Check-up's, Council and Belly Shots!

One of Michael's favorite toys from us for his birthday was a Transformers pop-up tent with a tube to crawl through. He loves it!

Sheniah does too! Actually, Michael loves when someone climbs into the tent with him and his big sister is always happy to oblige!

Sheniah has joined student council as a 7th grade representative and is loving it! She was officially inducted and pinned this past week and then the entire council had a lock-in over the weekend. She had a wonderful time and seems to be loving school as usual!

Here is Sheniah at the induction ceremony...she looked so pretty, but was not too thrilled about posing for this picture!

While Sheniah was at her lock-in we went to Albemarle to visit Yaya and Aunt Aimee and Terry who had come up for a visit from Florida. They hadn't seen Michael since the day after he was born, so it was great to see them and have them get some time with him. It was just unfortunate that Sheniah couldn't be there, but we are likely going to visit them and Grandma B. in Florida soon so she will see them all then.

Before heading off to Albemarle I decided it was time for Michael to get his "big boy car seat!" Here he is for his first ride (to Albemarle) in it!

He really seems to like it and especially likes being able to see us in the front seat while he is riding along.

Here is Michael opening his birthday present from Aunt Aimee and Terry with Yaya and Aunt Aimee.

Here is Michael with Aunt Aimee and Terry.

Playing ball with Aunt Aimee...

In honor of the three birthday's we had in September (Jackie - 1st, Michael - 3rd, and Aimee - 15th) Jackie made an ice cream cake for all to enjoy. Here they are blowing out their candles...

and here is Michael enjoying the cake!

Then it was time to say goodbye and head home.

A couple of days later Michael let me know that although he likes his new car seat, he misses his old one...I came around the corner to find this scene...

He had crawled into it all on his own and was just hanging out in his closet! It was hilarious.

I should probably preface these next set of pictures with the fact that I do not support child labor...however, Michael is his father's son, so for him to take such an interest in cleaning is no big surprise!

Here he is swiffering the kitchen floor!

And these next two pictures are especially impressive for the following reason. Michael has always been a bit sensitive to loud noises. However, he has never seemed to mind the vacuum until a few weeks ago at which point I was vacuuming the living room only to switch it off and hear him screaming in a panic in the other room. He was not injured...he was terrified of the noise. For the next several weeks just the sight of the vacuum would send him into a panic. Since I didn't want to foster his newfound fear of the so scary vacuum, I parked it in the living room where he would have to see it and hopefully overcome his fears.

It was a slow process, but he eventually wandered over and touched it and realized it wouldn't bite! So yesterday he decided to vacuum...and to prove that he had truly conquered his fears, he mounted the vacuum and was riding it like a horse! Unfortunately I was too slow with the camera and all I caught was the dismount...
Today was Michael's 1 year check up! I can't believe he's already a year old! Here are his stat's from today:

Weight: 19# 9oz (I was SO sure he had passed 20#'s!) - back down to the 10th percentile.

Height: 30 1/4" - 50th percentile (Hooray - something is "normal"!)

Head: 49.6cm - <95th>

So, according to the doc - his head is still big, but it is not growing in leaps and bounds anymore as it was. Also, Michael's development is right on track so there is no cause for any concern or further testing at this point. The doc thinks either Michael is just a normal kid with a big head (some people just have big ole noggins!), or he has benign hydrocephalus - which he will continue to grow into and will not cause a problem or need any treatment. Either way it is good news for now, and we will recheck at 15 months to make sure he is still developmentally on track. Basically, he's still a little guy with a big head - but at least now he is getting taller!

Finally, I am now officially 6 months along in this pregnancy! Pretty crazy, huh?!?! The other day David looked over at my bulging belly and said "I can't believe you're pregnant AGAIN!!!!" - You're tellin' Me, Buddy!!!! We are getting excited as it becomes more real and we are narrowing the name list. The strangest thing is to be able to say "he" or "your baby brother"...it's a new experience to be able to call him, well, him!

So, for comparison I decided it would be fun to post the belly shot from my 6th month of pregnancy with Michael with the belly shot from today. At this point with Michael I was measuring 3 weeks ahead (due to the polyhydramnios). With this one I just look 3 weeks ahead (due to flab retention from Michael-nios)!!! So, here you go...

Michael at 6 mo's gestation...

Baby "B" at 6 mo's gestation...
UGH - so attractive it is! Oh well, it is a beautiful thing...even though I haven't felt beautiful in years, somehow I know it IS a beautiful thing!