Baby Daniel Has Arrived!

On Thursday Kim went to the doctor. She said Daniel could come any day. I was in Denver on company training, and we decided I would fly back the next day and stay home for the weekend. Around midnight that evening Kim started having contractions. As the got stronger, she called her visiting teacher to watch Michael and went to the hospital at 4:30 AM.  She made it just in time, because Daniel was born at 4:59 AM. He's 4 weeks early, came weighing 6 lbs 1/2 oz, and is 18.5 inches long. He also has a lot of dark hair and seems to take after Kim more than me, which makes him lucky.

We came home from the hospital on Saturday. Kim and the baby are doing great. We'll post more pictures as we take them.

Halloween Festivities

Halloween is a good holiday for Michael. Kim and I have called him "Boo" for most of his life, so it makes sense that he should take to it. Oregon has several great pumpkin patches and we took him to one recently.

As an expert in animal sounds, Michael was excited to play with goats, chicks, and a truly tremendous St. Bernard that roamed the farm. I was in favor of testing Michael's goat-riding abilities, but Kim stopped me.

"Ball" was one of his first words, and still is one of his favorites. He can identify balls and other round objects better than his parents, but he does come up with a lot of false-positives. Every pumpkin was "ba-ball" to him. The gigantic bouncing-ball (half buried and big enough for twenty kids to bounce on) resulted in a tounge-bite but also a lot of fun.

I think I enjoyed the slide more than Michael did. He likes slides, but this one was 25' tall and got to be a little too fast at the end.

Michael has proven bird- and cat-scaring talents, which he capitalized on in his costume for the ward trunk-or-treat.

I, of course, can never resist the opportunity to put on a funny hat.

Camping Trip

I've never been a big fan of camping. While growing up my family camped a few times every summer. I always liked roasting marshmallows in front of a campfire and staying up late talking. But there was something about sleeping on the hard ground, waking up in the middle of the night so cold it was hard to breathe, and getting eaten by mosquitoes that always made me relieved when it was time to go back home. Camping makes a girl appreciate the luxuries like toilets, hot showers, and a comfortable bed.

I'm embarrassed to say it took Aaron five years to convince me to go camping with him. When we got to the campsite, Aaron surprised me with a blow-up mattress. He set up the tent and cooked some tin foil dinners while I sat back and relaxed. He even brought two different insect repellants and several candles so the mosquitoes didn't dare mess with us. Yep, Aaron sure spoils me.

The three of us slept on the mattress under the stars (it was too big to fit in the tent) and I kept thinking "now this is the way to camp." We were toasty warm and cozy until it started thundering and raining. I figured the three of us would have to cram into the single person tent, but Aaron, being the clever guy he is, put the mattress under a large umbrella and draped a tarp over it. We managed to stay dry.

I admit, I enjoyed our camping trip. Guess we won't have to wait another 5 years to go again.

The boys roasting marshmallows

Mikey waiting for his tin foil dinner
The boys in the morning under the umbrella/tarp covering. Mikey slept thru the night and loved his first camping trip.

Lately

Aaron was at Army training the first two weeks in August, so Mikey and I spent a few days with my parents. Mikey had a blast with Grandpa and Grandma. He spent lots of time at the beach, petting zoo and the park. He kept a close eye on Grandpa and Grandma and would go look for them if they left the room. We were both sad when it was time to leave. Thanks for letting us visit.

Mikey laughing at Grandpa's joke

Grandpa reading Mikey a bedtime story

We went to a blueberry farm with our friends Bonnie, Orson and Quentin. Mikey was in heaven. One of his favorite foods is blueberries so he was pretty excited to be surrounded by them. He 'helped' by putting a few berries in the bucket and then grabbing a handful and stuffing them in his mouth. Lets just say he ate so many that he no longer likes blueberries.

Once Aaron got back from training he took some time off of work. We spent a few days at the beach and had a great time. Aaron also bought a seat to attach to his bike so the boys have been going on rides.

My cute boys going for a ride

We will be a family of four soon! Mikey is going to have a baby brother in December or January. We are so excited and can't wait to meet the little guy.

Summer

Over the 4th of July weekend we went to Cannon Beach. Mikey loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand. When it was time to leave he shook his head 'no' and started running back toward the water. Guess we'll have to take the little guy back later this summer.

The first thing Mikey says to me when he wakes up is 'pa' (park), signs please, and then brings his shoes to me. It's a good thing there is a park two blocks from our home. He mainly likes swinging and going down the slide.

Mikey and I like going for walks at the Rhododendron Gardens. It's so peaceful and beautiful. Mikey likes chasing the ducks while barking at them.

Sunday was Mikey's first day in nursery. I seriously counted down the weeks for months. It's hard enough entertaining him during Sacrament Meeting, but all 3 meetings was exhausting for all of us. Seems like I spent more time with Mikey in the hall then I did in class. He did really well at first and didn't even care when I left. Fifteen minutes later, Mikey had a melt down and I spent rest of church with him. Lets hope it won't take long for him to adjust.

Tulips and Tools

This weekend Kim, Michael and I went to the Tulip Festival. The whole thing is Dutch themed and was beautiful despite the crowds. It's been an unusually long winter for Portland, and it was great to finally get some sunshine.

Michael is a big help with the chores. Between seminary and some late evenings at work, we don't always spend as much time together as I would like. But we do have a lot of fun when we are working together. Michael is very serious about chores. He never fusses when we are working on something, but isn't his usual cheesy self either. When we mow the lawn, he pays close attention to the work.

We also replaced the dishwasher together. The old one was showing signs of rust and didn't rinse very well. The project took about 4 hours, and Michael insisted on supervising.

We're almost done at this point. Michael has a minature vise-grip he likes to use when its tool time.

So far, it looks like the installation was sucessful--no leaks yet!

Look Who Is Walking

About two weeks ago Mikey took his first steps. Each day he gets a little better. It's fun watching him because is so proud of himself. Whenever he walks he gets a huge grin on his face and he takes breaks to clap for himself. He also makes sure that Aaron and I are watching. There have been a few instances where he glances behind his shoulder to make sure we're observing and he trips and falls. It won't be long before this little guy is running around.

Mikey loves crawling up the stairs and going back down on his belly. He's getting pretty fast at it.

Mikey adores Furbie although I can't say the same about the cat. Whenever Mikey thinks I'm not looking he yanks Furbie's tail and uses him as a pillow. At least Furbie is a good sport about it. Here's a short video of Mikey walking.