Happy First Birthday, Michael: Part One

It was a wonderful whirlwind weekend in Atlanta, centered around Michael's birthday party. We appreciated seeing our friends and family so much, feeling their love and missing them even more than usual!
Michael had a fabulous time!

The Ponds renovated their backyard, and it was the perfect spot for our party.

We had both a beautiful birthday cake and adorable matching cupcakes.

Even with all those amazing toys, Michael loved the singing card from his great-Grandmother and great-Grandfather the best. The battery is running out right now, so the song is getting slower and slower!

Boys enjoying the outdoor fireplace at night.

We can't wait to celebrate all over again with our second family in Illinois this coming weekend! And this party doesn't necessitate over 20 hours of driving!

Lots of Birthdays!

My baby will be one-year old this Friday!

We are looking forward to both his Atlanta and his Illinois birthday celebrations.

But to gear up for them, we got to go to Brendan's two-year birthday party this past weekend. There, Michael got to see what it's like to be a big boy.

He even helped Brendan open his birthday presents as practice for his own parties next week.

Then, he sampled from several of Brendan's new toys to see what he liked best.

Beth even taught him how to use a toaster and a blender!

He and Brendan had a great time (and I'm not sure who had the better time).

His favorite toy, of course, was the balloon. Where'd everybody go?

We can't wait to travel to Atlanta on Thursday night; it's been much too long. In the meantime, we're enjoying beautiful spring weather, lots of walks, bike rides, and park outings while JD and I try to get a bit of work in there somewhere!

Quite A Week

The week had been going well until, as most of you know, someone threw a brick through our front window at 10pm on Wednesday night. It scared us badly and woke Michael, who had been fighting a fever for three days. Neither JD nor I slept well the rest of the night, even after the police came and assured us that they would patrol the area for the next 24 hours. Our neighbor discovered the next day that the brick had come from his flower bed, so some kid probably just picked it up and threw it at the next house. It is unlikely that, as many of you may believe, a student is angry at me. :) I don't know why you could think so!

It was a huge headache, but a wonderful glass company in town fixed it the very next day! We didn't even have to put up plywood or any other unsightly material.

On Friday, we headed to Michigan to spend some time with the Batsons. They were also entertaining cousins from Kim's side of the family, and these cousins have a 2 year-old, Declann, with whom Michael became fast friends.

Now we're settled back in and ready for a quieter week. No trips, no vandalism, ahhhh. We'll see how long it stays quiet around here!

Summer has begun! It's finally warm and beautiful, classes are over, and grades are submitted. It's going to be a great summer too. We have at least one trip planned a month with lots of time spent outside at the park for our weekly duties. Of course, I also need to write a dissertation. Michael has been enjoying the outdoors recently!

And happy Mother's Day to all those moms and moms-to-be we know! It sure is a blessing.

Learning New Things

Every now and then, things settle down for a bit, but the past couple of weeks has not been one of those times. Naps are changing schedule, teeth are coming in, JD's had to work some weekends, I've traveled with friends, Michael's learning to swim and to walk, and school has just ended for the semester. I'm suprised we're doing as well as we are!

It was hard to get good pictures of Michael's first swim lesson last week, but I'll try again tomorrow night. He did so well getting dunked under water, paddling, pushing off the side, and having fun with his dad!

But honestly, my favorite nights are the ones when we sit around and watch TV, playing with Michael. That's the best and where most of my best pictures come from.

"Wait, you want to keep the magazines in HERE?"

Great-grandpa's cowboy hat!

Coasters are totally the best toys EVER.

Hmmm, I wonder what Gizmo is doing outside....

Until next week! Whew.