Fantastic Four

This year, Mom and Dad decided they'd stop the "big" parties for me.  Instead, we spent 48 hours partying like rock stars at the local waterpark!  All sponsored by Mom's work - Thank you TD Ameritrade!  Here's Mom's best shot of the Pirate Ship at the water park.  Mom and I spent about 3 hours on Tuesday night getting comfortable with all the amenities.  I had a great time, but Mom is mad about water parks so I think she had an even BETTER time!

I'm not embarassed to admit that I passed out at dinner on night one.  Here I am getting some much needed rest.

Which was useful because the next morning Daddy showed up with Bryce and my girls! They jumped right into party mode with me :)

Not to brag, but I went down every slide.  Full credit goes to the girls who took this guy from being scared of the sprinkler to being brave enough to go down water slides solo with their relentless water therapy.  Thanks Sydney and KK!

My gorgeous girls.  Could a guy get any luckier?!

Just when you think a day can't get any better...  My cousins showed up to join in the fun!  Izzy and KK had a blast together and Oli was a champ in the water too.  I passed out round one of Spiderman Cupcakes and thanked them all for coming to celebrate me :)

I had exactly one hour of down time to eat and rest and then... PARKER and ALYSSA showed up!  Parker came ready to party of course!

No surprise, B took full advantage of the Mom time and turned on the charm full blast. 

While I enjoyed my best buds, Parker and Vann and our Daddies on the lazy river.  What a great time!

Parker and I pretended we were tubing.  Leave it to us to make the lazy river an extreme sport....

And... my best friend Vann hung out to all night!  We got to watch a move and eat popcorn before we both crashed at the hotel.  You know you can always count on your best bud to be there til the bitter end.

Even though I had a slight ankle injury, I still had the best day ever.  We slept hard and woke up ready for yet another day of fun.

Here we are headed to breakfast in the morning! 

We were slightly distracted by the opportunity to play golfckey which is our version of full contact golf with scores.  After breakfast, we helped Mom pack up the room and then swam for another 3 hours before calling it a day. 

What an epic party!  Thanks to all my best friends, neighbors and cousins who made it the BEST 48 hour celebration ever.  Also, a special note of thanks to my cool little bro who was a trooper all week and happily endured a schedule upheaval in order to ensure I had a great birthday.  Love you little man!

National Geographic?

You won't believe the nature we find in our backyard!  From the runaway turtle, to the frog I named "Joyce," to mutant butterflies, Vandyville has it all.  Luckily, I was on hand to photograph our latest find.

Look at the chompers on this mutant butterfly! yikes!  Unfortunately, there was second one who was slightly trampled in the grass near the tree.  Dad says they were moths.  They were slightly freaky, but I still thought they were photo worthy.

Speaking of "photo worthy," check out these two gorgeous mugs!
Hope your week has been as lovely as ours.

Conversations With Cole

Mommy:  Morning honey.
Cole:  Mom, where are my guys?  But... you took my guys away.  That was not nice.
Mom:  Yes honey.  You lost your guys because you were being very bad last night.  Maybe if you be a very good boy today, you can get them back when Daddy comes home tonight.
Cole:  But Mom.  That was not me!
Mom:  Oh?  Who was it?
Cole.  But.... that was a bad robot.  I was at work last night.
Mom:  Oh...  A bad robot?  He looked like Cole.
Cole:  He had a costume.  But... I was not here.  I was at work and that bad robot tricked you.
Mom:  Oh.  I see.  Well I'm glad my good boy is back.  I don't like that bad robot.
Cole:  Yeah.  I'm a good boy.  But, I can have my guys back okay?  That bad robot is gone, okay?

The Many Faces of Bryce

This is how many of my pictures look these days.

Another great take.

I am not as much of a ham as the other little Vandy.

 I am just as cute though!

Sweet Potato Face!

This is my "Who you kiddin' Ma?" face.



This is my "NA NA NA NA NA NA NA" face!

This is my working hard face.  I know what you Moms are thinking and NO I am not working on a poop!

And this is just a nice shot of my everyday mug. 
Mom says she sure does love my face!

 

A Bit About Bryce

I'm 7 months old today!  Here I am showing off my new found love of babble.  I have a few great syllables that I enjoy quite a bit.  I like to say "Da, da, da, da, da, da" and "Na na na na na na" and "ya Ya ya ya ya ya" and "Nee Nee Neee Nee Nee Nee."  Big brother thinks it's hilarious and babbles right back at me :)

Other interesting tid bits about me:

I look like Mom, but my demeanor is more like Dad's.  I'm laid back for the most part, but when I'm mad, I'm MAD!

I hate being still.  I am a BUSY little man!

I love dogs and cats.  That little black cat seems to love me a bunch too.  She got really mad and hissed at Mom this morning when she was tickling me.  It's nice to have a little furry watchkitty.

I love my big brother more than anything.  He's my hands down favorite.

I LOVE dark haired ladies and am truly a shameless flirt.

I'm a champion eater even though I'm allergic to everything. 
I'm a champion sleeper too.

I don't like being alone.  Put me in with the crowd please!

I love music and dancing.  I especially love it when Mom and Cole sing our song which is "There's only one way to say three words about how I feel... I love you!"  Thanks Mama Thinger for the inspiration :)
I'm a pretty mello little man who enjoys life and is just happy to be in the moment.

Bring It!

A certain little Vandy has really upped his game lately.  That kid is into EVERYTHING!

And don't think I haven't noticed his attempts to turn on the cuteness and charm.

Or his new found affinity for MY toys!
He's stealing Dad time, relative time and time with my friends and neighbors - EVEN my girls!

But kid...  moves like this don't just happen.  I've got plenty of cuteness and charm of my own!
Thankfully, we are so well loved by so many people that neither one of us is in danger of feeling anything other than smothered anytime soon.
Thanks Grandparents, Godparents, friends (esp. the Oppermans) and our wonderful neighbors (especially the Overtons) for being so great to little B and I.

Meet the Godparents!

What a TREAT!  On Thursday, we got to hang with our two other Godparents from the duuuurty South!
Of course, I was an instant Uncle Mike fan.  Who wouldn't be?!  Cole told me all about him and he showed us all the picture of he and Uncle Mike playing Ninjas as soon as they arrived.  He's a memorable dude.

My big brother was in fine form.  He poured ice water for everyone (without being asked), then he set napkins, forks and plates out for us all!  What a champ.

Of course, there was a little rough housing.  That's what Uncle/Godfathers do best!

These two reddish rogues look like blood relatives!

Love...  Mom and Dad gave me a bit of soy in the morning so my face exploded into an excema MESS.  Luckily, my Godparents still loved me.

We love you to bits and pieces Freemans!  We all miss you too.  Thanks for coming to see us.

Mobile!

As of yesterday when I officially crawled from one end of the area rug in my room to the other, I am officially mobile!  I'm not a pro just yet, but I can get from point A to point B so it's GAME ON world!

Here's a little evidence of my um... unique form for you.

Take Us Out to the Ball Game!

I must be the luckiest kid alive.  After playing with my 'hood buddies all weekend, Mom surprised me with a Mom and Cole outing on Monday night.  We went to the baseball game with my best friend and his family!  Here Vann and I are discussing our foul ball snagging strategies.

Stella put on a variety show of gymnastics and ballet moves.  We were all very impressed by our favorite little princess.

You'd be hard pressed to find two happier, sweatier best friends in the park that night.

The 3 Amigos.  Bryce stayed home with Daddy because it was as hot as an oven and we were also out pretty late.  Mom decided I needed to get out more because I thought downtown was New York City and was looking all over for my buddy Spiderman.

Oh and it was Papa Opperman's birthday this week!  We made sure he knew how important he was by letting him pretend to be a statue for us to climb on and also letting him give us each umpteen airplane rides in the sweltering heat.  It's important to include Daddies from time to time so they don't feel left out.



After the game, Vann's Daddy helped us each play an arcade game.  Vann and I did not win, but Stella did!  She got a little pink bear that we were insanely jealous of.




We both won this pitching game instead!  I like to finish each pitch with a superhero move just in case there are any villains in the stands.



I bet you can guess how much we loved our prizes!  Who needs a pink bear when you can have enormous battering rams to fight each other and any innocent bystanders with?!

Stella wound up with a bat as well.  What a great night we had.

You may think all of this is enough to earn me the "Luckiest Best Friend" award, but nope.  After the game, I was invited to an all night afterparty at Vann and Stella's house!  We slept in the living room in sleeping bags, then headed out to the water park first thing in the morning.  Now there's no argument whatsoever is there?  I have the best friends and they have the BEST parents ever.  Thanks for an awesome summer evening Oppermans!

Everything I Need to Know

I'm almost 7 months old already.  Time has flown by, and while everyone else has been busy working and livng their lives, I've been soaking everything in and getting really smart.  Here are a few important conclusions I've made:

"Finder's Keepers" and "When the Cat's Away" apply the minute big brother leaves for school!

If I want something, all I have to do is ask...  then demand.  It also helps to reach out and grab the things you want in life.

It's a good idea to try new things in a safe environment first.  This is my crawling practice zone.

Also good to have a spotter on hand.

The right amount of charm can get you out of most any bind.

It's important to have mentors, but one should not follow their instructions blindly.

A man needs to be able to see a few steps ahead.

I know I don't say much, but I'm a smart kid.  I'll get this livin' thing figured out little by little.