Cranbrook Institute of Science

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Today, I took Jake to the Cranbrook Institute of Science. We met MPnA there. EDS was sponsoring an exhibit, so EDS employees got to bring family members in to the museum for free. Alison really had a ball. The exhibit that EDS was sponsoring was really cool and had a lot of activities along with information about how kids live in different parts of the world. We also tried taking Jake into the planetarium, but it was close to his nap time, and he threw a fit forcing me to take him out about three minutes into the show. Everyone else stayed and said it was really cool.

After a quick, late lunch at Rio Wraps, we went back to MPnA's for a little bit. We then headed over to the Husted's house for Katy's birthday party. Jake stayed up about an hour past his bedtime before getting fussy, so that was fun.

Tomorrow, Jake and I will be going to GnGT so that they can hang out with Jake while I take a look at their computer.

Michele is still getting over her strep throat, so she decided to stay home and try to rest up. Hopefully it helped, because Jake and I are both ready to have a healthy Mommy around.

Bike Ride

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Michele and I found this great bike trailer at Costco. We knew that we wanted to get one this summer, but also had some pretty strict requirements. OK, so really just two: it had to be safe and be easily changed from bike to bike. We thought we were going to get a Burley (the Cadillac of bike trailers), but luckily I spotted this at Costco. Not only does this include the stroller assembly (an extra wheel), but it also cost half as much!

Jake has been for a few rides now, and while he doesn't giggle uncontrollably the entire time, he doesn't seem to mind it either. Elle, on the other hand, took a ride the day we got it, and sounded like a kiddie siren, screaming and breathing, screaming and breathing the whole way around the block. Jake just sat and stared at her, probably wondering what the problem was. We'll have to give it another try soon.

First Birthday Party

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We had quite a full house today for Jake's first birthday celebration. Besides Dan and Colin (who was potentially sick), all the Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and cousins were able to attend. Unfortunately, we don't have the room to accommodate all of Michele and my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins as well.

Jake seemed to get into the present opening a little more than when it was just us, but not by a whole lot. He also ate a bit more of his cake this time. It could have been because this came from his Aunt Nez's kitchen, and not from the Thrifty Acres.

There are quite a few photos to view from our new camera (ours is silver, and you need to see the LCD to fully appreciate how gorgeous it is), and there will probably be even more once everyone else gets their photos uploaded.

Go Green!

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Friday night, after work, Michele and I left Jake with Meme and headed over to Grand Rapids to meet up with Bret and Jen to watch MSU play in the regional playoffs for the NCAA Hockey Tournament. We got there a few minutes before MSU's game was set to start, only to find out that Notre Dame had forced a second overtime (where they eventually went on to win). Our game started around 9:30 or 10:00 which was over an hour late. Boston University came out FAST and looked like they were going to dominate the game. They scored first, but the Spartans answered back with a power play goal before the first period expired. After that, it was all Spartans as they took the game 5-1!

MSU then went on to beat Notre Dame Saturday night, and moved on to the Frozen Four. Coming in third in the CCHA tournament might not feel so bad if they can pull off an NCAA championship!

In other news, the weather has been great, and Jake's been going on a lot of walks. He seems to really enjoy them, if he can stay awake.

Jake's 1st Birthday

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Our little boy is now a... well, a little boy, but he's a 1 year old little boy now. It's a good thing this is the last set of photos with the frame, because he's getting harder and harder to photograph!

Jake didn't care too much for his cake, but that wasn't surprising given his general distaste for "real food". He liked squishing the frosting in his fingers, and eventually ate a few bites, but it was generally more of a mess than a treat. It's just too bad we couldn't break out the power washer to clean up his high chair because that would have made the job go A LOT quicker!

Also, today, Jake participated in a Mini March for Cystic Fibrosis at day care. A special thanks to Meme and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Mark and Almost Aunt Kelly for sponsoring Jake's "walk".

365 Days Old

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Tomorrow is a big day for someone. I have a feeling it's bigger for Michele and I than for Jake, but it is his big day. I wanted to go ahead and get our camera cleared off since I'm guessing we'll take more than our fair share of snapshots tomorrow. We plan on giving Jake a small cupcake and the gifts that we got for him tomorrow. We're hoping that this way, he's not too inundated at his party this weekend.

Speaking of parties, DLCnM and GnGT came over this past weekend to celebrate Teri's birthday. We had some really good ribs, sweet potatoes, salad, and a delicious carrot cake that Lynette made. She is now officially in charge of all future carrot cake occasions. I wonder if Jake's birthday is a carrot cake occasion?! One can only hope.

Unless something goes terribly wrong, expect another update tomorrow when we have photos of a one year old instead of photos of a zero year old.

March is Here

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OK, so March has been here for a while, but we finally have a baby that's healthy enough to give me time to post to the blog. Pink eye was just the beginning of Jake's problems. Just when we thought we had that under control, he came down with the touch of a flu. Only his touch lasted over a week! He started with nausea and eventually ended with diarrhea. We even got to spend a few hours at St. Mary's hospital Monday night so Jake could get re-hydrated. A week of juggling who could stay home with him followed. Luckily, Pete and Teri got back from their vacation and were able to help out a few days. Meme was all tied up with getting Alison to and from school, so she wasn't able to come down to watch him, even though she really wished she could.

Thursday night, Jake was refusing his bottle, so I decided he was going to go back on solids (which he hadn't had since Thursday the previous week). I had to force him a little bit, but once he forgot that he didn't want them, he sure did gobble them up! Friday was a big turnaround day, and as of yesterday he was back to his old self. It was hard seeing him so sick for so long, but hopefully he won't have to get sick again for quite a while. Now we just have to wait as he gets rid of his double-ear infection which returned (or never left). Luckily, that doesn't seem to be bothering him too much.

With his new-found energy, Jake has realized that he can pull himself up on furniture. He would only get to his knees for a few days, but quickly moved to a full standing position in no time. He's also very good at holding onto something to keep standing. Still no crawling though, as he prefers to drag himself around.

With the return of spring-like weather, Michele and I took Jake for a walk yesterday. It was a bit windy, but we converted the sun shade to a wind deflector, and he loved it! It was good to get out in the fresh air.

Last night, after his dinner, Michele finally agreed that Jake's hair was way too long over his ears and she decided to do something about it. She took a few snips off of each side, and while it looks better, she pretty much solidified that she will NOT be giving him his first official haircut. We'll leave that one up to the pros.

This afternoon we're meeting the rest of the Anderson family at Champps to celebrate Meme's birthday. I'm guessing they'll probably have photos up of that later (if they remember their camera).