Sleepy time boy

Since Marcus is our first we have gone the last year thinking that everything he does is very normal. There are a few things we have found out are not normal and that we have lucked out with in our little Marcus. Sleeping is one of them. Marcus has always slept really well. He still takes two naps, morning and afternoon, and most of the time these naps are at least 2 hours long. He also sleeps very well at night from about 8 PM - 8AM. The other day he surprised both Dave and I, Dave was off work and ran some errands until about 12:30 in the afternoon and came home and asked where Marcus was, I told him he was still asleep! He slept almost 16 hours straight! I checked on him every hour since 8 and he was just curled up in his little ball or sleeping with his bum in the air. That's his favorite position to sleep in and it's adorable. I've been able to take some pictures of his cute sleeping positions.

 Bum in the air is his favorite position, that just doesn't look comfortable to me

 I love the one sock on, one sock off. Normally he gets both socks off before we are even out of the room but he must have been really tired

 This is one of our favorite pictures because somehow Marcus got out of his pj's. It was probably my fault, don't judge me, but I put him in  2T pajamas because we haven't been able to find the right size with the right season in pajamas. Obviously the 2T is too big for the 14 month old :)

 So cute!

Sierra Leone West Africa Mission

My parents received their third mission call yesterday! Yes that's right, THIRD. My parents are amazing people. They are so excited to serve their mission in Sierra Leone West Africa. They leave on January 2nd, 2012 and will return July 2013. We are so happy and excited for them. Even though we will miss them terribly, with the amazing technology we have nowadays we can skype and see them whenever we want (at least we hope :) It's hard to have them gone for so long however we know that this is the best possible thing they could be doing for our family at this time. My parents are smart, they taught all of us children how to be independent and take care of ourselves so that they would be free to serve missions and bring the blessing of the Gospel to those that don't have it. We had no idea about where Sierra Leone is but we do now and we know it's one of the top places they mine diamonds! Hooray for souvenirs right? My parents first mission was in the Philippines, and the second mission was in Keny Africa, so they are familiar with Africa just not this area. We can't wait to hear about all of their adventures and the fun people they get to meet. They are amazing examples to their children and grandchildren!

MMMMM yummy!

When it comes to eating Marcus is in love with all food. We have not found one thing that he won't eat. He loves some things more than others, such as strawberries, pirate's booty, and squash. If Marcus sees you eating something he makes sure to let you know that he wants whatever you are eating. He loves to put his feet up on his try of his high chair when he eats, just like he's lounging out while enjoying his food. He can now do the sign language for "all done" and "more". He also starts throwing his food off the tray when he is done eating. Luckily we have Toby to help clean up :)

Bath time

Marcus LOVES to take a bath! He tries to get in to the bathroom every night, we have the door closed of course so he won't get in the toilet. He starts waving his arms and will head straight for the bathroom when you say anything about taking a bath. He loves to splash, stand up, suck on his alphabet letters, and is fascinated with falling water. Dave and I give him a bath together at night on Tuesday and Thursdays and then Sunday mornings. Dave and I love this time with Marcus, he cracks up us with how fun he is to be with in the bath. 

 The letters stick to his back! Dave thinks it is the funniest thing

Finally - teeth!

Marcus has been getting his teeth really slow! I was worried at first but our pediatrician said it was just fine. So far he only has two teeth on the bottom! Teething with Marcus, like everything else, was not as bad as I thought it would be. He was up all night and cranky the next day but then he was happy as his usual self. I think he looks adorable with two bottom teeth, even if they are crooked! (Our pediatrician assured us they would straighten out)

Summer 2011

 We had an amazing summer! We spent most of it outside in our backyard spending time with each other. Almost every day we would either eat outside on the patio or  play in the swing or play on a blanket on the lawn.  We spent so much time the last two summers working on our yard we REALLY enjoyed it!

 Marcus had so much fun playing outside and also looking outside. He and Toby have become best friends, Toby goes where Marcus goes and Marcus is learning how to be gentle with Toby and to not grab his eyes or ears :)

 We made it to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point with my sisters and their kids. Marcus loved the animals and enjoyed the ice cream we had afterwards :)

 I've loved being with Marcus this summer, seeing as last summer he was a newborn and just slept the summer away. I love my little guy and each new stage he is in. This is by far the most fun stage for me and each day I get with him just makes my life that much sweeter and more happy.

One family picture to say goodbye to summer! We look forward to next summer but will enjoy the time until then! Thanks summer 2011 for treating us well.

Baby Shower

The Kelly family is finally getting a grandbaby that is a girl!! Michelle Moses, my fun and beautiful sister-in-law is set to have her baby girl, Claire any day now. We had a really fun baby shower for her in our backyard a few weeks back. We had yummy food and lots of fun presents!

Congratulations Michelle!! We can't wait to see little Claire! She doesn't know how lucky she is!