Playgroup at Our House

The boys from playgroup were over today. Trenton got to show them all his new outdoor toys.
That's Harrison on the left and Hayden on the right. Robert is standing in the background.

They played inside, they played out. Although it was getting hot, I think they had a fun time!

Below, our neighbors Jessy and Kevin play with Trenton.

Daddy's Birthday

For Jim's birthday, he wanted to have steamed crabs as a dinner. We were all for a road trip.

First we stopped off at Barnes and Noble. Trenton and Jim spent some time reading and playing with the trains.

We ended up driving to the place in Brick, which was closed on Mondays! So we drove a bit further south, to Seaside Park, where we had a great dinner at Bum Rodgers. Jim and his family used to eat there when they vacationed in that area. We had some time to play on the beach (the tide was coming in, and Trenton got soaked).

The ride home was an antsy one for T. We got some ice cream to eat in the car to keep him quiet. But he started eating his toes and doing some pretty fancy footwork!

Monmouth County Fair

Above, T likes pretending to be a farmer at the Monmouth County Fair in Freehold, NJ. We had a great time and dodged a bullet with a forecast for thunderstorms that never came.

"Ooooooh, sheep!"

Watch out for llamas....

Trenton and Daddy watching a dog herd sheep into a pen.

We were impressed with the fairgrounds.

Dem's some big bunnies!

Absolutely loved the horses. He kept making the clicking sound with his tongue.

Trenton had been eyeing the carousel for awhile so we decided we'd try him on it. Remember, he is terrified of anything that moves.

Jim tried to put him on the reindeer but Trenton held onto him with a death-grip. So they settled for the seat in front.

Not sure he actually liked it... but he looked at the horses and at me each time he came around. Maybe next summer?

Feeding Goats

Fighting Goats

My Big Boy

Today was the third time that Trenton let me know he had gone #2 in his diaper... it feels weird to blog about it, but at the same time, it shows you what a big boy he is to want to tell me about it! He likes going on the potty (especially to use the toilet paper) . Hopefully this will continue!

Today was the third ti

Our New Patio

I'm trying to make the most out of the space we now have due to the new patio. It is like an extra room! Above, Trenton likes the fact that his pool is now in the shade. In the afternoon, the sun hits the gazebo roof and casts a shadow to the left of it (prime spot for pool). It is nice to be able to go outside post-naptime and play in the shade.

You can see the baby gate in the background here. Jim and I decided not to put in the matching gate for the veranda fencing. We realized we could achieve the same effect with the baby gate! Jim laid rocks around the border where there was a gap between the patio pavers and the wooden retaining piece.

And this picture is taken from the far corner, facing the house. It gives you a good idea of how big the patio is (12 X 18 ish). We can keep our table and four chairs comfortably under the gazebo and Trenton has a kiddie cottage in one corner and these other toys in the rest.

Making Good Use of Our New Patio

Trenton's First Sleepover

Jim and I desperately needed to finish painting the inside of our house. Last summer when we moved in, we did not paint any of the trim, doorways, or second coats in a few rooms. So we were determined to get it done while Jim still had time off from work. This meant that Trenton would be better off spending a few days out of the house-- so to Grandma and PopPop Lacina's house it was!

I slept over with him on Sunday night. And he was up bright and early Monday morning... here he is checking out Grandma's room. Below, he tells Jessie "lay down".

He even woke up "LuncaLen"! But being the wonderful uncle that he is, he had no qualms with getting up early. Trenton loves watching the fish in his bedroom.

Jim and I found ourselves alone Monday night with not much to do after we were done painting... it was nice to sleep in the next morning! But we missed our buddy. We brought him home on Wednesday and continued to air out the house for the rest of the week. It looks great! You should come over and see it ;)

Finger Painting In My Backyard

I found some finger paints on sale at Stop and Shop... so I decided to be brave and let him try it out. Outside, of course.

He got an absolute kick out of pushing his hands into the cup of the gooey stuff.

In the end, he was hosed down and we had a few great pictures to give to family and friends!

Picnic With the Andersons

On Saturday we traveled up to Hunterdon County to visit Jim's high school friend Mike and his wife, Mary. They came up for the weekend to visit Mike's folks and invited us all over for a delicious bar-be-que. Mike also had croquet and badminton for the adults to play... but don't tell Trenton that ;)

Above, Dan, Anthony, Michelle, and Mary watch Jim and Mike set up the net.

These two pictures were just too funny-- had to include them!

It was a great time seeing and hanging out with these folks. Trenton enjoyed all the attention, being the only little guy there. He slept well in the car on the ride home!

Dinner in Red Bank

After packing a dinner, we headed out to Red Bank on this gorgeous July night.

There is a waterfront park that plays host to numerous different musical performances all summer long. The band was setting up for tonight's show as we walked around on the lawn.

Such a pretty town, with so much to see and do. We are happy to live so close to Red Bank and will be hanging out here more regularly, to be sure.