Whew - we've been on the road a lot. Neither Pat, Paddy or I have been in Minnesota for a weekend since Easter. We certainly loved every minute of seeing our family and friends, but we're all exhausted!!

We recently returned from a trip to Milwaukee where Paddy's cousin Roland was baptized. We had a wonderful time visiting everyone. It was extra special for Paddy who got to see all of his Great Grandparents on his Dad's side. Both the Foys and the Poplins came to the baptism and then we were able to visit with More Mema and More Papa Foy on Sunday at their home. It was a fun chaotic with all the great grandkids visiting at once - even the brand new Lucy who was just 2 weeks old!

Paddy is crawling all over the place. He has abandoned his army crawl for crawling on all fours. He's not quite as quick, but certainly gets around in a hurry. He's still busy standing up on everything he can find and has begun cruising along the furniture. He's not a big fan of getting down from standing up, but he's trying. He has also mastered climbing up the stairs which requires us to install another gate. For whatever reason, I thought we had a little longer before he learned to go up. Guess not.

We've been working on sign language for the past couple months. I *think* he recognizes the sign for milk as he normally gets very excited when we do it. He hasn't mastered using the sign himself though. We also do All Done and More. I don't think More has set it yet, but he throws his arms in the air when we say all done and he wants to get out of his high chair. Could just be a coincidence though.

We've had a few nice days here and there and got to make our first trip to the park. Paddy loved watching all the other kids run around. He was fascinated by the sand and kept running it through his fingers.

We have a travel free month coming up, though we'll have some visitors. Grandma McCoyd is coming in early May and we hear that perhaps my friend Sandra will make a visit as well. Sandra is the baby whisperer. She very kindly drove to Milwaukee to babysit so Pat and I could attend the Dominican High School Auction. Paddy went to bed for her no questions asked at 6:30 at night and slept until after 6 the next morning. Maybe Paddy just doesn't like sleeping for me and Pat? He loves to sleep at Mema's house though. Everytime we're there he sleeps like a champ. Perhaps the sheets are softer :-)