Boating fun

We spent the day with Grandpapa and Grammy on the Lake. The weather was beautiful and the lake was calm and beautiful! The kids played in the sprinkler, threw the ball to Murphy, and then we went for a boat ride. Ethan was our captain (with some help from Grandpapa) and Naomi enjoyed consuming an entire ice cream cone by herself! Everyone was happy... then Grandpapa grilled a yummy dinner for us- what a great day! We love you!!!

Naomi's 15 month check-up

How did my baby girl get so big?? Wow! We went in for her 15 month check-up today and she got, "well, she's perfect!" from our Pediatrician. Of course we already knew she was perfect, but it's nice to know she's in good health and doing well! She's my tall and skinny girl- 32 1/2 inches tall and 21 lbs 9 oz. She didn't gain much weight since her 12 month appointment, so I guess we don't need to worry about her 'eating herself to death' as Josiah describes her healthy appetite!

Naomi is a joy and delight! Her favorite things right now are eating, saying 'No!' and talking on her many phones and playing with her big brother in the sandbox! She's also becoming a bit sassy (hope she's not learning that from me!) and is not afraid to speak her mind in her toddler-talk. Here are some pics of Naomi and the sandbox- her favorite place!

Family Fun with the Smith Clan

We spent the last 6 days with most of Josiah' family- his parents, sister Christal and her husband Craig, and our niece, Vallarie, and nephew, Nicolas. We had a 4,3,2, and 1 year old... wow! At least there were enough of us to control the troops!
Here's a run-down of our fun activities: Minnesota Zoo, Children's Museum, and Lunch at Don Pablo's on the 4th. Josiah put on
a nice firework display for us in the backyard (must admit I was a bit nervous... but no one got hurt) and the kids enjoyed it! Spent
a lot of time playing in the yard and hanging out. It was a good visit! Thanks for coming!

Father's Day Fun at the Lake

We celebrated Father's Day at the Lake with my dad, my Grandpa and Josiah. We went on the boat for a ride- this was Ethan's favorite part. He went on 3 boat rides and loved them all. Naomi enjoyed dancing on the boat with her Aunt Sabie (Sarah.)
We got Josiah a Cuisinart Griller that works as an indoor grill and sandwich panini- hopefully he can put that to good use in the kitchen!
Happy Father's Day!

The Kelley Farm

Today we went on a wonderful outing to the historic Kelley Farm. Great-Grandma Pat, Grammie Carol & Aunt Sabie (Sarah)
joined us. The weather was perfect! We got to meet the baby kittens, a calf, lambs, sheep, a BIG pig, a rooster, and saw some
horses grazing in the pasture. Ethan loved watering the rubarb plant with the tin can and pumping water from the well. Naomi
did approach a sheep and actually touched it! She also loved splashing in the water with Ethan. Thanks for taking us to the farm,
Grammie. And Ethan can't wait until we can go again!

Ethan's Drumming Debut with JSB at the CD Release Concert

Papa's band (JSB) had their 2nd CD Release Concert last night. It was SO fun- LOTS of people, great music (of course), and a special DRUM solo by Ethan!! He affectionately refers to the band as the 'Ethan Smith Band,' and who knows- someday- he might just have his own band! Josiah held him up to the microphone and asked him his name- "Ethan Smith." What are you going to play tonight?- "Drums." He wasn't nervous at all! Will had to encourage him a bit but once he got drumming- he did an awesome job! I was a proud mama!

Splish-Splash!

Ethan has become our "sprinkler-engineer." Or, as he calls them, "sprinkles." He's quite obsessed with the proper sprinkler placement and making sure the sprinkler sprays the water correctly. He'll spend hours outside in his rain boots tinkering around in the yard. Naomi wanted "in" on the action too- so they played with the water table. I think Naomi was more interested in drinking the water out of the bucket though! Splish-Splash!