4th of July weekend!

Jake's first trip to the beach:

hangin' with Dylan

Kyra is so beach ready

K & D checking out the waves!

finally in the water

splashing just like in the bath!

Daddy's turn to take Jake into the water

quick change

4th of July weekend was very hot and very busy, but lots of fun! On Saturday, we took Jake to the beach for the first time ever! We went with our friends Janice & Erik and their kids (Jake's pals) Dylan and Kyra, along with J & E's other friends and their daughter. Jake had fun playing in the sand, chasing seagulls around, and playing in the water. At first, he wasn't too sure about the waves, and clung onto me for dear life. However, he soon got used to the cold water crashing on us, and wanted to spend lots of time in the ocean with me and Joe. I see many more beach trips in our future :)

That same day, the water fun continued when we inflated Jakey's new pool for the first time. Jake wouldn't sit down in the pool, but he had a blast dancing in it, splashing, and playing with his beach ball and boat! It was so hot that I had to put my feet in too! :) 

On Sunday, we traveled down to the OC for Zac & Shaunna's BBQ. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of their little cutie pie Natasha, but I was able to get a few of Jakey and Kyra T. playing in Natasha's awesome new bounce house! It is a small bounce house made just for our toddler size kiddos, and the kids had so much fun bouncing, throwing the balls around, and sliding down the slide. Jake has not been a fan thus far of larger bounce houses, so this one was perfect because it was just the right size. It was so cute to see all the kids running around and playing together (or at least near each other)! We had a great time and Jake did so well on the car ride there and back (thanks to the Cars DVD!!)

Jake's morning 4th on July outfit

my flag cake - it's a tradition

Jake's afternoon/evening 4th of July outfit

holding his new car!

playing in my parents' fountain

Jakey running with Gran

sitting with Pa Pa

On 4th of July, Jakey was very patriotic and sported two different red, white and blue outfits! After Jake's nap we headed over to my parents' house for our annual 4th of July family BBQ. It was a small group - just us, my Nana, my parents and their friends Colin & Linda. Jakey wasn't too sure about Colin until he handed Jake a present from their recent trip to England - a new toy car painted with the Union Jack (at least it was red, white & blue!) After that, they were besties! Apparently, bribery works well for 21-month-old boys :) Jake had a great time playing with his new car, running around the backyard and putting his hands (and at one point, his head) in their backyard fountain. Jakey also thoroughly enjoyed his dinner (especially the hot dog, and the cake and ice cream for dessert!) We even let Jake stay up past his bed time to check out the fireworks! We walked across the street from my parents' house to the high school parking lot and we could see the local fireworks in the distance. The fireworks were far enough away that the sound didn't bother him, and he enjoyed watching them for a couple minutes. After that, he just wanted to run around! Maybe next year he will make it through the entire 15 minute show? Guess we'll just have to wait and see...