Friday, July 13, 2007

The highest form of flattery...

I know that you all have been on the edge of your seats for OVER a month waiting to get another glimpse of the cutest 1-year-old around. We've just been too busy enjoying our little bug and all of his adorable antics to keep the blog up to date, but we will try a little harder.
He is just as cute as they come. It's so fun to watch him getting to know and understand what we say and what is going on. I think I would officially say apple is his first word, other than what we've been thinking is "mama" and "da." Of course it's really "apuh." And he says it for other fruit too sometimes, but I think he really does know what an apple is. He also says "hi" all the time and it's so flipping cute. And we're pretty sure he is trying to say "thank you." Whenever we hand him something he wants he says, "dea deh." I never realized how much I say thank you to him when he gives me anything so I think he has picked it up.
We are learning fast how much he picks up from us. Like with Lance's hats, for example. He loves Lance's hats and is always either putting it on himself or trying to put it on Lance. Last week actually Lance was in bed sleeping for a minute and Mikey had found his hat and was playing with it. The next thing I know, he comes running out of the bedroom with a grin on his face. I look in there and Lance is lying there asleep with his hat resting on the side of his head where Mikey had tried to put it on his head. Mikey also has his own hat which he puts on his own head backwards. It's so cute when he does it!
Then there was this cleaning incident this week. I had been spot cleaning the carpet on my hands and knees with a rag and Mikey was standing around watching me. A bit later I was in the kitchen at the sink and I felt a little guy under my feet. I looked down to find Mikey with a rag, squatting down rubbing the rug at my feet. He then proceeded to wander around the kitchen wiping things. So cute! Here he is in two different videos.
and
And speaking of imitation, here was a proud moment for Lance when his son picked up his mama's purse and carried it around the house as he sees his mama do. :) Luckily, for Lance, this fun activity only lasted a few days and he has since discovered Lance's little scriptures to carry around--we won't complain about him carrying around scriptures!
Of course then there was the day when I turned around to see him with an old mascara of mine, open in his hands and all over. He's quite excited about opening pens and anything he can find so this was no exception. If you look at this picture closely, you'll notice the black not just by his eyebrow, but on his hand AND in his mouth. I couldn't properly capture the black in his mouth. It was pretty funny. His teeth were a little black and it was all over his gums. Never a dull moment in this house.
We recently noticed that he had started to grab our forks (from the floor after the dogs had cleaned them) and pretend to stab the plate and put it to his mouth. So we decided to start giving him his food in bowels and with spoons and forks, no matter how messy we knew it would be....and it is. :) On this particular day I started to feed him yogurt, but he kept trying to grab the spoon and feed himself. So, for the first time, I put it in a bowl and let him be. Again, this doesn't quite capture how awesome he looked after his meal of yogurt, but you get the idea--complete yogurt coverage. I only wish you could tell how much his long eyelashes were completely stuck to his face.
And I had to throw in one more video. If you will remember a recent video of Mikey clapping for himself while playing with a particular toy. Well we put the video up on our TV and let Mikey watch it....well, you have to see how he reacts. But I'll give you a hint, he's still quite proud :)http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-729145933109043071

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Funny Mikey

Mikey is getting more and more fun every day. We absolutely love having him in our home. He is quite entertaining now as he starts trying to talk. He will now say "uh-oh" whenever we do and whenever he drops something. He attempts a few other words, but that's really the best one besides "mama" and "daddy." He also has started to clap at everything. We always clap when he does stuff well or figures out a toy or whatever. So now after he plays with a toy he stops and claps. He also claps when he hears clapping on the TV. It's so cute. This video is perhaps my favorite video of him ever. Here he is being so proud of himself for playing with his toys....well, really it's because he sees mama and daddy are so proud. Enjoy....

And our other new favorite thing is his dancing. He has started to dance. Whenever he hears music he starts bouncing up and down. Then he stops and starts twisting his body back and forth. What a cutie.
And he's so smart. He knows the sign for "more" so that is quite helpful sometimes in ascertaining what it is that he wants. We are working on more signs since now I realize how helpful it can be.
He of course has his moments. He is getting quite a firm head when it comes to something he wants. He yells and screams. But the doctor said it's normal :) He also gets very, very sad when dad leaves in the morning and runs to the door crying when he realizes I've distracted him only long enough for dad to get out. On the flip side, he starts bouncing and clapping when he hears the garage at the end of the day and runs to great him with the dogs.
Here are a few other funny things....
We thought he had been sitting calmly in his little chair, but when we came in, there he was with one leg out, laughing. I guess he didn't want to wait for us to get him out so he took matters into his own hands.
Looks like daddy and baby both got the memo (we really didn't plan it!)
This is Mikey's new big boy chair. He loves it! He will sit so calmly in it just swinging his legs. Though it's a little tall for him to get out of by himself so I have to watch him closely or he tips over in his attempts to get out.

Mikey and cousin Amanda just hanging out at aunt Heather and uncle Herb's! (Her dress kept getting in her way of playing so her mom had to tuck it up while she played.)
Kate helped Mikey and Amanda jump on the tramp--they all loved it


So Lance went to get Mikey out of bed in the morning and this is what we found...Mikey with his shirt half off! Maybe he got hot? Mikey's such a big help when I do laundry. He either pulls it all out of the basket and spreads it around the floor or he insists on getting in the basket with the clothes. :)



Thursday, May 24, 2007

Daddy's Pinewood Derby



The Elder's quorum held a pinewood derby a few weeks ago. Daddy took the opportunity to work on his car when we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Bastian. Some of you saw the early stages, so I thought you might want to see the finished product. It was pretty fast, but didn't take first. Sure is pretty, though, if I do say so myself on behalf of my Daddy.

It's a Dodge Viper, in case you couldn't tell.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Disney World!

Our friends, Suzanne and Peter and 18-month old Hallie came down from New York for a little visit (and non-stop fun!!) On our last day we went to Disney World!

The whole family at Disney World

Riding the Carrousel with dad

Getting ready to watch a 4-D show!

Dads and babies getting ready for a day of fun!

Mamas and babies in Mickey's house


Mikey and mama checking out the local real estate in Toon Town

Well Mikey took quite a liking to Tigger. Here he is in the store with Tigger....

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

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

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



Tuesday, April 24, 2007

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.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

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.
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.
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.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

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.


Friday, April 06, 2007

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!