michael john finds his toes

well, it's official... michael john has found his toes! now you will commonly find our adorable little baby boy reaching for his feet. even more fun, though, is his laughter! it is amazing how full your heart can be with just the sound of his giggle, which daddy is very successful at getting him to do. he is such a happy baby and is always ready with a big smile.

go hawkeyes!!

resting up before the big iowa bowl game tonight....
GO HAWKEYES!!!

michael john meets the ford family!

we were so excited to see one of my dearest friends, manesha, and her beautiful family! and especially to have the opportunity to introduce them to michael john! between our two families, we are going to have a lot of fun with all of our boys!

taylor goes ice skating for the first time!

it was a perfect winter day to try ice skating for the first time! while visiting john, charity, and hudson in kansas city, they thought it would be fun to take taylor ice skating at this quaint little rink in barkley square in park place area. taylor wasn't sure she wanted to try it at first, but once i told her that good skippers make great ice skaters, she was up for the challenge! her daddy was so good and patient with her, and despite a number of falls, she did great and had fun!! i had so much fun watching them!

an early Christmas in kansas city

we had such a fun time celebrating an early Christmas with john, charity and hudson!
and the visit wouldn't be complete without a trip to see the plaza lights! so pretty! and taylor was so excited that our visit on the plaza included some snowflakes!

a cold and wet, but very happy family!

michael john snuggling with daddy at starbucks down on the plaza...a perfect spot to warm up!

i just love christmas- time!

nap time at uncle john & aunt charity's

michael john had a perfect nap at uncle john and aunt charity's upstairs in the soft sunlight. (this is one of my favorite little outfits... thank you john and charity!)

for craig...

so many of my favorite moments lately have been in the mornings playing on the floor with michael john. he is such a sweet and happy baby and i am so very thankful to be able to have these beautiful days with our new baby boy. this week michael john has really started to smile and to smile responsively and it is the coolest thing ever! while we were playing on the floor today, i snapped this picture of us and had no idea that he was looking at the camera and smiling too! i guess he is already getting used to his picture-snapping mommy! so this picture goes out to daddy, the best daddy, whom we love so very much and are so very thankful for, and for working so hard so that we can have these perfect moments. we love you.