Slip-n-Slide!

I dropped Jeremiah off at Nana & Popa's one day recently so I could grocery shop in peace =) When I returned, I found him in his (cloth) diaper, wet from head to toe, playing on the slip-n-slide with Tristan. He had a BLAST! 

He wasn't quite ready to slide on his belly, so sometimes he walked...

sometimes he crawled (to immitate Tristan's sliding)...

but his favorite way was to ride on Tristan's back!

It's GREAT to have older cousins!

Cucumber Washer

It's summertime, which means it's pickle time! Jeremiah always wants to help me, but there's only so much an almost-two year old can do. This year, I have given him the job of cucumber washer. He LOVES this job, does a pretty good job of getting the dirt off, and makes an excellent mess!

Step 1: Fill the left side of the sink with water (cucumbers in the right side).

Step 2: He throws the cucumbers in the water washes the cucumbers.

Step 3: Then hands them to me to slice on the mandolin.

He gets just a LITTLE wet in the process! =)

Baby Pool

We visited Mimi & Gpa in Raleigh over Father's Day weekend. We had a great time catching up with Todd & Angie Friday night. Then Granny & Popa came in on Saturday and we grilled out with them and Grandpa Brannan on Saturday night. We had such a great time that I didn't take any pictures except when we were at the pool. Oh well...here are a few.

Jeremiah LOVED the Baby Pool because he could actually stand up and play without having to be held.

He enjoyed splashing around with Mimi...

and she had a great time too!

No better way to beat the NC summer heat than a trip to the pool!

Baby Deer Encounters

Uncle Perry came across a Baby Deer that he thought had been abandoned. So he rescued it and took it to the animal-loving neighbor. She contacted NC Wildlife to find out what to do. While waiting for a call back from Wildlife, Jeremiah got to see it up close and personal. He wasn't so sure at first, but then warmed up to it and even tried to feed it a goldfish cracker (we didn't let the deer eat it). 

Look how TINY that baby is! He couldn't even stand that morning when Perry picked him up. But within a few hours he was standing up and eventually able to run.

It turned out that we actually needed to put him back because his mom was most likely out gathering food or checking on another fawn. I hope he's living a happy little life now!

Jeremiah's New Ride!

Jeremiah is really loving his new ride - a Harley Davidson Power Wheels! Big thanks to Uncle Perry for picking this up at a yard sale (in great shape!) and for Popa picking up a new battery. 

Donkey

We've all quickly fallen in love with Leroy, the Donkey. He's sweet and loves to be fed treats. Here's a video of Jeremiah feeding Leroy. Enjoy!

Cherry Picking Adventure!

Nana, Jeremiah, and I went up to Levering Orchard for our first Cherry Picking adventure....and what an adventure!! 

I thought this would be a fun, easy outing like picking strawberries or blueberries. I envisioned Jeremiah riding around in the wagon or playing at the base of the trees while we climbed the ladders to pick the cherries. I was WRONG! This orchard is on a mountain. The grade was steep and we were wearing flip-flops & birkenstocks! The wagon was definitely not making it up and Jeremiah did not like such a steep terrain with tall grasses/weeds. Thank GOD I had my Ergo in the car, so J (all 30lbs of him!) rode on my front or back almost the entire time. And those ladders I thought we'd climb...they were 12' wood ladders that I did not feel comfortable on. Thankfully we were able to find trees with lower branches full of cherries. We ended up having a great time and ate TONS of cherries. I'd definitely like to go back, but a bit more prepared (like tennis shoes!). There aren't many pictures because I forgot my camera in the car and I sure as heck wasn't going to climb back down to get it.

Here's how J rode while we picked cherries (for 2 hours!).

Nana was sure to pit PLENTY of cherries for Jeremiah. Can you see how stained his face is?

We ended up with 2 buckets that I canned. We've made a few cobblers and they were delicious!

National Donut Day! 2010

We enjoyed National Donut Day so much last year, that we had to go again!

Jeremiah really LOVES donuts!

Anna joined us this year! Doesn't she look so cute in her little hat??

And once Jeremiah finished his donut, he had a meltdown because I wouldn't get him another one.

Still we had a great time!

Memorial Day Weekend

We just finished having 3 days at home and it was glorious! Sadly, I cannot believe I didn't take any pictures. I still wanted to write to remember our 3-day weekend "staycation" since it's pretty unusual to have us all here at home for 3 days in a row. It should be known that Jeremiah woke up at 6am each day! He must have been too excited to play with his daddy than to sleep...bummer for us.

Saturday...J woke up bright & early, we hung out, drank coffee & ate breakfast, then ventured into Winston. We had to stop by Toys-R-Us and Target to do some LEGO scouting. Both boys got some new LEGO. Jeremiah got a Lightening McQueen set and is loving it! Then a quick trip to Costco for necessities...diapers & fruit. :)  Josh was a spray painting king for me. I now have an adorable picture collage wall on the stairwell to the basement - white frames with B&W pictures. Love it! He also spray painted our brass fireplace cover black for me. It looks so much better in our room. I just love little things that make you so much happier with how your house looks! After nap we went over to Nana & Popa's for J to see the "moos" and Leeroy. Our garden is growing so good & we'll have squash to eat Monday night for our Memorial Day cookout!

Sunday...J up bright & early again, we were heathens and didn't go to church but I did go to Walmart and buy a bunch of flowers, as well as bug spray and citronella candles. While J napped, I divvy'd all those plants up into all my pots and planters on the deck, as well as some on the front steps. It looks so good outside with a little color! Sunday evening David, Nicole, Dylan, and Anna came over to grill out. We had hot dogs & deer burgers (which were delicious!), chips, squash patties, and watermelon. Then we had the mac-daddy of all desserts with Nicole's PB Trifle. Yum, yum, yum!! The kids played hard and went to bed late, but it was lots of fun!

Monday...J was up bright & early (again!), but we let Daddy sleep in until 9. Josh was out doing some Craigslist deals while we were at home doing laundry and playing inside since it was raining! Thankfully it cleared off in time for us to cookout with Popa, Nana, Uncle Perry, Dale, Tristan, and Zane. Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Fried Squash, Squash patties, Watermelon, chips, & strawberry pie made for an excellent meal. Jeremiah could not get enough Fried Squash! He ate & ate & ate some more! He also ate a lot of watermelon and was so soaked with the juice I had to strip him down to just his diaper and tennis shoes. He did NOT like it when I sprayed him with bug spray, but I knew those mosquitoes would just love that sticky-sweet watermelon juice he was covered in. We came home, had a bath, and he went to bed!

Thankfully this morning he slept in until his usual 8am...must have known Daddy had to go to work and wouldn't be around to play. We are still in our PJs, just relaxing. J has been playing with his race cars, Lightening McQueen LEGO, and tools all morning with no TV. It's been heavenly!

I guess sometimes it's OK to just enjoy and not worry about the pictures.