Family, Tours, & Easter

We had a busy, but good week last week. Gamma drove from New Hampshire on Monday. On Tuesday, Michael went to school. Then, I took him to get tested for allergies. We thought that some of his stuffiness might be seasonal allergies, but were wrong. They tested him for allergies to pollens, dust, foods, and animals. Thankfully, he is not allergic to anything. On Wednesday, Michael went with Gamma to visit Aunt Carrie in Charlottesville.

At the end of the week, the rest of our family arrived from out of town. Midday on Thursday, I picked Papa up from the airport. On Friday, Mamaw & Papaw Ryan arrived at the house midday.

Bill, Papa, Joe, and Big Bill went to play golf on Friday. After Papaw and Mamaw arrived, we (Gamma, Michael, Joseph, Papaw, Mamaw, and myself) all loaded into the van for a driving tour of Richmond. After our tour, we went to lunch and then returned home.

On Saturday, we loaded into the two vans and headed to Washington, D.C. We parked in Springfield and rode the Metro into DC. While in DC, we went to the National Air & Space Museum. I think Papaw really enjoyed it. It was very crowded though. After a while, Michael started raising his voice and telling all the people to "O AWAY!!" I really didn't blame him. After the museum, we hopped on a trolley and toured the rest of DC. We had lunch in Union Station before heading back to the Metro and home.

On Sunday morning, Michael found an Easter basket that was left by the Easter "RABBIT!" He enjoyed reading his new book with Papa. However, he really didn't care for the candy. We all got ready and headed to Charlottesville to have brunch with Carrie and Patrick. Michael was really excited to see Aunt Carrie again. When I asked him if he wanted to go see her, he said "YAY!!!!!" We waited for our table for a bit and tried to occupy Michael. There were 9 of us so it took just a little while for them to get our table ready. However, the wait was worth it. The food was very good. After brunch, we headed back to Carrie's where we all went our separate ways. Mamaw & Papaw started on their trip back to Alabama. Bill, Michael, and I came home. Gamma and Papa stayed in Charlottesville and left the next morning to drive back to New Hampshire.

We had a very good visit with everyone. However, the time together always seems so short. We miss them all already.

Here are some pictures of our time with everyone:

Day Care & Easter Eggs

I have a few new pictures below. The first is one of Michael's day care pictures. The slide show is from our Easter egg hunt at church. Once Michael figured out what to do, he looked like a pro. We will be pretty busy for the next week. We hope that everyone has a very happy Easter.

Our Silly Boy!

The past couple of weeks have been full of work, daycare, errands, church and more. The weather has been crazy here. It is in the 70s one day and freezing the next. As soon as we are almost dried out from days of rain, it starts pouring again. We are ready for warm, sunny days.

Michael's little personality is starting to develop more and more. He is the silliest, cutest, smartest little boy we know. (We are not at all biased. Can you tell?) He does things just to make people laugh. He makes the silliest faces. He just starts laughing for no reason at all, which makes us laugh in return. He surprises us everyday with the new things he can do and say. His vocabulary is growing every day. He is also starting to say more phrases. I am not sure what this says about us. However, he calls every store we go in "walllll marrrrr." That is Michael for Walmart.

The best thing we have seen over the past couple of months is that he is starting to form stronger relationships and bonds with other family members and friends. He has always enjoyed being around certain people, but now you can just see his eyes light up when he sees them. He is always asking to call Gamma & Papa on the "computer phone" via Skype. He loves looking at pictures and repeating everyone's names. He gets a huge smile on his face when he sees his Aunt "Arweeeee" (Carrie) in the pictures and in person. He loves his Grandpa, Uncle "Wo" (Joe), and "Wo Wo" (Joseph). He jumps into Grandpa's arms. He wanted "Wo" to rock him to sleep the other night. He loves playing with Joseph. He runs to Uncle David when he sees him to get a hug and he always has to find "Ronnnnnnnnn" at church. He adores his teachers at daycare. I could go on and on.

Next week will be very busy. We have visitors coming from the south and from the north. Gamma is driving from New Hampshire on Monday. Then, Papa is flying in on Thursday. On Friday, Mamaw and Papaw Ryan will arrive from Alabama. We are looking forward to seeing and spending time with everyone. This will be Michael's first Easter. We are excited that he will get to spend it with a lot of our family. We plan on going to see Aunt Carrie on Easter Sunday.

Below are some pictures from last couple of weeks.

Licking the Bowl After Making Cupcakes

Michael got very mad at Mama, because she put them in the oven.

This is Serious Business

It was 70 degrees outside and Michael decided to put on his winter hat.
Can you tell he put it on himself?


Our Fashionable Trend Setter
Wearing Your Hat Backwards and Crooked - New Spring Fashion for '09


Sunday Afternoon Nap

Country

Blues

Rock & Roll!!!!