Happy Birthday, Michael!

I've got a whole lot to catch up on because I'm a slacker, but I have to get this post up tonight, because we're leaving tomorrow for a week-long road trip that I'm going to have to post about when I get back!  So, before I get too far behind in our lives, here's a catch up since Easter:

I'm trying to do more slightly educational things with Michael, like playing with play-doh to work on dexterity and problem solving and whatnot (and have fun, of course).  I made some play-doh and let Michael do as he would with it.  He mostly wanted to stab it with a fork and knife, so I had fun with the cookie cutters so he could stab my creations:

 Michael also got another haircut.  His seventh real haircut, actually.  This kid's hair grows like a weed.  He'll thank us eventually, even if he despises the hair clippers.  Here's the beloved "before" picture where I tried to distract him with the Wii:

And here's the "after," where he is now more than willing to play with the wii-mote and eat his lollipop (which he refused during the haircut but remembered to ask for as soon as he was done screaming):

 Michael had his first (and hopefully last) hour-long tantrum.  I had a hard time not laughing at him as he kicked and threw things to try to get a reaction out of me.  Instead, I grabbed the camera!:

This probably isn't worth posting about because it isn't about Michael, but I got into a fender-bender:

I was making a left turn out of a parking lot and the people going past me got a red light.  A nice, red truck gave me room to make my turn and waved me on (in what I now know insurance claims refer to as "the wave of death"- delightful) and I made my left while watching the right to make sure no one was coming.  Another truck was driving up on the other side of the red truck, intending to make a left at the light and we didn't see each other in time to avoid a collision.  Thankfully, we were both going very slowly and the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Also, Michael barely blinked at the crash and was just ecstatic we were parked next to a truck for so long while we waited for the police to arrive ("Truck! Truck! Truck!").  No one was hurt, but it did make me a bit skiddish for a while.  I've never hit another car before this.  The crunching sound is absolutely awful!

Here's a picture of the truck we hit.  It's pretty perfect because the glare blocks the license plate:

Of course, the big news for this post is that Michael turned TWO!!!  Happy (late) Birthday, Michael!:

He is such a big boy, but it's so hard to believe that I've been a mom for over two years now.
Grandma Veronin was in town for Women's Conference and was able to celebrate with us a day early and help Jeff put together Michael's new tricycle:

On the 29th, Michael's actual birthday and Derek's farewell, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Day's where Michael wasted no time turning two.  He slipped while climbing the metal ladder of the swing set and smacked his face into one of the bars, giving himself an impressive black eye and bruised cheek.  It doesn't look so bad here, since you can't really see the swelling:

 The next day, though, the bruise started to show:

It looked really bad before it started to noticeably fade:

It didn't seem to bother him at all after the first day, but it looked so terrible.  Thankfully, most of the people who commented on it also asked, "He's two, right?"  

There was no damage to his eye, cheekbone, or teeth, and I haven't noticed anything different brain-wise, so I'm hopeful.  I'm really grateful it wasn't worse.  

I'm really excited for our road trip tomorrow, but Michael and I are going to miss Derek going into the MTC (he's going to Sweden, by the way).  I'm really glad we got to see him this last weekend, though, so I could get a picture of him and Michael before he left.  We won't see him again for another two years!  

Good luck, Derek!  We love you and hope everything goes well for you in Sweden!

Easter!

We actually celebrated Easter a week early and had our egg hunt conference weekend. I hid eggs for my sisters, Jeff hid eggs for me, and we all hid Michael's. There were about 50 eggs and 4 bunnies hidden in my small downstairs. We had a lot of fun:

Michael's favorite part was playing with the Easter eggs. He wasn't as interested as I had hoped in the egg hunt. He did eventually figure out that there was candy in them and if he found more he'd get more candy, but he preferred to find an egg, eat the candy (very slowly), and play with the egg for a while before hunting again:

I tried to dress Michael up for our ward Easter party to make it a little more festive. He was less than pleased. At least I got a few pictures before I took it off him:

Like I said, it was a lot of fun.

Sisters

Life is still pretty much taken by school and respective jobs, but lately it is not unusual to find my little sisters, Katie and Amy, over for food or hanging out. We'll watch tv and play on our phones and ipads and pretty much just enjoy each other's company:

Michael loves the extra attention he gets as they compete to be Favorite Aunt.

I really like having my sisters over so much, partly because I love cooking for more than 2 people (and a half? Michael doesn't really count) and I usually don't have to deal with left overs when they join us:

Michael is, of course, still cute. And a pill. He's gotten into the "tantrum phase" and we're working on how to deal with it and him. Timeouts seem to be making an impact, thankfully, but sometimes my patience wears a little thin and I end up making his timeout a bit longer than the recommended 1-minute-per-year. Michael is very good about staying in his chair until the timer beeps, though, and even cheers when he hears it. He's such a sweet boy and we sure do love him.

Here he is "loving" on poor Sadie:

And pushing Minnie in the baby swing:

A Trip to the Farm

I don't get to see my parents as often as I'd like, so when Jeff suggested Michael and I fly out to CO for my mom's birthday I jumped at the chance. A month later. But still. I brought her gifts and it was great.

We really did have a great time. The flight out was a lot better than it should have been with a packed puddle-jumper plane and Michael sitting on my lap the whole time. People actually commented to me afterwards how surprisingly good he was (I noticed they didn't mention how worried they were when they saw us board, but I caught it). Michael played with the window and reading lights the whole time, with the occasional ipad intervention to keep the guy sitting next to us from snapping.

My Dad and his driver waited for our flight (since my Dad had just flown in too) and we had a fun drive in a taxi. Michael enjoyed the car-seats-aren't-mandatory rule for public transportation and spent the ride trying to get to the doors. When we pulled up to my parent's house, Michael remembered that this is where the chickens live! and bawked for the next 15 minutes. He couldn't even stop long enough to greet Grandma properly. Thankfully, she thought it was hilarious and adorable.

We went out to see the chickens first thing the next morning:

It was a very relaxing visit. I got to make a lot of fires, watch Highlander, and just hang out with family. I got a lot of good quality time in with my Mom, which I loved.

I also got to babysit a bit, during which I fed children cupcakes and let them watch Signing Time on the ipad:

Michael got to spend some quality time with his Grandma Veronin and tiny aunt and uncle:

And we all had a great time making pretzels (yes, that is a screwdriver):

Michael's favorite thing was playing with Ki and Tess. He loves following them around and they seem to really like having a duckling (even if he did get in the way sometimes). They were very good to let him join in with whatever they were doing, be it playing outside in the courtyard:

Or jumping on the mini-trampoline; climbing onto the table; collapsing onto the couch, laughing hysterically; only to get up and do it over and over again:

That was the best game ever, in Michael's opinion:

Here are some more pictures of Michael in the courtyard, learning to shovel snow and loving the heck out of it:

(I interrupted:)

Oh, and Michael made a new friend while we were there. He already knew her name, cos I'm an awesome Mom like that, and carried her around talking to her and saying "Minnie! Minnie!" Thanks Mom and Tess for letting him keep her:

Once again, the plane ride home was better than I expected it to be. Michael had a bit of freedom since the very nice ticket lady opened the seat next to us and he got the window all to himself, but he spent a lot of time trying to climb over me to the isle. I had to distract him with cookies and the ipad and showing Minnie what was outside the window (which he would then take over). Still, no screaming = great flight.

Sadly, the next time we fly, he's not going to be free. On the other hand, at least I don't have to worry about him kicking the poor soul who gets stuck sitting next to us since I will have paid for both seats. Whoo hoo?

It was great to get home again. Michael was very happy to see his Daddy in person (we tried Skyping and Michael wasn't too interested) and Daddy was happy to have us home again, but happy to have had a break of his own. It was a great vacation all around.

I'm Really Proud of my Clever Reference at the End...

Jeff and I are pretty much always occupied with work and school, leaving only Michael's antics worth posting about.

Michael is adorable. Probably the most adorable boy ever. Sure, we're biased, but not as much as you might think. Just today, I'd been doing laundry, which means I took down the gate to the laundry room that protects the cat food. After a few thwarted attempts to get to their dish, Michael succeeded in sneaking past me. I heard him messing around in the cat food and ran in saying "No no!" He gave me a surprised look and held up his stuffed cat babbling and saying "Mow mow mow," pointing at the cat food. He wasn't playing in the food. His cat was eating it. Obviously.

The other day, we went to the aquarium and, as usual, spent most of our time at the penguin exhibit. This time, though, Michael ran up to the glass and started "bawking" at them, believing them to be chickens. Of course, he stopped as soon as I got the camera ready, but I still got some cute footage:

The rest of my pictures are just cute without real stories.

Here's one with Michael playing with the salad spinner:

He likes to sit in the fridge and rearrange the door items:

Tantrum after throwing dinner all over the floor:

He has incredibly ticklish thighs:

Playing with his new sunglasses:

(sorry for the fuzzy picture, but it's still adorable)

Jeff noticed him sleeping like this the other night. I'm glad he can still sleep through camera flashes:

And lounging at his aunt's apartment watching Signing Time:

Lastly, Michael really likes eating slices of bread. But, unlike normal children, his favorite part is the crust. At least we don't have to worry about earthquakes around here... (Anyone? Anyone?):

Edit: The reference was Bill Nye. Richie didn't eat his crusts:

Busy, Busy, Busy

Work and school have completely taken over our lives. I spend my days with Michael, doing homework when he naps and after he goes to bed. Jeff goes to class Mondays and Wednesdays, staying after to do his homework, and working late every other day to make up for the hours he misses for school.

We had my little sisters over for the Superbowl. It was a lot of fun to hang out and we all ate too much food.

Michael is as cute as ever, if not cuter. He's at a very fun stage where he babbles at anyone who will listen and loves being the center of attention. Everything is a truck (even ceiling fans) and he signs at random things while making a honk-like noise.

I dug out his old walker for him to play with while I cleaned out a closet, only to have him climb in and unable to get out. He got pretty mad, especially when I ran to get the camera instead of pulling him out immediately:

He is hilarious and gets into everything:

The cats are especially unhappy about his new found curiosity and have found there are very few places they can call their own now:

Bath time is a blast. Michael is having more fun playing with his toys and tries to stick his duck to his belly with the suction from the squeaker on the bottom:

He also thinks the shower curtain is pretty dang cool. He can see me through it, but it's still solid enough to play peek-a-boo with:

Lastly, Michael has learned to take pictures with "his" camera. I think the results are hilarious, but we do get mostly up-the-nose shots: