November Days

Macabe and Bennett are becoming close friends (at least for now). Macabe loves to be a helper, and Bennett finds his big brother so fun to watch.

Bennett is full of smiles, loves to coo back at you and is beginning to chuckle. His sleep patterns have been off again, but he sure did string together a few long nights a while back. He's a pretty happy baby...and definitely loved.

Macabe has more and more words everyday. And everyday he gets sillier. He loves to take back pop cans with Dad and walk the circle in the house with his elephant pull toy. Grampa says he is so full of energy that he'd like to find a way to harness his energy and use it to heat and light his house. We're all looking for creative ways to 'go green' these days!

Well, since we're a little behind on posts, we had to include a Halloween picture of the UPS man that delivered packages to Dad's and Grampa's office. And because a favorite pasttime of Macabe's is to look for Waldo, he decided his brother should go as the striped man himself. Bennett looks thrilled to be wearing the pipe cleaner eye glasses Mom made, doesn't he?

And good old Lucy has kept things interesting this Fall. She decided to take adventures in the woods and find the neighbor's deer blind. She's managed to frustrate the hunters to a point of tears for chasing all the deer away. What a great hunting dog!

New Adventures

Macabe and Greta are good buddies. They love to dance, play with the same toys and pick on each other. We're so lucky to be closer to our cousins now.

At Madeline's soccer game Macabe had such a hard time not joining in on the game. We had to go run the bases instead so Madeline's team didn't get a penalty for too many players on the field.

Bennett is smiling more and beginning to coo. He loves it when there's lots of action from his brother dancing around. And most of all, he likes to snuggle close.

And that Daddy, he's always so funny. He makes silly faces and has introduced Macabe to the "race carts" at Home Depot. It's fun to race around the store. Other new favorite activities are making pies with Gramma (aka Nana) for Grampa (aka Bumpa) to eat when he gets home. And searching and calling for Waldo (aka Algo) or doing puzzles keeps everyone impressed. Of course, Mac loves to have long, silly conversations on his phone, usually with Daddy, Aunt Hannah or Grammy (aka Mimi).

Oh how fun it is to have two boys! They are such sweet peas!

Brotherly Love

Macabe loves to hold his new baby brother. Bennett isn't always as sure it's that fun, but he knows kisses from Mac are definitely wet! What a treat! This week Bennett is five weeks old already and weighed in at 11 lbs, 4 oz. The first glimpses of smiles came on Monday and Daddy is still trying to catch sight of one. We unfortunately haven't caught one with the camera yet either. The leaves are starting to change and we are thankful for the many warm blankets and sweaters Grandma Lepard has been working on. Maybe this weekend we'll go out and find a "numkin" as Macabe's two favorite things to point out are "numkins" and "da moooon". Two signs that fall is surely upon us.

Brother Bennett Arrives!

On September 2nd at 5:32 a.m., Bennett Boaz made his way into the world and showed his precious face to his loving family. All four grandparents were able to visit the hospital and see the growing family. Everyone is well and feeling blessed.



Bennett weighed in at 8lbs, 4oz. and quite quickly surpassed his birth weight. So far we are not sure who he looks like. Any thoughts?


Macabe has been a great helper, throwing away diapers, bringing his toys to share and pointing out all of his body parts that he can identify. Of course, he gets a little jealous from time to time, but overall, they seem to be warming up to one another. Stay tuned for more updates!

A Few Favorite Faces

These are the faces that Mom loves!Am I ready for the swimsuit edition?
No, my head is not inside this bubble!
Yes, I love to husk corn, and I can never wait to eat it!
We have had a lot of excitement this month and there is only more to come. We've had a visit to Walloon Lake to see Chris and Natalie. Grampa took me on some fun boat rides. Oh, how I love the wind in my face when we go fast! We visited Uncle Brad at the Midland County Fair. (No, he wasn't on display with the other 4H animals; he had a booth for work.) There were lots of animals I got to see up close. I really like feeding the sheep. And last week, the neighbors had some trucks working in the backyard. I had some friends over to watch the trucks with me. They had to go home before all the additional excitement of the fire trucks and bucket trucks that had to make a last minute showing. Of course, with all this excitement, there is only more to come. I get to meet my little brother soon, counting down the days!

Buddies...

A boy and his dog...Lucy has become one of my best buddies. We like to play catch together, and I love to climb on her. Sometimes though I have to chase her around the house because she runs away from me! She sure can make me laugh.
Ask me where my baby brother is...This time I have it right. I give him hugs and kisses whenever I can. Sometimes when you ask me where he is though, I lift my own shirt and stick my finger in my belly button. I have been reading books about bringing home a baby and being a big brother. My favorite is to wave to the baby and say hi as well as slobber on the pages, giving out kisses.
My new bike from daddy's friend...I love my new bike even though I can't quite reach the pedals on it yet. It has such a fun bell that I can make go. Daddy's friend, Bill, has twin boys who were too big for their bikes, so I got one for my brother too. Thanks, Mr. Bill!
Another of my best buddies...I love going places and visiting with my friend Alyssa. We went to the museum together and had a blast. Niether of us wanted to wear the smocks to keep us dry, so we got pretty wet. It's a good thing our mommies decided to save the water play until the end. We will have to go back sometime.
More water fun...For some reason I think I would like to jump right in here and play inside the water parts. Water play is one of my favorite things to explore, but don't be shocked when you can't get me to sit down in the bathtub. No matter how hard you try, you won't get me to give in. You'll have to use the cup and pour the water over me. Mom and Dad wonder what the difference is in the bath water, but I haven't told them yet. It's too good to keep them guessing!

Summer Splashes

July has been a lot of fun around Midland. It has been warm enough to go swimming, spend lots of time outdoors and got to the spray parks. This is Mom and me at the spray park. I am just getting acquainted in this picture. You should see some of the later pictures...I am absolutely soaked, and so is Mom! What fun we have!



We have also gone to the Children's Zoo in the area. This is Dad and me petting Andy the cow. Ask me what a cow says! I love to learn new animal noises. It keeps Mom and Dad laughing.
And of course, I love the water and my truck so much that I even beg Mom and Dad to ride in the rain. Notice that Mom and Dad are in the garage staying dry while I ventured out into the driveway to get wet. Yeah Summer!

Busy as a Bee

Last weekend we went with Uncle Brad and Aunt Kristin to the Bay City River Roar. I couldn't believe how fast those boats went. It was so fun. Besides, lots of people were watching me and talking about how cute I was, so excited about the boats and coordinating shirts with Dad.
Yesterday Mom took me to the library for "Touch a Truck Day." I got a new fire hat and construction hat. It was fun to sit in the driver's seat of the fire engine, but I really liked to drive the gian municipal lawn mower. Maybe Daddy should get a riding mower!


Over Father's Day, GrampS and Grammy came for a visit. This is the finger painting I made for GrampS. I think he liked it. I know he liked all of my new tricks. There are even more tricks up my sleeve now. I love to walk all over the place, especially at home. I do best if I have a destination in mind, but you can start to find me wandering more. I can even pull myself up in the middle of the room now. Also, you should ask me what animals say. My favorites are a cow, horse, fish, sheep, doggie and bird.

Bubbles, Bikes and Bottoms Up!

What a busy time it has been for us now that the weather has warmed up. I have been outside riding my bike, getting pulled behind Mom and Dad's bike, trying really hard to walk, and on rainy days, I like to smash bubbles with my cymbals indoors. I took my frist few steps when Dad was away in Asia for a few weeks and I have been trying to run around ever since. The only part I still have trouble with is the getting to the standing position without anything to pull up on. So you'll often find me walking around like a gorrilla with my buns high in the air. And you should see me on my bike! I am a regular old speed demon. That's why they put the helmet on me. Besides, Mom and Dad always wear one.


With the hot weather, I went to Down Gardens for storytime today and they had the sprinklers on for us. I had so much fun getting me and Mama wet. Boy did I get tuckered out after that! I think I get to go swimming this weekend at Gramma and Grampa's cottage. We are going to go with Uncle Brad and Aunt Kristin.

On another note, I am getting excited about being a big brother. I like to give mom's growing belly a hug. Did you know that we are going to turn our house into wrestle-mania? We are going to have another boy in the house. Oh yeah!

"Oh the Places You'll Go"

I am so excited to be spending time outside. You wouldn't believe how much I am learning everyday! I love to push around my wagon and go on walks with Mama and our friends. There are birdies out everywhere that make me laugh, and they live in trees that have these green things on them called leaves. I have gotten really good at pointing to pictures of things in my books, like leaves, puppies, kittens, teddy bears, the moon, telephone, boats and more. You should come read with me sometime. Last weekend we went to Gramma and Grampa's new cottage and Grampa read with me. That is a fun place. They have kayaks that I can paddle in with Daddy. I can hardly wait for the summer to warm up the water a little so I can swim. Lucy will be excited too. We have so much fun playing catch together that throwing the ball off the dock to her will be even better.

Isle of Palms, SC - Casa Banana

Casa Banana, our home on the beach for a week with Mommy's family








There was a spitting Alligator in the yard!










Two Water falls, one from the kiddy pool and one from the hot tub. It was pretty, but cold, cuz' the pool didn't have heat.









I spent my time trying to pick up the ladies. I had a lot of comments from strangers about how cute I was, but I was looking for something more macho, so I tried to bear my chest a little....Didn't work...but it did seem to scare my cousin Greta.









Mom made cool shirts for all the grandkids. She even numbered them on the back in case you have troubles keeping track. I'm number 5!


















All-in-all we had a great time. I'm not a big fan of the sandy beach yet, but I do love long walks in my wagon. We went to a minor league baseball game. Here's a picture of my mom and dad. They're wearing black to cover their bellies. Oh yeah, perhaps you haven't heard. Mom has a belly. I overheard Mom tell her family this week that I'm gonna be a big brother! Hmmm, that's kind of scary.

Quacker and Peeping Tom

I rock the "peak-a-boo" world. Here's a picture of me sneaking a peak just before unleashing one of my stellar "boos". I'm on top of my game after Baths and with my blanket when going to bed. If you ever want to throw down a mean game of "peak-a-boo" just cover my head with an object and I'll show you what I've got.

GramS and GrampS visited for Easter. We got to check out the flutter byes at Dow Gardens. Man do they look yummy.

I'm thinkin' of being a flutter bye when I grow-up, Here's a picture of me job shadowing.

Anyway, I had an opportunity to open more presents for my 1st Birthday and a third and final attempt to dig-in to a birthday cake. I respectfully declined and my first try at ice cream made me gag. But I did get a John Deere Lawn Mower from GramS and GrampS. I immediately took it outside and cut Uncle Brad's backyard.

Then came Easter. The bunny broke-in and left me this awesome basket. After I pulled out the book, toothbrush, and bubbles, I found out what Easter is all about...the synthetic green grass! Man that stuff is awesome! Mom and dad are still picking it out of the carpet. Oh yeah, and the name sake of this blog...well...Grandma and Grandpa lepard sent me a big duck (Quacker) and a small duck (Peeping Tom). I carry Peeping Tom with me all around the house. He makes me smile.Let's see, Dad gave me my first hair cut. He made me choose between my Mullett and my Faux-hawk. I chose to keep my Faux-hawk, so Dad clipped the long curls off my neck. He did a pretty good job, but I think I'll wear a hat until it grows out again. I like my Hope College hat. It goes well with my patchwork sport coat that I wear to church. I think it makes me look like one of the best used car salesmen in Midland.


Well, that's all for now. Heading down to Charleston with my Lepard relatives in first week of April. I'll try to take some pictures and keep you "posted", no pun intended.

My First Birthday Party

I had such a great birthday! I have learned so much in the past year. Gramma and Grampa Lepard came to visit and so did Aunt Hannah, Uncle Craig and Greta. I got to hang out with Uncle Brad and Aunt Kristin too. We went to the Nature Center and saw wild turkeys, lots of birds (I love birds), an owl, and of course some hungry squirrels. We came back to the house and openned presents and ate birthday cake. The candles were really neat, but I am not so sure about the frosting though. It's kinda sticky in my fingers. The presents were fun to unwrap too. I got some cool new stuff. You should come play with me sometime.




I have learned so much this past year. I am crawling all over the place, wishing I could walk on my own. I love to walk around holding onto Mom or Dad. I can walk behind my red wagon outside pretty well. I guess when the weather wams up, I will get even more practice. I know a little bit of sign language and can sign "please" and "more" and "play". I can say "Dada" and "Hi". I am still working a little on "Mommy." I love to be silly and to have my parents chase me, to play ball with them, wrestle with Lucy and watch them play catch with Lucy. My cousin, Greta, and I can make each other laugh. And of course, I just love music! I play a mean harmonica and whistle. You should see the dance moves I have to the radio. I am a real dancing machine.