Take me out to the ball game!

Trevor's school offered $5 per ticket to the St. Louis Cardinals game. $10 date? Why yes, I think we will!
We decided to get a few extra and take our friends the Elders out. (Maybe to make up for that lip reading episode a few weeks ago?)
And our friends Tristan, Tiffany, Mindy, and Jerry got to hang with us too.
We didn't win, but it was close those last two innings. So close that we actually paid attention! I was just happy to get out of the house and child free for a while. We had a blast. The best part of the night was on the walk back to the car, we spotted a tow truck with the tow part sticking way up. He was caught under a stop light and after much trying, finally got in under (after some damage to his truck AND the stop light). But only 10 feet in front of the light was the overpass for the train. And there was no way he was making it under that. It got even better when two drunk guys decided to *help* and tried to direct traffic. I thought the one man was going to get hit by a car. Several times.

Mikey's Numero Uno

Mikey turned one in April. I know, I know, it's a little late. But here you go anyway!

Mikey was extremely enjoyable to watch. We tried to get a "before" picture of the cake with him in the background, but he clawed at it immediately. I'm not even sure he gave us time to sing to him! He loved it. And we love him.





Mikey has been the most enjoyable kid. We've been so blessed to have him for this past year! He's always happy and always smiling. He has been a bright ray of sunshine! He is a mama's boy, and I don't mind. He said "Mom" before he said "Dad." After those two, his first word was "Boo!" He loves playing peek-a-boo and he loves to scare us too. So it's been a very useful word to him. He also says dog, ball, that, no, tickle, and bye. If he sees anyone at all kiss, you can bet he'll be puckering up immediately and coming to give you a big wet one. And I mean wet. He's a huge tease. He knows what to do when you tell him to spank Daddy. Like any brother, his favorite person to tease is his sister. He loves Allie and finds nearly everything she does hilarious. They are best friends. Happy Birthday, little man. We love you more than anything!

A bit of Wisdom

In May, we headed down to my best friend Katie's (the one who is responsible for Trevor and I meeting) house for a week. Mostly we went so her dad could remove my wisdom teeth, but also for a little r&r. It was exactly what we needed (aside from all the pain in my head). Katie was living with her parents on their horse farm while her husband was deployed. Allie loved helping feed the horses in the morning. They also have chickens that she loved to gather eggs from. Along with that, they have a bunch of dogs that run around the property and in the house. I mostly slept and healed, so Trevor had both of the kids. Allie was in heaven! Animals, no mom, and all dad. What more could she want? One morning, Katie ran in all excited. A horse just had a baby! We rushed to the barn to find the new little one. We missed the actual birth by 15 or 20 minutes, but the umbilical cord was still attached and we got to witness her first steps. That was awfully exciting. I love the miracle of new life!

Katie's family has these little trucks for farm work. Allie loved to ride along and help. Or, when the day's work was through, Trevor and her would go on an evening ride through the country. She really loved it. I have a strong feeling Trevor enjoyed it as well.

Trevor found a modeling opportunity with the new spring flowers. And Allie loves to pose. (Remember, I was down for the count, so Allie's hair didn't get done for the entire week. Poor thing hates it in her face.)


Allie and Trevor got to ride horses.


Mikey loved having all those dogs around. Loved it. Especially the dog in this video. He was just the right height and LOVED to lick. When dogs go to lick Mikey, he opens his mouth as wide as possible. It's pretty gross.

Notice in the video Mikey's long locks. We cut them while we were down there. He's such a handsome little man. He loved the walker and the wide expanse of hardwood floors in that house. He even took his first steps while we were down there as well. We were there for mother's day. Katie got her mom this hammock. It was a popular spot for us. The kids were being SO cute with their little bodies laying next to each other, playing and giggling. I ran to get the camera, but the second they saw it they started trying to escape. I made them lay back down, and this is what we got. So much for that moment. Makes me laugh anyway.


That little vacation really wore them out.

The Sculpture Park

We took a day to walk around the sculpture park near us. It was really neat and a lot of fun. I didn't have my camera out much, but here's a few of the sights.Allie has been so obsessed with "happy saces" that this one made her giggle incessantly.

This sculpture was huge! It's made from old oil tankers. If you look closely, there are two men at the bottom, just for reference to size.
My favorite work of art.

The Botanical Gardens

I was surprised to see that the botanical gardens weren't just plants. They had a really fun children's area with slides, caves, tree houses, boats, bridges, and all sorts of fun hands on activities. One that the girls loved was a little replica of how the panama canal works. They loved playing in the water and making the boat go in and out. We didn't get to spend much time in the children's area because several schools were there on field trips so the girls were getting lost and trampled a lot. But we'll definitely be back.

All throughout the gardens, there were different types of huts the kids could play in. I wish I would've gotten some pictures. I hardly got my camera out. Pictured below is a hedge maze. Someday I'd love to be in one I can't see out of, but it was a lot of fun for the toddlers.

All around the hedge maze was this fun little fountain. The girls got a kick out of it. There was one arc that was lower than the rest, so if you didn't watch it, you'd get hit in the face. I wonder if they did that on purpose just for a laugh?

Mikey mostly enjoyed the fine dining.
Part of the Japanese Gardens. It was much more beautiful than this picture lets on.

Mikey Can Walk This Earth

First, it started with his dinosaur he got from Grandma and Grandpa for his first birthday. He loves it and uses it all the time.

Next came some help from Daddy and Allie. But mostly Allie, I'm sure. They loved walking around like this. (I'm not so sure Mikey did. Allie tends to drag him around more. She seems so eager to get him walking.)
Next, he decided to finally take the big leap. Trevor and I had been trying to get him to take his first steps for weeks and he refused. If he saw us get a few feet apart and "assume the position," he'd automatically get jelly legs and flop to the ground. There was no way we were going to make him and he meant it. One day at our friend Alpha's house on May 4th, I was sitting on the floor and he had pulled himself up on an end table. I wasn't paying any attention to him, but suddenly he started walking towards me. I tried to show Trevor, but Mikey would get so excited that he'd stiffen up his whole body and fall over. It was a few days before Trev got to see.

This was Mikey today. One month and two days after first steps. He loves to practice. Loves it. He loves going back and forth between Trevor and I. He doesn't love going between the couch and I as much, but he'll do it anyway.

Trouble maker

Mikey is so very mobile. But he sure gets into a lot! He got himself wedged between Allie's bed and her rail. He wasn't very happy about it.

He also really likes the bathroom. At least the toilet lid was down or it could've been much worse.
Yep. Into everything.

But how could I possibly get mad at a face like this?

Tired boy

He fell asleep putting food in his mouth. Isn't he so sweet?

Jason's House

In March, the kids and I went to Utah for a few weeks. We had such a blast seeing everyone. First stop was Uncle Jason's house. Allie took to Jason immediately. The kids were always fighting over his lap. I love these four. A lot.
We have such decisions to make. Trevor and I don't love Utah the most of the places we've lived. We don't want to raise our kids there, but watching Allie and Mikey enjoy their cousins and bask in all of their grandparents' attentions and affections made me seriously rethink our permanent home possibilities. We still have a few years to decide, but we'll have fun where we are in the meantime!