Independence Day

Our little girl was showing off her feeding skills yesterday morning...it was enough to make any Mommy (or occupational therapist!) proud. She basically "told" us she was ready for some more independence when she started refusing to let Josh or me feed her.

I'm a big girl now!

My Favorite Pictures from Chesapeake

What I was especially excited about over vacation was being able to take lots of pictures of new things and just have fun with my camera. Here are my favorite ones...

Farewell sweet, sweet sippy cup...

I was both terrified of and fascinated by this Robber Fly that showed up on the balcony a few days in a row. It definitely made me wish I had a lens with better zooming capabilities.

Dagney decided she wanted to watch the sunrise one morning mid-vacation.

Josh made this scrumptious breakfast for us one morning. The star attraction was a fried egg on an english muffin topped with fresh crabmeat (that Josh collected from the Maryland crabs we feasted on the night before) and hollandaise sauce.

"who, me??"

I love taking face shots like this and even this:

I get to see this face all the time at home so I thought I'd share. Usually it's accompanied by a shriek.


Paige "discovered" her hand while we were on vacation and spent lots of time mulling over its details.

Emmet on the cob.

All Great Vacations Come to an End

Our last day on our vacation was closed with a beautiful sunset from Grandma's balcony.

Grandma got to spend some time with Dagney by her pool.

Aunt Jenn got to read a book to Dagney and Emmet. Emmet was so helpful showing Dagney what a 'nana was and how to say it.

And here is a picture of Paige and her wonderful smile! In her head we can only imagine, 'Wait til you get a load of me next year Grandma!"

And Aunt Jessie got to see her BFF Kim and her little and 'oh so adorable' son Bryce!

And in one more year we will get to do it all over again.

Another Day in Paradise

Another day in Chesapeake Beach and Bonnie and Clyde have continued their reign of terror. They started off the morning by playing Elmo online and mercilessly pounding the keyboard and throwing fishies!


After that, it was off to the pool where Emmet proceeded to booby-trap the pool deck by pouring water all over the place with his red water pitcher. Eventually daddy had to take it away and Emmet proclaimed, "Where is my red pitcher of doom?"


Meanwhile, at the other end of the pool the little waterbug Dagney was busy horse-playing in the pool; splashing and jumping and splashing and jumping much to the delight of the elder retirees who were hoping for a quiet day at their pool.


The dynamic duo closed the evening by ravishing two boxes of raisins and leaving the leftovers scattered all over Grandma's condo. These two have really started to appreciate the destructive power of the other!

...and Grandma has done a tremendous job helping out with Paige and keeping everybody in line. Thanks for a wonderful week so far Grandma!

It's a Rainbow!

Unfortunately the Hitchcocks could not attend our gathering this year at Chesapeake Beach, however they did send their love by sending us this wonderful Rainbow over the Chesapeake Bay.
After the rainbow Dagney took a bath and Aunt Jessie could not resist to put Lil' Emmet Pants into the bathtub with cousin Dagney. Many laughs were had and many memories were made...
Day 2 it was off to the beach. Lil' Emmet Pants loved pouring water over the sand...

Dagney took a little while to get use to walking on the sand and after a couple of spills she struggled to figure out why her thumb tasted different. After about 30 minutes she was running around, playing in the sand and jumping in the water. Her first movie-esque sprint into the rolling surf was a little rough as she didn't expect there to be such a drop off after entering the water. She shook it off and was back to exploring the beach.
Here is Josh, Jessie, Dagney and Emmet waving to the Hitchcocks! We miss the four of you very much and will keep you posted on all the activities we wish we could share with you! All the more reason to look forward to next year.

The Sussex County Fair

On Sunday we went with our neighbors Frank, Frankie, Leah and their cousin Aileen to the Sussex County State Fair. This was our first fun 'family outing'. I think the time it took us to get ready with both girls was longer than the time we actually spent at the fair! Nonetheless, Josh and I were excited for Dagney to see all the animals, especially at the petting zoo. We got there early and enjoyed a nice, cool morning.

Dagney and little Frankie rode in style.

We saw lots of local animals who were being judged.

Dagney enjoyed seeing all the different animals...from the comfort of the wagon...

I love this GQ shot of Josh!

The most adorable moment of the day was during snack time when Frankie decided to feed Dagney golden raisins.

Dagney's first pony ride!

She didn't stop laughing and smiling the whole time.

Frankie showing off his brute strength to Dagney who is more into funny hats at 14 months:

Paige hung out in her stroller the whole time trying to doze off, which finally happened right before we left (of course):

In contrast, here's the only picture of Leah AWAKE...

Unfortunately when the Daddys took Dagney and Frankie into the petting zoo strollers were not allowed, so I stayed behind with the babies and didn't get any pictures. According to Josh, however, Dagney just wanted to run around and wasn't too excited about feeding the animals. I'm sure that will change next year!

Big blue ball, little blue ball

For better or for worse, one of the greatest pleasures in life is having the opportunity to be a role model and being empowered to influence a young mind. For me, the euphoric feeling of making that first impression on Dagney was comparable to other major milestones in my life such as that first date, the first sip from dad's beer can or that first victory on the wrestling mat.

So in late July when I returned from Orlando and after I changed into my casual jeans, I sat on our aerobic blue bouncy-ball for Dagney and asked my wife how her week was. Dagney walked over to me, pointed at me and giggled.

The next few moments were pure magic as Dagney's actions gave me that first euphoric moment as a father. Dagney bent over and lined up her tush with her little blue ball...

settled back...

looked up at me...

and started to bounce!

and bounce and bounce and bounce...

"...And with great power comes great responsibility." I have not completely comprehended how impressionable I am on my little girls, but I hope my wife, my family and my dear friends can help me out in teaching her the good habits and not many of the bad ones.