Recent photos of the boys

Here are some photos I took this week while hanging out at home. It's amazing how fast they both are growing. Braden received his 2nd haircut this past Tuesday. He seems to be a lot cooler without all that hair - but we miss the curls.......

Logan has starting smiling and responding to our voices. He likes to "Coo" and copy my sounds. I think that he is going to be the vocal one in our family.

Father's Day

Braden and Logan had a card ready for Daddy we he woke up Sunday morning. Braden had painted Daddy a coffee mug - but he had decided to give to him a week early without Mommy knowing. Unfortuntely most of the day was spent either packing or in the car. We headed home from the shore to have Sunday dinner at the Hardel's to celebrate Father's Day and also Jody's birthday. With all the packing and unpacking that took place - Mommy forgot to bring her camera......

Happy Father's Day to all the "Dad's" in our life.

Weekend at the Beach

Our trip to the shore ("Beach" as Braden calls it) started off a little rocky. We headed for Tom's River about 8 pm on Thursday night. I had thought that Braden would enjoy watching a DVD in the car, so Darren hooked up the player on the back of my head rest. Braden was extremely excited to see that his favorite show "Handy Manny" was playing - however about 45 minutes into our trip he got car sick not once, but twice. Two stops and two outfit changes later - the DVD player is no longer in the car.

We had great weather and lots of fun in the sun. Braden enjoyed the water and Mommy showed him how to build a sand castle. Unfortuntely Logan had to spend most of his time indoors - but he didn't seem to mind. He had lots of people to keep him busy. MiMi, Aunt Erin and Uncle Danny also came down for the weekend. Uncle Danny, Daddy and Braden spent some quality time playing Mario Kart (Wii) and Mommy, Aunt Erin and MiMi went to a local quilt shop and bought fabric. Logan also came along for the ride - but missed out - he was sleeping.

Thanks for a great time!!

Uncle Matt's Birthday Dinner

I must apologize for the lack of photos on this post (my camara battery died - and I have yet to get a replacement) We celebrated Matt's 28th birthday today with chicken and ribs at our usual Sunday dinner spot. Braden and I had gone shopping earlier in the day to find that special gift for "Uncle Matty." We came across this great tie-died frog that Braden absolutely fell in love with. So we bought two - one we named Hip and the other Hop. We sure hope that Matt is enjoying his Frog as much as Braden does.

Darren and I also encouraged Braden to go swimming in the pool (which he loved last weekend - but since seeing Mommy go under water he doesn't want to get in) I got him to get in the spa with me, but not for long. I hope this fear subsides soon. Swimming Lessons are in the works!!

Happy Birthday Matt. We love you.

First Swim

Sunday ended up being a beautiful day - and Braden was invited to play in our neighbors pool (the green pool in the first photo) It was shaped like a frog - completed by a fountain. The pool was just big enough for Braden and his friend Ellie. He had a great time and would have gladly skipped his nap time if Mommy would have let him.

As always - we concluded our weekend with dinner at GiGi and Grumpa's house. It happened to be Aunt Dianna's birthday (Jim and Dianna are visiting for the week) The menu consisted of Shish Kabobs and cake for dessert.

We weren't sure the pool was offically "open" for the summer (since receiving a "facelift") but Braden was allowed to try it out. Aunt Jody put his feet in the water - but that wasn't quite enough for him. Within minutes he was down to his diaper and totally submerged. He was having such a great time and didn't want to get out. He spent the rest of the evening trying to find every possible route to the pool.

We just hope the weather is just as nice next weekend so that we may enjoy some more time in the pool.