Talk about surprises - Peter walked this morning!  Peter was standing up in the bathroom with no support and suddenly decided to head for the door.  Instead of kneeling down and crawling, as is his usual MO, he took four steps over before stopping and realizing that he just did something really cool.  Then he just went about his business.  No steps since.

Here we go!

SURPRISE!  

Or at least it was a surprise for me.... Hayes managed to plan a fantastic surprise party for my 30th birthday last week.  I don't know how he did it, as I usually end up figuring these things out ahead of time.  He had every detail figured out - so much so that I realize now he's an untapped resource when I'm planning a party - I need to put him to work!  We had a great crowd, good champagne, and shrimp and grits to rival those found in the low country.  I'll share pictures once we get more from our guests, but I had to share the one above - can you believe those two kids are 30?!  

We just returned from Peter's first trip to the beach.  We drove down to Seagrove, Florida in mediocre weather, and lost a day to intermittent rain.  By Day 3, we had gorgeous summer sun and perfect beach weather.  Peter took right to the sand, though he was immediately most drawn to the stairs up to the houses.  He crawled all over, exploring the new terrain.  The sand was apparently quite tasty - he licked his fingers and shovel!  He didn't even mind a face plant here and there.  The water was a bit overwhelming at first, but by the end of the trip he was fearless.  He knocked over a few sandcastles, played with the seagulls, and really enjoyed his 'fort' that we set up for some shade.  He waved to passersby, both pedestrian and aerial, human and avian... We must admit that it will be nice next time when he can walk and perhaps even carry something down for himself!  All in all it was a great introduction to the beach, as we have more than a few beach bums in the family....  now we know Peter is one too!    

Catching his shadow

That's more like it!  

Always checking out the neighbors....

I think I'll just chew on a few sea oats....

The most genuine 'Peter smile' we've managed to catch on film

The stairs with a Peter magnet built-in

His personal cabana

Aww!

He did this over and over and over and over and over....

Photographic proof that we DID have a hat for him, but he refused to wear any of them.