Alright folks, sorry it has been SO long since we have put anything new up on our blog. June was a super busy month for us and hence, the blog was put on the back burner. So, here is what we have been up to these last few weeks...
Marshall's First Haircut...As you can tell from these pictures, Marshall was in need of his first haircut. Richard had been wanting to cut it for a couple of months, but I kept stalling. I just loved all his blond fluff, but as you can tell, it got to the point where it was looking a little crazy!
So, on June 19 we said good-bye to Marshall's hair. I held him while Richard used the clippers. We were nervous about how he would react to the noise of the clippers, but he did great. He just ate some snacks out of my hand and sat so still and quietly the entire time; we were very impressed!
Here is Marshall just moments after his first haircut. What a good lookin' kid, but he's not a baby anymore. : (
Visit from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Becky...
Richard's parents were able to come out for a week-long visit in June. It was so much fun to have them here. They have made quite a few visits to Milwaukee, but they have always been short, usually to fix a car, and Richard has always been in school. But this time we didn't have to worry about any of those things and it was wonderful!
Marshall especially enjoyed all of the attention and had lots of snuggles with Grandma Becky and lots of playtime with Grandpa Bob.
We did lots of fun things while they were here, including a trip to Lake Michigan. Bob and I actually waded in the water, it was freezing! But, I love water, so it was all worth it!
Isn't this just a sweet picture?! I love it; my two boys. :)
We also took a trip up to Green Bay and visited "The Home of the Pack", Lambeau Field.
We didn't have time for a tour, nor did we want to pay the money, but we did visit the pro shop and introduced Marshall to a cheese head...
We also found Brady Poppinga's jersey. Richard was disappointed that they didn't carry it in children's sizes, oh well, I guess the picture will have to do.
Harry Potter Exhibit...
We also made the drive to Chicago to see the traveling Harry Potter exhibit. The exhibit is only going to be at four museums across the country, and with Chicago being one of the stops, we couldn't pass it up. It was a great exhibit and they had so many original things that had been used in the movies-what a treat!
Thanks Grandpa Bob and Grandma Becky for the visit! We sure enjoyed having you here-we love you guys!
Trip to Utah...The day after Richard's parents left Marshall and I hopped on a plane to Utah to visit my family for a week before my brother left on his mission. We had a fun time and Marshall once again enjoyed all the attention.
This is Marshall with the amazing Uncle Jordan. Jordan did just about everything for Marshall the whole week. He played endlessly with him, fed him, took him on walks, and baby-sat. He did everything besides change diapers, but who can blame a 13 year old boy for not wanting to change a poopy diaper?!
And here's Marshall with Uncle Kevin. Kevin hardly had anything to do with Marshall at Christmas, but now that Marshall is a little bit older, Kevin decided that he was a little bit cooler to play with. :)
Hanging out with Uncle Danny, and being tickled by Stacie-what a great afternoon!
We were able to be in Utah for Father's Day (sorry again about that Richard) and me and my brothers gave my dad a great card. Marshall also loved it, here's a clip...
One afternoon we drove up to Mueller Park and roasted hot dogs and made smores. We had a fun time and Marshall had his first experience with a cold mountain stream.
Now here's a funny story. One night my mom was feeding Marshall his dinner and my dad walked up the stairs that lead into the kitchen. When he got to the top of the stairs, he looked at Marshall, raised his fist in the air and said "Marshall!" Well, Marshall stopped eating, gave my dad a huge cheesy grin, and raised his fist in the air. We all cracked up laughing as they both repeated this process for close to five minutes.
We also spent an afternoon at my aunt's house while her daughter and grandson were visiting and she was also baby-sitting her granddaughter. It was a fun afternoon, but an exhausting one as all three kids almost always wanted the same thing at the same time!
Marshall, Will, and Kate Leigh all learning how to share. And Erin, trying to read to three kiddos, what a good sport!
Here's Marshall and Uncle Danny moments before we dropped him off on the curb at the MTC. What a cute uncle Marshall has!
Danny has also been a great uncle to Marshall during the two visits they have had. It is weird to think Marshall will almost be three before he sees Danny again, by then he will be running around and talking up a storm!
After we dropped Danny off we stopped at the cougar outside of Lavell Edwards Stadium. At Richard's request, Marshall needed to have some pictures taken with the cougar, after all, that is his middle name. :)
Marshall and I were able to get together with my sister-in-law, Aubri, and her little girl, Marshall's cousin, Katelin.
Katelin is about five months older then Marshall and one cute little girl. These two have only been together twice, but both times Katelin has made Marshall cry. Katelin likes to scream at the top of her lungs, not a mad scream, just an energetic one. Well, poor little Marshall does not like it at all and burst into tears on quite a few occassions during our dinner. I tried to tell him that he needed to be tough, after all he is a boy, but he still cried. But, despite the tears, we still had a fun dinner!
Marshall and I also spent some time with my grandparents. It was so good to see them and Marshall loved exploring a new house with a very long hallway!
The last time we saw my grandparents was at Christmas time. Marshall sure has changed a lot since then. He wasn't even four months old and was just barely learning how to roll over-now he's crawling everywhere and starting to talk! Time flies!
Marshall Cuteness...
One of Marshall's favorite things to do now is to look at his books. We just keep a basket of all of his books in his room and he can actually entertain himself for quite a while looking through all of his books. I just love it and thinks he's so adorable!
Also, referring back to the cute arm thing he started doing in Utah, well he still does it, but now he uses both arms. It is so funny. He usually does it while he is eating or after his bath when he is on the changing table. Here's Superman!
My little helper...well, not quite yet, but its still a great picture!
Multiple times a day Marshall makes his way over to the stove and proceeds to pull down the towel, his bib. As you can tell, it makes him so happy, look at that smile!
Marshall has recently become very attached to two of his blankets. They are both fuzzy and very soft. He likes to snuggle in them for a few minutes after waking up and will drag them around the house when he is awake. He will even come take them from us when we are holding them. Hmmm...I wonder where he gets his love of blankets...Richard?!
And last, but not least, a very cute growling video...enjoy!
4th of July...
We had a fantastic 4th of July. We began the day by attending a parade. Richard wasn't too thrilled about the whole ordeal, but we ended up having a fun time. Marshall did great and enjoyed all the new sights and sounds. This was the only picture that I took of the actual parade, pretty sweet little car!
After the parade, Marshall's little friend, Kaden, came over to play. Kaden's mom, Lynn, is Marshall's baby-sitter when I go to work, so these two are good buds. But, with summer vacations and all, its been a while since they have been together. Kaden is three months older then Marshall and is walking, but Marshall did a good job crawling to keep up with him.
That evening we had our annual cul-de-sac 4th of July bar-b-que. It was a fun evening and by the end Marshall was filthy, but happy!
Now, let me preface these next few pictures so people don't think we're crazy. Our neighbor had brought out sidewalk chalk for some of the older kids to play with. They enjoyed it for a little while, but eventually moved on to other things. Well, Marshall and Kaden discovered it and proceeded to get their clothes all chalky. So, we stripped the boys down, and then got the idea that we might as well continue to make a mess and here's what followed...
"Hey, what are you doing to me?!"
"Oh, that tickles!"
"I am Super-Baby, Marshall Man!"
"Kaden's turn!"
"Super-hero buddies!"
Swimming at the Splash Pad...
There is a park just a few blocks away from our apartment that has a little kitty pool that is FREE! How great is that?! On Monday we got together with some friends and enjoyed an afternoon at the pool. The water was definitely not heated, but it was warm enough outside that it felt good. As you can see, Marshall definitely enjoyed himself. I am sure you will be seeing many more pictures of Marshall in the pool this summer as we hope to make this a weekly outing. Hooray for swimming!
I am finally all caught up! I do have one more hilarious video that I need to put up, but it is kind of long, and has had a hard time uploading. But, I will keep trying, and hopefully you will see it in a couple of days!
Now that Marshall is feeding himself more and more he has become a very messy eater. A bath is now definitely essential after three meals!
Whenever we go outside now Marshall makes this cute little face; I think it is because of the sun. He wrinkles his nose and squints his eyes and I think that he looks like a turtle. :) This picture was an attempt to capture that face, it didn't really work, but maybe you get the idea.
