Just a quick update

Wow, it's been a while, sorry for the delay. Let's see, where to start.

Me - Well I'm still jobless and still looking. It's becoming very hard on my self esteem knowing that I'm not even getting called for interviews (I've had ONE so far) and the worst part is there isn't much out there! Very frustrating knowing that I really do want to go back to work and I don't have any work to go to!

Christopher - Can you believe it, he'll be TWO on Saturday. I'm starting to look at him this week and get teary eyed. Where has the time gone? How is it that my baby is about to turn two? He is SO much fun right now! He's remembering things, repeating things and then using the words again later on his own, he's singing, he's dancing, and just having a great time like his namesake would say. The other day it started to rain and I said to him "What do we say to the rain? Rain rain go..." "No mommy, I sing!" "Rain rain go way, come gain nother day". It was SO cute!!! He is loving anything farm related and of course loves to sing Old McDonald. It just amazes me how much he's learning and growing. He's also getting in two more teeth for sure and I think two others are right behind them so that's been a slight challenge lately but I would be grumpy too if I had sharp things cutting in my gums.

Dave - Dave has been busy working and now has a new toy. He's working on restoring his old Model Car (for Christopher he says...ha!)so that's been fun for him. Hopefully it'll be up and running any day now. Other then that it's been lots of CUBS games and working in the yard and on the Land Cruiser.

I'll share some pictures after Christopher's little birthday party on Saturday. Hope everyone is having a great summer. We've gotten in another camping trip (very little rain this last time which was good) and we're leaving again soon for another trip which I'm really looking forward to. We're camping with my good friend Lisa and her husband John and their son JD and this will be our first trip together to the beach so I'm super excited for it.

Happy 4th of July!!

We had a great Fourth of July this year. It was Christopher's second one and he had a blast! Here are some pictures from our holiday. Wednesday night we were at our friends the Kuiper's house on the Thornapple River for a little private show and also to watch the Forest Hills fireworks. It was great! Christopher was a little frightened after the first really loud one went off but after a while we were able to get him back outside to watch the rest of the show. He also got to go for a boat ride and he had a blast! Thursday was spent at the Cascade parade where he mastered the art of diving for candy thrown from floats and we got to see Miss Makenna enjoy the parade as well (picture of this total doll below). After the parade it was over to the Gronsman home for a pool party and cook out. He again had a riot in the pool. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July!!

Lots of pictures!!!

It's been a while since I've done an update so I figured I would include lots of pictures. We had our first camping trip of the 2008 summer the other weekend and well let's just say we're pretty sure it'll go down in history as one of the worst trips ever! We had horrible storms. I'll update more but time to turn the computer off now. Power seems to be going on and off here in yet ANOTHER storm! UGH!

Goodnight Kisses

Not much to update at this time but I just had to share my cute story of the week. Last night when I was putting Christopher to bed we got done with his stories, he got his song, and then he started giving me LOTS of goodnight kisses! It was SO sweet!! He kept leaning in and giving me big ole smackers on the cheek! I think I got a good 10 kisses before I could stop laughing and bring myself to actually put him in his bed. Scary that the child has already learned at 22 months that there are ways to stall bedtime.

We've been having lots of fun lately. Today Christopher and I went to Greenville to meet Bre and Drew and take the boys to Danish kingdom. Wow is that one cool park! Can't wait to take him back! Maybe this Fall when we head to Klackels. Our holiday weekend was busy too. We are getting ready for our first camping trip of the season so we had to go to Whitehall to get the camper ready to go. We also went to a bon fire where Christopher had TONS of fun jumping on our friends trampoline. "Jump jump jump" is what he would say and take off running towards it. I hope to have some new pictures to share soon.

Mothers Day

Wow, it's been a while since I've done an update, sorry for the lag. Let me re-cap my mothers day. It was GREAT!! Dave took Christopher to Hallmark on Saturday evening to pick out a card for me. He also came home with a balloon (yea, pretty sure that was all for Christopher). On Sunday Christopher slept in nice and late so I got to sleep in too. Later in the morning he brought me the card he had picked out and a box. Turns out Dave had done a little shopping of his own on Saturday too. The boys gave me a lovely diamond and ruby (Christopher's birthstone) heart shaped pendant and necklace. I love it! He really shocked me this year. Now I need to start thinking of things for Fathers Day!!

I'm finding out this stay at home mom gig is pretty cool! We went to the park yesterday and today Christopher and I hosted our first ever playdate! It was so much fun! We've been doing lots of things to keep busy which has been great. I think the keeping busy part is what's keeping me sane.

New animal sounds of the week. Donkey and Monkey. He's so cute when he says them.

Wedding Daze

First Christopher's newest trick: OUTSIDE!!! Monday night Dave and I were making dinner. Dave looked to his left and realized the front door was open a little. Sure enough Christopher had gotten the door open! Dave watched him, said "Christopher what are you doing"? Christopher took one step on to the porch, turned around and looked at Dave, put his hands up in the air and yelled "Outside!!". Needless to say we now have the door knob covers so he can't escape on us.

My cousin Raymond got married this past weekend in Ann Arbor to his lovely bride Becca. It was such a great wedding! We headed out of GR around 11:00 with the hopes that Christopher would nap in the car. No such luck. He wanted to nap, he really did, but this cough that he has had kicked in to high gear and he only slept for 30 minutes. Dave and I were both super worried he would be a total mess at the wedding and reception.

Raymond and Becca made their wedding/reception SO kid friendly it was great! After the ceremony they had a small reception at the church with a Pinata afterwards for all the kids. Christopher was first to bat (I'm hoping the photographer got some cute shots since we didn't have the camera)and got some animal crackers in the end. At the reception they had a highchair all set up and waiting for him with a bag of goodies to help keep him occupied. All he wanted to do of course was run so he got to go wild out in the hall of the ballroom.

It was SO great to see all my cousins, aunts and uncles again! I can't even remember when the last time was that I saw most of them. I think well over a year ago for some and not since our wedding for others (so over 4 years)!

After the dinner they had dancing. Christopher was getting down on the dance floor! It was SO cute! He was totally hip hop dancing (note to mom, turn off the MTV). After he realized that mommy had let go of his hand he got a little shy and wanted up but he had fun and was a happy camper during the whole thing. Christopher was passed out cold within 5 minutes of leaving the reception and never woke up when we got him in to his PJ's at the hotel.

Christopher meeting his Second Cousin B for the first time. Look at those big brown eyes! He is such a doll and looks just like his daddy for sure!


Scoping out the cake table.


Clapping after the best mans speech (my cousin Brian, he was so nervous it was too cute).


Dancing with mommy towards the end. He didn't want to stop watching the big band that was playing. He was totally enthralled with the guy playing the horn. My aunt is in the pink next to us and my other cousin's son is in the yellow there, all the kids were getting down on the dance floor!

It's over!

Well it's now official, I'm a Stay At Home Mom (at least until I find another job). Christopher is in daycare through the end of the week so I was able to get a bunch of stuff done around the house today and have a bunch more planned for tomorrow. However I don't think the full effect will hit me until Monday when 1) I wake up and have no where to go and 2) Christopher is home with me all day long. Then it'll hit me.

We've got a fun weekend coming up. My cousin Raymond is getting married in Ann Arbor this weekend so Christopher will be going to his first wedding and meeting all of Moms family that he has never met before. Please cross your fingers that all goes well. LOL. Hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to share when we get back (I'm hoping he'll get down on the dance floor with mommy).

Now I'm off to finish some laundry. Take care everyone!

1 week and counting

I never thought I would be happy to be unemployed but gosh I'm starting to look forward to it! Next week Tuesday is my last "official" day of work however I'll still need to come in to the office on Weds for a few hours to get some final reports out to clients. Here's my list of things I want to do with Christopher once I'm done working.

1. Go the the zoo! I want to go to Binder Park in K-zoo and to the Detroit too.

2. Go on a playground hunt to find all the best ones around town.

3. Buy chalk for the driveway and go crazy.

4. Host a play date!

5. Go to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum

6. Now don't anyone fall over from shock, but yes, I want to plant some flowers!

7. Get in lots of walks!

8. Start making trips to the library for story time.

If you've got anything I can add to my list let me know. I keep forgetting however that I do still need to look for another job and at some point actually get a job so good thoughts that the right fit will come around for me soon but not too soon, would be appreciated.

GO CUBS GO!!

Warning to all you Tigers fans out there that may check my blog, yes I am a fan of the CUBS and so is our entire house. Oh and you may want to tell your Tigers to take a lesson from the CUBS...it's called how to WIN!

This entire weekend has been a pretty lazy one in the Humphreys House. With me not being able to get around too well we kept everything pretty low key. We got in some great playtime outside both Saturday and Sunday, got some housework done, and Dave got started on the privacy fence. We listened to the games this weekend as well (Go CUBS!) and watched a little of the games on TV too. I think we finally have Christopher able to say CUBS.

Dave decided tonight was a great night to grill up some steaks so he came home with steaks and beer. He did such an awesome job grilling them up. SO yummy. Christopher played super hard outside today too so Dave thought he needed a cold one (yes the cap is still on).

Bedtime

Here is our "routine" for bed every night. After washing up, it's time for PJ's, we say night-night to who ever is around (cat, dog, dad), then Christopher and I go sit in the rocker and read a few stories. After the stories I sing him this little song that I came up with just after he was born. I sing it to him every night. Here is how the last two nights have gone. Finish book, Christopher is sucking his fingers, eyes are getting heavy. Mommy says to him "Do you want me to sing you your song now?" Fingers pop out, smile on the face "Shesh" (yes) he says and fingers go back in the mouth. Oh my gosh can you melt my heart even more little one? I'm just shocked at how much he knows and how much he learns every single day.

Most popular word right now (he's known this word for a while just never used it much unless he saw it in a book) and taking a close second to no? Tractor! His Grandpa Humphreys tractor is sitting in the driveway right now for Dave to use and he has to say "Hi tractor" and "Bye tractor" every chance he gets, even on his way up to bed.

Here's the crazy news for the day. I was in a hurry to get to work on time and fell off the landing in our garage this morning. I thought I was ok, drove in to work, and was in tears by the time I reached my desk my foot hurt so bad. Dave took me to the Urgent Care Center to have it looked at. I've got a pretty nice sprain and am on crutches for the next few days. This should be fun with an almost two year old in the house.

Wow, what a week!

Well I had my last and final business trip this past week for my company. I got the privilege of going to Charleston SC to attend the first wellness fair for the Charleston Water System (best tap water in SC) and had a great time. It was SO sad however to say goodbye to all the great people I had gotten to work with over the last two years. I really will miss them all.

Christopher got to spend lots of time with Daddy while Mommy was away but last Sunday with the weather SO nice we spent lots of time outside before Mommy left on Monday. Below are some pictures of him playing outside (and in Daddy's Cruiser). We had a birthday party to attend this weekend so Christopher got in some great play time at Chuck E' Cheese. He even ate pizza and he has NEVER eaten pizza before!!

Dancing in the Kitchen

I'm in the kitchen updating my play list's on my I-Pod for my business trip on Monday and Christopher and I are dancing in the kitchen. He is SUCH a good dancer. Right now his favorites are Marc Cohn and Barenaked Ladies. I snagged some pictures of him and will post them as soon as I can. He really does love his music.

My proud mom moment for the week: Christopher said "Love Mommy" to me before going to bed the other night and gave me a kiss. Yup, heart is melting just thinking about it. It's going to kill me to be away from him this coming week. I'll put him to bed on Sunday night and won't see him until Thursday morning.

Question to all out there: Can someone PLEASE explain to me the fascination of taking one's shoes off ALL the time????? My child has been barefoot just about every night this week and it appears he's doing it often at daycare. Maybe he'll be like mommy and love flip flops!

A Day of Fun

I took Friday off to play with Christopher all day long and we had SO much fun! We went to the Meijer Gardens first thing in the morning with my friend Mindi and her twins, Jakob and Madeline, and then we had a play date at the mall with some of mom's other friends and all their kids. Christopher had fun playing on all the breakfast foods. Here are some shots of the Gardens. Christopher really enjoyed looking at the giant turtle tank.

Fun Pictures

Here are some fun pictures of Christopher. The first is him in his official Easter Outfit. His sweater was knitted for him by his Grandma Humphreys and it looked SO cute on him!!


Christopher loves to talk on the phone and the best part is, this phone has WHEELS! If it's got wheels he'll push it!



Last but not least BUBBLES!!! This was what I found when I checked in on tonights bath. The tub was not that full of bubbles when he first got in. Dad and Christopher were having fun splashing and making more bubbles. Hmmm come to think of it, I should probably go check in the bathroom to make sure there isn't water all over the floor.


I've had a super crazy week at work this week so tomorrow I'm taking the day off and Christopher and I have lots of fun things planned. Hopefully I remember the camera when we go see the Butterflies at the Meijer Gardens and then meet up with some other kids for some play time! Check back over the weekend for pictures!

Easter

Isn't this what you are supposed to do with your Easter basket????

Shoes???

We have decided that Christopher may just be the next Al Bundy (the Married with Children Al Bundy of course) and have a future in shoe sales so instead of aiming low, I'm going to aim high. He is not only going to SELL shoes but he's going to DESIGN shoes and make a fortune! You can't take your shoes off in our house without our little shoe man bringing them right back to you saying "Shoe?" and setting them right down next to your feet. Today Christopher decided to "go big". Here's some shots of him wearing mommy shoes.



























Christopher also watched daddy snow-blow the driveway for what Dave really hopes is the last time. Even though I wish it were true, I'm telling him not to put it away for the summer just yet.

1st Piece of Crazy News

Well I guess there is no better time like the present to announce that I could becoming a stay at home mom on April 29th! I've known for a few weeks but I've been keeping it on the "down-low" until all my clients had been notified. Sadly to say, my company is closing. It's been a crazy and very rough last few weeks. Stress and Easter Candy are NOT a good combination for me! I may as well take my next bag of Jelly Beans and strap them to my thighs with duct tape since that's where the last 5 bags have gone. I think the worst part has been talking to clients and letting them know what's going on, hearing the shock in their voices as I try to cover my own disappointment, and trying to hold it together as they tell me how much they have enjoyed working with me. Even though it has been a hard year I really do love my job and I love my clients so knowing I worked hard for them and did the best I could do is a great positive to leave my job with. I'm looking for a new job, and will continue to do so, but I'm not going to stress too much if I get lucky enough (is it really lucky to be unemployed?) to spend a month or two at home with Christopher over the summer. So, if anyone has any great job leads, feel free to send them my way.

First Ever Blog Post!!!

Well since I really want to be like the rest of my friends I figured it was time to start our own family blog so WELCOME to The Humphreys House blog!!! Yippee!! I closed Christopher's own personal web page so I'll keep everyone updated on what our crazy child is doing as well as what Dave and I are up to. Hopefully I can keep up with this better then I did Christopher's own page.