Thursday, October 28, 2010

fantastic fall fun with friends who feel like family

Last weekend, Jessica invited all of the daycare kiddos and their families over to her house for a fall get-together, complete with pumpkin painting, a bonfire, amazing foods, and lots of laughs.  Micah and I had a fantastic time, as I'm sure all the other families did.  Here are the memories we shared:

 Hunter and Graden carving pumpkins
Paige: Ummm......I'm kinda stuck.  Micah: Hey, check out this thing in the grass!  
 Hey, everybody, look.  Paige is stuck.  Just so you know. 
 Hey Paige, are you still stuck?  Do you need help?
 Yep.  Look.  She's still stuck.  She might need help.
What Paige's thinking: Micah's no help.  What Micah's thinking: I helped Paige!
 Off to go play golf.  'Scuse us!
 Bye, everybody!
This is the life, being driven around by a beautiful girl.
 What?  I'm eating.
 Suh-weet!  Check out how far this stretches!
 The famous Henry looking cute as always
Paige and Micah hiding in the bushes in the corner.....someone should keep an eye on those two!
Jessica and Henry
Who said I can't put my whole hand in my mouth?
Is there a problem?
 The pumpkin carving masters are done and ready to light it up
 A rare treat - a smile actually captured on camera!
 Maybe...if Henry isn't looking....that cookie could be MINE!
 Best buds
 Rye-yee has the greatest smile!
 This, folks, is how you spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  (Oh SO cute together though!)
 More best buds
 One smile out of two ain't bad....
Daddy's boy
Leave it there - I might want to eat that part later.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

picture frenzy

Here are the pictures from my actual birthday in September!  I had a blast celebrating with my daycare family! 

Awww, check out my very own birthday message!
 My Elmo balloon bouquet that my godmommy "Shell" (Michelle) surprised me with!  She dropped it off for Mommy and Daddy since they had to work.
 Cool, a blue thing!  Never mind the 5 gigantic Elmo balloons above my head.....
 Sharing my balloons with my bff Henry
 A smile for a great day
 Chowing down on some cupcakes Mommy made for us.  Notice how smart Jessica was to feed us outside!!!!
 CHEESE!
 Don't mind me, I'm just gonna have a bite.
 Mommy thinks I have a bit of a crush on "P", as I call her - her real name is Paige!  Don't I have FABULOUS taste????
 NUM, NUM, NUM.  Mommy says I have a big mouth!
 Wait, I found a bit more I can shove in there....
 Mommy might frame this one, she loves it so much!
 What?  Do I have something on my face?
 Well, see, I was saving that for later....
Maybe I missed a few crumbs....

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

coming up for air

My sister Kim, also lovingly known as the blogging nazi, has called requesting updates on Micah.  She has emailed.  She has texted.  There may even be some hate mail from her in my mailbox, but I wouldn't know - because I usually don't take the time to check that either!

News and pictures are way past due, though.  Micah is alive and well and into so......so......so.......many different things.

Daycare
Over the summer, he had his adenoids taken out and another set of tubes put in his ears.  The ENT thought this would maybe help with him not getting sick so often.  She also suggested that we try to find a smaller daycare, one with fewer kids and ultimately, fewer sets of germs.  Finding someone to take care of the most precious thing in your life is never an easy job, but we set out to do it.  (For the THIRD time.)  We struck gold when we found the Hudsons!  They live not far from us and have become near and dear to our hearts in the short time we've been with them.  They all have real names, but instead of changing them for the sake of privacy, Micah has changed them because.....well......he's 2.  Jessica, AKA "Cecca", has two little cuties named Hunter - or "Huh-teh" - and Henry.  Henry has a variety of names - the French version, "On-ree", and then "Hen-wee" or "Hen-yee", just to name a few.  Graden is the daddy, and Micah butchers his name so badly right now I won't even try to resurrect it.  Hunter is a kindergartner this year and is home in the mornings and afternoons, but Henry is there all day.  He is Micah's new "favorite" thing in life.  They are like two little peas in a pod, and oh so adorable together.  He is also in love with his other daycare friends - "Rye-yee", "P" (Paige), "Yanna" (Leona), "Kakee", and "Hara" (Zahara).  Micah spends every moment he is NOT at daycare talking about "Cecca" and "hen-wee" and the rest of his friends.  I couldn't have dreamed of finding a more perfect spot for him and I am so thankful for the Hudsons and the important role they play in Micah's life.  I see a lifelong friendship ahead of us! 

Birthday
He celebrated his 2nd birthday back on September 22nd and we threw him a small party on the 25th, with just a few family members and close friends.  Grandma from Iowa was able to join us, as was Great-Grandma, cousin Brayden, godfamily Chad and Michelle and Alyssa and Kenzie, and Nana and Papa from here in Omaha.  While we wish we could've had Grandma and Grandpa from California, we know they were thinking of him and celebrating in spirit.  It was a beautiful fall day, full of family and fun times together.  He opened up new puzzles and books, clothes, a beautiful handmade blanket and pillowcase for his new toddler pillow, a "mimmy" (Mickey) chair, a play kitchen, Iowa gear, Mr. Potato Head, a magna doodle, a little people car wash, new mini Sesame Street books, and "choo-choo" bathtub squirters, and a few savings bonds.  (Grandmas, his college fund says THANK YOU!)  He was a spoiled little boy!  Ice cream cake and a sugar coma rounded off his special day, and we were thankful for a quiet celebration far from the hospital walls that we saw last year on his first birthday.

Growth
He is a growing boy!  At his 2-year-checkup, he weighed in at 25 pounds, 4 oz and was 34 inches tall.  He is still small percentile-wise, but he sure feels heavier each time I picked him up.  His large and small motor development was right on track.  I had concerns at his 18-month checkup about his speech, specifically how many words he did or did not have.  But the pediatrician seemed happy with his speech development and we decided against a speech evaluation.  Since then, he has been back to the doctor once and now weighs in at 27 lbs, 4 ounces.  2 pounds in a month - what a porker!  He is a typical two-year-old eater.  We offer him what we are having for dinner and some nights he eats it, some nights he doesn't.  He loves "noo-noos" (noodles), "jeddo" (yogurt, applesauce, and jello), "joo" (juice), and "cay" (cake).  I know, once again, parent of the year.   Those are the foods he ASKS for, but not necessarily what he gets.  He and his daddy are going to start getting a daily dose of veggies when I start using my new secret weapons in my recipes!  They won't know what hit them.  Suckers......

I have tons of stories of things Micah has done and said in the past two months, and I regret not posting more often to capture those.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for loaning him to us to be part of our family.  We are still as smitten as the day he was born.  Here's to two wonderful years and many, many more! 

These are the words we listen to every night before bed, and they are very near and dear to my heart, because they describe perfectly how I feel about Micah and Dan:

Seems to me that God above,
Created you for me to love.
He picked you out from all the rest
Because He knew I'd love you best. 

(PS - yes, Kim, there are pictures coming.  I'll put those in a separate post.)

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