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!

Twenty One Months (Take Two)

Giving a different kind of chair a try :)



Lately Mitchell has started to become pretty interested in the potty (and stickers as you can likely see 3 on his leg). He's not ready to start potty training yet, but it'll be here before we know it!

He LOVES riding bikes and is actually getting really good with the peddles! We have picked up a few different types at various garage sales and are still working to find the right one for his size.

We had another really nice weekend - even witnessing my FIRST Royal's win of the season today! Too bad it was their last home game! We even got to go down the on the field and run the bases after the game. Despite the long wait (why did we choose a sold-out game to try to run the bases?), Mitchell really enjoyed it! It was a little dificult to keep him off of the grass, but he had a blast stomping on all four bases!

Each time I post one of his monthly chair pictures, I am excited about his new milestones and also a little sad about how quickly the time is passing us by. We LOVE this age. He is so funny with his little quips and sayings! He literally catches onto about anything we say now days, often repeating things that we'd rather him not repeat....today's examples "Oh my God!" and "Glad you liked it".

I literally wish he'd just stay this age forever...but I think I've said that at just about every age :)

4 years and counting....

Jacob and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on Thursday. I was in Iowa for the week (hence the lack of blogging), but came back into town on Thursday so that we could celebrate.



My dad and Sherri watched Mitchell so that we could hit up a movie in the new fancy AMC theatre downtown. It was really fun! Lazy-boy seats that rumble with the action, in seat food & drink service, etc!

We can hardly believe it's already been 4 years - time flies when you're having fun :)

21 weeks along!

I'm 21 weeks along today -- officially past the half way point! I'm feeling the baby move more and more each day. The strong kicks are much more prevalent than the fluttery feelings that I had more often weeks ago! I'm still feeling great; sure hope it continues!



We did a little garage saleing this morning...although we're set on boy's infant clothes, we couldn't help but purchase a "Little Brother" onesie that we happened upon! Mitchell also picked the new baby a pair of "baseball shoes"..he literally continued to bring them to me and clearly tell me over and over that they were "baseball shoes" until I caved :) We figured that if nothing else, it will increase Mitchell's interest in the new little guy. I think Mitchell is still pretty clueless about what's in store for him! Our friend, Kristen Seager, just sent him a "Big Brother" book today! What a NICE GIFT! I'm hoping this is one book that he will want to read over and over - as it should help prepare him for his new role.

Our plan is to give the new little guy the nursery and create the room next door into Mitchell's big boy room. We've got quite a bit of work to do to get Mitchell's new room ready, including painting the walls, buying new furniture and organizing the closet. Good thing we've got some time! :)

Pumpkin Patch!

We made our annual trip to the KC Pumkin Patch today in Gardner, KS! We had a coupon for a free visit that expired today. We figured it might be less crowded since it was early in the season. Man, were we wrong -- it was packed! Luckily, there are so many things to do, it didn't seem quite as crowded as it was! Mitchell really enjoyed himself, but we played well into nap time...hence the distant gaze on his face below. Upon heading home, he was asleep before we left the parking lot.



He REALLY enjoyed the several slides! He is such a big boy and can do them all by himself...although you notice Jacob standing with a watchful eye from the top of the slide. :)



We spent quite a bit of time trudging through the vines to pick out the perfect pumpkin.


"Oh, man....how will I ever choose?"




In the end, he was very happy with his selection...and we were all very satisfied with the trip!

Dog Park

We took Mitchell and Tex to the Shawnee Mission Lake Dog Park this past weekend. I'm not sure who had more fun....

It was a BEAUTIFUL morning, and strolling through the dog park was a wonderful way to spend it!


Mitchell enjoyed pointing out the "Big Dogs" vs. the "Little Dogs".

And as always, Daddy is sure to spark a giggle from the little man.

On an unrealated note, I've been battling insomnia lately. I have no idea why and honestly think it's Gods way of slowing starting to prepare me for the sleepless nights ahead! It's funny how I literally COULD NOT get enough sleep the first few months, and now I can't make myself sleep. I have no problem getting to sleep, but then wake at 3am or 4am with my mind racing through to do lists. Rather than doing anything remotely productive this early morning, I decided to buy Mitchell some Christmas books on Ebay. I bought him 25 Christmas books and am going to wrap them up individually and put them under the tree and allow him to open one each day...our own version of an Advent calendar. I hope he'll love it :)

Cat Nap and Funny Quotes

Mitchell may have some competition for his baseball glove these days. The cat has become rather fond of it :)



It appears to double as a pillow.

Mitchell is still talking up a storm these days! On Sunday night, we were preparing his things for 'school' on Monday.

Me: "Mitchell, are you excited to go to school tomorrow?"

Mitchell: "Yeah"

Me: "Who are you going to see there? Maybe Ms. Mary?"

Mitchell: "Ummmm......Hudson...ummmm....Piper......Brady....Abby" He really does say "ummmm" - ha!

Me: "Anyone else?"

Mitchell: "Nolan"

Me: "Very good, Buddy. You just named them all!"

I was so proud of him that he could remember all of their names. As we were entering daycare today, we saw Abby's mom on her way out and Mitchell said "Where Abby?" Apparently he knows their parents too!

A few minutes later while dropping him off, he immediately starting playing with the same toy as Hudson (another boy) and when Hudson tried to take it from him, Mitchell said "Stop it, Hudson Weigel". Apparently he knows their last names too! Ha!

Great reminder that we REALLY need to watch what we say around him these days!

Some of my favorite quotes lately...
1. When prompted to stop riding his bike so that we could go somewhere..."In a minute, Mommy."
2. When caught mid-way of climbing up onto the kitchen counter to get a pen to 'color' with....Mitchell, get down from there! Response: "I be careful"
3. Through the monitor each morning, I wake to "Mommy? Momma? Good morning, Momma? Good morning, Momma?"
4. After my dad spoils him with small swigs of soda pop.."Mitchell, do you want water or mik with dinner?" "Mitchell want pop." Yes, lately he's been referring to himself in 3rd person. And no, we did not have pop with dinner.
5. When prompted what he wants for dinner tonight, he answered "mushroom pizza" Where did that come from??? And no, we did not have mushroom pizza for dinner either.

Oh the joys :)

It's a....................

BOY!!!! We had our sonogram appointment today at the doctor. We were extremely happy to learn that we appear to be having one healthy little baby boy! He was very active for the sonogram, kicking and moving all over :) His parts and organs are all in the right places and his little heart had all four quadrants beating at 144 bpm.

We think Mitchell will be very excited to have a little brother to grow up with, and can only imgine the trouble that the two of them will encounter :) Although we would've been equally excited to have a little girl, we are very content with the idea of two little boys. Now the question is....will this be the last one??? So far our gut seems to be tempting us for one more, but we've lots of time for those decisions! Afterall, I've still got 20 weeks left of this pregnancy!

Grandma & Grandpa Bays visit!

My mom and David visited last weekend and we had a great time! Here they are at the Royal's game on Saturday night. They lost AGAIN. I have yet to witness a winning game this season...maybe I'm bad luck?

Mitchell contines to LOVE his books!!!



We made a trip to Fredonia on Sunday for a family Labor Day picnic. It was great to catch up with our family! Mitchell was a filthy mess when we returned ~ successful trip on his part!!!

Mmmmm...watermelon :)


He was a big fan of this caterpillar until he accidentally smashed it...oops! He didn't understand why it stopped moving??? Oh, we'll save those explanations for a later date!


Another great visit, we can't wait to see them again in a month when we visit!

Sorry for the posting delay. I've been travelling for work this week. Up to Ames, Iowa; back to Columbia, Missouri; up to Cedar Falls, Iowa; over to Lawrence, KS and finally back home today! I have spent more hours in the car than I've slept, I think! I did witness lots of corn fields, one of the famous madison county covered bridges, a few horse drawn carriages (Amish?), MANY orange barrels and even the birthplace of Mark Twain! Obviously the main objective was to meet some great college students for potential Ernst & Young employees, so hopefully the trips were worth it. No trips outside of the Kansas borders next week, whew!

Jacob's Dad is visiting this weekend. I'll post some pictures soon :)

Kickin' it

"What? It moves?"

I felt little baby bean kicking around for the first time today. Nice to know he/she's alive and kickin' in there! :)

Jacob finally returns home tonight! He's been gone since last Wednesday. Unfortunately, I'll be on my way to Mizzou for an event when he gets home. I'll be home tomorrow night though to spend the long weekend with both of my guys, and my mom and David who are making the trip down to visit us! We are headed to a Royal's game on Saturday night and family picnic on Sunday. It should be a great long weekend!

Mitchell has been kind of accident prone this week, he sure is a rough and tumble boy. He received TWO accident reports from daycare yesterday! He now has a cut on his nose and teeth marks on his shoulder from another daycare kid, in addition to a bruise on his forehead from an earlier fall that just won't go away! :( Good thing he's a tough guy! They don't slow him down at all!