Catching up

It's been a while!  This has been a whirlwind of a summer for the three of us, I'll try to fill you in on the high points.

First and foremost, our beautiful baby girl is now a one-year-old!  July 26 marked her first birthday...coincidentally, it also marked the day Gena and I realized time is moving a little bit faster than we ever thought possible.  This first year has been much more than an eye opening experience.  We've gone from a tiny, helpless (and let's be honest, mostly useless) baby, to a walking, "talking", hugging, kissing, playful, loving child.

Alright, the summer began with a weekend trip to Denver, which is now home to about half of my immediate family.  It was great having (almost) everybody in the same place, and even better seeing everyone dote on Coco.  We were there for my first Father's Day, so I was given a t-shirt for Coco to celebrate the occasion.  We also played a little tennis, which as soon as she can hold racket, Coco will be playing too!  She might need to work on her balance though...

We spent the 4th of July in TX with the family, and had an early birthday party for Coco.  Many thanks to Cora's aunt Stephanie for the amazing cake!  The party was out at Lake Weatherford, where Cora was able to spend her first time in water deeper than the bath.  She loved it!  Clark (our dog) wasn't sure about it, but he disliked being away from us, even more than he disliked the water.  He decided after a minute or two each time we got in the water that he needed to swim out to us.  Now, for those of you who have never seen Clark, his legs will never be described as long.  They had to work so hard to get his thick little body out to us that by the time he made it, he was too exhausted to swim back.  While Gena got to hold on to the splashing baby, I spent my time in the lake holding on to a panting dog.  Great fun.  Here are some of our favorite pictures from the weekend.

It was great to spend time with the family, and to see Coco interact with her cousins.  While we were there, she decided to take her first steps.  She had taken one or two before, but she strung together a few steps for us, it was thrilling...and frightening!

By the time my family came to GOLA (Gonzales, LA) for her other Birthday party, she was a walking pro!  We had a party out at Jambalaya Park (yes, that's what it's called...it's home to the country's "Best Festival", the Jambalaya Festival) where there is a little splash park for kids.  We had a few friends come out to play in the water with us, then retired to Raising Cane's for some delicious chicken fingers.  Here, again, are some of our favorites.  Be sure to click on it to see in it's full glory.

After the birthday parties, there was a whole lot of studying going on in our house.  I had to take the first part of my board certification exam at the end of August.  I did find time to put together our birthday present to Cora though.  Here's a shot of her helping me out, followed by the finished product.  I think she likes it!

In late July, I spent a week in Vancouver for a conference.  Yes, while Gena's conference was in Milan, I was stuck in Canada.  I'm not sure if this was an even bargain.  Vancouver was absolutely beautiful, but my favorite part of the trip was the daily video chat with my ladies back home.

The afore mentioned test took place in Mobile, AL, so we decided to pack up the family and get a hotel the night before, then head down to Gulf Shores for a few days.  Cora absolutely LOVED the water!  Every time the water came into view, she started screeching and squirming like crazy.  Our condo was across the street from the beach, and the balcony was just far enough from the bedroom that Gena and I could spend the evenings outside listening to the water, but still be in range for the baby monitor.  I know you'll love these photos as much as we do.

Vacations are over, summer is finally cooling off, Cora has graduated to the next room at daycare, I passed my test, and Gena's hopefully getting a paper published here pretty soon.  I think we're all caught up.  Whew!