Shippy and Smiles

Here are some comparisons of my two boys at around the same age

Vessel about 3 months

Jacob about 3 months

Me and Vessel

Me and Jacob

Vessel taking a bath

Jacob taking a bath


The title of this post is Shippy and Smiles, which is what I call my boys. Shippy is Vessel because he was a tanker as a baby (well, and vessel is another word for ship) and Smiles is Jacob because he is the most smiley little guy I've ever known. I don't remember Vessel ever smiling and laughing as much as Jacob does. Jacob laughs and smiles so much I just started calling him "Smiles." We'll see if it sticks.

Here are some super adorable pics of Jacob:





So this is such a random post, but I just wanted to show some pics of our summer projects:

Our backyard, which used to be horrific. I wish I would've taken some before shots. We tore out lots of trees and bushes with an excavator, ripped out a fence, tilled the dirt, made a trail, laid down sod. Phew, it took a long time.

Here is the retaining wall my husband built. He is quite amazing. I think it turned out splendidly.
Here is a picture of our deck. It wasn't this year's project, but I don't know if I ever posted pictures of it. We made a fire-pit in the center so we roast hot-dogs and marshmallows on occasion.
Mike learned a lot of new skills this summer, including how to put tile around the fire-pit.
You can't really see them, but I have some square food gardens in the back. It didn't produce anything this year. I planted a couple tomato plants, but I knew it was too late in the year to get anything from them. Maybe next year....

Now all we need is to build a privacy fence around the backyard and it should be all set. :)