Second Fathers Day

Our family had a great Father's Day this month! We were lucky to have amazing weather all weekend (I missed a having a full Spring in NC... windows open, no AC.... ahhh!) and we took full advantage!

Father's Day #2 - 2013

On Saturday, we drove to Wissahickon Valley Park in Philadelphia and walked along the "Forbidden Drive" that follows the Wissahickon river along areas that housed dozens of mills and factories throughout the 18th and 19th centuries but have been long since abandoned. It is beautiful and very interesting from a historical perspective. Nolan took it all in from his comfy seat in the Ergo carrier :) Dean, being a big history buff, loved it ;) It was an excellent family bonding trip!

Dean very excited for an outdoor adventure!

 We knew it was going to be a good trip when we came across this bench along the path. Wait for the closeup...

Bench

Hi Aunt Emily xoxo

Father's Day weekend hike 

Nolan's first hike riding on mom's back

He loved it!

On Sunday, Father's Day, I got up with Nolan early and let Joe sleep in a bit (as much as he can with Nolan's loud playful shrieks!) then treated him to a yummy "Pinterest" Breakfast of French Toast skewers with fresh fruit - YUM! I wouldn't dare try to compete with the self-proclaimed breakfast chef in this house with eggs :)

Father's Day breakfast!

For Father's Day, I put together a mypublisher album of all of Nolan's monthly photos and got 2 copies - one for Joe and one for my dad. I love the way it came out! It can be viewed HERE. I'm slowly staying on top of organizing all of Nolan's things - I have all his daily daycare report sheets for his infant room put away in a binder, and I'm 3/4 of the way done scanning his art projects to make another photo book (another pinterest idea to cut down on paper storage and make looking back at them easier). The final item is to finally finish his 1 year slideshow, which is also about 3/4 done. My goal is to finish it before having to start on this year's foundation slideshow, so I better get cracking!

After Nolan's nap, we headed to our awesome 5-min-away mega playground at the Haverford Reserve. Boy are we lucky to have that place nearby - not only does it have a fun dogpark for Dean, it has a brand new playground that has equipment for all age kids and "misting stations" to deal with the hot summers - so cool!

Once there, Joe got the best Father's Day gift that money can't buy - our first glimpse of Nolan "letting go" and fully walking on his own! I was shocked when he just dropped my hand and started walking (or should I saw RUNNING) everywhere. Luckily Joe had his iPhone for this video:

Nolan LOVED the playground, so I have a feeling we will be taking many trips there throughout the summer/fall. He loves the swings, both at the playground and at home. He cries when we try to take him out, even after swinging for a long time! Here he is on Father's day:

Nolan, Dean, and I are so lucky to have Joe in our lives! He is such an amazing husband and dad - I am so glad we had a fun family-filled weekend to celebrate. 

Father-Son Love

I love looking back to a year ago for each holiday. It never ceases to amaze me how much change can happen over one year. While Nolan has gotten so much bigger, I can see the same love in both photos :)

First Father's Day - 2012

Nolan on Father's Day 2012

I dare you to look at this next photo and not smile. Man, I love these guys!