Getting dressed:
Sunscreen application (or dirty toddler WWE, whichever):
Taking a breather:
Hydrating:
Gran, I’m ready to go now!
The pool’s this way:
Tell me again why we spent the time to put my shoes on?
Preparing myself:
Catch!
I’m in!
Touchdown!
This is hard work, Dad:
Jump! (or fall, whichever…)
Kick (…Gran in the chest)!
Snakes in a pool:
Swim!
Jump (again, with the falling…):
Fun with Dad:
Bubbles:
August 2008:
August 2009:
August 2008:
August 2009:
August 2008:
August 2009:
August 2008:
August 2009:
August 2008:
August 2009:
After discovering that our membership at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens has reciprocal benefits, we decided to go check out the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. We had a blast and I could see this becoming a more regular part of our yearly trip. Here are some pictures we took during our visit:
Koi pond:
Banyan Grove:
Leopard!
So many jokes…
So little time.
Say I won’t do it, I dare you…
Fauna, Flora, & Statuary:
Lizards (fauna) aplenty!
Flora:
Statuary:
Boy:
How many pictures can one family take at the base of the same tree…?
(Classic shot: Matt smiling, Liam looking like he’s up to something, and Shannon with her eyes closed)
Run!
Boats!
Plane!
Bo tree:
Bench!
Stroller sprint:
Christy Payne Mansion:
Wait for me, Gran!
Bench!
Grass!
Bananas!
Not that that stopped us from going to the beach, of course…
Play:
Sunscreen:
Beach!
Bird!
Bye, bye birdie:
Gran love:
Sand!
Serious business:
Sandcastle Part 1:
Sandcastle Part 2:
Sandcastle Part 3:
Sandcastle Part 4 (the final chapter):
Helicopter!
New face:
Come on, Da!
Bird!
Bye Birdie?
Da, the bird’s over here!
Hi, Mama.
Where to now, Da?
The ocean’s a long way, Da…
Bird!
Ocean!
I’m not so sure about this:
Granny water?
Gran in the water?
Granny water!
Gran in the water!
Pool!
If we’re lucky we can do it all again tomorrow!
The men in my life seem to love it, and it turns out that’s all I need out of the bench:
Liam just walked up to me, pinched his nose and said “Pee-eww, stinky, stinky!” He then pointed at his bum and clearly said “Poop.” I would be elated about his clear communication skills in a very helpful area except that when I put him on the changing table there was nothing there. So much for that.
Although Liam still doesn’t watch very much TV (with the exception of a few minutes each day while I’m waking up and getting ready and he’s in our room with us) it brings me great joy that my little boy can now identify Mister Rogers on sight. I’ve written before about using the PBS website clips while cutting Liam’s fingernails and toenails but it never occurred to me that Mister Rogers might be available online until I went looking for DVDs and found that not only are there only a very few available out there in the world but that PBS has just cut Mister Rogers re-runs to one per week, which is absurd. Of all the complete crap aimed at kids on television it’s more than a little shame that Mister Rogers isn’t aired regularly anymore (and that I can’t get my hands on all the episodes–for which I’d be willing to pay a ridiculous sum of money). The fact that we’ve tried to replace a captivating, kind, caring, gentle man who taught us how to be better people with giant purple dinosaurs and action cartoons with no real value is sad. While I know that my kid will inevitably end up watching some crap TV in his youth I’d just like to do my best to keep shows like Mister Rogers and Reading Rainbow on our playlist. I’ll take a tour of a stamp factory or LeVar Burton reading a classic over flashy, soulless animation any day of the week.
After we got back from the Trader Joe’s I made the mistake of going to the bathroom (I know, I know, I never learn, do I?). This is what I found when I came out:
In case you can’t tell that’s Liam (unabashedly) sitting on the back porch drinking milk and eating cheese sandwich crackers. Here’s a hint: I didn’t give him any of that before I went to the bathroom.