Family

We chose the windiest day of our week at Myrtle Beach to take the family photo!  More of these to come...

Mom's Birthday Tea

Steve's sister, Amy, found the perfect way to celebrate Mom's birthday on July 1st while we were in SC~ a tea room!  Mom, Amy, Laura and I went to the Calabash Garden Tea Room for afternoon tea, and it was the ultimate feminine experience.   The teas, sandwiches, tarts, scones, and desserts were delicious.  They looked delicious, too.  I was so enthralled with the decorations- edible and otherwise- that I forgot to take pictures of us girls!  I do that too often, especially for someone who claims to be a portrait photographer...

Here are some details~

Boy + Sand = Sand Castle

It doesn't matter how old the boy is, the equation still applies.

Day or night, it doesn't matter.

Steve built a number of sand castles on vacation.  I wish I had taken a picture of the Capitol-shaped one, but I didn't make it down before the tide came in.  I did manage to get a picture of the inspiration behind the Capitol sand castle-- this replica of the White House built by another group on the beach:

Next up~  Tea Party.

Myrtle Beach Part I

When Steve's Mom and Dad discovered cockroaches in our beach rental home, we were upgraded to a beautiful, spacious beach-front condo-- three floors, game room, multiple bathrooms, room for up to 26 people, swimming pool.  It was amazing.  God decided to spoil us a little bit, and He really provided the perfect place for the whole Deterding family to spend the week.  We loved the extra space to let the kids run around; and having the beach in our backyard made it so easy to run back and forth whenever nap times and meal times allowed.  We certainly prayed a prayer of thanks for cockroaches!

Here's the condo.  The windows and the balconies on the left half were ours:
The view from the balcony:

The kitchen:

Mom fully stocked the kitchen with snack foods.  I think I gained a few pounds over the course of the week:

The main living area on the first floor (parking was beneath the building):

There were four bedrooms and three bathrooms on the second floor, and two bedrooms/bathrooms and a game room on the third floor.

Coming up next: Sandcastles.  Lots of sandcastles.  

There's One in Every Family

I'm going through our pictures from Myrtle Beach, and came across this series taken while I was trying to frame our Family Photo.

Jimmy loves the camera.  

And the camera loves him.

Contest!

My friend Stacy is having a little contest over on her photography blog (at my expense!) that I thought you all might like to participate in, since it features yours truly.  A prize is involved, so check it out!

Leah's 10 Month...

Leah is well into her 11th month-- can you believe it?  I'm just now sharing her 10 month picture with you all.  Here she is!  Instead of trying to remember what Leah could do at exactly 10 months, back on June 15th when this picture was taken, I thought I'd just share a little about her now- at nearly 11 months old~

Leah is a fast crawler now.  Her favorite things to crawl to are doors (which she loves to push open and closed) and rugs (she loves to pull up the corners and eat whatever crumbs or bits of dirt are hiding underneath).  Oh, she also loves to crawl to Mommy, Daddy, or Grace.  Leah still has an exclamation that's unlike anything we've ever heard-- and if someone would like to comment and take a stab at describing it, I'd be grateful!  I can't put it into words, but it's awfully cute and I hope she keeps doing it.  We'll have to post a video of it.

Leah is happy, happy, happy, and likes a good cuddle.  She loves to walk and run--with help-- and is just starting to try to pull herself up on things.  She loves bath time but doesn't like the pool or beach at all.  She can use a straw or sippy cup for drinking and knows sign language for "more".  Everything goes in her mouth.  She likes to turn pages in books, pick up tiny things, clap her hands, play hide and seek, ride in the stroller, and dance to music.  She puts up with Grace's squeezes and hugs pretty well, but is starting to fight back!  She can point to your nose, eyes, and mouth...and then looses interest when you try to teach her "chin".  We're working on it!  

It's been a wonderful 10+ months, Leah Anne!