Wyatt Gets Caught: A Photo Essay

Hmmm...whose cute little bum is that getting into Nellie's toy basket?


"Oh! Hi, Mommy. It's just me. Nothing to see here! (Maybe my bright orange hat will distract her!)"


Ah, but the temptation is too strong. He can't resist those forbidden rope toys and tennis balls. Aaaaaaaand...BUSTED!


"Oh, Mommy. I was just yanking your chain. I don't really want Nellie's rope toys and tennis balls!"


"What I really want are her Nylabones!"


Who could get mad at a face like this!?


Oh, how Mommy misses the old days, when a not-yet-crawling Wyatt was content to chew on his own toys.


Needless to say, life is getting more exciting around here by the minute!

Wordless Wednesday

Father's Day

We had a wonderful time this weekend celebrating Daddy's first Father's Day! First, we went to Ross Twp. and picked up Daddy's gift...


Aren't they cute? They're Khaki Campbell ducklings, about four weeks old. We haven't named them yet because we can't tell them apart, so for now Daddy has dubbed them the Quacker Jacks. We had some ducky friends last summer who visited our pond frequently, but they haven't been back this year, so we decided to just get some duckies of our very own. Wyatt thinks they're HILARIOUS!


We spent most of Father's Day just hanging around the house. Wyatt tried out the cool frog pool that Nana got him. It was a little cold at first, but once he got used to it he was splashing and playing like a froggy boy...


Thanks for the cool pool, Nana!

Daddy had the lawn tractor out to do a little mowing, so he decided to give Wyatt his first ride...

He seemed to like it, but it was a little loud for him. In a couple of years we'll have him mowing all 3 1/2 acres!

For now, though, he's just busy being a baby. Oh, and did we mention that our little baby now has teeth? Two, to be exact! It's absolutely adorable when he smiles and you catch a glimpse of those two little pearly toofers!

Later in the day we had Nana and Papaw over for dinner. Wyatt entertained them with his newest talent--shrieking. It's sort of like a baby-fied rebel yell, quite funny. Here's Papaw and his favorite boy:

We didn't get a chance to see Grandpa Danny because he had to work, but we'll get together with him later in the week.

Well, that just about sums it up. Wyatt says, "Take it easy and have a great week!"

Wedding Weekend

Last Saturday was full of beautiful happenings. Aunt Danielle and Uncle Michael were married in a heartfelt ceremony at Medway Methodist Church. It was wonderful to be a part of such a special day! We can't imagine anyone more perfect for Danielle than Michael. Intelligent, funny and devoted to his faith, he will be an amazing partner for her, and we look forward to watching their relationship prosper. We love you both very much!

The photo above shows the bride in her gorgeous gown. Look at that train!

Here are the bride and maid of honor, her very proud big sister, Laura:


The flowers smelled as lovely as they looked. The bride's bouquet included lilies and orange roses, in remembrance of her late grandmother, Bea Hickle.


After the ceremony, we attended a fun-filled reception at the Irish Club of Dayton. After a delicious dinner, we watched the happy couple enjoy a dance:


And then we enjoyed some dancing of our own!


And Mr. Wyatt? Well he enjoyed loads of attention from the reception guests. Here he is with Nana and Papaw:


He got to meet many of his cousins, including Sam, Katie and Amelia. It was exciting to see loved ones from out of town and we look forward to seeing them again!

A wedding is always a joyous occasion, but it's even more so when the bride and groom are so dear to you. Congratulations Michael and Danielle, and thank you for letting us share your wonderful day!

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Recap, Part 1

It's been two weeks since we've done a weekend recap, so we have some catching up to do! The weekend before last didn't get off to such a great start. Mommy's knee was swollen to the size of a softball and she was pretty much confined to the couch all day Friday and Saturday. Thankfully, Nana came to the rescue and took care of Wyatt so Mommy could get some rest. You're a lifesaver, Nana! The knee is all better now; it seems that crawling around after Wyatt led to a nasty little bout of bursitis. Hopefully it was a one-time thing!

Now on to happier happenings. That Saturday was full of bachelor and bachelorette festivities for Aunt Danielle and soon-to-be Uncle Michael. Daddy went golfing with the guys and had a great time. Afterward, they all had hamburgers and hung out. Sorry, but we don't have any pics of the boys!

That evening, Mommy went out with Aunt Danielle and the girls. It was a wonderful evening that started with dinner at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse in Cincinnati. After dinner, the bridesmaids posed with the bride in front of the river:


Then we headed to Newport on the Levee for more fun, and Aunt Danielle opened her gifts. Now this is a family blog, so we can't post most of the pictures of her gifts (ha ha), but here's one she got a kick out of:


It's the "Control Your Man" remote control. When you push the buttons, they say clever things like "Rub my feet" and "Work out or get out!" Look out, Michael! This little gadget might keep you on your toes!

Mommy and Daddy definitely enjoyed being part of Danielle and Michael's last big bang as single folks!

On Sunday, we had even more to celebrate! Our little cousin Leanne graduated from Edgewood High School! Here's beautiful Leanne holding Wyatt:


A great basketball player and scholar in high school, Leanne is planning to continue her studies at the University of Cincinnati in the fall, majoring in pharmacy. Yet another Bearcat in the family! We're very proud of you, Leanne!

We all had a wonderful time at her graduation open house. There was a slideshow of the graduate from birth to today, and it was amazing to see how she has grown. It made Mommy and Daddy feel a little sentimental thinking about the day our own little one will be a high school graduate. Speaking of our little one, he enjoyed the party a great deal. He showed off his crawling skills and munched on frozen peaches. Here he is with Auntie Kim and Uncle Gary:


So that was the weekend before last. Tune in later for Weekend Recap, Part 2, where we'll fill you in on all the details of Aunt Danielle and Uncle Michael's wedding!

Wyatt in the Water

Wyatt recently completed his first course of swimming lessons at the YMCA. As you can see in the pic above, he mastered the skill of splashing! He also showed no fear when it came to getting his face wet. Whenever Mommy held him on his belly, he dipped his whole face underwater! Here is his instructor, Miss Martha, helping Wyatt "swim" to Mommy:


And here he is perfecting his backstroke:


We're hopeful that this class gave Wyatt a good foundation for learning how to swim in a couple of years. At the very least, it helped him get comfortable in the water, and that's a good first step--er, stroke!

Thanks to Nana for taking those great pictures!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday, Aunt Danielle!

Woohoo! Aunt Danielle has a special day today--a birthday and a bachelorette party! We love you and hope you have lots of fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Eight Months

It's hard to believe our boy is 2/3 of the way to his first birthday! He has certainly come far in the past month. He can crawl, sit himself up, and as you can see in the picture above, hold up birthday signs! We were actually lucky to get that shot. Here's what most pictures look like when your subject is a newly mobile rugrat:


And yes, those are all his toys dumped out on the floor behind him; dumping them out is one of his favorite things to do. Speaking of...

Wyatt's Favorites at 8 Months:
1. Green beans
2. Going barefoot
3. Cell phones, remote controls and other gadgets
4. Evening stroller rides
5. Crawling
6. Paper
7. Plastic cups, including the sippy cup
8. Nellie's toys
9. Playing with his ships in the bathtub
10. Nachos

Wyatt's Dislikes at 8 Months:
1. Carrots
2. Being strapped into anything
3. Being "redirected" while crawling
4. Diaper changes
5. Getting dressed
6. Napping in his crib
7. Franky licking him in the face

Happy Eight Month Birthday, Wyatt Man. We love you very much!

Penned In

Back in the day, parents used to place their babies in a device called a playpen for safekeeping. Daddy remembers with fondness being placed in "a pen with wooden bars, like a baby jail!" Well, times have changed and the baby products industry has renamed this handy dandy contraption the "pack-n-play," also known as a "playyard" (a much more politically correct term than "playpen"). Along with the new name, they've replaced those wooden bars with super-strong mesh.

Wyatt doesn't care about any of that. He just knows that when it's time for Mommy to do dishes or simply catch her breath, it's into the p-n-p he goes. You'd think he would be upset, but he really seems to like it in there; it's like his little hideout. He gets to play in there with Sock Monkey and some other stuffed animals that he doesn't get to play with on the floor. Here he is with poor old Sock Monkey:


If PETA caught wind of the abuse that monkey has suffered at the hands of our boy, we're sure there'd be a protest rally outside our home. Oh, and look at Wyatt's red knee in that picture. Yep, he's scuffing up his perfect little ham-hock legs crawling around on the floor. He doesn't seem to notice, though, and it certainly doesn't slow him down!

After about twenty minutes, Wyatt usually decides he is done with the p-n-p. If he spots Mommy, he does this:


If he could speak, we're sure he would say, "Let me out! Let me out!" If he had a little tin cup, we're sure he be dragging it along the mesh to get our attention. Of course, we usually take him out before he gets all riled up. It's nice to have a safe place to put him, though, when the need arises, and we hope he continues to enjoy playing in his little hideout!