those fly over states...

one of the most beautiful "fly over states" I know...

sun setting over the corn fields

drew 12 month & family photo session

we had drew's 1 year/family session last month at golden gardens in ballard. i had wanted to do this location for his 3-mo photo shoot last august, but it was closed for construction at that time... so, i've been looking forward to it for our last session instead. we even had to rescheduled once or twice because the weather wasn't cooperating. well, this day had started off beautiful, but quickly clouded up and cooled down right as we were starting. but i'll take it - at least it didn't rain :) 

grady had a blast at the beach. he dug in the sand, drew in the sand, splashed in the ice cold water, threw rocks, made a mess & got wet and dirty...did what little boys do best. drew on the other hand, was not such a happy camper. he was tired, cold, and crabby...and nothing seemed to brighten his spirits much. the waves and water freaked him out, and it was all downhill from there. jocelyn still managed to get a few smiles out of him though & capture some super sweet moments-she was amazing and so patient with us!

thanks so much jocelyn! jocelynkbrownphotography.com

potty book

along with 'chica chica boom boom', this is grady's latest book obsession.

Potty Book

i got this book for him last september when we decided to potty train, thinking it would help get him excited about it. well, he really wanted nothing to do with it then... but now, LOVES it. and this video cracks me up.

4th of july week (picture overload)

we were surprised to hear that jon's grandma dee, aunt karen, cousin lori & her two kids megan & dylan, were coming to visit us over the 4th of july! we found out the week before and i was so excited - we don't get visitors often, so it is always nice surprise when we do :) 

the boys had an amazing time with the non-stop excitement and attention! grady just had a huge smile on his face the whole time & woke up every morning saying "go see megan. go see dylan. where dee dee?".

jon and i both had to work some of the time, but the week was spent visiting seattle - the space needle & aquarium (which grady LOVED - we will definitely have to take him back since I missed it too), shopping, eating out & visiting the woodland park zoo. we spent the 4th at the beach, grilling out, parade fun, and playing with sparklers.

jon reading grady books before bed. 

he couldn't let go of his red robin balloon.

 great-grandma dee dee reading to graders

  

dylan and grady

dylan is over a yr older than grady, but you can't tell from pictures. dylan is still a little peanut :)

it was so fun to watch them play together though - so cute. they were good buds!

  cousin megan snuggling with drew :)

dee and her cousin margo (who lives in mukilteo!)

 morning at the beach

 karen, lori & kristin

 yuck!

 me and my boy - not a fan of the camera. wonder why?

 it was a 'pass the cranky baby around' kind of day

 there's a smile!

 mmmm... whats a day at the beach w/o ice cream?

 sooooo sleepy on the way home

lunch on the picnic table

arlingon parade...patiently (or not so patiently) waiting

 trying to see better from auntie K's shoulders

well, the kids were really hoping for candy at the parade. no such luck. so, after the parade that was not so great... we made our own parade at home (and threw candy, of course). i'm pretty sure the kids found it much more entertaining :) as did i.

 waiting with the goody-bags

 karen marched, waved her american flag, and sang a patriotic song of some sort

i rode grady's strider bike 

 and jon rode grady's trike. 

 tired drew

poppers/snappers, smoke bombs, snakes & sparklers. kid fun.

 my pathetic attempt at bring to shoot fireworks. 

 maybe i will figure it out by next year.

drawing with the sparkler light

 woodland park zoo

"hey grades, stand by the money"

the boy can't keep his fingers out of his nose

this guy was just cute!

 watching fish and otters

...and all she wanted was a pic with her great-grandchildren. I snapped this the last night. 

(was too dark and i didn't use flash - but best I could do) 

 Dee with her 4 (of 5) great-grandchildren :-)

we had a wonderful time with all of our company. seems like it went by way too fast. i'm sure grady is just bored to death again now though. it's a good thing we are going back to visit family this weekend already - he will have two weeks of non-stop entertainment with everyone :)

love you all!