Surprise Birthday Trip

John surprised me with a birthday trip last weekend. My parents watched Mark and the boys and we spent two nights at Big Cedar Lodge just outside of Branson, Missouri. We had a great time and surprisingly I did just fine leaving Mark for the first time. Maybe because he did so great. I called several times a day and only had good reports. I don't know, maybe I should be sad that he didn't miss me more! I guess he's used to me being gone since I seem to always be at work. Anyway, John and I first drove up to Branson Landing, a new outdoor shopping area and boardwalk, and then we went on to Big Cedar Lodge. It is really pretty and has a neat waterfall that runs through the campus..you even drive through it several times...its pretty cool. When we left Big Cedar we stopped back through Branson and did some serious shopping at the Tanger Outlet mall there! Whooo-hoo! Here's a pic of me at the entrance to Big Cedar.


This is me at the spa about to have a massage on my birthday...I was one happy camper!

I have never seen more animal furs, deer heads, and stuffed animals in my life! Big Cedar is owned by the same people that own Bass Pro Shops so it is pretty rustic and outdoors-y. We stayed in the "Falls" lodge which was huge and beautiful...this bear was in the main lobby of our lodge.

On Friday morning, we slept in, ate at the little deli on campus where I had hot apple cider(yummy), and then we had some time to kill before we went horseback riding, so we went canoeing! We didn't realize that the 20 mile/hr wind was behind us when we started out...but needless to say we got our work-out in as we headed back towards the marina!

Then here is one of me in front of the stable. Not the best pic but the ones we took of each other actually on our horses (Scout and Snickers) just look silly. Funnily enough we just don't look normal sitting on horseback. I guess we are more city-slickers than we thought!

So here is a pic looking up the hill to our lodge. you can see the waterfall that runs through the property. At night everything is lit up with white christmas lights.


We had two nice dinners at Big Cedar. On Friday we ate ate the Worman House which was actually the home of Mr. and Mrs. Worman built in 1921. He was a railroad man I think. Anyway it really was a great dinner.

And last but not least when I got back in town I ran in the Route 66 Marathon Relay with Lisa, Courtney, Kizzy, and Rachel. We had fun AND we got third place in our division! We are gearing up to win next year!

"Nothing Really"

People always ask whats been going on at the Wingerter house or what I've been up to and my typical response is, "nothing really" or "working". When really, I work and then spend every waking moment enthralled in this little guy we have to hang out with now. We happen to think he is just the cutest thing in the world of course and are sure glad we got a new camera before he was born because we are burning it up! Here are a few pics from the last week.

Mark loves his daddy. I'm not sure who is funnier. John is always laughing at Mark and vice versa. They crack each other up

The other day I tried to put Mark down for a nap when he wasn't quite ready and this is what I saw on the monitor a few minutes later. Cracked me up!

We like to call Mark's cousin Lexi, "Miss Independant." Well I would like to introduce, "Mr. Independant!" Mark loves to stand up. And not just stand up, but stand up and let go. He has been doing this ever since he learned to pull up which was WAY before he even approached any type of stability. But since he does it about 100 times a day he is actually getting a little more stable. He can hold it about 5-6seconds before plopping down on his bum or grabbing on to something again or smacking his forehead into something. Like Lisa said about Britton...I think Mark will be bruised on his forehead for a solid 6 months!

Mark loves to go outside. And I really would let him more often if he could at least walk. But I'm not too keen on him being trampled by the dogs or putting his little hands on every single dirty thing outside. He is always looking out the front door (day or night) and I thought this pic was so pitiful because he is watching the boys accross the street play. Poor baby being left out!

Yes! Mark is finally eating solid food! We had quite a time trying new things...he seems to have an enormous gag reflex! But at the suggestion of a friend, we attempted jellied cranberries. You can see for yourself it was a hit and if I leave the pieces big enough he can feed himself pretty well. We've also moved on to potatoes, cottage cheese, sliced peaches, rice casserole, etc. He seems to like everything so far!

We I just couldn't leave these out. Mark sure loves Rocky. And Rocky sure is patient with Mark. Mark loves to use Rocky to pull on to stand up. and Rocky just doles out the kisses which sometimes makes Mark laugh and sometimes makes him scream. He can be pretty moody!

"I'm a little Peanut"

Yes, thats right folks, Mark was a peanut for his very first Halloween. I saw this costume and thought it was hysterical and had to buy it! Our Halloween was a little crazy as we drove all over town visiting family and friends. But Mark was a trooper getting in and out of the car and in and out of his costume. And every time we put him back in his costume we cracked up laughing all over again. We tried to get pics with all of the family we visited, but the pics with Grammy and Papa, Aunt Lindsay, and Britton are on their cameras..and yes we would like copies please!




Here is the best head-to-toe shot we have. He was chewing on a butterfinger wrapper at Mimi's house!



Opa and Ann got him a HUGE Hershey's bar!


And I just had to throw this one in. Mobley really does love Mark Thomas and now I have the proof! (notice Mobley's tongue perfectly contoured to Mark's face!)

9 months old

Mark had his 9 month birthday this past weekend so we took the obligatory picture on his bear rug. Let me rephrase that - we attempted to take his picture. He's not really into staying put these days. Anyway, I threw in a different comparison pic this time.

Here he is at 2 weeks old...look how big his bear rug looks!



And here he is on Sunday. See what I mean that I tried to take his picture? He would roll over and crawl off by the time I could grab the camera...little twerp!


But again, Mommy prevailed. For three days I was able to get him to lay still for diaper changes, pictures, etc by letting him chew on his Tylenol bottle. (The little syringe is squishy on top and perfect for chewing!)

Somehow Mark learned to throw a ball this week. We're not actually sure if he knows what he's doing but if you roll his Elmo ball to him he will raise it above his head with both arms and then bring it down while letting go. It has the effect of throwing a ball. And he thinks it is just too cool when you roll it back to him....over and over and over and over and over..you get the picture. This is one of him at his "release" point!



John calls Mark a monkey these days. He is into everything and climbing on everything. He can crawl, but he only does it to get to something that he can climb on. He used to prefer playing with Rocky the most but now his main love is Mobley. Mobley always seems to have a ball in his mouth and Mark loves to play ball with him.

Mark is also known as "a handfull" lately. John and I have to share bathtime duty now because if you do the whole thing by yourself you are exhausted and ready for bed yourself at 7pm. Mark will not lay on his back for even half a second nor does he like to sit still in the tub. He needs to investigate the drain, the water spout, his toy basket, etc every night. So John does the bathing and I do the dryoff, lotion, diaper, PJ portion. Here is a pic of the handfull at bathtime with daddy.

Here he is running away from home. Just kidding! He was headed out to play tennis ball with Mobley. The dogs really do a good job babysitting him for an hour or so every evening while I make dinner..just kidding! I didn't actually let him crawl outside!

He has just gotton the remote off the table and was about to change the channel off of stupid football and back to mickey mouse.

This is now how we find him every morning. Don't worry, we've lowered his mattress to the lowest setting since this pic.

Here he is playing golf ball with Mobley. Mobley does not like his paws to be touched and if you touch one he will move it out to the side. You can see how often Mark had tried to touch Mo's paws! They look like they are about as far apart as you can get them!

But Mark loves to read books and you can usually get him to sit still for story-time. Especially if you hand him a blanket - it means instant thumb-sucking.

Pumpkin Patch

Mark seems to be experiencing a lot of "firsts" these days so this was, of course, his first trip to the pumpkin patch. He was sleep-deprived and teething but somehow managed to squeek out a smile every now and then! Opa came along as our photographer and managed to sneak into a few pics while placing Mark in some precarious posiitions!

What a great view Opa!

Dad is so cool!

Just my size!

I get two?

"Are you sure you want to leave me here all by myself?"

You guys are silly.

"What the...????"

Opinionated

I don't know what to tell you. Mark insists on wearing his Bronco gear on game days. We, as parents, are not forcing any particular team or sport onto him I can assure you. He is just such an opinionated little guy. It is crazy how he came out of the womb asking how Cutler was shaping up for the next season! He's been known to say that he thinks Shanahan will take them to the Super Bowl this year. I'm telling you, he decided all on his own that the Broncos were his favortire team - John had nothing to do with it!


After John made fun of the Chiefs.


After a Denver touchdown.