance moves that are almost too much.

1. The Head Bop: When we have a CD on of particularly great tunes, his current favorite is "African Playground", H will begin bopping his head instantly. Sometimes he feels the need to really break it down and then he will grip the couch or table or whatever he is standing at, bow his head and just start boppin' his head to the beat. When the music stops he will look up, ready for the next beat.

2. The Squat: When H is really dancing it often involvs lots of deep squats. He will bounce up and down over and over and sometimes he feels the need to do a side-step and bounce, side-step bounce.

3. The Butt Wiggle: If H is crawling along and we start singing or put some music on he will stop crawling, extend his right leg and start wiggling his butt. Often this leads to the need to find something to stand up by so that he can really dance. But sometimes it will just be a pause in his crawling. He will break it out for a minute and then keep going to wherever he meant to go.

Happy Birthday to you....

H turned one year old today! This concept is simply unbelievable! None-the-less we celebrated. After we all got home from our respective schools, I set to work at getting dinner ready for the small group of friends who were able to join us for H's first birthday. The apartment had already been decorated with some fabulous dollar store finds to make the atmosphere as festive as possible so all that was left was the food and celebration.

The evening was a glorious mess of food, playing, and laughter. H was a champ and ate his fill of Mediterranean cuisine. He dined on olives, tomotaoes, cucumber, hummus, pita, and falafel. I was really impressed that he ate it all. Then he got down and played with the two D's that were visiting. Our living room floor became an sea of blocks and other toys in one state of use or another.

The cupcakes were done just before H was ready for bed. Everyone sang happy birthday and H looked around beaming with happiness, swaying to the song. Somehow we thought that we would be able to put a cupcake in front of him, sing, and then not have him eat the cupcake. It became clear from the deeply concerned look on H's face when Jason went to remove the cupcake that we should just let him have it. It is his birthday afterall.

If it is possible to describe H's cupcake eating style as carefully messy then that is what you should imagine. He takes the cupcake and crams it into his mouth and uses both of his little hands to keep shoving more and more slowly into his mouth not letting a crumb escape, if he can help it. And his expression is super focused. You can just imagine him thinking, "This is so good and such a rare occurance that I am not letting it go, no matter what."

After all of the fun H went to bed happily. I laid him down and he rolled to his side waiting for his blanket to suck on as he difted off to sleep.

Saturday afternoon candids...