The Grahams

Callie had her first swim lessons for the summer and she absolutely loved them! I have to confess, I was a bit nervous about doing them, as she seems to be going through a phase of hating baths. I could just picture her screaming the whole time, but I was pleasantly surprised (in fact, the only time she got upset was when I couldn't get her in the pool fast enough). She went for 8 sessions and seemed to be disappointed that they are over. The ultimate goal was for her to get comfortable and not be afraid of the water - goal achieved! By the end of the 8 sessions she started kicking and moving her arms (reach and pull) - it was very neat to see her start not really doing anything but playing and end with some new skills. Amazing how quickly she can learn. Preston took a few days off and was able to join us for a few of the swimming days. This was by far one of her favorite activities - the instructor took a bucket of balls and submerged them, after they all popped back up the k...

We take a tradional girls camping trip during the summer when Trish is home for the summer (one of these times, we will go over to visit her in Switzerland). Our camping trip started out as tent camping but last summer we switched to renting a cabin. This year Callie came for a few days, then Preston took her for a day so I could enjoy some time to myself. We went to Lake Kachess again and although the water was VERY cold, we ended up with beautiful weather! The sunscreen mohawk This was one for her favorite things to do - although she got a bit of a surprise when the bucket had water in it one time. Pretty cute! Rocks in the bucket, rocks out of the bucket, rocks in the bucket......on and on and on. PS - she LOVES the beach! What a cheeseball This is pretty much how we spent the rest of the kid free day - very relaxing. Although we did manage to spend some time kayaking.

These last two weeks have been VERY crazy and emotional for us. Preston and I have been pulled in every direction and spent a lot of time away from each other. We ended up having a very unplanned park date - it reminds me to enjoy every little moment we have with our little family. I could not have asked for a better day! It was a bit like life totally stopped around us and we just got to enjoy each other (then life started again, very quickly afterwards). She gets very excited when she sees that swings but doesn't really seem to like them at all. She'll last for just a few minutes them wants off. By far, her favorite thing (besides watching the other kids) is the slide! But she loves the big twisty slides - works great when there are two of us but not so much when its just me and her. Enjoying a picnic lunch The nice thing about this park was that there were no wood chips! She seems to think it is fun to eat wood chips - it was nice not to h...

Time continues to fly. I am a bit behind on this post - 18th is close enough to the 10th right? Its hard to believe that in one month she will be one year old. This is the best picture we could get - as she now moves around SO much now. Here's another one that Preston really liked (she was playing peek a boo). Here's what's new: She now has 5 teeth (almost 6 - just waiting for it to pop out). Two on the bottom and three on top. She is walking and very happy about it. Very rarely does she crawl anywhere. She learned how to stand from a sitting position. She got very tired of walking somewhere, falling down in the middle of the room, then having to crawl over to something to stand up. I think it only took her 3-4 days to figure it out after she learned how to walk. Callie loves to climb things and move things out of her way. She is a very determined little girl (wonder where she gets that?). We can no longer put a piece of furniture in front of something we don...

A little rain couldn't stop the lobsters from coming, so we decided the rain wasn't going to stop us! It ended up being a wonderful day full of family, friends, and really good food. Callie was very spoiled! And....the lobster have arrived...yum! Cousins had much play time together

Yay!!! We have learned how to walk and we are ALL over the place!