THIS KID IS HILARIOUS!!

REALLY - THIS IS MY PIZZA!! WHO BROUGHT THE TOFU AND CORN?

Vacation in SC

G'm & G'pa Koz flew me down to SC in the begining of October for a little vacation. While I had been in the Atlantic in June in Maine, this was my first real beach vacation. I LOVED it!! Here is a picture of me with the sand castle I helped build with some friends I met there. I also got to visit with Aunt Laura & Uncle Dean and my Great Aunt Sally & Great Uncle Ben...what fun. I love family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Okay this was from July....but someone wants another post.

WE'RE TRYING OKAY!!!!

This was fun....

Well I guess that the timing is better...I see that our last post was late May....today's post stays on track with the desired 'once a month' post, maybe because this short and growing two legged critter in our house is more predictable.

We returned from a trip to Maine last week. Katie's parents have been renting a house (the same one) for over ten years at the end of June for two weeks. We were there about four or five years ago (my first time/not katie's first time) for a week and had a blast. Back then we drove with dogs that we thought were a handful on a vacation. This year we flew (without dogs) and had a 'baby on board'. It actually proved to be rather simple but coordinated. Linus appears to be a seasoned traveler in his youth. He holds on tight during takeoff and ascent, plays/whines a bit/sleeps during the flight, and holds on tight, drinks water to clear the ears during the descent, and holds on tight for landing. There is a picture of Linus in the airport 'eagerly waiting to board' or is it 'wondering why the #!!% are we being delayed?'

We had a great time vacation. Here are some photos and short captions to accompany....enjoy.

We flew into Manchester New Hampshire early on saturday and had time for lunch with Gabe, Kristen, Sophia, and Annalise at the Big Horn Steakhouse or was it the Longhorn Steakhouse. It was a steakhouse. You can see here that Linus had a grand time with his 'cousin'. That is Annalise. Note to Gabe and Kristen, please forgive me if I am torturing the name spelling here. So this is how we started our trip.





So after we left Manchester we made the trip up north and 'down east' to Southport Island south of Booth Bay Harbor where when you pull up through the 1/8 mile driveway you get to the house with this view when you pull in.....:)...Oh by the way - the water is the Atlantic Ocean.



Sunday was Fathers Day and we spent it 'bumming' around the house, taking a visit to the local narrow gauge train museum and antique car exhibit in Boothbay Harbor while we waited for Grandma and Grandpa Kozlowski to arrive at the house. He are some pics of us 'lazing' around.





Sunday afternoon the Naperville grandparents arrived and we had our complete fresh Maine lobster dinner (corn on the cob, salad, lobster and lots of butter, and dessert was a rasberry pie. YUMMMY! The evening wrapped up with cocktails and conversation and comfy sleeping with the windows open listening to the tide come in and crashing against the rocks just outside the porch. Quite peaceful. Monday was a grandparents dream day. Katie and I left Linus with the grandparents all day and headed on our own adventures that included lunch with a great college friend who lives and works inthe Portland area. While we finished our date away from family we came home to discover Linus rolling around the yard in his diaper and that Grandma Kozlowski had fed Linus his first french fry. Oh well. Moday night was a steak dinner cooked to perfection by Grandpa Davison and other fixin's. We had just outstanding meals thanks to Grandpa Davison on the grill and Grandma Davison in the kitchen pulling together the fixin's. Tuesday brought a visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (beautiful) and a 1:15 tee time at the Boothbay Country Club. The dads had a great time golfing with a lot of LOFT. Post G.O.L.F the men headed to the infamous Lobster Dock for a thank you lobster dinner on the patio of the restaraunt overlooking the harbor. What a nice way to end the visit. Thank you mom and dad Davison.











Our flight out Wednesday left us time to visit Freeport Maine where the LL Bean headquarters are along with outlet stores from most major commercial and clothing labels. This time also let me time to find the UPS Store (possibly the only one in Maine) to ship the 'woods' Uncle Peter is 'lending' me. THANK YOU. We got lost heading back to Manchester but that allowed us to keep the gas tank as empty as possible. When we returned the rental while running on fumes and relieved about arriving at the airport 1.5 hours late and able to tto gate with plenty of time for lunch.

What a great short trip!

LINUS CAN CRAWL!!!

Since we haven't posted in almost two months.......

And we are now chasing the little one all over....

Here is a smattering of photos since March 27

ENJOY!!!!

What Do You Know....

Katie was gone last weekend and Linus and dad had four beers all weekend, played the guitar, and painted.....

Good eats

On with other old news...that Linus has started eating mush. Well, today he expanded his foods and got to try beets. In preparation, Mark & I thought it prudent to take off his clothes, so here he is ready and waiting for the snacks to begin...









and the verdict is "Linus Likes Beets!!!"
















Well, that was the morning snack and for the afternoon, Dad fed me pears and I Love Pears, I just wish Dad could feed them to me faster ;-)

Linus' First Tooth

Well, Linus' first tooth broke through on January 9, 2007 as we already told you, but here is a picture of it taken today after it has had almost two weeks to emerge. It may be the last time we can call him "Our one tooth wonder"

Chillin' in Ann Arbor

So as the icy Canadian air was swooping down into Ann Arbor, I decided to chill out with Mom & Dad...here I am drooling away



















And then it was time to warm up by cuddling with "Wendy" on the couch

Party Animals...

Linus had so much fun at his friend Sarah Autumn's first birthday party that he spent his time taking all of the pictures instead of being in any of them!! Mom Becca and Dad Mike threw down a great party (although Mark was sick that afternoon so wasn't able to attend) and Sarah Autumn's birthday wish was to have her guests donate new or slighly used toys and clothing for needy children in Washtenaw County. What a great idea Sarah! Mike & Becca even created a game for the grown ups...it was a combination of trivial pursuit and deal or no deal with the categories of what do you know about Sarah and current events....Katie stuck with Sarah and it worked out well :-) Here are a few shots of the event....

Extra, Extra Read All About It...Linus Makes New Strides

Some exciting news....
FIRST, Linus started eating "real" food. So far he has had rice cereal (not a favorite), oatmeal (better when moistened with prune juice), applesauce (loves it), squash (also loves it) and peas (they come back out). If anyone has suggestions for good starter foods that are easy to pass, Linus would appreciate it as his taste buds are ready to explore new flavors and his disgestive track could use a little boost

SECOND, Linus got is first tooth (lower front left) last Sunday, which explained some of the fearsome nights we had during the week. While he proudly shows it off while smiling, he doesn't like to have anyone take a good look at it.

THIRD, he started "school" (that's what I call daycare to make it easier for me) and he is doing a great job. Linus started with half days which went great! The first week he did protest a bit by not eating and as usual taking 10-20 minute naps (I have gotten him up to about 30 minutes at home, although that may only happen once a day). The second week he had one full day, which went well, although he was exhausted when I picked him up. He also started to have "real" food snacks at school which made taking a bottle much easier :-) We know Linus is liking school, because everyday his "report card" has a new category circled..."smiley", so despite the poor napping, he remains cheerful.

We'll keep you posted with further develpoments, until then be well

YOU CAN VIEW THE PICTURES BETTER BY CLICKING ON THEM

Remember This?

Okay we are back. I guess that we have been back, it is just early in the morning. Linus has been teaching us that he doesn't need naps during the day but would rather start his bedtime routine around dinnertime and get up at 5:30AM. So, weekends are early, especially this lovely dark, damp and cold, sunday michigan morning.

So....before Christmas we left you with the thought that we would be posting and posting and posting, I guess that this hobby gets my time more occasionallly than I thought it would.

We had a great Christmas in Connecticut (i'll get to that) and just wrapped up a Christmas in Ann Arbor with the Kozlowski side which was one of those whirlwind 48 hour visits from Mom and Dad and Laura and Dean.

Again....So.....we spent a great week in Connecticut for Christmas. This was Linus' first trip on a plane and he did great. There was some fussing by Linus due to the changes in pressure, but wouldn't that be expected? I was a little nervous about the flights with the fear that we were going to be labeled "that couple with the crying baby" after the trip. Here is a picture of Linus on the plane. Ready for Takeoff!!



It was Christmas Eve when we arrived in Connecticut and were arriving just in time to prepare for a 'get together' with the Davisons and Katie's Aunt and Uncle and her cousins and their families. It had been three years since we had all been together like this. We had a great afternooon together. Here is a snapshot of the crew (minus Uncle Peter - apparently we don't know how to set the timer on our camera - thanks Pete for taking the picture - note Katie's expression)



Christmas Eve even brought a special guest to the Davisons. Tumptin!! (spelling?) This was the first Tumptin I have ever seen and the first time I have ever heard of one. A Tumptin guards the chickens from the foxes on farms all over the land and on Christmas brings little gifts to all of the good little girls and boys. I think that is the story, those of you who know more about these characters please chime in with your posts. We were lucky enough to catch a picture of the Tumptin when he wasn't expecting it and are putting it here.....a first? (This is like having a picture of Santa Claus in parts of the Scandanavian culture - so appreciate this)



While Christmas Eve was a great event, it was nice to cozy in at the Davison's Christmas morning with brothers and sisters, cousins, moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas. We were in our PJ's for a while, while enjoying the company all day. Here are some shots that describe it briefly.









The week after Christmas brought us some other adventures and visits with love ones. We were able to visit with the heralded Aunt Jackie, Katie's friend Sarah Dreyer, her son Spencer and her mother Ann Uphoff paid a visit one afternoon. We were very lucky that Kristen Migliaccio-Walle needed to travel from NH visit the local salon in West Hartford because she and her family even spent the night with us in conjunction with some other local visits. Gabe, Kristen, and their two girls spent some quality time with us and it was so great to see them again. My how people have grown up!! The night Kristen and Company visited we also were blessed with a visit from Andy Gagnon and his wife Kris and their son Sean. You can imagine that it was NUTS at the house for a couple of days even after Christmas. After the madness we took a trip to the Connecticut shore to visit Katie's good friend Megan Roarick and her family. I had never seen Long Island Sound before and the sky was clear enough to see Long Island from the shore. We had a great visit with Megan and the kids complete with beer and Andy Capps HOT FRIES!! I always have a good time visiting with Megan, and she and Bruce have a beautiful home on the shore. We were able to spend some time with Bruce but we sure look forward to the time we can spend with him when we don't need to rush out the door. Here are some pictures of various times of the visits. One is of Katie reading to Sofia (Walle), one is of me enjoying the competition with 9 year olds (Keaton Roarick & his friend) on their Playstation 2.





FAMILY SNAPSHOT!!!



The week sort of wrapped up nicely with time with the West Hartford crew. Here are pictures of Daddy-D having 'conversations' with Linus and, 'The Boys'.





With five mintues to spare before we had to leave to catch our return flight we caught this picture of Linus and his Grandma and Grandpa Davison. We had a great Christmas in Connecticut....