#photoadayjuly

i know a few of you (ok, probably just my mother) were following along with my photo a day challenge.  

so, without further delay here are july's photos

(follow photos from left to right for headings)

self portrait - busy (enjoying the lake) - best part of my day (my bday dinner)

fun (on the 4th) - on the floor (my boys shoes) - chair

garden (or lack thereof) - lunch - big (big spender) 

my fav color (green) - letter (L) - texture (Brody's B)

open (on the open road) - building (a beer tower) - finger (bling)

sign (a sign that dinner was good) - addiction (why didn't i know about this stuff?) - plate (B's dinner)

animal/pet (best i could do) - eyes (B, close your eyes) - 9 o'clock (productive before 9am)

upside down (in the tub) - mirror (my laundry room) - a stranger (at the transportation museum)

heart - sunshine- on the road (the sun coming in my rear window)

cup - the last thing i bought (breakfast)

calm (baby yoga) - toothbrush (photo snapping on the go)

Opening Ceremony

Last night we stayed in and made pizzas and watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Brody was really interested in the ceremony, and liked all the lights, colors and music. It was really neat to share this with him, even if he is still too young to really understand yet.
I am really looking forward to the next few weeks and watching some amazing athletic performances. My favorite of course, will be the track and field events. Those are some pretty speedy humans!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Tuesday, I took Brody to the Museum of Transportation. He loved looking at all the full size trains and being able to climb up inside. Unfortunately, the universe decided it wasnt the best day for a trip. It was 104° & miserable, the train ride was closed due to the heat, my friend Susan left early not feeling well, and B took a face plant on the concrete, off a bench an ended up with a goose egg on his forehead. fortunately, we had gotten in a lot of the trains already, thank goodness. It was a short trip, but well worth it. We will definitely be returning.

twenty one

woah.  in three months, we will have a two year old.  

how is that possible?

no one told me that toddlerhood was going to be so challenging.  he can go from happy and giggling to throwing a full on fit in 0.2 seconds.  it is exhausting!  

the best part about this age is that brody can tell us what he wants.  he is terribly independent, and is also a little ok, ALOT particular in what he wants.  i don't have any idea who he could have gotten that from :)

he is very verbal, and his speech is starting to take off.  he is going to school 4 days a week still, and is really doing well there.  his teachers have great things to say about him, and i can really see him making progress.  

the last time we were at the doctor (a sick visit, to check his ears) he weighed in at 23 pounds.  he is still growing like a weed, most of his pants are officially high waters.  He is wearing mostly size 18-24 clothes, 24 month pj's and a few pairs of 12 month shorts.  he is wearing size 5 shoes still, but we are getting pretty close to moving into the next size.  

favorite toys are still any and all vehicles.  he carries around either a truck, tractor or choo-choo at all times.  he sleeps with his elle (the elephant), a new puppy dog from pa-pa and his "B" (blanket).  he loves to watch Thomas and Chuck the Truck on Netflix (over and over and over again). 

 most days, b is a pretty good eater (when he isn't fighting teething).  favorites are yogurt, fruit, cheese, pretzels and most breakfast foods.  veggies are still difficult to get in, but there are a few that have become staples.  as far as we know, he is still allergic to eggs, and we can tell almost immediately by his skin if he has eaten something with egg in it.  he isn't a big fan of sweets, but i wont complain about that.  he sure doesn't take after me!

i sure do love this kid!

lake carlyle

a few months back, we made plans to take brody camping at lake carlyle for the long weekend.  needless to say, we picked the hottest weekend we have had so far this summer. it was their fireworks festival, so we wanted to be a part of it this year.  

we were thankful for our pop-up and we spent a good deal of time inside enjoying the air conditioning.  

we had a few short adventures outside too.  the first was a walk to the suspension bridge and some up close examinations of the fishies.  

we made sure to drink lots of water since the weather was so warm.  b loves to drink out of a 'grown up' bottle. 

we spent two afternoons at the pool too.  it was so nice to dip our feet in and cool off. 

Saturday, we went to the fireworks festival over the lake.  It was nice to be so close to the fireworks, and watch their reflection over the lake.  

sunday, we headed into breese, il in search of some good food and air conditioning.  on the way, we encountered a john deere dealer.  

b was in tractor heaven!

we ate at a hole in the wall pizza place, the food was ah-maz-ing!!  

so, that was pretty much our little camping weekend in photos.  

hope you enjoyed it!

Tara

31

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to... 

Oh wait! No crying needed today.

I spent the morning with some time to myself.  I took advantage of this by getting a facial and pedicure and ended the evening with a family dinner at Cracker Barrel. Overall, it was a pretty good day... except I have yet to get a cupcake.  There's nothing wrong with celebrating for a whole week, right?!

Here's a few photos from dinner for your enjoyment...