Oh yeah, how could I forget...

to update you all on the most important stuff. As of Christmas day, I am 11 months old. We'll be celebrating the big #1 this time next month! Also, did I mention that I'm walking now? Yep. I'm big time now. My mom & dad are very excited for me. I'm discovering new things every day. I had no idea how many rooms there were to be discovered. It's a lot of fun!



(I got a talking "Donkey" from Shrek for Christmas and I love it!!!

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth.

(In this picture I'm letting Santa know that I'm going to steal his Christmas ball of candy if I don't get something good under the tree.)

I definitely got my wish for Christmas, I still only have my 2 bottom teeth. I have a feeling that there will be more popping in soon. Well, I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I had the best Christmas ever. I have included some pictures here, but there are more to come as soon as the battery to mom's new camera (thanks Dougie!)finishes charging. Mom got a new camera and I am now blind from the hundreds of pictures mom took of me while trying to figure out how it works. My Christmas holiday started off with a weekend of being home and spending lots of time with my mom and dad. On Saturday night I had my first friend spend the night. My friend Preston (10 months old)came over and spent the night while his parents went out to celebrate his dad's birthday. We had a great time together and mom realized that she might not be ready for twins anytime sooon!

(Pictured here is my friend Preston, with his daddy Jason. Happy Birthday Jason!)

On Christmas eve we headed to Horton to see all of my mom's family, including my aunts, uncle, cousins, great-grandma Shirley and my grandpa Don. We celebrated my cousins birthday. Her birthday is on Christmas Eve. She got to unwrap even more presents for her birthday. We went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service with everyone and it was awesome. We made the special trip to Horton because this is the first Christmas with Grandma Sharon in heaven. My grandma Sharon loved the candlelight service. We all wanted to be there to say hello to Grandma and let her know that we missed her this holiday. My grandma Sharon was so special. She had special presents made for me and my cousins before she passed away, so we unwrapped them on Christmas Eve. It was very special.


(Happy Birthday to my cousin Christal Eve, whose birthday is on Christmas Eve.)


(Hanging with my cousin Makayla.)


(My cousins- Brad, Makayla and Courtney.)


(Here is me, my mom & my great-grandma Shirley. She was really happy to see us.)

We then headed back to Lawrence where we went to Grandma Linda's house for a little Christmas Eve fun.

(Grandma Linda has some special presents for me on Christmas Eve.)


(I love the KU bear Grandma Linda got me.

Finally, Christmas day was here! I woke up early and walked/crawled to the living room to find presents! Yeah!!! I had been a good boy this year. Who would've thought?! I was happy that Santa found our house.

(Christmas morning looking in my stocking for the goodies left.)


(Dad helped me unwrap my gifts. He was as excited as I was.)


(I got a fishing pole and I'm going to start practicing now so I'll be ready to go with my daddy.)


(Duce had a pretty good Christmas too.)

We opened presents then went to Grandma Linda's to find even more treasures and spent the whole day with daddy's family. (Pictures still to come b/c they are still stuck in mom's camera.) Fun, fun, fun. Mommy and I spent a little time today saying a little prayer and discussing what the Christmas holiday was all about. I can tell you, I was blown away to hear the whole story. What a special day! I hope that you all had a wonderful day full of joy, happiness and love. I send my love to everyone reading this. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Viva Las Vegas!

So, here are some pics from the Las Vegas trip that we took at the end of November. We had a great time and even made a little $ while we were out there. I'm so glad that we went and we are so very thankful for Grandma Linda and Aunt Jen who took care of Manning while we were away. It made the trip even more enjoyable knowing that the little man was back home being taken care of.


First night in Vegas at Margaritaville starting the trip off with a tower of margaritas.


Macray keeping Makenzie company while she waits to race her night race. It was a very late race and it was very cold.

Busy, busy, busy

Ok, so going back to Thanksgiving we went to St.Louis for the holiday. My great-grandma Juanita passed away a couple days before the holiday, so after turkey day we headed on the road northeast for Springfield Illinois to attend the visitation/funeral services. After that we went back through St.Louis to pickup Grandma Linda and we headed back to Lawrence. As soon as we got back to Lawrence Daddy turned around and went to the big KU vs. Missouri football game, which was disappointing and not worthy of a post. 3 days later my mommy and daddy headed out to Las Vegas for the Quarter Midget Winter Nationals. My cousins Makenzie and Macray both raced and did very well. While my mom and dad where away in Vegas for 5 days my Aunt Jen and Grandma Linda took care of me and completely spoiled me with lots of love. It's been very hectic getting back into a routine again after all of that. So, that's the summary of what's been going on for the past 23 days since you've heard from us. Whew! It's a lot easier to keep you all updated day by day instead of trying to do weeks at a time. More to come. Stay tuned!

So, what have I been busy doing?

Helping my mom and dad decorate my first Christmas tree.



Learning how to do laundry.




Consoling my friend Preston after his daddy and my daddy gave him his first buzz cut while we were playing at my house.


Playing my new favorite bathtime game where I put this cap in my mouth and make silly sounds. Doesn't sound very fun, but I'm telling you that everyone should give this one a try.

Hey, we've missed you too!

Ok, we've heard from several people as to why my mom has not posted anything in 24 days. 24 days!!! Don't worry, we missed you too. We've been very busy and my mom apolgizes. Santa finally mailed her a letter the other day that said if she didn't get back to updating soon she was going to get a lump of coal for Christmas and she didn't want that so...we're back! We've definitely got a lot to update everyone on.

Turkey for you & turkey for me!

Yum, yum. I hope that everyone had a very blessed holiday. I had a great 1st Thanksgiving. My time was spent being thankful for all of the wonderful friends and family that I have, eating lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, enjoying some White Castle sliders, meeting lots of family that I hadn't yet met, getting lots of hugs and kisses and traveling to two different states and back, all within 4 days. Whew! As usual,I was on my best behavior for the entire trip and was easygoing and adapted to whatever was on the agenda for the day. It was a lot of fun. This holiday-thing is really great. I can't wait until the next one. I've attached some pictures of the trip.

Ok,these White Castle sliders are a great concept. They are the perfect size for my hand and it is humanly impossible to eat just one. They won't break your budget either b/c they are a whopping 42 cents a piece. Also, Great-Grandma Gardner told me it was ok to eat more than one because they are some of the healthiest burgers in the fast food world - she says "they're broiled, not fried." That definitely works for me! This is me enjoying my very 1st White Castle burger at Great-Grandma Gardner's house once we arrived in St.Louis on Wednesday.


Here I am having my 1st taste of a Thanksgiving staple, pumpkin pie. It was pretty darn good. Ummm...and the cool whip on top made it divine! Two thumbs up for pumpkin pie. We had the turkey dinner at my cousins, Joan and Doug Kriska's house in St.Louis. We spent time with my Grandma Linda's family, including her mother, two sisters and all of the extended families. It was a great time and the meal was wonderful. Thank you to our family in St. Louis for the invitation to Thanksgiving and all of the wonderful hospitality. Thank you to Aunt Sally and Uncle Charlie for letting me and my mom and dad stay with them (pictured below in a new outfit with Aunt Sally), the "walker" toy that is going help me practice my steps and for everything else.




More pumpkin pie!

KU Jayhawks are still undefeated!

Yes, the Kansas Jayhawks football team is now 9-0 and really creating a lot of excitement in Lawrence. Manning took in his very first KU game last weekend when the Nebraska Cornhuskers came to town. It was a beautiful day and the Jayhawks rolled the Cornhuskers. Manning loved it.

When Manning was asked "How good are the Jayhawks?" He threw up the index finger and gave us a #1! What a smart kid.

We have a techno-geek on our hands

Is it a bad thing if our son is the only one in the house who can fix the computer?! Manning is obsessed with the computer. Not sure if there's a career in computers in his future or not, but he cannot get enough of it. It's a challenge to even try and get on the computer while Manning is around. He wants to jump in to start making changes to what you're writing and always has to make sure we're doing it right.

Also, a sidenote for everyone - Manning is very close to walking. He stands up on his own with no support and is very stable on his feet. Doug and I are betting that it will be within the next few weeks. Exciting stuff!

Boo!

I knew my cute face wouldn't scare you, but it was worth a shot. Well, my first Halloween has come and gone and it was a success. My parents dressed me up, I didn't complain and I scored some goodies. I went trick or treating this year, but it was just for practice. I'll know what to do for next year b/c I took really good notes from my cousins Colton and Calvin, who let me tag along. Below are just some pictures from our adventure. Weather was good, the treats were yummy and I survived the "Shrek" and "Pumpkin" costumes all in the same day! I played the part of an ogar pretty darn well, at least that's my opinion.

I'mmmm backkk!

I've not been feeling so well lately. I'm not sure what got me down, but I'm on my way back up. I'm doing better today, and have been trying to get caught up on the sleep I've been missing out on for the past few days. My mom and dad are also trying to get caught up on the sleep they have lost worrying about me. It's been a long week so far for everyone.

Late Night in the Phog

What does this mean? Well, for anyone Kansas fan it symbolizes the start of basketball season. Late Night in the Phog is when the basketball players come out of hibernation and give the fans a preview of the upcoming season. Included in the evening is lots of entertainment, introduction of the basketball teams (both men and women, a dunk contest and a scrimmage. Kansas University has set many markers with basketball history and traditions, and this is one of them. Larry Brown, former coach of the Hawks, started this celebration of open season for basketball in 1985, and it has since grown into a phenomenom amomg college campuses across the nation. So, that is your history (basketball history) lesson for the day. Friday was "Late night in the Phog" and we took Manning for his first experience of KU basketball. Needless to say, Manning gave the experience 2 tiny thumbs up. He loved taking in the lights, sounds and action. Manning says...it's looking like it's going to be a great basketball season. It's a good time for Jayhawk fans right now.

Manning and his dad watching the highlights of the evening.


My friend Melissa with Manning at "Late Night"