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
Baby Benjamin, getting so big!
Almost all the grandkids. We learned on this trip that Mikey doesn't pose for group pictures--yes, he is the one who ruins them :) And he was probably off distracting Amanda when this was taken. Abigail-7 1/2 months, Benjamin-4 months, Caroline-2 1/2 months, and Kate-almost 5. It looks like Ben takes after his cousin Mikey. He's just about as big as Abigail who has 3 1/2 months on him and almost twice the size of Caroline, only 6 weeks younger than him!
Amanda's hitching a ride on Mikey's stroller. Mikey thought this was the funniest thing ever at first. After a minute, though, he wanted his space back.
Natalie made this yummy peach pie just for Lance.
Amanda's too busy enjoying pure whipped cream to smile at the camera
Baby Caroline.
Amanda Jane. What a cutie!!
Mikey and Amanda are such big kids sitting all by themselves on their stools! 
( After 5 or 10 minutes of them wiggling around on them and making us nervous, though, we put them on the floor to finish their food)
