my favorite 14 month old

I am awed at the cute-ness that is my fourth son.  He is such a joy and a love.  I cannot believe that he is already 14 months old.  Oh, my.  Where does the time go...and why does it seem to go faster than ever now.

So, Mr. Mitchell, what are you up to?

• you are still a tiny peanut and probably weigh about 20 pounds...but you are eating well
• you love to eat fruits and veggies and are now venturing out to hot dogs..and you loved the steak we made the other day!
• you love to laugh and are almost always happy
• you still take two naps a day most of the time
• you wake up happy and usually pleasantly play in your crib until mommy gets out of the shower
• you love playing in the sand box and crawling in the grass...though you have been known to eat mulch, dirty and a rock or two...yuck
• 
• your brothers love you...Sawyer tries to pick you up, Connor loves to talk with you...and jackson well, he just cannot get enough of you!
• you are still not walking...but that's okay with me since I already have my hands full chasing your brothers.
• you do the cutest a-frame crawl with your legs straight and your arms extended
• you love to snuggle and enjoy mommy reading books to you at bed time
• you are the sweetest little love and I cannot get enough of you

Action

We wrapped up soccer season the other night.  It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of progress in Connor.  He scored two goals in the final night...complete with a victory dance afterward. 

 He made some new friends too.  As it turns out, we knew a lot of the parents from high school and other connections.  So it was fun and social for us too...though Craig spent a lot of time chasing Jackson and Sawyer.  I got some cute action shots during the last game....I love his serious mid-run look in the bottom shot!

PS - I cannot forget to share the story of Jackson's little girlfriend at the soccer game.  He was totally enamored with a little girl in pink.  Turns out, she's a first grader who goes to our church...he was drawn to her like a bee to a flower.  It was so precious.  I had my i-phone with me so i caught a couple of shots of her...i just have to figure out how to post them!

DW-land

Sunday May 2, we have a good fortune of spending the day at Dutch Wonderland with the boys and my dad.  To say the day was wonderful is an understatment.  We had an awesome time.  The boys behaved so well and enjoyed every bit of what turned out to be a warmer than normal day.

Our first stop of the day...the train.  Surprisingly, Sawyer didn't want to ride it at first.  He cried and squirmed between Craig, Pop Pop and I...then settled on Craig's lap for the ride.  In the end, he erally enjoyed it.

Next stop, CHOO CHOO Charlie.  (Can you see a theme going on here?)

I think the boys went around 4 or 5 times before they were ready to move on.  Fortunately, the park wasn't really busy so the boys could keep going. 

Jackson was too cute.  He wore the Syracuse hat for most of the day...looking like a champ.  He only took it off when he got too hot.  This year he could peddle the choo choo charlies really well...he had a great time with lots of laughs...and a few bumps by his big brother.

Sawyer loved the trains as well...he was the only one who needed help getting around the track.  He did a great job.  I think he'll be ready to go by himself next year.

Jackson totally took us by surprise.  He was a total ride man.  He wanted to ride everything!  I mean, everything.  He didn't care who went with him or how big the ride was...he was in full tilt.  He had such a great time...it makes me smile just thinking of it.   During lunch, he spent the entire time pulling on my arm, tellin me he was ready to ride more rides.  He did not want to stop.  I loved it...except for the fact that I wanted to eat lunch!

Mitchell was a gem too.  He went along with everything.  Not a single fuss or cry all day.  Connon on the other hand...didn't love the rides...he got scared on this ride and got off in tears.  He was worried about Jackson riding it too...which made matters a bit worse.  He got over it though....

We rode everything that had anything to do with trains.  Here we are on the sky tram...or as I call it, the train in the sky!  It was so nice and cool in there!

Say cheese!

We got to Dutch Wonderland shortly after it opened at 10 am (we went to early church)...we left at 2 for a birthday party...and returned at 4...then closed the place down at 6.  It was non-stop rides all day.  Neither Sawyer or Mitchell took a nap...and they were great all day.

If you look carefully, you will see that the boys changed outfits through the day...it got soo warm!

I told Craig I want to forever remember the special moments of the day.  The best for me was when Jackson and I rode the big...scary...roller coaster.    I held on to him the entire time... I wanted him to feel so safe and secure.  It was a scary ride with lots of twists and turns..but he took it like a champ.  I was so overwhelmed with love for that little guy...so proud of him for trying different things and for seizing the day.  After we rode it, the girl asked if we wanted to ride it again...he thought for a moment...then said no, but immediately ran to the kiddie coaster and road that.  All day he kept telling people how many rides he went on (3 times for the flume!!!)

 

Anyway,  this momma couldn't love her boys anymore if she tried!