Happy Halloween!!!!

Mooooooooooooo!

One and a 1/2!

(25lbs, 32 3/4 inches tall)

Don't ask me how, but some how, some way, we have a one and a half year old! And a silly little one at that! The past several months have been busy. Easton is growing and learning like crazy. And we're having a lot of fun doing it!

I may be biased, but I seriously think we have a genius baby on our hands. ;) We are learning our body parts and he has mastered the basics -- nose, eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, head, hands, feet and toes. His newest developments are his knees, shoulders and yes, even his little boy parts. We practice counting everyday and he's nailed the numbers two and five, can repeat the idea of counting to ten, but hasn't quite gotten the sounds of all the numbers, oh, and he knows the letter "O". We're also working on animal sounds. Miss Dawn practices colors, shapes, letters and numbers at daycare, and we follow through at home in the tub and during diaper changes. :) Miss Dawn is also doing a great job with introducing the potty to Easton and he's been making big boy potty at least twice a week for the past six weeks. Props to Miss Dawn! And while I'm not proud of it, Easton has mastered the iphone at the young age of 18 months. I have a folder with all the apps for Easton and he manages to navigate into that folder and find what he wants. It amazes me to watch his little finger flip across the screen and hit play to watch Disney Junior while in the waiting room at the doctors office.

Easton no longer walks, only runs - everywhere. He climbs everything - the couch, the bed, the chairs, the dog, etc. His latest obsession is climbing up and down the stairs, and not on his hands and knees, although I insist he holds my hand. This kid talks a mile a minute, mimicks everything you say and knows exactly what he wants. Thankfully he uses his manners, which is a must in this house. He says the cutest little 'peas' and 'tank ou' and uses them in the proper context. He's also become a fan of the word 'no', but thankfully he's still pretty sweet about using it. He definitely knows when he doesn't want something, but it's the sweetest little 'no' and I can't help but give him what he wants. I'm sure I'll feel different when he's being sassy about it. Until then, I'll enjoy it. His vocabulary multiplies by the day and he surprises me with the things he says, knowing exactly what he wants and using his words to get it.

Easton's biggest accomplishment over the past couple months has been people recognition. Not only does he know who everyone in our family is (including my grandparents!), but he points to them in a picture and says their name. The kid is obsessed with looking at pictures. My favorites are that he's carrying on the tradition of calling Bryan's dad "Papa Choo-Choo", which Landon started because you can hear the train from his house, and calling my sister Clare "Doll", which we have done since she was a baby. Melts.My.Heart.

Easton's current favorites include Mickey Mouse, Elmo, cookies, suckers, reading, dancing, stacking blocks, coloring and his Papa. It's one of those things when someone walks in the room, he immediately says "Papa?" Makes you feel really welcome. haha

We wrapped up the summer at the lake and welcomed fall at the cider mill. And let me tell you, Easton loved the slide. His newest finding is going down them backwards. The kid can't get enough of it.

I have to say, as much as I love summer, the warm weather and late nights, I welcome fall with open arms. Sweatshirts and puffy vests, crockpot dinners, honeycrisp apples and post-season baseball. And one perk to it getting dark at 7:30pm is that Easton is ready for bed! For some reason, he goes to bed earlier and easier, and still sleeps in til 7:30am. That makes this mommy happy!

60 Years of Memories!

So....it's been awhile. And I don't even have that good of an excuse as to why I have been neglecting the blog. But my mom has been bugging me to write something, so here I am. Little does she know, I had a post in the works (from nearly two months ago!) that is all about her. :)

Last month In July, my mom celebrated her 60th birthday!!! We, my sisters, my dad and I, wanted to do something special for her, but she was adamant about not wanting a party, so we knew we had to think of something else. My mom is an amazing person, one-of-a-kind to be exact. She is always doing for others, putting everyone else first and willing to drop whatever she is doing anytime someone needs her. This type of person deserve something special. Something to remind them of how much they mean to everyone else and how grateful everyone is to have her in their life.

The gift idea was a no-brainer. We came up with the idea of creating a birthday scrapbook, with a goal of contacting all of mom's friends and family to include special messages and photos in the scrapbook. We started by raiding mom's email to get all of her contacts and sent the following email to everyone requesting their participation.

The messages came POURING in!! I honestly raced home everyday to check the mail and read the messages people were sending. I couldn't believe the turnout! Letters, poems, stories, birthday wishes and photos - it was incredible the variety of messages people sent. And the amount of people who participated - her parents, in-laws, siblings, cousins from Scotland(!!!), best friends, golf buddies, college roommates, elementary school friends, old neighbors, fellow students and teachers. Clearly this lady means a lot to a lot of people!!!

As the big day was approaching, we found ourselves sneaking around behind her back, raiding her photos, scrapbook supplies and getting together to work on the book. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to do this -- our mom is so curious and asks a gazillion questions about everything. You would think two sisters could get together without getting drilled by our mother about what we're doing and why were were hanging out. I'll give her credit tho -- she knew something was up, and she hated not knowing!!! We kept teasing that we were planning for her "big bash". She was not impressed. haha

The big day arrived and "60 Years of Memories" (as we called it) was complete. We planned a family dinner at our house to celebrate and it turned out to be the best birthday party of all time. Easton was lucky enough to spend the day with "Ga" and when they walked into our house, she was welcomed by streamers, balloons, noise makers, party hats and a "SURPRISE!" from Cash, Briggs and Zain. Doesn't get any better than that!

Colleen and I were like little kids in a candy store. We were so excited to give her her gift, we made her open it away!

Her reaction was priceless. I actually caught the first 10 minutes of looking at the scrapbook on video, but I don't think she'd appreciate me posting it for the world to see. Just take my word for it -- she was "flabbergasted". With each turn of the page, I think she was more and more surprised at what the book was all about and to see everyone who participated. The photos tell a great story.....

"How did you do this??"

The scrapbook opened a can of emotions and I think we all enjoyed reading the messages as much as the birthday girl. We are so thankful to everyone who participated -- you played an important role in helping her celebrate 60 years. But I do think this is going to be a hard birthday to beat. I think her exact words were "best gift ever!!!"  And that equals SUCCESS!!!!

And no birthday is complete without cake and cute boys! :)

LOVE YOU MOM!!!! :)

Up North Fun!!

So we've all been a little busy around here -- weddings, birthday parties, playdates, bike rides, trips to the lake, splash park, sleepovers at grandma's, vacation, and more -- and the best part is, we're staying healthy!!!

First things first -- Mid-August, Easton had his 9 month follow up appointment with Pediatric Radiologists and Oncologists at UofM, and an ultrasound, chest x-ray and 2 viles of blood later, we were thrilled to hear that Easton is staying healthy! That made our vacation the next day so much more enjoyable!

Easton has his first taste of Northern Michigan this month. We spent a week at a cabin at Boyne Mountain with my entire family. And by entire family, I mean the three of us, my sister Colleen and her three boys, my mom and dad, and Clare even joined us for the weekend! It was a lot of fun, and a great reminder that I never want 4 kids. :) 

The vacation was pretty go-with-the-flow. We spent a little time at the pool, some time at the lake and even hit up Avalanche Bay, the indoor waterpark, for some rainy day fun. This place was awesome. There were things for kids (and adults!) of all ages to do - a shallow children's pool for the little ones, a lazy river to take a float, two hot tubs, a raging waterfall and five fun-filled waterslides. Easton loved splashing in the water, dancing in the sprinklers and even the waterslides. Cash and Briggs weren't quite tall enough to ride on the super waterslides, so we took full advantage of having to ride with them over and over again. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed at how much fun I had!!!

The hardest part about vacationing with toddlers is working around mid-day naps, so we made sure to get up and moving first thing in the morning so we could have some fun before naptime. We ventured into Petoskey for a little shopping and lunch one day, and into Boyne City for the Farmer's Market the next. The Farmer's Market wasn't anything to call home about, but the kids sure had fun on the huge play structure.

On another day, we headed over to Charlevoix to visit with, get this, mine and Colleen's old daycare lady and babysitter from when we were like 5 years old!!!! My parents have managed to keep in touch with them over the years, and just happened to talk to them a few weeks prior to our vacation, and when they found out we were coming up, they invited us for dinner. So we packed up the cars, and to Charlevoix we went. It was so fun to reminisce with them and to hear stories from when we were young.

On our last night, we headed back into Boyne City for a special ice cream treat. Easton loved sampling all of ours and then burnt all his energy running around the park.

We (the adults) spent our evenings playing cards and games, and counting how many times Cash and Briggs came upstairs. Too bad we didn't count the first night -- I'm sure Briggs would have broken the world record. :)

We packed up and got on the road mid-morning on Sunday. I had arranged to stop in Midland for lunch with a college friend, and of course, I just had to hit up the outlets for a quick shopping trip, which Bryan was thrilled about. Easton was great on the 4 hour car ride -- I think this picture explains how much fun he had on vacation!

Friday Letters

Happy Wear-Your-Pants-On-Your-Head Day!!

Dear International Delight, Thank you for the creation of your iced coffee line. Not only are you supporting my iced coffee obsession, but you are saving me big bucks in the process. Good bye Biggby's ridiculously expensive, not all that delicious, drinks and hello affordable iced coffee-at-home! Dear Big Brother, While I thoroughly enjoy the hours of entertainment you provide to me each week, you are very demanding of my time. Not only is my house feeling neglected, but my husband is too! Not to mention, your 8pm shows are interfering with Easton's bedtime routine. Dear Comcast, Our love/hate relationship is become more and more of a hate relationship. I subscribe to services for my convenience and I expect them to work. While I appreciate your efforts to credit my account and provide me with free premium channels, I'd much rather the services I pay for work! Dear Vacation, I can't wait for you to get here! Next week please fly by. And lastly, Dear Nicole, Happy Birthday (tomorrow)!!! Enjoy your last year of being 20-something. 

Love, 

Courtney

Wordless Wednesday - Potty!

So not exactly 'wordless' but I want to give you a little background information. Over the course of the past few days, Easton has started hiding behind the couch/chair/table to go potty. One second he's there and the next he's is nowhere to be found and I hear grunting in the corner. I mentioned this little phase to Dawn when I dropped him off this morning, not expecting to receive this picture just hours later. Low and behold, she caught Easton going off to hide. She said 'potty', he said "potty", so on the potty seat he went. I'll spare you the after shot, but trust me when I tell you it was success!!! Potty training is in full effect!

FiFteen (and a half!) MoNths!

It appears the monthly updates ended with the monthly stickers, so in turn, I'll try and update with Easton's well-visits, for as long as those lasts. The past 3 months have been a whirlwind -- lot of fun and lots of growing.

Back in May, Easton had his routine follow up appointment (6 months post surgery) with UofM pediatric oncologists. He had an MRI, along with lots of blood work, and thankfully, everything looked awesome. Prior to the MRI, we opted to do some pre-meds to relax him and make the transition to the anesthesiologist easier, and Easton put on quite a little show for us. We go back in August for our next check-up, and our fingers remain crossed at all times for continued success!

We have spent a lot of time at the lake this summer. At first, Easton wasn't so sure about it. It took a little time to get him used to the lake, and now he can't get enough! He runs for the water, belly flops, swallows a mouthful of lake water and laughs uncontrollably, only to do it all over again. We've taken a few boat rides and he seems to enjoy it. Thankfully, only one paci has gone overboard!

Cash, Easton, Briggs, Cal and Zain

Easton and Ga

Easton had his 15 month check up earlier this month and he's growing right on track. 23lbs, 9oz and 31 3/4 inches tall. Doctor says tall and skinny. He must get that from me. ;) 

My little man is getting so big, so fast. He walks nowhere and runs everywhere. And he amazes us with the things he knows and the words he can say, even using them in the correct context!

ball
car
sit
doggie
dada
mama (not often, but he does say it!)
papa
ga (grandma)
nana
thank you
paci
bottle
uh oh
byebye
welcome
nuh nih (night night)
pease (please)
up
down
ah done (all done)
ove ou (love you)
cookie
kacker (cracker)
ack (snack)
sue (shoe)
diaper
poo-poo
kiki (monkey)
Row, row, row (your boat...)

His newest accomplishment is learning to put two words together 'byebye papa', or 'up ga, up'.  We are also having fun learning animal sounds. Easton is working on his doggie bark, and thinks cow and sheep sounds are so silly! We're also working on learning body parts and Easton has perfected the tongue! Nose and belly button aren't far behind. :)

Silly boy!

This little boy is seriously the best thing ever to happen to us. Just when we think he's at the most fun age, he's prove us wrong. Each day gets better and better!! Can't wait for tomorrow. :)

Love you to the moon and back!

~Mommy