Busy Month!

Finally I have been able to post another update! I have been getting yelled at by everyone for not keeping more current with the blog - so sorry! Even David (who lives here and sees everyone day to day) has been hinting..."I checked the blog today for an update" or "I sure love when you update the blog"! Well, to all my blog fans...I'm sorry it has been so long!

Michael is still growing like crazy. Here are some shots from last month and his first experience with sitting in the grass. He did not like it one bit!

So daddy finally rescued him from the prickly stuff and then he was happy!

Look at those pretty blue eyes!

Then we sat on the rock wall in the backyard - he is getting to be such a big boy!

A couple of days later was Michael's first taste of ice cream! David made me promise he would get to give it to him, so of course he did! Michael wasn't sure of the cold stuff at first...

but then he got the hang of it and really loves the stuff! He had to help daddy because it wasn't coming fast enough!

A few days later it was all about Sheniah! She got baptized and confirmed at our church on May 11 - it was a great Mother's Day present to see her make such a wonderful decision about her spiritual journey. I am so very proud of her...she is such a wonderful child...uh, young lady! It's hard to think of her that way - she will always be my baby no matter how many more children I have or how big she gets!

Anyway, I have been hoping to get pictures of the ceremony from Courtney's mom (I didn't think I could bring my camera) but to no avail. Sheniah looked so beautiful! Of course David, Michael and Jackie were there, as were Alison, Brandon, Maria, Wesley, Popou and Lafata and Cathy. We did get pictures afterward at brunch and here are those shots.

A few days later we went to one of Maria's soccer games! It was so cute - I love watching those little guys run around without a clue of what's going on! Maria did really well and Alison said she even scored a goal at another game a few weeks after this one!

Running...

Throwing in the ball - great form!

Sheniah enjoyed watching the little guys, too and did a wonderful job taking pictures!

Unfortunately Wesley was home sick, but Michael enjoyed the show with the rest of us.

David bought Michael a blow-up barrel that is supposed to help him learn to crawl...however, Michael likes to use it to try to walk...

We also acquired a cute little activity table as a hand-me-down from some friends that is really helping Michael learn to walk around. He really loves it!

It has helped him to become more confident about walking and now he will use the coffee table to walk around and is even starting to walk while only holding something with one hand - in this case the table as he is reaching for daddy!

Another thing he loves is eating! I have yet to find anything that he just will not eat - of course he has his favorites which tend to be any dish with pasta or any kind of meat. He also loves cheese, cheese puffs, green beans and pretty much any food we are eating!

Here he is enjoying a banana...a favorite item because he can hold it himself!

Everything else here is wonderful. I have some new pictures to download and new info about Sheniah and Michael to get posted, but I wanted to get this one done before the mob of disappointed bloggers got violent! I will post again soon (of course, that last word is a bit flexible!!)

Tennessee With Granimal

Michael has been trying to learn to crawl for quite some time...and he does pretty well when he really tries!

But I think he has decided he would rather skip the whole crawling thing and just walk. Mom says that's what Jarrod did, so maybe it's genetic?!

Speaking of Mom, she came to Tennessee last month for a convention and I was so happy she would only be four hours away...there was no way we could pass that up, so off me and the kiddo's went on our first road trip together. It was...shall I say, interesting...and a bit more than four hours with the little man, but well worth it!

It was so wonderful to see Mom.

Michael could hardly contain his excitement!

We went to a fun park that was right next to the hotel. The first day we got rained on so we played inside...

Michael got to drive a big truck...

and a rocket!

He even rode on the carousel horse with Grandma!

Then he rode on the back of a motorcycle while Sheniah drove!

He got to have lots of quality time with Grandma while Sheniah played on all the rides and games.

Later that night we went for a swim.

Michael floated around...

then got kisses from momma...

and hugs from Sheniah.

Then it was time for bed and Grandma read him his new bedtime book, Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book - a wonderful (perhaps subliminal) gift from Grandma!

The next day was beautiful so back to the fun park we went.

Michael and I rode a "roller coaster" train...

and flew around on an airplane.

Then Sheniah and I got to have some big girl fun!

We raced cars...

Sheniah won the race by a long shot!

Then we went on bumper boats and got eachother VERY wet!

We even tried to get Grandma and Michael wet on the side but we couldn't quite reach them!

We went back inside and played a ton of games. We won a million tickets and Sheniah really racked up on the toys before we left.

Michael tried to hang with the big kids, but he got a bit pooped!

He found his strength later that day after napping, so Mom and I took him out to an abandoned parking lot next to the hotel so he could run around in his walker. He had such a great time.

He played with a leaf with grandma...

and watched the big trucks go by on the nearby highway...

he had a great time running around like crazy.

It was time to say goodbye, so off we went in the car again. The trip home was better for Michael but tense for me as the weather was terrible. Oh well!

Finally, home sweet home! Sheniah still loves playing the piano and has started teaching Michael. Well, he just bangs around and looks lovingly at his big sister while she plays...but it is so cute!