Michael Turns Two

We traveled to Atlanta again this year for Memorial Day, otherwise known around here as Michael's Birthday Weekend. Let's just say that Michael is not easy to travel with right now, but even with little sleep and patience, we managed to have some great adventures. We explored Mom's garden, for example.

Michael discovered the joys of corn on the cob. Yum!

And he discovered Pops's mustache!

On Friday morning, we visited Michele and her two-month old baby girl, Avery. It brought back some memories.

We then spent part of the day on the lake with Stephen, Lindsey, Shiloh, and Dirk. Michael wasn't sure about the water, but he liked the sand.

He particularly loved the train table in the Ponds' basement, however. He would have stayed down there for the whole trip if we had let him.

Okay, he may have emerged occassionally to ride the train too.

Saturday morning, we headed down to Stone Mountain Park for Michael's birthday party. It was very hot, but that couldn't keep us from riding a real train.

It was so hot that the cake melted a bit, but no one minded.

We also had a chance to visit Gibb's Gardens on Monday morning. What a beautiful place!

We are now back at home working on getting our sleeping schedule right again. We're also gearing up for Part Two of Michael Turns Two this weekend with the Illinois birthday party. Stayed tuned!

This really just sums it all up.

Summer Time At Last!

 It sure is easy to get back into summer mode. I don't miss classes a single bit when I get to hang out with Michael all day and have fun outdoor adventures! I've put up a few pictures of Michael with his friends lately because they sure are hilarious together--like when Michael "feeds" Issac from Issac's sippy cup. This happens weekly!

 Thanks to Randi and Sean's bargin hunting, Michael got a desk at which he loves to color.

 Issac got a picnic table, at which the boys also love to color.

 The Farmer's Market started back up this past weekend, hooray! At the Market was parked a city bus for people to check out, which Michael and Miles happily did. Look at those cuties ready to go!

 Michael even got to drive, which is a bit scary.

 The boys, out on the town.

 Michael also scored a balloon sword at the Market that all the adults had to keep swatting out of their faces for the rest of the morning. Here, the group is listening to a great blue grass band.

 And, we've been to the Zoo again. We might need to consider getting a season pass. Issac kept trying to climb over the fence to join the tortoise, which inspired Michael to try the same.

John David had to be gone Monday night for work, and we missed him as usual. But now the family's back together and planning for our annual Memorial Day trip to Atlanta next week. Can you believe that Michael's going to be two years old in 11 days?!

Gigi's Visit

We used to have long conversations about what to call each of the grandparents, but it ended up coming down to what Michael is capable of saying. So, we have "Gigi" and "Tommy" for my mom and dad and "Mimi" and "Papa" for JD's parents. Who knows though; it could all change as he gets older! Mom came to stay with Michael and me last week while JD was at a meeting in Chicago. It was so much fun spending time together and watching her get to know Michael all over again since we hadn't seen each other since Christmas. We had fun all over town, like at the Miller Park Zoo.

 Mom also got Michael a sand box and a slide so that he can have lots of fun right at our house.

 And she somehow taught him how to blow bubbles! Now he's always wanting to blow bubbles.

It was such a wonderful week, even though JD was gone. We sure do miss our family. And Mom really appreciated all our friends up here wanting to say hi to her; she got to see lots of people that we talk about all the time--Michael's Illinois family! Thanks, Mom, for coming to visit!