After the party

After the party Sebastian sat on his new car holding two balloons for about half an hour. He was very content.

Alex

Thanks to Alex for some great photos! (He took most of the photos of the pool and blowing out the candles. Also the great photo of Sebastian with his mouth wide open)

Tunnel

Another popular present was the tunnel. Julien enjoys it as much as Sebastian.

Enthusiasm

Julien was very enthusiastic about the party and decorated the house and gave out birthday hats and party noise makers to everyone as they arrived. He opened all the presents for Sebastian and was particularly excited about the present for him- a transformer that he picked out with his dad. He has been sleeping with it every night since the party. Julien gave Sebastian a tea set. I think the idea came from a Francis book. Sebastian loved all of his presents, in particular his riding car.

We had chocolate chip banana bread and ice cream cones, which were a bit messy, but very fun.

Pool Party

We all had lot's of fun at Sebastian's first birthday party. His one year old friends, Simone, Ellie and Zak, came as well as two older sisters, Cece and Nihrani who are both in Julien's class at school. The kiddie pools were a big hit. Julien had a wonderful time and finally seemed his normal energetic (if sometimes too much so) self after having a fever for a week! Sebastian writhed around in the pool slipping and sliding. Very fun for him but difficult for the parent trying to keep him from drowning.

Birthday present

mom

Happy Birthday Sebastian!

Kevin and Lane's baby shower

This Saturday we went to Lane and Kevin's baby shower, thrown by Kevin's sister. They had lots of family in town for the occasion. Julien was very happy that we won the baby bingo and were awarded a bag of candy (including pop rocks, which I remember eating late into the evening with Lizzie when I was young).

More Walking

Sebastian discovered the joys of walking with a ball in his mouth.

Sebastian is Walking!

Sebastian has been learning to walk very gradually. He can do quite well now, before falling over, and usually prefers to try to walk rather than crawl. Richard says he looks like a little Godzilla. Sebastian has been very excited about his new found abilities.

Sebastian Plays Soccer

Fourth of July

It felt so good to have a day off for the Fourth. Sebastian is finally over his ear infection and slept a good full nights sleep- he only woke up once! I finally feel rested.

On the night of the third we went to the local fireworks, which were surprisingly good...although Julien buried his head in my lap and repeated over and over "I want to go to the van! It's too loud. I want to go home!" and then he would howl. He has not gotten over his fear of loud noises.

Each year on the Fourth we watch the local parade, which is always fun. One of our favorites each year is the "beanpole, god of pointless behavior" group which always does something silly. The kids were excited by the free flags and pin wheels.

Later in the day we set off a few mild fireworks of our own. Growing up in California, where the rules are much stricter, Richard had never bought and set off fireworks before. He was as excited as Julien. Our favorites are the bumble bees. They lift off the ground and hover while glowing blue or green and only make a buzzing sound. We set some off in the afternoon and then right before bed time, immediately before a storm, we went to the park to set off a few more fireworks. Julien was nervous about the storm and ended up hiding in the van, but two young boys came out to watch. At the end one of them handed Richard a handful of coins to thank him for the cool show, but Richard gave him back his money. We think they were hoping we would give them some sparklers.

Another Hike at Griffy

Last weekend we hiked at Lake Griffy. Julien chattered away the whole time about his imaginary bald eagle friends. Sebastian fell asleep at the very end of the hike.

Blues trip

Through a box

Learning to walk

Sebastian takes anywhere from two steps to eight steps before falling over.  He will be a real walker soon!

Mobbed

Andrew, Graham, William and family came over for dinner on Thursday for a last supper- they moved to Ohio on Saturday! Julien will really miss them. In this photo William and Sebastian are mobbing Andrew.

Jealous Nursing

Sometimes when I nurse Sebastian Julien gets jealous of the attention and squiggles himself in the middle. Usually I don't let him do this, but at this particular moment I was feeling more forgiving. I love how Sebastian is touching Julien. And no, Julien is not nursing, just getting in the way.