Guest Blogger

Well, because of igoogle, I now have to play a small role in this blogging world. Yes, this is not EJ, but rather Michael. As I explained to Kasey and Heather on Friday night (I was there for a fantasy football draft...I swear...very manly); my igoogle is linked to their blogs and I basically can keep track of the Morrison and Laughlin families on a daily basis. Yes, I knew that Mike was working this weekend and couldn't come to St. Louis with Kasey. Yes, I knew that Heather got her hair cut (and looks stunning). Yes, I knew that Savannah was very excited about going to school Monday on the bus.

Anyway, the real reason I'm blogging is because I just have to show off some cute picks of my wonderful family. Yuri, EJ and I had a great time on Saturday going on a bikeride down the Mississippi River Trail. We crossed over the new McKinley Bridge bike tressle and had a picnic lunch on the other side at the wonderful town of Venice, Illinios.

So, I know this entry is a bit short. But I look forward to the next time that I can "guest blog" while still retaining a small shred of my manliness.

Later

Aged 1 Year

Sorry to be so sparse (yet again). We have been doing a lot of traveling! But, in big news, Yuri's first birthday was last Sunday (July 6th). We had a Luau party at Tower Grove Park. I won't get into too many details but I will let you know it was a lot of fun. My big project was this slide show. I decided a few months back that I would like to create slide show for Yuri every year. I thought it would be a perfect "photo journal" of her life. Here is the official finished project. We showed part of it at the party, but this final cut includes the pictures from her party. Enjoy!!! (Just click on the link below.)


Yuri Year 1 6/1/08

P.S. The first song was the song playing when Yuri was born. Michael made a "Labor Mix" which included a lot of OAR!

Daddy's Day

So, I am so excited because I have been blogging for long enough to do this with last year's Daddy's Day post!

I just quickly wanted to share Michael's first "official" Father's Day. Yuri and I really tried to make his day special! It is amazing to think that we haven't even been parents for a year and it has already been rewarding and challenging. It is really amazing to share this experience with my BFF!

We started the day by making Michael's favorite breakfast: Breakfast Burritos. Yuri and I had cards for daddy to open and a gift. This year, we got Michael wireless outdoor speakers for the deck. More on that later! Then we went to church. Michael had and soccer game and Yuri and I went to meet my dad for brunch. We tried to make it to Michael's soccer game after that, but we pulled up right when the game was ending. Yuri sported her "I love Daddy" shirt today for the occasion.

That's right, John McCain card just for Michael! Front says: You're a terrific Dad! Inside: I'm John McCain and I approve this message. Ha!!

We had a relaxing afternoon/evening with the Starks. I am excited to announce that my friend Evie (the female version of the Starks) started her own blog tonight which is listed on the "Blogs I Read" section. Visit her blog and encourage her to post. We BBQed and played my new favorite game "Settlers of Catan" on the deck, where we enjoyed the new speakers. These speakers are so awesome b/c they are completely wireless, so we don't have to worry about hiding wires. Also, the trasmitter works for up to 150 ft. Which means we just have it plugged in inside. The transmitter connects to pretty much anything; a radio, MP3, computer, or even the TV. Tonight we hooked it to the computer and listened to Pandora. There are a few pics of the speakers below. I just mounted them on the deck railing.

I think Michael enjoyed his Daddy's Day and I hope he knows how much we love and appreciate him! You are a wonderful daddy!

The 'Tude

That's right, we have a girl on our hands! She is full of 'tude! This innocent little face is capable of manipulating, "talking" (more like sqwacking) back, and using her cute little hands to swat me when she doesn't like what I tell her. I actually had to resort to....TIME OUT! I know, I know; she is only 11 months old. I am sure that some of you out in blog land are judging me and wondering if I know that "developmentally she doesn't even understand". But, I beg to differ. The reason that I started 'time out' is b/c I was talking to another mother (Lisa) of a little girl (Charlotte) (cutie, by the way with an innocent face too!) about Yuri's behavior choices recently. She explained to me that they had similar instances with Charlotte and the same age and that they did 'time outs' which worked like a charm. After discussing the details, I decided to give it a try. Sure enough, later that day, Yuri started in with a fit and I used my "verbage" that I decided on and moved Yuri into our designated area. It was pretty drawn out but finally, she calmed down and we had a "heart to heart". This is my personal evidence of it's effects; later on, similar fit, I used my verbage and moved to the "area". It took her less than 10 seconds (about 10x faster than the first time) to collect herself. Maybe it was a fluke, but we haven't even had the need to use it again. I spkoe at length about it with my friend Anna (has her Masters in Early Childhood and knows a great deal about child development) and she was very supportive and even gave me some great info about 'time outs' and how to use them appropriately. All in all, I think I will continue to use them as a de-escalation tool.

Since Kasey expects no more than once every couple of weeks updates, I decided to stay true to my form. This was my first "official" week of summer because school let out last Friday. Yuri and I kicked off summer with a bang. Saturday, we made our first trip to the fountains at Tower Grove Park. We met Anna, Luca and Brian there and it was great. Yuri enjoyed it, but mostly liked to watch the other children around us.

Michael has been very busy repaving our sidewalk in our backyard. He is pretty much finished with all of it, except some details. It really turned out nice and I will post pictures of his handywork later. Thanks to all our friends who helped (Aaron and Matt). It really meant a lot to us that you took the time to come and help us on such a hot day!

Monday, Yuri and I went to Shaw Park Pool with Anna and Luca. We loved the time in the sun and Yuri and Luca are quite the playmates these days!

Tuesday, I had to go up to school to finish packing up my room. We spent most of the day hanging out with Liz and TJ. We made a trip to McDonald's where Yuri had her first Happy Meal. She at most of the hamburger and about half of the apple slices. I even gave her some cow's milk which she took to nicely. I am going to continue to give her a little each day.

Wednesday morning, there was the annual St. Stephen's Parade that goes right in front of our house. So we pulled out the blanket and watched. It was really cute and we got lots of candy! This is the reason I love our neighborhood (not the candy, but the cool events like this).

Then we went out to Webster Groves to meet Julie and Logan and Liz and TJ (that's a lot of ands). Julie is a member at the Webster Groves Pool, so we all went swimming and let me tell you: WG Pool Kicks Butt!! It has the greatest kiddie area! There was so much to do. We are going to try to make it a weekly thing (you asked for it Julie!!!). Yuri already has tan lines!!! (Of course I put sun block on her, she just has Daddy and Mommy's skin tone.) After all the pool fun (and a nap) we met Anna and Luca at Tower Grove and took a walk. It was great talking to Anna, yet again!

Thursday, we spent most of the day with Grandma Jeffery! We helped her hang up pictures in her house and as of today, she still likes where the pictures are hanging!

And finally, today! We had big plans to go to Suson Park to meet some friends but the rain changed those plans (and a flood at my school!) But we did go meet Grandma for lunch and then went to get Daddy's present! I'll show you that later!!!

We have big plans for this weekend too-a double header in our Kickball League tomorrow. Here are some pics of all the things I shared about our week. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a comment-I'm tracking it now!!!!

Biking, Butterflies, BBQs, and Birthday Parties

What an eventful weekend! I am just going to give a quick update since I really should be finishing up my report card comments! I am actually going to type them while I am uploading the photos for this post!

First of all, last Thursday, I called my friend Anna and she was getting ready to go to her and her son's (Luca) swim lesson. I have been meaning to sign Yuri up for the swim classes at the Y but haven't gotten around to it. So... we decided to tag along. It was great! Yuri did wonderful. She was so relaxed and didn't fuss at all. Here are some pics of us at the end of class...

Then on Friday, we met Anna and Luca, Sarah and Nylah, and Christy and Mya at the Butterfly House. We had a nice lunch by the pond in the front and then paraded in to see the butterflies. It was great! The butterflies were everywhere and the kids were mezmorized by them. We quickly took the kids out of their strollers so they could crawl around. I put Yuri down in front of this little pond to take some pictures and after snapping a few, a butterfly landed on her head!! She had a pink barrett in and I guess the butterfly thought it was a flower! I was able to get a few quick pics before it flew away!

Michael loves to bike and for Christmas, he got a bike trailer for Yuri. It very clearly says that children should be 1 year old before using it, so I have not let Michael take her out in it. But... Friday night, Michael asked me to compromise: We go for a ride with Yuri on the Mississippi River Trail. The trail is paved the whole way and the only real traffic on it is bikes. I agreed and we biked about 10 miles. We went 5 miles, stopped and ate (we packed a dinner), and then turned around and came back. Yuri did great and seemed to really lounge in the trailer. The only problem came at the very end when Michael hit a bump and Yuri cried. When we took her out of the trailer, we realized that one of the straps had rubbed on her little leg.

Saturday was busy. In the morning, my mom came over to watch Yuri while Michael and I met some friends to play 9 holes of golf. After that, we picked up Yuri and went to our cousin, Shannon's, for a family BBQ. It was really great to get to see her house (they just moved) and spend some time with family. From there, we went straight out to the Morrison's for Kasey's surprise party! It was great fun. Check out Kasey's Blog for some great pics!

Sunday, after church, Michael's parents came in town for Will's birthday party. The storm passed through just in time and the weather for the party was actually quite nice. Will really seemed to enjoy himself, and was especially excited about his cake!

Today, Michael's family, along with family friends, Paul and Erin, came to our house for breakfast. We ended up taking a walk with the the kids in the wagon. Once again, the weather was beautiful! We spent most of the day outside. Everyone left around 1 or so, and Michael and his brothers went for a bike ride. Yuri and I rested. Then Susie and Aaron came over to enjoy some grilled tilapia! Yum! Thanks to Susie for always being such a great friend! It is so nice to have someone to talk openly with and get great advice!

Well, that is about it! I think it is more than enough! That is why I don't post that much, I go, go, go!! Great, done with a post, done with report cards! Happy Memorial Day!

She's a Bad Mamma-Jamma

Happy Mother's Day!! I have had a great first "official" Mother's Day. I kinda count last year even though Yuri was still cookin'. I know I haven't really kept my word about posting more regularly, but this is sooner than the last series of posts!

So, I woke up this morning and got some cute cards!

The one in the front with the little girl in pig tails was from Yuri! Then, I went downstairs to find my gift....

A wagon!! Of course it was rainy and cold today so we couldn't test drive it outside. We took it for a spin around the house! We spent the rest of the day with family! Good food, good company; couldn't ask for more!

Here are some random pics of the last month. This first one is of Yuri's new favorite thing to do; climb the stairs!! That's right, she can make it all the way to the 2nd floor by herself! This is actually pretty scary b/c sometimes she starts going up without someone behind her! Time for a gate!

This one was taken at one of Daddy's soccer games! Yuri loves to play outside and her favorite toy is a ball (and her first real word "ball"). I say real word b/c she associates the word and object. She also has a killer arm! She LOVES to throw!

These are a few pics of our trip to Arkansas a few weeks ago. My family takes this trip each year in memory of my late Uncle Tom who passed away from cancer. We did some shopping and played golf. I love to play when I get a chance. It is a great way to spend time with family, too. We played a scramble (I won't explain it but it was fun).

This chair is HUGE!

Then, a few days later, we went to Kansas City to visit Uncle Brett and Grandma/pa Malone. Michael had to attend some meetings so Yuri and I spent the majority of the time with G-ma and G-pa! Michael and Brett caught up with us later in the day. We went to see Bodies Revealed (great exhibit) and to the KC Zoo. It was nice weather, too! Thanks for taking some time off work to play with us, Grandma and Grandpa!

This is actually Brett and Yuri, although, it could be Michael and Yuri!