Sunrise

After getting up every morning during the week at 4:30, I am so happy that Mike will get up with Ivan when he wakes up at 6:30 on the weekends. Ivan will usually sleep until about 8 on the weekends, but sometimes he is up and ready to go early. Mike took this photo so that I could see what they enjoy while they eat breakfast together on the weekends. This is the view from our back door-isn't it beautiful?

Ivan 0, Sidewalk 1

Ivan 0, Sidewalk 1, was the statement I woke up to last Monday evening. I had been throwing up Monday morning, but knew I needed to go into work for a countless meetings. so Mike agreed to take care of drop off and pick up for me to help me out a bit. So, after my last meeting, I rushed home and went to sleep. I was quite groggy when Mike walked in with Ivan and it took me a minute to really realize what he was saying, but when I opened my eyes and took a good look at my little boy, it all sunk in. My little boy had his first real boo boo! I, of course needed to know what exactly happened and I was informed that it happened while he was at the sitter's house. For some reason it made me feel so much better that we didn't "do" this to him. The sitter often takes the kids for a walk to go pick up her son from school and on the way back she takes Ivan out of the wagon and lets him walk with her son-who Ivan absolutely LOVES! Apparently Ivan was walking way too fast (go figure) and he bit it! I swear it looked a lot worse in person than it does in the photos-really I think it just broke my heart a little that my baby got hurt! The sitter was so worried that we would be upset, but we know this is bound to happen, especially with a child as active as Ivan. I think we have been pretty lucky so far!

Park

I love that he sat on the rug and patiently waited for us to get ready to go for a walk.

We had some wonderful weather last weekend, so Mike and I loaded up Ivan into the stroller and walked to the park. Ivan had a great time at the park and we were both so happy to be able to enjoy the warm weather. I can't wait for many more weekends at the park! We also have a very nice walking trail in our neighborhood that Mike can not wait to frequent. We have taken Ivan on it a few times, but he seems to prefer the walk to the park.

More Tunnel Fun and a Windy Day with Mom and Dad

These are just a few random photos from last weekend that I love. Mike and I do not take many photos with Ivan, so I love the few photos that I actually have with him. It was a very windy day, so we had to try pretty hard to get a good shot. As you can see, Ivan loves my new necklace that he helped pick out for me for Valentine's day-he loves to play with it. The necklace has two round pendants on it that say "lucky mom" I absolutely LOVE it!

I also included a couple more photos of our tunnel fun. For some reason, Mike likes to stand in the tunnel and try to get Ivan's attention. It really did not seem to phase Ivan at first and then Mike decided to put Ivan in the tunnel with him. He does look pretty happy as he is coming out of the tunnel. I think I am going to have my hands full with these two.

Big Boy

As I took Ivan in for his 15 month check up, I hoped that he would be 20 pounds. Mike has been asking non stop over the last couple of months if we could turn Ivan's carseat around and I was tired of telling him that we have to wait until Ivan is 20 pounds. We were both so excited with the thought of being able to turn around in the car and see Ivan's smiling face looking back at us. So, as the nurse called our name, I could hardly wait for her to tell us how much he weighed. Well, the scale said he weighted exactly 20 pounds. I was so excited, I think I yelled "Daddy is going to be so happy" in the dr. office. I called Mike as soon as we left the office and he immediately turned Ivan's carseat around when he got home! Ivan is still not on the charts in weight or head size, but we joke every time about how he is getting closer and closer to being on the charts. We did also find out that Ivan had an ear infection in both ears that day. Ivan had been a bit cranky over the past week, but we both assumed he was just teething. I sure did feel like a terrible mom!

Grandma Poland's Chair

When I found out I was pregnant with Ivan, there were so many things I just could not wait to enjoy with him. I have so many fond memories from when I was a little girl and one of those was playing on my grandma's rocking chair that she kept in the kitchen. I was so excited to sit him in my grandma's rocking chair and let him enjoy it as much as I did. I remember finding joy and excitement in the simpliest things and it makes me so happy to see Ivan find that same joy in the simple things in life as well. It always amazes me how he is entertained by the strangest things. He has a whole room full of toys, but is perfectly content just playing with plastic cups.

Tunnel of Fun!

We ordered this very fun tunnel for Ivan and I think he loves it just as much as we do. He is so much fun to watch when he plays with it. He stared off by just crawling though a few times, then he started putting books, toys and shoes in the tunnel and now he manages to stand up in the tunnel and travel across the room. He ended up in the Kitchen yesterday and was laughing the whole way there. He will just randomly do a little jump and fall and just crack up at himself. We really do not need to leave the house for entertainment anymore!

Feed Me!

Ivan usually comes running if we open the refrigerator or pantry. Sometimes he simply wants to close the door behind us or even while we are still in the pantry-which can hurt a litte! Other times he says "more" and expects to be fed. Well, this time Ivan just pushed his way right into the refrigerator and picked out what he wanted to eat. He made a very smart decision and chose some yogurt, however he ended up trading in the yogurt for a nice cold bottle of beer. I think I need to have a conversation with Mike!

Ivan and Baby Mallory

Here are a few photos of Ivan taking a friendly interest in Baby Mallory. Ivan often wants to see Mallory, but we usually have to hold his hands so that he does not hit her. I think his way of saying hi is take a swat at her. The next few months just might be challenging!

New Loves

Well, I guess they aren't all new loves. Ivan has always loves sitting in baskets, but now he is able to get in and out of the basket himself with out our assitance. He also absolutley loves hair brushes. He fusses the whole time I brush his hair until I hand him the brush. I have actually bought an extra brush so that he can hold one while I brush his hair with the other one. Ivan also loves to play with hats. Now, if we put a hat on him, he will usually take it off a few minutes later. However, if you give him a hat that is much larger than his head, he will put it on and wear it proudly!

Eating with a Spoon!

I have decided that it is finally time to let Ivan eat with a spoon. I must confess that he only gets to eat with a spoon every other day, because I do not want to give him a bath every evening. As you can see, he does get VERY messy! He absolutely LOVES eating with a spoon, so I guess the mess is worth it.