Dipping

" Hhhmmm, what is this stuff?"

The first dip ...


and it's good!

Getting every last bit.

Handsome boy

And, he's on the move!

Trying to win Ryder over

Bedtime story

Yee-haw!

There's a new cowboy in town! Check out Grady on his new horsey toy:

Sandy showing Grady how it's done ... whose toy is this???

Oops

Guess we need to babyproof the cupboard where we keep the cereal ...

Hockey in the house

Quadra Island

On Sunday, we went to Quadra Island to spend the day with Grandma RonaLee and Grandpa Ken. Grady, as usual, had a great time on the beach!

Kids Fest

Today we went to Kids Fest. It is a big, outdoor festival for kids with balloons, bounce-a-ramas, musical performances, clowns, jugglers, mini-golf, karaoke, bubbles, face painting, craft tables, and more. Grady is still a bit young for most of it, so he spent his time watching everything go on around him.

Grady and Teagan holding onto their balloons.

Watching the musical act, "The Kerplunks!"

Watching the drummers.

Playing with his balloon ...

Popping the balloon ....

Inspecting what was left of the balloon!

Towards the end of the morning, he finally worked up enough courage to go on the very edge of the bouncy castle!

Zoomed in

It's all about the boots

First thing in the morning, once we've come downstairs, Grady runs to the back door and puts on his boots ... and then he pretty much wears them all day long! If we are going to the park, or somewhere he'll be running a lot, I put his little runners on because they give him more stability and support. But for playing in the backyard (or in the house!), I let him wear his boots because he likes them and they are super cute.

Putting his boots on by himself.

Needs help with this one.

Second stop of the morning: the window.

Done looking out the window, time to play.

Turn down the volume!

Our sweet, precious baby boy has been replaced with a loud, screaming toddler!

Grady is still sweet and precious, but he's also got a lot of energy. In this video, he's excited because he is playing with Ryder and Sandy. But, whether he's happy or mad, he wants something or wants to do something, he tells us by yelling!

A rainy weekend in Lake Cowichan

We went down to Lake Cowichan this weekend for a ball tournament. I only took a few pictures before my camera batteries died. But, it poured rain the whole time we were there, so these photos pretty much sum up the whole weekend!

17 months

Our baby is growing up ... at almost 17 months old, he weighs 24 lbs. and is 32 inches tall (8 lbs. 3oz and 21.5 inches at birth).

Tug of war

Hiking on Mount Washington

On Saturday, we went for a big hike (four hours!). We drove up to Mount Washington and started at the Raven Lodge. The loop that we walked was 10 km and wound up the mountain to Lake Helen Mackenzie. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the scenery. We were all tired when we got home though!

Grady, Grandma, and Ryder at the beginning of the hike.

Snack break half way up.

Finally ... Lake Helen Mackenzie!

Grady and Grandma throwing rocks in the water.

Grady just couldn't resist - he had to splash around a little bit!

It was pretty bumpy on the way back down, so Grandma carried Grady while I pushed an empty stroller over some big tree roots.

At the end of the hike ... yay, we did it!