Micah's New Moves

Lately, Micah has gone through some kind of mental growth spurt. He is so very busy, but also very busy communicating and understanding so much of what we talk with him about! Pointing is his main communication, but it is very effective. He is also very huggy and smiley and continues to be his good natured, charming self. When hanging out with his Nana and Naomi, he started to look a little sad. Nana asked Naomi, when he makes this face does it mean he is going to cry? And Naomi responded, "He never makes that face." I am continually grateful for these two!

What we're learning about our Micah in the last two weeks:

He loves taking baths. If you say the word "bath" in his presence, he points towards the bathroom door and then walks there to bang on the door until we run him a bath. The other day he took two (this is not rare considering his requests and how messy he gets eating).

He loves food and would eat all day long if we let him. Every time he sees anyone with a piece of food in their hand he points at it, asking for some.

He loves his sister (okay, so this we've known for a while). They love to give hugs, and when Naomi kisses the bottom of his feet, he raises them up asking for more. (okay, so that may sound a bit gross, but it is super cute, and probably won't last too long.)

Finally, Micah loves music. He points at the stereo, asking for me to turn it on, and then dances with his sister in the living room, spinning in a circle. Check out the video - I finally caught them in action.

Enchanted Rock

Presidents Day gave Mark a day off from work - so we headed to Enchanted Rock to go hiking and exploring! Naomi was so excited when she woke up, and the kids packed themselves in for a road trip. It was a little gloomy day, and we hoped the sun would make an appearance - but we left home anyway.

The sun did come out - in fact it was a beautiful Texas spring day. The kind that sends you home with a sunburn because you forget the sunscreen because its February. I had actually never been to Enchanted Rock before, and can't believe its taken me so long. It was so beautiful! And such a great place to hike and walk. Mark took Naomi to explore the cave, then Naomi took me. And Micah took a nap.

Around the House

Valentine's Day Card

The Flu, Valentine's Day, and Naomi's Stage

Mark went back to work today. He came home last Thursday feeling sick, and was home sick with the flu Friday, Monday and Tuesday (yesterday). I got it Sunday - just in time for Valentine's Day. We spent Valentine's Night eating pizza on the couch while Naomi was at a friend's Valentine's Party and Micah started getting sick. Thankfully Naomi has been all clear. And Valentine's Day was alot of fun with the Four-Year-Old. She asked me to buy Mark some chocolate-covered strawberries (we all enjoyed those with waffles for breakfast) and Mark brought home flowers for me and Naomi, and a toothbrush and frozen waffles for Micah. I got Naomi and Micah a balloon. So it felt quite festive in between naps and lying around.

Its been a weekend of all of us home, with Mark and I alternating who's been "on", and thankfully the worst of each of ours hasn't overlapped. In a wierd way it was nice to have Mark home all this time, even though its meant we have all felt crappy.

But today, Mark went back to work, and while I am feeling much more like myself, 9am and Micah's morning nap rolled around and I was done for the morning. So I went to take a nap and left Naomi in charge... this is how she spent her half hour, making a play and setting the stage. It was a nice scene to get up to. and then to find Micah awake in his bed with one arm out of his sleeve. I'm not sure he actually slept.

Why I'm Banishing Kids Chairs From the House

So far I've caught him:

--standing on a chair in the middle of the living room, dining room, and kitchen

--standing on the chair in the kitchen pulling stuff out of drawers and off the counter

--on the leather chair pulling stuff off the counter

-- sitting / standing on the kids' table

-- crawling on top of the (not stable at all!) toy shelf next to the kids' table. This was actually the most impressive, and I really wanted a picture of it. But he was ON TOP of a rickety wire shelf. Not really time.

Preschool Performances

Naomi's preschool has had a couple of performances in December and January:

In December it was a demonstration of what her class has been doing in dance. Here are a couple of pictures.

In January they performed a play at the Dougherty Arts Theatre -- "Are You Our Parents?" -- loosely based on Dr Seuss' "Are You My Mother?" Naomi and her friend Autry were the baby birds and had a big speaking part. She got face paint and everything! They spent their class day at the theater and now Naomi knows what "house lights" are. Her friends Ellaiden and Soren and cousin Anna and Nana came to watch. We were so proud - she did a wonderful job!!

Micah's Actual Birthday

The previous pictures were from Micah's birthday party, but here is some documentation from his actual birthday. We gave him his presents from us that morning - Naomi decided to get him his own baby doll. I chose a Xylephone - he got a kick out of banging on one at a store over the holidays, and he really likes music.

Micah's First Birthday

Happy Birthday Dear Micah!

Micah turned one January 6th - a feat that sort of blew me away and had me questioning time, space, and what I've actually done for the last year. There is no question of what Micah has been doing for the previous 12 months - Growing! and Walking! and Laughing! and learning to do all those things that show you that he is not a baby, and barreling full force into this next year of toddlerhood. This past month, since he turned the Big-0-1, I really see himas a little person. He points at everything, throws a fit now and then (daily) and laughs and smiles really big at me when he's pretty sure he is doing something he isn't supposed to. Yup, we are so THERE.
In what has become our tradition, I baked the cake (CARROT) and Mark decorated it - if you turn your head sideways you'll see that it spells "Micah" in peaches. Thankfully, while the day/week of Micah's actual birth was in the 20s, this year it was pleasant and he even got his cake outside.
Micah, also in family tradition, took to the cake just fine. And it looks like he didn't waste a crumb.

Projects

The past week has been very project filled. In fact, Naomi has been vocally wondering whether Mark or I will finish our project first!

But first, Naomi had a goal to bake a cake - a chocolate cream cheese icing and vanilla cake - and share it with our neighbor. She usually has a simultaneous goal to lick the beater.

Mark has acheived his dream goal of building a green house in the back yard. **UPDATE**When we went out there today at lunch it was 32 degrees outside and windy, but 70 degrees inside the greenhouse! Amazing!!**

And I finished the quilt I made for Micah! It is my first - well, hopefully first and not only - quilt!