Mother's Day

What a fun Mother's Day! I am so blessed to have such a loving husband and 2 wonderful boys! My life is overflowing with joy and oh so complete! Thank you to my 3 guys for a truly special day!!!

We were able to sleep in till 8:00am. BOTH boys were sleepy heads.

Chad took us to a new Mexican restaurant downtown in the Third Ward. It was delicious!

Braden enjoyed the chips and salsa alongwith his non-alcholic daquiri .
Dylon tried to dive face first into my beans. Next, we went to the Betty Brinn's Children Museum in Milwaukee.

Braden had a blast fixing cars, driving delivery trucks, shopping in the grocery store, moving blocks, going through the heart, playing the piano with his feet, helping Curious George wash the windows, driving the train, feeding the cow corn, playing in the sand, making a gift for mom ... so much to do! It was fun to see his little mind at work and imagination going full tilt ahead. Dylon spent his afternoon looking around and catching a short nap in the stroller.


For dinner, even more spoiling. No cooking for this Mommy! Yummy sesame chicken on a picnic in the living room while we watched Exteme Home Makeover and parts of Mary Poppins.
It was a very relaxing day and I loved every minute of it!!!

Chad's Belated Birthday

Chad finally let me throw him a Birthday Party - even though scheduling issues made it 3 months late! Our church friends and neighbors came over to help us celebrate. It was a fun evening!

Back Row: Drew & Sara Cramer, Brad Draeger (Lisa had left to put boys to bed), Dave Spears (Debbie was sick), Jackie & Jeff Beers, Emily & Jeremy Fritz

On the Couch: Jeremy & Ann Levan, Chad & Trista, Jeff & Heidi Leedle

We started the evening off with Fondue for dinner. I learned that I need to clarify that fondue includes "raw" meat and cooking your own dinner! It was much easier for the guys to dive in than the girls. The swiss cheese sauce and bread was a huge hit though - regardless of gender. After dinner we played ping-pong, bocce ball, and Wii golf and tennis. And the evening ended with 8 guys heading to the movies in our mini-van. I would love to have been there when they unloaded. I'm pretty sure it looked like one of those clown cars where people just keep coming out. And the biggest 3 guys were squashed in the backseat!

8 guys in a mini-van!

March Starts

I had taken clothes from the dryer into the living room to fold. I was only gone for a minute and when I came back, my dryer was full -- but not of clothes. I took his picture (how could I not, it was too cute!) and then we had a talk about the safety issues around playing in the dryer.

5/2/08: Hmmm...all boy?

Saturday 5/3/08, we went to a MOPS, POPS, and TOTS family Olympics. Braden enjoyed the torch relay, but didn't like being tied to Chad in the 3 legged race. He wasn't too sure about putting whipped cream on Daddy's face either - just didn't seem right to he sensitive spirit to be mean to his Dada.

5/3/08: Our TEAM!

5/3/08: You want me to do WHAT to my Dada?

It is so fun to take the boys outside and play together. Braden is enjoying riding his bike. He's almost got the hang of pedaling. I'm sure it won't be much longer. He enjoyes pushing his brother around in his walker too. Braden also has decided that he likes to "crush" and "jump" everything! (He learned that from watching a cartoon about monster trucks at bedtime with Daddy - seriously, it totally relaxes him!).

5/5/08: Playing outside

5/5/08: Drool anyone?

5/5/08: Loving Brothers (I just can't get enough of this!)

End of April

Just some updates on the boys as APRIL closed:

BRADEN: Still likes to say only 1 syllabyl, but is starting to put them in sentences. He likes to help me keep the house clean - give him the swiffer or a lysol wipe and he's a happy guy! The other day I was cleaning the floors and had taken the rug, stool, magazine container, and trash can out of the bathroom. He came over from the living room and looked around, then looked at me, and said "Mess MaMa!" He then proceeded to put everything back where it belonged. Hmm, wonder where he learned to keep things so neat from?! He is such a good big brother. He loves to give Dylon kisses and hugs. He'll even share his precious bear "Boof" if he thinks Dylon is a little sad.

DYLON: He is growing like crazy. He's wearing mostly 9month clothes. He's eating cereal, fruits, and vegies - and can't get enough. He also likes to drink water out of a sippy cup. He still slobbers alot of it back out, but he's getting there. He is a very content little guy - but if he is hungry or tired, he'll let you know! He loves his big brother - even more than eating - and that's saying alot!!!

Here's a few pictures just for fun.

4/23/08: Playing in the sandbox

4/30/08: Eating a PB&J with "mine ands"

4/30/08: Enjoying Blueberries

4/30/08: What do you mean it's all gone?

04/29/08: Dylon has something to say (VIDEO)

Trip to Nebraska

To catch up a little ...

April 24 - 27: Our yearly drive to Nebraska for OAX Alumni Weekend (Chad's Fraternity).

We left Thursday morning and drove to DesMoines. The boys were awesome in the car and we arrived just as nap times were ending.

4/24/08: Dylon during the car ride

4/24/08: Braden during the car ride

We stayed overnight at Adventureland Inn. It was an older hotel/resort, but had a zero depth pool with a frog slide, dumping water buckets, and a rainfall mushroom -- all just Braden sized. It was fun to just relax together as a family.

Braden went for the frog slide right away. He climbed up and Mommy was ready for the picture. Snap! Down he came! Splash! Under he went! Sputter! Choke!

Mommy wasn't quite ready for him to go under - I thought he just come down and stand up like he had on a similar slide before. However, I wasn't taking into account the deeper water. So, Braden was a little water logged and took about an hour before he tried the slide again. And only then with Daddy at the bottom! Eventually, he did decided to trust Mommy again.

4/24/08: Splash!

4/24/08: So proud that he went in the "rain" by himself!

We stayed with our good friends Conrad and Megan Gilberston. As always, our time together was so much fun and way too short. We enjoyed seeing other college friends at the Family Dinner Friday night. Chad enjoyed golfing and meetings on Saturday.

4/26/08: Cute BIG Boy

4/26/08: Cute LITTLE Boy

Sunday we got up early to head home. Braden was a little grouchy and out of sorts. We weren't sure what was going on until ... he threw up! But, then he was his normal happy self. So, we hit the road. 1 hour on the road, 1 sippy cup of juice, and 1 snack of grapes later ... and we had a grouchy boy again. And yes, you guessed it -- throw up! Fortunatly most of it was caught in the towel. So, we stopped at the next exit, cleaned Braden up, and pushed forward. Thank goodness for an 8 passenger van that allowed me to sit beside Braden and snuggle him much of the way home. He slept on and off and we limited how much he drank. Only one more episode on the way home. Chad did a great job of driving and we made it home in record time. And of course, Braden was just fine that night and the next day! So, now we have survived our first case of throwing up with Braden. If we could handle it in the car, at home next time can't be so bad, right?