Three Nemos

Being true to the titles of Aunts and Uncles, Josh received his first pets from our friends Kate, Jed, Stacey, Greg and Nan. Three fish in a tank in his room. We asked Josh what he wanted to name each fish and he pointed to each one and said, "Nemo!" So, we now have three fish named Nemo. What do you think the plural of Nemo is - Nemos or Nemoes? As you can see, the fish also love to play with trucks. When do you think Josh will stop asking us to take the truck out? Thank you for the awesome present - Josh stared at the tank until he fell asleep tonight!

Maryland State Fair

We met the Sniders tonight at the Maryland State Fair. We had fair food for dinner and dessert (but no funnel cake yet - I'm saving that for Bull Riding on Monday!), saw a bunch of farm animals, and Josh and Madison rode on some rides. We fully embraced the fair experience, which we weren't expecting! We thought we would just look at some animals and tractors while we were there, but no...we hit the rides! Josh and Madison loved it - here are some pictures to document their date. :)

Katelyn chaperoned while getting in some light reading

First stop - the train

Next came the wiggly worm

Followed by a motorcycle ride

The grand finale - race cars. This was their favorite!

We saw the biggest smiles and giggles on this ride

Happy 2nd Birthday, Josh!

Can you believe this? Two years ago, our skinny legged, wrinkly foreheaded little guy was born!

It seems like just yesterday (ok, a little longer than that!) that we were celebrating Josh's 1st Birthday

Today we had a fun-filled day. Josh came downstairs to find his new tricycle - just like Christmas morning! Josh loves it and that is all he asks to do now. We had a pancake breakfast and packed up to go for a hike at Loch Raven Reservoir. We started our adventure at the Elmer's house and jumped on their trampoline. We hiked out to the "Big Water" as Josh calls it and looked at the fish and birds. Then we cooled off in the swimming pool on our way back - we were hot! We came home for naps and then went to the Brintnalls for a cookout where we sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candles - Josh's favorite part! It was a happy day!

Getting into things and getting dirty!

Pot of dirt left on the deck + rain = A LOT OF FUN FOR JOSH!

At 9:00 this morning, Josh had to be rinsed off in the shower before we could even get into the car to go to the playground! What I don't have pictures of is the puddle that ended up on the coffee table when Josh snuck back in the house while I was tending to Katelyn.

Katelyn is now pulling up on things and helping herself to Josh's favorite toys!

Happy Birthday and Retirement, Pop-Pop!

We celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday and his Retirement with a surprise party on Saturday! Josh helped blow out the candles, Katelyn cuddled with Gigi Gallo, and we enjoyed visiting with friends and family! It was a really nice day - and Dad was very surprised!

Putting together train tracks

Both Katelyn and Josh love to play with the train tracks. (Thank you Brendan!) One of the first things Josh asks for as soon as we get downstairs in the morning is to put together the tracks. Of course, Katelyn likes them too - but more for chewing than building! Needless to say, we have to keep Katelyn in the exersaucer or highchair when serious building is going on. Sometimes I think we get into it as much as Josh does!

Josh posed Jeff this way - he told him where to put his feet. It was pretty funny!

Katelyn loves Josh's toys

Katelyn's favorite toys are anything Josh is playing with - or anything he's not! Somehow she knows what he WANTS to play with before he even does because once he sees her playing with the toy, he decides he wants it. This has led to many "talks" about sharing and consequent time-outs! :)

Final Fun in Williamsburg

It was rainy towards the end of the week, so we spent the morning at an indoor inflatable playground. Everyone had a great time! Josh and Grant built their own teddy bears too. Grant's bear is "Jack" and Josh's bear is "Josh the Bear" - they each picked the names themselves!

How do we always end up like this?!

Virginia Beach

On Tuesday, we spent the day in Virginia Beach. Chris's cousin, Brian, is stationed there and took us on a tour of the W.A.S.P. It was a large ship and we climbed up some pretty steep ramps to get to the main deck. It was all pretty interesting, although Josh's favorite part was the forklifts bringing cargo onto the ship!

Cassi, Jackson and Grant

Josh, Jackson and Grant loved playing in the sand

Betsy took Katelyn out in the waves and Jeff took Josh. Neither were thrilled about it, even though the water was perfect - a reminder of why August is a great time to be at the beach despite the blazing heat!

This is where Katelyn preferred to be - dry and in the shade!

Nana and Katelyn

After the beach, we met Betsy's college friend, Wendy, and her kids. Wendy took family photos for us - more to come!