December

I figured December, specifically Christmas time, deserved its own post. We were able to put out more decorations this year and Michael did really well with everything. His favorite thing to do each morning was to turn on the Christmas tree lights. This year was really fun with him as he enjoyed opening presents more, seeing lights, drinking hot chocolate, watching my favorite Christmas movie (White Christmas), and so much more.

The first snow of the Winter.

We took Michael out for a walk and he insisted on going down the slide. We were laughing so hard when he came down the slide into a major snow puddle. He thought it was great!

Decorating the Christmas tree

Michael really enjoyed helping decorate

The star is up...only a day later than the rest of the decorations!

Michael and his girlfriend, Kaylie, making eyes at each other. Although, it looks like Michael is staring off somewhere else.

Santa visited our neighborhood. Michael wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe it was because this guy was skinny and young....Michael knows that Santa is neither.

Hot Chocolate in his own mug

Big snow

Michael sitting on the car before we cleaned it off

Our "sleigh" or wagon! Michael discovered throwing snowballs. He loves to especially throw them at mommy.

Self-family portrait

Sledding without a sled

Playdoh with Kyle

Putting baby Jesus in the Manger on Christmas morning

Ripping open gifts - slowly but surely

Notice the monkey pajamas and monkey slippers - his Christmas Eve gift

Pretending to eat his play food

I love when he sits like this....so adorable!

Playing on his new lego table

Eating overnight surprise (sticky buns) after opening gifts - the Kanaly family tradition

Michael and Aidan playing with the fish magnetic puzzle

Playing peek-a-boo

Jason's parents came up from MD yesterday. This dump truck was one of the cool toys Michael got from them. It talks, dances, snores, does push-ups, etc. It's entertaining for all of us.

Michael and Grandpa watching Daddy fly his new helicopter that he got from his parents.

Michael with Grandpa and Granmere

Random Pictures

I won't do a new post for every event I have missed blogging about. That would be crazy. Instead, I am going to do a bunch of random pictures from the past few months. The week after vacation, my mom came up to PA to watch Michael while Jason and I headed to NY for our friends Christen and Isaac's wedding. It was a great overnight trip and when we got back my mom insisted we go out for a date so we headed to the movies. Amazing.

Christen and I

Jason and I at the reception

Michael at Valley Forge

We had a lunch date with Uncle Mike and Chase to Valley Forge

Michael won a goldfish at a local fair - he was super excited!

Michael, Hailey, and Jake - Michael is the witch at the top

Choosing a pumpkin

Pushing/pulling the wagon of apples

Michael had a great time apple picking and choosing pumpkins with his cousins

Mommy and Michael joined MOPS this year. We went to a horse farm for a tour in the fall.

Michael took swim lessons at the local YMCA in the fall. Unfortunately, we missed about half the classes due to Jason's mom being in the hospital for a while.

Michael had a great time every class. I can't wait to do another swim class with him.

Our horse on Halloween. If you pushed the ear of the costume it made horse sounds. But, Michael kept saying "Moo".

First time trick-or-treating. He wasn't all about getting a lot of candy. He was more interested in savoring one lollipop and walking around.

Looking scared after I first put the head up. It had some weight to it, which is different from normal hats. But, he got used to it quickly.

Loving Mema through the sliding glass door

Michael's cousin, Kyler, turned 1 yr. old in November. We had a good time at the party and as you can see the chocolate cake was delicious :-).

Back to Blogging

I am obviously way behind on blogging and have actually missed going through pictures to share them on here. Now that I am in my second trimester, I am feeling much better and hope to keep up with life. Here are some pictures from our vacation to the beach Labor Day week. It was rainy and windy for a good portion of the week, but we just became creative in our activities.

Michael chasing a seagull after Daddy taught him this trick on a rainy/windy day on the boardwalk

Daddy love

He was very good all summer about staying with us on the beach and not running away. He loved playing in the sand.

Mommy love (we both actually had good color - which is unlike us)

Loving the boardwalk on a nice day

Michael couldn't get enough of Daddy time on vacation. I thought the transition back to daddy working all week would be hard for him, but he did fine. He was just even more excited the end of each work day to see him.

Our attempt at a photo booth. This was the funniest picture of the three of us. Michael didn't quite get the concept.

The cold/windy day. I think this was the end of our time on the boardwalk that day and he was tired and hungry.

Sick Days

Michael has been sick with a virus since the end of the week. In addition, it seems that he is getting his 2 yr. molars in at the same time. Poor guy. I had to make a diaper run today and bought him some playdoh to give him something new and fun to do since he has been stuck in the house since Thursday. It's interesting to see how a couple months ago he probably would have put it in his mouth, but today he was all about playing with the new squishy stuff.

18 Month Check-up

Michael and I just got back from his 18 month check-up. He did such a great job. While we were in the waiting room he said "Hi" and "Bye-bye" to every person walking by. Quite the social butterfly. He did not shed a single tear when he got 3 shots. Instead, he grunted after the first shot and then shot the nurse a nasty look after the other 2 shots. Then he quickly said "bye bye".

Our little man's stats:

Height - 34 inches (90th percentile)
Weight - 27 lbs 7 ounces (73rd percentile)
Head - 20.5 inches (95th percentile) - staying big :-)

18 months

Our little guy is growing up so fast. We were just looking at his baby pictures last week week and it seems like so long ago, yet just the other day that we were holding our little one. Now, he's not so little. Most of his shirts have become "belly shirts" and we are about to move into the next size.

The joy he brings both of us is nothing short of amazing. When he smiles or giggles it just lights up our world. He's sweet and loves giving kisses. Our little boy is also very polite, saying "peas" and "dant-doo" (please and thank-you) mostly without reminders. He is also definitely exerting his independence too.

Michael has recently been telling us when he goes potty in his diaper. We began to realize that we should act on this, but before we made the decision he came to mommy and said "Pee Pee, Mommy" and went to the bathroom door waiting for me to open it up. I took off his diaper and sat him down....sure enough the kid peed on the potty. He has now done both deeds on the potty, but only a handful of times. We're not hard pressed to work on this right now, but we're kind of taking his cues.

A few of Michael's favorite things include:

Bubbles. "Good Kitty". Going outside - he constantly grabs his shoes and says "buh bye". Brushing his teeth. Playing in water - sink, pool, ocean, etc. Swimming in the "poo" (don't worry, that means pool). The moment daddy walks in from work. Praying - if we have him eat before us, he'll put his hand out to hold ours when we sit down in order to pray. Holding hands. When we pretend to drop him. His cousins. His friends. Slides - big and small. Being chased. Having the palms of his hands tickled. "Bapples" (Apples). CHEESE. Hide 'n seek. Soccer. Dirt. Technology - he's definitely daddy's son. Pretending to talk on the phone (or any object he uses as a phone) - he even pauses to "listen" to the other person and will let out a little giggle as if the pretend person said something funny. Climbing. Pretending to sleep (making the snoring sounds too). Marshmallows.

And he is our favorite......

Beautiful Bags

If you are looking for a purse/bag that is not only beautiful, but homemade you should check out this website. The creator of the bags is giving away one of her bags as a start to her new business. Check it out!!

Also, I WILL update the blog this week with adorable pictures of Michael. PROMISE.