Rockin' It Family Style

I did it - after this post, I'm update-to-date.  Then it's your turn please.  I need updates from my readers.

This post will be really random and jump around a lot, mainly because it's just some pics with no real theme.  The first thing that I'm excited about, is that Brody started preschool last week.  We had been preparing him for weeks, talking about it and bringing him in to check it out.  Here he is on his first day:

He was so excited.  We had explained that we would drop him off and he would spend the day without us, but we'd be back.  He understood that, and would tell us that.  But when the moment came, there were tears.  But his teacher said he did very well, and didn't cry for long.  The whole first week there were tears that were quickly dried.  He came home each day with activities and stories of what he did.  I'm SO proud of him.  He's adjusting so well, and I'm glad he's getting to do so many activities that I wouldn't dream of doing at home with him (like finger painting and projects involving glitter).

Next -

We brought Chase for his professional one year photos.  They turned out so cute - I think I narrowed it down to 20 I liked.  Dan let me come home with six.  But here's a sample:

And because I haven't done it in awhile, here's an age-to-age comparison of my boys:

I think they look like brothers, but there's definitely differences.  Brody has a pointier chin, and Chase still has more baby fat than Brody did at that time.

Next -

Some cute shots of the kids just hanging around the house & at the pool (Dan got Rock Band for the Wii for Father's Day, & Chase got a new swimsuit & new pool floaty for his birthday):

I think we're going to be at the pool at ton this summer.  Now if Brody could just learn to share!  He had a few episodes with Ysabel on Saturday.  Mainly involving him NOT SHARING.  (People with older kids - when do they learn this skill???)

Next -

We've made it a tradition to attend the San Diego fair each year.  This year was fun because Brody understand rides and wants to go on them.  He was obsessed with the boats:

And of course we indulged in fair food, like cotton candy and the much-awaited Chocolate Covered Bacon.  Not as bad as I thought it would be, but I wouldn't categorize it as good.  And it was frozen.  I was expecting it to be served hot.

So that's it, really.  I gave the Chase update in the last post.  Brody's doing great, but not napping during nap time at school, so by 7pm every night he's exhausted.  He's having more breakdowns because of the tiredness, but I think once he gets comfortable at school he'll finally start to sleep there.  I wish my kids knew how to share.  I think Chase is finally getting another tooth, because he's not eating which is NOT him.  Brody still talks non-stop, narrating whatever it is he or I or Dan or Chase or one of the pets is doing.  He calls pickup trucks, "hick-up trucks" which I find hilarious.  And he's calling Oliver (the dog), "Ov-ler." And I've brainwashed him so that every time he sees a motorcycle he yells "Look Mom!  A motorcycle.  Those are dangerous."  And apparently he told his teacher the other day at school that he couldn't eat a bagel until she cut it up for him, because he was going to choke on it.  I think that caught her off guard.  She must think I'm a super paranoid mother, but hey -  just trying to keep my kids alive, know what I mean? 

That's it for now folks.  Really, I think I've done my fair share of updating.  Your turn.

~G.

P.S.  If you honestly read every single one of my 6 updates, I'm impressed.  Thank you.  I know I have a tendency to be wordy.  It's why my desk was always next to the teachers in school and was told things like "has potential if she'd shut up."

I can't believe my little Nugget is one.  It truly seems like yesterday I was getting ready to go into my C-section, hanging out w/ Dan & Kelly as I filled out paperwork in the hospital.  That Chase was born and came out all purple, but healthy and perfect as can be.  That for four hours after he was born, we couldn't decide if he was Chase Rylan or Chase Cohen until Erika told us we had 5 minutes to choose.  That he, from the minute he was born, was a perfect nurser and sleeper.  That Brody welcomed him and hasn't ever shown bitterness that we brought a new baby home and changed his life.  That I spent three months off work having more fun than I ever expected with baby Chase.  The year flew by: sitting up, crawling, babbling, standing, walking & talking.  Our family is complete. 

And now he's one....

We through a joint birthday party for Chase and myself, but really it was just for Chase.  It was a fun, fun day.  To save ourselves some work, Dan & I hired a Taco Stand for the backyard to cater lunch for everyone.  It was awesome!

It's funny - for Brody's first birthday, there were I think three kids at his party, so the party was mostly adults sitting around drinking.  Now that there's so many kids in our lives, Chase's party was filled with exciting activities in the backyard: a baby pool, slip n slide, bouncehouse, and water/sand play table (Chase's birthday present from us).

(Chase LOVES his birthday present, shown above.  So does Brody.  It's messy as all heck, but what a way to occupy kids for an hour or more!)

Chase, not the one to be picky about food he eats, thoroughly enjoyed his cake.  He put on a proper show for everyone:

He didn't really understand the opening of presents, but he enjoyed everything he received.  What a lucky boy...

I think the party was a success; we certainly had fun and Brody & Chase had a blast.  (Except the part where we made Chase where a party hat...)

Chase has his one year check-up this week, and I can't wait to see how big he is.  I have a feeling he and Brody are less than 5 pounds apart.  At one year old, Chase is walking like a champ, sleep from 8pm-6:30am, eating everything we put in front of him, just transitioning to whole milk, saying doggy, uh-oh, kitty ("titty"), mama and working on a few others - I think he's trying to do bubbles, thank you, and all done (or at least the voice inflection for it).  He does the sign for "all done" and can wave & give kisses, and do his version of clapping.  He's known as the bully at daycare, which is funny (scary?) since he's the youngest there.  He tackles his brother and thinks it's the funniest thing ever.  He has 6 teeth that had all come in by the time he was 10 months, and hasn't had any since.  He has quite the temper, and gets frustrated easily that he can't keep up with us or communicate what he needs.  He has no fear whatsoever, and climbs up on Brody's chair just to fall off and laugh.  He is constantly bruised from falling or banging his head.  His hair is dirty blonde, and coming in wavy.  His eyes, I'm stoked to report, have stayed as blue as the day he was born.  And as usual, he's adorable.

Thanks for reading.  Just as Chase has had many milestones this year, so have Dan & I, and Brody for that matter.  We knew it'd be a challenge having two so close together, and I'm proud of us.  And I'm proud of Brody for adapting to his little brother better than I every could have imagined.  It was a challenging, fun and rewarding year.

XOXO,

G.

Yup, I hit the big 3-0.  My birthday celebration was kind of spread out over a few events, but all in all I wasn't interested in having a big fiesta.  Not because I was dreading hitting 30, because that's not the case at all.  Mainly because things have been so crazy, and with Chase's first birthday coming up, I just didn't feel the need to make a big fuss. 

Most of you know I've always been goal-oriented, and I always had a vision of what I'd hope to accomplish by the time I was 30.  I'm excited that I've reached my goals.  I am such a lucky girl: fabulous husband, adorable healthy children, wonderful friends & family, a great job, living in a beautiful area.  It scares me sometimes, that it worked out.  Like I had all this good luck and now it'll be my turn for a rough patch.  I can't worry about that and I know I'll deal with whatever is thrown my way.  But all in all, turning 30 wasn't a dreaded milestone for me.

One of the fun aspects of my birthday is that I have several friends who have birthdays within days of mine.  In college Mike, Jared & I always celebrated together.  This year they planned a big Brewery Tour of San Diego, complete with a limo bus.  They had wanted us to all invite our friends for one massive party, but due to other events I had scheduled (& thus had to leave early), I just attended as a participant rather than a birthday celebration for myself.  But it was SO fun!  We had a full-sized bus, with stripper poles, lights, tons of beer & snacks.

Here's a self-portrait I took in front of the limo bus (apparently I couldn't just smile normally):

It was a fun day, and we decided we shouldn't wait for huge occasions like a 30th birthday to rent a bus and tour breweries.  It was too much fun.

Later that evening, we went to Joanne's (Erika's mom's) surprise birthday party.  What a cool party - they had all-you-can-eat sushi catered to the party (my dream!).  Joanne was properly surprised, and we had fun just hanging out and visiting with friends.  A few pics from the party: 

Check out Brody, enjoying some raw tuna.... (He didn't love it, but at least he tried it.  He preferred the rolls, which still is awesome!)

And here's Squirt, walking around like nobody's business:

So that was a fun-filled day!  We also had a combined little birthday get-together for Chase's and my birthday, which you'll get to read about in Part 5, coming to you sometime this weekend.

:)

~G.

Look at me go - third update this week.  I think by the end of the weekend I should be up-to-date.  Before I launch into our Big Cedar trip in Missouri, I want to document, for my boy's sake and later on, events that transpired today.

Today our society lost two major cultural icons.  Farrah Fawcett, most-loved for her Charlie's Angels role, and popularizing a haristyle that was copied worldwide, pass away after her battle from cancer.  Then this afternoon, the internet started circulating with rumors that Pop Icon Michael Jackson had gone into cardiac arrest and passed away.  It was shortly confirmed to be true.  He was 50.  A sad day, especially for the children of Farrah &  Michael.

That being said, it was a cool day to be a part of this generation.   It was interesting to watch this crazy news develop & spread in the web 2.0 era. What was true & not true, spawning fake rumors of other celebrity deaths, 30% of all tweets were M.J. related this evening. Sad news, but kinda cool to be a part of such a shift in the way news is shared.  People on twitter were reporting the news before major news stations were.  Where people are going for news these days is shifting, in a powerful way, and watching this has been facinating.  I can only imagine what it will be like when my boys are my age.

Onto Missouri: we only had 2 days at my dad's house before we left to spend the remainder of our trip at a resort on the Missouri/Arkansas border called Big Cedar.  This place was incredible, and the perfect family resort.  Tons of (free!) stuff to do.  Several pools, mini golf, boats, a spa, horses, lazy river, fishing, playgrounds, shopping, etc.

Both kids had a lot of fun: Brody loved Grandpa's boat, and Chase started walking while we were there.

We did some family birthday celebrations, and one item both Brody & Chase received were life jackets.  Brody was SO STOKED, because Dora the Explorer has one.  Chase, not so much. 

One day we rented a tube to pull behind the boat.  We each took turns, and when it was my turn, Maura & I went together and got on the tube.  The ENTIRE TIME we were tubing, Brody was screaming & crying hysterically at me.  "MOMMY GET IN THIS BOAT RIGHT NOW!  MOMMY!  DADDY, MOMMY'S UPSIDE-DOWN IN THE WATER!  THE PIRATES ARE GOING TO GET HER!"  It was sad and hilarious at the same time.  I got back in the boat, and he was terrified for me. He ran over and hugged me and wouldn't leave my lap.

The next day I tried to prep him better for when I went wakeboarding.  I told him I was going to be okay in the lake, and not to worry.  So I went, and he did quite well, and when I got out told me I did a good job roller-skating on the lake.  Very cute.

Few more shots:

One thing that surprised us, because Brody's usually a little timid, was how he stormed right to the water slide and wanted to go down it.  He LOVED it.

Big Cedar was definitely my favorite part of our trip.  My dad & I decided we're going to plan another family trip for sure.  It was so beautiful there.  One small thing that I happened to love: as you drove around, you drove through actual waterfalls running across the road.  Here's Dan driving across:

All in all our Missouri trip was a great time, and I'm so glad Brody got to experience so many fun adventures (he's still talking about it!), and spend quality time with our extended family.  We had our difficult moments traveling with two little kids, but we survived!  As the boys get older, trips like this will be SO special for them.

Next up: birthdays!

~G.

In my several-part blog series update (because i'm so behind), part two brings us to Missouri, specifically the first part of our trip.  The next update will be our trip to Branson & Big Cedar.

Our time at my dad's was super fun.  Brody had a blast - it's like a little boy's dream.  Chase had a more difficult time, since he was learning to walk but still crawling a bit, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.  Which means things like bullet shells, bugs, rocks, dog food, and dirt found his way into his mouth at some point.  And when I tried to take it away, he'd SCREAM.  I know, I'm such an unfair mommy. 

Here's a few shots of some of the exciting farm life experiences we had:

(I know, the water in the above pic is gross.  It's turquoise because it has chemical in it to kill algae.)

Brody's favorite part of each day was in the morning, when he & Grandpa would go to the barn and feed the chickens together.  Brody assisted my dad with whatever chore my dad happened to be doing, and of course Brody thought it was the best.  He had such a fun time.  He loved riding the ATVs, as did Chase.  Brody loved catching and throwing back the fish, but he wasn't too fond of the frogs, mainly because they jumped in unexpected directions.  He learned important things like how to pee outside, and was super impressed with himself.  My dad has a boat, tractor and ATVs, and like most little boys Brody is obsessed with any motorized vehicle.

One day was spent with my mom's side of the family, at my cousin Erin's wedding.  We were able to stay out later than I thought, thanks to my mom, who held Chase while he slept and we danced.  Brody, after two time-outs during the dinner portion of the wedding, had a blast dancing and playing with the other little kids (girls, of course).  A few pics:

(This last shot was before the wedding at my grandma's house.  It was the first time she met Chase, and she hadn't seen Brody since he was 7 months!)

Seriously, I know.  And I don't want to hear it.

It's been a month since my last post.  And I've been putting it off because I have too much to update, but then I realized I was never going to get enough time to update all at once, so it's in parts.  Tonight, I bring you back to Maura's visit down here, and our trip to the Clydesdale Farm.

Hopefully the remainder of this week will bring you updates from St. Louis, Branson, my 30th birthday, Chase's little birthday party, and Brody's first day of preschool.  But because that isn't what I'm writing about now, you have to wait.

Horses.  That's what tonight's about.

Our friend Bob operates Somewhere Farms, and has about 30 beautiful Clydesdales on his farm.  Some of his past horses have gone on to work for Disney and Budwieser and such.  Very cool.  Maura's always loved horses, so I had been wanting to bring her there.

Some pics from the day...

I thought Brody was going to love the horses, and while he liked them for a minute, he was far more excited that there were two barns on the property.  Because Dora the Explorer has gone to a farm.  And there were tractors and turtles.  Those things just about made that little boys life.  Chase just hung around in the Baby Bjorn, and tried to swat the horses when they got too close.

It's really hard updating so far in the past.  I want to share things like, Chase is walking.  But I can't, because technically in chronological order, that hasn't happened yet.

So that's all I can share for now.  I'm trying to update more, really.

One last cute shot: when Maura was here, Brody walked past the both of us in the kitchen one day, and said "I'm going outside to read, Mom."  And he did:

I swear.  The kid is so freakin funny.  And in case you're still stuck on how awful his outfit is in the above picture (brown shirt w/ adidas striped shorts, socks, and crocs?  Come on, AWFUL.  But he dressed himself.  Just an FYI.  I may not be [insert sylish person's name here], but I can match.)

So next, I bring you to St. Louis, and farm living.  Stay tuned...

~g.

P.S. If you want to cheat, visit Kara's blog for our MO trip. 

Because I just typed out the longest post in the world, and then something happened and it's gone.  I'm tempted not even to bother, but I will, but you're getting the edited version because not only was I grumpy to begin with, then this just happened.

Most of you know my incredible hubby surprised me with a combined Mother's Day & Anniversary trip to Napa the weekend after Mother's Day.  I didn't know where we were going, but once on a plane to Oakland, I slowly put the pieces together.  We started the weekend off staying at Maura & Jason's Friday night, and had fun just visiting and hanging out.  Oh, and Jason taught me how to do something I've always wanted to learn: spinning!  And not the exercise kind, the "I'm a DJ" kind.

I would have liked to play longer, but that's not what we were in town for.  Saturday morning, we headed out and I finally learned our true destination for the weekend - Napa!  Maura & Jason were coming with us, just for the day.  I had never been to Napa, and if I had to move there tomorrow, I wouldn't be the least bit sad.  It was gorgeous. 

We mapped out a few vineyards we wanted to see, and stopped at a few that caught our eye, like this castle one:

It was the coolest building I've ever been in, and Maura & I lived out our Harry Potter fantasies.

After wine tasting, Dan took me to our resort - Calistoga Ranch.  To say this place is nice is an understatement.  They drove us to our private cabin in the woods on a golf cart, and we entered our private outdoor patio to see two separate buildings: one with the bedroom & bath (including an outdoor shower) and one including a living area.  We also had a private jacuzzi.  Wow!  We had a special Chocolate Spa Package that evening, including a Kona Coffee & Chocolate body scrub, Chocolate Bubble Bath, and Chocolate Massages.  What an incredible experience, and an even more incredible husband.  I'm so lucky to have such a caring and thoughtful guy to call mine.

The cool thing about seeing Maura, was that I also got to see her this weekend!  We had already planned for her to come visit Memorial Day weekend.  Most of the pics I still have to get from her, like our trip to the Clydesdale Farm, but here are a few cute ones of her and the boys:

We had a fun weekend and Maura got a good taste of what life is like with kids.  I'll post more pics of her visit later, and also more from Napa (once I get pics from her camera).

So as usual, life is speeding by at warp-speed.  I'm a little overwhelmed at work right now, but enjoying everything I'm doing.  The boys are doing great....

Chase has two definite words, and he's working on more.  "Uh oh" is one, and "doggie" is the other, although doggie sounds like "duh-guh."  He's taking steps, but not full on walking.  He gives kisses without you having to ask, which is awesome when you get a mouthfull of drool.  :)

Brody is becoming a bit of a smart-aleck (gee, where does he get that from?).  Many times he'll ask a question directed at a specific person, like Dan.  I'll then answer the question, and he looks at me and says, "No Mommy.  I was talking to Daddy."  Well, excuse me!  His memory is incredible, and he brings up things that I told him just once.  Gotta watch what you're saying around him because he'll call you on it for sure!  He definitely has his own opinions, and is very vocal about that.  He's started telling fibs, like "Daddy said I could" when really Daddy didn't say anything of the sort.  So I'm trying to work with him on "real life" and "pretend."

I'll post more pics later.  Thanks for reading!

G.

To be honest, holidays like Mother's Day are not that big of a deal for me.  I feel love from my hubby and kids all the time, and so I don't feel the need to be fussed over a lot.  But when Dan plans brunch and takes care of all the chores & responsibilities for the day, I really can't complain, and I have to admit it's nice to have a break.

I'm not usually the sappy type, but being a mommy to these two adorable boys has been the most rewarding, incredible thing I have ever done.  Songwriters/Singers don't have a problem being sappy, and Brian Adams said it best, "Everything I do, I do it for you." (from the movie Robin Hood, I think?)  So there's my cheese for the week.

So I woke up on Mother's Day to a very proud Brody, screaming "MOMMY I MADE YOU A CARD!!!!  IT HAS NOODLES AND PAINT ON IT!"  Fabulous!  I've always wanted one of those!!!  He was SO proud of himself, and the card was so cute.  Dan helped him that morning while I was still in bed, because God knows that if Brody would have made the card Saturday, he wouldn't have been able to keep quiet about it until Sunday.

Of course I'll be saving my first noodle & paint card forever.  I also got cards from Dan, one from both B & C, one from the dog, and one from the cats.

The day was pretty mellow, I went for a run, we walked to Starbucks, laid around, and then went to a late brunch at the RB Inn.  Delicious of course, but Brody was more excited about the pony rides and animals they had outside.  He BEGGED us to go on the pony, so I had to interrupt lunch for the pony ride, in hopes of eating in peace after that.

After the pony ride he wanted to see the other animals, but I told him we had to finish eating first and we'd see them later.  Imagine his disappointment when we came outside after eating, and the animals were packed and gone.  I felt SO bad, and he was so upset.  And not in a "I'm going to throw a tantrum" kind of way.  In a really sad "I'm really bummed out Mommy" kind of way.  And that way is worse.

Lesson: spend the 5 extra minutes showing your kid the animals.  The food will be there.  And really, did I need the extra crab legs?  NO!

Chase didn't give me such a hard time.  He was cool w/ just chilling by the flowers.

Tried to get a pic of me w/ the boys, but after 6 attempts, I realized I probably won't get a good one until the boys are 5 & 7.

Not much else going on.  Dan was gone all last week for work, so I kept busy with friends and activities so the week flew by.

A few more cute shots, then that's about it for me in terms of updates.  Not too much exciting stuff tonight!

One of Brody's friends, Dana.  Don't mind her work-mans goggles.  He talks about Dana & her sister Erin all the time.  In fact, when I tell Brody we're going to "run errands" he gets mad at me when we don't end up at "erin's" house.  So we don't use the word "errands" anymore.  Even after I tried to over-enunciate the word.

Can't believe May is half over.  Maura comes to town next weekend, and we can't wait to see her!  Taking a trip out to visit a friends Clydesdale Farm - should be fun!

~g.

Kara asked me if I'd abandoned my blog...  Nope, just between being sick (myself or my family), super busy, and then tired from the business, at the end of the day blogging is the thing that doesn't get done.  But here I am, with lots of pictures to share.

Let's start of with the Chase-ster, since he's got lots going on.  He's cruising the furniture like no other, and we keep thinking today's going to be the day he lets go.  But so far, no.  But really - any day now.  He stands all the time without assistance, for several minutes:

Truly he'll be walking any day now.  In the meantime he's the fastest crawler I've ever seen.  He gets into trouble in the blink of an eye:

(Aren't those cute jammies?  Thanks Grauntie Lori!  (A Christmas present from Julie's mom.))

He's pretty much on a baby food boycott, which for the most part is nice because I can just include him in whatever dinner we're eating.  And I'm not kidding when I say he usually eats as much as me.  Seriously: for lunch the other day he had an entire half quesadilla, two (yes, two) whole kiwis, a whole string cheese, and some little cracker snacks and water.  He's certainly not starving, but with the way he screams for food, you'd think he was. 

He does have QUITE the temper.  If you walk away from him, take a toy, or he decides he's upset, watch out.  He doesn't give you any warning, he just starts screaming at the top of his lungs.  I may have to one day research how to deal with a child with a hot temper!  But I think part of it is that he can't walk and he just gives up, rather than chase after you. 

He doesn't have any words yet, but he does the voice inflection for "uh oh!"  Very funny.

We've been super busy, most of our weekends spent hanging out with friends and being outside, which are some of our favorite things, and most certainly Brody's favorite thing.  Here's some cute shots from our local park:

Today, thanks to some free Legoland tickets we got, we spent the day enjoying that park with Annie and the DiProfios.  It's a great little theme park, specially designed for little kids.

Brody had a blast riding on several different boat rides, a train, a kids roller coaster, and playing on slides and in the splash park. 

One of the coolest things about Legoland is this area where they've rebuilt some of the major U.S. landmarks & cities entirely out of legos.  Seriously - it's insane.  They go all out on details.  Here's the capitol building, and they've recreated President Obama's Inaguration day:

Every detail above is made from legos: the Capitol building, the flags hanging from it, all the people, the limos on the outside: EVERYTHING.  Remember Aretha Franklin's crazy outfit and hat?  Even that, all made out of legos.

Another one: NASCAR...

It was a really fun day with friends.

Other than that, we've just been busy.  I've been visiting local preschool's, and will be transferring Brody soon.  Not sure when or where yet.  My boss has been out at work for most of the past month and a half, so there's extra stress at work that I wasn't anticipating.  On top of that in a one week period I got food poisoning, the flu, and a head cold.  I'm better now, but poor Brody had a little stomach bug too.  He still doesn't get the "throw up over the toliet" thing, so that's always loads of fun.  We're all feeling better now, but that's just a little recap of the past month.

I can't believe it's May.  Brody is officially two and a half, Chase is ten months old, and I'm almost thirty.  How time flies!

Happy May!

~g. 

Mine does.  It's his new thing.  Yesterday we break out the paints, and we're painting for less than 3 minutes when Brody gets up and walks away.  "Uh, are you done painting Brody?" I asked.

"No, MOM.  I'm just checking on my brudder [brother], Mom.  Just checking on him."  Brody replied in a very exasperated tone.  "Oh, well excuse me.  I'm sorry.  How very considerate of you," I told him.  But he does it a lot and it cracks me up every time.

His other funny thing is the concept of time.  Everything in the past is "last night."  And everything in the future is "later, after my nap."

So I made the mistake of telling him we're going on an airplane (a trip we're taking in June).

Brody: "Later?  After my nap?"

Mommy:  "No.  Later, in two months."

Brody:  "Oh.  Two minutes?"

Mommy:  "MONTHS.  Two months."

Brody:  "Yeah, after my nap."

Mommy: "A long time from now.  When you're a bit bigger."

Brody:  "I'm already big.  Goin on an airplane after my nap, right mom?"

Hmp.  So we're working on that.

He's also big into his friends.  And everyone is his friend.  I told him Grandpa (my dad) has a boat we're going to go on.  Later he told me "My friend Grandpa has a boat, mom."  He did the same thing with a toy he got from Dan's brother.  "My friend Uncle Jeff gave me this, right mom?"  Very cute.

Anyway, picture time...

First, I had mentioned I was running a 5K.  I did!  My girlfriends & I ran the whole thing, and we are very proud of ourselves.  Here's a shot right after the race:
Easter bunny visits... we met the Easter bunny at a special Costco event.  I know, not where most people meet the bunny, but it was free and the boys don't care where they meet him...  Brody was a little scared until Chase sat on Bunny's lap, then Brody yelled "MY TURN!"  Chase could have cared less about the bunny, and just wanted to touch his face.
This weekend Brody started soccer class.  He had done it last year when he was a year-and-a-half, and this year was so much better.  Now that he can follow more directions and gets more complicated concepts, it was really fun. 
He had a good time and did really well.  Go Thumpers!  (His team.)

For Easter day we kept it mellow.  I got food poisoning Saturday night, so I was tired.  So we woke up to see what the bunny brought us.  Brody had a Dora the Explorer DVD, some candy, books, chalk, coloring book, and stickers.  Chase had a stuffed cow puppet, book, and candy which I think the bunny meant for Daddy. 
Chase really likes Peeps.

That afternoon we went over to Erika's parents for brunch.  It was so nice of the Link's to have us over, and we had a delicious brunch and fun time relaxing outside.  The bunny even hid some eggs for the kids.
A fun day!

Not much else to report.  We are still battling the never-ending cold virus here.  It just keeps getting passed from one of us to another, and right now it's with me.  Honestly, I've been sick since October.  I'm SO over this!

A few more cute shots...  Brody LOVES Monday nights.  Why?  It's garbage night!  He's so big into helping right now.  It's really cool, and the best part is, he actually does help!  He finds all the socks in the laundry, puts away the bibs, cleans up stuff, watches Chase, and helps Daddy every Monday night collect the garbage throughout the house, then they both bring it to the curb:
It's a big deal for him and he's obviously very proud of himself.  And so are we.

Chase is getting teeth #5 & 6 in right now (on the top), and poor kid is miserable, not to mention he too has a head-cold.  But as usual, what makes him happy?  FOOD!  Thanks to Nana Joanne, he has a new favorite: cold bagels!  He LOVES them.
He's started cruising around the furniture too, so I'm sure it won't be long before he's taking those first baby steps.  Can't wait!  He's doing great with solid foods, and we haven't found a thing he doesn't like.

So, per the usual, my boys are the cutest.
(Matching jammies, a Christmas present from the Trecker family.)

Hope everyone had a good Easter!
~g.