Where to start?

How about the beginning?

On Saturday, we went to a sprinkle for our friend M, who is having a second baby boy in October. T & N hosted a fantastic party.

Here's K with Turtle. He plopped right in her lap and hung out with her for quite a while.



N with little A, who was smiling and just being adorable.



Mr. C was working on pulling up - he's taking some steps now!



Little Miss H put on Turtle's shoes.



L teaching Turtle how to use the magnadoodle. He finds it extremely intriguing.



Not as intriguing as this fake cell phone, though.



Plotting how to get some more animal crackers.



Ok. We TRIED so hard to get a great group shot of all the kiddies. It was near impossible to get them all sitting in one place long enough to snap a picture. :(

Turtle was on the verge of tears. He was doing his best, but his expression totally says "Mommy, I'm doing this for you, but it makes me very unhappy."





We're so excited to meet our new friend!

Prior to the sprinkle, I spent the morning painting our stairwell. It's been bothering me. There is nothing worse than the awful, white or off-white builder's paint and I finally said enough is enough. I selected Behr's Arizona Tan and went to work. I did pretty well. Considering that at one point I was straddling the wall in the loft that overlooks the stairwell. However, there are some places I couldn't reach. Blast! I'm in the market for a bigger A-frame ladder to get the job done. Fortunately, you can't really tell from this angle :) Don't look up.



On Sunday, we met some new friends for the first time. K&B and DH, Turtle and I met S & her daughter C for lunch and then paid a visit to the MOSH. There is a great dinosaur exhibit there that we wanted to see.

Of course, the kids loved the aquariums most of all.



Turtle, taking it all in.



Oh, hai, T-Rex. You have some funny-looking arms.



Turtle, C and B.



And the mommies.



Today, we headed to the zoo to meet up with K & J and A & N. We were late because Turtle decided to take a FOUR HOUR NAP this morning, and didn't wake up til 1. By the time we got him fed and in the car, it was an hour past when we were supposed to leave. What can you do?

On our way in, we passed these gorgeous lily pads. Love them.



You're funny, Mommy. Always taking pictures.



And of course, after some wandering, we headed to the Splash Park. Yes, this is Turtle's Official Zoo Splash Park Lobster Outfit.

I'm gonna play, Mom. Are you ready? Here I go.



Little J, loving it!



Turtle isn't sure what to make of the spray.



N and Turtle: First we conquer the manta ray. Then we conquer the world!



Posing for the camera.



N is such a big boy.



Why play with all the cool stuff when I can have this funky, orange cone?



This is how we learn how to surf.



All three boys, dry, fed, changed, and posing in front of the big manatee.



Whew!

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Updates, updates everywhere.

All you picture-lovers out there are going to be THRILLED. I have many photographic updates for your viewing pleasure.

Last week, I ordered Turtle the infamous Anywhere Chair From Pottery Barn Kids. I've been eyeing it for a while, now, but Turtle hadn't really been ready for somewhere to just sit until recently. He loves our living room furniture, and so this was the time.

It came in less than a week (it was supposed to arrive today, actually, and came on Friday!). At the same time, my new 55-200mm lens showed up, so we were able to take pictures with the new lens. So my apologies in advance if some of the pics aren't fabulous.

Here is he is, checking it out.



Not entirely sure... It seems pretty cool, but...



Oh, hey wait, I can climb up and down! So cool!



Daddy, listen... I love you and all but let's make no mistakes. This is MY chair. You can rest your chin right there, but any closer and we're gonna have problems.



Next up, mealtimes.

Turtle has been exhibiting interest in silverware, so I whipped out the Miami Hurricanes fork for him to try out. Since he's such a big boy at the kitchen table, perhaps he's ready to be a big boy with his dining habits.

Ok, so I hold my fork in one hand, and feed myself with the other?



No? I'm doing it wrong? Ok, if you say so...



So I poke the food with this metal thing... Thank goodness Bentley is here to supervise.



And then I put it in my mouth...



Are you getting this one the camera, mom? Are you?



Since the weather is getting nicer, we have been spending more time outside.



Wheeee!



Just playing around with my lens and pugs.



Don't be fooled. This dog is a ferocious lizard-hunter.



Slides are fuuuunnn!!!!



Happy happy happy!



Oscar's tongue is about as big as he is.



This lizard was hanging out on Turtle's playhouse. He will soon become prey.



And finally, I picked up those Color Wonders markers from Target. Allegedly, the markers are clear and only show up on special Color Wonders paper. Great idea, says I. Not as much fun as regular markers, says Turtle.

Concentrating. Very. Hard.



Look what I have!

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Zoo and Splash Park

This week, we had the opportunity to meet up with my friend L and her DS, K at the zoo. It was a perfect day - breezy with just enough cloud cover. There were tons of animals out, and the boys just loved it.

Showing me a "kitty-cat."



In front of the jaguars.



Although they were both pooped, after lunch, we changed them into their swim diapers and headed into the splash park. We knew that the very sight of water would perk them both up, and we were right. Mommies always know. :)

Turtle and K LOVED it. I couldn't get a decent picture of Turtle because he was just on the run, going from structure to structure and checking out all the kids.



Oooh, fountain.



Ok, I don't know how this happened. Turtle is pretty much one of the most cautious kids out there. Where he got the idea that he should start climbing on top of the manta ray and humpback whale structure, I'll never know.



That's hard work.



I'm going up again!



Fun!



Ok, now I'm tired. I'm just going to sit here, pop that thumb in my mouth and wait for nap time.



Turtle passed out in the car, slept the entire ride, said hello to his daddy when we got home, went in his crib and slept until dinner time. Clearly, he and his buddy had a fantastic time.

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