Megan's Last Day

Monday July 7th was Megan's last day- Mitchell's nanny. She is moving to Denver, so sad :( But Kali, Mitchell's new nanny started Monday as well. And so far, the two of them have been hitting it off.

July 4th Weekend

TJ had to work on Sunday July 5th, so Mitchell and I played at home most of the day. When TJ got back from work he wanted to get some time outside. So went for a quick hike at Horsetooth Reservoir.

Mitchell was all decked out in his hiking gear- how over prepared can you be for a 30 minute hike?? Hat, long pants, jacket, sunscreen, toys, binky... you'd have thought we were leaving for the day!

Funny family pic at the lake. Can you tell I set the camera on a rock and ran to get in the picture??

Mitchell's Swim Video

Little Fish

Mitchell was quite the cool dude on his first Fourth of July. We spent the night before at Zac and Jo's parents house on Waren Lake in Fort Collins. It was like a vacation as they have a big fancy house, kitchen, and hot tub! Mitchell did not get to enjoy the hot tub however. The next day Zac, Jo, Izzy, Mitchell and I went to the neighborhood pool for a swim. Mitchell was so excited- it was like a huge bathtub! He was in heaven.

He was so cute splashing in the water. He didn't seem to mind the 60 degree temperature of the pool!

Afterwards he got warm under the sun in his new Fourth of July outfit that Grammie RaRa gave him.

Gretchen's Reception

The McManus Family after the wedding.

Mitchell was so great during the wedding and reception. He was so hot and sweaty- poor little guy. We took off his shoes, much to my dismay. The Robeez went perfectly with his little seersucker outfit! He had a really good time. Luckily he slept on the way to the wedding. So he was awake from about 5:30 until 11- I felt horrible keeping him up for so long. And he refused to sleep in his car seat. I think there was just too much going on.

I couldn't wait for the opportunity to get Mitchell together with his cousins for a photo. Henry, to the left, is just 24 days younger than Mitchell, and Aiden to the right, is 5 months older than Mitchell. It was hilarious trying to keep the three together long enough for a picture. And I don't' think any of the pictures on our camera are perfect. We had about 2 minutes before Aiden got up and crawled away. And trying to keep Henry and Mitchell from toppling over was a feat as well. It was pretty comical.

Gretchen's Wedding Ceremony

It was so hot in Kentucky! I felt bad for TJ- and everyone else wearing a suit. I hadn't planned on Mitchell wearing his hat, but we were sitting in the sun and in order to fend of the wrinkles that will eventually plague my son, I decided it was our only option, short of going inside and missing the wedding.

Katie and Aiden: Aiden didn't make a peep the entire ceremony. Gretchen kept the ceremony quick though. Thank God it wasn't a Catholic ceremony! Mitchell had to add his two cents in a few times. Luckily the binky was handy!

Gretchen and her dad, Gene walking up to the alter.

Henry had to add his two cents also. Kristen had a game plan however. If Henry started making noise, she would immediately hand him off to Kris who was waiting towards the back of the seating area. Kris would whisk Henry off to entertain him, i.e. keep him quiet.

The Actual Road Trip

We left Belleville after Mitchell's first awake period- so around 9 AM. He was ready for a nap by the time we hit the road. He was so amazing. He slept for about an hour until we stopped for breakfast at Bob's and to meet some of the Klaus clan. Mitchell was able to play with his little cousins for a while before we hit the road again. After a diaper change and a nursing break, he was ready to go again. He slept for another two hours. By the time we made it to Lexington, he was ready for his 3rd nap. He took a quick one in the hotel room and then we were off of the rehearsal dinner.

Mitchell, dressed in Cardinal's onesie, is rather unsure of his Great Aunt Diane.

Mitchell's chillin' in his car seat on the way to Lexington. This was his first Hilton stay. The experience was not one to remember. Hopefully, we'll never have to go back to this Hilton again. I'm still meaning to call hhonors and complain!

Mitchell's Bath

Bath Time at Grammie's

Grammie wanted to give Mitchell a bath in the sink. This was a first for him, as summer hadn't quite reached Colorado before we left for IL and I feel like our kitchen sink and picture window in front of it is a bit drafty. He seemed to enjoy himself- as always where baths are concerned. He loved his new bath toys (monsters that squirt water from them). And really loved the faucet as you can see in the video.

This is the most excited Great Grandma Barbara has had all month!

Mitchell's still out of it. We usually do bath time right before bed to calm him down. He had just woken up for this bath. He takes after his father in that it takes him about 30 minutes to fully wake up and get with it- he has to have his morning coffee and news update first.

MItchell's First Road Trip

Mitchell is getting to be quite the flyer- at least from Denver to St. Louis. He doesn't seem to mind it a bit. Really the only issue is that he refuses to take naps on the plane- which is unfortunate because that is my favorite way to pass the time! In the picture above we tried to get him cozy and ready for a nap, but he decided he would play instead. I think the excitement got the best of him!

Mitchell was lucky enough to have his own seat!

By 8 PM, he was still going strong. I guess he decided he only has a few days with Grammie and Grandpa Tom, so he should make the best of it!

More Food

I'm trying to catch that perfect "Yuck Face". The next two videos are unsuccessful attempts. But they're still realy cute! We now know that Mitchell likes peaches and Cheerios.

Mitchell Loves Balloons!

Izzy's 1st Birthday Party

Mitchell had a great time at Izzy's birthday party. Not because of the great food, birthday cake, or friends there... but because of the balloons. I feel like such a terrible mother to have kept such a great joy from my child for so long. How would I have known of his love for balloons? I hope he doesn't grow up to be a clown!

Green Beans

Last week I decided to give Mitchell his first taste of green beans. He did not like them. He had this look of stunned disgust when the spoon first touched his lips. I had to take this video to capture his response. After a few days, I got wise and decided to try heating them up. He now likes them much better- he at least tolerates them. His latest new foods are cantaloupe, yogurt, and cheerios. He wasn't too sure about the cantaloupe. I think this one might take a few tries. But I'm sure he'll eventually like it. I don't know anyone who doesn't- especially in our family. He loves yogurt- so much that he's sad when it's all gone. And it's the plain flavor too. Yuck! He also really likes the cheerios, it's just tough getting those little suckers in his mouth- no pincer grasp yet.

Mitchell Reading Books

I know I've been so bad about updating this blog. I'll try to get better about it! Yesterday Mitchell was having a great time reading books with Megan, his nanny. He's really getting into the touch/feel books. Although this book just has big bright pictures, he likes this type too!

And we're now to the point that really the only books we can read to him are those with pages that won't rip!

You might be able to tell, he's still drooling a LOT. But he still only has the 2 teeth on the bottom. Every once in a while, he'll wake up a few times during the night and I'll think, "This is it. Tomorrow morning we'll have a new tooth." But no such luck just yet. Although, I think I'm okay with the number of teeth he has at the moment!

Izzy and Aspen are about 3 months apart. They have lots of fun together.

Mitchell is about 6 months behind Izzy. He'll catch up soon enough! He really enjoyed himself!

Friday Night Family Dinner

Last Friday night we got together with a few of our friends with children. We all met at a Thai restaurant in town. The place has great food and a cafeteria like atmosphere. We thought it was a great place for our families to get together- loud and crazy- so as not to offend any of the other patrons with babies screaming- even if the only people screaming were the adults!