First Sleigh Ride

Clearly there is not enough snow to have a real sleigh ride yet, but we took a stab at a short ride around the yard this weekend.

Attack of the bears!

We took a trip to the Gaylord house this past weekend and Joe had fun checking out the tree and the Christmas bears. They in turn had fun going after Joe!

Early Christmas

My family Christmas Party was on December 6th and Joe got to meet Santa and open some presents. He was intrigued by Santa's beard. He wanted the bow more than doing anything to rip up the paper up. Christmas day should be fun!

Late Thanksgiving!

Better late than never! This was Thanksgiving morning after we watched a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

Help me Mom!!!!!

Joe plays in his crib each morning while I finish getting ready, so that I don't have to worry about him crawling around the house. This morning I walked in to get him ready and this is what I was greeted with.... I actually laughed out loud. The poor boy got his legs caught in the crib rails and couldn't figure out how to pull himself out. You can't see it, but he is smiling!

First snow!

Hard to tell it is actually still snowing here, but we bundled Joe up in his snowsuit and took him outside for the first snow of the season. Considering he was born on the coldest day of the year, we thought he would enjoy the snow - and he certainly did! However the feat of dressing him to go outside is going to exhaust me!!!

Party with the girls

Joe and I spent the night with my family last weekend and the little man got a night full of girl stuff! After visiting with Grandpa John, Uncle Chris, Aunt Cheryl and cousins, we went to great-grandma Laske's to hang out with my cousin Terry, her girls, cousin Riley Lynn, and grandma Lori. Joe was dancing, posing with the girls and most importantly, inspecting the inside of the end table to make sure everything was in tip-top shape!

Hard at work

It is my fault that Joe is so interested in the computer, since he sees me working on it ALL THE TIME!!!! But none the less, he wants to be working as well. We may need to invest in his own computer for "work" so that I don't lose my entire work history. :-)

Halloween for our Monkey

Well, our little monkey enjoyed every aspect of Halloween since he got to be outside and people watch all night long! He also got in good with Coach Izzo's wife (a big deal for us Spartan fans!). The banana, courtesy of Emily and Cathy, was the finishing touch.

Go Spartans and Monkey Time!

We went to my dad's church for their Harvest Festival and did some "trunk or treating". Joe was a monkey. And of course we had to celebrate the MSU victory!!!!

Michigan Fall

These were taken outside of our Gaylord house on Mike's Birthday, October 18. The colors were already past peak, but we were able to get a few good pictures. And of course, Joe was warming up for MSU vs. UM with his Spartan sweatshirt- sadly Ohio State gave us a whooping.

Mohawks!!!!

Again- cannot get my act together to get posts up in a timely fashion. This was a couple weeks ago when Joe was still using his "little" tub. He has learned how to climb out and so now he is in the big boy tub. He loved his shampoo Mohawk!!

It's Laundry Time........

Shockingly I was able to get caught up on some laundry so that I did not have to do 5-6 loads in one night. Joe thought it was hysterical that he might be the next load!

Joe's Great Escape

Joe has a fascination with the windows, window shades, and the strings. BAD idea on our part to show him..... They will be looped high in the coming days so that we have no issues. But he had a great time standing and looking outside the window- hoping for freedom!

We also had visitors this weekend. Beth's friend Rachel (college roommate) and her brother came for a visit and to attend the MSU vs. Notre Dame football game. Go Spartans!!!

The DeShone's go to Washington.....

We had a wonderful trip to Washington DC last week, where we did a lot of sight seeing and visiting with friends. We walked a lot and it was VERY VERY hot. Lots of water!

While Joe will most likely not remember this trip, we were so glad to have the chance to photograph him in front of some of our nations most valuable treasures. (JFK's flame, Korean War Memorial, Reflecting Pool, WW II Monument, and a really cool piece of steel artwork that was a moose with a moving head at the Alexandria Art Fair.)

We are looking forward to a future trip when Joe can enjoy it more, and Mike can take in some different sights.

Ayden David DeShone

OK- so I am that awful person that cannot get anything done in a timely fashion.... Oh wait, that is parenthood!!! Well, here are some very late photos of little cousin Ayden. He was born July 12th and is such a peanut. Will certainly get some more up to date pictures this weekend when we help Dave, Jill and Ayden move into their new home - a horse ranch.

Isabella is One!

Again- a month late on this one!!! Isabella (Beth's goddaughter) turned 1 on July 31. The party was a fun afternoon in the park. She needed some help getting into the cake- but once she figured it out- it was all frosting all the time!

6 months and counting

Well, even though Joe is 6 1/2 months old, I can still let everyone know that at his 6 month check-up he was 21 pounds 4 ounces and 28 inches long. He continues to be in the 97th percentile and is a very healthy boy. We are looking forward to the 9 month visit as there will be no shots!!!

Other things going on right now- Mike is still working in Ann Arbor and studying for the state license exam, as well as preparing for his 4th year of school to become a mechanic; Joe is rolling everywhere- he finally figured out that if he rolls multiple times it will get him somewhere... very funny; Still no teeth, but we go through about 5 bibs a day because of the drool; I am trying to get this house organized again after taking on a few different work projects that overtook my time and our living room! And very much looking forward to a trip to Washington DC to visit friends and see all the wonderful sites!

Promise I will not take two months to post the next update.

The days we cherish most!

Joe is already following in his daddy's footsteps- the sports section had his undivided attention!

I cannot resist the nap time pictures. Joe is now finding out that if he cries before his nap (uncontrollably cries) that I will totally cave and do just about anything to get him to stop crying. Mike found a new trick- lay him on his back on his legs and rub his feet.... put him out right away!

I promise he does like his food- we were trying carrots in this picture. He really did eat more than what landed on his bib!

We are all alive and well

I am truly hoping that I will never go almost two months without posting something again. Life has been INSANE lately. We have been running all over the place, trying to get up north, and I was working on some campaigns for the Primary - that did not turn out so well. :-( But, we are slowly trying to get back to a normal pace - which is still crazy. Anyways, I am cheating and putting a few pictures for each post so that I can get caught up quickly. We went to the National Cherry Festival so that Joe could see his first parade- he liked the ambulance parked next to us better than the fire trucks! He also got his first haircut- VERY sad day for me!!! And he found his feet which are his new favorite toy.

Big Boy cup

Joe wants so bad to drink from our cups, so we tried his sippy cup and he got the hang of it - almost! Then he clearly needed a nap.... Dad too!

Chicago 2008

At the end of June, Joe and I went to Chicago to visit Aunt Bethy and her family. They do a girls weekend every year there.... Joe is invited for one more year, then he has to stay with dad!! You can see Joe was into taking pictures of himself!

Four Months Old

Our baby is 4 months old. YIKES! Where does the time go?

Dr. Josh could not believe how big Joe has gotten, but says that he is on track with growth, etc. Still in the 95th percentile for height and weight.

Joe is now 27 inches long and 18 pounds 5 ounces. Football anyone?!?!

Happy Father's Day

We spent Saturday in Merrill and Sunday in Lapeer. Mike went to the NASCAR Race on Sunday, but he got to hang out with Joe for the morning of his first Father's Day. We finally weathered all the storms (I hope) and are looking forward to a VERY busy June.

Abby Meyers' 1st Birthday Party

For the second day in a row, we had horrible storms rip through greater Lansing, but we had a short reprieve (really short since a tornado came through the park we were at 2 minutes after folks got in their cars) to enjoy Abby's birthday party. We can't believe she is 1 already! It scares me that Joe will be there too soon.

Visit to the beach- well sort of!

Two Saturday's ago (the night the power went out) we were in Warren visiting with family and took the kids to Warren City Hall where they have a great water fountain for kids (and parents!) to cool off. Joe was more interested in the sun then he was with any of the water. Maybe next year!

We are alive- I promise

Sorry for being a horrible blogger and not posting things for a couple weeks, but we went without power for 4 days during the storms in MI and it is taking FOREVER to get caught up on everything! I promise to be much better- barring any further power outages! :-)

Mr. G Q

On a hot day you just want to hang out, but Joe decided to do a little posing tonight. This was before a marathon walk down the "Lansing Riverwalk". Needless to say, Joe went to bed early after all the modeling and fresh air!

Bedtime

No, Joe is not drunk here..... just ready for bed after his bath! Sitting in the chair is one of his favorite things to do.

Joe's Baptism

Sunday was Joe's Baptism at St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing. The day ended up having very nice weather, despite the forecasts for rain. (We were very grateful for that!) It was great to have so many family members there to spend this special day with Joe. These pictures are grandparents, great grandma, and Godparents- Greg and Carolyn DeShone.