Springtime in the Jardin

The weather's been so lovely up until this weekend and we have spent all the time outside that we can, enjoying the cool days before it got hot. Miranda has really been wanting to explore on her own, so we've started letting her toodle around the patio and back yard a bit. It makes for some very dirty knees in her jeans, but she loves it so much!







Mister Michael still loves running around naked after bath time, and the other night he donned his cowboy hat and started running around playing soccer with his dad. It was so cute!! We think we might save this picture for his first prom date or maybe his senior yearbook. :O)))

Jump Up!

Michael and I won tickets from a local radio station to go see Dan Zanes, a really fun musician who makes music for the whole family.

That's Dan Zanes in the purple suit. He wore a lime green suit for our concert! In the group photo, you can see Father Goose, the Jamaican reggae rapper who raps Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and The ABC's - it's awesome!

We had been to a radio promo with Dan Zanes a couple days before and since Michael was brave enough to get up and dance in front of everyone there, and to lead the conga line, I knew we'd have fun at the full concert. Michael had a ball and I must admit I enjoyed myself too!



Afterwards Michael and I cooled off at a bus stop near the concert hall before we got in the car to go home. While we were looking at all the cars going by, he told me his first knock-knock joke!! We still can't deviate the punch lines and he's very specific on how he wants us to respond (when to yell a line, when to laugh) but it was still very exciting. I caught him on camera saying "Knock knock!"



We had SO much fun, and the next time Dan Zanes comes to town we're all going.

They Go Together!

I love when I come across photos that show Michael and Miranda definitely go together. Michael most definitely looks like Dan, and Miranda looks like my and my mom's baby pictures and like her Grandma Moore a little bit, but they also look like each other as well. I guess you could say they match!!

Forget the Crawling!

So this week I was all set to post some super cute pictures of Miranda who's a new expert at crawling - until I went in to get her out of her crib after a nap on Wednesday and found this...



I have to admit I was a bit flabbergasted! She has only been crawling for three weeks or so and now this!

I also was caught off guard with this picture, where Mister Michael looked like such a big boy to me. Our little guy isn't so little anymore!



BLAST OFF!

(This one's for you, Hel.)

The Return of Auntie Amy

We had a treat in February when Auntie Amy and Rulon came to visit Tucson! She cooked for us, we went to the zoo, and had so much fun while they were here.

Rulon, sitting in Michael's Elmo chair (he was quite fond of it)


Michael and Miranda, playing


Me and Amy


Everyone in for bathtime!


One last photo before Amy and Rulon went home


Rulon's sweater passed on to Miranda

Friends, friends, friends

During the month of January we had lots of friends over to help us get through the surgery recovery. Of course there were lots of opportunities for pictures!

Corissa with her kids, Leah and Isaac - having a snuggly moment.


Sarah with Michael and Miranda getting bubbly


Letter head! Also, Sarah, modeling her mom's first knitting project ever!


Davis, Michael and Miranda becoming shiny, happy people!


Miranda constantly looked like she thought those boys were nuts


Leah and Corissa came over to play while Davis and Steff were here, and Leah wasted no time in showing those boys what a woman driver can teach them!




Michael also learned how to take turns (big development!) while shooting baskets with Leah and Davis. he now thinks that if he tells us it's his turn, that he automagivcally gets what he's waited all of 10 seconds for!

Dan's Son

So yesterday I caught Dan's son jumping like a monkey on the couch!

Quick shot of the jump:

Longer video of the jump (he knows Mom is watching him, he knows he's not supposed to be doing it, so he was trying to be cool about it...)

Mommy's Trying Something New

Hi all! We took some great short videos of the kids this week and I thought I'd try to figure out how to share them with you through our blog. Enjoy!

This one is of Miranda crawling, which she started this week. One day she got up onto her knees, and by the end of the day she was crawling all over the house. She decided two days later to go up the little steps from out playroom, so it seems like something she's been thinking about for a while! No baby steps for this little firecracker, she just gets up and does it! Watch out, world!

No Clever Title Today

We haven't posted anything in a while, so I'm trying to get some new stuff up early this morning before the day gets going. However, it means I'm hardly awake and can't think of a fun title today! "Oh well," as Michael says so much these days. :O)

For your enjoyment are the following:

These first two are of Mr. Michael, who refused to take a nap one day in January (it certainly wasn't a nap he took when he slept for 2 hours on the couch, he was sure of that!) Looks like a nap to me...




Miranda is continuing to get cuter and cuter (but we're not biased or anything :O) and she really gets a good giggle going these days. Love that buddha belly!




Finally, I had a good giggle over this. Dan's parents came to stay with us to help out while I was recovering and Dan's dad got Michael dressed a couple times. I thought it was so cute when Bob picked out an outfit to match his own!

Our Twelve Days of Christmas

Well, some of you know and some of you don't but I was in hospital over Christmas wrestling with my gallbladder. I ended up losing the small battle, the gallbladder came out and after some minor complications, I came home on the 29th of December. Essentially we missed holiday celebrations in our home and so while I was coming out of my post-surgery haze, our Christmas stretched into the twelve days afterwards. It was kind of nice to have it so laid-back, we opened presents gradually and were able to spend a lot of time as a family while Dan stayed home to help with the kids. Our pictures from holiday celebrations also came in a gradual way - snapped here and there over a twelve (or so) day period.

Miranda snuggling with her daddy and her stackable birds.


I asked Miranda to smile, and I got these two cute pictures...




Michael was given a snuggly Elmo sweatshirt




One of the things we kept coming back to over the holidays is that we can still make each other laugh.


Mom, Michael and Zoe


Cutie pie!


We were given some beautiful roses when I came home from the hospital, they lasted forever and were such a treat.




May your 2007 be filled with good health for you and those you love!

Gobble, Gobble!

This year for Thanksgiving we had the Moore clan down to Tucson, and we had a ball! Dan's Grandpa Moore came up from Green Valley for the day, Mona, Jeff, Big E and Little E came down from Phoenix, and Dan's parents stayed for several days from Farmington. We had a really great time with everyone together. Ethan and Michael particularly enjoy each other - they're a lot of fun to watch together.


Here's our family picture together in the backyard in front of the orange tree.


This was the test shot before we got everyone in one spot for a picture, with Michael as the test subject!


Give me a test smile, goofy!


Our little family, Casa Moore de Tucson


The day after Thanksgiving, we went to our very close friends' wedding, Chris and Cassie Wolf!!

The day after Cassie and Chris' wedding, Miranda and I went to their farewell brunch. She got to wear one of my party dresses from when I was a little girl. :O))))