The Big 4-0 and Vacation: Part I

Micah turned the big 4-0 yesterday! We didn't get a chance to take the picture, so we fudged a little and did it today when we got home from Parts I & II of vacation. He sort of looks like he's levitating in this picture, doesn't he? Just trying to touch his feet - something he loves to do!We spent the first part of the past week in Chicago, visiting Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristin - Micah's aunt and uncle. We hung out at a local park for part of our first day there. This was Micah's first time in a swing. At first he wasn't too sure, but by the end, he was like a little Superman. I like to call this picture, "If You Give a Kid a Box..." We made sure to bring a few toys with us when we traveled, but Micah spent the better part of an hour on one day and about as much another day just sitting in this box. He talked to it and chewed it a little and just generally really enjoyed it. We're finding out what every rookie parent eventually finds out - no presents, just boxes! Aunt Kristin fed Micah his bedtime bottle one night while the rest of us played a game. We also went to a baseball game at Wrigley Field and watched the Cubs take on the Dodgers. It's also where we were reminded that we now officially have the blood of southerners. For as nice as the day before was (see park picture above!), this day was sunny - and a balmy 35 degrees! We were freezing! You can't tell by looking at this picture, but everyone in the stands was all bundled up in their fleece blankets and watching the game. We're glad to say we've been to Wrigley Field, but we were also glad to say we left! :) Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristin hold a squirmy Micah. Thanks for letting us stay with you! And then my boys fell asleep on the way to Boston. Stay tuned for those pictures...

39 weeks and counting...

Micah turned 39 weeks today. If you count by months, and I'm learning it just really depends on the situation, he's nine months old today. August 24 to May 24. He's on the verge of being alive on the outside more than he was on the inside. For some reason that's really hard for me to comprehend.Daddy had to take the picture himself this morning because I had already left before Micah got up. I'll vouch for him - it's really hard to do this so this is a great picture for him to get on his own! Micah's pretty much crawling now. He goes a couple of feet and stops to turn over or sit up. He hasn't yet mastered it to the point that he can just zip around everywhere, but one knee-hand combo at a time.

First haircut and a visit with friends

On Saturday, I gave Micah his first haircut. We just got rid of some of the wispy pieces on his forehead, and the strands that were beginning to grow over his ears. Tim says now Micah looks even more like his baby pictures. I just think he looks more like a little boy and less like a little baby. And I found out that the obvious is true - it's hard to cut a squirming almost-nine-month-old child's hair! Our friend Mandy and her family was visiting Disney and so we spent some time with them today. Lexi is getting so big! The last time we saw her, she was just a couple of months old. Cody had some ice cream issues (it was very hot and there was lots of melting), so he was in time out for a little while in the stroller. Here's Tyler posing with his new "Cars" watch that his Aunt Kelly (his dad's sister) bought for him as a present.

38 weeks and a visit with Grandma Williams

Usually, getting one good picture of Micah with his sign means taking 10 or 12 pictures. Today it only took four! Thank goodness we have a digital camera. What in the world did people do when they had to (gasp) guess at what pictures would look like when they got developed?? The frog outfit is a gift from Grandma Williams, who spent most of the week with us. Can you believe that Micah's not yet nine months old and this outfit is 18 months?We were very bad at taking pictures while Grandma was here, even though I took the camera around everywhere in the diaper bag. Finally, on the way to the airport, we lunched at Bob Evans and had Grandma and Micah pose. Micah was having fun, and Grandma is squinting against the bright Florida sun. (Lest you think that we just picked the best one of Micah, we didn't - Mom, you had your one eye closed in all of the pictures we took!) A couple of random shots of Micah in the restaurant. For those of you bacon fans (and really - who isn't because we all know bacon makes everything better), Micah has now tried bacon and that crumb-thing you see on his bacon is a little bit of the good stuff that escaped. I put the camera down on the table, noticed Micah was really happy a few minutes later, and hit the button. This cute shot is what turned out. And we pay lots of money for professional portraits...

Flashback at 37 weeks

Micah is 37 weeks old! He's pretty happy about that. At his nine-month checkup (they went by weeks this time), he was 22.4 pounds and 28.5 inches long. He's slowed down a little with his growing but as his pediatrician put it, "He's still a big boy." This afternoon, I thought Micah would like to try the rocking horse again. As an interesting comparison, I thought that I would also include in this post a picture we took of him the first time that we put him in it. He was all of three weeks old... Look at how little he was! It's so easy to forget. His little legs were like matchsticks; now they're pudgy chunks. He was slumped over because he couldn't hold his head or body up. Now he can sit for long periods of time, no sweat, and is almost ready to rock the horse himself. His hair was wild and crazy...well, some things haven't changed! I took this picture of him looking at Heinz and then converted it to black and white on the computer. I think it's interesting to do that every once in a while. It captures his adorable expression in such a different way. And check out the drool on his chin!

Not-so-good first school pictures

We hope these pictures aren't a sign of years to come. :) Micah had his first school pictures taken recently. They didn't tell the parents, or at least they didn't tell us, so we couldn't dress him as we wanted or even warn them that he was sick. Clearly, as you can see from the picture, he's not feeling well. This is one of the days in the last couple of weeks that he was feeling the affects of teething. He's modeling his daddy's morning face, but I still think he's adorable! Here's his "laying by the fake river" pose. I'm not sure why they chose this background. I can't see how it's flattering for any baby. This is his little class. One of the teachers is no longer there, but we think that this is actually a good shot of him. He's peeking out from behind his little girl friend that he loves to play with. Their pictures are up together in his room. Chloe may have some competition!

Beautiful new flowerbeds!

Thanks to Rebekah (again!), the outside of our house is beautiful once more. We were really tired of the dried out mulch and the dying plants. Neither Tim nor I has a green thumb, but we don't mind doing work out in the yard to make it look nice. This is the result of our day-long effort. I'm sorry that I don't have any before pictures, but you'll just have to take my word for it as to how bad it looked. Here's another angle. By the way, Tim assures me that the grass is not dead and will return this summer once our daily rains start up again. The great thing about these plants is that most of them grow really well in the Florida sun. I took these pictures almost at dusk, so you can't tell that we actually get bright sun in the front all day long. As you can imagine, that often mean short lives for plants. One thing I really love are the bright colors. Here are some bromeliads from Rebekah up close - I think this variety is called "ladyfingers" (or something like that) because their tips are a funky color!

Still not feeling well

Even though he's still not feeling better, Micah sat for his weekly picture. We thought he was getting better this morning because he woke up with a lower temperature, but was miserable again by later this afternoon. We're glad that we have a free weekend to allow Micah to rest up and get better - before he gets another vaccine on Tuesday!