Of Birthdays, Hikes, and New Beds

Good {Monday} afternoon, ya'll! A terribly windy morning has given way to a quiet, rainy afternoon here on the island and you know what? I'm lovin' it.

I think it only fair to tell you that there are three posts rumbling around my brain. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to write them all down as the week progresses, but for now, I thought I'd share some pics with you. Pictures have been noticeably absent in these here parts lately. But today they are making a comeback. :)

This goofy guy is my father-in-law. Saturday was his birthday. We celebrated at our house, with my mother-in-law's homemade lasanga, salad, rolls, and of course, cake.

See the cake? I made it myself. Jason helped decorate it. The only thing missing was the actual fisherman, but I wasn't too confident in my edible person-making skills. So I pretended that he'd gone to his truck for coffee. John, bless his heart, pretended right along with me. :)



My father-in-law is a huge blessing to my family. He's retired Navy, a man of integrity who lends his strength, leadership, and wisdom to the rest of his family. He belongs in Washington as much as any person can belong somewhere; he enjoys each season in turn. He fishes and crabs in the summer, hunts in the fall, does indoor projects during the winter, and grows tomatoes and strawberries in the spring.

He has a can-do attitude and knows what to do in almost any situation.

He loves his grandson and treats me like his own daughter.

Happy birthday, John!
We love you!

Earlier Saturday, the three of us ventured out for our first family hike in weeks (due to the sickies we caught, bad weather, and Jason working overtime). Caleb was a little stinker and didn't want to walk. Jason carried him most of the way. But we did make him walk a little.

I yikes da yeaves!

In other news, a few weeks ago Caleb made the transition to a "big boy bed." :) While this is old news to most of you, I never got around to posting the pictures from that first night. So here they are:

Uncle Mike's old twin, remade.

Caleb enjoys the expansive space of his new bed. Compared to his crib mattress, this is huge! I went with the safari theme because our little man loves animals so much. That first night, he couldn't stop pointing and naming them. So cute!

Of course, he doesn't always end up asleep in his bed. Or even on it. But that's a post for another day. ;)

And now, just for fun:

Look at those smiles!!!

I loves that little boy. Oh yes oh yes, I do!

Happy Monday, ya'll!