We had G’s first birthday party on Saturday.  In the morning, it was looking like the weather was not going to be the greatest, but it turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon.

Here are a couple from the festivities.

By the time we got around to singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and eating cake, the little guy was getting worn out.

His actual birthday was Wednesday, so we decided to give him another go at eating his cupcake.  This time, he was a much happier boy.

Happy 1st  Birthday Buddy Boy!

One year ago today we welcomed baby G into the world.  I can’t begin to describe how incredibly FAST it has all gone.  It seems like just yesterday we were changing poopy diapers…oh wait, we’re still changing poopy diapers.  In any case, our G-Man is definitely much more of little boy now than he is a little baby.

Here’s one of G-money decked out in his birthday outfit from Saturday’s birthday blowout bash.  Don’t worry grandmas and grandpas, we’ll post some shortly where he’s actually smiling.  Note for mommy and daddy next year:  serve the cake before G’s normal bedtime.

Had to post some more from the beach at Rock Island.

Playing in the sand turned out to be the most fun we had at the beach.

One can never go wrong with a shot of sand covered baby toes.

Here’s our young baby surfer, dreaming about his next big wave.

Momma and G-money having a great time splashing around on shore.

We’re already counting down the days until next year’s camping trip!

We just got back from camping at Rock Island State Park, a vehicle-free island off the tip of Door County, WI.  We had a blast…spending lots of time hiking, playing baseball, watching spectacular sunsets over Lake Michigan, and of course, spending lots of time at the beach.  G-money is a water bug, and loved playing in the sand and in the water.  Here are a couple from the beach during our first full day on the island.

Only a week late, but eh.  We’re taking lots of photos this summer, just not finding much time to blog ‘em.  Here’s G-Money at his first parade, the annual Fourth of July parade in Three Lakes, WI.

1.  Measure carefully.

2.  Hammer the joists into place.

3.  Act cute and let grandpa finish the job.

I can’t figure out if our house reminds me more of the circus or the zoo.  Either way, we definitely have a monkey running the place!

Amy Wenzel is a very talented photographer from Grand Rapids, MI who’s blog I follow regularly.  Earlier this week, following an unlikely sequence of events, Amy’s husband David found out he has developed a mass in his brain.  Please keep the Wenzel family in your thoughts and prayers.

You can read Amy and David’s incredibly moving account of this past week’s events on each of their blogs, starting with Amy’s post on Monday.

A couple of weekends ago we finally got around to hanging the swing in the tree in our front yard.  G-Man has suddenly become very fond of getting pushed in it.  And the higher he gets pushed, the better.  I swear, the kid has no fear.  We’d call him Evil Knievel if he weren’t so darn cute.

We’re in the process of signing up for the 22nd annual Vince Lombardi walk for cancer.  This year’s event is being held on June 13th at the Milwaukee County Zoo.  We’re going to miss the convenience of the walk starting in our own backyard, but it should still be a good time.  One can never go wrong with any event touting free beer!

As they are every year, GE Healthcare is a major sponsor of the event.  To show our support for cancer research in our community, our finance department (aka Shutter Momma), has authorized me to donate $5 for every comment received on this blog post by this Sunday at midnight.  Just leave a comment in response to the following question:

What is your favorite charity or non-profit organization?

On top of the contributions our family will be making to this year’s event, GE will match any contribution over $25 made by an employee.  So what does that mean?  10 comments received on this blog post will translate into $100 for cancer research.  What could be easier?

So leave a comment below this post and show your support.  Or better yet, join us on June 13th at the zoo!

Final note:  Comments on this blog are moderated, which means it may take a while for your comment to be approved and posted to the site.