Father's Day!

What a wonderful perfect fantastic day it was!

This year was E's first father's day as a daddy, so it was special indeed. We woke up around 7:45 when I got James, who had been happily chatting in his crib for the last 30 minutes. We joined E in bed and cheered "Happy Father's Day!" to him.

I fed James while sipping hot coffee and relaxing and enjoying the morning. Then I handed off the baby to his Daddy who played with him and kept him content while I cleaned the entire kitchen (yea, remember, we had 9 people for dinner the night before).

Once the kitchen was clean we gave Mr. Man some breakfast (sweet potatoes mixed with applesauce and baby oatmeal) and put him down for a morning nap.

Then a hot Costco ham came out of the oven and family started to arrive! We hosted E's family to a very fun outdoor summer brunch for Father's Day. Chelsea and Joe provided the mimosas, David brought along some awesome honey and jam, and E's parents provided fruit and yogurt. Everything was so yummy, and the weather was just splendid.

As breakfast was winding down, we heard James's classic wake-up talks. He just happily chats in his crib until I go and get him. SO SWEET.

He joined us outside on the blanket under the tree where we happily chatted, laughed and played with the baby for another hour or more. It was a wonderful way to start Father's Day.

E's family left around 2:00, I put James back down for an afternoon nap shortly after, and cleaned the entire kitchen. Again. Thank goodness we weren't hosting dinner.

After an all too short afternoon nap (where James woke up grumpy) we headed to my brother's for a Father's Day BBQ. Its been a couple years since Brandon hosted Father's Day, but this year was so fun at his new house!

Brandon bought a house about four months ago and totally gutted the main floor. He put in a new kitchen, tore down a wall, built a new wall, resurfaced the floors and painted everything. It was so fun to have the first official family party over there.

We all hung out in the backyard and ate grilled chicken, a salad with homegrown lettuce from our garden (yep, it's still on steroids), and then took a wonderful evening walk down to get an ice cream cone.

James was happy the entire time, but that is because is Auntie Melissa totally spoils him with love. My other sibs and dad of course took turns giving James some snuggles, but it is Melissa that he adores.

Happy Fathers Day. We love you!

Breakfast outside was a little sunny, but we all had such a good time.
And isn't this bowl of berries heavenly?
Can you believe this beautiful couple is getting married NEXT weekend! I'm the maid of honor (hell yea!) and E is a groomsman. Let's hope James behaves at the wedding. Auntie Melissa will be on hand, thank goodness.

Grandpa Steve and James get along quite well. The really are fond of each other.
This photo is not cropped. I was trying to take photos of James in his cute father's day outfit when he decided my camera looked awesome and leaned forward. I decided to go ahead and click the shutter. Silly goof.
E's first father's day! And my dad enjoying Brandon's backyard and BBQ.

And above, Daddy gives James his sippy cup. These boys really love each other.