Playground

Now that Joey's older, he LOVES the playground. His favorite thing in the whole wide world is a swing. He would swing for hours if we let him. I actually tried to see how long it took before he got tired of it one day, and I gave up after an hour.

Occasionally Joey will get off the swings, though.

What's around the other side?

I think it's Grandma, but just in case, Grandpa had better come with me!
Where's the steering wheel? I think this car is broken!

Botanical Gardens

Joey, Brian, Grandma, Grandpa, and I all went to the botanical gardens in Belmont, NC recently. We were very impressed by how beautiful they were, even in late fall.

We started off in the Butterfly House

Joey "helped" Grandma push the stroller from time to time, since he would hate for her to get tired.

After the Butterfly House, we went outside to see the rest of the gardens. Joey fell in love with fountains! We could barely keep him out of them.

Joey liked mud puddles too, although he definitely preferred fountains.

Joey and his Grandpa.

More "help"

Joey's favorite fountain! He loved running through this fountain with Daddy.

Some of the beautiful flowers

Baby Ninja

Joey was a ninja for Halloween. Brian's parents went with us to Trunk or Treat at our church. Joey had so much fun looking at all the other kids and, after watching the big kids, figured out how to run.

Joey with his Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma.

Joey with his friend, Sophie, and her mother.

Joey with his friend, Jill, and her parents.

Dancin' Fool

Joey was introduced to Elvis music by Aunt Amanda and Uncle Josh. He liked it so much, he decided to dance. He's a pretty good dancer for only being 13 months!

Joey meets a chicken

After all the time spent in Hawaii trying to catch a chicken, Joey was finally able to come face to face with some. We took him to my parent's chicken houses where new baby chicks had just arrived. At first, he wasn't too sure what to think of them.

Then he wanted to touch them and see what they felt like.

Finally he decided he liked them, and promptly tried to pull their beaks off.

First Birthday

Joey had his first birthday on July 25th, although his birthday party wasn't until August 2nd (after the NC Bar was over so Brian could actually come to the birthday party too). All of Joey's grandparents were able to come down for the occasion, and Joey had a blast, especially being the center of 6 people's attention.

Maybe next year we'll do a better job of getting pictures with everyone!

Hawaii

Now that we have a working camera AND a working computer, I am finally able to blog again. Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Hawaii (in August). We were very fortunate to have family there (which was of course our real reason for the visit). First we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Joey with his shell lei.

Joey and Aunt Amanda

Joey chasing a rooster. Thankfully he didn't catch it!

Brian, Amanda, Joey, and myself at the temple visitor's center.

The beautiful Oahu Temple.

Our second day we all went to the beach. It was a military beach, so we were practically the only people there!

Joey's first dip in the ocean. He wasn't a fan of the waves at first, but after about an hour, he really learned to like them.

Joey and Brian at a lagoon.

Uncle Josh and Aunt Amanda with Joey.

We had a lot of fun in Hawaii. Hopefully we can go again, especially before Uncle Josh and Aunt Amanda get relocated by the Navy.

Graduation

After 3 long years, Brian graduated from law school. We are all very proud of him, especially Joey.

We took pictures at the Sarah Duke Gardens. Joey loved Brian's tassel. Most of the time, we were trying to keep him from ripping the cap off Brian's head.

Joey will be an adorable graduate in about 18 years!