End of Summer

Happy Fall! We're enjoying the swirling leaves and gusty winds but before I post anything about our autumn adventures I'm going to do another late summer recap.

 Siena participated in some old-fashioned kids races at the Jefferson Days in August. She was the only child to hold on to her egg in the egg balancing race (above) yet somewhat surprisingly she also was the last to finish that race. We were so proud of her for completing the wheelbarrow race, which was long and very tiring.

 Mini golfing for the first time.

 We walked across the Rockland breakwater pier, which is a mile long and has a gorgeous lighthouse at the end.  Joey crashed in the backpack on the way: 

 Keeping Daddy company getting ready for work one morning:

 A busy surgical schedule:

 Strawberry faces-- note Joey's hair before his first haircut:

 ...and after! I tried cutting it first with scissors, but he looked like Little Lord Fauntleroy. Then I got out the buzzers and he wasn't a fan of them. Let's just say that it was an accomplishment to get this result:

 Siena all dressed up

 Siena's first day of preschool, wearing the necklace Mommy wore on HER first day of preschool:

Daddy dressed Joey in a huge 4T coat and too-big galoshes, which turned out to be the funniest outfit ever:

 Joey had a hard time walking in the galoshes.

 Siena getting ready for school.

 Here we went to a farm stand with Rebecca and Nathanael. Joey spotted a juice box in a drink cooler and would not move away from the glass. He was trying pounding on the glass and possibly trying to lick the glass, after which Siena and Nathanael decided they wanted to choose a juice box as their "treat." Needless to say, Joey received one as well. Nobody was going to pry that box from his little paws. He had it in a death grip all the way home, even after it was empty. Whoever first called juice "baby crack" was spot-on.

 Jo-Jo loves his Ruba.

Catch-Up Post

Summer has been flying by with no good time to update our blog, so here is a smattering of how we've spent the summer thus far:

In July Sarah and the kids spent the greater part of a week in the Albany area while Joe went to Chicago for his boards. The highlights of our trip were spending time with Bobby and Amanda at their new house, spending a day with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Engle, going to a pool party at Aunt Barb and Lynn's house, and spending time with Aunt Teresa, Uncle Andrew, Emmett, Nana, and Pop-Pop at camp. Joe and Sarah even got to go for a jet-ski ride at camp!

Uncle Bobby with Siena:



When Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Engle came to visit us in Albany, they brought along an entire birthday party for Siena. Here she is engrossed in a sticker book that they gave her:



Baby Blue Eyes!


One of my favorite parts of the week was seeing Siena and Emmett play together. They had so much fun that we wanted to bring Emmett back to Maine with us, but Aunt Teresa would have none of that. Instead we can just live with several wonderful little videos and look forward to seeing him again as soon as we can!

Beauties.


Here Joe's parents were visiting for the week. We spent one day on the boat tubing, swimming, and wakeboarding. Joey eventually conked out on Grandmama's shoulder. Other highlights of that week were hiking to a beach, going across the lake for breakfast twice, and Siena finally becoming an independent swimmer while wearing her boat coat.

Joe and his mom on his 33rd birthday, resting after we decimated the pinata Grandpa and Siena made. (It took over an hour of solid swinging. That thing was like a tank!)



Other random moments: Siena was ready for action on a rainy day.


Finishing up a tower before bed
Joey - "Hey, I found this wonderful thing."

"...what does it do?"
"Of course!"

Siena playing Princess - dress and tiara courtesy of Aunt Teresa and Uncle Andrew.

Joey after swimming today.
And Siena laying out on her towel

This is the first picture I've captured of Joey's "fake" smile.

7/31/2011

Sarah and I went on a long 13 mile run through beautiful rural Maine with some amazing countryside. We then had a great time with my parents and sister wakeboarding. After a midafternoon siesta we went out for an excellent thai dinner. On the way home we stopped for ice cream after which Siena asked us to thank her for her idea to stop. When I turned around in the car to ask her if she was serious she stated "your welcome".

Joey and Mommy's Birthday

Joey is officially one year old! Joe and I have been thinking back on all the wonderful moments he brought into our lives and feel blessed to have such wonderful children.

Right now Joey is a little sponge, absorbing everything around him. He says Hi, Dada, Mama, "Ena" for Siena, "Good Girl" to Ruby, and "All done." Joey signs more and is starting to feed himself with a fork and spoon. His favorite songs are The Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels on the Bus. Joey also LOVES to dance. He can stand alone without holding onto anything but will only take one or two steps before dropping back down to crawl. Our dear friends Beth and Cindy gave Joey a walker for his birthday and the little man has been on the go ever since. (Not only is the walker Joey's new favorite toy, but Siena's as well.) Joey has his one-year well child visit tomorrow, so we'll see how big he's grown. We are very proud of our happy little guy and love him so much!







The Chef and his assistant making a delicious fruit tart.


Joey's new walker. He moves all over the house with it but has yet to master turning.