48...49... Oh where does it go, the time??

In yet another blink, we are two weeks further into our lives -- we had some super fun times and celebrations during these two weeks, This time, the party was for our "furry son"... yup, folks -- Ashton's 6th birthday was grounds for celebration!!

HAPPY Birthday Puppy!!
you are the best puppy and big furry brother we could ever have hoped for :)

And, as you can see, the gathering came complete, of course, with ICECREAM Cake..
Such a shame all these life gatherings and challenge of having to snarf down another piece... All I have to say at this point is: How could they NOT figure out that they should triple the size of the cookie crumble and reduce the icecream parts to really "go big" on their cake recipe? Oh well...
We were also delighted that we got to see our friends Chris & Lisa, and their two boys!! We have a very special past we all share, and I love that our boys are all getting to know each other and we are so thankful to have them in our lives as friends!! All of our boys "share" "Coming Home" day in May -- 5 years exactly apart.. super cool coinky-dink...

This week also brought on great fun with cousins "KK" and "Jack"... Jack has the GREAT idea for some sprinkler fun -- all totally new to LM... clearly you can see he just hopped in on the action, no questions ask --

...Just full, uncensored fun. As it should be in life, right?...

We also FINALLY got down to Delaware to meet up with some wonderful colleagues and friends of mine from my school program there -- Many have been so patient in both my work time w/ them and in us getting down there, but finally, we made it for the end of semester lab party - it was great to see everyone and LM did GREAT w/ all the new people, etc -- They did an obstacle course, which he watched and "helped" but climbing under the "under" structure over and over and replacing the "over" bar that got knocked down when you tried to go under... They also did the "carry a ping pong ball in the end of a spoon in your mouth" gig -- I give him a spoon on the way home, and he tried to hold the spoon in his mouth and way trying to sit his Li-Li (stuffed animal) on it... hm. Right idea, wrong laws of gravity and mouth strength, kid, but awesome first try! :)

"MOUTH, Mama" he kept saying (as if I didn't notice)...

LM is making changes every single day it seems -- between feeling like he's an inch taller on some mornings when he gets out of bed to his talking... he is trying so hard to talk! He is following 3 step directions, and he STILL loves to read... this kid will grab the woobie and hop on the sofa with a book without a second thought... Favorite books right now include:
Diggers are good for dig dig diggin...
Ten Apples on Top (Dr. Seuss)
Bunny My Honey (to which he then starts saying to me
"mommy mommy" like the bunny in the book... it is so so cute!)

"It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" Home 48 Weeks.. and lookin good in my new shoes...

So, my first great "MOY" story -- so fittingly just before the "big day"... ahem. Yes, so I didn't mention that we got out to our adventure to Dutch Wunderland last Friday, having had pulled our little munchkin from his nap to get out there... and, of course all you experienced parents are already on the "drumm roll passed" or "did it" hi-5s.. Yes, we got to Lancaster and realized -- neither one of us remembered to bring his shoes, which he obviously wasn't sleeping in... So we got him cute new sandles and he loves running around in them.
For some reason, they also procure in him this intense need to walk over and STOMP (OUCH!!) on our feet, only to reach down to our feet and touch saying, "Sorreee Ma-ma"...

Pre-Mother's Day Hike...

LM, you are such a stinker -- on this particular day you insisted the ONLY way to get back to the car was to carry papa on your shoulders -- as you are doing above...

LM is still not so interested in feeding himself but IS interested in drinking from a cup, especially if there is a straw involved! He is quite the entertainer and now will tease us and then say "Silly Mama" (or Papa, or his own name).... he even flips it into Silly Ashton.... every day there is something that he gives me a good giggle... on good mom days, I even manage to write them down in a journal -- but most days they just fly past with a good laugh at the moment and, if we are lucky, i remember the day enough to pass on the giggle to Jeff...

On Mother's Day, we had a quiet hang out day - and went to my mom's for dinner -- we brought dessert and it was fun watching LM toil his way through the kitchen...

Captn OT and Son Touch down in "Creative Cooking for kids"...

YUMMO! Party? Forget the party...
"Oh yea, it's Me and this big bowl of chocolate which
is not making it to the party if I have my way..."

what else?? Well, while the picture might tell them the story about "the tin cup" that most people do not care about .... if they were ice hockey folk they might... lol... papa's team won the cup last year in their spring season... so the guys are passing around the "torch" so to speak -- each guy gets the trophy for a week each -- and this is our week... LM, who loves to "pretend" he is playing hockey, was clearly all about making the cup a part of his weekly photo!

"It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" - Home 49 Weeks WINNER!

I realize we got through my entire first mother's day without a single picture of me with our boy -- or without one of my mom with our boy and us all together... Or one with Jeff's parents... or one of LM with his MumMum... Wanted to thank my mom so very much for all her support and teaching me how to be a good mom!! Now I am doing all I can to tread water and keep up! But Oh, how very very very lucky and blessed I feel -- while the days are flying by, I feel so incredibly blessed for the gift of our son -- and the word "mom" associated with my name -- After all the years of hoping for it, I can't believe it has finally happened... And while I enjoy and give hugs and kisses every single day, it was nice to sit back and have an extra snuggle with our LM on Mother's Day -- and know that this year was finally the one that the boy I'd dreamed a lifetime for was finally calling me Mama... what a great feeling and a great day...