Sweet (busy) Summer!

Family Picture on Lake Okoboji

Oh dear!  My apologies are required yet again!  Here, as I entered my first summer vacation as a mama, I had visions (but now I'm learning delusions) of time to blog...HAHA!  I may have less time now than I do while working.  Vinnie and I are trying to make the most of our delightful summer together, which keeps us very busy!  Now that we have one whole month of this under our belt, I suppose it is time for a rather extensive re-cap.  Lets hope Vinnie is in the midst of a solid nap, so we can make it happen!

Since I last posted Vinnie has crossed off several milestones!  He continues to move more and more...at 11 months he is just starting to perfect the art of crawling on all fours, while he still prefers the vigorous army crawl when he needs to get somewhere quickly.  He devours every bit of solid food he can get his hands on...we have yet to find anything he doesn't like, and is becoming too cool for the whole bottle thing!  He is a social butterfly and a ham, just like his father, which makes him the center of attention at most social gatherings, trips to the grocery store, doctors visits, really anywhere he can catch someones attention. 

Darby and Vinnie: best buds!

He continues to oodle over his puppy, now petting her and even venturing to crawl on top of her from time to time.  She enjoys him, and all the table scraps he provides, but gets upset when he invades her space and often just walks away, leaving him one lonely little guy.

Hangin' out at the pool.

Vinnie has gone swimming in: his very own wading pool, a lake, a city pool, a resort pool, and Grandma and Grandpa Keimig's pool.  Next week, he will start swimming lessons with dad.  Needless to say...our kid is part fish.  He LOVES the water! 

1st Haircut: Thanks Dad!

Vinnie has even had his first hair cut...done by daddy!  It was a success and we were amazed by how much older he looked, just from that little trim.

First boat ride on Lake Okoboji...rough waters!!!

In early June, we took our first official family vacation, traveling to the Fillenwarth Beach Resort in Okoboji, IA for 4 days with my parents and sister's family.  While there we enjoyed a lot of family time, great food, great sites, and a little time on the lake.





Shortly after returning from our Okoboji vacation, we were packing up the car again, this time headed to Watertown, South Dakota for the Wedding Celebration of Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Laura.  While Vinnie didn't appreciate all the time in the car it required to get there, he did enjoy all the time with family and all the festivities surrounding Jeremy and Laura's special day.  He even allowed us to spiff him up in a suit, and charmed the church as the little ring bearer in the buggy for the wedding!

Happy to be with the Bride and Groom!

With Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

With Grandma and Grandpa.

All TEN Wennstedt Great Grandchildren!

Enjoying the parade with Daddy!

Our little man is so busy and fun.  He jabbers away at us, entertains us with coutless belly laughs, and has started waving, doing so big, and even giving high fives.  A trip to the Freedom Festival parade in Cedar Rapids provided endless opportunities to wave and giggle...what a surprise, our social guy loves parades!

Now we are just enjoying some relaxing time at home.  I feel so blessed to be enjoying uninterrupted time with Vinnie at home.  I feel so blessed to experience many "firsts" with him during this time at home; he makes even the most uneventful day special!  Trips to the chiropractor to keep those ear infections away, morning walks with mom, naps, play time, and soon swimming lessons fill our weeks... its summer and we are loving it!