My last post from Chicago

And one for Amy.

One for Lauren.

A kiss for Ava.

Big hug.

Enough posing. Back to the food.

Ava and I were enjoying our fairwell dinner. We got to sit at our very own kids' table. I pounded my pizza.

This is how I like my boxes. Empty. Mom puts stuff in. I take it out.

Being dangerous is so much fun!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

We gave each other lots of hugs and kisses to say goodbye.

I'm going to miss you, Molly. You've been a great buddy!

Mom, seriously. I had a very long day at the park and I'd just like to watch my video in peace.

This is even better than the bath tub!

I was thirsty, so Hank made good use of his shovel.

You mean, I get to go in the water?

Christie loves taking me to fun places.

Taking a little break.

I like sand. I like trucks. But especially the sand.

15 months and lots of developments

I spent this week doing two things: being sick (cough, cough) and amazing Mom and Dad with my many talents. My walking is getting much better, and I'm starting to actually choose this form of locomotor activity on my own. I can generally make it across a room - unless I get distracted or Brody knocks me over. But the most exciting thing is my blossoming language development. In addition to my signs, I can now say Dad (Dah!...Dah!), Mom (Mah - and not nearly as frequently as Dad), milk (Me?! - with a very high pitched upturn), up (Up-ah!), Christie (some variation of Keest), baby (Bay-bee!), Brody (Bah - and then panting noises), and yes (Yesh). If I want something but don't know how to say it, I fall back on shouting and signing for milk. Mom and Dad just aren't getting it, but at least I get lots of milk!

Walking and asking to be picked up.

Climbing on Mom to get the camera because no one is allowed to use any form of technology in this house without my participation.

Playing in Daddy's shoes.

Sorry for the delay...

So, I think most people already know, but we've had a really busy spring made even busier by the fact that Mom and Dad have decided it's time for our family to move. By the end of the month, we will all be Michiganders. Dad will have a new job, renters will move into our condo, and we think we have a house to live in in Royal Oak (near Detroit for those of you not familiar with Michigan). Mom is working on a job too, and she's been pretty stressed about the whole thing. Mom stressed is not a good thing for anyone, but we're all trying our best to get through it. Brody and I have been pretty disoriented lately with trips all over and sometimes being left behind with relative and friends, but we are excited too because we think this means we will get a yard to play in. I will try to keep my blog updated, but I blame Mom for being too busy to keep the camera rolling. I guess I'll forgive her, at least until we move. ;-)

Sadie is a good girl.

Jon really likes newspapers, so I'm reading to him.

Look at my audience!

Here I am at Jon and Laura's house. Mom and Dad left me again for another wedding. I don't know why I can't go, but I can't complain either. Brody and I really enjoyed ourselves.

I'm a good climber.

I crawled all over and had fun on the little hills. It's a little hard on the knees. Maybe I need to get better at this walking thing.

I like swinging, but this time I had to focus on not dropping my pretty flower.

We went to Detroit for the first part of Memorial Day weekend to try to find a place to live. I got to play with my cousins, Aunt Ginette, and Uncle Trent. But we came back to spend Monday in Chicago and enjoy the nice weather.

Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with me while Mom and Dad went to California for the weekend. We had a great time, but G&G couldn't figure out how to get Mom's camera off of video mode. The zoo was fun, though!

As promised...

Choo choo!!!

I'm over 14 months old now

I liked playing with Loomis. He's a nice puppy, just like Brody.

Mom and Dad had some kind of race I guess, so I got to play over at Cy's house for a while. Cy was the city and I was Godzilla!

Grandpa Terry came to play with us!

Lyla was very good at sharing her toys with me.

The more the merrier.

When Lyla woke up from her nap we played together, too.

Olivia crawled around with me.

It's fun playing in the grass.

Lexi loves me a whole lot. She took me everywhere with her.

Me, Aunt Ginette, Lexi and Olivia on a nice warm day in their new backyard.

I went to New York City!

Ok, so I'm home and I've been in training. Mom and Dad think I'm ready, so they're helping me gradually become more comfortable with the idea of walking. Now I only need to hold one hand to go across the room, and Mom, Dad and I really enjoy this little catch-and-release game we've developed where I go back and forth between them taking 3-4 lunging steps. Sometimes I balance pretty well and actually try to control the steps. Today I was able to stand alone for more than 10 seconds, but Mom wasn't able to get that on film. And Christie told Mom that I took one step by myself yesterday! This video is of me standing for just a few seconds because silly Mom distracted me with the camera. But I promise, it won't be long before there is much better footage of me standing and walking.

But what's a little exhaustion, right? I'd much rather bang on the window and squeal with excitement in an effort to impress the man sleeping in the seat in front of us.

So, two reasons for this face: First, this is the end of the New York pictures. To be honest, Mom did a pretty poor job on this trip. Thankfully Aunt Julie and Aunt Kate took better shots, so hopefully I'll have those soon. Second, I was supposed to sleep the whole way home, but I didn't even make it half-way. Between the busy days and late(r) nights I'm just plain exhausted.
I told you I missed Miller. When we were reunited I made sure to give him a big hug. He was surprised because I beat him to it.

Uncle Karl thought Miller and I might like to help pay for the bill.

Miller and I didn't get to sit together this time. I missed him and I think he missed me, too.

Another grown-up dinner? Boring! Where's the kids' table?

Mommy was super excited to see her friend, Emily. That meant that I got to meet Nora!

Chilling with Aunt Kate.

Aunt Kate and I had fun in the grass at Central Park. Aunt Julie set up a whole playdate with a bunch of kids like me, but other than for stealing a little watermelon I pretty much did my own thing.

Miller, do you want to go swimming with me?

After dinner, we walked through a pretty park and I got to try ice cream for the first time. The ice cream was ok, but I was way more interested in this fountain.

I'm writing down what I want and Miller is telling the waitress where to put the food.

Here we are playing with our placemats and crayons.

Now I'm in New York. We were delayed about half a day, but at least we made it. Miller and I got to go out to dinner with the grown-ups.

I haven't left for New York yet in this picture, but I just wanted to let you all know a little bit about toilet paper. In case you were wondering, it's not really very flavorful.