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....

Becoming a Boy

Recently, Grammie Pam mentioned that Ledger is really "becoming a little boy".  I thought that was a funny statement -- I mean,  hasn't he always been a little boy?  But this week, I totally know what she's talking about.  Ledger wants to be outside all of the time.  He falls and scrapes his knees.  He drives his power wheels car around the living room running over everything in his path.  He is doing "little boy" things! :)

Here are a few pictures of him playing in the sand at the playground this morning and a video of him going down the slide a few weeks ago.

Summer Fun

I know that lots of people take one look at our super pale white son and assume that he's never spent any time out in the sun.  But they are wrong.  Our kid loves the sun and the water.  Oma loves to take him swimming in great-Grammie's pool.  He loves to play in the hose and he wants to drive in his car as often as possible.  And now that he's walking (and running) he would prefer to hold your hand and do everything himself!! :)  So now that summer is winding down, here are some pictures of our summer fun this year!