Michael has a few things which he really, really treasures. The 2 most important (non-living) objects are his blankie (aka bankum) and Strawberry (aka "D"). I realized that we didn't have any pictures of "D", therefore I took a picture because I wasn't sure Michael would believe me 16 years from now when I tell him that one of his favorite possessions was a pink doll. Let me tell you a few things about Strawberry, this is a cute story...Strawberry was originally bought for Natalie. Natalie loved Strawberry a lot, but she was okay with giving her to Michael. Strawberry has a sister named "Lemon," however Lemon didn't catch Michael's attention. When Michael was really small he couldn't say Strawberry, so he called her "D". As a matter of fact, if you try to replace "D" with "Lemon," it doesn't go over well.
D gets a bath every week, but it doesn't appear that way anymore as D's face is permanently dirty. But a little dirt doesn't stop Michael from giving her lots and lots of kisses. Long ago when you squeezed "D" she gave kisses back.... after a few baths this feature doesn't work anymore.
Michael is fascinated with crocodiles (chomp-chomps). We recently stumbled onto a reptile zoo about 40 minutes from our house. They let Michael touch a small crocodile and a snake, and it was a hit!
Michael had a blast at the zoo! Below is an Iguana which looks like a plastic one at home called "Iggy the Feet". Michael kept going back to "Iggy" as he pushed the stool to the different aquariums.
Natalie, on the other hand, kept asking when we were going to leave. She was more concerned about when she could have her next piece of gum. Natalie is pre-occupied with candy right now. I am not kidding and I think she constantly has visions of sugar and candy. If we go anywhere she only wants to know if they have candy there and if we should buy some. Maybe my next blog will be about Natalie's treasured things and candy will be at the top of her list!
That is one big alligator! This zoo is located in a warehouse and a very nice couple run it...they obviously have a love of reptiles. How would you like this warehouse with a 1600 pound alligator next to your house? Hmmm....
Chomp- chomp!
Since this blog update is focused on Michael, here is a good story about my boy. He recently got very excited because Daddy was chasing him. He bolted away from Daddy and ran right into the door. His arms didn't stop his forward momentum, but luckily his head did. He bounced right off the door and popped back up on his feet. His response was "again, Daddy!" Josh and I didn't know whether to laugh or give him bigs hugs. We decided to do both (-:
Second step-->find a sugar maple to tap into. 
You take a few detours along the way...on a side note, Josh and I have officially nicknamed Michael "TROUBLE." 
Third step-->tap into the tree. Natalie is pictured here turning the drill into the sugar maple.
Fourth step--> Collect the sap in the bag.
Fifth step--> Boil the sap and you have maple syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup!
Sixth and final step--> EAT PANCAKES with maple syrup. These were simply the best pancakes ever!! The syrup was incredible and we sprinkled pecans on top. Yummy, yummy. We were exhausted after working so hard to make the maple syrup.
One more step-->Hang our with Mr. Pancake!
Does anyone have some sugar maples? We could start making our very own maple syrup. Hmmm....
