Fish Tales by David

I'm pleased to introduce my guest writer, Proud Papa David, who is making his blogging debut right here and now. We had some excitement at the lake which he witnessed first-hand, so it seemed only right that he be the one to tell our readers about it. Drum roll please .... Heeeeere's David ......

What a wonderful trip to the lake this weekend. I have been working crazy hours and it was nice to get to something really important – fishing! Everett got a new “Cars” fishing rod and reel from Wal-mart in Decatur. His Grandma had the same idea last week so he ended up with two identical fishing poles. Good thing he had two, because he probably would have worn one out.

I don’t know how many times he threw his line in the water and reeled it back in. His arms had to have been tired. He actually beat me out to fish Sunday morning. His Grandad said he woke up around 6:00 and said "GO fish!". By the time I got out there he was fishing in his pajamas with a life jacket on.

After a while, he started getting bored with his little rod and wanted to use mine. I was trying to be safe and had not put anything with a hook on his line. Julie suggested that maybe he was tired of not catching anything so I put a small jig on his pole thinking he might catch a little perch. We walked to a place close to shore on the docks ramp and I pointed to a place for him to drop his line.
















He dropped his lure in the water and his line immediately started heading out into the lake. I yelled at him to "Reel, you have a fish!" He started reeling but then stopped and looked at me and said “it’s stuck”. About then, the fish got close enough to the surface for us to see it and we were both surprised. This wasn’t a little perch but something a lot bigger.

He started reeling again and finally got his first catch close enough for me to reach down and pick it up by the lip. He had caught a very pretty ¾ pound large mouth bass less than one minute after he started fishing with a hook on his line. What a fisherman!
















Maybe he will grow up to be as good a fisher-person as his big sis. He even got some pointers from his Grandad on how to tell a fish tale. That fish had gotten as big as Everett’s arm span by lunch time. I look forward to many more fish and many more tales. I can give him lots of pointers on how to tell about the one that got away.

Pryce also showed an interest in fishing ... or rather, in the fishing rod!

Won't be long before he's out there fishing with big brother!

More fun at the lake

Pryce enjoyed all the extra attention
















And practicing his walking. He's taken a couple steps on his own.
















Everett and Ms. Prissy, the cat, became buddies.

Spashin'

The boys also enjoyed splashing in the pool and sprinklers with cousin, Hayley.

Cookin'

And what's a weekend at the lake without some good home-cookin'?? Everett made some yummy mashed taters.


















Pryce even approved of the grub!

First Mate Pryce

On Saturday, Pryce enjoyed a leisurely cruise in the paddle boat with Grandad.

Chillin' at the lake

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and one we'll always remember.
We'll be sad when the lakehouse sells, but are so thankful for all these special memories!

Pryce's 10 month check-up

Pryce had his 10 month check-up today. Sometimes I'm amazed that he's already 10 months old and at other times it seems like he must be older because it's hard to remember what it was like not having him in our family. He's such a sweet little boy and amazes me with his strength, fearlessness and endless smile. He's already got 2 teeth on the bottom and another 3 on top ... no wonder he plows through his meals like he does! He's completely on a "table-food" diet now and will give any new food a try (if only Everett would follow suit!)

The doctor informed me today that the philosophy of avoiding eggs, milk, nuts, etc. in an infant's diet prior to age 1 or 2 is no longer the recommendation. It was previously believed that withholding these foods early in a baby's diet would lessen the chances of the baby developing an allergy. Not so anymore ... they found this theory to be untrue. Soooo .... our little cutie-pie will be getting to have his first scrambled eggs pretty soon - woo hoo!

Here are his stats from today's visit:

Weight: 20# 1.6oz - 50th %

Height: 28.5 inches - 50th %

Head: 44cm - 10th %

and here's the P-Man posing for our annual Father's day photo shoot

(Sorry for the graininess ... I had to scan and the results weren't so pretty)

And here are more of our Father's Day photos

P.S. - Happy Father's day David, Dad and Ray ... I never did get around to blogging for Father's day (poor David worked ALL weekend) but I hope it goes without saying how lucky I feel to have 3 wonderful "Dads" in my life.

Love you Guys!!!

Play time

Here are some photos I took last week of the boys playing in Everett's room.

New trees

After losing a couple of trees in a severe April storm, we purchased a few replacement trees at Treeland in Gunter. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but the savings and selection made it well worth the trip! The trees were delivered and planted for us on Wednesday. Here's how they look:



We chose a Chinese Pistachio for the backyard to replace the Bradford Pear we lost.



We put three Crape Myrtle "Dynamite" in the front bed that was previously home to a large tree. The bed looks a bit pitiful after being trampled by the guys who cut down what was left of the old tree and then again trampled to plant the new ones ... hopefully we'll get it looking nice again soon.










We also planted a Red Oak in the front.










And here's a view of the whole front yard with the new trees. We are looking forward to watching them grow and mature.

Tub time

Pryce loves his baths!