Cuteness.....

Meet my new BFF

Michael and Josiah (JJ)

JJ crawls, Michael tries to crawl

Having a conversation with Daddy/Jason

Josiah is Jason's BFF's son (understand?). I know guys don't have "BFFs", because it's not manly or something. But, in my eyes these guys are all BFFs. Oh man....I just realized I should have taken a picture of the daddies and the babies. Next weekend we'll see them again and I'll try to remember. Jon and Kat (JJ's parents) live in MD and went to Messiah with Jason. They came up unexpectedly this week for a family funeral and stayed with us. Michael and I had the best time playing with Josiah while Jon and Kat were gone one day. The funny thing is that Michael and Josiah are soooo stinkin' similar it's hilarious since Jason and Jon are very similar too. More pics to come next week of the crew......

Mini Golf

In the cove!

1st Hole - Michael is intently watching!

I lost, but only by 3 points :-)

An evening at the Boardwalk

Family Picture

LOVING the boardwalk

You guys are sooo funny!

Looking at the Ocean

I love this guy!

Michael loves being upside down..seriously!

Smiling at my daddy!

It was awesome seeing how much Michael loved being on vacation at the beach. Both Jason and I grew up going to the beach often each year and we wanted to continue that with our family. Watching Michael smile and just have an overall great time just confirmed for us that his name, Michael Rory, suits him perfectly. My dad loved nothing more then to go to the beach for vacation and Jason's dad lives close to the beach and continues to surf every summer.

Michael LOVES the beach!!!!

Vacation ROCKS

Daddy torturing Michael

Michael was NOT pleased!

Playing in the Beach tent

Getting my grub on!

Chillaxin' - That's what you do at the beach!

Crawling lesson by Grandpa

Michael received a crawling lesson from Grandpa last week. We stopped in to see the grandparents while we were on vacation. Unfortunately, the crawling lesson put Grandpa's back over the edge and he now has a pinched nerve :-(. But, Michael was grateful for the help! Grandpa is eager for Michael to crawl, walk, and quickly learn to surf. We're working on it...maybe by next summer :-).

Ready for bed

Vacation

The van Brackel family is back from vacation, more physically rather than mentally. I know both Jason and I are dragging a bit. Vacation was relaxing, but coming home was exhausting. Michael's teething seems to be getting tougher....for all of us. He is fighting sleep and keeps waking up with circles under his eyes...poor guy. Playing is not something he wants to do for too long as he would love to just veg. So, Michael and Mommy's routine the past few mornings has been to cuddle on the couch together watching the latest on the Olympics. He is still his usual sweet self, smiling at us and making us laugh with his constant blowing raspberries. One of these days I am going to video tape him doing this because it is absolutely hilarious. Our car ride home from vacation was 4 hours long rather then the usual 2.5-3 hours (due to Bay Bridge accident in MD..yes, it caused problems for us). Most of the ride home Michael blew raspberries and the faces that accompanied this activity were priceless. At least Jason and I were entertained during our ride home.