Afloat in Lake Monticello

Finley and I flew down to Richmond last Thursday (Dan arrived Friday night). My parents picked us up and we drove an hour to their lake house on Lake Monticello. The temperatures were reaching into the triple digits, so it was the perfect week to be on the water. Since Finley's comfort in the water has been steadily rising, I was feeling confident that he would enjoy the warm, relaxing waters of the lake. My mom got him a neat floatie that he could be in so that we could take him out further and he could explore the water on his own.

He loved it! He kicked his legs underneath and splashed around up top. Plus, there was a little inflatable toy attached to the top of the float and Finley loved chewing on it while enjoying the breeze off the lake.

There was another baby float in their garage, so tried that later on.

He didn't love this one nearly as much, because he was able to dunk his face in the water--which he probably thought was a good idea, but it ended up scaring him a bit. Finley enjoyed floating around, but after twenty or thirty minutes he wanted to be held so he got some swim lessons from Dan.

Since it was so warm, after each swim, Finley enjoying sitting on my dad's boat to dry off (and goof off).

We can't wait to go back next summer, we'll certainly have our hands full!

Lake House Fun

The back deck of the house was the perfect place for the kiddie pool to be set up. We could play with Finley in the shade and enjoy the view of the lake at the same time! We took dozens of adorable pictures of the little guy enjoying the pool (and that orange spoon), so I tried really hard to pick the best ones...and not just post them all!

Oh well, I tried to pare them down--but I failed :( He's too photogenic!

Nice view, eh?

Sometimes we had to escape the heat and play inside, good thing Fin's Grammy brought lots of great toys for him to play with!

When it was close to dinner time and Finley was a bit pouty--my dad and I braved the heat and took Finley on a walk to the marina. Boy was it HOT! But it worked like a charm and by the time we were home, Finley was zonked out! We rolled him into the AC-ed house and got some cold beverages while he slept.

A Pirate's Life for Fin

The last day of our visit, we took Finley out on my dad's boat. My parents had gotten him his very own baby lifejacket and it was hysterical to put it on and zip it up, he looked super cute.

I was happy that he didn't freak out and want it off, as it did really restrict his ability to move around. I love how it plumped up his already plump cheeks!

We got going and Finley really seemed to enjoy the ride, looking around and smiling at all of us. A born sailor! We took a loop around the big part of the lake and then headed back for one last swim before it was time to pack up. Oh and here's a picture from a boat ride earlier in the trip (while Finley was napping), Dan and I both enjoyed tubing!

Prague Revisited

Just got a few more picts from our trip to Prague from Marin's parents and wanted to post them :)

Marin and Finley hamming it up for the camera!

Dancing at the party...adorable! I think Marin's leading...

This next photo was taken when I was in the dinner line at the party...leave a bunch of guys sitting around with a baby and this kind of stuff will happen!!

Don't worry, the can wasn't open....I can see this photo making it to Fin's rehearsal dinner slide show, can't you?

Children's Museum, take 2

Last week, Aunt Caitlin accompanied us to the Children's Museum downtown before she hopped on her Bolt bus back to the Big Apple. I took Finley once before months ago and longed for a slightly older kiddo who would be able to explore the place more fully. Well, he was a lot more independent this time, so that was excellent...maybe another few months and he'll have the run of the place!

Finley really loved the giant ducks in one of the playrooms and while he was licking it, he also enjoyed leaning back and forth on it (as intended).

We spent most of our time in the crawlers only room (we didn't have to heart to keep our pre-crawling guy out of it on account of semantics).

Dan thought maybe he'd be encouraged to crawl on the bumpy mat, so we tried that. No luck, but he did find his-adorable-self in the mirror!

After all the hard work he'd done, he just wanted to lay around which made for some spectacular close ups!

Then, we headed out to look around at the rest of the museum since neither Caitlin or Dan had ever been there before. Jackpot, the construction zone! A father and son moment :)

Aunt Caitlin wanted to get in on the fun, so off she went!

Before we left this exhibit, we thought Finley might need a drink (the kid does love water). Not sure he fully understood what was going on, but he did get a mouth (and nose) full of water!

On our way out, we went back in the Bubble Room because Dan was eager to try and get into the bubble tower.

He got it up to about his waist before it popped, not bad!

Thanks for visiting, Aunt Caitlin! See you in August!