Ledger's New Tricks

Ledger is learning new things every day.  His vocabulary seems to grow by the minute! :)  Here are some of the newer things we're seeing Ledger doing now...

He gives fist BUMPS.

He gives head butts.  Well, really it's more of a head PRESS.

He especially likes pressing his head on the cat.

His newest trick is that he will give REAL kisses!

It is so sweet.

I am hoping to get some video of Ledger's newest words soon and will post it as soon as we get it!  Thanks for watching us grow.

Big City Weekend

Chris and I both took Friday off of work and left town late Thursday night to spend a weekend in KC with the Perkins'.  Driving in the evening worked out pretty well because Ledger got sleepy and fell asleep in the car.  For those of you who don't know, Ledger gets really giggly when he's sleepy.  I recorded this video of Daddy making Ledger laugh in the car on our way to KC...

We didn't have any plans for Friday, so we mostly just cruised around some of our favorite "big city" shops.  We met Emily for lunch and Ledger got to see where she works and meet some of her co-workers -- all of whom immediately recognized him from the multiple blog videos! :)  Ledger also showed off his fork skills during lunch at Fazoli's...

Friday night, we ate at Mi Ranchito -- our FAVORITE KC Mexican restaurant.  The espinaca dip is SO good.  (We tried to stay on our "Pound Plunge" diet -- really, we did!)

On Saturday morning, we had a Panera breakfast.  I LOVE their pumpkin muffins -- and so did Ledger! :)  Emily and Josh both had "stuff" to do on Saturday morning, so Chris and I took the opportunity to partake in the wonderful Olathe garage sales.  Seriously, they always have good stuff and it's usually pretty cheap.  (I know I'm pathetic, but I love a bargain -- and so does my husband.)  We bought a pair of Baby Gap jeans for 50 cents, a toy tank for 50 cents, a Lego-type play table for $5, and a Bissel carpet shampooer for $25.  I was most excited about finding a baby backpack carrier and getting it for half of what they had it marked as!  We had the opportunity to put it to good use that afternoon when we hit the Kansas City Renaissance Festival.  I haven't been to the Ren Fest since I was in high school and I had forgotten how immense the grounds are!  Seriously, it's really big.  I was excited to take Chris, because he'd never been to anything like this.  Ledger was enthralled with all of the new sights.  Emily and Josh went along, but honestly, they mostly went for the food -- turkey legs, cheesecake-on-a-stick, and fried pickles! :)  We got to see the parade and a big joust, but it started raining shortly afterwards so it cut our afternoon short.  Here are the pictures...

Carnivores!

My knight in shining armor...

The Michel family with the King and Queen of Canterbury.

Puss... in boots!

As if that wasn't enough fun for a big weekend... We went to a KC Chiefs game on Sunday!!  Chris and I are BIG Chiefs fans, so we were really excited to get to a game.  The Chiefs have been on a roll and were 2-0 going into the Sunday game against the San Francisco 49ers as a 3 point underdog.  We arrived early at Arrowhead stadium to enjoy the tailgating atmosphere.  After a game of washers and a bloody mary with our parking lot neighbors, we decided to head into the stadium early to get a look at some of the changes to the NEW Arrowhead remodel.  Chris really wanted to see the new Lamar Hunt statue and the Hall of Fame.  We got a little turned around though, so we actually did about two full laps around the stadium before we saw everything we wanted.  We made it to our nosebleed seats just in time for kick off.  And we were definitely in the nosebleeds -- 1 row from the top.  :)  But right on the 35 yard line -- we could see everything!  Ledger liked the noise and clapped along with the crowd.  He even tried to participate in the "FIRST DOWN" arm gesture, but couldn't quite nail the timing. ;)  By the middle of the 2nd quarter, he was worn out and fell asleep in aunt Emily's arms.  The Chiefs played a helluva game and crushed the 49ers.  Final score: Chiefs - 31, 49ers - 10.

Thanks to the Perkins' for an awesome weekend.  We had a great time!!  Hope we can do it again soon!

Big Kid Playground

This morning we woke up early and went on a walk to the local playground and one of the bigger playgrounds about a half mile away.  This gave Mommy, Daddy, and BoomPa a chance to get a little exercise, and it gave Ledger a chance to play on some fun equipment.  He has recently learned how to go down the "big boy" slide all by himself and today we experimented with the merry-go-round!

We had a really great time with BoomPa this weekend.  We are looking forward to another fun weekend with Aunt Emily and Uncle Josh next weekend.  We love you all!!

BoomPa Weekend

This weekend BoomPa came to visit.  KSU and OU both had football games in the afternoon, so we have spent Saturday afternoon decked out in our school colors and enjoying some Big XII football! :)  Here are some pictures of Ledger in his OU gear.  The Sooner socks are a Powell family tradition.

Ornery, ornery, ornery...

Giving BoomPa "bumps".

We match!!

BoomPa gave Ledger a brief Sooner history lesson before the game.

Ledger thought it was funny.

Supporting BoomPa's superstition and wearing our OU socks.

We got a little overheated and stripped down to our diaper.  But the socks stayed on.

This is Ledger getting ready to throw the ball right at Mommy.

Male Bonding

Ledger has been suffering through a bad bout of allergies or summer or cold or whatever.  Basically he's been a big ol' snot box since Friday.  He's been amazingly cooperative with our ministrations, but just like last year, he refuses to take any oral medications.  One major upside to all of this has been that our little man has been very cuddly... with Mommy, Daddy, and even Cooper...

All of the other Stuff

So there is a lot I haven't said on this blog lately.  Most importantly, my family has been surrounded by death and sickness.  It has taken it's toll on everyone.  You can read Emily's blog about our grandma and Brandy's blog about Jackson, her 8-month-old cousin.  It feels like "cancer" has been on everyone's lips and death lurking around every corner.  Last week, one of my high school classmates, Nick Charvat, died suddenly.  It struck me hard that at only 30 years old, we think we have all of the time in the world left.  I am not going to tell his story here, but would appreciate your prayers and thoughts for his family and for the rest of us who are still struggling with his passing.

What is going on?

I'll admit it... I've been a lazy blogger.  I've gotten into the habit of putting some photos on the blog and being done with it.  So today I am going to tell you what's been going on with the Michel family lately.

We have been busy trying to settle back into a routine that gets all of us to school, work, and child care on time.  So far, it has been going very well.  I am really enjoying our morning cuddle and playtime and trying to get us out on a walk a few times a week.  Daddy and Ledger have had good afternoon playtime together and usually even get dinner started before I get home from work! :)

Ledger is cutting molars on his right side.  You can actually see the swollen gums and the tooth cutting through really clearly in the picture above.  He had one or two rough nights cutting his upper molar and is having a couple of rough days with this bottom one too.  We are hoping that his left-side molars won't cause him quite as much distress.

Ledger is getting more verbal on a daily basis.  He is a pretty good parrot and will try to repeat just about everything you say.  His word of the week is "outside".  He says daddy, dog, baby, bye bye, cat, kitty, and a million other words that we just can't understand yet!

The kid is constantly on the move.  In a blink of the eye he will climb the stairs and make a mad dash for the dog water bowls or the toilet or the closest broom he can find.  We are trying to teach him to go down the stairs safely on his tummy... but he would much rather just walk down like a big boy. :)

This weekend we are looking forward to seeing aunt Jaime, aunt Emily, and uncle Josh.  Labor Day officially marks the start of football season -- which means that you can pretty much guarantee the Michels will be spending Sunday afternoons in front of the flat screen TV cheering on our KC Chiefs!

Video Blog: Ledger Wants To Go....