Feliz Halloween!

Just when you thought you can't get more embarrassing than a baby gnome halloween costume, I went ahead and doubled down.

I bring to you my most impressive pinterest inspiration - the toddler piñata (and family birthday party).

Pardon the blurry family photo - this was the best I could do with a 2 second shutter delay - at least you can get the gist of what we were going for (Marcus = piñata, Todd = birthday boy, Me = present).

Zoo Mania

First of all, let me address the obvious, I have been HORRIBLE about updating this blog for over 5 months.  Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me fill you in on what we've been up to all summer.

Put very briefly, the ZOO. We discovered this year that the Minnesota Zoo is no where near as far away as we had thought it was, AND it has a ton of indoor exhibits - making it the perfect place to go on the weekend to let Marcus run around and learn about animals.

Marcus has gotten very good at his animal sounds & poses, and Todd and I have gotten even sharper on our animal knowledge (did you know giraffes don't have vocal chords - therefore they only make very limited sounds?!).

Here are some favorite pics…..

Baby Buddha

Marcus is rocking his toddler belly.  Luckily I googled how long it is normal to have such a tummy, and the very official online answer was until "3-ish".  Phew!

Supermodel Werk

Here goes our little ham again, check out this amazing pose.

He's looking like such a little boy!

First Birthday

A little belated but here are the highlights from Marcus's first birthday. He was so blessed by all of the people who wished him a happy birthday.

And also, I am pretty proud of Todd and I surviving our first year of parenthood!

Paper work

Kicked out of daycare again today (fever) and got to help mom and dad work from home. Marcus was especially good at sorting through all of the paper work.

Hoping we get healthy in time for our first Easter!

New Hobby

I've decide to take my obsession of photographing Marcus to a whole new level. Thanks to Romina lending me her awesome camera, I've been playing around and have decided to sign up for photography lessons.

Here are some pictures with the new camera, just imagine how great they'll be once I know what I'm doing!

Play on Player

This past weekend Marcus was reunited with his very first friends, the other babies from our "new momma" class we started when he was 3 weeks old. 10 months have gone by and oh my how the babies have grown!

We met up at the newly remodeled play area at Southdale mall. That place is amazing. You just show up, plop the kiddies down and watch them roam around. I anticipate many more outings to this locale in the future!

Recent Updates

I feel like I am perpetually behind these days, in all things generally, but especially in these blog updates.

The top line story is that Marcus continued to be a little ham. We love basketball, food an most importantly, people!

Here are some recent pics. Oh and we are walking everywhere!!!

Crazy Hair Day

Marcus is gearing up for his move to the "big kid" room at daycare next week. By that I mean, he's been visiting this week for a few hours each day.

Here you can see what his hair looked like by the end of the day. Apparently someone is having a VERY good time. Those 11-16 month olds are party animals!

Too Cool for School

Marcus has started developing a but if a 'tude in his old age. He's 10 months going on 18!

At least he's a Michigan fan!

Peas on Earth

Look who I caught eating peas of all things! Apparently Marcus's food preferences vary by location.

At home he hates peas, at school they're not so bad!

Brushing our Teefers

Look who loves his toothbrush! Marcus loves it so much he actually screams when we take it away from him.

Have I mentioned little man is developing a bit I am attitude?

Winter cold blues

Marcus has been fighting a rough cold/flu the past few days. It's been hard on all of us, but at least the little man is still stylin', fever and all!

Second Cousins

No matter how many times I look it up on Wikipedia, I can never commit cousin status and nomenclature to memory.

Nonetheless, after another quick google search, I can share with you that Marcus had a great time with his second cousin Avery (Todd's cousin's daughter). Bryan and Kelly (Avery's parents and my cousins-in-law), were up in Minneapolis for a swim meet. Marcus had a blast following Avery around.

It's hard to believe that a year ago Avery was just a little newborn peanut. Now she is walking and saying things that sound pretty close to actual words (I knew what she was talking about - which is dramatically different from the babbling that comes from Marcus!).

We hope we get to see them again soon!

Christmas Memories

Thanks to Tia Romina and Tio Craig, we got to play with a new DSLR camera during our second Christmas with the Sarbaughs.

Hopefully you enjoy these pictures [almost] as much as I enjoyed taking them!