May 5th, 2012
Hugo has always had a thing for "shoes" (he gets excited about putting his shoes on, he always notices when our shoes are lying around, etc.) but lately, it has become more of an obsession. He gets so excited about his shoes that he wants to pick them out every morning. We keep all of his shoes in the top drawer of this storage cart, and he not only knows where they are but how to get to them. He will patiently go through them one-by-one until he finds the specific pair he wants to wear that day ... and its not always the same pair, either. I see his independence starting to blossom!
Today was Cinco de Mayo, so we of course had to have a fajita party! It was also beautiful weather so it was a great excuse to have our first deck party of the season. The whole gang was there - and then some! Shannon and Tim's friends (Kevin & Julie) were in town and joined us as well. It was a great party --- the kids had a blast running around the yard (and Connor nearly broke his back wearing all of Hugo's Mardi Gras beads!)
Something very exciting happened at the party....as I was sharing a bottle of wine with the girls, I noticed that Nicole polietly declined any (even though it was here favorite kind). Then, I noticed that she was drinking a Sprite Zero (which I've never seen her do). I put two and two together and knew instantly that .... she .... is .... PREGNANT! Sooo exciting! I asked her directly and even though she said "No", the look on her face said it all. Shhh, its still a secret for now but CONGRATS to the parents to be! So happy for you guys, you are going to make AWESOME parents!
May 12th, 2012
Today was a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon and we headed out to Lincoln Park to listen to the first public performance of the Blues Dog Inquisition, Tim's new band. It was a great way to spend an afternoon, chilling in the grass, watching the boys run all over, and listen to some great music (I really like the new band, good soulful blues music).
While on our way to the show, we got a little lost and ended up in a nearby area with an awesome park (or "Wee" as Hugo calls it). He was so disappointed that we weren't going to the Wee that we decided to stop by and play at it before heading home.
It was a great park for kids Hugo's age. He was having a great time, running all over and even climbing through the tubes (in the past he's been too unsure of them to try). I love this picture above of him with static-cling hair while in the tube! Afterwards, he was so pooped out!
May 13th, 2012
Happy Mother's Day to me, to my wonderful mom and to all of the Mommies out there. I had an awesome day. It started out amazing --- sleeping in (thanks, honey), then waking up to flowers from my little love. He was so sweet --- when I woke up, Jaime told him to bring my present to me and he carried them right over and gave them to me! My heart melted.
Then we met the Dunn's at Holidays for Sunday morning breakfast (my favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning). The boys must have known it was a Mom's special day because they were both on extra-good behavior!
We spent the rest of the afternoon outside --- it was beautiful weather and Hugo was super eager to be outside and explore. He's getting so curious, he notices every leaf, ever new noise and smell. I love seeing the wonder and excitement on his face at this age.
When my parents were down last, they brought down Gatlin's old tricycle for Hugo and today he was able to try it out for the first time. Check out that smile, it just oozes with "I'm a big boy" sentiment!
Bubbles on the deck! While Hugo doesn't quite get the idea of blowing bubbles, he loves to watch me do it. Each time I blow some bubbles, he squeals with excitement and chases each and every one and then patiently waits for me to do more. Its so stinkin' cute.
Running to give good Mommy-Hugo hugs. They are the best kind. He really does give awesome hugs.
We took a walk around the neighborhood (well, Hugo drove).
Rock collecting in our front yard.
Bath time to clean up after a long day outside. My little froggie face!
May 15th, 2012
Best part about summer time arriving? Ice cream! Dairy Queen recently opened and I was desperately wanting to get a cherry dipped cone. To lessen the impact of the calories, we walked (yes, WALKED) to Dairy Queen from our house. It took about 2 hours round trip, but it was a great way to spend the night and Hugo loved being outside and watching the scenery (oh, and he loved the ice cream, too).
There is nothing I love more than this toothy smile framed by his chubby cheeks. My love.
May 18th, 2012
Hugo has started to get the idea of "I don't know" and appropriately puts up his hands when puzzled. Here, we asked him "Where's Vernie?"
The Aukers came over for dinner tonight. We ate on the deck and Hugo and Liam enjoyed getting some extra play time in. After dinner, we walked over to Ice Cream Time for dessert. Hugo was doing a good job sharing ice cream with Jaime until he requested holding the cone himself. Foolishly, Jaime gave it to him and then couldn't get it back! Hugo actually did a great job holding it himself!
May 19th, 2012
Remember what I said above about Hugo's shoe obsession? Here, he found mine and decided to try them out. He did this totally himself!
Hugo is really into his Mardi Gras beads and discovered tonight that he could turn them into a makeshift Frog necklace. So proud of himself!
The weather has been HOT, which means our grass is getting scorched and summer hasn't even really started! Trying to avoid being the house with totally dead grass mid-summer, we decided to be more proactive about watering our grass. So, after dinner, we set up the sprinkler in the backyard. Hugo was fascinated. We put it on low so as to not scare him and he got right up to it and splashed around and tried to drink the water! He had so much fun and got totally soaked. It was adorable.
After playing outside, Hugo got in the tub to warm up a bit and try out his new tubby crayons. He knew what to do right away and loved them!
May 23rd, 2012
Another beautiful night so we decided to meet the Dunns at Motibeller Park for a spring BBQ and to give the kiddos a chance to play and burn off some energy. We were wanting to have dinner with them but its getting more and more difficult to take all of the kids to a restaurant, so heading to a park where they would run and be crazy was a much more amenable solution.
May 24-28th, 2012
Today was the day for my first solo trip to the UP with Hugo. We were heading up to visit and spend time with family in honor of AJ's 30th birthday. The plan was to take Hugo to work with me and then head out mid-afternoon for the UP. Before hitting the road, we had lunch with Kelly and Eleanor and took them to the Arboretum to see the peonies in bloom.
While I was a little nervous about taking Hugo 9 hours in the car (although I know Jaime and my parents were even more nervous than I), I knew it was something that I had to do. I love to go home to visit my family and want to go often enough that I can hop in the car and go when I want rather than having to arrange a variety of transportation options. I'm very happy to report that Hugo and I had a GREAT trip --- he was so awesome! He'd play with something for about 20-30 minutes and then get sick of it, throw it on the floor, and I'd dig into the toy bin that was next to me in the passenger seat to find him something else. It worked like a charm and I loved having him for company. He even took a nice long nap on the way.
Snuggling his puppy dog, Scout and giving him "tight hugs". The way he loves that puppy is really sweet.
We got to my parents house in Negaunee late on Thursday night and then left on Friday morning (plus the boys) to head up to Gay for a night. My dad has been living up in Gay while building the new house and I was anxious to see him and check out the progress that had been made. Hugo was so cute --- as soon as we pulled in the driveway and he saw my dad, he yelled "Grandpa!" and wanted out to go and see him.
The house is looking AMAZING. It's going to be big but I can just envision how beautiful it is going to be with the huge trapezoid windows facing west so as to be able to enjoy the beautiful sunsets over the river. Its so awesome to see how excited my dad is about the house, his enthusiasm is contagious and its so nice to see him and my mom excited and happy about something. This is the amazing view from (what will be) the front deck. This picture is home to me.
We took a nice long walk around Gay with Hugo, Gatlin, Cash, Josh and Erin.
The boys spent some time fishing on the river with Grandpa and Hugo and I enjoyed the sunshine. Gatlin caught a fish! Not a big one, but pretty awesome nonetheless.
There is so much work to do on the new place that the kids got put to work, filling a ditch that was dug for the electrical line. It was fun for about 20 seconds (literally) after which point they all gave up.
I've never slept anywhere as good as I do in Gay and it seems that Hugo feels the same way. He took a 3+ hour nap one afternoon while we were there!
Riding back to Marquette with all three boys in the backseat made for a lively trip, especially when we stopped in Baraga for ice cream. Talk about messy, especially Hugo's ice cream face!
Sunday was AJ's 30th birthday. It was definitely a bittersweet day --- we had a wonderful party where so many friends and family came to visit and celebrate AJ's amazing life. His birthday is always the hardest though, and I can't really articulate how much it hurts to not be able to celebrate 30 years with him.
Last day in the UP....lunch on the patio at Border Grill with Grandma.
