Other Spring Photos

Here are a few other highlights from the last couple of months. First is this picture of me and Michael looking at the elephants at the zoo:

One of Michael's new favorite toys: a coffee can. Despite living in the coffee capital of the US, I can't turn my back on the brand that's helped me make it this far. Plus, Michael loves filling and emptying the large can with blocks and also sometimes wearing it on his head.

Another recent project is trying to get Michael to use his own spoon. We are having mixed success, as you can see, but at least he's having a good time trying.

Last Monday we took Michael to his first Baltimore Orioles game...it just happened to be in Seattle, where the visiting Birds lost 4-3. We never got around last summer to taking him to Camden Yards, so the day game last week seemed like a good chance to see Safeco Field and the team from the city of his birth. Emily and Michael met me in Seattle and I was delighted to see she was sporting an O's t-shirt.

And Michael also was wearing orange. I was wearing green, but not really to support the Mariners. It was just the shirt I had worn the previous day, and when I got up on Monday and saw it draped over a chair, I thought: Let's go back-to-back (to back!). Michael slept for almost the whole game and we left during the seventh inning stretch with Seattle ahead 4-1. Of course, as soon as we left the O's made it interesting but couldn't get over the hump for the win.

And then just today the Kids' Museum on Bainbridge Island turned one year old and celebrated with music and a fire truck for kids to explore. Michael loves anything with a motor but has a special affection for firetrucks. When he caught sight of the truck from a distance, he flipped out!

The firemen were great about letting kids explore the truck, so Michael took his turn in the driver's seat. Everything was great till he reached for that yellow button by the steering column, which apparently was a no-no. Of course, the fireman telling him not to pull it only made him want to grab it all the more, so it was a good time to conclude our time in the driver's seat!

Here's Michael performing his detailed inspection of the truck. So far, so good.

Later though: "There's a tremendous build-up of muck on the metal steps."

Any day that includes a close-up of a firetruck is a happy day indeed!

After the firetruck we visited some of the museum's other features, including this water table, which Michael enjoyed!

This weekend felt like the first real spring weather of the season...hopefully, it is here to stay!

Spring Visit

Seattle University is on the quarter system, which means while summer has already begun for most colleges, we at SeattleU are coming up on our last week. The last few weeks have been a grind, with students and professors limping their way to the finish line, but the end is in sight! All this is to explain why I've been negligent in my blogging duties, but the holiday weekend has given me new energy.

The highlight of the past month was a visit from Emily's parents, who stayed with us for a week. Needless to say, Michael was elated to see his Gaga and Papa and relished their love and attention. He began by taking them to his favorite bar for happy hour. (Half price drinks if you bring your own sippy-cup!)

He also took the opportunity to show off his new walking skills. Gaga and Papa bought him these "chompers" for Christmas, and they've really been getting some use in the last few weeks.




Next on the Seattle tour was a careful inventory of Michael's changing table. It's cute in this video but slightly less charming when the inventory is a stall tactic at bedtime.




Here's some more walking with Emily and Gaga:

On a trip to the mall, Michael made a stop at the kids' area and got himself into a little jam. It was only a small lip but when you've got a tummy like Michael's, it is not easy to work yourself out of such a tight spot! Fortunately, he was content (for a while) to watch the bigger kids run around.

The visit also included a trip to the zoo, where Emily is now a proud member. It's not easy to get pictures of Michael with animals in the background; both have a hard time keeping still and looking at the camera for more than two seconds. It helps when the animals are stone statues, but even then Michael wouldn't look at the camera!

The tractor in the zoo's farm area is always a winner:

In fact, vehicles in general are a real Michael favorite. Here he is driving the boat on a trip to the playground with me and Papa:

Another highlight of the visit was a trip to Spokane where we caught up with Papa's cousin Betty, whom we visited in Idaho on our drive out west last summer. She was in Spokane visiting her son and daughter who live there (another daughter lives in Seattle), so we took the opportunity to see her and the two families on a wonderfully sunny Saturday afternoon. Here is Betty with Michael and Gaga.
And here she is with her kids Nancy and Walt:
And finally here is Michael with Gabe, Joe, Lydia and Dominic (clockwise from top. Gabe and Joe are Nancy's kids, and Dominic and Lydia are Walt's. Michael was mesmerized watching all the older kids play, and all four of them were so sweet with him. Emily and I left hoping that Michael will be just like his cousins when he gets older!

Michael's play included mowing the lawn. We said he didn't have to, but he insisted by saying, "No, no, you keep playing. This yardwork will only take a second."

When he was done with the mowing, he spent some time contemplating a blue ball: Hmmm. What is this good for?

Why, yes, a pillow!

Of course, playing is hard work, so Michael snoozed for part of our drive back to Seattle the next day. Fortunately for him, he was awake when we stopped at Dairy Queen for a treat!
Here's one more video of Michael walking, this time with Gaga and Papa. Alas, there are not many pictures or videos with Papa in them, since he was behind the camera most of the time. When you see Em's camera skills in this video, I think you'll see why.

Fortunately, the photo turned out better than the video:

Michael was very sad after his Gaga and Papa flew home and asked for them all day long. However, he was comforted to know that he'll see them soon in Syracuse when we visit the East Coast this summer.