lost photos

i recently found a whole load of photos on the computer that i'd forgotten about. here's some of the best ones -



the black family in salem


the extended adam family


michael and brody at david's wedding reception


one of these two have been eating the ice cream. can you tell which one it is?


michael happy at the top of the stairs


michael's new baby chair


michael triumphant after climbing up the stairs


michael and his auntie maggie at disneyland


michael trying to decide which one he likes best


michael eating in his new high chair


lou with michael at the mongolian barbeque. we couldn't get those chopsicks away from him....


....see what i mean



tiring work at the wallace monument (oli took over as i was struggling)

christmas

First Christmas Babygro (thanks to the Mckays in Edinburgh)


Michael unwrapping a present


Michael with a toy


Michael fulfilling the stereotype of playing with the box rather than the toy


Michael with the Tuxedo suite he got from Jamie and Roz


Visiting great-granny sinclair in aberdeen


driving the car on the way home

we've had a really good time for christmas. it's been less travelling than we've become used to (we didn't even see the M6 or Birmingham), and michael's enjoyed getting about to see everyone.

we went up to michael's grandma and granda in aberdeen for a couple of days. unfortunately michael's had a bit of a chesty cough, so has been a bit snotty and grumpy, but he enjoyed it up there as ever, and even managed not to get chocolate all over himself, the carpet and the tv like he did last time.

There was lots of excitement before christmas day, but on the day itself michael got lots of presents (much more than me, but I'm trying to get over it). He got lots of toys and clothes both in Aberdeen and later when we met up with my family in aberdeen.

He seems to be a little more unsettled now about meeting people he hasn't seen in a while, and also about new places. It took him a little while to warm up to his uncle david when he arrived to stay in tullibody (along with uncle jamie and auntie deb) but did seem to warm up by the next day.

There had been much talk about Michael potentially walking by Christmas (which came about from a gentleman's agreement between jamie and roz). We didn't witness Michael walking on Christmas, but that just means that we didn't see it! He could have been doing it at night when we were all asleep, or even when we left the room. He's getting closer, but he's so good at crawling and getting about holding on to thinks that I don't think he sees the point in walking yet. Sarah quite rightly points out that once he starts walking we'll have to chase him about even more, so we can hold off our excitement for a little while longer.

Continuing Adventures in Tullibody

Laura and Al pop by to visit us. They're due to have a baby in Hogmanay! Unfortunately Laura wasn't able to bring any of the bats from her bat conference in Stirling with her.


Me, Ali and Michael. And Pluto. Where did Pluto come from?


Michael standing on his own (with some help and support)


Failed Christmas photo #3, after which we gave up. Note the barricaded Christmas tree

Michael's continuing to grow and develop, and seems quite keen to explore everything. He's had quite a few people coming by to see him over the last few weeks, and has also travelled far and wide (at least to Aberdeen) to visit some people.

His teeth are still coming in, and he has two on the bottom and two on the top, none of which have fully come through yet. He's really keen to climb up and down the stairs, which he's really fast at (we keep a close eye on him though).

He's become addicted to Cbeebies (BBC kid's TV Channel). He especially seems to enjoy Boogie Beebies (dance programme) and In the Night Garden (bedtime show).

He's still not sleeping all the way through the night, and is now a little clingier for his mum. He's making a lot of noises, and getting close to words, but that could be a while off yet. Jamie and Roz have a gentleman's wager on whether Michael will be walking by Christmas or not. He's getting close, but hasn't shown as much interest now he can crawl really fast. I think Roz (backing the bet) could stand to lose some honour, unless we can put in some serious practice with Michael.

Sarah took Michael to see The Golden Compass at Baby Cinema in Stirling, but I think it'll be the last time. She said that Michael did about 4 laps of the cinema, and peed on the floor when he was getting changed.

Oli and Lou visit

Prince Michael?



Oli and Lou



Michael enjoying a bit of free reign



Us at the Wallace Monument


Oli (from 3M) and Lou were good enough to come up and visit a couple of weeks after we got moved in to our new place.

They brought Michael a really nice toy, which is a big toy frog on a spring. He seems to really like it.

They seemed amazed at how big and capable Michael was, as they'd obviously seen him a lot when we were down in Berkshire, but haven't seen him since.

We took them to the Mongolian Barbeque on the Friday night, which Michael seemed to really enjoy. He got his hands on a chopstick, and wouldn't let go for love nor money. He gets really upset if he's playing with something and we take it off of him. I'd expected a little resistance, but not him to cry for a few minutes and to writhe about to lament his toy of the moment. He managed not to damage himself with the chopstick, but did almost take my eye out at one point.

On Saturday, we went to Stirling Castle. The thing about doing stuff like that with Michael is that you know he's not really appreciating what's going on. He did seem to like the demonstration by two guys about what it would have been like being a soldier during the siege of the castle in the middle ages. He also seemed to enjoy the attentions of some Japanese Tourists, who'd asked us if they could take some pictures with him.

We then went up to Aberdeen for the Scottish Leg of Sarah and Deb's wedding Celebrations. Michael was excited to see everyone again, but seemed particularly fond of hiding under the dining table and teasing baxter with a carrot.

On Sunday Oli and Lou were good enough to prepare a roast for us! We then popped over to the Wallace Monument. I was a little embarassed as I was struggling to push Michael up the hill, and Oli took over half way up and was having considerably less difficulty. I maintain that I had the most difficult part of the hill.

Tullibody 3 Edinburgh 0

Michael trying to work out why one of the walls is orange


Michael helps out in the kitchen


If only he had a tattoo of the house on his body........


We moved house the day after we got back from America. It wasn't a good idea, but it all seemed to work out. My family and Sarah's family all helped out, and everyone took their turn looking after Michael.

Michael seems to like the new house. He's having a lot of fun exploring. He seems to like unpacking. Sarah and I witnessed him emptying a box full of dvds by chucking them over his shoulder.

He's also got his own room now, although I can't think of any days where I haven't woken up to him being beside me.

He had terrible jetlag when we got back, and it seemed that one of the few things which helped was watching the first series of prison break. he seemed only capable of lasting a few minutes when that was on, then he was straight back to sleep. I think he gets that kind of thing from his mother.

His teeth are continuing to come in. He's now got two teeth halfway in at the bottom, and two coming in at the top. He's a bit shy about showing them, so we haven't managed to photograph them yet.

He must have been inspired by Prison Break, as I spotted him trying to undo the screws on the stairgate the first time he saw them.

american movies

Michael at Disneyland 1





Michael at Disneyland 2







Michael and Daddy meet the pacific







Neil and Maggie entertain Michael with a polar bear and a penguin







Michael messing about on an air mattress

The Journey Home

Neil and Maggie invented a new way of transporting babies around airports



Michael demonstrates he could do a good job of driving



I'm clearly too big for the chute, but there was no-one there to throw me off and michael seemed to like it


Once again, on the Journey home, Michael showed how well he can behave when on a plane. Because our plane was so slow in leaving San Diego, we missed our connecting flight out of Philidelphia, so we were all a little nervouse about getting back, and Sarah and I were worried about getting stranded at the airport for a long time with Michael. It all worked out better than fine though, as we good some food vouchers, and a flight back via Manchester on a better plane.

I had a grand plan to beat jet lag by staying up all night so that you're guarenteed to fall asleep no matter what time you think it is when you get back, but what I didn't bank on was that Michael would sleep all the way back on the flight, and would have his body clock totally out of shot!

He was totally filthy by the time we finally got him back from crawling around the airport. Our baggage got lost when we didn't make our flight in Philidelphia, so we weren't really able to change him into anything else anyway, and the white babygro was a definite off-grey by the end of the flights.

Michael slept reasonably well that night for a little while, but was up for about 3 hours in the middle of the night. It took him about a week to get over jet lag, and it wasn't very pleasant for Sarah and I, especially with us moving house the day after we got back!

Tuesday at the Hanover's

Me, Marianne and Maggie at Lake Poway, where Sarah used to work.


Back Left to Front Right - Lee, Alyson, Brian, Maggie, Neil, Sarah, Me, Alan, Uncle Brian, Caden, Aunt Sally, Dorothy, Michael, Noah.


Alyson entertains michael with the penguin and polar bear puppets

On the Tuesday, we travelled back to California, and spent the day at the Hanover's (Dale and Marianne - Sarah's cousin). Sarah's cousin Alyson and her husband Lee also came by. It was great to have everyone there at the same time, and Michael really enjoyed getting to play with Noah and Caden. Caden was good with Michael, and kept calling him the baby. They were really cute together, although did play a little too rough every now and again!

i do like mondays

The Monday in Utah was even more laid back than the Sunday had been.

We stayed with Dan and Colleen Olson on the Sunday night. He was one of the missionaries who taught my mum and helped reactivate my dad. I stayed with him the night before going into the MTC in Provo before going to Switzlerland, so it was great to see the Olsons when I was a lot less shell shocked.



Michael seemed quite interested in the Elk Head that the Olsons had in their house. Dan had hunted it with a bow and arrow! Dan is also involved with the Fire Service in Santaquin, Utah, and gave me a cap. On Monday, he had a great suggestion for a photo-op, and we went down to the Fire Station and got michael into the Fire Engine! Looks like Michael got into the spirit of things. Zoom in to see his pose!


Colleen spotted something in the morning. Something that Sarah and I hadn't noticed. There was a wee impression in Michael's gum, which Colleen told us was going to be a tooth. I was quite excited. I'd been waiting for his first tooth to come, and had been blaming any kind of erratic behaviour on his impending teeth. Colleen was good enough to bath Michael too, as in all the hustle bustle of the past few days, we hadn't had a chance to bath him.



Dan and Colleen took us up into the mountains behind Santaquin (once I'd found the car keys - in Sarah's bag). We reached about 9000 ft, which is over twice as high as anywhere in Scotland. I was feeling the lack of oxygen, and I noticed that Michael was panting a lot more. He slept most of the time in the mountains though. Probably as well, as Dan kept scaring me by telling me about bears and cougars. It's strange, as there's so many similarities between here and there, but so many differences. It was really beautiful up there.




We got to go to Coldstones, which is a really good ice cream place. Unfortunately this photo doesn't really do too much justice to the ice cream. Michael seemed to really enjoy the ice cream. Dan had taken us to a good american food place beforehand too!



That night we were staying in Sandy with the Holmbergs again, but I got a chance to visit my trainer from Switzerland, Quarnberg, and his wife Brittney. Michael really enjoyed playing with his daughter, Brooklyn. He really seemed to enjoy playing with her toys, but I tried to steer him clear of the dolls.

Sundae

Michael and me with Louise Meesom


This is where Michael, Sarah and I stayed in Salem (I know!)



Sarah, Michael and I with some of her friends from her time in Ireland



Michael goes for the silverware!


It was nice to have a relaxing day on Sunday. It was great after the panic and bustle of the three days before to actually be in one place doing things at a leisurely pace.

We'd stayed at the Hughes again, and after having breakfast at the Wells and going to church, it was nice to meet the people we'd been staying with!

Church was interesting for us, as we'd never been to a place before where there were two wards meeting at the same time. Michael must have been pretty curious, as he needed to be to be taken out quite a bit to explore. He wasn't even distracted by the boy at the sacrament table who was clearly asleep.

After church, we had a great meal back at the Wells', and it was great to get some time to just sit with them and chew the fat. Michael got to play with Brody and anyone else nearby, and we got to talk more to the Wells. Brody was a couple of months older than Michael, and it was interested to see that even though he could walk a little, he preferred to crawl as he could do it more quickly. It was really nice to see them reading Brown Bear to their kids. David and Deb got that book for Michael when he was really small, and it came highly recommended from the Wells. He really loves it now. He can't wait to get to the children and the final page.

We then went to visit the wife of one of the missionaries who taught my Grandad. It was great to see her (I'd never met her before). She was good enough to show us a lot of stuff from her husband's time in Scotland. She had loads of toys for Michael to play with, having a number of grandchildren herself. She lives just around the corner from where the reception (before the wedding) was held. She said that she'd heard the bagpipes and had wondered over to see if she knew anyone there (bagpipes not being an everyday occurrence in Salem, UT).

We then went to Provo to visit some of Sarah's friends from when she was in Ireland. They all really loved playing with Michael, and he was equally excited to meet with them. There were lots of new people for him to play with and lots of things for him to try and destroy!

waddin'

Michael shows a bit of patriotism



Michael was a little tired by all the excitement




a foreshadow of 18 months time - or maybe less if there's twins!








The Wells Family photo








The Adam family photo








Michael enjoying himself at the post-wedding reception








The 3pm reception - the bride and groom arrive (look at the clock!)






Finally the day of the big wedding.

After the reception the night before the wedding (have I mentioned that already?) we stayed overnight at the Wells' next door neighbours - the Hughes. After a bit of tooing and froing we found out that even though they weren't home, we were staying there anyway. They had a lovely house, but a couple of dogs that weren't too keen on strangers pulling up in the car in the middle of the night to get into the house. Michael still hasn't inherited his father's fear of dogs, so hopefully it will remail that way.


We all got dressed into Sunday stuff , then made off to the Temple for the wedding. Michael's sunday stuff is still much the same as his normal stuff, which makes it easier. We'd packed his kilt for the photos though. The Wells had arranged for us to use a chapel near to the temple for those not going into the temple, and all of the kids were being looked after there during the wedding.


After the wedding it was back to the temple, then a quick lunch before the photos. We all got changed into kilts and red dresses. Again, it was easy to change michael, as his kilt has velcro. I would like to get that in adult sized kilts. It's also a lot more difficult to feed michael when you're wearing a kilt too.


Michael was quite happy to pose for the photos, and as you can imagine, we attracted a bit of attention, as a gaggle of people dressed in kilts is not an everyday occurrence in Pleasant Grove, Utah.


After the wedding, we were off to a hall at BYU in Provo for the post-wedding reception meal. There was a room set aside for kids, but we kept Michael with us. He seemed to enjoy the excitement, but I had to take him on a bit of an extended tour of the Building as it got a bit stuffy for him near the end.