Great Grandma Turns 92!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Otto's great grandmother is truly amazing! She lives by herself in the homestead that has been in her family for 110 years. We visited her on the morning of her 92nd birthday, but could only stay a couple hours because she had a lunch date at the senior center and then planned to play cards all afternoon with her friends. She is in remarkable health and will be a large part of Otto's childhood.

Campout at 8-Mile on Isicle Creek

Well, this was Otto's third camping trip! We camped out two nights this time. As you can see he's got the hang of camping now. Thanks to the help from his Auntie Adrienne (the stogy/pretzel) and Auntie Hannah (the beer). Only the best for our little babe.

A Summer Swim with Grandma

We had such a fun time the other day when my mother came up from Olympia for a visit. It was hot so we decided to head over to Pritchard Beach on Lake Washington just south of Seward Park. Otto loved swimming with his Grandma. Well, actually they just splashed around for a while together because the water was pretty cold. Andrew and my mother went for a longer lake swim together, but Otto stayed ashore for that one.
After swimming Otto and Grandma shared some water. Actually, Otto hogged the water.














Then Otto thought Grandma looked hungry, so he tried to feed her some grass.

It was all very comical and fun!

Rattlesnake Lake Hiking

Otto's second cousin Amanda came for a visit while she is between semesters at college. We spent one afternoon hiking up to Rattlesnake Ledge, a beautiful 4 mile hike with a panoramic view at the top.





Otto got tuckered out, so the whole way back down he took a nap.

Otto Goes International

Cabo San Lucas welcomed us with warm weather and warm hospitality. We stayed in a gorgeous resort and spa, which I would highly recommend to anyone. We booked through Expedia last minute and got a great price. This was the view from our room.

Otto was a great flyer, eating and sleeping the whole way down. We held him on our lap and only had to change him twice during our flights. We really enjoyed our first family vacation, but came to realize that our travels would be much different now with Otto.

After coating Otto with SPF 50 sunblock, we took him swimming every day. Here he is with Daddy blowing bubbles.


Otto loved bobbing up and down, but his swim diaper also went up and down (indecent exposure)!
Daddy gave Otto a few water polo lessons. Otto was mostly amused with the floating yellow ball, but we have high hope for his egg beater kick and cross-cage shots.

The best news of all...Otto came back from Mexico with his first tooth. That's right, the first little one on the bottom. We call it his Mexican tooth. Now he's working on a neighboring American tooth.

A Picnic in the Rose Garden

Andrew, Otto and I met Grandma and Great Grandma at the Point Defiance Park Rose Garden for a picnic and walk through the gardens. We all enjoyed our outing, but really wished the weather had been warmer.

I couldn't help taking this cute photo of Otto smelling the roses. Whenever we put him close to the flowers he opens his mouth really wide as if to take a bite.

A Backyard Swimming Pool

Thanks to Grandma Otto has been staying cool in his backyard swimming pool. He splashes himself with one hand, which startles and excites him, so he does it again and again and again. When we bring him out to the pool he gets a big smile on his face and really loves sitting and splashing. He could probably sit out there all day if we let him.

Teething

"I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it." (Clint Eastwood)Our little cowpoke is about to get his first tooth. He is drooling like a faucet and fussier than usual. He's pretty cute to watch as he discovers this new lump on his gums with his tongue.

BLUEBERRIES

I guess there's no doubt...Otto loves blueberries. We went blueberry picking with Grandma down in Olympia a couple weeks ago and picked 27 pounds of blueberries. Thank goodness too because Otto can't get enough of them. He even helped pick from the backpack (mostly just pulled the leaves and mommy's hair, but really felt like he was helping). I've pureed and frozen blueberries so Otto can eat them without choking. I think we'll try putting them in the mesh teether too to help with that first tooth that's coming in.