Great Lakes, Great Times

It's always a great time when we are able to get back to Michigan for a visit.  Sure, it's an even greater time when that visit includes a Great Lake in the summer months, but a trip back to Troy to see family and friends that are eager to meet Ray and see Lill is always enjoyable. If you know Corey, you are well aware of his love of sports and potentially of his extreme love of March Madness. He always takes off work to watch the first round of the tournament.  Heck, I have often taken off too...that first round is filled with such excitement!  I digress...  Since he would be taking work off anyway, and I would still be off on maternity leave, we decided it'd be a good time to head back to Michigan for the week. While we had mastered traveling with Lill, it was going to be a whole new adventure adding Ray to the mix. We packed up the car and hit the road nice and early. The kids could not have been more perfect.  Ray nearly slept the entire 8 hour drive and Lilly was just so excited to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house that she was happy as can be. Those that know me know that I could not be more proud to report that we only made one stop the whole way. With two kids under 2 and a dog, I'd say that's quite the accomplishment!!  The way back wasn't as quite as easy breezy but still went very well considering!

Most of our time back in Michigan was spent at home, spending quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We had quite a few visitors that stopped by as well. A few field trips to the aquarium, Rainforest Cafe and Rochester Play were also enjoyed. Last, but definitely not least, Corey and I got out for a dinner sans kids. It was wonderful!! :-)
We're so thankful for the time with family and friends that we don't get to see often. It's always amazing how quickly a week can go by when you're having fun. As my mom said, "I wonder how long you'd have to stay for us to actually be 'ready' for you to go home and not be wishing you would stay".  I'm not sure that's possible...

Ty sitting pretty in the passenger seat while Mom's in the way back

Grandpa happy to watch the Spartans with the cutest little fans

Play date with Hannah, her mom, Niki, and her grandma, Deb

First family photo (with me showered and not in a hospital gown)!

Playing with cousins Kinsley, Cameron and Ashleigh

Morning play-doh fun with Grandpa

Loving bath time in Grandma's huge tub (mom loved the bath, too!)

Play date with Charlotte and her mom, Vicky

Morning snuggles :-)

Running errands with Mom

Cousins

Ray finally got to meet some of his Taylor cousins.  Due to their household being hit with multiple rounds of the flu, they steered clear until they were all healthy. It was heartwarming to see how excited they were to meet him. They were all antsy to get their hands (freshly washed, of course!) on him. They did a great job taking turns though.

Lilly can't wait for her cousins to come back and play. Whenever someone mentions Anna from Frozen, she thinks they're talking about her cousin, Anna, and proceeds to ask about her, Grace, Col and Mick.

All smiles

Beginning about a week ago, Ray started staying awake for longer periods during the day and is really starting to be more alert.  He also started smiling, for more then just loading his diaper :-)  He smiles when he sees mommy or daddy, follows you with his eyes when you move from side to side and has started kicking and cooing up a storm. Days are much more fun now that he's a bit more interactive like this.  Lill enjoys watching him kick and chatting with him, too!

Let's not forget the Big Sis!

When kids are born, you start off counting their age in days, then weeks, then months.  Then it turns to half years or even years. A lot changes between those half years though and (while it's easy to forget to!) it's important to document what's going on in our little one's life in between the big milestones.

Lilly is currently a little over 20 months old. She seems to just get taller as she's finally been in a size of clothes for longer than I can even remember and they fit her both width and length-wise! As I mentioned in Ray's post, she is quite the mommy's helper. While she likes helping mom take care of Ray, she especially loves playing with her dolls; feeding, bathing, burping, diapering, doing their hair, etc. Her vocabulary is really starting to grow. I read yesterday that at her age they can learn up to 10 new words a day and that honestly does not surprise me. Now instead of one-word phrases, she's connecting two and three words together to communicate. She wants to copy (actions and words) everything we do which is adorable, and scary, at the same time. Her food palate makes mommy and daddy proud. Her recent favorite dinner was salmon, quinoa and steamed broccoli.  She asked for seconds and we were happy to serve it up! She also wants to 'dip' everything. Whether it's in salsa, ranch or vegetable soup, if she can dip it, she will gobble it up. She loves singing 'Happy Birthday' to everyone and everything (inadament objects included), chasing Ty around, and helping with house chores. Recently, she surprised us with her ability to count to ten and loves learning her letters. Lastly, but definitely not least in this dance-lovin' mama's eyes, she loves to dance. And Ray seems to enjoy loud dance music in the evenings when he's otherwise fussy. What does that mean? Nightly dance parties in the Bruno household!

Lill and her BFF, cousin Taylor