Happy Birthday, Miss Elaine!!!

Over the past few years, I have been corresponding with my Mom's 1st cousin. Her name is Elaine and she is a real dear to me. We keep in contact mostly through email and she reads my blog. And since TODAY is her 88th Birthday, I wanted to wish her a very happy day! 


Elaine, of all of the people I know...you are one of my favorites! Happy Birthday!!!

Photo taken a couple years ago when Elaine turned 86.
Hard to believe, huh? She looks AMAZING and is smart as a whip, warm & funny!


We've never met in person. Perhaps someday? I would love that!
Have a blessed day, Elaine.


And of course, it would not be complete without a word from Maximus.

Love,
hi-d

Swim Class

Today Maximus & I went swimming. I was so happy that Rob was able to take off from work to come see M's first class. We sure had FUN!

All SMILES...Almost as soon as he got into the water he started splashing his hands like crazy. The Teacher said that she loves it when kids do that.

For part of the class, we walked around in the pool, singing songs, and learning different ways to hold our child. You can almost see the wheels spinning in M's brain: "More action Mom! This is way too mellow!!!"

"That's more like it!" (splash, spash)

Watch out 2028 Olympics. Do we have a gold medal swimmer here?

Some of you were asking what color I chose for my pedicure. Well, I went with the "Papaya Punch," Orange color.

Happy day!

hi-d

A Little Pampering

I hope you had a relaxing weekend. Yesterday I cashed in on a Mother's Day gift from Rob & M...

a pedicure...

Later, my boys and I went to dinner...

 followed by a walk overlooking the lake.

Have a wonderful week!

hi-d

Firsts at the Playground

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day! So after we hit a couple of stores, M & I went to a playground!

The building in the background is the swim pool where we're going to take our class.

He loved checking out the equipment

And he got to try out the slide...

But this is what I was really excited to see... His first time in a swing by himself.

You can get a sense of how little he really is.

Love this look...he's got "attitude"...haha...

We started out slow...

But he was happiest when I gave him some good pushes.

This boy LOVES speed!

I hope you have a great weekend. Any fun plans? I just downed almost a pint of coffee ice cream. And it was OH, so GOOD!

Happy day!

hi-d

These Chairs Should Come With Seat Belts

 Whenever M gets to sit in our glider by himself and rock, he doesn't want to get out. And since we said goodbye to the swing, we wanted to replace it with something that he could rock in by himself.

Him & this Fisher Price swing go waaaay back. When he was first born, he hated sleeping in his bassinet. We tried about everything we could think of to get him to sleep. He did okay if he could nap in his bouncer or car seat. When we got him this swing, it provided the PERFECT combination of the two. It gave him a cozy place to snuggle & be rocked to sleep. He slept in it for about the first 6 months of his life!!

Up until a couple of weeks ago, he would LOVE to sit and rock in the swing. He even took naps in it from time to time. I  video taped him falling asleep in it a few months back.

Since we're on the subject of how much he liked this swing, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank Fisher Price for making it! We burned through the motor on this one, but Fisher Price sent us a replacement motor. In the meantime we purchased a different model swing and this time we had an issue with one of the buttons breaking, on one of the legs. I called Fisher Price AGAIN and they cut us a check for the purchase price of the 2nd swing once we sent back the seat & broken part. Needless to say, we are HUGE FANS of FISHER PRICE! I LOVE companies that stand behind their products. Don't you?? 

We got more than our monies worth out of this. I would say, we probably spent more in batteries to keep this thing running than we did on the swing itself. haha...

So with that bit of history out of the way...Just yesterday, M got a little surprise delivered to him.

His very own rocker/recliner

Yep, Maximus. That's a tag on the side of your chair. Not much gets by you.

We hope you like and get many years of enjoyment out of it!

Last night Rob brought the chair upstairs for Maximus to try out. Of course, I HAD to document the occasion by taking photos and video taping it. I wanted to share one of the videos with you that I took. It's not the best quality video, but I have to say, I laugh every time I watch it.

NOTE TO SELF:

Your cell phone has a very sensitive voice recorder on it. Perhaps you should think about whispering next time, so you don't sound like you're speaking through a megaphone. (haha)

Happy day!

hi-d

NO NO NO & Other Random Facts

Maximus likes to say the word, "NO" a LOT! I guess he's just repeating what he hears. He even will say it before he does something that he knows he's not supposed to...like in this short video. He's trying to get to the printer and turn it off and on and he's telling on himself by saying, "No, no, no, no, no."

He's so fun to watch. Last week we noticed him running around and then he'd STOP midstream to do one squat and then he'd be off running again.

This boy loves our frequent trips to Costco. I think he enjoys eating the yummy samples just about as much as I do! They were passing out coffee samples. The lady was so nice and offered him some half n half with a straw and later filled his cup with some water to sip on.

  

This is a very common stance for him.

Bright eyed & bushy hair after a nap.

I love taking him to the library each week for story time. It's really more than that though...we sing, play & here he gets to chase bubbles.

He enjoyed his first time riding in the car, attached to the shopping cart at the grocery store the other day.

It's official! He has outgrown his swing. It's been a long time coming. The funny thing, is that he hasn't even noticed that it's gone. Whew...we weren't sure how that would go over.

M loves taking a bath. I'm so excited, because him and I are going to his first swim class next week!

Hope you have a great week!

hi-d

Happy Father's Day

I am so thankful to have a wonderful Dad & Father-in-law. I love you both!


And Maximus is blessed to have you as his Papa, Rob. He adores you! I see so much of you in him and I love to watch the two of you play and interact with each other!

My two boys, May '12

My Dad visiting me in college during Dad's Weekend, early 90's.

Rob & his Father standing at the Great Wall of China, late 80's.


Happy Father's Day to ALL of the Dads out there.


"God bless you and keep you."
Numbers 6:24 (The Message)

hi-d

Anything...

I just LOVE this verse. Don't you?

I hope you had a great week. Just wanted to take this time to thank all of you for your sweet comments on my Paris Post. It was great meeting so many new people. I'm still working on visiting everyone's link from Anita's Party. Thanks again Anita, for the FUN!

Have a Happy Friday!

hi-d

Paris: Simply Irresistible Link Party - Café Français

Welcome to all who have come by way of my Dear Friend, Anita's blog,
at Castles Crowns & Cottages. If you're stopping by and not sure what is going on, I've joined in her Simply Irresistible Link Party!  It's a celebration to showcase and pay tribute to Paris, the "City of Lights." Be sure to hop on over to her page to view this years participants.

So, without further ado, Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you:

Café Français, avec Kooky et Maximus

Hmmm...What am I going to eat? There are too many choices.

Here comes the waiter. Perhaps I should ask him what he recommends.

"Maximus!!! Is that you?"

"Bonjour, Kooky Chicken!"

"Maximus, I didn't know you worked here."

"Well, I don't JUST work here, Kooky...I OWN the place!"

"Wow, Maximus. I didn't know that! Perhaps you could tell me what to order then. I've never been here before."

"Don't you worry, Kooky. You don't need this menu, l'll order for you."

"Oh, Kooky! You are in for a REAL treat. This meal is going to be spectaculaire!"

 "I hope you have at least one hallow leg though, because it's easy to fill up on the bread here."

"I know a little trick that may help - a tap on the head, and your stomach will feel a bit lighter."

"Awe yes! That works everytime. Okay, you can take your seat again, Kooky. I'll be right back."

"Hallow legs?" I wonder what that Maximus is talking about?

Kooky is going to love this baguette!

Perhaps I should take a bite to make sure it's fresh, before serving.

Hmmm...I'm not sure I got a big enough bite to make a fair assessment.

Oh, Oui! Très Magnifique!

Perhaps my eyes aren't seeing things correctly after the head tapping, but I think Maximus just took a bite of my bread!

"Maximus? Were you just eating that baguette?

"Oh Yes...I wanted to make sure it was fresh for you, Kooky!"

"Maximus! What kind of operation are you running here?"

"Kooky, you should be grateful that I took the first bite. I can now assure you that the bread has not been poisoned."

"Poisoned??? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, MAXIMUS?"

"Kooky! Don't you know anything about history? Back in the day, they had specific people assigned to taste foods before it was served to royalty."

"If the food tasters died, then the food had been poisoned."

"Woah...Really? What would happen then, Maximus?"

"Well, if the food tasters died after eating the food, then it wouldn't be served to royalty."

"So are you saying that you're worried someone is trying to poison me, Maximus?"

"One can never be too safe, Kooky."

"Maximus...YOU are a TRUE friend! You would risk your life for ME?"

"I've got your back, Kooky!"

"I have to say, I'm quite touched that you care so much about me, Maximus."

"So, Maximus...how long does this process take?"

"You aren't trying to rush me, are you, Kooky?"

"I'm not trying to rush you Maximus, but I haven't eaten a morsel since last night and I'm STARVING!"

"And I'm a little concerned that you're going to eat my entire baguette before I have the chance to have one bite, Maximus."

"Kooky, don't take this wrong...but are you feeling okay? You've been talking about somebody trying to poison you for the last 10 minutes. I've eaten half of your baguette, trying to convince you that there is NOTHING wrong with it."

"I'm a little concerned about you, Kooky. You seem a bit paranoid. Did someone knock you on the head or something?"

"Ummm...YES! Someone did INFACT knock me on my head! M-A-X-I-M-U-S!!!"

"Oh dear, Kooky! I've only read about this condition in books. I must have hit a nerve in your brain when I tapped your head on the table earlier."

"On rare occassions, it can cause severe delusions. The only way to fully recooperate is to rest for 3 days and abstain from solid foods."

"I am so sorry if I caused you any pain, Kooky. You should get home as soon as possible and take care of yourself."

That poor Kooky. I hope he feels better soon.

I must say...THIS is one fine tasting baguette!

What a shame that Kooky didn't get to try any...

Maybe next time...

The End

Thanks for stopping by! And a big Merci beaucoup goes out to the talented and lovely Anita for hosting this Link Party!

Happy day!

hi-d