sliding fun

Tim is getting pretty good at doing it all by himself:

sandbox

Tim had a little time to himself in the sandbox the other day while Nick was swimming over at Amanda & Kevin's. Here's a little montage of his fun:

Its a girl!

Fiona Marie Kettell joined big brother Mason Sunday July 27th at 11:02pm! She weighed in at a tiny (well, at least compared to her cousins!) 7lbs 7oz and 20inches. Congrats Jess and John and welcome Fiona!

Help!

In addition to a few spoken words here and there (most of which sound like "ba"- but its like Chinese where the intonation lets it take on entirely different meanings), Tim is picking up a number of signs. Here's a little video of one of his new favorites, help!

weddings

Nick had a few great quotes yesterday about weddings...

He was over at Amanda and Kevin's swimming and Uncle Kevin had gotten dressed for a wedding that they were attending that evening. He had a tie on and Nick asked "what's that?" - evidently, he doesn't see many of those in our house :)

Grandma graciously offered to stay with the kids for the evening while Greg and I went out to dinner for our anniversary. She was talking to Nick about weddings and wanted to show him the photo album from our wedding. He seemed to enjoy looking at the pictures and even said that I looked like a princess (hey, that's not too bad!). When they came to a picture of Greg, Grandma commented that he was all dressed up. Nick then asked, "Was it Halloween?".

new skills

Tim's latest is feeding himself with utensils!

raspberries

They're here! You can find us down at the raspberry patches most afternoons having a little snack before dinner.

Nick has gotten really good at picking the right ones - just the really red ones - not the white or pink ones - and also at making sure that everyone who joins him knows the rules :)

Tim is getting the hang of it, although is not nearly as selective regarding berry color :)

bellybuttons

Tim's got one and now, he knows where it is! He's quite fascinated by it loves to show it off!

the little guys

Here's some more shameless cheating:  Christine put up a nice post about Tim and his buddy Kristian's play time at a birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Check it out here!

playing together!

The boys have really started playing together lately and it is soooo cute to watch! Two of the favorites are playing inside the cabinets in the family room:

and playing on the couch in the living room:

artists at work

pool time

It's been hot here. Really hot and dry (We actually just got our first rain in maybe 3 weeks last night.) Luckily for us, Amanda and Kevin have a pool and we've been able to take complete advantage of them, spending many an afternoon (and sometimes the morning too) cooling off in the pool.


On days we don't make it over to their house, we make do with the little blow-up pool in our backyard, but it's just not the same!

visit with Danielle

We had a great visit with our friend Danielle who made the trip all the way out from Seattle to see us (ok, and a bunch of other people on the east coast before her 6 week trip to Peru and Chile). Danielle and Nick had a great time playing with toys and playing games. We all also took a trip down to Mount Desert Island for a little sightseeing. Our first stop, the top of Cadillac Mountain:


Danielle and Nick on the trail

After that we headed down to Seal Harbor for a picnic lunch and a little beach time:


Tim and mom going for a stroll

Tim and Danielle playing in the sand

Nick and Dad looking for sea glass

Tim having fun in the sand
No trip to the beach would be complete without a stop for ice cream:

another tooth

So, Toothy has been at it again. Because 4 in one month wasn't enough for him, he decided to pop another one yesterday. The lower left canine has made its appearance and now we're just waiting on the other lower canine. Then, we're done...at least until 2 yr molars.

backyard fun

We've been enjoying the great weather lately having some fun just playing in the backyard.


Trio of goofballs.


Nick expending some energy doing laps.


Cuties.


Wheee!


Tim learned how to climb up the slide before walking....


Having some fun...


Before his walking debut last week


See you later!


Catching butterflies

Lincolnville Beach

After our hike up Mt Battie on the 4th, we all decided to stop for lunch at Lincolnville Beach. Much to our surprise, the beach wasn't crowded, despite the beautiful weather. The kids had a nice picnic and a great time playing in the sand and water.


Nick and Tim enjoying a bite.


Tim enjoying a bite of sand.


Nick re-arranging the sand at the beach.


Soren checking out the water.


Nick panning for gold.


Yum!

Mt Battie

The 4th of July was beautiful here and we took advantage of the great weather and celebrated by hiking up Mt Battie in Camden with Amanda, Kevin and Soren. The hike was the perfect length and not too difficult although a little steep in places (and so a little nerve-wracking for us moms to watch the kids climbing up and down). The views from the hike and top were spectacular and certainly worth the effort. A great time was had by all and we couldn't have picked a more perfect way to spend the morning!


On the trail




Amanda helping Nick on one of the steeper parts


They made it! Pausing for a photo op








Nick blazing the trail





Enjoying the view from the top




Snack time!