beach bum

We're freshly back from a vacation in Cape May, New Jersey, where we spent four days with Eric's high school buddies and their families, including seven kids! Jed was the youngest in the bunch, but he held his own and his new "beach cousins" were very accommodating. We all had a blast, except for Jed when he approached the ocean!

hanging with my new friends

testing the umbrella's strength

Uncle Greg gives Jed rabbit ears

not a huge fan of the ocean

watching a para-glider in the distance with Daddy

blissfully unaware of the ocean's menace upon arrival at the beach

a big ol' bunch o' pictures

nothing brings the boys together like the sofa and the remote control

the xylophone rocks!
(thanks to Great Aunt Phyllis for passing it on!)

getting taller but not tall enough

watching bees

look ma! no hands!
the mailman is here!

We're leaving for the beach tomorrow and Jed's ready. He has his Hawaiian shirt and now he's packing his toiletries.
Look for beach pictures late next week.

short fat, meet tall skinny

Jed just returned from his one-year check-up, and I'm sorry to say that I can't call him "short fat" any more: at 30.5 inches long and almost 23 pounds, he's in the 75th percentile for height and 30th for weight. But the Big Head Jed moniker still fits because his 19.25-inch noggin is in the 95th percentile!

steps!

Somebody found Uncle Brian and Aunt Dara's big step inspiring!

Diesel is off the market!

Congrats to Uncle Brian and [soon-to-be-official] Aunt Dara on their engagement. Jed is thrilled for them and can't wait to stuff wedding cake in his mouth.

happy father's day!

where's Jed?

there he is!!

Where's Jed?

There he is!!

Whether you call it peek-a-boo or peep-eye, the kid loves it!

and in other antics:

The orchid Teddie gave to Mama is in sight.

What? You don't want me to touch this leaf? This one right here?

Ok.
Oh, you mean don't want to me touch this leaf? This one that my fingers aren't touching right now? But I'm smiling, so what's the problem?

then and now

It's still raining but not so hard that I couldn't get a picture of the new paint!

out with the pink!

in with the gray and blue*!

*Do not be tempted to guess that one or more of the following figured into our color choices: the Detroit Lions, Gilman's school colors, the colors of the Union and Confederate armies, or any other group, team, or school that uses blue and gray.

new stuff

The painters are finished! I'd love to post some before-and-after shots of the house, but it's raining cats and dogs, raining like the devil, raining like crazy . . . raining like whatever you can think of. It's a frog strangler, a gully-washer, etc. Seriously, I don't think I've seen this much rain without a hurricane near by. But anyway . . . back to the kid.

Jed recently received some long-distance birthday gifts and it's time to show off! Aunt Theresa and Uncle Mike sent him a complete summer wardrobe from Arizona and Marmie sent a fantastic table-and-chairs set! All the clothes are adorable and Jed's favorite part of the table set is the rolling storage bin, as you'll see below. Enjoy the pictures and look for some house pictures after the monsoons pass.

first, some random shots from lunch yesterday

pulling out pots and pans in a new outfit

chair time in new pjs

but really, the best part is the high-speed, easy-rolling storage bin!

hehehehehe ! ! !

Friday with Jed

winston remains hopeful and vigilant

the painter in the window is hilarious!

Thanks for the snack, Shannon & Will.
Uumm, I mean thanks for the blocks, Shannon & Will.

dragging out

into the sun

spinnin' and endin'

playing with my toys is fun

but it's more fun to sit on Mama's pocketbook and spin around

and around

and around

and in ending news:
Jed has enjoyed his last serving of powdered gold!