Stairmaster!

As Anderson has become more and more mobile, he has also taken an interest in trying to climb anything he can (and can't, of course). After seeing him try and climb Lulu, I finally broke down and showed him where the stairs were a few weeks ago. The stairs are not located in his primary play area so he had never really noticed them before. Rest assured that he knows where they are now and makes a beeline when he can!

Lulu was waiting at the top of the stairs--she is so tolerant!

Dog tail, a delicatessen in some countries....

When I went to take the above picture, he had the best grin on his face and only had her tail in his hand. By the time I brought the camera to my face to take it, this is what I got! He was not impressed at all and already had made the "That was so not worth putting in my mouth" face and moved on.....I promise that I do not let him torment the family dogs!

Anderson is now cruising the furniture very fast, he will transition between pieces of furniture while remaining standing, he has taken to banging things, will let go and stand for longer and longer, and his two bottom teeth are really popping up! This weekend he developed a cough, low-grade fever, and a runny nose :( I am not sure if it is from teething or if he caught something when he was in nursery all week during VBS? One of his little friends that was there is also sick. He acts fine though and is as happy go lucky as usual. I called the MD office today and spoke to a nurse and she said give it a few more days and treat w/ Benadryl and Tylenol and if it does not get better then bring him in. I hope the funk is gone in a few days! We kept Anderson in most of the weekend and subsequently had to cancel our short trip down to Beaufort Sunday to eat fresh lobster that Charlie brought back from Maine when he was out flying the C12 this weekend :(

Notable Events....

We have done many things recently that I have not had a chance to post about...here are just a few!

One of Anderson's pals, Aiden, had his first birthday party a couple of Saturday's ago. Jeff and Kristin made the most delicious dinner for everyone!

Anderson, Harper, and Aiden (birthday boy!)

Kristen, Aiden, & Jeff

Father's Day weekend we took a trip to Savannah to visit the Bass Pro Shop and Toys-R-Us. Brad and Anderson both needed some new toys....

Enjoying toys that Brad would give to him as we went down the aisle!

One of the Toys-R-Us purchases...he really likes this table!

This week I helped with Vacation Bible School at church so that kept us pretty busy from 8:30 to 12:30 everyday! I had a lot of fun helping with the Kindergarten class, but my main focus was to help w/ a precious little girl with cerebral palsy participate in VBS! I could not have thought of a better way to spend my time! Anderson played in the nursery with his Sunday school friends. Poor little guy had his second bottom coming in all week and finally broke through yesterday...that coupled with the fact that he missed his morning nap all week made for a few tough times--but he pulled through like a champ!

Thursday I went to a calligraphy class taught by Natasha Lawrence, a calligraphy and lettering arts instructor from Charleston (www.charlestoncalligraphy.com). I have been wanting to take a calligraphy class for as long as I can remember, so I was glad that this opportunity came up! I learned how to hold the pen, tricks of the trade, and basic lettering strokes. Let's just say I have a lot of practicing to do!!

I am glad I have been busy this week, because it has kept me from watching FOX news too much and watching the Governor Sanford saga unfold. The situation just makes me sick...that is all I am going to say about that.

Anderson's First Run-In with The Law...

A couple of Saturday's ago, we loaded up and spent the better part of the day on the boat! We had just anchored to have lunch, minding our own business, and a Department of Natural Resources Boat with two officers appeared to be cruising by........but wait.....they start making the turn to come over to us and as they got closer who did we see......

Officer Big Daddy!!!

Daddy is a volunteer Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Deputy Officer and he spends a few days a month with DNR patrolling the waters, wildlife management areas, etc. Brad and I could tell it was him before he realized it was us and they were nearly right next to us before it hit him! Just a disclaimer here: Anderson had his lifejacket on up until we were stopped--even though it is not a requirement for boats over 16 feet. Oh, and we passed the random boat check!

Vacation Destination!

One of the best things about living in a resort town (or island in our case!) is that people we know actually vacation here! Last week my great friend Shelly, from MUSC, was here on vacation with her family. They have been coming to the island every summer since she was a child! It was fun to hang out with her all week and we hit the beach, pool, we went out to dinner, and they came over to our house for dinner one night. What a fun week and I almost felt like I was on vacation too!

Katelyn and Anderson

Putting him in a hole allowed me to sit for all of 10 seconds, but I'll take it!

Completely motionless (rare!!) after a long day at the beach!

Can you tell that he ate his fair share of sand??!!

Anderson really took off at the beach this go round. He liked it the last time we went with his buddies Harper and Aiden a few weeks ago, but I guess it was more familiar and he just hit the ground crawling and exploring.

Anderson, Aiden, & Harper a few weeks ago

Brad, my momma, and grandmothers were all worried about me putting enough sunscreen on Anderson! To put all of their minds at ease....he was well protected and we nearly went through a 1/2 a bottle of waterbabies lotion and I also had the spray kind that I used throughout the day on him! For those of you who will be enjoying fun the in sun all summer like us... Walgreens brand Continuous Spray sport SPF 50, Coppertone Waterbabies Lotion SPF 50, and Target brand (name changed to Up & Up) Sport Continuous Spray SPF 30 all were named/rated a consumer reports best buy!

One Special Daddy!

The old saying that tells you that anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy is so very true! We celebrated Brad's first father's day today, and as an added bonus, I got to spend some time with my daddy too! Brad has been talking about wanting to go crabbing, so we loaded up and headed down to my grandmother's house in Beaufort. She has the perfect crabbing place and we used to catch so many crabs off that dock when I was growing up! Today we also got a show from a couple of dolphins who were feeding near the banks---it is amazing to watch and it is only the second time I have seen it during all of my years living in these parts!

Anderson had a ball with the garden hose in the baby pool, helped catch some blue crabs, went on a boat ride, played with BeeGee & Big Daddy & MeMe, and crawled in the yard until he was exhausted!

Dolphins feeding near the bank!

Swing Time!

Swinging is now one of Anderson's favorite things to do! He smiles ear to ear and laughs big belly laughs--the kind you cannot help laughing along with! I am planning on ordering a swing in the next few days for Brad to hang. Sandy and Kevin, our closest neighbors that live in a house bordering the horse paddocks just outside of our neighborhood, have a swing set and have graciously left the baby swing on there for Anderson to enjoy. You do have to scale a fence or walk around (gasp!) to get in their backyard and in this heat....we are both soaked before we get there! These pictures were taken several weeks ago at the playground on the beach at Port Royal Plantation.

Blog Buttons.

Since entering the blogosphere, I have encountered many blog buttons that support causes, people, places, etc... I could not possibly give each one the attention they all deserve, so I picked 2 that have been on my heart.


This is Jonathan, who is the brother of a dear friend of mine---Jodie, who BTW has some exciting news to share!! He is currently doing a tour in Afghanistan and from the updates I have been reading, he is adjusting very well over there! As most of you know, Charlie, my brother-in-law is a major in the Marine Corps. What you may not know is that he did a extended tour in Iraq just about a year ago! I have mentioned this time and time again, but in honor of flag day today I though it appropriate to thank our military and especially Charlie and Jonathan for all they do and sacrifice for our freedom! Support our Troops!!!

This is Jonah, I am not honestly sure how I came across his mother's blog (Patrice)! He was born with an extremely rare genetic skin disorder called epidermolysis bullosa. You will have to check out Patrice's blog for all of the details about baby Jonah and their story, but be sure to have some Kleenex handy, b/c it will bring a tear (or many) to your eyes. I think I am drawn to Jonah b/c he is not that much younger than Anderson :)

When you navigate around in the blogosphere, you will undoubtedly come across many of these blog buttons....click on a few of them...I think you will be glad that you did!

Time with the Family!

As close as we live to my parents and sister & brother-in-law, we do not see them nearly as much as we should! It was a treat to have my parents come up on Sunday afternoon and then Paige and Charlie came and spent the night on Tuesday night! Paige has been watching Anderson for me quite a bit this week b/c I was asked if I could work extra days the past 2 weeks to help out. Anderson has gotten plenty of QT with her and I am glad that she is around until nursing school starts back up in the fall!

Driving the buggy!

Dad and Brad trying to land a big one in the saltwater pond!

Enjoying the Boathouse!