Catching Up

I have so many things to catch up on and so many pictures to upload. But for now, we'll discuss this handsome little man.

He's really into dinosaurs right now. We only own two. They are Little Foot and Sarah from The Land Before Time. I told Devin they roared. So now he roars while playing. What sound does a long neck make? He also really loves the book How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? 

He roars with every page and wants me to read it eleventy times a day.

His other favorite books are the "If You Give A Mouse . . . " series. His very favorite is If You Take a Mouse to School. 

He loves both "Mouse" books and both "Pig" books. He does not like the "Moose" book and shuts it forcefully when I try to read it. I'm not sure why this book offends him so.

I will never get over taking pictures of him enjoying his books. He is interested in letters, as well. He started out saying his vowels, and now everything has turned into an "E." But if you ask him if he wants to sing the ABCs, he starts saying "A, C, E . . ." I love him.

Teamwork

One husband making cookies.

One wife making frosting.

One little boy licking the beaters.

Cookie Night success!

Being a Boy

This little boy loves olives. He especially loves when I put them on his fingers. We make homemade pizza most weekends (we have moved on, slightly, from Totino's every weekend), and when I cut up the olives, he loves to be part of the action.

I know these angles aren't the best, but he was just too adorable, continually sticking up his finger for just one more, and I was trying to get the shot and not get olive juice all over the camera.

He really loves playing with the cooking things. It's great because he leaves them willy-nilly all over the floor when he's through, making the kitchen a danger zone of obstacles.

I don't begrudge him one bit, however, because he's just too darn cute.

I was wondering when he would start to get over his dislike of the dirt.

Picnic Time

We went on a picnic outing a few weeks ago to see the wildflowers and so Allyson and Devin could have some play time. 

Pretty much I love these pictures because you can just tell what the little ones are thinking. But I shall narrate the obviousness.

This one says, "Hey Mom, she has the ball and I want it."

Here Allyson is contemplating the likelihood of getting the Camelbak away from Devin.

 

Devin, full-on focused on his sandwich. I made him an awesome sandwich of mayo and cheese.

This one is pretty obvious. They love the Goldfish.

But this is by far the cutest picture from the evening.

These are some random videos from a time when Devin had hair. 

They made me smile, so I thought I'd share the joy with the grandparents.

Nauvoo

 

After spending time at Christy and Phil's house and exploring the areas around Kansas City, we headed to Nauvoo, Illinois. 

Thankfully rich was able to fly out for this part of the family vacation. He got in late Wednesday night, then we left Thursday afternoon after miraculously fitting everything into all the vehicles.

An adorable anecdote from the trip: Devin was restless on the way to Nauvoo, as most kids are wont to get on a 6-hour drive with minimal nap time in the previous days, and when he started freaking out that he wanted me to hold him (he developed mother-attachment on the trip), I finally just told him that he could hold my hand. He took me up on the offer, but had to be holding both Mommy's and Daddy's hands. Even though he looks like he's in a daze here, he was actually very happy to be holding our hands! Family bonding at it's finest!

 

I really liked the City of Nauvoo and wish we would have had at least one more afternoon for exploring. All the houses close at 5:00 p.m., and there were some that had to be missed due to grumpy baby boys, torrential downpours, and our need for food. But, we still had a fabulous time and enjoyed hearing about life in the city when the pioneers were there. 

 

The houses were really well-cared-for and I loved learning new things about some prominent members of the Church. We attended the musical production the senior missionaries put on, and it was hilarious. I was so glad Rich was able to take some time off work and that we were able to visit Nauvoo as a family. This was the first time all the Milletts have been together in a long time, and we loved exploring this special place together. 

Getting these grandkids pics was a memory never to be forgotten.

 Rich discovered that one of his ancestors lived in Nauvoo and owned property there. We tried to find the exact lot, but since the house wasn't there anymore, we had to guess. Thus his ancestor lived somewhere around here. The dog was probably not there, then. 

Devin was wayyy overtired by the Nauvoo portion of the trip. What can I say, my child loves sleep!

 

Rich thoroughly impressed all the nieces and nephews with his awesome jump roping skills in the Family Living Center.

Devin really liked the Family Living Center because he got to run around and they had toys to play with. He also really appreciated the freshly baked cinnamon rolls!

 Grandkids pic. And Christy hiding. Very discreetly.

 The Scoville Bakery wore Devin out and he just rested on the floor for a bit. Well, halfway on the floor and halfway on Daddy's shoe. Super comfortable, I'm sure.

By far, Devin's favorite part of Nauvoo was the cat. He gathered much joy from watching and chasing this cat all around the blacksmith shop.

These pics were taken at the Seventies Hall, and it wouldn't be a Millett family gathering without a picture of Phil's tongue.

 

All in all, visiting Nauvoo was a great time and something that I've wanted to do for a long time. (Though obviously not long enough to choose to go here on vacation when I was 19.)

 

 

 I'm still catching up on our Missouri trip because I am waiting for some pictures from other cameras (Brad and Jo I stole pics from your blog--thanks!) and because it takes forever to upload all the pictures I feel the need to include!