July rainstorm?

On Saturday it rained for a little while and Gianna was so excited to finally get to use her umbrella. I figured, well it's like 85 degrees outside and the raindrops aren't even sticking to the ground, so its the prefect day to play in the rain. She had a lot of fun hanging out under her umbrella. Although the party came to an abrupt halt when she realized that her umbrella was all wet and decided to come in the house to dry it off.

Growing up too fast!

Not long after I wrote about Connor crawling he decided he is going to go the extra mile and started pulling himself up. First to his knees, then to his feet. Luckily he isn't even close to cruising or walking yet (knock on wood), but we have some serious re-baby proofing to do.


Playing trains early in the morning.

Family Park Time

In order to get ready for our vacation that is coming up, Justin has been working a lot (including over the weekend). So we've been making sure to do lots of fun family things in the evenings. On Friday we went to the park and had lots of fun all hanging out together.

Gianna and I got buried in the sand:

We took turns sliding:
Connor liked going with daddy:
He liked it even more the second time:
And the kids spent a LOT of time swinging. I love that Connor is old enough to swing now (and that he likes it as much as big sister). Swinging finally isn't back-breaking work for me anymore, Yea!
Gianna getting into it:
Laughing so hard:
The shirt says it all:
Loves the swing:
Swinging together:

A fun video, enjoy!

Funny Picture

Here is a funny picture of Gianna putting on Kaylee's shoe at the farmer's market on Thursday. They did this over and over for about 15 minutes. The best part was when Kaylee came up to me after and told me that Gianna put on her shoe.

Thank goodness for technology

Technology is amazing. It's the reason I can share these pictures with all of you and the reason we get to keep in touch with Uncle Johnny (for free) while he is studying in Portugal.

Gianna holding the microphone.Video chat.

Holding hands

Sophia and Gianna love to hold hands...

They do it on walks...
And at the park.

What a cute pair.

Making Jam

Since I can remember, making Jam has been an essential part of summer. My mom would help all of us kids (or we would help her) make any variety of berry jams (and later in the summer, pickles). Now that Gianna is old enough I thought it was time to start this tradition with her. So we picked up some strawberries from our farmer's market and gave it a try. The result is so delicious! We will definitely make more before the summer is over.

Gianna helping mommy make it (she loved washing the berries and taking off the tops).

Giving it a taste:
Yum!

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July. My parents were happy to come visit us, and we were glad to entertain them. The day was filled with barbecuing, swimming, reading, naps, and fun. I think the highlight of the day for Justin and I was going to the pool with my parents and being able to play while they watched the kids for us. There were many cannonballs, can openers, cartwheels, flips, and even a new trick for flipping out of the pool that some day we'll have to catch on video. It was so fun to hang out with my parents and the kids and enjoy the day. Connor took a nice long nap and all of these pictures were taken during that time, so I'll have to get some pictures from my parents later and add them on here.

Gianna loves to water the plants:Poppy and Gianna reading:

Later that night after bathtime and jammies we drove to go watch the fireworks from the side of the road. Connor slept through that too, but Gianna was captivated enough for the both of them.

Justin's First Oyster

On the 4th of July my parents came over to hang out and Barbeque. My dad brought one of his favorite BBQ treats: Oysters! Justin had never tried one before so he decided to give it a try:
Pretty soon he was an Oyster pro trying all kinds of combos of toppings: butter, garlic, BBQ sauce, and a variety of hot sauces.
Gianna checking them out:

After the shells cooled down, Gianna put one to her ear and told us she could hear the beach.

Park with friends 7/2

Here is a cute picture and a video of Gianna and her friends Kaylee and Sophia. These girls have been having so much fun playing together this summer.

Connor is Crawling!

On 4th of July Connor decided to celebrate his own independence by crawling!!! He is still so young, so he was slow for the first week, but he's getting the hang of it now. Here he is crawling today, after a week of practice.

PS I'll finish up catching you up on everything else we've been up to later, but I wanted to share this exciting video right away!

My sister is funny!

After we ate one night Gianna got Connor laughing so hard just by saying "buckle you". I have no idea why this was so hilarious, but it eventually got us all laughing. After about 5 minutes I decided I should probably get some video, of course he was winding down at this point, but he's still really giggling.

Big boy now.

Connor is growing up so fast. He is really showing an interest in "toddler" toys. He loves to sit at this Fisher Price stage and look at himself, the lights, and push the buttons. It's such a bummer that he's not a little baby anymore but it's also so exciting to see him forming a personality. We get to learn a little more about him every day, and it is so awesome. He's such a happy smiley kid, especially now that he can do more of the things his idol (Gianna) can do.

First trip to the pool this summer

On June 28, Connor had his first dip in a big pool. And it was our first family trip to the pool this summer. Our community has a pool for us to use and we definitely love being able to go there. Here is a shot of Gianna doing her favorite thing, hanging out on the steps:And here are Mommy and Connor.

It sure feels nice to go for a swim on days where it gets up over 100!

The harvesting (and eating) of the first tomato.

Gianna was very excited when the first tomato of the season finished ripening (she is very patient and waits for them to be the perfect shade of red). She even wanted to take a picture of it with her own camera.

Here are some photos (and a video) for the occasion.

Our first family camping trip

Near the end of June we went on our first camping trip as a family. We went up to Lake Del Valle here in Livermore and it was such an awesome place to go for a first trip because it didn't involve a long car ride and it was just one night.

We went with Gianna's friend Sophia and her family and the girls had a blast hanging out together:Connor loved the idea of outdoor living and happily played in his pack-n-play for a long time. He watched the girls play and looked at the trees and was very content.
Some friends came up to play for the afternoon...
...and later went home for the night.
Then it was time for a campfire:And roasting s'mores:
Gianna getting ready for her first s'more:The next morning we went down to the lake to play before heading home before it got too hot (it got up to 108 degrees in Livermore that day).