Thursday, April 24, 2014

Easter Pre-Game

You were a busy little bunny Easter Weekend and so we start with Saturday's festivities.

We went up to the Ulland Camp on Little Miami River.  This is a fantastic spot right along the river that you will get very acquainted with this summer. Pre-Maddux we spent most of our summer weekends here grilling out, drinking by the fire, and camping under the stars.  Hell, I was even at camp on your due date celebrating (wish I was in) Labor Day in 98 degree weather. You will love it here.  When I first started dating your dad we used to joke about the dogs outnumbering the people up here. Now all the kids outnumber adults + dogs. Cue Bob Dylan's "Times they are a changin' " now. 

Back to Easter....

Next year you can participate in the Easter Egg Hunt, but this year you were stuck with me and Uncle Keith while the other kids ran wild. You didn't seem to mind.





 Meanwhile down at the ole crick..... your dad was showing off his amazing rock skipping skills while we tried to reign in Murphy from jumping face first into the water after them.

 
  

Look at these views! Amazing right?  Pretty soon it will be full of canoes, fishermen, and dogs. 





While the adults and kids played an intense game of kickball you and I set out for the swing set.  

First time on the swings....


 Verdict is in... LOVE the swings. 


4/19/2014


Friday, April 18, 2014

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club (1985) Poster

No I am not talking about the 1985 hit movie. I am talking about the shenanigans you are up to while your mom and dad are at work.  I only call them shenanigans because I have never been able to attend this family meeting of the minds over steaming coffee and buttery pancakes. 

Well this morning I was sent this wonderful picture of the whole group. 

According to Kelly you may have mentioned they are the coolest people you have ever hung around.  
You must have just been drooling in awe of these cool people all over yourself and so you decided to double bib it.  
Whales & Chevron- this year's fashion rave. 

Hey Good Lookin' 
Whatcha Got Cookin' 



Our First Night Away

In March, your dad and I decided it was time for a night on the town. Well, technically we decided it like 5 months prior when I bought the tickets for the show.  We took an overnight trip to see a favorite comedian of mine, Jim Gaffigan, in Toledo, OH.  We had second row seats and I was super pumped to live it up on a Monday night.  We left you with Grandma Shelley and Grandpa Phil and hit the open road.

Your dad tried to take a picture of the mic stand & me so you could see how close we really were.  Well there were about 15 pictures that turned out like so....
And one that turned out when he finally figured out the flash. 



I normally wouldn't put a picture this terrible on here, but this selfie took us like 20 minutes to get and so it stays. 




Now you weren't allowed to take pictures of Jim during the show, but that didn't stop 99% of the audience doing it anyway. So here is the story behind these two gems.


I am likely never going to sit this close to see Jim again. In fact, I have never sat this close to a stage before unless you want to count my siblings grade school rendition of Fiddler on the Roof and countless variety shows. And so it was decided.  I was going to break the rules and take just one little picture. Well....I chickened out until the very end of the show as he hurried off stage.  Even then my heart was beating a million miles a minute-and I don't even know why.  What were they going to do-kick me out? The show was over.  And so your mom, the rule breaker, ended up with a blurred Jim Gaffigan blob to call her own.

After the show we continued on our wild and crazy Monday night adventure. There were sports of all sorts involved.  Darts, Bowling, Deer (specifically Big Buck) Hunting, Golf, and Basketball to name a few.  I, as usual, got beat in everything by your dad, including Deal or No Deal which is a game of luck, not skill. Apparently I have neither when it comes to winning against him.







And then came Waffle House.  Your dad claims he has never eaten here and so we capped off our evening with a smorgasbord of food that no one should ever eat in one sitting.



Don't worry- turns out you had your own fun while we were away.  
You took your life savings and hit the casino  Chuck E Cheese. 





You can cross seeing grandma get groped by a creepy mouse off your bucket list.  Funny story here.  She sent us the first picture while we out and we thought it was someone dressed up in a mouse suit posing for pictures with his hand in a rather inappropriate place.


Turns out it was a machine operated mouse that turned on as they were posing with it.  See picture #2.

Either way- the mouse is still a creep in my book.

Glad you had fun while we were away. Hope you didn't spend all your tickets on one stale piece of Laffy Taffy.

Monday, April 14, 2014

7 Months Old

Man time is flying by like crazy!  You have grown up so much in the last month, let alone all seven you have been here. Get ready for a long post with lots of pictures.  I just can't help myself.

Yeah..it says Seven Months...no big deal 
You finally are getting teeth-two at once! After enough slobber to fill a lake over these past months, your bottom two front teeth have nearly broken through.  You have been a trooper through the pain, but there were some rough nights.  You wouldn't let me take pictures without biting my fingers like a snapping turtle so..yeah...there's that.  I hope this doesn't mean you will be "that kid" who bites everyone in preschool.  Your aunt Amanda was the biter in our family.  Just ask aunt Alyssa about the infamous "Dear Mrs. Amrein, Amanda bit another child again today" notes. Ah... the classic stories you never tire of hearing.

The constant river of slobber continues

I swear they are in there and they are sharp!

You also test drove your first car.  Grandma Kathy (Mi-maw) & Grandpa Mike (Pa-paw) gave it to you for Christmas, but we decided there needed to be a waiting period to be sure you were road ready. You loved your ride except when you were checking yourself out in the side mirror and fell out the driver side door. Lesson learned- Vanity can be painful.  We decided it was necessary for safety upgrades and installed an airbag a pillow or two for soft landings.
Johnny Cool Guy with one arm out the window to pose for this picture. 


Checking out a little lady (Pouncer) on the sidewalk.
Until I caught you and reminded you- Eyes on the road kid. 
Much Better.
Shifting Gears. 

Horn works. 


Murphy loves going Bye Bye. He saddled right up next to you for the ride. 
Which again leaves Pouncer with only the box to play with.  Poor cat can't catch a break.

Although, I did see her sneak in for a ride after your parked it and went to bed.



Another first was Opening Day for the Red's.  Read more on that wonderful hometown holiday.






You have learned to clap. You mainly clap for yourself when you feel you are worthy of a congrats.  You won't clap on command out of principle and so I only got pictures by chance while taking your 7 month photos.



You roll, but still are not rolling.  But it is worth noting after my Zoolander post, you can roll left or right and can make it from stomach to back and vice versa.  See your dad's solution for getting your to finally roll right....yep a big mound of pillows.  Can't wait to see what future training techniques he has up his sleeve.

Fortunately for us, you haven't put it all together and started rolling across the room yet.  Bubble wrap is on standby for your Eureka moment.  For now you are comfortable hanging out on the floor and practicing your take on Fat Amy's "Mermaid Dance" in anticipation for the Pitch Perfect movie sequel. I will let aunt Sara and aunt Caitlin show you how it's done in person since they have perfected it, but here is a scene shot from Pitch Perfect for reference.


You have the face down, but need to get a little steadier on your side movements.

Nap time/Snuggle time with dad.  (he is fake sleeping for the picture)

You love being thrown in the air-carefully of course.  You also have your skydiving face ready to go.

And what you have been waiting for.....this month's theme: The Mamper (Man Romper)

Your dad doesn't quite get it, but I love them.  And look how laid back you are in your first mamper. It is finally warm enough outside that we can show off those beautiful pale arms and legs.

That's right....I am bringing pale back in style. 


























And by the last picture in the middle above you can tell picture time was over. 
Happy Seven Months little buddy of mine. 


Preview of next month's theme maybe.....Errrr my gosh. Check out my shoes!

 Or maybe not.  You will see soon enough.