My daddy spoils me

Ok, so my mom and dad took me shopping the other day and let me pick out some new toys and some new sneakers. I must have been a good boy lately b/c dad just walked in the door and said "Let's go pick out some fun stuff", and we did just that. It was a lot of fun and I want to thank my daddy for everything he bought me.

Happy 1st Birthday to my friend Preston

My buddy Preston just turned 1 and I went to his party on Saturday to celebrate. We had a lot of fun playing together. So, thanks for the invite and I hope you like my gift!

Dad preparing for war.

What kind of war you might ask? A war against stinky poo. Doug can't stand changing dirty diapers and starts dry heaving to the point where he's absolutely no help and only causes more chaos when we're trying to change Manning's diapers. So, Doug came up with the really good idea that if we would start wearing the mask shown above (typically used while he's working around strong potent fumes and chemicals when he's working)that he'd be able to change diapers with no more problems. Funny looking, but it does work and I think that is the only thing that saved him when I went out of town for a business trip for 6 days. In the above picture Doug had to pull out the beloved mask to clean out the bathtub on Manning's birthday, as he left a little birthday surprise for us in the tub. Let's just say the bath went from very enjoyable to immediate evacuation very quickly! Right before I took this picture Doug and I were both kind of jawing back and forth at each other about who was going to clean up the mess. Suddenly Doug leaves the room and comes back wearing his mask and is grumbling in the thing something that I can't even understand. I could not help but laugh and laugh and laugh at the sight. So, I grabbed the camera and snapped the shot while Doug continued to bark at me about him having to clean poo while I'm having fun joking around and taking pictures. I couldn't quit laughing. Awww...fun times.

Happy Monday to ya!

Nothing new going on here. Just kicking back and taking in a little R&R while making some phone calls and taking care of business. Happy Monday to everyone. I hope you all have a great week.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

It's been a great Valentine's day so far. No complaints here. I would have to say that the "Day of Love" has treated me very well and I feel very loved! I love each and every one of you and thank you for stopping by to check in on what I'm doing.

How did my mom know that all I wanted for Valentine's day was my very own die cast Jeff Gordon racecar. She's a clever one. Thanks mom! I love you Too!


Being the day for love and cute things I thought I'd show how cute I can be as a puppy! Pretty cute, huh?


Thanks for the Valentine Great-Grandma Gardner! It made me smile. I'm showing it off to my mom in the picture below. Hugs and kisses to you on this Valentine's Day!

From Manning...to Manning?!

Ok, a couple of weeks ago my Grandma Linda invited me and my mom and dad to Hawk talk, which is a live radio broadcast that the KU coaching staff conducts in front of a live audience and answers questions from callers and discusses prior and upcoming KU basketball games and related issues. this was a special evening because the man himself, Mr. Danning Manning was there in place of Bill Self. So, I got my picture taken with Mr. Manning and he also autographed a basketball for me. He was very flattered to learn that my name was Manning, and was even more surprised when my mom told him that my name was influenced by him.

Ok, sorry for the delay in posting...

about 4 days after my birthday my mom was on a plane to sunny Orlando, FL for 6 days for work, so she's been very busy lately. So, she said to send her apologies. Ok, now back to the fun stuff. I successfully turned 1. I had a birthday party with my family and friends and it was so much fun. As you can see I had my very own birthday cake which I destroyed. It was a very special day. Pitures below will tell you the story.

In this picture I was intently listening as my Grandma Linda sang me "Happy Birthday" right after I woke up on my birthday.


Here I'm admiring my new dump truck my dad got me for my big day.

My very own birthday cake!

Here is wonderful race car cake that my mom and dad made for me. My mom baked the cake and my dad decorated the cake. I shared this cake with everyone at the party. We had a "race car" party because the theme of the party was "Come wave the checkered flag as Manning crosses the finish line at 1."


Me hanging with my Aunt Julie (My mom's sister) at my party.

Celebrating as everyone sang me happy birthday.

In the following pictures I'm demolishing my birthday cake.














Playing with my grandpa Rod.

Me & my cousin Miles.

My friend Preston and his sister Alexus.

It's my birthday!!!!!!

For those keeping score at home...today is my birthday. It's been a fabulous day so far. I'll fill you in with a complete report later, but for now here are some pictures.

***Birthday Update

Lots of January birthdays. As I am now only 4 days away from my 1st big birthday, I've been celebrating many other birthdays. My mom turned 29, again. Isn't that awesome?! She told me that this is very unusual. She says that it isn't possible for her to be 30, so she will just keep turning 29. Her birthday was on Friday the 18th. Congrats on that mom!


Also, my very special grandma Linda celebrated her 29th birthday on Sunday the 20th. It is also very exciting.
(Pictured below is me and my Grandma Linda holding me while I ate my first popsicle this past summer)

News Alert ***** Birthday Countdown

Ok, the count down begins...it is now less than 10 days before I turn the big #1! My mom keeps telling me how much fun it is going to be and I can't wait! I've been taking notes on this birthday thing and should have it down pat by the time it gets here. Mom has been trying to teach me how to blow out the candles. In one month I've been a part of birthday celebrations for my cousin Christal, cousin Tyller and also my cousin Mackinzie. My mom's birthday is coming up very soon followed shortly by my Grandma Linda's birthday. I'll keep you updated as the countdown continues. Stay tuned...

I don't know if you knew or not...

I'm a pretty big Jayhawk fan!

Here I am sporting the Sherron Collins Kansas Basketball jersey that my Grandma Linda gave me for Christmas.


Whew, it is completely exhausting beating up on the Nebraska Cornhuskers.


Here's a shot of me working on my bounce pass.


Here is a shot of me and my mom while we were watching the Jayhawks bring home an Orange Bowl victory. Behind us is my cousin Calvin sporting the awesome blue mohawk in honor of the Hawks!


I'm sporting my KU football jersey while watching the Orange Bowl. Also during the Orange Bowl game some of the little girls in attendance decided to decorate me with some Jayhawk warpaint. It just so happened that the war paint consisted of the makeup they got for Christmas. Yikes! I'm going to hate these pictures when I'm older.


My forever favorite Jayhawk hat.

What a jam I've got myself into?!

One of the last times I'll try and lodge myself into a small space.

I was lucky that my dad was there to help me get out.

Jack-in-the-box.

Ok, so I used to like this "Jack in a box" thing, until my dad thought it was funny to scare me one day at the same time as the one eared Bugs Bunny rabbit jumped out of the box. Not so funny. Ever since then I have to start looking for the nearest escape route as soon as that silly song starts to play, letting me know that the one eared rabbit is soon to appear. Crawl, walk, scramble, it doesn't matter I don't want to be anywhere near that thing when it goes off. In fairness to my dad, I'm a good natured kid who actually likes to be scared. If mom or dad jump out from around the corner and shout boo, I jump a little, but then begin to laugh until I turn blue. So, I don't think my dad thought that it would have such an impact on me as it did. I am trying to give the one-eared bunny another chance and we're trying to warm up each other again, but that daunting music gets me every time.

Awe, the old Jack-in-the-box game again, huh? I can handle it this time.

Boy,I sure do hate that music. Where is that rabbit?!

Ah ha! You again!

Yeah, it's not that bad as long as I can shove that rabbit back into it's hole.
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Awe come on dad. I'm not scared anymore. Gimme another shot at it.

More pictures from the holidays

Mom & I did a little math lesson as we counted the Christmas money I received. We worked on my addition skills and then deposited the money into my piggy bank.



I was being a good boy and posing for my mom so she could learn how to use her new camera. She got some really good shots of me.


My Grandma Sharon had a Christmas tradition of always making homemade chocolate peanut butter balls for everyone. In this picture I've just finished my first one. Verdict? I liked it...a lot!


My Uncle Mike got me this cool Radio Flyer Red Racer. I love it. Mom spends a lot of time wheeling me around the house on it. I can't wait until spring comes when I can ride it outside.


I LOVE my daddy!