How was Minneapolis, you ask?

Great! Here are some pictures of our trip.

We had great weather while we were there, but it did rain a bit now and then. Mitchell didn't have a problem with the rain!

"Look, Mommy. No hands." Yep - little Maverick has learned to sit on his own...for a short time. In fact, he catapulted backwards just as soon as I snapped this picture. Thank God for soft grass :)

It took us nearly 10 hours to make the 7 hour trip home today...our longest stop was in Story City, Iowa where we let Mitchell ride the carousel. He wanted to try every animal!

Daddy picked out a popsicle for Mitchell to enjoy in the park.

Before






After - whoa was this a mess! A fun mess though. He enjoyed it and it's nothing a bath and a little spray n' wash can't cure!





"Did that sign just say we still have 160 miles to go?" :(







Maverick enjoyed some time with Aunt Kel while Mitchell tried out a new park.

Aunt Kel's new dog. Welcome to the family, Hawk.

We spent lots of time outdoors, so this little hat got lots of use. I love how it matches his eyes :)

Swinging with Grandma is the best :)

We found a local place to pick some organic strawberries. It was the end of the season, but we still found some juicy ones....and had lots of fun doing it!

Mommy & Mitchell show off their berries.

Daddy too...

Obviously, Mitchell had to sample some. Yep, they were good enough to buy.

Grandma and Maverick were excited to see Mitchell's bounty.

Maverick wasn't too good at strawberry hunting...but he sure loved being carried around outside!

"Here's a good one, Daddy."

We gave Maverick his first bite of baby cereal while we were there. He was NOT a fan, in fact, I'm not sure he digested any of it.

I DO NOT LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM!

A few minutes later, he was good as new :)

Look how slim and trim our chubby man has gotten!!!!

He is a doggy lover...sometimes a little too much!

He likes to call Gracie (my parent's dog) Gracio. Who knows where he came up with that ending :)

Beautiful baby and beautiful yard!

Grandpa Bays set up a tent for Mitchell to play in! He loved it!

What a fun, long weekend!!!!

Mitchell Funnies

Here are some shots of my two favorite boys taken as they were helping me put away some laundry this afternoon. (Side note - we just finished painting our bedroom. It's now two-toned dark green and light green. You can see it behind Maverick. We are glad we finally did it! Now on to the basement walls!)

1 - Maverick was crying in his carseat. Mitchell said "Mommy, Maverick is crying because he is hungry. He wants some milk from your boobie." Ha! Yes, he was right! Oh, explaining nursing to a 2 year-old boy is interesting!

2 - As we got into the car, "I have some bad news.....I am going to drive this car today."

3 - We have had bad luck with the pool lately! Everytime we try to go, it's closed either due to weather, or swim meets, etc. We were on our way today and Mitchell said "I'm sorry, but if this pool is closed, we're going to find one that is open!" Luckily it was open!

4 - Our fitness center has a little daycare for the kids to play in while the parents are working out. We LOVE it. The girls are super nice and Mitchell loves playing with the other kiddos. They have a big bounce house, lots of crafty activities, games and toys. Maverick has his own swing in their office that he takes his morning nap in. It is perfect! Anyway, Mitchell has TWO girlfriends at the gym, Riley & Brenna. This morning Riley's mom took her through McDonalds for breakfast on her way to the gym and Riley ordered something for her and for Mitchell! Brenna literally lights up when Mitchell enters the room. Apparently she told her Daddy all about her boyfriend over dinner the other night. Tonight Jacob asked Mitchell if he had any friends at the gym. He said "Yes, Riley. She is very nice and very pretty." I won't tell Brenna that he didn't mention her...she'd be heart-broken :)

Father's Day in Lincoln

I have been dying to get the boys up to Lincoln to see my Dad's family, so we finally made the trip on Sunday. It made for a long day, driving up and back in the same day. You could say both boys were tired of their carseats by the end of the trip. My Dad rode with us and learned all about the struggles of travelling with two little ones!

The trip was well worth it and we had a great time catching up with the family. A slew of my cousins, aunts and uncles came over to visit while we were there. They are always so much fun :)


Grandpa David and Maverick David




Four generations




Mitchell enjoyed playing with his cousin, Nicholas. They just HAD to have matching popsicles!





The M&M boys. I love Mitchell's Elvis pose in this picture :)

Water Monkey

We've been spending lots of time at the pool lately! We have two very nice pools close to us and purchased a family pass that allows us access to both of them. Mitchell LOVES swimming and will play for hours! I usually don't take my camera for fear of getting it wet, but Jacob accompanied us on a recent trip, so I tried to snap a few pics.

Grandpa Bays nicknamed Mitchell "Water Monkey" early on...it has continued to describe him well :)




Mitchell walks around singing most of the day. That is probably what he is doing in this picture. He uses the tunes to our nursery rhyme songs, but makes up his own words :) Sometimes they are English, sometimes they are Spanish (mostly words he's learned from watching Dora), and sometimes they are complete gibberish. He even uses song to ask for things like "Mommy, I am hungry and want a snack." set to the tune of Old McDonald. It keeps us entertained!



Can you find the little guy in the middle of this monstrocity?

Most of the time, I still resort to bribing him with an ice cream cone to get him in the car happily :)

Folks Family Reunion

We spent the weekend in Oklahoma for the annual Folks Family reunion. The boys were great on the 5-hour ride each way...whew! We were surrounded by family from near and far. As always, Mitchell really enjoyed all of the activity. Maverick was a happy baby, as always! He was passed from person to person, rarely making a peep. They always do a drawing for door prizes and Maverick won a King-sized quilt made by Jacob's Great Aunt!

Mitchell immediately made friends with two of his cousins (and I use the term loosely...I think they are maybe 3rd or 4th cousins). The little blonde cutie is 10 days older than Mitchell!



Unfortunatley Grammy Diane and Jacob's sister Skyler didn't get to make the trip afterall because Skyler had emergency surgery to remove her painful wisdom teeth :( We'll see them in 2 weeks in Maine!

Here's our immediate clan at the reunion.
L to R: Katy (Jacob's sis), Connor (Jacob's bro), Maverick, David (Jacob's Dad), Mitchell, Jacob and Me





We stayed with Jacob's maternal grandparents in Sallisaw, OK. I will always cherish staying up late and listening to old stories about how they met and about Papa's experiences in the war. I hope they enjoyed telling them as much as we enjoyed listening. I know the opportunities to hear those stories are dwindling with age. :( I found it humorous that even after all of these years, there was still a "her" and a "him" version of each story. "No, Paul, that is not how it happened." :) MANY things change with each generation, but a man's selective memory is one constant - ha!





We also visited with Jacob's paternal grandmother, Lois. She wasn't quite feeling up to joining us for the reunion in 90 degree weather, so we visited her at home. It's hard to believe this little woman birthed and raised 3 strapping boys!

Unintentionally, Maverick happened to wear the same little outfit that Mitchell wore the first time he met Grandma Lois. He doesn't fill it out quite as much though :)

Side note - do you notice where Maverick is looking? He watches his brother ALL of the time!!!! It melts my heart to see how much he enjoys him. When Maverick giggles, it is almost always while his eyes are on his silly big brother. :)

All in all, we had a wonderful trip and feel so blessed with a great family! As hard as we try, we can't help but think it's confusing to Mitchell to have so many grandmas and grandpas. Between our parents/step-parents and our own grandparents, Mitchell and Maverick have 7 Grandpas and 5 grandmas! Just try this one "Grandpa is coming to get Tex, so that we can drive to Oklahoma where Gran and Pops live to visit Grandpa Folks, Granny & Papa and Grandma Lois. Grammy Diane couldn't make the trip, but we'll see her in a few weeks in Maine, right after we visit Grandma and Grandpa Bays in Wisconsin." See what I mean?

Grandpas
My Dad (Rick)
Jacob's Dad (David)
My Stepdad (David)
Jacob's Stepdad (Rick)
My Paternal Gpa (David)
My Maternal Gpa (Wayne)
Jacob's Maternal Gpa (Paul)

Grandmas
My Mom (Patti)
Jacob's Mom (Karen)
Jacob's Step-Mom (Diane)
Jacob's Maternal Gma (Sue)
Jacob's Paternal Gma (Lois)

While it causes some confusion for a 2 year-old, we love it because it means that he is surrounded by loving family members! I think it's also wonderful that at 30ish years of age, Jacob and I still have 5 living grandparents! Good gene-pool :)

Same ol' flowers...

Are you sure this is the same kid? :)


June 2010




June 2009

June 2008


My how he has grown! I was literally just looking at him today thinking, how are you already THIS big!?!? I LOVE spending my days with him. He is such a fun little man :)

We are headed to Oklahoma this weekend for the annual Folks Family reunion. Grammy Diane (Jacob's step-mom) and his little sister and brother will finally be meeting Maverick for the first time! Other than the long drive, we are looking forward to the trip!

Guess who found his feet??? :)

Maverick has recently discovered that his feet are fun! There is something so cute about a baby reaching for its feet :)



Mitchell was watching Jacob do his Yoga P90x DVD, and there is a yoga pose called "baby", where you lay on your back and grab your feet just like the above picture. Mitchell said "Daddy, they are all changing their diapers." Ha!

He is still such a smiley little guy!