Pictures!

We recently did a photo shoot at the Minneapolis sculpture garden. Our photographer is very talented, and captured the spirit of the day. You can see some of them on her blog/website here.

Travelin' Man

Mommy, Daddy, and I got into our car at the beginning of July. All I know is that the car was full of more stuff than usual, and Mommy brought lots of snacks for me!

When the car finally stopped, we were at Grandpa and Grandma's house in Iowa. Plus, Aunt Christi, Uncle Brandon, and my cousins Jordyn and Kendall were there. They liked playing with me, and I thought they were hilarious!

We colored together, and Uncle Brandon didn't even mind if I ate the markers.

Daddy said it was the Fourth of July, so we went to a parade. We had front row seats!

In the end, I wasn't a big fan of the parade. It was too loud. Mom and I hung out in the car until it was over.

Pretty soon we were in the car again. We drove a long way, until we were at a place in the woods. Daddy said it was called Missouri, and that it was something called a family reunion. All I know is that I was getting antsy, and when we got out, there were LOTS of people. I thought I only had two cousins, but turns out Daddy has lots of cousins- and they're related to me too! Plus, Babu, Bibi, and Aunt Debbie drove all the way from New York, and I was very excited to see them.

My cousin Ella was giving me some pointers on my tennis game.

Then she and I read a book together. Turns out, there are a lot of dragons that are not mine, but I can always tell which one is mine because it has squashy wings.

Then someone found this big red balloon and I played with it. It was AWESOME.

There were water olympics for all of us kids, so Mommy thought it might be fun for me too. Aunt Debbie took me into the pool.

Turns out, I wasn't so keen on the pool. I prefer my water warmer.

Since it was almost my birthday again, Babu and Bibi and Aunt Debbie brought me some presents! I got lots of books and some toys.

I even got a funny book called "Yummy, Yucky" from my cousin Noah. It tells me what things are yummy to eat, and what things are yucky to eat. Here's Noah reading it to Babu and me.

Pretty soon the reunion was over, and we had to get in the car again. We stopped for lunch at one of my new favorite restaurants - Steak n' Shake. Babu and Bibi and Aunt Debbie came too. Steak n' Shake is one of my favorite restaurants, mostly because I look great in their hats.

After lunch, we drove all the way to Aunt Christi and Uncle Brandon's house. We went to Kendall's baseball game. I wore my Tigers hat because I love baseball!

Then we went to the zoo. I loved looking at all the animals, and there was even a bug house. Everyone knows that giant bugs are photo opportunities, so...

On Sunday, it was ACTUALLY my birthday. My Aunt Christi and Uncle Brandon were so excited that they invited Uncle Brandon's family over for a party! I've seen birthday cake a few times before, but I guess you don't REALLY know how to eat it until you really turn one year old. Observe:

Pretty soon it was time to get in the car AGAIN.

We picked up Uncle Graham and Aunt Haley at the airport, and started to drive Southeast.

When we got to North Carolina, we met our friends the Gamelins.

They are pretty great. I'd met Jay before, but I got to meet Tia, Abel, Roman, and JUDE! Jude is my age, and he's my new best friend.

When Jude and I rode in the same car, we would hold hands. My favorite part of being in North Carolina was playing with the Gamelins.

On a sad day at the end of the week, it was time to go home. We got back in the car, and drove to a big city with tall buildings. It was a windy city. Some nice guys let us stay in their apartment by a big lake, and then we were on our way home. By this time, I was starting to get a little antsy in the car, so I decided to keep busy by making some calls on my mom's phone.

It was a great vacation, but we were all glad to be home!