Kristen's Vote Counted!

Like good citizens, Kristen and I voted yesterday. Surprisingly, she had voted only one time before (the first time she was eligible after turning 18!). To remedy this wrong, I made sure she was registered when we moved back to the City.

My office shut down early due the building's proximity to the Obama rally in Grant Park. Getting out at 3pm, we all walked to our designated polling station prepared for what we had heard were long waiting lines.

Pleasantly surprised, there were no lines and we were through the entire process in less than 10 minutes! To ensure Kristen filled out her ballot correctly, Gilbert was entrusted to oversee the process! For his hard work, he was proud to hold the "I voted" flyer.

Gilbert's Zookeepers

Halloween Party!

We were in Nashville for the weekend visiting long-time friends. Halloween was especially fun considering there were six kids under the age of four dressed up for a little trick or treat!

Snapping pictures of the whole group was a different story, but some were captured!

This pictures is of Gilbert and his long-distance buddy T. A monkey and a zebra. Who would have thought they could coexist!

Happy Halloween!

A popular choice for a new baby costume is always animals. And Gilbert upheld this tradition with his zebra costume. Thankfully the weather was cool in the evening because the that costume was the equivalent of being in a mascot outfit for a sports team. It was hot in that costume!

Air Trip

Team Johnson hit the road on Friday to visit friends in Nashville. Catching an early flight on Southwest, Gilbert was fantastic on the plane. Hoping he would sleep on the plane he was too intrigued by the surroundings.

However, slumber did overtake and he snuggled in with Kristen for a little nap.

More Laughter

I have posted many times about children's laughter. Sorry, here is another post. I just can't help it. Listening to Gilbert laugh makes me laugh...and smile!

Birthday Road Trip

On Sunday we hit the road to the suburbs to visit friends who were unable to make the party. Why? Well, they just had their THIRD CHILD! Three. Trey. The trifecta. Wow!

So, we packed up the family, took out a birthday cake so all the kids could enjoy a little party and spend the majority of the afternoon just lounging, talking and watching the kids play together. For his birthday, they gave him an impressive set of bath toys including some write on the tub crayon that is water soluble. Can't wait to see that put to use on the dry walls!

The trip gave Kristen time to play with her godson as well as revel in some new baby time!







With a smaller crowd, Gilbert was a bit more comfortable when it came time for Happy Birthday and even let us don him with a birthday hat!

The Day After

After getting drunk on cupcakes the night before (witness the photo), Gilbert had a quiet morning after to recover. We saved a few presents from family that could not make it to the party. My parents and Kristen's mom had sent gifts so we opened them during breakfast.

Books, more toys that make noise (thanks Mom, Dad!) and a little cold hard cash rounded out the booty.

Party Of The Year

Cupcakes. Ice Cream. Beer. The ingredients for a guaranteed rockin' soiree! And the kids had their own food as well!

Gilbert was officially 1 year old on Sunday, but we held his party on Saturday. We invited family along with close friends to help celebrate Gilbert's coming of age. The condo was tight at times and if more had arrived, we might have violated the occupancy for our home!

As we prepared for the guests, Gilbert clearly realized something was amiss. Similar to being exposed to an unfamiliar surrounding, he retreated a bit as the condo was cleaned and prepped for the party. When Gilbert is unsure, one of his hands heads north and finds safety in his mouth. He's not sucking on his thumb or any of the other digits, but rather just keeps it there as his 'safety'.

What was a real treat was watching all the kids play. We had five kids ranging from five months to two years sitting, crawling, scotting, and walking around. Pure joy! Meanwhile the adults watched football and enjoyed some much deserved adult conversation.

Kristen's brother, his wife and Gilbert's cousin came in town from Ann Arbor as well as Kristen's dad and step-mother. And as the evening wound down they brought up their pup, Reggie.

The group put on a nice rendition of Happy Birthday and Gilbert had his first cupcake. At first he was unsure what to do with it. He stuck his fingers into the frosting and immediately began shaking his hand attempting to fling off the icing (he doesn't like anything sticky on his hands). Eventually one of the hands made it to his mouth and the sweet taste of the frosting registered and he greedily wanted more! You can see multiple efforts took place to get more of the cupcake into the mouth. Some success. Lots of failed attempts!

After cupcakes and ice cream were passed, we attempted to open presents. However, Gilbert was easily distracted by items that had true value...the tv remote! He received some excellent gifts. Many that made lots of noise and light up. THANKS A LOT!

While the adults gathered in the living room, the kids decided to convene in Gilbert's room for some serious playtime.

Everyone seemed to have a great time and we are extremely grateful for the generosity. THANK YOU!

Happy Birthday to Gilbert!

It is official! Gilbert is 1 year old! In his living memory, I wanted to share some pictures of his past year. Enjoy!

Year 1 Draws To An End

Gilbert turns 1 on Sunday! The past few weeks both Kristen and I have been nostalgic as we have thought back over Gilbert's first year. Kristen, especially, has been rifling through all the pictures to see how much he has changed. Misty eyes included.

And changed he has! Looking at pictures from the beginning, it is hard for us to even remember how small he was when we came home from the hospital. We all think our babies are the cutest and we were no exception. But when we look at some of the photos and see that wrinkly mass I wonder what other people might have been thinking. Ha!

Luckily some things have not changed. His laugh seems to be the same. And many of his facial expressions we see today were present in the beginning.

But even better is seeing how Gilbert has developed! Each day seems to be more fun than the one prior. And the best part is that we have been able to share it with you...family, friends, friends of friends, co-workers, and even the blog passerby.

We appreciate your devotion (or at least the occasional visit!) to taking the time to stop by and see how the Little Man is doing. It has indeed been an eventful year and I'm sure Year 2 will be even more so...STAY TUNED!

Offering

Gilbert is now in his 'offering' stage. He'll scoot around with a item in his outstretched hand as if he is offering it to you. Sometimes he'll let go, other times he will hold on.

What has been fun is combining this with commands, per se. We have both been pleasantly surprised how well Gilbert has processed this information. Sometimes it works...



...and sometimes Gilbert loses to the power of distraction or simply forgets his item!

I'm A Big Boy

I have a new carseet. Mama sez I'm a big boy and I need a new seet for the car. So, on Sunday we visited the storage place where mama keep all her 'stuff'. Dada calls it something else.







Dada put me seet in the car and then I sat in it to test it out. I do not look back anymore. I see forward and now can see Mama and Dada while are in the car. I like to see Mama and Dada.

Early Birthday Present

Gilbert's 1st birthday is coming up and his first present arrived in the mail from his grandparents. Taya sent him the trifecta of toy hell - makes noise, lights up, and has moving parts. It is going to drive us nuts!




But seriously, it is a cool gift. Gilbert was not sure what to with it at first and decided to play with the other gift, the box!



He did warm up to the gift and jumped on for some exploration. A few more inches and he'll be able to push and ride it around the condo. Oh joy!

Laughter

You've got to love childrens laughter. The three of us were just lounging together when I started to roughhouse with Gilbert. He loved it. He was attempting to get to the camera that Kristen was holding and as the video shows, I was not making it easy for him. He laughed all the way!

Nature Trip

On Friday (one of Kristen's days at home with Gilbert), Kristen and Gilbert met up with one of her friends for an afternoon at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Kristen's friend is a nanny for two kids, so field trips are the norm.

For Kristen it was an opportunity to get Gilbert out and do something new and at the same time have adult conversations. A win-win!

Hippos Go Berserk!

Is Gilbert's favorite book. Period. Of course, we have a growing library of Sandra Boynton books and I decided to visit her website (the picture is an active link) to see what else is available. I discovered a bunch of books exist that I have never seen in the store. Looks like it is time to place an order. Bath Time looks like a good addition. Maybe I'll keep that one for myself!

What? Who is Sandra Boynton? Are you kidding me?

How can you not know who Sandra Boynton is? If you have kids of your own, nephews, nieces, friends with kids, cousins who have kids, a single chick that is pining for a man so you can have kids, or even if you are a dude that is as single as it gets you still can't avoid knowing who Sandra Boynton is!

But if you still don't know - which means your head has been in the sand or perhaps up your a** - I visited her website and have provided the skinny on Sandra so you can be enlightened. For all the golfers that read this site, her success occurred when she signed on with the greeting card company founded by the same two blokes that created Bandon and Pacific Dunes!

As I mentioned, Hippos Go Berserk is Gilbert's favorite book. What is your kid(s) favorite?

Victory!

Gilbert is hands off when it comes to food and drink. He does not hold his bottle nor use utensils to feed himself. Depending on the type of food, he will use his hands, but defers to the P's for the handling of sticky, mushy food.

When it comes to his sippy, it has been hit or miss. Well, this morning I was making my breakfast while Gilbert played in the kitchen. I set down the sippy in his vicinity and was shocked as he scooted toward it, picked it up, and drank from it...multiple times!

As Kristen came in I shared this wonderful news. She proceeded to shrug her shoulders and inform me Gilbert has done that before. Well thanks for bursting my bubble, babe!

How Do You Sleep?

Who would have thought this is a comfortable way to sleep?

Little Man Is Growing Up

Upon returning from our Michigan weekend, it was time to lower Gilbert's crib. Little Man is starting to pull up, and the last thing we want is a header off the high board! After his bath, we disassembled his crib and lowered the bed.

Not sure what was going on, he decided to oversee to ensure project execution! Not one to sit and watch, he acted as safety manager and confirmed the electrical cords were up to code.

He even picked up a mallet and was willing to roll up the sleeves on his robot pj's and assist!

Come clean up, he even offered to vacuum under his crib. What a team player!

The Drive Home

Returning home, we detoured to stop at an apple farm and pumpkin patch as it is definitely 'tis the season for buying some delish Michigan apples and a pumpkin for the upcoming fall season.Don't kid yourself, we knew we'd need the break for Gilbert.

Not timing the trip home with a nap, he was restless and needed to get out of his car seat!

At the pumpkin patch we just relaxed among the very-large pumpkins, fed Gilbert, and just enjoyed the open space and country air!

This photo was great capture. Growing up City, Gilbert was speechless as he was exposed to his first mullet. A mini-van full of family mullets - mom, dad, and kids - emerged for a pumpkin pickup. The dad's mullet was particularly sweet with a nice bald circle, but a full mullet that was definitely past shoulder length.