Gathering of Friends

We flew back to Detroit and stayed a couple more nights before driving back to NY. During this time we were able to meet up with some friends and their kids.

Karin and her four children, Vicki & Tim and their two little ones, and Melissa and her two. Karin, Melissa and I went to high school together. Karin, Vicki and I went to college together.

It was so nice to visit with them. It was the first time Ryan has been around lots of kids like this. He really enjoyed it.


We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Then we went to this children's play area in the mall. Ryan was crawling all around, climbing and cruising. When we left he was sweaty and exhausted.

Now we're safely back in NY gearing up for a busy August. Ryan's vocabulary expands every day. He's getting closer and closer to walking on his own. I'm feeling the baby move more and more. Burke was able to feel him move last night. Now, if we could just settle on a name for him...

The Lokey Family

It was really special to have the entire Lokey family gathered in Fort Myers.



We had a mini celebration for Grandpa's 84th birthday.



Ryan and Uncle Keith at a restaurant on Sanibel Island.

Florida

Ryan checking out the view of the Gulf of Mexico from our room.



Poolside baby



On the beach with Daddy. That's our hotel in the background.



Ryan is curious about this bossy little girl who kept coming over to him and snatching away his shovel and bucket.

Walk on the Beach

After about a week in Michigan, we flew from Detroit to Fort Myers, FL where Burke's grandpa lives. The entire Lokey family gathered there, which was really special. We stayed at the Pink Shell Resort. Our first morning there, we took a walk on the beach with Ryan. This was his first exposure to beach/waves.
















He was tentative at first, but seemed to get used to it.














In the video, Burke his helping Ryan walk on the beach. This was taken 11 days ago and he's already much improved in his walking abilities. It's amazing.

Fun Times in Michigan

When we got to my parents in Michigan, Ryan's first order of business was to climb the stairs. He's never really encountered stairs before and climbed them with relative ease. It took him a few tries to figure out how to get down, but even that he figured out quickly.

The first video I find hilarious because it just proves how babies learn so much from their parents. Here he points at Happy's face and says "go," which I'm always doing, because Happy is always in Ryan's space. We also clap at Happy, apparently, to get him to move, as you'll see Ryan do a couple little claps. Then Happy kind of growls at Ryan and you can hear my own "go" as I chase him away.

In the second video, you'll see our little stair climber in action.

Happy 60th Birthday

Our vacation started with a road trip to Michigan to visit with family & friends, and to celebrate my mom's birthday.

Emergency Room

Don't worry! Everyone's OK.

Well, we had a lovely visit with family and friends on Sunday for my mom's 60th birthday celebration (pictures to come). Then, on Monday we had a "choking spell", as the hospital called it.

It seems he may have gotten a piece of apple caught in his esophagus. He was extremely upset, wouldn't swallow/eat, and was drooling a ton. The doctor said drool production is the body's way of lubricating the area where the food was stuck.

As soon as we got to the hospital, he started drinking again and was in better spirits, which were good signs, but the drooling continued. Then he went for a chest x-ray where Burke had to hold his arms above his head. He HATED that and screamed his super distressed scream. When he came back from the x-ray, he was a different baby. He was hungry and ate the rest of his dinner, stopped drooling, and was just like his old self. We think the arms up and screaming during the x-ray dislodged whatever was stuck.

We were there for like 2 hours. A lot of waiting. Nothing like a trip to the ER when you're away from home. We are thankful that he is okay and that it wasn't more serious!!

Starting to Walk

We bought this walking toy shortly after his birthday, about 2 months ago. He is just now starting to warm up to it. Before yesterday, he was only taking short walking trips with it every once in a while. What really started his willingness to use it was the one day last week when we had him walk back and forth between us, bribing him with a cereal bar. Then yesterday, on The Fourth of July, he spent a good 5-10 minutes going back and forth with and without daddy's help, and he seemed to dig it. Progress...