Visitors!

Last weekend Elise, Dave and Oakley came for a visit. We really enjoyed having them. It seems that we only took pictures on Saturday when we went into Boston. Here are Aleks and Elise on the freedom trail.

Later we went to the Aquarium, something I have never done in the eight years that I have lived here. It was great. Isaac went crazy and ran through the whole place. He really loved it.

We got some nice photos outside the aquarium. We spent a little while try to get some photos of Isaac and Oakley together. It definitely took some effort since Oakley has not quite mastered sitting up, yet and Isaac is really wiggly (though he is getting really good at providing large, cheesy smiles on command).


He got a little bored at one point in the photo shoot.


Some other shots that we liked...

August Travels

We had a few trips in August. First we were in Ithaca visiting family. We forgot our camera, but Jessica (thanks!) took these shots and sent them out way. Isaac liked Cayuga lake a lot.

We also got this family photo. We like how it turned out, even though Isaac is showing off his bellybutton (something that he does enjoy doing).


Next we headed to Utah and Idaho to visit family. Isaac had a blast with his cousins. We went to the zoo and had a great time with the goats. Isaac went crazy at the opportunity to pet the goats. In the first photo he was trying to grab the goat's tail and the goat kept wagging it. Unfortunately we did not catch it well on camera. It was really funny.



We also got to see Harmony, Jack and Lucus there. They were visiting from Germany. It was great to see them.



Isaac loved the kiddie pool that Jill and her family have. He and Peter had a great time playing and splashing each other.







Isaac also got to spend some time with his great grandparents. Here we are with the Whites. Unfortunately we forgot to get a picture with the Forsbergs.



Finally, Aleks took this a couple nights ago when Isaac was asleep. Miraculously he did not wake up, despite the one open eye.

Random pictures

It has been a while since I posted. We have been out of town and enjoying summer. So, this is the first post to get a bit caught up on the last month. Isaac has been having a lot of fun and learning A LOT. He is talking more and more and running everywhere. He has only gotten one bad black eye as a result.

He is really into his books and will frequently grab one and come up to us and demand to get on our lap and have us read it to him. How could we turn down such an invitation?

We call this the genie or ventriloquist puppet pose. Isaac loves it when Aleks holds him this way. Good thing that Aleks is at the gym right now getting his muscles stronger for Isaac's increasing weight.

Blueberries!

We went blueberry picking yesterday morning. Isaac loves blueberries and seemed to really enjoy himself. He was picking blueberries and eating them off the bushes. We enjoyed being able to come home with two big bags of blueberries. I am enjoying some fresh blueberry spice cake that Aleks just made.

Puddles!

Isaac has discovered a new love recently: puddles. This morning we went to the zoo with some friends. We got outside a little early and Isaac had to explore all of the puddles. There were some pretty good ones since it rained a lot last night. So, he got off to a nice wet start. He then climbed up the neighbors stairs (he loves to do this) and posed nicely for the photo. He was being super-cute. I wish that our camera took photos faster so I could have gotten some more shots.

This was a recent project. We got this table and chairs unfinished at IKEA. I have been painting them and finally finished it last Saturday. Isaac really enjoys sitting at a table and got lunch there this week. He just has a hard time sitting still and wants to go play and then come eat a little and go play some more.

Trip to California

We just got back from a great trip to California. Mark and Vanessa were kind enough to get married in a great vacation spot. We really relaxed and enjoyed the beach. Isaac had a great time and loved the ocean, the sand, the stairs at the condo we stayed in and his cousins. It was a good time.

I love this shot of Isaac and Peter. It was great-if Isaac was grouchy, we could just plop him by one of his cousins and he would immediately be happy.

These two were really cute hanging out on the couch.

We went to the aquarium at Scripps and Isaac loved it. It was the first time we have heard him say "whoa". He said it a lot. The first was at this tank with lots of sardines swimming around in the main lobby.

He enjoyed the touch pools...

...and the rays. Just his size.

Mostly we had a lot of time at the beach. Isaac tasted everything there and loved to play in the waves.

Now we are just trying to adjust back to Boston time. I am definitely not complaining about him waking up at 8am-it sure beats 5:30am.

The Wedding

Mark and Vanessa got married and it was great! Fortunately they picked a great location to get married. Vanessa's family rented a beach condo for the week with an amazing view overlooking the ocean.

The night before the wedding there was a bonfire on the beach with family and close friends.



Here are some random pre-ceremony pics. Mark was looking really sharp. I think that Vanessa is definitely the right one, particularly since she managed to get Mark to wear a suit and tie.





Isaac found some random cat around the place and really liked it. The cat finally left once it realized that it was not going to get a nap.



This was the setting where the ceremony took place.



The ceremony was beautiful. Since Aleks was managing Isaac and I had a reading part, we did not get any photos during the ceremony with everyone there. Some of the highlights were when Vanessa yelled out: "that was freakin' awesome!" at the end of the ceremony and everyone clapped. I also liked it when they were sharing their vows and one would read a part and the other would say: "me too" with a "cool" thrown in every so often. It was really beautiful.

Here they are a little later that evening. Unfortunately Vanessa got stung by a bee which ended this. She seemed to be ok.

We couldn't hesitate getting our photo snapped, as well.