June in a small nutshell

Noelle continues in her quest for bodily balance. She's making quite the show of it, now standing unassisted for a good ten seconds. Oh sure, to some that's no big feat, since their precious tyke has been scoring 10s on the balance beam when they were still in size 1 diapers. But we like our kids nice and horizontal for as long as can be, to delay the need for helmets.

Lucas's big achievement has come in the field of athletics. What to me is a bigger milestone than walking, "Peanut Buddy J", as Kel dubs him, has been sending a small yellow soccer ball around the house with his powerful right foot. Admittedly, he requires vertical support in the form of my hands under his armpits, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Over Father's Day weekend we visited Clearwater Beach, and learned our lesson: don't bother with the Gulf in the summertime. It was no cooler at the coast than in Orlando, and one could not find respite in the waves as the water felt warmer than the air. Nevertheless, NL splashed enthusiastically, not bothered by the temperature or the saltiness spraying into their eyes. Our beach stay concluded by huddling under an umbrella saving us from the blazing rays, while the kids handled the pail and shovel expertly--until Noelle deposited a fistful of sand into her mouth. Fun time being over, we trooped back to the cool oasis of Camelot Resort's Room 110. All told, the trip was forgettable. The troubles of packing/unpacking/packing and the drive out there hardly seemed the effort for the temporary change of scenery.

Oh yeah: on June 25th, Earth has completed one circuit around the Sun with NL on board. We observed the anniversary with numerous toss-ups of babies, singing to babies, explanations to babies of the significance of the occasion, and a small ice cream cake reserved mostly for the adults. The photos below reveal that NL each had a turn with a knife for the ceremonial slicing of the cake--clearly, reckless endangerment of a minor. Always prepared for the worst, I stood by with band aids, tourniquets, and an extra plate.


Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gros.islet/Jun09#