Corn

To say Mike likes food is kind of like saying Mother Theresa liked helping people...basically a gross understatement.  Mike loves food.  His daycare teachers consistently tell us what a good eater he is and how refreshing it is to have a toddler that eats so well.  We rarely have to worry about what to feed him because he will eat nearly everything.  Last night for dinner we made grilled chicken and corn on the cob.  I didn't expect Mike to be a fan of corn on the cob so I diligently cut his off and served it to him on a plate.  He quickly voiced his displeasure with this setup and kept reaching for my corn (still on the cob).  Not expecting much, I handed it over.  Much to my surprise he finished the entire thing and even reinserted the corn holders whenever they fell out.

Cheesing it up

On Saturday morning after breakfast Mike and I had a silly, impromptu photo shoot in our pajamas.  He is becoming quite interested in the camera and even took a few of his own pictures.



Monday Pictures

Someday Mike is going to be really angry with me for posting pictures of him in a baby speedo on the internet (to be fair it is a cloth swim diaper not a speedo...Brad thought it was too "hillbilly" to allow him to play in the front yard naked).

Things to Remember: Reading with a Toddler

Mike is at a phase right now where he LOVES books.  Every night he asks me to read book after book after book.  Unfortunately for me, he seems to only want to read 1-2 books at a time and he will ask me to read them over and over and over and over.  The book he is holding in the picture above is called "Choo Choo."  It is about a train ride to the beach (Choo Choo off we go; Puff Puff into the woods; Clack Clack over the Bridge; Rumble Rumble into the tunnel; Toot Toot it's dark in here; Chuff Chuff into the sunshine; Here we are at the beach...HOORAY).  We have read it at least 75 times (probably more) since we brought it home from the library on Monday.  Neither Brad or I can say no to him when he wants us to read him a book, especially because he now signs the words for "book" and "again" and will repeat them over and over again while also saying "more" until we relent and read "Choo Choo" or the book of the day again (and again and again and again).

On a funny side note, trains must be the coolest thing ever because Mike will only say "Choo Choo" in a hushed whisper as if he is witnessing something amazing.  If we are walking and he hears a train whistle he will immediately begin whisper chanting "Choo Choo; Choo Choo; Choo Choo" while looking around excitedly.

The Weekend

Last weekend was a whole new level of busy.  Friday was the ortho graduation dinner followed by Brooke's bachelorette party.  Unfortunately Mike got sick Friday afternoon and I missed these events.  Brad represented the family at the ortho dinner and the bachelorette party succeeded without me. 

Saturday morning marked Mike's first swimming lesson.  It is a "mommy and me" type of class where he is in the water with a parent.  After he got used to the water temperature he loved it.  I think I may have received a few nasty looks from other mommies who MAY have gotten wet due to Mike's exuberant splashing (in my defense it was encouraged by the teachers.  After the wedding we all got dressed up and headed to Brooke's wedding.  Brooke is technically married, however, her "real" wedding will be in San Juan next month. 

Mike being the center of attention per usual

Mike and I spend most of the ceremony in the back or outside.  He decided that a the actual ceremony was a great time to throw a nice big tantrum

After the wedding we headed over to the ortho end of year bbq.  We all had a really good time.  I don't think Mike stopped eating the entire time we were there.

On Sunday, the Gillman's drove up from southern Illinois to spend the day with us at Six Flags.  We packed everyone into the car and headed out.  It was a long, fun day.  Can't wait to do it again!

The kids showing me how to spin on the hot air balloon ride

Mike cooling off at the splash park

Tuckered out little boys

Monday Picture

Flowers

Mike has recently taken quite the interest in flowers.  Whenever we go on walks, he likes to stop and point out the flowers.  He has to touch each one and make sure I see them.  Imagine his joy when he realized we had a whole circle of bricks full of flowers in our front yard.  He worked on learning how to charm pretty girls by giving them flowers and tried really hard to smell them, however, it must be a pretty confusing concept as more often that not Mike would blow on the flowers and then exclaim "MMMMMMM"

Water Table

You may remember that we got Mike a water table for his first birthday.  As December is traditionally cold the water table sat in our kitchen for months.  We would occasionally fill it up with water and let him play, but there was always a watchful eye to make sure he didn't spill "too much" water.  Now that the temperatures have risen the water table has found its rightful place on our back deck, and Mike couldn't be happier.  Let the splashing ensue!

More

In case you need more Mike cuteness today head on over to my sister's blog where she can't seem to stop posting pictures of him.

Monday Picture

Vacation Part C - Evanston, WY (Mike's Perspective)

This part of the story I’m not entirely sure of because I wasn’t there. But luckily Mike dictated a nice letter to my mom, so here is his own account of what he did with Grandma and Grandpa:

Hi Mom and Dad,

Yes, I am sleeping right now, but I asked Grandma if she would write you a letter for me. You've been calling so much I think you're worried about me. Maybe you just want to talk to Grandma and Grandpa, but I thought a little letter might make you feel better. I asked Grandma to send some pictures, too. She said she's try her best to get them to attach to my letter.

Auntie Sarah and Grandma did a nice job of traveling from Aunt Erika's house to Evanston. I slept for the first part and then Grandma played with me and fed me my favorite snacks. When I got hungry, we stopped at a TA and I got to eat a LOT of carrots and Mac 'n' Cheese. I didn't know they had that stuff in Rawlins! We met some of Grandma's friends there. What a small world. I got to see another guy named Mike and his wife Kathy, and I met a pretty girl named Sydney. She was in Grandma's class last year.

I slept a little more and played with cups on my toes and then we stopped at Little America. What a fun place! There were people everywhere. I ran and giggled and flirted and even made faces in the mirror, at ME, when Grandma changed my pants. Then the most wonderful things happened. Grandma bought me a banana and some ICE CREAM. (Wow, was it COLD. I think Grandma already sent you the cold face picture, so you can tell it's true.) She bought me some fun dinosaurs, too. Auntie Sarah helped me play on the playground and I liked the slide and the shakey bridge the best. I could even get up to the top of the slide all by myself! Auntie Sarah helped me go across the monkey bars. Whew! That stuff kind of stretches your arms. I think I'll wait until I'm bigger to do that again.

When we got to Grandma's house, guess what! Grandpa was there! He was so happy to see me. We had dinner and I got a bath (I DON'T LIKE taking a bath at Grandma's but I'm trying to be brave.) Then I went right to bed and slept the whole night through.

Yesterday, I went for a walk down the road with Grandma and I picked up rocks. They have rocks here just like at Uncle Derek's house! I threw them at the puddles. Grandma was walking backwards and I tried it too. I can do it for a long time. I even tried to run backwards. It's hard, but I think I can do it better if I practice. We played with toys, too. Grandma has a bunch of toys and books for me. I like Squirty Fish and Starfish the best. In the evening we went for another walk and I saw a LOT of water. Grandma and Grandpa made me hold hands when we went over the bridge, but they let me run when we were on the road. I climbed through the gate with only a little bit of help. We went over to a little house and there was a big pile of snow in the front and I got to throw snowballs with Grandma. Can you believer that there is snow in May? My hand got cold, but I didn't want to stop it was SO much fun. Grandpa sat on a bench and watched me. He said I was a good thrower!

Today Grandma had to go to work and I got to stay with Grandpa. He was waiting and waiting for me to wake up. I slept until 8:30. I had a little trouble sleeping last night. I got thirsty and couldn't find my cup, but Grandma rocked me and sang a nice song and gave me a big drink. I sleep a lot here. I think being in the mountains and doing so many new things makes me tired. I like napping here. The bed is just like the little one I used to have. (Thanks for sending my blanket. It helps me feel comfortable.) Anyway, Grandpa put my car seat in his big truck and I got to go and get trusses with him. We went to the barn, too. I think I scared the horse and mule. They didn't want to come and see me. Grandpa did a nice job of remembering to give me snacks and water and he even changed my pants when they got wet. He's a pro. He made caribou burgers for dinner. He made me a little one and put cheese and catsup on it. I didn't like it very much, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so when he wasn't looking I put it on the floor for Al. She's a big dog and she says "WOO WOO." Grandpa and Grandma watch her a lot when I'm by her, but she's being nice. Most of the time, she stays outside.

Grandma and I went for another walk tonight - I though of you walking on the beach and I was walking on the dirt road. You were picking up shells and I was picking up rocks. You are eating exotic food and I tried to, too.

Tonight before bedtime, Grandpa went to the barn and I stayed home with Grandma. We watched a cartoon on Nick Jr. about a little girl from China at a water park. I learned to play gently. After that, it was time for another bath. I think Grandma knows that I don't like her tub, because she let me put the toys in the water, and then GUESS WHAT! She blew bubbles into the tub! They don't pop so fast and I got in and I could catch them! It was still scary and we went really fast, but it was a lot better with the bubbles. Maybe tomorrow I'll be even more brave.

Mommy, I really like it when you talk to me on the phone. It's hard for me to talk back, but I like to listen to you. I hope you're having as much fun as I am. Tomorrow night we are all going to town for something called a retirement party. It's at a bear park. I hope there aren't any real bears there. Grandma says I will get to meet some more of her friends and there will be other kids there to play with and lots of food - I'm always up for lots of food! ;D

Grandma says not to worry, I'm being a REALLY good boy. She and Grandpa are taking good care of me and I like them, they're funny.

Be careful at the beach. I heard about a bunch of people getting stung by jelly fish. If you see some, GET OUT of the water.

I'll see you soon! I love you!

Mike

Vacation Part B - Cancun, Mexico

Part B – CANCUN, MEXICO

The reason my mom and sister came to take Mike was so Brad and I could have a little getaway, just the two of us. I was super excited for it, but also dreading it at the same time. On Tuesday morning we left Denver and headed for sunny Cancun, Mexico. After an uneventlful flight and airport shuttle we were in the lobby of our hotel. We decided to go the “all-inclusive” route again as it is just so convenient and stress-free. The resort itself was alright. We decided we probably won’t go back there just because we have liked other places in the past more, but it was still very nice. This part of the story is actually pretty boring because the vast majority of what we did involved sitting on the beach and reading. Occasionally we would go play in the ocean, a couple of times a day we would take a long walk on the beach in the surf and watch the pelicans dive. All and all it was pretty low-key an uneventful. I did lose my sunglasses in the ocean twice within 15 minutes and we amazingly found them both times. I may have nearly lost my swimsuit top one of the times I lost my shades (some of the waves were BIG). Brad may have had a mild confrontation with a poor waitress (at the hotel) where he told her he had never felt less special in his life (she wouldn’t let him sit on the cooshy chair because he was not an “elite” member of something). We did experience the public transportation system in Cancun and took a bus from our hotel to the downtown area. But really, there isn’t much to talk about here. I read two entire books and got a nice sunburn. End of story.

Vacation Part A - Denver, Colorado

If you read my blog regularly you probably noticed that things were amiss last week. You may have even come to the conclusion that we were on vacation (the pictures of the ocean were probably a dead giveaway I suppose). But now we are back from our crazy, busy, plane hopping adventure. Since it was such an adventure I’m going to break it into 4 pieces. Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D (good thing I’m here to break these things down for you, huh). The plan is to post part A now, B tomorrow, C Thursday and D on (you guessed it) Friday. So here goes…

Part A – DENVER, COLORADO

Friday evening we flew from Saint Louis to Denver to visit Brad’s sister, her husband and their brand new baby girl. Upon arriving at the airport we learned that our flight was delayed 2 hours….grrrreat. Two EXTRA hours in the airport with a 3 foot tyrant. What could be more fun? Luckily for us the Saint Louis airport is not so very busy so we were able to find a relatively abandoned wing and let Mike run around and play on chairs and do toddler stuff. When we finally made it to Denver (around 10pm) we made our way to the rental car buses, only to learn that the company we had reserved a car with was closed for the night…grrrreat. Luckily another company has a deal with them and matched our reservation. However, as it was now 11pm at night they were a little low on cars so we were upgraded from a mid-sized car to whatever we wanted. We ended up with a Suburban. We snuck into Brad’s sister’s house around midnight. On Saturday we hung out around the house, snuggled the new baby, and waited for my mom and sister to arrive (they were driving from Evanston). Sunday we decided an outing was in order and loaded up the Suburban to take the family to the aquarium. To say Mike loved it would be quite the understatement. At one point he almost fell over backwards watching a stingray. He would press his little hands to the glass and watch the fish intently, every so often pointing something out to me. Monday was the sad day. You see the reason why my mom and sister drove to Denver was to pick Mike up. Monday they all left and I was without my baby. I cried like a baby myself. Brad and I made the best of our last day in Denver (Memorial Day) by hanging out with his sister and her husband, eating outside and snuggling their baby some more.

Monday Picture

Still Busy

Sunshine and Sand

We're busy.  Be back soon!