Baby Izzy

Our beloved nanny, Jamie, brought her new baby girl , Isabella, over to meet the boys recently. They were quite smitten. In fact, they were surprisingly enthralled with her. They both crowded around and watched her intently for most of the visit. Grant, who has nicknamed her "Busy Izzy," wanted to hold her and patted her gently: "She's so cute," he told us, and "I love her so much."

Miles was also fascinated by Izzy, peering over at her and petting her like a cat. 

Catching Up

We celebrated Kent's birthday earlier this month with cupcakes, candles and party hats. Miles, who has a mad sweet tooth but a distaste for messiness, refused to touch the heavily frosted cupcake. This did not stop him from diving in head first, however.

20 Months

New this month, Miles:

• Has a number of new words, including "I did it!", "splash" and "ocean."
• Has shown that he is a nap-fighter, refusing sleep while on vacation, probably afraid to miss anything.
• Has become a major momma's boy. When in need of comfort, he lays his head on my shoulder and fiddles with my hair. He also has abundant hugs and open mouth kisses.
• Drinks from a big boy cup just like his brother. There are a few spills, which are often intentional -- an excuse to "splash!"

Previous monthly photos can be found here.

Dolphins, Alligators and Sea Turtles

Another highlight of our Jekyll Island trip was seeing lots of favorite sea animals. A visit to the Sea Turtle Center and Nature Center were big hits for the boys. We also saw dolphins twice: once off the pier at Saint Simons Island and again while sitting on a beach on Jekyll Island.

Grant was excited to find a sea turtle puzzle.

Vets performed surgery on an injured sea turtle.

Baby turtles

Each rescued sea turtle had its own large swimming pool.

A hermit crab

My beautiful cousin Eleanor, who was a flower girl in our wedding nearly eight years ago.

Miles found a place to splash at the Nature Center.

Making discoveries at the Nature Center

Gators

Dolphin watching at Saint Simons Island

A dolphin: simply amazing

More From Jekyll Island

When we weren't on the beach, we enjoyed exploring Jekyll Island's historic district. Once a getaway for the Rockefellers, Morgans and Pulitzers, the former "cottages" are now historic sites surrounded by century-old oak trees with Spanish moss.

The historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel

The boys enjoyed playing on the croquet lawn.

Spanish moss-filled trees lined the streets.

A cottage built by the Crane family

The boys -- and Kent -- enjoyed climbing on the trees.

Grant enjoying a cookie at one of our favorite spots, Cafe Solterra at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Beach Boys

We had a great time in Jekyll Island, Ga., last week. We were lucky to have lots of sunshine and hot, humid weather. The highlight of the trip was spending hours playing in the sand and surf.

It was Miles' first time on the beach. At first he wouldn't touch the sand, whining to be picked up as soon as his toes touched the ground. But he quickly discovered a love for it. The ocean, however, was love at first sight. He couldn't get enough of running in and out of the waves. His new words for the week were "splash" and "ocean."

Grant was also very comfortable in the ocean. When we first got to the beach, he was ready to strip down to his birthday suit to run into the waves. His favorite thing to do was to pick up sand, sticks or shells found on the beach and throw them into the water.

When they weren't in the water, the sand provided hours of enjoyment, thanks to beach toys brought by Grandma and Grandpa.

They also loved watching and "helping" Grandpa fly kites.

A few more beach pics:

Easter

We had a nice Easter Sunday with the Smith family. After church with Grandma and Grandpa, the boys and their cousins searched for Easter eggs, followed by lunch. 

The plastic eggs were filled with jelly beans, which Miles tasted and loved immediately. He simply had to smile at Grandpa or his older cousins, and they gladly gave him a handful. 

We struggle to get a good picture of all of the cousins on every holiday. There are currently five boys, and getting everyone to sit still while looking at the camera and smiling is nearly impossible. But this was our best effort yet.

After lunch, the older boys lounged downstairs and watched Ice Age. G insisted on changing out of his "buttons" as soon as we were done taking pictures.