Happy Halloween!!!!

Here are some pictures of our little tiger! We're really excited to celebrate Halloween today! We're going to carve pumpkins, go to a friend's Halloween party and finish the day off with some trick-or-treating with neighbors! Couldn't be better :)

Attention please!

Mitchell's in this phase where he REALLY wants you to play with what he's playing with or watch what he's watching...constantly dragging your hand to play cars with him or watch Dora with him. He was taking a bath the other night and I was sitting next to him folding some laundry. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to him because he said....

"Momma, ATTENTION please! I'm in the bath!"

It was hilarious :)

I'll post some pics of our little tiger tomorrow!

22 Months!

Our little man is 22 months old! Hard to believe he'll be 2 in 2 short months!

Mitchell and Jacob had a fabulous bachelor's weekend at home! They went to Mitchell's 2nd movie "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs". Mitchell was VERY entertained with the movie, and actually paid attention! :)

They also went to the Chiefs game on Sunday! Apparently Mitchell wasn't quite as entertained as Jacob thought he might be, but they still had a good time. When I asked him if he had a good time at the football game, he said "Chiefs football game!", so at least he remembered who he was watching!

Mitchell had a little breakdown at Home Depot over the train that they have set up to circle one of the Xmas trees. He is OBSESSED with trains these days!

Ms. Mary today informed me that she continues to be entertained by Mitchell's vocabulary! She was struggling with the 6 kid stroller that they use for walks. She couldn't get it over a crack in the sidewalk and was rocking it back and forth to try to gain some momentum. Apparently Mitchell caught on to her frustration and said "Just take your time!" She looked at him in amazement and said "what did you say?" He repeated "Just take your time." She just had to make sure to tell me as soon as I picked him up :)

We're counting our blessings that we're not quite seeing the terrible two's glimpse through yet and enjoying our happy little boy!

Pics of Tex & Mitchell

Here are the cute little pictures of Tex and Mitchell that I UNSUCCESSFULLY TRIED to post a few weeks back.

Aren't they just an adorable pair????


"Let me try that tongue move"

"Riding" Tex

"This is soooo fun!"

Playful pair!

They are such good little friends! Tex could NOT be more tolerable dog friend to our toddler :) I can only imagine that their bond will continue to strenghten over the coming years!

Watching Mitchell Watch Mitchell

Yes, I know that sounds redundant but Mitchell LOVES to watch videos of himself...and other kiddos too! :)

Here is a little video that I filmed of Mitchell playing pool at my Mom and David's. Sorry the first part is a little slow, but the end is really cute :)

Here is a video of Mitchell watching the video of himself. He literally cracks himself up :)

In case you need help deciphering "Mitchell speak" he says "Mitchell More" during the video, and "Watch it one more time" at the end. Clear as day to me....but might be a little tougher for virgin ears :)

Although he doesn't say it in this short clip, when watching this video he usually also says "See Gracie" (the dog) and "Grandma in there". Thought you might like that, Mom :)

Well it's a bachelor pad at the Folks household this weekend! I'm on the board of a national charity and we have our annual board meeting ALL weekend in yucky, cold Detroit! Jacob and Mitchell have lots of fun things planned, including manly things like trips to the local hardware stores and Mitchell's FIRST CHIEFS game on Sunday! Hopefully the weather will be nice so that they can enjoy it!

Notable events over the past week!

Things have been CRAZY! Here are a few of the notable events of the past week:

1. Mitchell thoroughly enjoyed the rest of his visit to Grandma and Grandpa Bays. They spoiled the little guy rotten and he continues to ask where they are since we've come home. Can we last until Christmas to see them again?

Here are a couple of pics from our family trip to the apple orchard last weekend. What a great time :)




"Wait up guys! My little legs can only walk so fast!"

2. My week was NOT so nice. I came down with the terrible, icky, yucky flu :( Due to my crazy travel schedule last week (spending each night in a new town, Sunday - Ames, Monday - Des Moines, Tuesday - Cedar Falls, Wednesday - Iowa City, Thursday - Minneapolis, Friday - HOME!), I didn't have any time to rest and recooperate, so I think it's taking me a bit longer to kick it this time. I am REALLY hoping that Mitchell and Jacob don't get it, which was the only real advantage of being sick while out of town. I haven't had a fever for a few days now, so am hoping I'm on the upside of it! It never got higher than 102 degrees, and lil' baby Folks is still a kicking machine, so hopefully all will be well!

3. Mitchell and I missed our first flight home on Friday and ended up spending the majority of the day in the airport. I'll spare you the details and my frustrations with airport personnel. We did pacify some time playing with the Harley on display. Mitchell was a big fan of riding it! Hopefully the only type of motorcycle he'll ever ride is the kind bolted to the ground! :)

4. Jacob ran in the Kansas City Half Marathon on Saturday morning. Mitchell and I were proud supporters despite the chilly weather! His goal was to finish in under 2 hours, and he did it with one entire minute to spare (1:58:50). We were very proud of him :)

5. Jacob's parents, Gran and Pops came for a visit on Saturday! Gran was more than happy to play with Mitchell for a few hours in the afternoon so that Jacob could recoup his body from the race and I could lay down for a much needed nap. THANK YOU! We all headed out for a nice dinner at our local favorite BBQ, Jack Stack. Yum :) I can't believe I didn't snap a single picture while they were here, but I swear my brain is half functioning this week.

6. I had to attend a work dinner tonight (Sunday), but Jacob took Mitchell to his very FIRST MOVIE! They went to see "Where the Wild Things Are?" at the new AMC Theaters downtown. We've been contemplating if his attention span is long enough for a while, and finally decided to give it a try! Mitchell did wonderful! He didn't quite grasp the concept of not talking during the movie, but otherwise he was very attentive and really enjoyed it! It's nice to know that we'll have another activity to do with the little guy this winter season!

And with that...here begins another week! Where does the time go? :)

A Dog's Best Friend...

Dear Mitchell,

Before you were born, I was the baby of the family. Your mommy and daddy doted on me and loved on me all of the time! I wasn't quite so sure about you when they first brought you home..but you were so little and cute, so I stayed close to you as a protector. I followed Mommy up and down the stairs countless times in the middle of the night for feedings, just to make sure you were both under my watchful eye.


Mitchell "riding" Tex

As you grow older, I'm starting to like you more and more. I ESPECIALLY like meal times! Thanks again for all of the scraps you "accidentally" drop on the floor, and those ones that you hand directly to me will remain our secret...eventhough I'm pretty sure I catch Mommy smiling when she sees that happening from the corner of her eye :)


"Let me try that tongue thing..."

I was REALLY jealous when Mommy started taking only you for walks and leaving me behind...doesn't she know I was here first?!?!? Luckily Daddy ordered that special leash and now we're back in business!



I have also begun to benefit from your new found independence. You LOVE to give me my scoops of food...and slip me some extra scoops when Mommy and Daddy aren't looking. They usually hear the food hit the bowl, but by then it's too late. Thanks for taking the fall for that one big guy! I mean, who can blame a dog for eating the food that's in his bowl?

Well, Mitchell, you too are about to learn what life is like with a new baby in the house. All of the sudden all of that time that used to be devoted to you, will now be split in half. Welcome to my world, buddy. At least I've been through it before, and will be here to show you the ropes. If we stick together, we'll be fine. If there's nothing else I've learned it's that Mommy and Daddy have enough love to go around. :)

Love, your loyal dog - Tex

Our little cyclist :)

Mitchell is having a ball at my Mom and David's in Wisconsin. Jacob and I both got to visit for the weekend and had a great time catching up with the family and our little guy. They bought him a little tricycle at a garage sale earlier this year, and he LOVED riding it up and down the driveway over and over! He's really good at peddling and steering too!




Unfortuantely, a few days into the week, his old tricycle broke :( Although he demanded that David "fix it", it wasn't fixable :(

Off to Target to buy a new bike! Here he is trying his hardest to take his new bicycle out of Target before they had even purchased it. Sounds like he had a mid-afternoon Target crowd entertained by his actions :)

He just couldn't understand why he couldn't have the display bike rather than a big box!

Yes, they did end up actually purchasing the boxed bicycle and Mitchell was VERY anxious to have it put together so that he could continue his speedy ways!

Jacob is in Omaha for the week and I'm in Iowa. I'm headed back up to pick up Mitchell on Thursday night and we'll fly home together on Friday. Busy week for both of us. We're SO THANKFUL to know the little guy is in good hands!

Glimpse of the life ahead...

Mitchell must've thought the fridge looked a lot like a coloring book?



Wiped right off...no harm done.

Rule #1 - No coloring on ANYTHING other than paper...followed by the classic line from my parents "how many times do I have to tell you?"
Rule #2 - No unsupervised writing utensils!

Sunday in the Park

Before Mitchell and Jacob left for Minneapolis, we made a pit stop to a local playground for some quality fun!


In case you can't tell from this face, he LOVES the playground!



Racing Mommy down the slide...yes, he won!

Demanding that Daddy sit with him in the play house.


At the top of his favorite activity of all, the slide. He sure is a little dare devil!

Jacob and Mitchell made it safely to Minneapolis, and my Mom and stepdad picked up Mitchell at the airport before Jacob headed downtown for work. My mom already called with a funny story about how in order to manipulate her into giving him more raisins he threatened that he woud cry...."More! I'll cry!" Oh, no, this could be a long trip for my Mom! :)

Happy Birthday, Mommy :)

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday! Mitchell probably enjoyed my balloons a little more than I did :)

My Dad and Sherri watched Mitchell while Jacob and I attended the K-State vs. Iowa State game at Arrowhead. We had a great time tailgating with some friends and even better time at the actual game, which K-State barely won! I'll admit that it was tough being away from him all week and then on the weekend too! We're looking forward to some quality time with our little man on Sunday before he heads to Grandma & Grandpa Bays house for the next TWO weeks! Both Jacob and I are visiting for the weekend and looking forward to the trip!

Fun afternoon with Mitchell

Yesterday, I picked Mitchell up early to take him to get his annual flu shot. The only time they had available was 2:30pm, which I knew might be trouble for his nap schedule. When I picked him up at 2pm, he was the only kiddo awake. They always tell me that he sleeps less than the other kids. He was so excited to see me at such an unexpected time!



As I buckled him into the car, I explained to him that we were going to the doctor. He said "Not sick. Mitchell not sick." Wow - he processes so much more than I give him credit for! He was a trooper for the shot - no tears. In his own words, hHe was excited to get a "blue sucker" as his good boy prize from the doctor.



We headed to Home Depot after the doc. Have you seen the Christmas display??? Mitchell was AMAZED! He LOVED all of the blow up charcters on display. We probably spent a half an hour in that section (and didn't buy a thing!). His favorite was the inflatable airplane with moving propellers and Santa Claus inside. In fact, when Jacob got back in town last night Mitchell tried to tell him all about it. He got so excited that he said "Get up, Mommy. Go Home Depot." Sorry, Mitchell - bed time :(



We also spent some time in book heaven at the local library and the little park next door.



Oh, what a fun afternoon. We were both worn out by bedtime!