Junior Birdmen

Up in the air Junior Birdmen, Up in the air flying high.

Meet Emily, she has been flying for years and is the fearless leader of the squad.

Grayson is quickly moving up through the ranks.
He is careful and cautious, but learning to fly the big planes easily.
Cole is the young rookie. He is eager and impulsive, which often leads him into trouble.
Take to the skies little Birdmen.

Perfect Moment

Laughing and splashing with my three wiggly, wet babies.
It doesn't get much better than this.

First Tooth

I am pleased to announce the much anticipated arrival of Cole's first tooth.
(Those boogers are pretty impressive too.)
It may just appear to be a tiny nub now, but it has good chomping potential.

Preschool

Emily took Grayson on a tour of the preschool she attended "when she was a kid".
Grayson will start school there in September. They are both very excited.

Studio Time

Dad gave the members of Bellymeat a chance to see a real rehearsal studio.

Emily, who likes things loud and dramatic, immediately gravitated to the drums.

Grayson stayed close to the microphone, eager to prove his role as lead singer.

Cole planted himself in front of the fan
and practiced his best pouty poses for the band's music video.

Just Add Water

Want to know how to make this baby happy? Just add water.
Whether it be the pool, bath or shower, Cole is always up for some splashy fun.

Bellymeat Rocks!

A talented young artist named Grayson announced to his family that he was starting a band.
He grabbed his guitar and microphone and called his first rehearsal.

He assigned Dad to drums and Emily to guitar. I had the honor of becoming the publicist.
After some discussion the band came up with the name Bellymeat.

Sadly, after only one rehearsal Emily and Grayson are arguing over who has the right to their first song "A Long Time". I guess all of the great bands have their share of conflict.
Rock on Bellymeat!

WWF

World Wrestling Federation presents:
COLENATOR VS. G-MAN

It seems that the Colenator has Gman firmly pinned. G-man tries to fight him off with his Transformer toy, but it is no match for the Colenator's drool attack.

Cowboy Grayson

Grayson took a ride on the ponies at Irvine Park.
At first, he wasn't quite sure about horseback riding.

After a few times around the track, he was telling me that he and his new friend Echo were just fine and I didn't need to hold on to the reins anymore.
Easy there, Partner!

Guitar Lessons

One afternoon, Cole decided to find out what this guitar thing was all about.
He really enjoyed his first lesson.

He may decide to follow in Daddy's musical footsteps,
especially when he figures out girls dig boys with guitars.

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!