Easter, etc.

I've been putting off updating our blog for a while because I wanted to have some good pictures of Micah in his Easter outfit first. He only wore it for a short time on Easter Sunday because the weather was too warm for all the layers. :) We had a wonderful time celebrating our Savior's resurrection with family and friends... and Micah got to meet some more members of the Thomson family too.

Family picture :)

So handsome in his outfit from Grandma and Grandpa K :)

Micah meets Great Aunt Christine, Jenie, and Lydia ~

Micah meets cousin Susan ~

We also discovered that he's big (and strong) enough to sit up in an exersaucer that I found on Craig's list. (Uncle Jim calls it Micah's command center) :) He was quite fascinated with all of the things to look at and play with on this thing... especially the ladybug with the lights on it.

Every day, Micah gets closer and closer to figuring out how to roll over... here's Pops trying to encourage him ~

:) By the way, that noise came from my mouth... NOT from Pops. ;)

One thing that doesn't get done much around our house these days is vacuuming. Micah doesn't seem to mind being on a dirty floor, (I always put a blanket under him) and I'm working on letting go of my obsession with having a clean house. (I can be a bit of a "Monica" when it comes to our house) Besides, it just gets dirty again 5 minutes after I clean, so what's the point? ;) But I did get the vacuum cleaner out the other day, (even I have my limits) and Micah was quite fascinated by it. We didn't get any video, but the look on his face in the pictures says it all. :)

Aaron's parents came down this past weekend for a belated birthday celebration and some quality family time. My parents are in California for Luke's 1st birthday, so we had to adjust our morning schedule to make sure Micah was taken care of, and Grandma and Grandpa K were more than happy to come down and spend Friday and Monday mornings with him. (Thanks, G-force!) :) We had quite a busy weekend... we took Micah to his first baseball game on Friday night... too bad the Brewers lost... and to the zoo in Racine on Saturday.

Micah started out Friday morning laughing with Grandma and Grandpa K

Then we headed up to Kenosha for some lovin' from Emma

And it was off to Milwaukee for the Brewers vs. Cardinals game!

Auntie Tracy even made Micah his own glove to catch foul balls with

Micah teaching Auntie Tracy how to chew on her fist

I think she's smitten :)

Our family at Miller Park ~

Then on Saturday, we went back up to Kenosha and spent the afternoon wandering around the Racine County Zoo. Micah seemed to enjoy being carried around in his Baby Bjorn and looking at all the animals.

The first one we saw was Emma ~ she came over and laid down right next to Micah for some attention from Aaron :)

Then we saw Kangaroos...

a Tiger...

Peacocks...

Meerkats...

Penguins...

Giraffes...

a Porcupine...

Orangutans...

and a Fox...

We closed out the day with a trip to Georgie Porgie's restaurant for dinner and ice cream... YUM!

Uncle Eric can't wait to teach Micah how to climb trees! :)

And Micah was pretty interested in Uncle Eric's ice cream...

"If only I could figure out how to use this thing..."

A valiant effort, Micah :)

Finding his voice

Our house will never be the same! Micah has found his voice! He's been making a little bit of noise for a while now, but has REALLY gotten vocal in the past week or so. He loves to tell us stories and chat with us about the day's events... Daddy is really good at getting the details from Micah. :)

And today, we heard Micah really laugh. Talk about melting your heart!! He seems to be a bit camera shy... either that, or he's just really curious about this thing mommy keeps shoving in his face :) ...so the only good video I have of him laughing at this point was taken from a ways away so he didn't know he was being taped. :) Our friend Beckie discovered that Micah is very ticklish, especially on his feet, and was having fun making him laugh.

As well as finding his voice, Micah has also discovered that his hands are able to grab on to things. He'll just about grab on to anything you put near his hands at this point, but his favorite thing to hold on to is his rattle. I don't think he realizes he's the one making all that noise, but it's fun to see him learning how to use his hands to grab on to things. :)

We've had some BEAUTIFUL weather the past couple of days, and we took advantage of it and were outside a LOT! :) I took Micah to the park with some friends from our small group at church and their kids, and Micah had his first swing experience! I'm not sure who was more excited about this... Micah or mommy! :)

Later that same day, we took daddy to the park so he could see Micah in the swing. Aaron had fun pushing Micah while I manned the camera. :)

Micah continues to enjoy his doorway jumper... he's a little less tentative these days and has figured out how to make it bounce by himself. He actually sat in it and entertained himself for over an hour while I made a cake for Aaron's birthday. :)

I know I'm a little biased, but we've got an amazing little guy! It is so much fun to watch him grow and experience new things as he figures them out! I LOVE that he now recognizes us and will smile when we talk to him... even if someone else is holding him. I LOVE that he seems to be content and hasn't been terribly fussy so far. (we're praying that continues!) :) And I LOVE that our house will never be the same... it gets better every day!

Oh what fun!

I'll be the first one to admit that it doesn't take much to entertain a 3 month old... he's pretty content just to lay on his back and look (and laugh!) at everyone. Actually, I think it's the 3 month old that does a better job of entertaining us! But we've had a lot of fun in the past week or so... visits with Auntie Tracy and Grannie Jannie and Pops, and Grandma K even came down for the weekend to visit. Micah is a happy little guy, and the consensus seems to be that he makes everyone around him pretty happy too. There's just something about this little guy that makes it impossible not to smile. And he's pretty good at getting us to do and say weird things, even when the cameras are rolling. :)

Daddy, Auntie Tracy and Emma smiling at Micah

Daddy trying to pose Micah in a position similar to a picture we have of me when I was little

Auntie Tracy is all smiles around Micah

Micah and Auntie Tracy

This was the best $10 we've ever spent! Even though he's a little small for this right now, Micah LOVES being able to bounce around in his jumper. :)

Pops playing with Micah ~

Grannie Jannie wanted to get in on the fun

Micah's point of view

Daddy is so amusing!

SO happy!

Check me out, holding my head up!

A visit with Grandma K ~

Auntie Tracy showing Micah the yard

Micah and Emma enjoying the sunshine

My worst nightmare...

Before anyone gets worried, the title of this post has nothing to do with Micah. He's fine, we're all fine. :) Let me start with a little background before I get to the pictures that illustrate my worst nightmare...

When I was a kid, my younger brother loved tormenting me with his food. He would squish it between his teeth and make it squirt out of his mouth, he'd rub it into his pant legs and chase my sister and me around the house yelling, "mashed potato man!" or something like that, or he'd take whatever he knew I didn't like and wave it in front of my face trying to "encourage" me to try it. But the thing I remember him doing most vividly as a kid started when my mom bought some green apple oatmeal for breakfast. Jim was pretty excited about that, but had a fit when she set the bowl in front of him. Why? you ask... because it wasn't GREEN. So my mom, being the genius she is, got out the food coloring and made the oatmeal green. Jim LOVED this, and from that day on would not eat his oatmeal (regardless of the flavor) unless there was food coloring in it! He would use any and all of the colors in the box of food coloring and came up with some absolutely disgusting shades of oatmeal! (I think this might be where his artistic streak started) The problem with this meal, for me, was that not only did the food coloring turn his breakfast all sorts of interesting colors, but it turned Jim's mouth those colors too... and for some reason, I couldn't handle it. I remember eating my breakfast in a "cubicle" of cereal boxes so that I didn't have to see his technicolor oatmeal. And to this day, I will not eat anything that turns my mouth weird colors... especially GREEN.

Now, on to my worst nightmare. :) I have nothing against St. Patrick's day or the Irish, but the thought of a St. Patrick's day party with a green theme completely freaked me out! Our small group decided to have such a party and ALL of the food was green. When I got the e-mail with this idea, I think I started hyperventilating a little bit. We participated, and had a great time with our friends... I even wore a green shirt! ... but I had to take some pictures of the smorgasbord to share with all of you.

Thankfully, we also ordered pizza, so I didn't have to starve at the party. :) And before anyone comments and says something like, "that won't turn your mouth green..." I realize this, but for some reason still can't bring myself to eat green foods. (with the exception of a few green veggies) So, thanks Jim, for making me into a complete freak when it comes to the foods that I'll eat. :) You know I love you!

Even though I was living my worst nightmare on St. Patrick's day, Micah looked adorable in his green. :)

So, happy belated St. Patrick's day, all! May your eating habits never be as weird as mine! :)