July 2012

HAPPY 4TH of JULY!

The Croft Clan headed up to Parkville, MO for the 4th of July Pararad with the Pacey's and Elliot Family.

Burke had just gotten a new buzz hair cut, appropriate for the HOT HOT HOT 100 degree weather day.

Back at home the boys indulged in a few toddler grade fireworks- smoke balls, worms and snap n pops.

Burke wanted to hold the punk.

Burke learned at school that fireworks go up in the sky and say "BOOM!" which he says very eagerly.

The 4th of July was on a Wedneday and we moved two days later. We are in a duplex about 10 miles south of where we will be in our new house. We were very fortunate to have Mom and Dad come up, stay with Nicole to watch Burke and Grier kids. Nicole and friends helped us move. It was 105 degrees the two days we moved. Considering we moved every belonging we own in hot weather I feel very fortunate that everything went very well. While we are still adjusting to our new place we are quite settled. Our gaurd dog Gage is on high alert below as he patrols our new abode. Isn't he a beautiful boy!?!

We have a split level which is very handy considering our basement has a door directly to the garage which was slick for loading all our extra furniture and belongings from the moving truck.

Cheryll unpacked the kitchen for us. Thanks Cheryll! Little man is just exploring every corner, just like Gage.

Burke's room all moved in thanks to Aunt Nicole's help.

As long as all my boys are here with me I will feel at home.

Burke's new words this month are (s)nack, (s)poon, FUN, OUTSIDE, Owl sound, Burke sounds like Book, bye bye with a wave, pwease = please.

 We went to our friends' daughter, Eliza's, 2nd birthday party.

 Burke found the straw in a cup very riveting.

 The last weekend in July we went to the Lake of the Ozarks with the Pacey's and the McGown's. This has been an annual trip for over 7 years. We missed it last year but were happy to introduce Burke to the lake. He had a ball relaxing at the house and choosing 1 of 6 adults to read him a book.

 Saturday we played on the beach where he belly flopped on the beach and paddled around a lot. He LOVES the water and has a ball jumping off the dock.

 Sunday morning we took a boat ride.

 Pulling out of the dock it was almost Burke's nap time so he was just absorbing the lake scene and new experience.

 Two cool dudes.

 Wait a minute. He isn't relaxing. He is sleeping!
The boat must have rocked him to sleep. Funny guy.

 Back at home being a monkey and climbing everywhere.
There is a picture of me about the same age where I also crawled in the dog kennel.
Like mother. Like son.

 Burke is a puzzle master.

June 2012

WE ARE MOVING!

The theme of the month of June was packing! Thank goodness we had 60 days to close and move out of our house. It turns out packing with a toddler is challenging. For every thing I put in a box, Burke pulled two out. He put a lego in a few boxes that I am sure we will find later.

Look at Burke's positive view on this adventure we are about to embark on.

Our little monkey is climbing EVERYWHERE!

It is hard not to be sentimental these days. This house was our first. We brought our puppy and our baby home to these walls. This is where we have built our life and called it home. We will miss our great neighbors and our place that we have put so much time, energy and pride into.

Even though there was a lot of work to be done you can see Burke took a break to enjoy a popsicle this hot Saturday. He is a big Royals fan like daddy. We call him Moose, like his Mike Moustakas T-Shirt.

Dad takes break from packing to give his monkey a ride.

Burke enjoys his first jello experience. BOING!

This lil cheeseball is a happy guy- mom is not as he slings spaghetti everywhere.

HAPPY 2nd FATHER'S DAY DAD!

We enjoyed a trip to the pool. Burke and Dan played in pool where Burke jumped off the side of the pool repeatedly. As we were leaving the pool Burke said "That was fun!" This was his first sentence ever - just in time for Father's Day.

May 2012

Our Noble Street house went on the market April 21st and we had our first offer May 8th, approximately 2 weeks after we went on the market. We are extremely fortunate that we weren't on the market longer as those 2 weeks wore us down trying to keep a house spotless with our toddler doing everything in his power to destroy our cleaning efforts.

After a few counter offers, inspection, and a few minor fixes we are officially SOLD.

We move out July 7th. I become more nostalgic about our first home each day.

We will be living in a duplex while we build our new home. We expect to break ground the first week of July. We hope to be done with the new house mid December. I will consider it a Christmas gift if we are in for Santa to come to our new house.

While the house was on the market our Burke came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth. This is a viral infection that is highly contagious and he was out of daycare Tuesday - Friday the first week of May. He was lucky and only had the blisters on his feet and bottom, nothing on his hands or mouth. Since we had showings and beautiful weather we spent quite a few days & evenings at Shawnee Mission Park. This might be what fueled Burke's obsession with ducks and birds. He relentlessly tries to catch them. It was his favorite word for about 3 weeks. "Ducks" and "Outside" or "Owwwsiiiiiddde" were the first thing he said each morning.

Mother's Day morning was spent at Shawnee Mission Park where we ate donuts and woofed at the ducks. Burke was attempting to go swimming with his duck friends.

This boy has ENERGY! He is running everywhere he goes.

I love this little character that makes me laugh daily, keeping it all in perspective.

My highschool friend, Abbie, came to town to visit so all the MHS girls and their babies ate lunch together at Polly's house.

Polly and her sweet Brecken.

Me, Polly w. Brecken, Abbie holding Burke, and Emily w. Sophia

Burke is rambunctious in the tub.

This particular Friday night he was amped up and making waves in our master tub. Maybe the mo-hawk I gave him made him wild. Who knows, but he was hilarious.

After the bath, he was yelling at Gage. It was almost as if he was saying "GAME ON!"

We keep this fleece animal print blanket in Dan and I's bedroom and Gage has claimed it as his bed. Gage will pull the blanket into the hallway and start tugging on it. Well, Burke decided a game of tug of war was next. Here is naked Burke trying to snatch the blanket from Gage, but Whoops!, he accidentally lost his balance and the blanket quickly became a sled pulled by Gage. FUN for all!

Burke contined to get yanked off the blanket but would run and catch back up to Gage's blanket and plop back down to get another ride. Needless to say, Burke, Gage and myself were entertained for a good 20 minutes. This is my new version of Friday night fun. : )

Gage was pooped after becoming a sled dog.

April 2012

Easter Celebrations

 Burke had an Easter Party at school where a pink bunny made a special appearance. Burke was one of the only toddlers willing to hug the bunny. In fact, Burke raised his arms asking to be picked up. He then proceeded to pick the Easter bunny's nose.

 Whoa! Easter egg hunting was right up Burke's ally. He is very good at putting things away or inside boxes and baskets. The idea of candy in each egg was super fun at the Canterbury Infant Academy Egg Hunt.

 Mom and Dad come up to KC for Easter. The boys rode their bikes around to entertain the adults. Burke looks up to his big cousin. Watch out for these tough guys1

 Ball! This is the first word out of Burke's mouth every morning. He is obsessed and even tries to carry 2+ balls around at the same time.

 Reid Gals and their boys

 Croft Boys

 Easter morning we went to church with Karyl, Megan, Grandma Jean and Richard.

 Grandma Karyl getting in a squeeze

 Easter basket

 Great Grandma Jean (She brought Burke a purple stuffed bunny that he barked at).

 After lots of attention and no nap, Nonna was nice enough to take a shift of holding Burke so of course he passed out during lunch.

 He woke up in time for the Easter Egg Hunt

 Nonna and Papa with their grandkids

All in All A WONDERFUL EASTER!

 Burke is so busy these days. Talking, Running and Playing. His favorite toy is still a ball, but he has discovered cars can scoot on the floor and it is really fun to put toys inside of things such as a ball in a cup.
His vocabulary consists of:
Mama, Dada, No, Woof Woof, Ball, Moo, Meow, Uh Oh, Oh No!, Up, Tank Tu (Thank You), Duck, Vroom Vroom, Bock Bock (chicken noise) and tweet tweet (bird noise).
Pointing is quite common.
He is very good at following instructions. In fact if you ask him to select an object (a duck) and bring it to a specific person he usually gets it right. He is one proud and happy boy and likes to clap for himself.

 We decided to take Spring photos ourselves vs. go to a studio. I am quite proud of how they turned out. It always helps to have an adorable subject. : )

Burke is 15 months

 That dandelion tickles!

 Burke is barking at the birds and enjoying this Sunday morning stroll.

 Right after this photo was taken Burke launched the Easter Egg into the creek. Uh oh! is what he said before the egg ever left his hand. Funny guy.

 It is official. The Croft house at 5180 Noble Street is for sale. We have committed to building a new home to give Burke a big back yard, Dan a garage that fits his truck and I get a kitchen with an island. We are embarking on a new adventure. Anyone want to buy our house? I will always love this house as this is the home we brought our baby boy home to. (tear)