Summer is speeding right along and so is my first year - I am nine months old today! Mom and Dad cannot believe their little baby is now scrambling around the floor on his hands and knees moving from one room to the next in the blink of an eye. I have done a lot of fun stuff this summer and will share a few of my favorite memories:
Friday night I joined mom, dad, Grandpa Andy, Auntie Nik, Cousins Max and Noah and Randy at a Twin's game for an outing with the Alzheimer's Association. We all were allowed to do a lap around the grass at Target Field to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease. We wish Grandma Andy could have been there with us, but we will show her pictures and tell her all about it when we go to visit. All day Saturday I got to spend time bonding with Auntie Nik and my cousins and I had a blast! Mom and Dad went out for their long 13/15 mile runs and I went with Auntie to Noah's soccer game where I played on the blanket in the grass and watched the big kids on the soccer field kicking the ball. Mom and Dad went to a Band of Horses concert that night and Auntie Nik, Max, Noah and I stayed at home. Tornado sirens went off, so we had a lot of excitement. Last night, Dad took Mom to La Belle Vie for her big birthday dinner and I went to the Kopka's house to hang out with my buddy Harper. Of course, when mom and dad came to pick me up at 9:00, I was still wide awake.
The second weekend in July we had a family vacation at Bluefin Bay up on the North Shore. We spent the first night in Grand Marais and then Great Uncle Phil and Aunt Maureen treated everyone to rooms overlooking Lake Superior for the next two nights. Our cousins from Georgia (Mandy and Mary) flew up with Bryson and my distant cousin Shyne. We all had fun at the alpine slide and enjoyed a grilled dinner by the campfire!
One of my highlights for the weekend included my first swim in a pool. Although I thought the water was cold at first, I soon decided swimming in the big pool was a blast. After a bit of coaxing, Dad talked mom into letting be dunked totally under water a couple of times and I was a bit shocked but survived. I also enjoyed a little time in the warm waters of the hot tub but I did not care to get my feet wet in Lake Superior...brrrrr. Saturday night Mom, Dad and I had fun playing games with Grandpa, Auntie, Max and Noah and Randy - I managed to hang in there until about 11 pm when I finally crashed in my Pack-n-Play in Grandpa's room. It was a real treat to have a family reunion on the North Shore!
Fourth of July weekend we were lucky to have Uncle Matt come to visit us and stay for a few days! We all went to a Twin's game and hung out with Uncle Matt's buddy, Greg. One of our favorite activities that weekend was the visit to Minnehaha Falls and the Sea Salt Eatery where Dad enjoyed his crawfish po' boy and Mom and I shared fish tacos. Dad took a couple of vacation days to hang out with Uncle Matt and they had fun golfing one day but worked really hard in the yard cutting down lots and lots of tree branches the other day. Thanks Uncle Matt - I didn't know you were a lumberjack. We have so much fun during your visits and enjoy our trips with you to the St Clair Broiler.
Back in June, Mom, Dad and I took my first camping trip to Great Bluffs State Park. I slept in a tent for two nights! At first they thought I could sleep in Sophie's canvas dog crate, but I thought that was a really silly idea and Sophie didn't like it either. So, instead, they pushed me around the campground in my reclined stroller and waited for me fall asleep that way before putting the whole stroller in the tent. We had a campfire both nights and enjoyed hot dogs and beans for dinner one night and smores both nights!
