Happy Holidays!

I know I've been really bad about updating lately but I have a really good excuse. We have been in California since October and just got back this week. So time to cover our entire trip.
We arrived just before my birthday so it was great to be able to get together with family. We had a barbeque with Mike's parents and brother. I didn't have to cook a thing which is the nicest birthday present I could have received! They also gave me a great shirt from one of my favorite stores :)
Halloween: We had great fun trick or treating in my in-laws neighborhood full of actors. These people put serious effort into decorating! Mikey loved the whole thing because it meant lots of people fawning all over him :)

Thanksgiving was also lots of fun with Mike's mom's family. We don't get to see these relatives very often so it is always a good time. I don't yet have photos from this event but should soon.
During our stay in California we tried to get in a lot of good outdoor adventure time since that is hard to do in the Miami heat. We went to the mountains to a nature center and a crazy nice playground. We also went to the beach. Mikey had lots of fun throwing rocks into the ocean and checking out the tide pools.

We also made time to go see Jon and the fam. We knew Mike wasn't going to be able to make the trip on his short weekends off so my mom flew in to visit and help with the car trip. It is a grueling 5-6 hour drive from Los Angeles to Sacremento and I don't recommend it. There is nothing to see for the entire drive. That being said it was worth it see Jon, Mary and the kids. None of them had met Mikey so that was great for everyone. Luckily Mary has a huge kitchen pantry so Mikey didn't need any other distractions :) He even started calling Jon "Dad" since that seems to be his name :) (Mike is Dada.) We wish we lived closer or all had more money so we could get together more often. It was far too short of a weekend.

Never A Bridesmaid... And Blackberry

So Mikey finally killed my dinosaur of a cell phone by dunking it in Tibo's water bowl. Since it was the $20 phone from 3 years ago I didn't really mind. We decided it was time for me to move into a bit more technology and join the rest of the world so I got the new Blackberry Torch. I love it! I'm still figuring out how to do some things but I can check email in seconds, look up anything on the internet, etc. And it has a great camera. Mikey got another haircut yesterday so I took a quick after picture :) Now if I can only figure out ringtone purchases...
Now it's time for my pity party ramblings. Very few people read this thing anymore so I'm not too worried. I came to a bitter realization this week. My last good friend eloped recently so it appears I will never be in a wedding other than my own. I have never even been asked to be in a wedding. Sadly, I am not exaggerating. My older brother eloped, younger brother never even mentioned it and no friends have ever asked me. I guess that shows how poorly I do with female friendships. I have not gone to a bridal shower or baby shower in 8 years. I did not have a bridal shower. My baby shower was thrown by girls at work (still incredibly grateful for that!). I just don't seem to get the workings of a female friendship very well. I do have a few friends but not people you just call to chat with or hang out with on a whim. I really do envy people that can do that but I don't seem to have that ability. I don't really understand... I would ask what I'm doing wrong but I don't know if I really want to know how I'm so bad at it. Constructive criticism is what I need :) Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Walking...

Mike posting for Jill. I got home from Atlanta and Jill and I decided to take Mikey to the mall. They have a kids play place there and while it sounds kind of ghetto, it's air conditioned and there are a bunch of other kids for Mikey to play with in a safe place we can keep an eye on him.

He's actually been walking a little bit since he was about 13 months old but he usually prefers to crawl. Today he must have wanted to look like a big kid because he was walking all over the place.

I only had my phone with me but it gets the job done in a pinch for some quick video.

Mikey's 1st Birthday

Today is Mikey's birthday! I can't believe he is 1 already! We have been having a great day and wanted to share it with all of you. This morning he went to his My Gym class which he loves. He really likes playing with all the toys, chasing other kids and practicing his gymnastics and climbing. After a good nap we opened his presents and he loved all of them. After a good play session he enjoyed a chocolate cupcake. He was still pretty full from lunch so only ate a small amount. Soon we are going to go get barbeque for dinner (yummmm, can't beat southern barbeque). It will be a perfect way to end the day as he likes flirting with all the waitresses when we are out. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! Sorry, the pictures are in reverse order and I'm too lazy to fix it :)

More Mikey Pictures

Just because he's so cute :)

He's crawling up a storm and cruising along the furniture. We're just waiting for that first step.

He sticks out his tongue when he is thinking about something. Very cute :)

He is starting to feed himself (some gets in him, most goes to Tibo on the floor).

My other project has been to try to get a good picture for my new job's website. I like the first one but it's blurry and I just tend to be hard to please, and not photogenic. I really enjoy the new job- most of the time I'm a "doggy dentist". That's right, I pull dog's teeth for 10 hours straight and get paid very well to do it :) I enjoy the work and it's much less stress than emergency. I also enjoy working part time right now while Mikey is little and still not sleeping through the night.


Along the line of other random ramblings: Last night I tried my first traditional irish dish of corned beef and cabbage. Not only was it good but Mike said it was better than his mother's (smart husband). I think we will add that to our list of crock pot meals we enjoy.
We are excited about Easter next week. Mikey can't do too much for it yet but we got him a stuffed bunny for his easter basket and some colored plastic eggs. We are going to wait until next year for the easter egg hunt and such. What other stuff do all of you do with the smaller kids for easter?

California Pictures

My mother-in-law Jane just sent me these pictures from California (yes, we forgot our camera again).
On a much less fun note, Mikey has another cold (4th one). This time he ended up with a double ear infection (again) and bronchitis. The bronchitis means he gets nebulizer treatments three times a day. Have you ever tried to hold downa wiggly 9 month old for 10 minutes at a time? Not so easy. I try to distract him with kid's songs (he doesn't care that I sing poorly) but still a challenge. Hopefully, he will feel better soon.

Utah/California Trip

So, at the begining of the month we finally took a trip to Utah and California. To put this in prospective, we haven't been to Utah since our wedding in 2006 and California since 2005. It was about time we visited and introduced Mikey to all the family. Unfortunately, Mike had a job in Dallas at the same time as our trip so he flew back and forth twice and had a very broken up vacation.
In Utah we stayed with my parents (haven't done that since I graduated from vet school) and we had lots of fun! Mikey decided to be super clingy and screamed his head off any time I left the room but when I was present he was super happy and learned new things from everyone. My dad taught him to do this super cute, flirty head tilt. Not so cute during dinner but all the other times :) My mom taught him to kick a ball and now he constantly wants to walk over to balls and kick them. He is still walking on our fingers but barely.
We also got to see my childhood friend, Mary and her little boy. I haven't see her in years and enjoyed our short visit. We also met Jamie and her collection of kids. Anna and Bryton had a great time with Mike and Mikey. Austin wasn't sure about having a younger baby around but warmed up to Mike once he realized he threw balls and flung kids in the air. (How can you go wrong with that?) Mike and I went to a nice dinner at a new restaurant in town and my poor parents got to listen to Mikey scream for a couple of hours. We also got to see my grandparents and aunt and uncle.
In California we stayed with Mike's mom and stepdad. They have a nice guest room and a heated swimming pool :) The pool was enough to make Mikey very happy. Mike's brother, Grady, also finally met Mikey. He played the piano for him so that was pretty exciting. We went to see Mike's extended family at his aunt's house which was fun (and loud). They are all such great people :)
Overall, it was a great trip. I would have liked more sleep (story of the past 9 months) but everyone had a good time :)