Been meaning to update anyway for days and days. Had lots of things I wanted to write about, just no time. I wish I could blog by just talking into my phone or something, that would be awesome. Then I'd blog more!

Well, we went on vacation last week for 3 days, 2 nights. Up to the Irish Hills area here in MI. There were a lot of nice, laid back things to do. We went to a few parks and let DJ swing, he fed some ducks. We visited an old church/cemetary that my grandfather helped build in the 20's. We did the two touristy spots- a place called Stagecoach Stop and Mystery Spot. Mystery Spot was a waste, but we had to try it once. We also went to a place called Hidden Gardens that was gorgeous! Scenic roads to cruise on while DJ slept with breath-taking views. And also a conservatory indoors with all sorts of unique plants. Last but not least we went to the place that sealed the deal for killing my diet, Cherry Creek Winery & Fudge Shop. Yum. All that was fun, DJ was a terror though. He's got an eighth tooth coming through. He hated the car every time we got in it, even though it was all short trips, getting in and out five or more times a day was not his idea of fun I guess. He wouldn't sleep at night, so after two hours of trying, we put him in bed with us. So, no down-time for mom or dad (although dad did get some smoke breaks!). I was thrilled to be home, where I could set him down to plan and have 5 minutes of quiet!!!!

I saw the Goo Goo Dolls & Lifehouse Sunday with Michelle, who is having a baby boy. (I'm going with her to register next week since I can be of some help, more than a man.) It was a good concert, but was too short for me. The GGD were only on for a little over an hour!

Getting ready for DJ's party. I bought pretty much everything I needed other than groceries a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday I wrapped the gifts, and am going to try to get all the loose odds and ends done over the next two weeks. Going to be a big party with about 20 or so adults and 5 kids. The sad thing is I know it will be so hectic, that I won't have much time to enjoy it! Oh well, that's the nature of the beast I guess. I just hope it's a nice day.

DJ is clapping and playing patty-cake. He's also just learned how to wave hello or goodbye. He also can play that game where you say, "how big is DJ", and he raises his arms above his head and you say, "SO BIG!" It's really cute. He's eating mostly solids now, but is fussy with meat and veggies. Like I mentioned, he has 8 teeth. He is babbling up a storm too. And yesterday he took about 5 steps on his own! I'm hoping we'll have a walker (haha) by his first birthday. He's also had some playdates in the last month, which has been fun. One was with a girl that I met online through my baby group, our babies were born the same month last year, they're 2 weeks apart. I also signed DJ up for "school" yesterday- it's a mom and baby group, but there's an actual teacher and activities and the kids play, the moms meet and we even discuss child issues/concerns we might have. I'm really excited!

Saw a few good movies lately: Vacancy, Norbit, Stranger than Fiction and Guess Who (ok, I'm a little behind!). We're on season 5 of the Soprano's. And currently I'm loving Big Brother, for the 8th year in a row.

Few weird things- ran into my old friends and my ex, Jason, at Best Buy while looking for a new TV. That was weird. He's still weird. Also got a friend request on myspace from someone from the old days, that's odd too. We'll see what they have to say. It sucks that I did some stuff that I'm not proud of and there's this group of people that I was friends with...this girl was one of them. Anyway, it sucks that because of that it's just weird. Seems like everyone is on MySpace lately!

Here are some pics from this summer (I've been horrible about posting them....there's so many I'll have to post the vacation pics later):

MAY (!):

JUNE:

JULY:

At my cousin's graduation party:

AUGUST:

DJ & Chloe: