The Beach!

On Peter and Suzanne's second day we went to the beach. We weren't sure how much the kids would like it, especially since the last time with Mikey didn't go very well. But they loved it!

Helping dad build sand castles
Mikey loved to chase the seagulls. The sand on this beach is amazing, it was the softest sand I'd ever felt. And inspite of the blazing sun that day the sand stayed as cool as ever so it was great for the kids to play in.
Hallie and Mikey playing in the sand...I know, his belly's awesome!
Daddies and babies playing the water

Mikey loves daddy :)

Busch Gardens!

On Suzanne and Peter's first day we went to Busch Gardens and the kids loved it.

Mikey and Hallie playing in The Land of Dragons. (Side note, that egg is acutally quite deep and so I am scrunched down holding Mikey up--just thought you all might be entertained by that mental image :)

Mama and Mikey riding a Dragon! This was the first time we've been to Busch when we could actually take Mikey on little rides and it was so fun. (Except that I don't remember getting quite so dizzy on these kinds of rides when I was little...round and round and round...)

Daddy and Mikey riding in the dragon egg.

Out looking for animals and we had to stop and take a picture. And yes, I was freaking out when dad set Mikey on that tree and stepped away!

Like father, like son...Mikey LOVES looking at fishies

Mikey suddenly decided that he didn't want to ride in the stroller anymore, but push it himself. It was so cute! He helped dad push the stroller like this forever! So cute! Check out the video.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2439708056344255698

April 17, 2007--Mikey's First Birthday!

This was one of Mikey's cakes. He had two. One for us to eat and one for him to eat. No offence to him, but we didn't really want to share with him...you can see why below. I made a baseball because of course it's Mikey's daddy's...uh, I mean Mikey's favorite sport. :)It took Mikey a minute to reallly get into the cake. First he just played with it in his fingers for awhile.
Of course he finally dove in.
The final product.

Of course you have to see this cake eating in action so check out this video.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3299604570435700067


Cleaning up the final product

Present time!
Luckily he had his second cousins over to help

Easter!

Mikey was so excited for the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. (Okay, well he was excited to be outside in a park with dozens of little kids and the dogs.)

Dad helping Mikey collect a few eggs (which, by the way, are his new favorite toys. I never thought I'd get so much use out of plastic Easter eggs).

Everyone keeps telling us how he suddenly has changed from the "baby" stage to the "little boy" stage.

Mikey was so excited to discover his Easter basket on Easter morning. In addition to plenty of stuffed animals, the Easter Bunny left him some jelly bean filled eggs and mama let him open one. Once he started eating them I just could bring myself to stop him! Soon he had purple drool dripping down his chin. He was so happy!! When else can you eat jelly beans for breakfast if not on Easter morning.

Learning to Walk!

On March 29th Mikey took his first steps! 2 1/2 weeks shy of one year. He took the first ones in the morning and so dad was so sad to miss it while away at school. But Mikey helped to make up for it when that night, as dad came home, Mikey was standing behind the door (which he does every night when he hears the garage door open :) When dad opened the door Mikey was standing alone and when he squatted down Mikey took a few wobbly steps into his arms.

Here he is showing dad his new skills again when he came home.

Before he actually started walking he would just stand up forever swinging his arms. It was so cute. Here he is talking to Willie and swinging his arm.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6816554714891009752&hl=en

About a week or so before he started walking on his own, Mikey would walk around holding my hand. Now he never wants to since he can do it alone so I love this video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2637144893071333834&hl=en

And finally here are the videos of his first few shakey steps. Now he's a champ at walking, but this first few "baby steps" are so cute.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6901478769848432748&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7738785462753043775&hl=en

First (real) Hair Cut

So we have cut Mikey's hair before but it was always just a snip here and snip there of the hairs growing wild and faster than the rest. Now that his hair is more even and uniform in it's growth, it was time for a real hair cut. Unfortunately he doesn't know the meaning of the word "still" so dad had to do it while he was eating....yes, he got hair in his food, though I don't think he minded seeing as he still puts carpet fuzz in his mouth.

Still falling asleep everywhere

Lance was putting his PJs on and he just rolled over and was OUT!
He fights sleep so much that, at times, all I can do is put him in this thing with a quiet video...5 seconds later, he's out.

The Art of Teasing Willie

Mikey's new favorite thing is playing with Willie's ball and teasing her. Here we are after church in our Sunday best playing with Willie's ball in the dog water. Before we knew it, he was sopping wet. He was so excited though, we just couldn't help but to laugh.

Eating is so much fun!!!

Mikey loves beans though we certainly pay the price every time we give them to him...they get everywhere and make the biggest mess!!! They dry like glue to his face in a matter of seconds! But he loves them!

Mikey's first trip to Sea World!

Mikey's checking out the sea turtles with dad

We are enjoying this stage where we can show him expensive theme park stuffed animals, make him smile, then move on without actually having to buy them.



Mama and Mikey

He wanted to watch the sea lions for hours!

Mikey and daddy waiting for the dolphin show to start. It was a REALLY neat show with lots going on, including birds and people swing from the rafters! Mikey loved it!

Daddy and Mikey checking out the dolphins before the show.

They had this really neat aquarium with a glass floor over a tank. We let him crawl around over the fish and he loved it! Everyone else in the room got a kick out of watching Mikey crawl around over the fish while loving it.

Mikey was no less enthralled when walking through the tube under the shark tank. He's his daddy's boy.

Grandma Moss' funeral

In case any of you didn't hear, Grandma Moss passed away on February 6th. Yes, one day before my birthday. At 96 I think she was ready to be with her husband again. We will always love her and miss her.

The one good thing about having a funeral is that you get to see all your loved ones :)

All the mama's and their babies together.All the cousins together. Mikey needs a boy cousin fast! Good thing he's got one ordered to be delivered in April (Thanks Heather!)

Mikey's trying to figure out what baby Abby is screaming about.
Now Amanda's trying to figure it out.
Look how cute they all are!!!

Just too tired

So one night Mikey was getting extremely tired, but was quite dirty so we decided we'd give him a quick bath. We got him in the water and started washing him when he just started to fall asleep! We tried to keep him awake for just another few minutes, but we couldn't! You don't understand, I mean, he was OUT! Nothing could even get him to stir. We washed him, dried him, diapered him, dressed him....he was like a limp doll the entire time. It was the funniest thing ever. Hey, when you're tired, you're tired. And actually, a few days later, I had put Mikey in his walker to watch Baby Einstein for a bit while I got a few things done. After a while I started realizing how quiet it was out there (and Mikey is NEVER quiet). I jumped up and ran into the living room, only to find him face down on the tray in front, out cold.

Meeting baby Abigail

She's so little!!

Looks like a nice little family of four...hmmm, a glimpse into the future? ...the distant future!


Meeting Cousin Abigail (And mommy trying to protect her from harm)
Congratulating Uncle Brad on being a new Daddy!