High Entertainment

Cole has a playroom full of toys, but his favorite plaything is our robotic vacuum cleaner.
He will chase it everywhere, squealing gleefully.

He has even gotten Grayson to join in his game.

On the Move

Trying to keep up with his brother and sister,

Cole keeps finding new ways to move around.

Kiddie Pool

It may be small, but this inflatable kiddie pool is sure getting some good use.
This sunny afternoon, Emily is trying to give Cole a swimming lesson.
He seems more interested in eating her squirt gun.

Grayson's Swim Lessons

After many afternoons of being a spectator at Emily's swim lessons,
Grayson decided to try lessons himself.

After only two lessons, he seemed quite at home in the pool.
By the end of the third lesson, he was looking downright chill.

Cole was not content to play in the poolside puddles.
He let us know loudly that he wanted to jump in with his big brother.

Portraits of Cole

Emily decided she would also try her hand at photography.
Cole was more than happy to act as model again.
First she got in for that extreme close up.
Then she captured his wild side. Watch out for the drooly monster!

Camp Hemme

This last Saturday, we participated in the Great American Backyard Campout.

I know you're thinking there's no such thing, but I read about it on the internet, so it has to be real. Right?

Here is our campsite. Grayson was excited to help Dad set up the tents.











We started the day of outdoor fun with a hike in Irvine Park.

It wasn't exactly the untamed wilderness, but we all had a good time and collected some souvenir feathers.









Jeff, always the prepared outdoorsman, brought along his Palm Pre so that we could track our location on GPS.










Becky and Liam met us back at the campsite for some hamburger and s'mores.












In the morning, Cole joined us in the tent for some cuddles.

I want to be a fireman.

At a recent police and fire department open house, Grayson got this fire helmet.

He soon announced that he wanted to be a fireman.















What boy wouldn't want to be, with the prospect of working with all this cool equipement.

Thumbs Up

Grayson is sometimes a bit timid in front of others.

So, when it comes time for show week at gymnastics, I always wonder how he will respond.

He quickly let me know that he had it all under control.












We were all there to cheer him on.

















With the look on his face, you would think he was winning a gold at the Olympics. I couldn't be more proud of him if he had.

Standing Tall

It seems like just a few weeks ago I was writing about Cole learning to crawl. Not one to rest on his laurels, Cole decided to show off his next trick.

I walked back in to the living room where I has sat Cole down in his playpen, and what greeted me was this elated, standing baby. He looks quite pleased with himself, doesn't he?

Grandpa's Retirement Celebration

Nothing says retirement quite like a cruise. So we took Dad on a 3 day cruise to thank him for all the hard work he has done on behalf of our family.


Our cruise stopped in Catalina. On the island, we took a submarine ride.

The submarine captain told us to be on the lookout for sharks. It looks like Grayson may be a bit worried.








After lunch Grandpa, Nana and Emily rented a golf cart.

Grandpa treated the girls to his version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Emily was so nervous she had to sit in the back and hold onto Nana.

Afterwards, they calmed their nerves with an ice cream.











Back on the ship, I found these two cool dudes hanging poolside.












Cole enjoyed people watching and people enjoyed watching him.













Of course, this high seas adventure would not be complete without a picture of our happy travelers sailing off into the sunset.

The next day, Grayson woke up and asked if he could go on another cruise tomorrow.

That's the spirit!

Budding Photographer

Recently, Grayson tried his hand at photography. I think he really has potential. His first subject was Cole.

He really captured Cole's glee while he tried to shove as many Cheerios as possible in his mouth.








Then he turned the camera on himself.

He looks like he is about to pop. Perhaps it was that second helping of Mac-N-Cheese he ate.

Student of the Month

Emily ended a wonderful 4th grade year by winning the Panther of the Month award.

Look out 5th grade, here comes Dobbles!

Drama Queen

Anyone that knows Emily, knows that she needs no training to be dramatic. Still, when this after school acting class opened, we thought she would have a great time.

On the last class, parents were invited to watch some of the improvisation games they played during the session. This one involved Emily sitting on a park bench and freaking out the unsuspecting person sitting next to her.

Cole At 7 Months

Cole is hanging out in the backyard, watching his brother play baseball.

I will remember this afternoon fondly, because it is the last time I was able to put Cole down on a blanket and have him stay there.

A Bug's Life

When Grayson is with his Daddy, anywhere can be the happiest place on Earth.












It just happens that on this day, they were at Disney's California Adventure checking out some rides based on the movie A Bug's Life.

If that car ran on smiles, they would be cruising all day.

Love Yourself

Cole is finding out what the rest of the family has already learned...you can't resist kissing that cute baby.

Style

Our little man is starting to express his own sense of style.

I am sure it will be a hit with the ladies.

Scottish Festival

Nana and Grandpa took Emily and Grayson to the Scottish Festival. Grayson told me all about it when he got back.















"At the Scottish Vegetable", he said, "we saw people playing backpipes. They are called backpipes because you have to stand back when they play them."















"There were also people on stilts. They wore stilts to make themselves taller because they think that no one will notice them if they are small."

I think Grayson really has this Scottish thing down.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day
for people that fought for us
in wars we have
-haiku by Emily

As I stood, peeling apples for my entry in the dessert contest, I was a little afraid that this neighborhood Memorial Day barbecue would be a scene from The Stepford Wives. I was relieved to find that the neighbors are a friendly, normal bunch (at least most of them).

The kids had lots of fun. Check out Grayson's sweet ride for the bike decorating contest.









Emily really got into the apple bobbing contest.

















Here Emily is with her winning apple. Yummy in the tummy!












Cole was kicking back, and making friends with the elderly ladies in the neighborhood.












Grayson borrowed a neighbors skateboard to show off his skills.

Look Out World

At first glance, you may think this is just a peaceful picture of the boys and I at the park.

But notice the expression on Cole's face. That is a look of a baby that is starting to figure out crawling and is ready for adventure.

Look out world, here comes Coley.

Math Pentathlon

Look at the big brains on Emily!

She was one of only four students from her grade level, picked to represent her school in the district wide Math Pentathlon.






The team won awards in the areas of estimation and construction. Here they are constructing a tower using only newspaper and sticky notes.





Luckily math skills are not hereditary, because Emily's Nana is quite fond of pointing out how much I disliked math as a girl.

Jellyfishing

There is nothing that Grayson Squarepants likes more than to go jellyfishing with his trusty net, Old Reliable.

Look out, those jellyfish can sting!









Oh no, he's been stung!

That has to hurt.

Never fear, Grayson will return to Jellyfish Fields again tomorrow with Old Reliable in hand.

Exersaucer

Beautiful day, happy baby.

Life is good!