Back from the Beach!

This past week Carlton, Robert and I joined my mom's extended family in Florida for a family reunion. We had an amazing time and it is definitely confirmed that we have a water baby! Robert loved being around all of the people (22 total for the majority of the trip) and he had a blast feeling (and eating) the sand and seeing the ocean for the very first time.

The preferred mode of transportation for his ocean voyages (which never exceeded 15 feet or so from the shore) was this car. For the record, he's a very good driver. Thankfully, I'll have nothing to worry about once he turns sixteen.

There were three babies at the reunion ranging from 14- to 8-months-old. I had to include this picture because it looks like Robert, the youngest, is being ganged up on by his older cousins, Josie and Jack.

Fortunately, before the baby brawl could begin, all three were distracted by the obnoxious mothers behind the cameras who were desperately trying to get them to look in the same direction.

Robert loved the sand. He also loved the bocce ball that probably weighs about as much as he does (thereby preventing him from ever throwing it very far).

We were shocked to see that not only did he not mind the sand, but he was perfectly content to army crawl through it.

This was his first time in the surf -- taking it all in and loving every minute...

I couldn't help but to include this one. The mess all over him are remnants of his "biter biscuit." He LOVES biter biscuits, but they sure do make a mess. The beach proved to be the perfect place for him to enjoy them though because we could easily hose him off or dip him in the ocean to get him cleaned up after he finished "biting" it.

We've discovered that Robert loves to dance. Here's our little dancing machine in action.

Daddy and his boy

You would not believe how hard it was to keep the little guy still for this pose. At 8 months he's become quite the wiggle worm!

Little Stinker

This morning our early riser decided to get up at 5:15. He screamed at the top of his lungs until I went into his room to get him. After several futile attempts to get him back into bed, I resigned to let him play while I "slept" on his floor. The picture was taken by Daddy who did not get out of bed at 5:15 and therefore still had the sense of humor to think this scene was funny (I, on the other hand, did not think it was funny until after I took a nap later in the morning:)).

By the way, the drool on the pillow is Robert's, not mine!

Gross and Precious

Carlton and I have learned after 7 1/2 short months that messes come with the territory when you have a little boy. Robert has already had his fair share of them (some that are not Blogger appropriate). Here is an example of one such mess. Aunt Donna, don't worry, the stains came out of this outfit. Thanks for lending it to us:).

There have been some magical moments with this little guy. Moments when we are fully confident that the purchase of a new camera before his birth was worth every penny. We caught one such moment on camera yesterday when Daddy got home from work. Carlton can always make him smile and laugh like no one else can, but these laughs were like none we've heard before -- uncontrollable and so, so cute.

The bathtubs keep getting bigger...

This past week, Carlton, Robert and I enjoyed a getaway at the Wynne's lake house. Robert got to experience a boat ride for the first time, but he wasn't quite as thrilled with the adventure as we thought he'd be. I'm thinking a lot of that had to do with the constrictive (but cute on) lifevest.

He LOVED the "big bathtub" once we stopped the boat and let him get into the water.

Apparently the short boat ride was too much for the little guy.

More appealing was the big pool that he ventured into for the first time. He could have stayed in there all day!

This is a pic from the 4th of July carnival in the Park cities.

We were far more excited about having Robert sit in a fire truck than he was.

Robert is intently watching the watermelon eating contest from afar. We plan on entering him in the contest next year. All of the past watermelon eating champions concur that in order to be competitive it's helpful to have teeth.

We hope you all had a wonderful 4th!

And we're (pulling) up!

Robert is changing so quickly! He's crawling all over the place, pulling up and constantly looking around for anything he can get his hands on (which he subsequently puts in his mouth).

Our little bug can often be seen without a shirt on these days, which makes him an easier target for tickling.

Here he is playing on the kitchen floor before church. He was enamored with the reflection in the fridge:).

He's pulling up on everything and, as you can see, he's very pleased with himself.

Pool Party!

This is the biggest pool Robert has been in yet. Thanks to the Reas for inviting him to his first pool party! And thanks to solids for his precious, ever-growing belly:)!

We have yet to buy a plastic pool for the backyard, but we will...In the meantime we're improvising with his bathtub.

"Aunt Adele" came into town this weekend so Robert got a little extra love. He didn't mind one bit!

Southeastern Tour

We just returned from a tour of the southeast. We got to visit friends and family in Charlotte and High Point, North Carolina and Atlanta. We had a blast. Thanks to all who hosted and spent time with us this past week!

I included this picture for the Charlotte folks. In the background you will notice a statue of Queen Charlotte from the Charlotte airport. We have such fond memories of our seminary days there and as much as I love the city, I love the people who shared those years with us far more!

Robert got to meet the precious children of our sweet Charlotte friends the Dirks, Hunts and Kulps. Maggie, Robert and Sam are pictured here. The room was brimming with cuteness.

Carlton and I were able to attend the RTS graduation. Our dear friend, Robert Arendale, was graduating. Here we are with all three Arendales (baby girl Arendale is scheduled to arrive in a couple of months!).

On the way from High Point to Atlanta we passed "the Big Peach," a famous landmark in Gaffney, SC. The show of joy on Robert's face is more indicative of his delight in being out of the car, than his excitement of seeing the peach.

The story behind this picture is hilarious. Jack, on the left, is Robert's cousin. They were each given a precious little dog, but, as it turns out, both wanted two. They took turns trying to grab the dog from each other. Jack thought the game was funny. Robert, apparently, did not:).