More Spring Fun

This is Corinne between Nathaniel and Gabriel in the coolest triple stroller ever. We all walked to the Washtenaw Dairy for a delicious treat.



My parent's dog, Bailey, is getting huge. She and Corinne adore each other. She has not met the boys yet, but they will all play soon.


Julia and I walked all the way around the lake at Kensington. The girls napped in the jogging stroller (thanks Kevin, fantastic Mother's Day gift) for a fair portion of the walk.



Corinne crawled up 3 stairs on Thursday when I got home from work. So darn cute.



Bye-bye for now.

Playing with Friends

It has been week of fun play dates for Corinne this week. We had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Yarimar and her boys, Nathaniel and Gabriel. Corinne is in love with Nathaniel. His main mission was to keep her entertained and she just laughed and laughed. They had a grand time.

We played at their house and then walked to the park in a very snazzy triple stroller. At the park we enjoyed some fun time on the swings.

Today we meet Julia and Nicholette at the Howell Nature Center to check out what they do. They rehabilitate and release 2000 wild animals annually. The critters that woudl not be able to survive in the wild live in habitats in the park. We saw a bobcat, foxes, a coyote, a bald eagle, and more. Then the girls had a snack and played.
Corinne has been crying MAAMAAA for while I and I have refused to call this a word. This week she did in fact calmly and lovingly say "Mama". She is making more word sounds noises in general and made noises like cock a doodle doo back at the rooster on the television. Exciting stuff :) Corinne is in or just completed a growth spurt, she is taller than she was a week ago. She is speed crawling, standing and walking while holding furniture and toys, aka cruising. This week she is has been practicing moving from one item to another while standing or walking. There is still not a single tooth in her mouth. She is enjoying Cheerios and other finger foods.

Supergirl

Okay, this is a month old and I just loaded it from my camera. Sorry for the delay, but I love it!

Flying with Daddy is the best!

Corinne laughing at Rufus talking

Our First Mother's Day

It was a wonderful day. Corinne woke up happy and babbled for close to an hour straight. Kevin tricked me into going outside where I found my bike attached to an extremely safe trailer with every bell and whistle I can imagine. Corinne also got herself a helmet. What a great Mother's Day present!

Then we went to breakfast with my amazing mother (and father) to celebrate Mother's Day.
Corinne was a pleasure at breakfast, until she decided it was nap time. She found Daddy's hat totally hilarious.

After nap time we were off to Kristin and Jeff's house. It was great to see everyone, it had been a while. Jessica is growing like crazy. Corinne did not wake up from her nap on the right side of the crib. So, we had to cut this visit a bit short. The boys asked to make an appearance. They feel neglected on the blog.Happy Mother's Day to all and to all a good night.

We Met Baby Samuel

Corinne and I are home from a wonderful week in Denver with her Cousin Sam, Aunt Tiffany, Uncle Tommy, and Miss Amy. Sam is now smiling and is a very handsome with his big blue eyes. It was so great to finally meet him.
One day we went to the zoo. We saw a 12 day old giraffe (he is laying down). We met Andrea, Emery, and Lilly for an excellent zoo tour. Emery is two and half (give or take) and calls Sam "Baby Samuel" all the time. It is totally adorable.
We had a nice brunch with cousins in Colorado. It was fun to have 6 kids / babies all of the place.

Amy took Corinne and I to the garden of the gods in Colorado Springs, and then shopping in Manitou Springs. I miss her!

Corinne and Sam enjoyed story time. Tiffany was much more coordinated with both kids than I was.
Don't get me wrong, I can hold them both. Sam was handed to me when I held them both. Tiff was able to pick them both up on her own.

Corinne missed her dad and was thrilled to see him and be home. Corinne is pulling up to stand on everything. She laughs and laughs when dogs bark or talk. She is crawling fast, and moves one foot in front of the other when you hold her hands. She also gives hugs and kisses and is a blast all around.

Denver

Corinne and I have made it to Denver safe and sound. Every seat on the flight was full and there were over a dozen lap babies. We were petrified to get on the plan, expecting the worst, hoping for the best. We were in the second row aisle, very nice :) A wonderful couple from Denver was sitting next to us. We could not have asked for better neighbors. Their kids are grown and they were originally from Michigan. So, they flew with them many times. She was helpful, interesting, and sweet. Corinne adored her and the 1 month old behind us, they laughed and laughed. She took a nice hour long nap on my lap, had some bottle on the way up and way down. It was great. We had another fantastic flight.

Now we are here and Sam is adorable!! I can not believe how big he is already. Corinne has the cutest cousins. We saw everyone last night and got settled in. Today it is 70 and sunny. We miss Kevin already, but are having a marvelous trip so far.

Oh, Rufus

I am thinking of changing the name of this blog to "What did Rufus do now?". The subject matter could include him shattering the 9 x13 glass pan on the counter to get to the brownies (not a cut on him and not a brownie to be found) on Monday or chewing a hole in the bag of dog food and eating until he couldn't possibly ingest another bite (he was visibly larger, the line that curves in after his ribcage was just straight) tonight.

In other news, Corinne has been crawling for over a week. She seems to be enjoying herself as long as one of her parents are in sight. She is not as happy if she can not see us and seems to be experiencing some significant separation anxiety.

Laughter is the best medicine

Corinne is officially on the go...and she laughs.

I hope this made your day. It makes mine.

Spring Will Be Here Soon

I smile every time I see the bunch of sunflowers in the family room. They hold the promise of warm sunny days, and the world around us coming back to life with Spring. We can not wait. I am excited for Corinne to swing for the first time outside. She has a bathing suit ready for water class and I just got her a silly bikini (and cover up, don't worry) for the beach.

Corinne still has a runny nose. She seems to be feeling pretty well. She is getting back on track going down for naps. It has made a world of difference in our house. Kevin was home today to visit the dentist. Now, I know this is not a fun reason to be home, but it was so wonderful to have an extra day together. We got a lot done, everyone even took a nap. It was great. I went out for fondue with the ladies and Corinne and Kevin had a lovely night at home.

Tomorrow Grannie comes home from her Denver visit. Corinne and I are going with she and Grandpa to visit Golden Retriever pups and to select the puppy they will call their own. We are looking forward to it. Maybe there will pictures of the little one with the little pups in the future.

Four Years?

Then


Now

I meet Kevin four years ago today. It seems like it was yesterday, and like we have been together for ever.