DeRosier Family

A Visit to Sea World

2011-08-09T08:25:00.001-04:00

Usually we try to get to Sea World a lot more often than we did this year. Who wouldn’t take advantage of the whole family getting in for free? We only have a few more months of that before Corey turns 4 (really???). So, while Aunt Margaret and Stephanie were down we went with them. Although it was hot, we had a great time!!! We even did some things we don’t normally do because we were there with someone who has never been :) Corey loved watching the baby dolphins play

A trip on the merry go round was in order!

Who says boys can’t play dress up?

2011-07-29T09:45:00.001-04:00

Corey loves to dress up. I think it is a great way for him to use his imagination, and get some exercise!!!

This is him in full motion with his Super Corey costume on. He does all sorts of cool ninja moves with this get up, not to mention catching the bad guy while at it.

We can’t forget his T-Rex costume!!! This is from when he broke his toes a couple of months ago. I am a little worried for when he grows out of this one, it is his favorite. I might have to sew extensions on the legs and arms!

We can’t forget Lightning McQueen. He never did get to wear this one as a Halloween costume, but he loves to race around in it!

Sometimes dressing up isn’t as serious as fighting bad guys, being carnivorous, or winning a race. Sometimes we can be silly about it and wear daddy’s undershirts and socks!!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-16T09:35:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve started with a party thrown by the Jackie and Molly. Corey had fun playing with the kids and running around. We left after a little while so that we could get home and embark on our own Christmas Eve traditions before Corey fell asleep.

We got home and I made some cookie dough, rolled it out, and we got to cutting out Christmas shapes. Corey tested the cookies before, during, and after cooking them. It was determined that they would pass Santa’s inspection. So, we put out a plate for him and crawled into bed so he could come visit.

Decorating for Christmas

2011-01-15T11:42:00.001-05:00

Normally we decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year I had to have Corey’s birthday party that weekend, so there was no decorating for us, except that Sunday. So, decorating actually took place over the course of the next week. Corey, of course, had to add dinosaurs into the mix, and he grouped ornaments together so they wouldn’t be lonely. I was brave and put glass ornaments on this year, and we only had one casualty.

Corey’s 3rd Birthday

2010-12-27T08:34:00.001-05:00

November 27, 2010

I like to take pictures every year around Corey’s birthday. This year we went to Sugar Mill Gardens where, on the same day, I also took Kaiden’s one year pictures and my nephew John’s senior pictures. Here are Corey’s 3 year pictures and some pictures from his birthday party.

The Party

When I first asked Corey what kind of party he wanted (in October, a girl has to plan) he said he wanted a shark party. So, I put in my order with Cakes by Laura for a shark cake and some fish cookies.

Spent some money at Oriental Trading and had some great plans for decorations. When this banner came in:

He said, “Mama, why are there fishies, I want a dino party?” And I never heard the end of THAT until the end of the party. So, I decorated the house into an ocean wonderland:

He had a great time anyway and got spoiled with presents and had tons of fun with his friends and family!!!

The Return

2010-12-05T11:16:00.001-05:00

It has been over a year since I have posted. A lot has happened in that year, so I am going to start with this

And continue with a year in review with pictures…

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

Corey’s Second Birthday Party

2009-11-23T06:46:00.001-05:00

For real, can you believe it? Cause I can’t!!!!

Corey had a great time at his party and we had quite a few activities planned, but didn’t get to all of them. The kids painted little wooden cars:

The kids played on the playground and the hours I spent building it became worth it (Corey does not care about it yet)

Then we ate hot dogs and chips and opened presents. Next year I definitely need to work on the saying “thank you” thing. Corey says please fine, haven’t gotten to the thank you yet.

While I got the cake ready the kids decorated frames with pictures of themselves that I took as they walked in. Then we sang happy birthday which Corey was kind of stunned by :)

Thank you to everyone who made it out. We really had a great time and Corey LOVES all his gifts!!!

Halloween (I know a little late)

2009-11-23T06:25:00.001-05:00

For Halloween we decided against going trick or treating because it was WAAAAAAY too hot out, and we did not want to suffer through that. So, we went to of Chris’s classmate’s party. Chris went as a pregnant lady, Corey as his doctor, and me as a nurse. Enjoy :)

My Little Clean Freak

2009-10-17T20:28:00.001-04:00

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-11T17:39:00.001-04:00

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday. We had to search one down because the one I wanted to go to doesn’t open until Monday. It was fun (and impossible) to try to get two, two year olds to sit for a picture. Nicholas did an awesome job of letting us snap some shots, but not the youngin’s. It didn’t help that it was about 200 degrees outside!!!

If we could make him look any more like his father

2009-10-04T19:53:00.001-04:00

This did it

Corey’s new Fish (was plural, now singular)

2009-10-02T16:30:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago Corey’s cousins acquired some “fishies” from Grandma and Grandpa. Corey was extremely sad when those fish left the house, he loved those fishies. There comes a time in life that a little boy needs fishies of his own, so Chris and I decided to own up. We got a cool tank that has a light that changes color and a couple goldfish. Corey LOVES them (it now), one of them is now in a porcelain heaven. Here are some pictures:

Some Cute Corey Videos

2009-09-23T20:20:00.001-04:00

Corey coloring, or telling Mommy what to color

Corey huffing and puffing and blowing the house down :P)

In this video you can see just how much like Daddy Corey really is. When he is into something, he doesn't hear anything else!

Corey crashing his cars

Kayaking…again

2009-09-23T19:41:00.001-04:00

We have found ourselves kayaking almost every weekend. Corey, for the most part, really enjoys it. He sits back and enjoys the ride. The only part he doesn't enjoy is the life jacket. But, we have since gotten him a less restrictive (but still coast guard approved) life jacket. This particular day, OP took some awesome pictures of us enjoying our weekly activity.

It’s finally DONE!!!

2009-08-12T20:35:00.001-04:00

So, I had a whole post with a progression of the playground being built, but my computer shut down on me, and I lost it. So, you are getting the completed product!!

The whole playground as seen from the patio

The top clubhouse

The bottom clubhouse with sandbox, platform and picnic bench.

Picnic Bench

Swings

Rock climbing wall

Crow’s Nest over the swings

Back of the play set

The kids enjoying the swings!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy that this is finally done. We do have to block the ladder to the top portion from Corey because he doesn’t really know his limits as far as getting close to the edge. He doesn’t really care for the toddler swing, don’t know why. But he LOVES to go down the slide. We usually just lift him up to let him go down. I am going to bring his little broom out there so he can sweep off the platform where sand gathers. YAY!!!

Clancy’s and the Beach

2009-08-05T21:17:00.001-04:00

Now that Clancy’s has moved to Flagler Ave., Chris and I like to take a walk on the beach after we eat. Corey loves to chase the birds on the beach, but is not too fond of the water.

Corey enjoying a lemon at Clancy’s

Corey chasing the birds at the beach.

“Daddy, please don’t make me go in the water”

Corey wanted to wash his hands, but didn’t want to touch the water.

He did eventually go in the water, but he had to be holding both of our hands…

Sea World

2009-08-05T18:39:00.001-04:00

View Full Album

We had a great time at Sea World!!! Corey loved looking at all the animals and watching the Killer Whales perform.

They go everywhere with him!!

2009-07-15T22:39:00.003-04:00

When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. He sleeps with them, bathes with them, rides with them. Anywhere we go, at least one "vroom" has to come with us.

Our Backyard is Coming Along

2009-07-15T22:27:00.004-04:00

Raised bed- there will be more eventually, with bench seats connecting them...

The mess

Water feature

Steps 1-5 of 102, but I have all the wood organized now, so it should go a lot faster!!!

Corey watering the plants

Shade cloth to keep us cool

Corey Loves His Spaghetti

2009-07-15T22:19:00.004-04:00

Corey really digs into his spaghetti when he eats it!!! Notice the fork in this picture.

Lost the fork, the fingers get more in!!

All done!!! Notice the clean tray. Corey does clean up after himself!!

Cow Appreciation Day

2009-07-15T22:13:00.003-04:00

Corey was dressed up too, but being less than cooperative for pictures. he did look cute though!!! I did not, however, receive my free meal that day, because I did not dress up like a cow...Poor Alyssa looks like she is in pain!

Cleaning out the pantry...

2009-07-15T22:05:00.002-04:00

Corey "helped"

4th of July

2009-07-05T09:28:00.002-04:00

The 4th was a productive day for us. My dad and I worked on Corey's swing set while Sammy kept an eye on Corey for me. We got steps 1-4 of 102 steps done, we have a LONG way to go!!!
This is what we still have to work on:

This is what Chris has been working on for the past couple of weeks. He still has to finish painting the pergola and put shade cloth on top of it. He has one more cement slab to poor before he is done with that fun job. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy our outdoor oasis before summer ends!
We kept Corey up until dark to watch Daddy set off some fireworks. The package I bought from Walmart only had fireworks that went a total of 3 feet high, but Corey loved them, he was even trying to kiss them!! Our neighbors had some awesome ones, and he was a little scared of those!

Corey's New Room

2009-07-03T17:09:00.005-04:00

These past couple weeks I have spent painting and reorganizing. We moved Corey into our guest room, and turned the nursery into a guest room/ playroom.

This Corey's new room
(Dad- this was the room you were staying in, I know you're impressed!!!)

This is his playroom/guestroom

Wow!! It's been awhile...

2009-07-01T22:39:00.005-04:00

The month of June has been a pretty busy one, and I can't believe it's over.

Our first day of summer vacation was spent in the ER with Corey. He threw a temper tantrum because we were going inside while I had a hold of his arm. When he went down he dislocated his elbow, it was a horrible, scary experience!!!!

For the rest of the month we will take a walk through some pictures:

We have dabbled in the arts (of finger painting)
Gone on some play dates. Corey loves playing with Cullum (as much as 1-2 year olds play together), and he absolutely LOVED meeting Rhett!!!
We also took a trip to the Children's Museum with Alex and Alyssa. Corey absolutely loves spending time with his cousins and cries every time they leave the house.

Chris and Kathy have been taking Corey to the Farmer's Market on Wednesday mornings, leaving me home alone to get housekeeping done without a toddler underfoot, it goes a lot faster that way!!! His first trip there he snagged a pepper off someone's table and ate some of it before Chris or Kathy noticed he had it. Unfortunately they didn't know where he got it so they couldn't pay for it.

Hmmm... maybe this is why we had to take a trip the ER!!!

We also made a trip over to Clearwater for Caleigh's 2nd birthday party...

I also have pictures to share of Corey's new bedroom, but they are still on my camera. That concludes June, hopefully I will keep up with this more in July!!!

Big Boy Bed

2009-06-11T15:48:00.004-04:00

So, a couple of weeks ago Corey started climbing out of his crib. So, we had to get rid of it. It took a couple days to get a toddler bed. Although his crib converts to a toddler bed it was a little to high for my liking. It has taken Corey a couple days to get used to the freedom of the bed, but he is doing a lot better now. We still have some work to do at night, but he is comfortable with it!!!

Quick Photo Update

2009-05-30T17:03:00.009-04:00

Ok, so I know I haven't posted anything in forever. So, here is a photo update on what we have been doing in the last month.

First, May 9th, a trip to the zoo and Dave and Busters with the fam:

My Mother's Day was spent with this goofball because Chris was participating in a study group all day!!!! But what better way to spend Mother's Day than for the reason you can celebrate it. The same is true for Father's Day :)

And to finish us off, a video of Corey's night-night to Daddy.

You would think we haven't had a busy month. Chris and I are both excited to finish off the end of the school year and spend the summer with Corey!

Awesome friends!!!!

2009-05-09T21:04:00.003-04:00

As many of you know I post on a message board that includes ladies that have children that were born the same month Corey was born. I am a member of a subgroup (ELW) and I have participated in craft swaps. Well, I participated in the latest one which was for Mother's Day and was blown away by the thought and creativity that went into gifts that were just for me!!! The rules of the swap were: we needed to make a craft for our partner, give a sentimental item, make something edible, and send a recipe. This is what I received from the wonderful momma Kari, all the way from Oregon!!!! She touched my heart with everything she made:

The box was packaged in ALL blue

The first thing I opened were these yummy cupcake bites (I also got the recipe to go along with them), they are, by now, gone!!!

Beautiful necklace #1 (I wore this on Friday)

Beautiful necklace #2 (will be worn tomorrow)

And this beautiful picture frame with one of my favorite pictures on it. This also came with a heartfelt note that brought me to tears!!!

Corey's First Kayak Trip

2009-04-26T21:18:00.005-04:00

d
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A couple of months ago we were in Daytona and noticed that Boater's World was going out of business. So, we decided to stop in and see if we could get some good deals. They had two kayaks left that were 10% off, but the price had also been reduced. We had been talking a couple days before about getting some, so we decided to go for it. Today we got to use these kayaks for the first time. We went with OP and Sheryl and had a blast. Corey sat back and relaxed the entire time.

Corey and I

Chris getting the kayak ready
Corey and I after the ride
Corey exploring as we got packed up
Corey with Aunt Sheryl
The boys packing up the kayaks

After our trip we stopped at Manny's Pizza for lunch and Dairy Queen for some ice cream. Corey demolished his cone!!!!

We then went home and took a 2.5 hour nap... that was nice!!!

Easter 2009

2009-04-26T21:05:00.004-04:00

Easter Sunday we had to take my dad back to Jacksonville and his truck. Since we had to take the trip up there anyway, we decided to hit up the Jacksonville Zoo. Corey was so enthralled by all the animals we had to practically tear him away from each of the exhibits.

When we got home Corey dug into his Easter basket, which he loved!!!

Spring Break Days 6, 7, and 8

2009-04-19T13:06:00.003-04:00

The next three days were pretty uneventful. We spent Thursday lounging around the house and playing outside a bit. We also went all over Corry trying to find some vacuum seal bags so that I could fit all of my clothes (and the clothes that Nikki gave me that Kyle has outgrown) into my luggage. Dawn, Donna and the kids came for a visit that night, but I had absolutely no energy to take pictures.

Friday was spent making sure I had all my stuff and getting it packed up. We headed for the airport and Corey slept most of the way, which was good because I slept with him on the recliner Thursday night because he was coughing so badly. But, that did not give me hope that he would sleep on the plane. Our time in the airport was interesting to say the least. We got there early enough to have dinner in the airport. As I tell the rest of this story keep in mind that this airport has only two gates, it is small. When we tried to check our bags they asked for Corey's birth certificate, which I didn't have because their website didn't say I needed it. I probably should have had it though. So, I told the lady that she can try to take him from me if she wanted but he wouldn't go to anyone else. Then, as we are going through security my bags get flagged because I had Corey's sippy cups in there with milk and water. Also my dad and I just bought a couple bottles of water (which they threw away). Well, because of the liquids they had to search my bag. They do a swipe on all electronics and check them on a machine that tells if they have traces of anything on them. Well, my camera came back saying that it had traces of some sort of explosives on it. Great. All that I could think of was that I was going to loose my camera. I would not have been happy. So, they told my dad to take what was his and proceed. I, on the other hand, had to have my carry on searched and they had to FRISK me. Geesh, that was embarrasing!!! Corey was then great on the flight, fell asleep half way through, refused to take a pacifier and woke up in pain when we were landing. He was super duper happy to see Daddy when we finally got home!!!

Spring Break Day 5

2009-04-19T12:33:00.003-04:00

First thing Wednesday morning we went to see Grandma. I got a lot of pictures of the boys (ok, mostly Corey) wreaking havoc on Grandma's house. They got into EVERYTHING, well, Corey did. Kyle spent most of his time trying to keep Corey out of trouble.

I also got a rare shot of my dad (ha, ha) with the boys. They were looking at a John Deere magazine. I do wish I had gotten a picture with Corey and his great-grandma, but you know how those things go.
Later Chrissy came over with her two beautiful girls. I tried to get some shots of them. But, being that the kids ranged in age from 1 to 6 it was really hard to wrangle them!!!

We tried to get a picture of the 5 kids and this was one of the best!!!! Just kidding, but this how the whole shot went: Corey wanted to look at the big kids, Kyle wanted to play, Charlie wanted to crawl around. And on the off chance that all three babies were looking at me the two older ones were either looking away or making funny faces. So, what we have here is proof that the five of them were together at one time :)

Spring Break Day 4: playing in the snow and a little party

2009-04-18T12:12:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday we woke up to a whole lotta snow!!!! Later in the day we decided to take the kids out and play. Corey wasn't to sure of the snow, and he REALLY didn't like touching it!!!!

We decided to do a birthday party for the boys since we were all together and their birthdays fall during times that are impossible for us to get together. So, we made a cake and Casey's mom (Debbie, for future reference) made some yummy, yummy, yummy peanut butter frosting and let the kids lick the beaters. When they were done the beater's were clean enough to put away (just kidding by the way, we did wash them).

I also found out why cake smashes are done on the first birthday: because once a child learns to use a fork, they will no longer "smash" their cakes. We tried, it didn't work... However, Nicholas did have a messy face by the end because someone pushed his face into it.

We gave the kids a bath after the cake and then they got to open some presents.
Nicholas got a movie and some Batman wings.

Kyle got a racetrack:

And Corey got a vehicles fridge magnet and a shake and roll Lightning McQueen car:

Spring Break Day 3: Shopping

2009-04-18T12:06:00.004-04:00

Nikki and I decided to take advantage of the lack of sales tax in PA on Monday, so we went to the mall and did some shopping. Corey and Kyle cruised in a double stroller while enjoying some cookies!!!! They both got some new boots.

When we were heading home it started to SNOW!!!!

Spring Break Day 2: Corey meets the family

2009-04-16T21:57:00.005-04:00

On Sunday the whole family met at my cousin's house for a BBQ. Corey got to meet all of his second cousins and I got to see all my aunts, uncles, and cousins again. There are 14 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. Let me tell you, it was fun trying to get all of them to look at the camera and to keep the babies from crying.

After the visit, we decided to do another and visit our mother's grave.

When we got back to Corry we let the kids play outside and blow off some steam.

Corey and Kyle were exploring together, these two are going to be T-R-O-U-B-L-E when they get older!!!

Conspiring

Nicholas loves his suicide wings, crazy kid.

Spring Break Day 1

2009-04-05T07:11:00.007-04:00

Alright, I am going to have to do this by day or one post will have 10 million pictures!!!
Our plane trip was pretty uneventful. It was fun trying to keep a toddler busy on a packed plane!!! The lady in the row in front of us told me Corey did "marvelous" I wanted to ask her to hold him on the way back :) Corey fell asleep just as the plane was about to land, woke up for the 2 hour ride to my sisters, then fell asleep as we were pulling in the driveway. We got to Corry, PA at about 10:45 and we stayed up playing until midnight. In true Corey fashion he was up at 7:30 Saturday morning.

We spent the morning playing and took a nice nap. While Corey was napping Kyle and Nicholas had their lunches, and Corey enjoyed his when he woke up.

When Kyle woke up from his nap we went to NY to visit Aunt Dawn and her family. She has three sweet girls and Corey, Kyle, and Nicholas had a blast!!!!

Corey fell asleep on the way home and was transferred to the crib without issue.

Cute Corey Video

2009-04-01T21:09:00.003-04:00

Here is a good example of his words and sounds.

The intelligence level at this age just amazes me. It is hard to believe how much he understand. I guess that is so unexpected because he can't say it back to me. The other day I asked him to get me the red blanket, and he did. Today he left his car in the kitchen and was looking for it in the living room. I told him it was in the kitchen and he went and got it.

Other words he says at this point:
Momma
Dadda
Nose
Eyes
Toes
Dog (da)
Up
Down
Please (peeessss)
That (dat)
yum (mmmmm)
no

I think that is it but I am sure there is more!

Our Fun Weekend

2009-04-01T20:46:00.006-04:00

Last weekend I decided that I wanted to have a fun time with my son (not that we don't normally, but I wanted it to be extra fun). This day also just happened to be the day Corey turned 16 months (could it be so?) One of the mommies on the message board I posted on had 3 great ideas that she was going to be doing with her son, so I stole them!!! Thanks again Rachael!!!!

First on the list was edible play dough, which was really good!!! I made it using the following ingredients:

Corey then enjoyed his time with the playdough:

As Corey was playing with the dough I started getting ready for the next activity, water play, which was needed after that sticky stuff!!!! I filled 6 tubs with warm water, bubbles, and bath toys. I then put Corey in a swim diaper and we went outside to play:

Once Corey got sick of playing with the tubs I dumped all the water, which was still warm, into his pool. Turns out he had pooped in his diaper so he went into the pool naked after being rinsed off. Good thing we live in the country!!!

When Corey was sick of the pool he decided he wanted to ride around on his Power Wheels in his birthday suit:

While Corey took a 2 hour nap I set up a fort/maze in the living room with different stations. One station had a pack-n-play with all his cars in it, one had his legos, and one his couch/bed with books on it:

Needless to say Corey and I fell asleep on the couch at 6:30, I think I need to do that more often :)

Happy Easter

2009-03-29T08:22:00.003-04:00

For fun: Corey at Easter time last year!!!

derosier-family

2009-03-29T08:19:00.001-04:00

A DeRosier Outing

2009-03-28T12:15:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday some DeRosier's ventured out into the world to enjoy Kidz Dayz in Port Orange. It was a fund day!!! We first enjoyed lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. After we purchased our tickets we found out that Corey is 3 inches too short for all the little kiddie rides, so the girls enjoyed the tickets.

First, was the carousel, which Alyssa was terrified of at first, but relaxed by the end of the ride. Alex (aka roller coaster lover) was, dare I say, a little bored with this ride, I think...

Corey enjoyed be passed from arm to arm between mine and Aunt Molly's, but he eventually wanted down to run. We had to be careful, because on a lot of the rides, the only think blocking the machinery was a piece of cloth that Corey could easily bypass.

When we left the carnival we headed to Marble Slab Creamery and enjoyed some yummy ice cream. Alex was quite surprised by how good hers tasted!!!
Alyssa was not :)
Corey thoroughly enjoyed his sweet cream ice cream

So much so that I could not keep him in his shirt on the way home.

Samsula's Spring Carnival

2009-03-26T21:38:00.005-04:00

Enjoying Cotton Candy

Walking With Daddy

Riding the "moo" (as every big animal is called)

Tuckered out

Bubble Bath

2009-03-26T21:24:00.004-04:00

Purely for the pictures!!!!

Nickelodeon Hotel (March 7-8)

2009-03-22T20:31:00.010-04:00

A couple weeks ago we decided to get away and took advantage of Nickelodeon Hotel's Floridian discount!!! Chris, Corey, and I got there around noon with the intention of spending some time at Universal Studios, but we decided to hang out at the hotel instead. So, we ate some lunch:

Corey explored the room and found the speaker phone button on the room phone. When Aunt Sheryl got there she gave me the awesome idea to UNPLUG the phone.
Then we decided to explore. Corey LOVED the walkways with statues of cartoon characters, and he loved waving *hi* to all the kids who passed.
We went for a dip in the pool while waiting for OP and Sheryl to arrive. Corey was content to sit and watch everyone swim.
Corey and Daddy enjoyed New Moon and Nick Jr.after taking a swim.
When OP and Sheryl got into town we went to the food court for dinner. Corey enjoyed his pizza and milk.
OP really loved the bunk beds, yes he actually slept in them!!!
The next day we spent the day at the pool. Corey liked the kids area, but liked watching people in the big pool better.

Aunt Sheryl ran Corey through the water and he didn't really care for it.But it wasn't anything a pacifier and Daddy couldn't solve!!!

I am SLACKING

2009-02-12T19:30:00.011-05:00

Because it has been a pathetic month or so since I updated anyone on our little family I am going to do so random style. So, here is a photo journey of our last month.

We, of course, have spent a lot of time outside, except when the weather stayed in the 30's during the day. While that might be required for northerners, we don't have the clothing for that. Corey loves running around outside and riding the four wheeler. We just bought him a wooden playground set with out tax return, I will have pictures of that up when we get it built!!!

I gave Corey a strawberry yesterday, and apparently it was a little sour, this was his reaction. Luckily, my camera was sitting on the kitchen table. This is funny to me because he eats the lemons out of our drink when we go out to dinner!!!

Corey loves riding around on his ride on toys when he is stuck in the house. Lately, he has to wear a hat when he gets on it, especially the fireman's hat. What a goofball!!!!

One of Corey's newest things is pretending to be a dog. He crawls around with Toby, plays fetch, and even shakes his head like Toby does when he brings the fetch toy back to me. He has also started eating like Toby and picking the food off of his tray with his mouth:

How do I know my baby is turning into a little boy? He is not eating Playdo when he uses it. He will play with this stuff for up to 30 minutes. The perfect amount of time to get the kitchen cleaned up or make a meal!!!

I recently participated in a Valentine's craft swap with some ladies on the Birth Board I post on, this was my loot. Corey enjoyed the cookies with me and loved playing with the ribbon (thank you again Lindsey)!!!!

Last, but most certainly not least, on January 30th we went to the ceremony for Chris to receive his teacher of the year award. Not really Chris's thing because he was in the spotlight, but it was fun!!! We got to go to a WONDERFUL hibachi restaurant afterward!!!

With that, I PROMISE to post more often! Right after Corey gets the 6 teeth he is cutting right now!!

Our Days These Days

2009-01-19T20:18:00.003-05:00

Corey has become a lover of the world outside our home. Although he has more freedom within our house than he did when he was a little younger. His room is now childproofed enough that he can play in there without constant supervision (except for him closing the door, I need to get a doorstop). But, the outside, we usually start out in the backyard that will hopefully be finished when we get our tax return (yipee!!!!!).

He LOVES to ride around on the Powerwheels that he got for his birthday, and usually starts out there. He also loves to watch the chickens, and today Grandma was tending to them so he had lots to watch.
However, often staying in our (heaven forbid) FENCED in back yard is not enough for him. He must wonder the property and ride on all the brvvvvvv's (anything with wheels). As you can see from this video, this is what he calls anything that moves.

The Removal of my Teeth

2009-01-11T21:28:00.003-05:00

Friday was such a messed up day. I went in for my surgery at 9:45 and spent the majority of my appointment waiting for the novacaine to kick in. After about 45 minutes of waiting (I knew I should have brought my book back with me) they finally started the procedure, it lasted a whole 5 minutes.
We (Kathy, Corey, and I) and went to Walgreens to pick up my prescription. Thank goodness for my mother-in-law on this day, she was a lifesaver!!! We waited about an hour (supposed to be 20 minutes) for the prescriptions to be filled. I was going to wait until I got home to take the pain meds because I knew they would make me drowsy. So, we headed home and low and behold BOTH roads to get to our road are CLOSED!!!!! Kathy had to pick John, Alex, and Alyssa up from school, so I told her to just go ahead and head into town to get them.
We got to the girls school about an hour early and by this time Corey was TIRED of the carseat. So, we found a parking lot, changed his diaper, fed him, and let him stretch his legs a little bit. While we were waiting in line to pick up the girls I realized that there was not room in the car for John. So, after picking up the Alex and Alyssa, Kathy dropped us off at Jeanie's (her sister's) house while she brought John back to their house. While we are Jeanie's the novacaine started to wear off and I didn't want to take the pain pills because I was trying to help with the kids.
When Kathy got back to the house I immediately took the pills. They kicked in about an hour and a half later!!! So, I spent most of that night in and out of it, not really getting a whole lot of sleep.
Saturday I woke up at 6:30 because Corey was crying and he only wanted ME. The problem was that my body wanted me to be hanging over a toilet bowl getting sick. When I got sick in front of Corey, he freaked out, had a total melt down. So, I left him to Chris and went back to bed, waiting until 12 when I could take the anti-nauseau meds again. I slept off and on the rest of the day.
Today was better, but my mouth was hurting by the end of the day. But, I got to spend the day with my adorable son, what more could I ask for. And, I got this adorable video of him signing "more" while saying "please" so cute...

Corey's Dr. Appointment

2009-01-10T20:20:00.003-05:00

We went in for Corey's 12 month appointment (although he is 13 months). Here are is stats:
Weight: 22.6 lbs. (25%tile)
Height: 31 in. (50% tile)
Head: 34 cm (99%tile)

He also got his chicken pox vaccine and had no ill effects from it.

My Holiday Break

2009-01-04T20:58:00.011-05:00

So, I was going to post about each holiday that passed as it passed in these past couple of weeks, but time got away from me. So, here is a breakdown of my break :).

The first day of break it was a balmy 80 degrees outside so Corey and I enjoyed it by taking a little dip in his pool. I found that I can't just sit and read as he plays in his pool anymore because now he can get up and walk out of the pool. Unfortunately I cannot let him wander our backyard without constant supervision because it is still under construction.

The next day did not prove to be so warm, we actually had to done his leather jacket and winter hat.

The next couple of days were pretty laid back and relaxed. I stayed up pretty late on Christmas Eve wrapping presents, and the next morning was a lot of fun.

Corey slept longer than I did on Christmas morning, I guess I was a little excited to see how he would react to his presents.

He finally woke up and I sent him to wake up daddy, then everyone else in the house!!!!

Corey walked right past the Christmas tree...

And insisted I put on his Pooh clogs to start the day.

We finally got to the present opening, and that was a fun experience...

This bowl was totally his favorite gift, it took us forever to get him to move on to other gifts.

Later Uncle WIll and Aunt Diana came over for dinner and to give Corey his gifts. They really are feeding into my son's shoe fetish, they got him yet another (really cute!!!) pair of shoes.

Later we went to the DeRosier's of Edgewater for dessert and to exchange gifts with those kiddos. Corey got a Leap Frog Alphabet Magnet thingy in Spanish. It has the letters of the alphabet and when you put them on the base it says the letter and sings a song about it. Well, this particular unit says the wrong letters, for example, when you put "L" in it says "S". I tried changing the battery, nada. It looks like I will be drafting an email to Leap Frog :).

The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Monday Corey and I made another trip to Edgewater to have a play date with Julie and Cullum. It is so fun watching kids this age interact with each other. At one point they gave each other such a big hug, they fell down. I have noticed lately that as soon as Corey sees another child, he immediately gives them a hug.

We brought in the New Year watching "Eagle Eye" (AWESOME movie) with Will and Diana as Corey slept soundly in his room. New Year's Day Corey and I took a trip to Port Orange to have yet another play date with Brady. Corey, again was as loving as ever. He hugged Brady so hard that he ended up with a bump on his head!!!

Friday morning was spent with my dad and my adoreably eccentric son!! He walked around with a diaper and one shoe.

Then he tried to sit on the dog, who didn't seem to mind.

He made it up to Toby by reading him a book!!!

Then he played hide the toy from myself and try to find it.

It is amazing to me that every break I have that is longer than a weekend (although those are hard too) it gets harder and harder to go back to work. He is getting so much easier to take care of, and so much fun with all the new things he is learning. In the past two weeks he has started to say "please" and sign more and all done. He is trying to jump, but only gets as far as his toes. I look forward to seeing everything he does in teh coming months!!!

Only in Florida... for the Northerners out there!!!

2008-12-26T13:04:00.002-05:00

Only in Florida will one day be a balmy 80* where a one year old can go swimming in his pool, and the next day...

have to be all bundled up!!!

And to end this short post, a cute video of Corey blowing kisses!!!

Corey's First Haircut

2008-12-10T22:31:00.002-05:00

After attending the Eid day festival, we decided it was time to get rid of Corey's mullet and the little bits of whispy hair that we going over his ears and getting in his eyes. We needed to get some thigs from Walmart, so we got his hair cut there. The poor girl cutting his hair was shaking like a lear, I don't think she has cut a baby's hair before. Not to mention, it was not very easy keeping his head still.

This is him after the haircut. He looks tired because he had gone all day without a nap!!!!

Eid Day

2008-12-10T22:17:00.007-05:00

Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr‎), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break the fast" (and can also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah"); and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated starting on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal.
Eid ul-Fitr is a three day celebration and is sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid" (Arabic: العيد الصغير al-‘īdu ṣ-ṣaghīr‎) as compared to the Eid ul-Adha that lasts four days and is called the "Greater Eid" (Arabic: العيد الكبير al-‘īdu l-kabīr‎).
Muslims are commanded by the Qur'an to complete their fast on the last day of Ramadan and then recite the Takbir all throughout the period of Eid[Qur'an 2:185 (Translated by Shakir)].

This past Monday Chris and I attended a festival that we were invited to by one of Chris's former students. It was a lot of fun and it was interesting to experience another culture. It is something we want Corey to experience throughout his life. We live in an area with a very limited culture, so the more we expose him to, the more background knowledge he will have. As teachers we realize how important it is that students come to school with a wide variety of knowledge. Not to mention, as the people we are we don't want Corey to grow up with any prejudices!!!

Yup, there is a monkey there, and Corey did not even notice!!!

Fingerpainting

2008-12-10T22:08:00.003-05:00

Yeah, so we ATTEMPTED fingerpainting. My intention was to put his handprint on the thank-you cards from his birthday party. I got two cards done before Corey decided the blue paint looked like some sort of yummy blue goo. I made sure to protect our furniture and the floor, but ended up with blue paint all over. I guess we will be waiting until after the "explore everything with the mouth" stage before we try this again!!!

The Christmas Parade

2008-12-07T17:52:00.006-05:00

Yesterday Corey and I attended New Smyrna's Christmas parade with Aunt Molly, Alex, and Alyssa. It was an interesting evening as the parade was SCHEDULED to start at 4 p.m., which we thought was a little late for a parade. Well, here is how it unfolded. Like good parade go-ers we arrived around 3:45 p.m. so as not to miss the beginning of the parade and find a good spot. Well it turned out that as soon as we came out on Canal St. both Alyssa and Alex so friends from school, so we hung out there. We were happy to begin with...

While waiting for the parade Corey read some books, and...

was entertained by the beautiful Alyssa, and...

Had a snack, and...

Got sick of his stroller, and...

Played with Aunt Molly, and...

Looked in store windows, and...

Said "hi" to the people around us, and...

Got really fussy, and wanted a balloon that was outside a nearby store, and...

Gave this face to the lady standing outside the store, and ...

Got a balloon from the lady, and played with it for a little while before FINALLY (one hour late)

The parade started, well kind of started, the motorcycle cops entertained the ever impatient crowd by doing circles on their bike, then the REAL parade started.Alex and Alyssa sat so well during the whole thing, even though people kept standing up in front of them...

The highlights of the parade were our congresswomen, Sussanne Kosmas, and of course...

Santa Clause

All in all, I do have to say, the parade was NOT worth the hour wait. Although I am sure the kids would disagree :)

Decorating for Christmas

2008-12-04T20:52:00.005-05:00

So, after Coreys party (days after) it is time to decorate for Christmas. I got all the decorations up after Corey went to bed, but he got to help me put the decorations on the tree. He actually did put some on the tree, but he took more off than he put on. His favorite ornament is a snowman that says "Special Teacher" on it.

This is the result of Corey "helping"

Corey's First Birthday Party

2008-12-04T20:02:00.009-05:00

Corey's birthday party was a HUGE success!!! He had fun, we had fun, and to the best of my knowledge, everyone who attended had fun!!! So, here is a picture journey through the party:

The awesome cake made by Corey's most awesome G-ma!!!!

Corey helped prepare for the party by throwing balloons everywhere!!!

The decorations: treat bags for the kids, Corey's first year picture frame, a slideshow of photos and videos from Corey's first year, wish cards for people to make wishes for Corey, Corey's babybook, and the Corey A to Z book I had made free through snapfish!!

Yummy muffins also made by the wonderful G-ma.

Pigs in a blanket, pre-cooked

Party favors, cause everyone wants a picture of Corey on their fridge!!!

Corey meeting Ashlyn for the first time (well, at least the first time Ashlyn is alert enough to notice)

Corey did an AWESOME job opening gifts!!!!

Chris, looking on, making sure no one gets out of hand!!!

Uncle Will, he was a HUGE help with taking care of the presents AFTER they had been opened.

Some of Corey's gifts (I am getting on those thank you cards this weekend)

Uncle Will putting together the Pow-Pow-Powerwheels that the Fulbright's so generously got Corey.

Aunt Diana and Aunt Sheryl picking up the mess Corey made opening gifts... it was really bothering Sheryl

Corey getting ready to dig into his cake

Yeah, it gets worse

I can't beleive how much he ate!!!

Dirty boy...

Off to a bath

Yeah, not pretty!!!

He absolutely LOVES baths!!!

He was a happy boy after all that sugar!!

I know that face and position...

It resulting in this... Yes, that is poop in there.

Time to brush the sugar of those 5 teeth!!!

Lovin' my cute, clean boy. That is a cute outfit from Aunt Diana and Uncle Will

Corey gladly went to Uncle Jack as long as Daddy wasn't around

Yes, this gift is GREAT on my back!!!

Corey's 1st Birthday (the actual day)

2008-12-04T19:35:00.002-05:00

Today, as my precious child turned 1 year old, I attempted to do a little cleaning. I don't know what possessed me to clean his room while he was in it, but this was the result:First, he starts pulling everything off shelves that I had put on, and everything OUT of baskets that I had put IN baskets...

THEN, as I was picking up his 100's of balls and putting them into a basket, he decided those balls did not belong in a basket. So, he climbed into the basket and started throwing the balls out.

You can really see that he needs a haircut in this picture, wonderful mullet.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-04T19:30:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving was great this year!!! It was the first year I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Last year I was just too big and uncomfortable, and hoping to go into labor. The year before we were still building the house. It is amazing how much can happen in the matter of a couple of years!!! We got to share this wonderful Thanksgiving with Jack, Kathy, Will, Diana, and my Dad!! So here are some pictures of the yummy food we had and Corey enjoying his first Thanksgiving dinner!!!

Pumpkin Cake

Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy

Sweet potatoes, turnip, cranberry sauce, corn, and of course the turkey. We also had green bean casserole, but I am not sure where it is!!!

Chris carving the turkey (with the dog bowl in the foreground because I could NOT keep Corey out of it)

He had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce...and this is what was left...

My Baby is One!!!!

2008-11-28T14:58:00.002-05:00

I really can't believe it!!! I spent this day last year in the hospital, not to return home for 4 more days!!! I spent the whole day in labor for the doctor to decide at 9:30pm that we needed to do a C-Section!!! Corey was born at 10:12pm at 7lbs. 10oz. and 19 in. long. He is now 22lbs. and I have no idea how long because I haven't measured him lately (that is really hard to do with a walking kid!!!) But 2 months ago he was 29 in. He has grown 15lbs. and 10 in. in the last year. Tomorrow I will be posting the pictures from his party!!!!

A Family Visit

2008-11-24T20:48:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we had a wonderful visit from Aunt Gail, Brian, Heather, and Little Miss Caleigh. The kids had so much fun with each other and were so cute to watch!!! Corey and Caleigh got aquainted first thing in the morning.

Later that day we went to Sugar Mill Gardens to take some family pictures of Corey, Chris, and I and in the meantime got some REALLY cute pictures of the kids while we were there:

Some updates

2008-11-20T19:23:00.004-05:00

Corey is now walking as his main source of transportation. It is amazing to me that he went from cruising on the couch to walking full time in a matter of weeks.

Last weekend I decided to let Corey try to feed himself some oatmeal for breakfast. This is his first time using a spoon totally on his own. Just look for yourself to see how THAT turned out...

Video: Corey Walking

2008-11-09T09:37:00.003-05:00

Corey's First Year Scrapbook...so far

2008-11-08T20:56:00.009-05:00

So, I have been working on the scrapbook for Corey's first year. So far, I have the first 4 days done. Tell me what you think so far, any suggestions, anything I should fix. I want to have this done for Christmas, I hope to give hime one every year (which will be nice since his birthday is a month before)!!! Comments, criticism, let me know!!!

Corey spends a day with his cousins...

2008-11-03T21:24:00.006-05:00

Saturday (11/1/08) Corey and I spent the day with his cousins, Alex and Alyssa. After Corey's morning nap we headed off to Buschman Park in Port Orange. Before enjoying the beautiful playground, we enjoyed lunch by the pond. The weather was wonderful, and we had fun watching two squirrels scampering around us (except when we had to throw away our food and were afraid they were going to attack us).

After eating our lunch we went and enjoyed the playground. Corey was not that interested in playing because he was not yet finished with his lunch. The girls, however, enjoyed the playground immensely. They climbed the rock climbing wall several times,

Corey was not at all happy about going down the slide!!!

However, he did love playing with the noisy part of the playground!!

All he wanted to do was climb up the steps after his cousins!!!

Unfortunately, at this point the battery in my camera went dead, and I was not able to take pictures of our walk around the pond. We went on a hunt to see how many animals we could find, the final count was 14. Some of the animal life we found were: lizards, dragonflies, bees, birds, fish, turtles, and spiders (which Alyssa was not too happy to find in the bathroom).

After our walk, we made our way home, with Corey falling asleep 10 minutes before we got there, thus giving up his afternoon nap!!! It was a great day I wish I could repeat more often!!!

Corey's First Halloween

2008-11-03T21:01:00.004-05:00

Corey's first Halloween was pretty uneventful, but fun none the less. Chris and I rushed home from work so we could make it down to Canal St. in NSB. So, we went down there and walked in the costume parade. There were so many interesting costumes, but Chris had control of the camera, so no pictures. Corey was content to ride along in his stroller looking at everyone. We watched the baby part of the costume contest and saw quite a few people we knew. Martha and Mike were there checking out the costumes and enjoying some free chocolate milk. Julie was there with Cullum (dressed as bam-bam).

When we left Park Ave. we went by Cora to visit Aunt Sheryl at work and so Corey could do his trick or treating. So, he bagged a Hershey's bar and a Kit-Kat bar, they were very yummy!!! From there Chris and I headed over to Domino's and got subs for dinner (again, yummy!!). On the way home Corey fell asleep and was transferred to his crib without any opposition. He didn't even have any dinner! Halloween tuckered him out. Too bad he didn't feel that way for the end of daylight savings time!! He was up at 5:45am on Sunday.

And now, with no further ado, here are some pictures from that fun evening:

11 Months Old

2008-10-28T21:07:00.007-04:00

It is hard to believe that one month from now my baby is going to be a year old. It is hard to believe that exactly 11 months ago (9:07) I was being told I would be needing a C-section and was being prepped. I was so nervous, yet so excited that I would be seeing my baby. He was so perfect then, and has gotten even more perfect every day. It is hard to believe how rewarding, tiring, exilerating, and fun parenthood is!!! So, although these pictures were taken last week, we are counting them as Corey's 11 month pictures (I had a workshop this evening and Chris had a parent meeting, so lo and behold, we were not able to take pictures TODAY)

In honor of Corey hitting the 11 month mark, I am going to post a picture of him for every monty of his life:

Our Halloween Party

2008-10-28T20:05:00.010-04:00

Getting Ready

The night before the part Chris gutted and prepared the pumpkins for carving and I got the seeds ready for roasting:

Then, Chris did and AWESOME job of carving the pumpkins, he drew the design freehand and I couldn't even come close to doing this!!!

The next day after Chris got home from work he got the front yard and inside of the house ready, and he did a great job there, too!!! He put up gravestones in the front yard, and we had spiderwebs with blacklights ALL over the house. It was actually extremely annoying because the spiderwebs were low enough that we kept getting caught in them.

While trying to set the mood for the party Chris put on some Rob Zombie, which Corey seemed to really like:

The Party

The party went off without a hitch we had quite a few people show up, and I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of the food, but I made graveyard stones, blood toes, and mummy dogs. The food was a big hit, we didn't have any left after it was all said and done!!!

Here are some pictures of our guests and the fun times we had!!!

The Firefighter and his Devil Dog

Sleep Martha...Corey really liked her teddy bear and fake pacifier (not the one in his mouth)

Corey in his whole get-up, minus the hat of course!

Corey and me looking at all of Chris's hard work outside

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this...

People eating, Sheryl really looks like a vampiress in this pic, with the red eye!!!

Chris (the doctor) reattaching the Dark Knight's arm

Sheryl and OP

Will and Stephanie

Mullet Corey..he, he

Cave people Jenn and Steve...

That stinkin' arm won't stay on!!!

Yeah, Mike is asleep under that mask

Shelly and Brianne showed up around 8:00, Corey really loves playing with kids, and it was icing on the cake that Toby was playing, too!!!

The Petting Zoo

2008-10-21T22:15:00.005-04:00

This past Sunday Corey, Chris, and I ventured to Kissimmee to the Green Meadow's Farm to meet up with some other mommies and their babies who were born around the time Corey was. We met online on a birthclub at babycenter.com. We are now on a spinoff board, and the mommies that live in Florida (and one from New Mexico who was here on vacation) decided to meet up.

We got in the car on the way to go at Corey's nap time and he fell asleep shortly after getting in the car.

When we got there we waited for the whole group to get there and went inside to begin our tour. Our first stop was at the goats, which Corey loved. Of course he loves all animals and I am lucky I did not have to try to stop him from kissing them.

Next, we stopped at the turkeys where Corey proceeded to step in turkey dung. So, we had to take off his shoes and he couldn't walk around anymore.

(Excuse the highwaters, I went to put on my only clean pair of jeans and the ripped so I was stuck with these pants)

Next, we saw some bigger animals that we couldn't go in and pet. Then, we went on a train ride and got to see a lot of the farm which was beautiful!!!

This is a "zorse" in the background which is half horse, half zebra. They are sterile so the only way to "make" them is to breed a horse and zebra.

As we went on we all "herded" some ducks and geese, although I was a little leary of them because all ducks and geese I have ever met have not been very nice.

Corey then got to go on a pony ride. My adorable, quirky son, with the most serious face, rode the pony while making his car sound (bbbbbrrrrrrvvvvvvvfffffff). He was cracking me up because it took so much concentration and he was so serious. I wish I had the video camera at this point

Can't you just see the seriousness on his face here?

After touring all the animals we went on a hay ride. Chris was tickling Corey with a piece of hay, he took it and chewed on it like the farmboy that he is. He looks like a little farmer Joe in these pictures...

We finally stopped for lunch, I was feed Corey throughout the whole tour because we started the tour at lunchtime. Then we had a gift exchange. We Sarah and Noah got Corey some books and a very cute outfit.

All the kids then dressed up in the Halloween costumes and we took some pictures in the pumpkin patch.

Some fun Corey videoes

2008-10-04T22:43:00.005-04:00

Corey trying to escape from the living room before we got the gate:

Corey brushing his teeth:

Corey playing with Toby:

Corey dancing (a little)

Corey cruising:

Corey running from Toby:

Corey....10 Months (really)

2008-10-02T22:07:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it either, my little baby is growing into a kid right before my eyes!!! Here are some pictures from his 10 month photo shoot (we used the suit from OP and Sheryl's wedding and put him on the beach)

This child just amazes me every day with the new things he can do. He has added quite a few words to his repertoire: he now points to anything he wants and says "dat," he refers to Toby as a "dug," and he is finally melting my heart with "mama" (which he used to only say when he woke up crying at night). He is standing on his own and "cruising" on the furniture, I am cursing the day he learns to walk (but am secretly hoping he does it while I am at home and not at work). He has also turned into a little snugglebug and gives lots of hugs and kisses!!!

A Wonderful Day

2008-09-07T10:44:00.005-04:00

My day started out with Corey crawling toward me saying "mama," this is the first time he has said it when it wasn't the middle of the night while he was crying.

Chris was working and I didn't want to spend all day in the house so I packed up the kid and a lunch and we headed to the park. There was a Greenwise festival going on at Riverside park.So, we headed to the Old Fort to eat and play. Corey had a great time playing with his ball and watching the cars go by.

It was really hot and Corey got extremely sweaty.

When we were through playing we headed over to the fair and took a walk through all the booths.

Then we stopped on a swing and looked out over the water.

After we left the park we went and visited Chris at work (so I could pee). Then we headed down to Angelica's to pick up my dress for Sheryl's wedding (it fits perfectly).

9 Months

2008-08-30T21:41:00.007-04:00

In honor of Corey's 9 month birthday, I am going to list 9 things I love about him:

1. I love how he gets so excited he can barely move his arms fast enough when Chris and I come home from work.

2. I love how determined he is to get something he wants (even when he is not supposed to have it)
3. I love that every once in a while, when he is playing, he will crawl over to me and snuggle with me for a second before continuing to play.

4. I love that he is such an easy going kid.

5. I love that he is finally gaining some independence, but I hate that he does not need me as much.

6. I love it when he gives me open mouthed kisses, even though I have drool running down my cheek afterwards.

7. I love it when he babbles and tells me all kinds of stories about his day.

8. I love that he is weaning himself off of the pacifier and saving me the trouble of doing it when he is older.

9. I love that he is developing a personality and I can tell he is going to be a really entertaining kid (because he is a VERY entertaining baby).

Video: Babbling

2008-08-30T20:34:00.002-04:00

Sorry it is so dark, the living room light wasn't on for some reason.

"The Road"

2008-08-28T20:48:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of "the road" after TS Fay. This wasn't even as bad as it got.

(Excuse the truck in all the pictures, we followed him in the day we took the pictures)

This is where we got stuck on Monday (before they put the gravel in there).

This Child Never Ceases to Amaze Me

2008-08-26T19:32:00.010-04:00

He is just turning into what seemed so far away when he was first born. He was so little and dependent, it is amazing how much they learn to do in the first years of their life. He is into everything, but at this point it is amusing (I know very soon it will be a major pain). Right now I can keep the mess contained in the living room.

The other day I had his seat in the living room to feed him breakfast. Well, I didn't put it away and it was something new. So, of course, he wants to play with it. Next thing I know he has pulled it over to the couch...

All to get to Daddy's computer bag.

The following day he was back at the changing table, terrorizing it. Well, he had pulled out all the diapers he could reach, so he went onto his tiptoes to reach it. It is amazing the confidence he is getting with standing.

This is his determined stubborn look!!!

As he finished up tearing up diapers, he turned, and, barely hanging on, stood up and held on to the turtle. He didn't PULL himself up, he stood up. So, I went into a tyred on how he is not aloud to grow up and start walking, talking, and telling me no. He climbed down off the turtle, crawled over to me (I was laying on my tummy taking pictures of him), put his forehead against mine, and laughed at me!!! I know the inevitable will happen.

This kid is too much, there is never a dull moment!!!

Sheryl's Bridal Shower

2008-08-24T14:35:00.007-04:00

Sheryl's Shower was an absolute blast!!! She had a good turn out and we all had a good time. It is hard to believe their wedding is about 3 weeks away. For those reading this that don't know OP and Sheryl... they have been our friends since middle and high school, but they didn't start dating until after high school. You could not find a more caring and compassionate couple of people. They have been their for Chris and I through a lot, and we are extremely happy they are still a part of our lives. Because, as you may know, friendships from high school rarely last. Not to say that we have had our periods of not seeing each other for a while (we all live pretty busy lives). But, when we do meet up again it is like no time has passed at all. Anyway, here are some more pictures from the shower:

These two things were made by my wonderfully talented Mother In Law, Kathy. The card cake has been in several weddings, including mine.

The loot and the cake.