Food reviews from Manning's Kitchen!

Well, we've been eating whole grain cereal and have dabbled (literally) in several different fruits. So far, Manning highly recommends to all of his infant friends the whole grain cereal from Gerber. It was pretty rough at first and took some getting used to, but once he got used to the texture he really started to dig it! He now grabs the spoon in an attempt to shovel it in as fast as he can. Manning's review of the Gerber fruits so far - two tiny thumbs down for the peaches and bananas and two tiny thumbs up for the applesauce. He's starting to get used to the different kinds of food that he's trying. His favorite thing to do while eating is make "motor boat" sounds while taking a bite - throwing the food in every which direction. He's too darn cute while doing it, so I just laugh and start to peel the chosen fruit of the day out of my hair!

Happy Fathers Day!

Fathers play a very important part in a child's life, that's why there is a special day to thank them for the job they do. Manning and his dad would like to wish all of the other dads out there a very relaxing Father's Day, whether you spend the day in front of the grill, in front of the t.v. watching the US Open or how ever else you choose to spend the day!




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Get your motor running...Head out on the highway

Here are some pics of Manning in his cool shades. He's already quite the little stud! Watch out all of you young ladies.

Happy Birthday Grandma Gardner!

So last weekend we headed on a road trip with Grandma Linda to St. Louis to celebrate Doug's grandma's 9oth birthday and we had a great time. Doug got to see lots of family that he hadn't seen in a long time and Manning and I got to meet several people for the first time. Everyone was so nice and really went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. Aunt Sally and Uncle Charlie had a house full and played a great hostess role for all of us while in St. Louis. We're talking White Castle burgers late into the evenings, shooing away the snake welcoming committee while we were there and a spectacular breakfast each morning! We really did have a great time and Manning was his ususal laid back excellent self. He had a blast meeting everyone and traveled really well. Below are just some fun pics from the trip.

Welcome to the Howard family Amber!

On May 12th my cousin, Troy married a very sweet girl by the name of Amber. I know that they're going to have such a great life with each other. My cousin Troy is one of the funniest people I know, so Amber has got a lifetime of laughs coming her way. I wish the best of luck to you both! Weddings are fun and they always create unique stories for everyone to share for years to come, such as "How in the heck did the groom injure his eye during his own reception?" or "Was I really doing the chicken dance- What is the chicken dance?" Pictured below is my niece Kate and then I am pictured with my Aunt Donna & my Uncle Vic. My sister, Julie, is then pictured with my cousin Stacey's daughter, Victoria.

Is it a coincidence?

No, it's not just because we've been lazy and too busy soaking up the sun, but rather that since the little guy has starting rolling over I haven't been as good about updating this site. Is this a coincidence? I'm guessing that any and all parents reading this can relate! My apologies. I promise to be better at the updates and I promise that my la

I bet you can't guess who rolled over?

Yea, the little guy did it this past weekend. It was exciting b/c his mom & dad was actually off work and there to witness it. Better yet, he did it again twice during the next day at Aunt Stacey's and then again at home tonight and I was actually able to catch it on video. He's such the cooperative child already. We'll just see how long he keeps that up. Here are some photos from the precious moment of when our lives changed b/c we will no longer be able to leave him laying on the couch unattended. We'll have to be on top of things from here on.

1, 2, 3, 4

Manning officially hit the 4 month old mark!!! In celebration of this event we went for a visit to the pediatrician last week. Manning weighed in at 13 lbs. 7 oz. and measured a whooping 25 inches. Being his mom and completely bias, I got a little defensive when the good doc stated that his the size of his head was in the 7 percentile. I guess he has a smaller than average head, but I just don't see it. I, of course being the completely bias mom, thinks that his head is perfect for his body. It is no reason for concern, it just really makes me ponder how these doctors figure all this stuff out, or think they have it all figured out. Overall it was a good checkup and Manning was perfect as always. Interesting story from the peds office - During our visit with the good doc we were discussing how to introduce Manning to solid food. In mid sentence he drops his papers and brushes by me while patting me on the shoulder and saying that he needs to go next door to make sure that the kid in the room next to us doesn't hurt anyone. What???!!! After he leaves the room I hear the scuffling and banging in the room next to me. It sounds like someone elses visit to the peds office is not going so well - someone is not happy. I can hear the kid screaming and grunting. When the doc came back in he looked a little frazzled and said that in his effort to make sure that nobody got hurt he almost got cold clocked in the face! I guess the kid next door was a 5 1/2 year old who was the size of an average 9 year old, and obviously knew that he had the size on his side. Whew! It makes you very thankful for quiet polite children.

Lift the chorus ever onward, Crimson and the blue Hail to thee, our Alma Mater Hail to old KU.

Congratulations to my good friend, Melissa, who graduated from KU this weekend! Manning and I joined Melissa along with her family and friends on Sunday afternoon for a reception in her honor. It was a great time. Glad we could celebrate with you Mel!

Young lilttle Manning had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

Manning had a visit to the Neis family farm on Sunday afternoon where he visited the calves, puppies & pigs. He just kind of looked at them and coooed. We also went out to Grandpa Rod's farm on Saturday for Nick's high school graduation party. Grandpa Rod has calves also, but we didn't get to see them on Saturday. Between these two farms, Manning will have lots of opportunities to play with the farm animals when he grows up. Manning is pictured in this post with "Rocky" the pig and either "Snowflake" or "Rambo" (I'm not sure which calf is in the picture).

Just a swinging! Swinging!

"Swinging" by John Anderson

There's a little girl in our neighborhood
Her name is Charlotte Johnson and she's really looking good
I had to go and see her, so I called her on the phone
I walked over to her house, and this was going on
Her brother was on the sofa eating chocolate pie
Her momma was in the kitchen cutting chicken up to fry
Her daddy was in the backyard rolling up a garden hose

I was on the porch with Charlotte feeling love down to my toes

And we were swinging yes we were swinging
Little Charlotte she's as pretty as the angels when they sing
I can't believe I'm out here on the front porch in this swing
Just a-swinging

Yes we were swinging yes we were swinging
Little Charlotte she's as pretty as the angels when they sing
I can't believe I'm out here on the front porch in this swing
Just a-swinging

***If you've never heard John Anderson's "Swinging" you should check it out. It's a classic country song. I think of this song every time I see Manning swinging for hours upon hours. Why, do you ask. Well, the song has a really annoying chorus and every time I hear the song I spend the rest of the day walking around singing "Just a swinging!!!" all day long. So, I've decided this is his theme song for when he's a swinging. He loves his swing and it was the best investment I ever made. In the bottom picture he is finally big enough to reach out and grab the toy on the tray, but once he found it he never let go and was hanging on for dear life!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

It's my first Mother's Day and I feel truly blessed to be able to call myself a mom. I love being a mom and cannot imagine my life without the lil' guy. Manning is so special and is such a good natured and laid back little guy. I am very lucky. I want to wish every mom out there a Happy Mother's Day.

Baby steps!

No, little Manning is not walking yet, but he has taken some baby steps towards becoming more aware of his surroundings. Here are some "first" baby steps for the lil' guy.



His first step to becoming a man - First trip to "Best Buy" to do a little wishful thinking of which flat screen HD t.v. would look the best hanging on the wall in his bedroom. I'm sure this is the first of many trips that him and his dad will take to Best Buy together to drool over the big t.v.s, however Manning is the only one with an excuse for drooling.









Manning's first very own seat (thanks to Chava McKeel!). It's the latest & greatest thing in the world of babies - it's called the Bumbo. It's a little foam chair that allows them to sit up and start working those back muscles. He hated it at first, but has now come to tolerate it (I think just so his mom will quit nagging him about it).






"Holy cow, am I doing that?" Grandma Linda bought him this blue phone rattle and this night was the first time that we could see the confidence and gleam in his eyes that said "I am holding this rattle and have complete control right now. What do I do now?" Up to this point I had been placing it in his hand and his little arms would just start moving all about, but without any rythym or control. I'm not even sure that he knew it was there, but as you can see from the expression on his face in the picture - he finally figured it out!

"Yeah, that's right - I had my first taste of chocolate milk. It was mighty tasty. I even saved some of it on my cheeks for later." Daddy gave him a special treat last Sunday by dipping the pacifier into a little bit of chocolate milk before giving it to him. Nothing can compare to seeing a baby's eyes light up from the first sugar rush of chocolate milk. Pretty funny and pretty darn cool to think that every experience for him is the first.

Whistle while you work!

Last weekend Doug and I started re-siding our house. Manning was the supervisor, making all of the calls on when breaks were - when to eat, bathroom breaks, etc. We got most of the back side of the house done. It was a very productive weekend. Honestly, there actually wasn't a whole lot of whistling while we worked, but instead there was a lot of Doug telling me what I could do next and me asking "What? How am I supposed to do that?" Somehow I was able to finally get the hang of things enough to actually start helping out instead of adding to the problem. Manning had his first experience working side by side with his daddy in the "Man's World of Construction." He doesn't have a tool belt yet, but he does have the next best thing - his very own "Stanley tools" outfits (courtesy of Bob and Lois Scherting). For his first supervisory construction job & first official business trip to Home Depot he wanted to wear his "My favorite tools" onsie. In the last picture Manning is expressing how we all felt by Sunday evening - all tuckered out.

Future NIKE sponsored athlete

He wears it well. However, we're always keeping our options open for other sponsors who are willing to pay the big $$$$ to have this adorable face represent them!