Meesh the Squeesh

My newest nickname for Michelle is the Meesh the Squeesh. I guarantee she will not like this name when she is a teen, but for now, no name could be more accurate...Above is a picture of me "squeeshing" my little Meesh. It's difficult to get a good picture of her getting squeeshed, because she moves so much that it's difficult to take a picture of us. I will have to ask Caleb or Mike to take one for me. Anyway, I love "squeeshing" our little Meesh. Squeeshing began WAAY back when she was an itty bitty Meesh...

I just love my little MEESH! I'm like Mr. Whiffle from the old time squeezing of the Charmin commercials!
She's just so SQUEEZABLY soft....

So much squeeshin' makes a little Meesh exhausted...

It's hard to RESEEEST a little Squeesh of our little MEEEESH. Believe me, I am not the only one!

Opa and Oma's 60th Anniversary luncheon

Back in June, our family celebrated a very significant event...The diamond 60th wedding anniversary of Opa and Oma. It was like a family reunion, as almost everyone from the Fleuren / Groth side of the family was there. We were missing Andrea's hubby, Nick, and our cousin, Derek. The luncheon was at a really pretty golf course restaurant, the Cateechee Golf Club. The place was peaceful and quiet....before our clan arrived! With all the laughter, carrying on, and kids crawling all over the place, I'm not sure our waiter ever recovered! Lots of fun and so very nice to see everyone after so many years. I was especially happy to catch up with my two cousins who are now married...We hired a talented friend of mine (Alyssa Brosy) to take a bunch of candid shots of us in the midst of the chaos. I think she did an excellent job capturing the fun and frivolity of the moment! Here are my favorites:

4th of July Trip to FL

The kids and I headed down to Florida to visit with Grampa Steve and Gramma Teri. We left around 11am on the Wed before the 4th. I made the drive by myself. Unfortunately, Mike had to work Wed and Thu, so he couldn't come with us. The drive was very long, but I took it slow and made several stops. The kids were excellent. Michelle slept most of the way down, but she also enjoyed looking through her many books. She loves the Baby Einstein Da Vinci one with the mirrors. She points at things and says her favorite phrase, "Whas dat?". Caleb immersed himself in video games. It's one of the only times he can play just about as long as he wants. To avoid turning himself into a zombie, I made him take a few "brain breaks." We finally arrived at Mom and Steve's around 10:30pm. As soon as Caleb woke up the next day, swimming in the pool was first on his list of things to do....
Michelle was crawling all over the place...She especially loved banging her little ball on Gramma and Grampa's marble table, while repeatedly pointing at things saying, "Whas dat?" and "Uh-oh!" It was quite cute...
We had such a nice visit. The kids had a blast and Mommy got some relaxation she desperately needed...

Thanks so much, Gramma Teri and Grampa Steve! :)

Bikini Bod

After reading two celebrity dirt magazines that listed the best and worst beach bodies....I was inspired to show one of the BEST....
Even with a "belly bulge" and "thunder thighs," Michelle is an adorable bathing beauty...

Mommy is soooo jealous! :) Brother loves to show her off....

Ready....

Set...
Almost...

Go..........

Nothing like turning around to a surprise of baby standing up all by herself in the middle of the floor!!!

If baby loves Barney, please stand up! :)

It won't be long until we will have to lock up everything...Watch out world...Here she comes! :)

The Passing of a Legendary Artist

The world is mourning the sad loss of a legend in the world of music.

Ever since I heard the news of the death of Michael Jackson, my heart has been heavy and sad... My sadness does not stem from being a huge fan of Michael's (although I love just about every one of his songs). My sadness stems from what happened in his life...and how sad he had become. I have always felt sad for what Michael's life had become, but I thought he'd grow older and wiser and die peacefully. Instead, I am struck with the news that suddenly and abruptly his life just ended in the midst of his very obvious despair, sadness, and loneliness. My original post was not going to be around my sadness regarding this news....I set out to look for the video of my favorite MJ song:

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough. It's just about the peppiest song and one that always gets me moving. Instead I ran across the saddest song I have ever listened to: Stranger in Moscow. It was written and composed by Michael Jackson himself. (Unlike the pop stars of today, he writes and composes most if not all of his songs!) Anyway, I have this song on my playlist and I've hyperlinked the video....If you need a good cry, check it out! I cried when I saw the video and listened to the lyrics:
What a shame! How very sad that someone with so much going for him could be left alone and mixed up like this. My Mike said it perfectly last night, "He is in a much better place..." Be at peace, Michael. May you finally find the comfort, love, and understanding that you have searched and longed for your entire life!!!! Be thankful for those you love, dear friends and those who love and care for you!!! We are lucky and blessed beyond measure!!!!!!

When The Mom's Away.....

This picture really needs no write up...Daddy was watching the baby. "Nuff Said!" :)

Michelle's Week...

From Birth to 12 months, Michelle changed alot physically. As we begin her next 12 months, the biggest changes are in her behavior. Now, she is absolutely hilarious to watch...

Whenever she hears music, she "dances,"which consists of her rocking her body and bobbing her head. She really gets into it! Here, she was watching Baby Einstein and rocking back and forth to the music. I love it when she does this...Unfortunately, she stopped as soon as I grabbed the camera...but I was able to get a little of her dancing.

She loves to cuddle....Here she is cuddling with her daddy.
The other day she found Daddy's wallet laying around...She started digging in it and pulling out his credit card and money. I saw this as a foreshadowing of times to come!!!!Michelle's newest favorites: Multigrain Cheerios and Macaroni and Cheese!
...green beans and fruit, not so much...but Mommy's quick with a spoon and has some creative ways to get it down.
Michelle used to eat whatever we put in front of her....Just this week, she has started looking at the spoon BEFORE she eats. If she likes it, open goes the mouth and in it goes. If not, she pushes away the spoon and turns her head. Here's a funny video of Michelle eating and Mommy's creative way of hiding the green beans...

After seeing this video again, it's time for Michelle to get her first hair cut. We are going to Florida next week to see Gramma Teri and Grampa Steve. I think we'll take care of it, then! :)

Transformers 2

This movie opened tonight...TRANSFORMERS, REVENGE OF THE FALLEN...Critics did not rate this movie very well, but most who have seen it say it's better than the first one! I am sure that I will love it....we were going tonight, but I had a birthday dinner to attend with some friends. We are going to see it this weekend for sure! If you see it, please leave a comment to let me know how it was...

Banna, our Little Diva in Training

My little niece, Breanna...or Banna as we call her...is the epitome of a little Diva. She can bring on drama and tears better than any soap opera star! She loves to accessorize her outfits...

She loves to indulge on sweets fit for a princess...

She loves the prettiest, fuu-fuu-iest dresses....

She loves pedicures...and she rocks a blue tooth like only the most polished celebrity... Here she is talking to Bumpy while we were waiting at Opa and Oma's 60th anniversary party...the papparazzi was all around! :)

She has lots of experience to draw from...lol! :)

Our little girl...

How can so much noise come from such a cute, little person...? Michelle loves to "bang around" in the kitchen...The other night, while I was making dinner, Michelle gave us a serenade.

She was banging on the pot with a spoon, while "singing" at the top of her lungs.

Although extremely noisy, our little noisemaker is pretty cute.

Attack of the Mullet....

About a month ago, I went to a salon that really messed up my hair. I have been wearing my hair up in ponytails for the most part. It was really frustrating to fix it....so I just put it up. Yesterday, I went to a hairdresser that's been cutting my hair for years. She said that the texture and body of my hair had changed drastically from a year ago. I told her that nursing Michelle has really taken a toll on my hair, so I went to this other salon and asked the stylist to cut my hair in a way to mask some of the damage....As a result, my hair was cut into a mullet. Short in front long in the back...it was horrible.

As Stephanie was chopping away at my hair, she told me the best way to fix this would be to take drastic measures and cut it all off....and that's exactly what she did.

It will take some getting used to, but I sort of like it. It will be so much simpler to style and cooler....and since it's so short, I won't be tempted to put it up into a ponytail. Now, I just need to get rid of my glasses and take care of the rest of my body. :)

Summer Slumber

On my way out to work the other day...I couldn't help but be completely jealous of this......

It must be nice to be able to sleep in and not have to go to school or work or anything....Enjoy it while you can Caleb! Before you know it, you'll be like the rest of the adults that have to get up early to care for the kids and/or leave for an hour long commute to work!

My HERO!

Help! Someone save me from the HORROR that lurges behind this oven door.......It's a sight too terrible, even for the world wide web!

Just as I thought the grit, grime, and oven cleaner fumes were going to over-take me....Here he comes to SAVE THE DAY!....My HERO...My hubby...My Sweetzy....with...with...A PRESSURE WASHER! Toxic, corrosive oven cleaner is not enough for MY man...No, this is a man with a mission and the desire to BLAST away grime...and by golly, this wife was going to let him...and document it on my blog for all the world to see. LOL! As I took these pictures and told Mike that I was going to put them on my blog...He just rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and shouted..."Whatever!" I was laughing too hard to get a picture of that face, but every time I pass this flower at the top of our stairs....it reminds me of my wonderful, thoughtful, sweet,
and crazy man that I absolutly love! :)

Playin' Around

Michelle's newest thing is to get into her play table....shuffle through all the blocks....and make as much noise as she can. I tried to get a video, but she'd stop when I grabbed the camera. Li'l Stinker! Recently, Michelle enjoys looking at her books. Before, they were fun to chew.
Looky dat! :)

About a week ago, Michelle was giggling so hard as she played with her bday balloons...I was laughing so hard along with her, I only got this short video!

A baby's life can be so fun...

Just Kiln' Time...

For the past few Mother's Days, Mike and Caleb have taken me to my favorite little spot...Just Kiln' Time, a paint-your-own-pottery place. The guys really don't like going, but they tolerate some artsy-fartsyness to allow Mom to "play with paint." We must make quite an impression when we go once a year, because the owner remembers us each time we go! :) I love to paint pottery. It's so much fun...You pick the piece you want to paint. They have coffee mugs, plates, and hundreds of little figurines.

This year, Mike had Baby duty. Michelle tried to touch and grab everything...not good in a place with so many fragile things!

Daddy kept an eye and grip on her while Mommy painted the plate.
We wanted to put her handprint on the plate...Getting her to do this was a bit of a challenge and entertaining to watch. The owner was so nice and helped us...

Here's a short video of it...Michelle started crying.

After painting the entire plate with a blue glaze, we had Michelle's handprint put onto the plate. Then, I quickly painted some hearts and flowers. (How appropriate for me...Those are my faves!)

You are probably wondering why I am posting this now...Well, although it only takes a week for the shop to fire the plate, we only had the time to pick it up yesterday! It turned out just lovely.

All my favorite little things...The color blue, my sweet little girl's handprint, flowers, and hearts. We are going to hang it in her bedroom for now...but it's Mommy's. :)

Chin, Chin Chinchilla

My brother, Nathan, has a couple of chinchillas. They are the cutest, fluffiest little animals.

....I saw this commercial on tv the other day and died laughing. Enjoy, Nathan and Mom! :)

Amazing speech, diplomacy at work

Listen.....Learn...Respect! Rebuild Trust...

I am so happy for the speech that President Obama today!!! It doesn't matter what political party you are with...You must agree this speech was very well done. The video stream is rather slow. I prefer to read the text of the speech here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama_text

Proud to be an American!!!

Day of Rest at the Park

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, so after church, we enjoyed one! After a weekend like we've had (invasion of the 5th graders....see previous blogs), we desperately needed some peace and serenity. We made our way to a park in our little town. I had read and heard that they completely renovated our little town park last year, but I had no idea to what extent the renovations were. Last summer, I was very pregnant and nursing a newborn, so we really didn't get out much.....What we discovered was an awesome little treasure! There is a little pond with swans and a fountain. There is a trail that goes around the pond and cute little bridges... Along the trail are these wonderful swings. Perfect for taking in the relaxing sights and sounds. Michelle enjoyed the scenery and just drank it all in.

Oooo, what's dat? :)

Michelle loved the swings and cried when we took her out...Mommy's such a meanie, but I didn't want her out in the sun too long. Next time, we'll come prepared with sun screen and a hat that ties. She pulls the others right off her head!

Weeeeeee....

Whew, what a great way to end a hectic week!

Hope you get out to enjoy a nice day at the park!

Normal to Crazy in no time....

After the movie, Caleb had some guys over to play some games and spend the night. Caleb's friends are all very nice, well-behaved, and smart....Each of them are in the advanced program at school. One of them is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. All very cool. Despite their academic standing and polite demeaner, things change when it's the last day of school. It is hilarious to me how the night progressed. It all started out calm and quiet....but all that quickly changed as the night progressed. :) One of the first things they wanted to do was have a Gamecube tournament....Mario Superstar Baseball!
They were so zoned into the game...They didn't even notice me take this picture.Once the tournament was over, they did some websurfing on my laptop. They were laughing hysterical at this website, which is a spoof on the Harry Potter characters...It was pretty funny, but everything is hilarious when you are celebrating the last day of school: http://www.potterpuppetpals.com/.With all this video gaming and websurfing, a boy's gotta eat....The staple for any sleepover is pizza....Boys requested Papa John's Pizza...

(Yes, I still have decorations up from Michelle's bday party...embarassing! Ha! We finally took them down last night.)

Then it was on to a rough game of Monopoly, Caleb's favorite. At one point, he and Gareth were chasing each other around. Apparently, Gareth didn't follow through on an offer to sell a piece of property...so Caleb had to take him down! :) The evening just went crazy from there.... who are these guys>?

When we woke up the following morning, the boys were filming a goofy skit...Caleb was Mama Fat. Oh the bribery opportunities I can use this for when he's a teenager....

Baby Michelle tried to escape from all the craziness....
The weather Saturday was gorgeous, so I sent the boys outside to play (didn't get any pictures of that). They invented a game called Mario Ball using a baseball bat and large plastic ball. It was pretty entertaining to watch. Glad the boys had a good time. Now, Mommy needs a break...

DAY AT THE MOVIES, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

This past Friday was Caleb's last day of school. School was let out early, so we thought it'd be fun to get a few kids/parents from Caleb's class together for a Day at the Movies...to watch the new movie Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian that opened this past week. Before the movie, we met in the food court for lunch. A nice group of kids and parents showed up. Caleb was so worried about everyone and made sure that they found their way to us and the movie theater. He barely ate any of his food. After lunch, we made our way to the theater. It wasn't crowded at all...and we had the entire theater to ourselves for the most part. Of course, Caleb wanted to sit by his buddies. He had a good time.

The movie was everything you would expect...kind of dumb but funny. Kids seemed to like it.Here's Caleb and his best bud from school, Gareth, goofing around in front of the new Transformer movie poster. (Now, that is a movie I am looking forward to....) It was fun and nice to have everyone there to enjoy it.
Glad I could share Caleb's last day as an elementary student!!!...
Gulp...Middle school. Bummer they have to grow up so quickly!

Caleb the Builder

Caleb had a final project due for the end of his 5th grade year....House Project. He had to create a floor plan, cost sheet, a house flyer (to advertise the house), draw a map of the area, and design the 3-D model of the house.

Peyton, Caleb's stepsis, is also in his class. Both of them did amazing jobs on their homes....

All the kids did a great job. I was particularly amused by Caleb's best bud, Gareth, who advertised that if you bought the house now, he'd throw in a free piranha. He had snakes and all sorts of wild life all over the outside of his house.

This Friday is Caleb's last day of 5th grade....What a great year this has been?! Caleb had the best teachers....Ms. Engelson and Ms. Caro are the BEST!!!

Friday is a half day...The class is meeting at the mall for lunch and then to watch the movie, Night at the Museum. After all that, Caleb is having a few of his buds spend the night! More on those festivities this weekend....

Handmade Goodness....

Rachel is our family's most talented crafter. She sews and quilts and beads and scrapbooks and knits with such determination, speed, and skill. She's like Charlotte the spider from Charlotte's web. You go to bed and then wake up and BAM! She's knit a sweater or socks or beanie or purse or something else amazing. If you check out her blog, she has to have two slide shows just to display all her fabulous creations. If Rachel were a super hero, knitting would definitely be her super power! See how she can knit without even looking...with her tongue out and everything....AMAZING! Ha! :)ANYWAY...A couple weeks ago, Rachel asked me what she could get for Michelle's birthday. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, I asked if she would knit Michelle a colorful pair of socks. Even though it's about to be summer, the A/C makes it chilly sometimes. I thought one pair of colorful socks would be great. Imagine my glee, when a package arrived with 2 pairs of bright colorful handknit socks!!!!!!! Rachel is a mother of 3 young children.....it's not like she has nothing else to do, but she managed to knit two pairs of the cutest, coolest socks! I told you she has a superpower. The first pair were these cute blue / green ones. The bigger ones are the pair Rachel made me last Christmas. Knowing how I love to match Michelle, Rachel made a cute little pair in the same color. Twinkie Toes....Aren't they gorgeous?! It was so hard to get Michelle to sit long enough to snap this picture, though. When I put them on her, she just crawled around and played in them....

Next were these cute pastel colored ones...They fit perfectly and are so colorful and bright.
Again, it was difficult to get Michelle to sit still enough to snap the picture.

Thank you, Auntie Rachel, I love my socks!!!!

ALL NIGHT LONG

For the past few weeks, Michelle has been sleeping in her crib. It really was not as difficult as we thought to get her out of our bed and into the crib. She used to cry at first, but as soon as you pat the pillow and say "Night-Night" she would put her head down and try to fall asleep. Every night was a little easier. Usually, she woke up at 4am, but she'd quickly fall back to sleep....

For the FIRST time in 15months, I enjoyed 7 hours sleep last night!!!!! Michelle slept from 10:39pm until 6:50am! That is a record for her.....Finally!!!!!!!! A wonderful and rare treat....I woke up very ....

Let's hope for another good night's sleep tonight!

Michelle's Birthday WEEK....

Mama's not Ready

For the past few weeks, I have been working to complete Michelle's first 12 month scrapbook... Let me tell you, it's been hard. It's like something inside me really does not want to finish it! I keep redoing pages, adding pictures...I should have been done with the album by now, but I feel as though at any moment I will just bawl my eyes out. My neighbor friend already went through this and warned me, but I told her that I am really not a cryer. I avoid sad movies and just don't like to get that way.....Well, this entire Month has truly thrown me for a loop. I think it's doubly difficult for me, because Caleb is right there with Michelle in getting bigger and growing up like a stinkin' weed. He's ending 5th grade this year and will be starting middle school...gulp! I have to be honest. Something about this is sooo hard! As amazing it is to celebrate the Michelle's development, changes, and growth, it's just sad for Mike and I both to say goodbye to our sweet little newborn:

So dependent. So small, light, and fragile....Clothes barely fit her. Skinny legs, small thin fingers. Always asleep, rarely a peep. Where did our little baby go?........................................ She's all gone and grown up into a sweet, adorable, hilarious, little toddler....Chubby, heavy, fast as lightening (crawling), holding her own bottle, hair in her face, talking and singing to the top of her lungs, climbing up the stairs, standing, outgrowing all her clothes. Always awake, playing...watching TV or Baby Einstein. WHEW, Mama can't keep up! ............ Please don't get me wrong. We love our little girl and are so thankful to God for her health, incredible growth, and development. For some reason, though, I am just not ready to say goodbye to my little itty bitty baby...Come on, Sweet Michelle, can't you stay little just a few months longer?!!!............Unfortunately, the answer to that is, "Nope...." Sniff sniff....Ok, Mama concedes, but, Baby, don't get upset if I kiss you a hundred thousand times or take a bizzillion pictures of you all along the way!

I absolutely love my sweet girl............Ok, here come the tears...what am I going to do on her wedding day??!

M is for....

M is for MAY...which is turning out to be a wonderful but extremely busy Month. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
M is for Mom and Steve...Last weekend, Mom and Steve came up to visit. We know the REAL reason for their visit was Michelle (Ha!)....but we all had a good time.
We went to our church fundraiser (for Romania Mission's Trip)...Mystery Dinner Theater.

The visit was short but sweet...I hope to make it down with the kiddos in July.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

M is for Mike...His birthday is May 9th and every year his parents come up to visit for his birthday weekend. They thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Michelle. While Mike and I were at work this past Thursday, Mike's parents watch Michelle all day. They really enjoyed keeping her and said she was hilarious and cute all day. I think we may have left her with them for too long, though...because Mike's dad showed Michelle how to climb the stairs...Thanks, Dad! :) Now, we have to get two baby gates.This picture just cracks me up....The "girl" trying to kiss my hubby is Austin our youth assistant pastor! Pray for him. :)
Another classic "MIKE" moment...I was trying to get a picture of him at his birthday dinner...
He's just not into the whole picture thing....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

M is for Michelle....She received a couple of birthday cards. She LOVES them. She was hilarious with the one she received from Grandma and Grandpa Tuttle. She kept looking at it laughing and then "banging" it all over. I tried to salvage it for her scrapbook, but she would not let me take it from her. I think I may have one piece...

For Daddy's birthday, we went to Marietta Square and ate at the Marietta Pizza Company. Michelle LOVED the whole wheat pizza crust. She chomped on that piece for almost 30 mins. It's hard to chew with only two lower teeth! Ha!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

M is for MONSTER...Oh, I mean Caleb. He's a helpful and fun big brother, but at times he can be messy and annoying as a little monster. I love my Caleb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

M is for Mother's Day...Mike decided to take me to the paint your own pottery place in Marietta Square (it was all his idea! Yay!). He wanted to make a plate with Michelle's little hand print. It turned out so cute. I need to upload the video of that! Hilarious...
Matching on Mother's Day....I am really starting to like the color green.

My kids....

M is for MORE....There is a lot more to post, but one thing I could use MORE of is time!!!! When I have MORE time, I will post more on Michelle's upcoming birthday festivities. Believe it or not, we already started... :)

STOP AND STAIR

Is it my imagination or extreme case of sleep deprivation....? How is it possible that in such a short time our baby girl has gone from this...

to this....

If things keep up...she'll be graduated from high school and off to college tomorrow!!!!! OH MY, I'm not ready for her to be one year old yet!!!!!!

The Kahue-side

Michelle was watching Baby Einstein so intently yesterday....she is definitely part of the Kahue side of the family!

NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY

This past Saturday, a group of us Moms escaped our homes, husbands, and kids for a much-needed break to fellowship, feast, scrapbook, and catch up on some much needed "Mommy" time.

When I arrived, I was intrigued by the number of ladies who brought their laptops to digital scrapbook and organize their pictures on computer. Slowly, all the lovely papers, stickers, and embellishments that clutter our craft closets and bags are being replaced by digital versions. We were given live demos on the cool, colorful features available electronically. I am definitely interested in moving towards a digital version....but I still love traditional scrapbooking.

Here I am indulging on my favorite part.....the FOOD. Very yummy. It was so fun joking around and helping my good friend, Katrina, with her book. We were cutting up and laughing louder than anyone else there...It was a pretty quiet group otherwise.

Although we enjoyed working on our albums and the food, the best part was getting away and having some time to visit with other Moms...I am so glad I was able to go and look forward to the next one.

I am frazzled...but Thank you, Lord!

This morning was one of THOSE mornings...Horrible. After a horrible 3 hour night of sleep (due to a fussy baby), I slept straight through my alarm and woke up in a fright. OMG, over an hour late!...I have never picked out an outfit for work as quickly as this morning. My hair's a mess (but thankfully, I got it to stop sticking up like it does when I first wake up). Thankfully, I have a spare toothbrush, tooth paste, and deodorant at work! Mike woke up in the midst of my panic to say that he would take care of Michelle....Thank God for Mike!

Caleb also got ready in record time and even poured his own bowl of cereal. Unfortunately, on our way down the driveway...it slid over and landed on the floor of my car!!!! Reverse back up the driveway to get him a poptart and some apple slices to eat for breakfast.

Today is his CRCT (state testing), so he needed something for breakfast! As I drove down the road to his school beating myself up for being late on an important morning, not having a good breakfast for Caleb--being a horrible mom, etc etc....a text message came in from one of my Fusion girls:

"Life can be hard but if through the hard times you remember why you are living, and pray for God to help you through the day, it will turn out...."

:

It's been months since I received a random texts....and I have never received one from this particular girl. She and I spoke a bit last night about a problem she was having. Her timing was remarkable and truly stopped me in my tracks (not literally since I had to rush to get to Caleb's school...but mentally)..It just snapped me out of the funk I was about to go into...Thank you, God, for sending me this text! It didn't change my crazy day around...Caleb was still tardy and barely made it to his test, but it sure changed my attitude! I love it when God does stuff like this to me!

When Mommy's away...Baby will play!

While I was working from home today, I received a text message and an adorable picture from my friend, Katrina (the sweet neighbor/friend who watches Michelle). Her text read, "The weather is gorgeous. We are playing outside." I didn't dare look out my back window or else I would not have gotten as much done as I did today. I was so tempted to join them for a nice break outside...but I waited til I was done with work. Then, I grabbed my camera and snapped some sweet pics of my little Munchkin playing outside with her little friend Katheryn (Katrina's daughter).
Our wonderful Bermuda grass is not as green as the fescue at Grandpa and Grandma Tuttle's in North Carolina...but that didn't stop Michelle from crawling around. Right about the time I stopped by, Michelle was tired from playing and ready for a nap....

She was asleep in her carseat before I even got to our house...All that fun wore my little Munchkin out. She ended up sleeping for almost 2 hours! Must be nice to be a baby...

Mother / Son Date Night

This past Saturday, I found someone to watch Michelle...Mike enjoyed some quiet time. Caleb and I went out for a "date" night. With our busy schedules and a new baby sis, Caleb and I haven't had a chance to bond. We decided to spend some time together. We started the evening with a delicious steak dinner at Outback Steakhouse. We played around with the camera...

After dinner, we were stuffed and decided to walk it off in the mall. Caleb and I recently enjoyed the movie The Tale of Desperaux, so we looked for the book in Borders...

Caleb was distracted by another "spooky" book. :)We started reading the book, Tale of Desperaux and can't put it down. At the rate we are reading it, we should be done with it by the end of the week! So far, we love the book, but we both like the movie version better...

The grand finale of the evening was a jump on the mall's "Mini Bungi Jump." It looked so fun and of course, Caleb LOVED it.

Caleb gives the evening a big "Thumbs Up!"

Caleb and I had a blast.... It was so fun!
I just love my Caleb... I have to take advantage of this time while I can!

My Little Chickadee

Michelle loves to eat now days...Her faves are Gerber Garden Veggies with Pasta or Garden Medley (green), Baby puffs (sweet potato flavor), and Ritz Crackers. She loves canned green beans, peas, bananas, and strawberries. She likes just about any veggie baby food, but she cannot stand any fruit ones. I guess they are too sweet or something. Tonight, as I fed her, she was hilarious...Every time I tried to feed her a spoonful, she would open her mouth, like a little bird. Oh, my sweet little chickadee!

So Many Pictures...So little Time to Blog :)

Below is a slide show of all pictures from our Easter travels. On our way up to North Carolina to visit the Tuttles, we made a few quick stops to see more family! We met up with the Kahues for a very quick cup of coffee and snack at Atlanta Bread company in Greenville. Thanks for the Ant Lions, Gammy. Not sure they'll last, tho. It's not moving! :( Then, we stopped for dinner in Charlotte to visit with Ashley, Amy, and Ashley's baby Noah for dinner at PF Chang's. Ashley and Amy just love their Uncle Mike. Babies, Noah and Michelle, added some sweet spice to the PF Chang atmosphere. They were chatting and playing, spilling things all over...We kept the PF Chang wait staff on their toes! Noah and Michelle were so cute together. At one point, Michelle gave Noah a love pat...Noah didn't like that! It was so nice to get to stop to cut up the long drive up. The whole weekend was lovely...Great to see the Tuttle family.

Happy Easter!

Easter is by far one, if not THE, favorite holiday of mine. I love Spring...I love sunshine and colorful dresses. I just love the celebration of Easter and what it all represents. "Jesus is alive, He is alive indeed!"... My camera was working over time this past weekend. What can I say, I have adorable kids! :)

We celebrated Michelle's first Easter in N. Carolina.... What a great trip! We were able to see all of Mike's family. Nothing like a baby to draw a big crowd...well, that and Grandma Tuttle's amazing cooking!!Grandma and Grandpa Tuttle enjoyed visiting with the grandkids!
Saturday was Grandpa's birthday, so we went out for dinner. Michelle got all dolled up for the occasion. :)

Shhhhh...Sleeping Beauty!

With little Miss Roly Poly crawling and rolling around everywhere, we were worried about her falling off the bed during naps. We set up a nice little sleeping area for Michelle. She slept so sweetly in there. Unfortunately, we could not get her to sleep there all night...We slept pretty snuggly in the guest room queen sized bed.
Mike's sister, Donna, found an Easter Egg Hunt at a local YWCA. They had popcorn, sno-cones, and inflatable jumpy things. Caleb had two sno-cones!
Out of the 12,000 eggs that were deposited that day, Little Miss Michelle found ONE egg. It was so funny. As Mike bent over for her to get it, a little boy ran up to grab it. Mike quickly told him, "No, no...move on, that's hers." He was gone! They had the eggs sectioned off by age...

"Yay, look at my egg!"
Caleb and Donna were off in his section...He cleaned up and scooped up 22 eggs. The weather was nice and sunny but a bit windy.

Here we are just after church...We clean up pretty good, don't we?! Ha! Michelle was fascinated by all the green grass....she just sat and admired it at first. Then, in a flash she was crawling all over the place!
I was thrilled to find Michelle an adorable easter dress that matched mine. I have this crazy obsession of matching my sweet little fashion "accessory" to my clothing...

Big Brother loves his little sis....

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter Celebration....Happy Spring!

Michelle

Happy Birthday, Opa!

This past weekend, the kids and I headed up to Lake Hartwell to visit Opa and Oma. April the 3rd was Opa's birthday. Since my cooking is such a rare delight (ha, ha!), I thought I'd delight Opa with one of my culinary treats...Chicken Divan (minus the cheese, as Opa hates melted cheese in any dish). The dinner turned out very delicious. Opa had two large plates. Like a fine wine, Opa's sense of humor seems to get better with age....He hasn't lost any of his spunk for pranks! While we were eating our dessert for breakfast (Strawberry shortcake), he gave Caleb a Cool Whip facial. Ha!

Michelle was in heaven in Hartwell....She had free reign to crawl and climb everywhere...and boy, did she get around. Her favorite hang outs were the dishwasher....

and this cabinet. She loved to "eat" the knobs....

Michelle enjoyed a family treat...a nice swing with Oma. This swing has been around for years. All of us kids have drunk in the serenity of Hartwell on the lap of Oma while on this swing.

Caleb enjoyed a nice chat with Oma.....he gave Oma alot to listen to. :)

Caleb and Opa took a stroll to the mailbox. Opa hurt his knee a while back, and the doctor instructed him to get a stroll in as often as possible. At first, Opa wasn't sure if Caleb would want to walk with him, because he said he has to walk so slow...Caleb didn't mind at all and wanted to be sure Opa had company. It was sweet to see them chatting as they walked down the driveway.

One of the first requests from Caleb was for Oma's famous crepes....
Some kids are so spoiled....Ha!

Even Michelle loved them. Although, she had more on her than in her...

We all had a wonderful visit...Opa's favorite part was seeing how Michelle has changed and how she is crawling around. The last time Opa and Oma saw Michelle was for New Year's. They were amazed at how big she was and how much she was getting around.
I see her every day, and I am still amazed. :) What a nice weekend....

Watch me Go!

Here's a quick video of Michelle scooting around. She's so quick she almost tripped on her hands.

She came to where I was sitting and was so cute..."Attacking" me with sweetness.

Watch out...she's gonna getcha! Ha!

Everything Goes in the Mouth

She's even had that large rattle in her mouth! .... Babies! :)

Just What the Doctor Ordered....

These are my "weapons" to fight and conquer the horrible bacteria that is causing a horrible cough and cold. I was beginning to feel conquered and destroyed by a respiratory infection. However, after visiting the doc today, I felt very empowered and anxious to begin an attack on this illness...I armed myself with all sorts of ammo. In a few days, I should have the bacteria kicked and feeling like my ole' self again. Bacteria live in fear!!!!

Fusion Rox

Mike and I are involved in a teen ministry at church called, Fusion. We meet on Wednesday nights. This past month, our groups have had to do some funky challenges for points. Mike's crew is winning so far (can you believe that!!!?) He has some pretty crazy dude's in his group. We have fun bonding with the teens and sharing their journey. It's a rough world out there. It's good for them to have a safe and fun place to come to and learn the importance of developing a relationship with God and each other.