To our dear friends and family far and near.....we've decided to start a blog. Yes, an online journal....I guess blog is what the kids are calling it these days :) We plan to update every so often to keep you up to speed with our little boy Brett, his growth/changes and what we are up to with him out here in San Diego. What better time to start it as his first birthday approaches on June 26th. We hope that every little bit of communication helps make the distance we have between us smaller. We love you and thanks for keeping in touch with us this way as well.

Love,
The San Diego Vermillion's - Josh, Becky & Brett

Less than two years ago, it was just the four of us vacationing in Spain....now, my best friend Jen and her husband Matt have a little girl named Avery born on 2/28/09. We went to St. Louis for Memorial Day weekend to meet this new little sweetie :) We had a great time over the weekend, which went by too fast. We took in a Cardinal's game, ate dinner out and just enjoyed spending time together. We don't get to do that nearly often enough... It was awesome to meet Avery, what a darling little calm baby she is. We realized the difference between the demeanor of a boy and a girl and the volume of the cry at 3 months vs. Brett's 11 months!
Jen and me "watching" the ball game...it was all about babies, who has time to watch a game?! We did have awesome seats and a wonderful time, thanks Matt!

While we were at the game, my college/Pi Phi friend Aly came by our seats to say hi. She and her husband recently relocated from Tampa to St. Louis. They are due to have their second baby, a girl this time on hopefully my birthday or the day after, which is her real due date :) I always love seeing whenever I can...she's a wonderful friend through the many years and miles :)
The morning of Memorial Day, Josh and I took Brett swimming in the hotel pool before we met up with Jen for the day. He was a blast! He loved it and just laughed and played. He did not cry one bit, which was a nice change from the flight that we took to get there! Brett really got a kick out of us splashing around with him. He was quite surprised when Mommy dunked him under - TWICE! We are looking forward to a lot more water baby moments this summer.... I will have to refresh myself on the Red Cross lessons I used to teach kids in high school and college...it's different when it is your own!

Here are before and after pictures of Brett at his first hair cut. Even though we could still get some good volume out of the mowhawk, it was falling flat! So, we made the appointment for his first big boy haircut @ 11 months old. I did keep an envelope of a few long pieces of his hair for memory sake. Miss Amanda must have cut 3 inches off the top. She also informed us that the majority of Brett's hair is right down the middle and that unless I wanted to comb it over (like a bad toupee) we would have to go with the "hawk" once again. I am sorry grandma, I know you are eager for the classic little boy look. We will always remember our little boy was born with a mohawk and it just doesn't seem ready to hit the road yet...

She used some clippers on the side and some gel on the top and the first big boy hair cut is now one for the memory book. Brett did great and really loved being in the spotlight on daddy's lap....it was a fun experience for us all!