Fun at the Park

We are actually having a pretty decent day in Milwaukee today so Marshall and I took his first trip to the park. We only live a few blocks away so we decided to enjoy the sunshine even more and walk.









Marshall loved the swings and we had a fun time.

I absolutely love this picture, and here's why. When Marshall is at home Richard and I are always talking about how big he's getting and how quickly he is growing up. Well, I put him in the swing at the park and just started to laugh. To us he seems big, but compared to many other things, like a swing set, he is still just a little guy. He just looked too cute sitting there in the swing to not snap a picture!

Visit from Grandma Toney Part Two

On Monday afternoon we went to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum in downtown Milwaukee. They have a special play area for children three and under and Marshall had a great time. He played with soft blocks, sat on a huge horse, and played tic-tac-toe.








It was really fun to have my mom there with us. She helped me navigate downtown Milwaukee, which I have never done without Richard!




On Tuesday we went to Cedarburg. We just shopped around, stopped at a yummy chocolate factory, and had lunch at a great little pizza place. During lunch Marshall discovered my mom's cup and it became his new favorite toy. He sure enjoyed the cup and playing with Grandma Toney.















We are SO glad that Grandma Toney was able to visit us for a few days. We sure enjoyed having her and between the three of us, Marshall was constantly entertained and he loved it! So thanks Grandma Toney for coming and a BIG thanks to Grandpa Toney for letting her come and holding down the fort in Utah. We LOVE grandparents and we can't wait for visits from Grandpa Toney, Grandma Becky, and Grandpa Bob in June!

Visit from Grandma Toney

My mom flew out on Friday morning to spend a few days with us. We have been having a great time with her and she has been having a fantastic time with Marshall. So, here's what we've been up to for the last couple of days...

On Saturday afternoon we went to Holy Hill, a cathedral about 45 minutes north of Milwaukee. It is out in the country and it is beautiful. Unfortunately spring hasn't really arrived in Wisconsin yet, so everything is still dead, but it was still nice. Marshall was a great little sport and I'm sure he enjoyed being out in the sun, despite it still being a little chilly.






Marshall had an audience for bath time this morning with Grandma Toney around-he was a definite ham for the camera...





















And of course, Easter pictures...




















And in honor of the Easter Bunny...





And a nice family picture...









Grandma Toney also talked me into letting Marshall try some Cheerios. I resisted for two days because giving him Cheerios would mean that he is growing up, but I decided to face the facts and broke down and bought him some Cheerios last night. So, he had has first experience with Cheerios after church today. He didn't put any in his mouth, he just played with them. Grandma Toney did get one in though and he was quite entertained with it for quite a while-definitely different then baby food.

Alvin Ailey

Thanks to my fantastic husband, I was able to go to Chicago with my friend Anna to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company on their 50th Anniversary Tour! This was my second time seeing the Alvin Ailey Company and it was AMAZING! The movement was simply beautiful and I loved every minute of it! So, thanks Richard for surprising me with these tickets, thanks Anna for coming with me, and thanks Leavitts for watching Marshall-it was a wonderful day!

Sad Marshall, Happy Marshall

So here's the explanation for this sad little picture. Richard pulled his clarinet out the other night for the first time since we had Marshall and this was Marshall's reaction to the beautiful clarinet music, what a sad little guy!

After we got him calmed down Richard let him touch his clarinet and after that he was okay unless Richard played high notes. Well, I guess we'll need to get him accustomed to live music. :)

Now, on to more happy things. Here are just a few pictures to document a nice relaxing day we had a few days ago...















A fun morning in the blankets...
and a great afternoon with the laundry basket-what a day!

Our Photogenic Marshall...

Here are some recent pictures of Marshall enjoying the camera...

We have the CUTEST boy in the world!

Alright, so I know that every parent thinks that they have the cutest and best kids, but really, Marshall has to be near the top of the cute kid list! He will be seven months old on Sunday-I can't believe how fast the time has gone.

Well, the big news of the day is that Marshall now has 3 teeth-that's right-3 teeth! His latest break though is his top incisor! I didn't think those were supposed to come in for a while, but here it is. I noticed it this afternoon while I was feeding him lunch and I almost fell off my chair. I have pretty much concluded that he is a champ at teething-that's why I'm always so surprised when these teeth come in-I have no reason to suspect that he's teething-its great!

Marshall has also become quite the ham for the camera-we are loving it! We have been able to get so many great smiling pictures because as soon as he hears the camera turn on his grins just let loose. We have now taken over 1,000 pictures of Marshall-thank goodness for digital cameras!

Marshall has also started in on a little head bobbing action during the last week. It cracks me up! Here's a couple videos I took today trying to catch him in action-enjoy!