Planes, Trains and Automobiles (plus a shuttle)

Last weekend Mehandis, my mom and I had a nice reprieve from winter... we took a quick trip to Tuscon! My mom was nice enough to take the train from Chicago to meet us here in Milwaukee, to make it easier for me. We flew Midwest, the best chocolate chip cookies in the air, to Phoenix. Proceeded to take a shuttle to get our rental car (which tested the patience of 3 tired travelers since it needed to have a car seat installed by us "novice" car seat installers.) Then in the morning drove about 2 hours to Tuscon. Through out it all Mehandis did super! He loved looking at the scenery as we were landing on the plane. The hotel room was a blast to him. We checked in around 11 at night (our time) and he got a second wind in order to giggle and explore the accommodations. Sleeping went well too :) Mehandis met his great-pa, a term my grandfather chose for himself. We all went out for a big lunch together and had fun watching old family movies.
My Aunt Cheryl delighted in Mehandis. His laughter was very contagious for my aunt and mom. Lots of giggle fits.
I think that Mehandis is now in the "blankie" stage. He surprised us by cuddling with anything blanket-like during this trip. This included his bibs (dirty or clean), my sweater and the hotel room towels. Pretty cute. Now should we push one specific blanket for him? Or does that get risky if we forget it/lose it? I think he will probably answer that one for us.

It was a fast yet fun trip. So nice to spend such a long time with Mehandis and my mom. Great perk that it happened to be during the time Milwaukee was subzero as well!

So what was the score?

Michael, Mehandis and I enjoyed ourselves last weekend. Friday, we kicked it off with some Office re-runs, out-takes and actors/writers commentaries. It feels so good to laugh out loud... and this show does it for us. Saturday we were able to finally get our Christmas decorations put away and then put our house in some general order. In the afternoon the boys watched Marquette beat Notre Dame. Later we went to meet our friends, the Yorks, who recently move to Iowa. Along with their friends, we "watched" the Packer game. I have to admit I didn't know the significance of this game until game-day. Nor did I really care much more once I learned of this signicance. Very fun to be with Erika, Ryan and Elise though! We miss them being a 5 minute drive away.

Ryan, pictured above, is being strangled for rooting on the Sea Hawks. I think I am correct in the team's name... if not someone will correct me soon.

Sunday was also a good day for us. The 3 M's went to St. Matt's and then I headed off to Fort Atkinson. I enjoyed my friend Carrie's baby shower (and the yummy chocolate chip walnut cheesecake)!

Back to School

This past Monday morning was a bit busier than most. It was the end of Christmas Break for my school district... so back to work I went. But this also was the date that Mehandis was scheduled to start his first day at "school" (AKA daycare).

It is so strange that we have known where Mehandis would be enrolled in daycare, a month or two before we even knew Mehandis. Michael and I visited many different facilities, asked for input from at least a dozen friends (or even acquaintances), made numerous calls and even internet research to find a place we felt our son-to-be would enjoy. I guess that is how most expectant parents go about their research as well. Hmm, didn't think about that.

Anyhow, we both felt very good about our choice in daycare. And I went with Mehandis to visit his new class the last Friday of Christmas Break. I was at ease during our visit and Mehandis proceeded to chow down at the teacher's snack offerings. Smart ploy on their part :)

So the big day finally arrived, just yesterday. Mehandis needed to get up about an hour earlier than usual. Michael needed to do Mehandis's morning dressing routine. And I needed to maintain calmness towards Michael and composure with Mehandis as a I prepared to say goodbye to those big brown eyes.

Good news - Mehandis did well... and so did I. His teachers, whom I like very much, gave him a "star" for his first day. The hardest thing for him was understanding that he needed to stay laying down in his cot for a nap. But he eventually did and took a good nap. The baked beans for lunch were not too big of a hit either. But judging by the condition of his shirt, Mehandis enjoyed plenty of the other food offerings.


The above photo was taken by Michael, right before I took Mehandis to "school". His school bag looks like it is bigger than him!

Happy New Year!

The M3 household is officially up and running again after a nasty bout of stomach flu. I know we will never forget this past New Year's Eve... all 3 adults (Erin, Michael's sister was staying with us) couch bound thankful for healthy Mehandis's giggles as our entertainment. Our champagne of choice was of the Sprite variety.

We are very glad to be feeling up to solid food again, along with the fact that we were healthy for the many family Christmas celebrations!

Not sure how happy Mehandis was for his forced "holiday family pose". But how could I resist?
Mehandis got an ornament to commemorate his first Christmas in our family.
He became very fatigued from all the gift opening (and 2 previous late night family gatherings). But he lit up when he opened the doll that Michael and I gave him. We bought this doll while we were in Ethiopia, since we saw how much he enjoyed the little baby doll one of his roommates had.

Typically Mehandis loves to watch me get ready when I am drying my hair and putting on makeup. Guess he had enough this day, when we were staying at Michael's parents house prepping for Christmas Eve festivities.
Michael thinks this will be a great picture to show at Mehanidis's wedding.
Great-Grandma loves her great-grandson!
Mehandis is ready to test out the Flexible Flyer sled that Nanni & Bampa got him. Hope the snow doesn't melt too fast in the heat wave we are having - it is going to be 50 degrees today!

For 2008 I would like to resolve to get some new video updates onto the blog. But I need your help! Could you please post a comment and tell Michael if this is something you would like to see? He is the official family film maker. Thanks!