Just Words Continued... Mikey Milestones

Jared is still gone with the camara which is sad because Mikey has reached a few milestones today. This all happened BEFORE 11:30am

• Was FINALLY successful (he has his dad's short Italian legs) able to climb up onto the kitchen chair.
• Promptly went from the chair to the kitchen table to dance in the middle of the table...pure delight.
• I changed the sheets on his bed. I put him down for his morning nap. Instead of sleeping he removed his diaper and PEED all over his bed...GROSS

We went out. I had had enough of his milestones. Upon our return.

• he learned that he can reach whatever he wants with the assistance of the kitchen chair (ie he can now reach the power button to the golden calf) again...pure delight
• he threw spaghetti around the kitchen for dinner, and put spaghetti in his hair
• likes to pull his sister's hair so that he can take the toy that she is playing with...she screams in pain, he screams in delight

He is one happy boy. I have not even been upset. It was a good day. Active, busy, slightly challenging, but a good day to be a mom.

We are Alive!!!

We are alive and well. The time has just flown by so quickly. Where did summer go? My summer students checked out, and the fall students checked in. The students have been in school for the last 10 days and my life seems to FINALLY be slowing down. The summer was insane. I felt as though I worked constantly. I knew that it was true because every time Tori had the opportunity she would turn the sign on the door so that it indicated that it was my DAY OFF. As I have said before motherhood + work = GUILT. And I usually feel guilty most of the time.

We have done quite a bit over the last few weeks, but I can only find the pictures from the State Fair on the camera...I think that Jared may have downloaded the rest of the pictures onto his computer. He is asleep and I am afraid of his computer so you get to look at a few pictures from the State Fair.

Tori is pretending to pick apples here. There is an exhibit Little hands on Farm where the kids have the opportunity to learn about the connection between the and the grocery store. The exhibit is fun. Tori had a good time. Actually any time she can play in dirt is a good time as far as she is concerned.
Isn't he cute? He is just hanging out watching his sister. Check out his adorable new walking shoes. OK so he is not THRILLED with the shoes, but it is getting colder. I think that the shoes are cute, and that he looks dapper in them.

This was Tori's favorite part of the day...riding a pony. She told me that she is a COWGIRL and she needs pink cowgirl boots. Tori finds life to be a shoe shopping opportunity.

Jared has just started his LAST semester! We are so excited. Our plans? Most likely we will be moving back to New York by April. We really want Tori to start Kindergarten where we plan to stay. As odd as this may sound Utah has grown on me. As I comtemplate our impeding move I think about some of the things that I will miss here. There is nothing better than a Utah peach or apricot.

Our children are growing. I can't believe how quickly the time goes by. Michael is currently getting FOUR molars at once. He is not even that cranky. He continues to love to explore. We have discovered that he does have a love for cars. He turns anything into a car. His father's wireless mouse, dolls, cups, etc. Yesterday Tori wore her Lightning McQueen pants he got sooooooo excited that he kept kissing her pants! It was really funny.

Tori loves to cook. Today we made an apple pie together. Anytime that I am cooking she is in the kitchen with me standing on a chair insisting that she help. She does freak out about the "fire " from the gas stove and oven, but other than that minor set back she is an excellent help.

Life is going really well and I promise that I will try to improve my blogging timelyness (is that a word)

Happy Birthday 1st Birthday Michael

Can you believe that he is 1? I cannot. This past year has been wonderful. we have really enjoyed having Michael as part of our family. Michael has been such a blessing and has made our family complete.Michael has such a calm and patient spirit. He has Jared's personality and obviously looks just like him. I love that my children love each other. I love that they like to play together. I love that Tori teaches Michael.

This is the first time that Tori held him in the hospital. She loved to hold him.

Isn't he cute? He was a HUGE baby (9 lbs 3ozs and 22inches long)

Michael learning to crawl.


He used to watch me make dinner every night.

He loved his birthday cake.

WOW! Isn't he the best? He is the happiest baby in the world.

Happy Birthday!!

HE WALKS!

Here is the proof!

Independence Day

It is OFFICIAL Michael WALKS! He has taken a few steps here and there, but today he finally realized what he was doing. He is pretty proud of himself. Tori also had to demonstrate to us that she knows how to walk. In the picture he is walking to me (he wants the camara).

I do not have a video or picture to document this, but he said MOM (while looking at me)tonight. Yes that is right all in one day a real word and walking. It is Michael's Independence Day!!!

We went to Hogel Zoo today. It was fun. I think that Tori liked the rides better than the animals.

The new Conservation Carousel with hand-carved animals. It is very cool. Tori rode the poisen dart frog. I think she just liked the color.

Michael thought that the egg was weird and he was not fond of his hat. He and I had a battle to keep the hat on. He was much happier when I took off his red, white and blue stars and stripes socks and his hat.

And finally our little turtle. She really liked the playground and rides. The animals were ok.

I love the 4th of July! The zoo was fun. However, it definately was HOT and dare I say humid today.

UH-OH!!!!!

Yes my friends Michael's very first word. Everything is uh-oh. I have tried mama, dada, Tori, etc. Everything we see we tell him the name. He loves books, and loves being read it, but alas his word is uh-oh. I cannot believe that he is almost 11 months old. Tori asked if we could start planning his birthday party...of course. I love to plan parties it is one of my FAVORITE things to do.

Speaking of uh-ohs. I have a co-worker/friend who was very pregnant. Her husband and son left on Thursday for Washington State she needed to finish up working here and was to join them the following Wednesday (37 weeks pregnant). Anyway I saw her yesterday and told her if she needed anything to call me because I was working this weekend and had no life. My uh-oh was I forgot to bring my phone into our bedroom last night and she called. I realized she called 20 minutes later. She drove herself in labor to the hospital. She is my HERO. She and her baby are perfectly fine and healthy. I still cannot believe that I forgot my phone...Uh-oh

A Mother's Intuition

Michael will celebrate his 9 month mark on May 6th. Michael still is not a huge fan of solid food. He favors barley and rice cereal. He will eat some fruits and vegetables, but not consistently. I have wondered if it is because he seems to ALWAYS be teething. He has 9 teeth. I figure who wants to eat when their gums hurt? I have talked to his doctor who said that by 9 months old he should eat 3 meals of solid food a day. He is not. I mean should I actually force a spoon in his mouth when he has his gums tightly closed? So I met with a nutritionist today and she referred me to a developmental specialist for an evaluation. She felt that Michael may be handicapped because he does not like to eat solid foods. She feels as though he may have problems swallowing. I met Jared for lunch, he laughed. He told me to be patient Michael will eat when he is ready. We both feel that he may just have a sensitive stomache. He cannot have lactose. Both of his grandfathers had food allergies, he may too. I came home and put him down for his nap.

He woke up and I fed him. as you can see from the picture he ate. He ate a ton! Two huge bowls of cereal and peaches. Again I am reminded that children develop at their own pace, and I need to relax. It is important to be aware of what the milestones are, but a mother needs to trust her instincts!

Siblings

Last night while taking a bath Tori asked if her brother could take a bath with her. I said sure. I put Michael in the tub and he likes the water. In fact he likes it so much that he loves to crawl from one end of the tub to other splashing the whole way. The splashing annoyed Tori. You see she was upset that she was not in charge of of how they were going to play. He would have the choice opportunity to watch her play and then she could wash him. He had other plans. I realized she was frustrated when she said to him while slightly pushing him with her legs "you can go back in Mommy's tummy right now." Needless to say their joint bath ended.

Michael

Does not he have the most BEAUTIFUL blue eyes. He is such a sweet little boy. He spends his days following around his sister and trying to walk.

Tori

I LOVE Tori. She is full of life, energy and disorganization. I spent most of my life organizing my mom, and now I spend my days organizing her clone and I am LOSING. Tori can destroy faster than anyone else that I know. In the video you will notice her zest for life, Michael ADORES her and her idea of how their room should be decorated.

I wish I had her energy!

My mom always buys them the cutest things, this is one of their favorites. CARS is a favorite movie in our house.