Moms and Kids weekend

So last weekend was the annual Bros and Dads weekend up at the cottage.

I heard it was a pretty great time, but have not been privvy to any photos to share with you here.

(if anyone wants to send me some...hint hint!)

Regardless, while the guys were watching basketball and drinking beers, James and I went to Mequon to spend some time with Lisa, Thomas, Josiah and Grammy. We had a great time playing together. 

Thomas and Jojo dyed Easter Eggs - Jojo was dancing in this photo - after the egg went into the pink dye he did a little jazz hand jig!

James was sleeping during the dying - but we still let him take a look!

All three boys lined up with the eggs.

At this point Thomas had found the stickers and was working on sticking them all over his face :)

James and Josiah playing the piano with Grammy.

Lisa played with James any chance she got, but if Jojo was awake it didn't last too long. He was less than pleased to share his mommy and would back his little tush into her lap too. Very cute :)

Story time before bed. 

I think this was probably one of Grammy's favorite parts of the weekend. 

Jammies all around and plenty of snuggles!

Thomas was so sweet to James - both boys are excited to play with him, but Thomas is extra gentle and makes sure to tell everyone how nice he is and how much he loves James :)

Our three bunnies!

And of course a few outtakes ... the big boys had jelly beans to get them to sit still... you can see Jojo chewing in the picture above! I am pretty sure the beans were gone in the photos below!



Happy Easter!

Bringing sexy back!

Just a few funnies from James - the first is a video from last weekend - he is getting good at having a spitting "conversation" with you. You spit, I spit, you spit, I spit... Unfortunately since my face is closer to the phone, you can hear my spits much better than his (lovely, I know!) But if you turn up the volume you can hear him, or just know that everytime he does the duck lips, he is spitting a response :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdZbEU6A9Bo

Then these two photos were from last night.  We are still swaddling him for most naps - still amazed that he can fall asleep in the middle of the family room with us walking around and the TV on - but he does!

These photos were after he woke up. 

He loves the wrapped up feeling but was clearly trying to get out of the swaddle!

It might be hard to see - but he does have a shirt on - just trying to bring those sexy 80's styles back!

Kids Expo

Last weekend we took the Landon and Elise to the Kid's Expo. We thought it would be fun for all of us and would give Eric and Tara some time to do other things with Allie.  We picked the kids up after a birthday party in town and headed to the Expo.  They kept talking about it saying we were going to the "Kids Expo" but didn't really know what an EXPO was.  I told them even though I had never been, it was hands down the best kind of expo there ever was!

Once we got there we ended up splitting up - there were some great bounce mazes/ slides/ etc. that were 6 years and older. Patrick and Landon headed that way while Elise James and I went to see what else the expo had to offer.

Landon had a great time in the bouncy stuff!

 Elise and I found some purple drink samples and a bouncy house that did not have age restrictions!

There were also some face cut outs ... this one is my favorite!

James was happy to be in the stroller and taking it all in.  It was so noisy in there I kept having to check and make sure it wasn't him crying! (It never was, all 3 of the kids were so good!)

James got to try on some big sunglasses --- he didn't think it was as funny as we did :)

We got to see some cool animals, play some ring toss games, break balloons with a karate chop, and see some great Irish dancers.  Overall - pretty great afternoon!

And hands down, my favorite picture of the day!



St. Patrick's Day festivities

Saturday night we went to the 5100 club with our neighbors to celebrate Andy's 30th birthday. It was a surprise and didn't start til 9:30 - so Patrick and I decided to take James along so we could both go. 

He did great and was happy to be passed around a bit - you can see his tiny little face in this photo - snuggled up with Andy's dad!

He tried so hard to stay awake to take it all in!

Patrick and I at the bar --- we have a similar photo from a few years ago --- if I am remembering correctly, we don't look that much different!

Here are a bunch of the neighbors celebrating... I should have gone up front :)

Sunday morning!

Sunday morning we slept in a bit and then prepared for the St. Patrick's day activities!

Patrick and James in their "IRISH" gear

Uncle Eric brought James a St. Patty's day hat that used to be Landon's.  Thanks for sharing!

Patrick, Jeff and Eric - ready to brave the cold to run the Shamrock Shuffle!

I changed James into his overalls and green clothes --- he is still such a hot box - overalls and the car seat DO NOT mix - too sweaty!

So I opted to have him wear them on a day we weren't going any where.

He did still spend part of the afternoon in just the onesie :)

PS - the second photo is why the bumbos now have seatbelts! No worries, he was on the ground and isn't actually that close to wiggling out - there is still a lot of diaper holding him in!

Post race - Patrick and I enjoyed a delicious/ fresh Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner - I loved how colorful the plate was so I took a picture! The grocery store was out of cabbage on Sunday morning, so I bought chopped brussel sprouts and mixed it with fresh chopped spinach - it was great!

Hope your St. Patty's day was great - whether you are irish or not :)

That Bucky is SOOOO funny!

Well, actually I think Patrick is what makes Bucky funny --- but James sure seems to like it!

For some reason the video clip is not dropping in right, but hopefully the link will take you there. It is worth it to hear some cute baby giggles!

http://youtu.be/EMKgxpA7Tb0

Hope you are having a great day, and if you aren't, just watch the video again!

Ladies man

James is getting better at sitting on his own, so last night in the tub I moved him to the "deep-end" so he could sit up. He thought he was pretty cool!

Lazy Sunday

We spent most of our rainy Sunday in Mt. Horeb with the Ellestad family.  It was great to just hang out and relax with the kids and spend some more snuggle time with Allie :)

Even though Landon and Elise have a new baby sister - they were still plenty interested in James!

Here are all four kids lined up in age/size order.

Initially we told Landon to lay on the left side next to Allie, to which he pointed out he belonged on the right. Such a smart kid!

And here is Miss Allie, up close and personal!

She loves to be snuggled and really didn't open her eyes if she was cuddled up in someone's arms.

We were excited to see her pretty eyes, even just for a few minutes!

And lastly, a cute picture of James.

I was planning a quick photoshoot with his "Dean" shirt to show some work friends...

this was the first (and only) photo!

Well done sir :)

Off to day care!

James started day care this week --- and is doing great!

Patrick and I were both so fortunate to be able to stay home with James for as long as we did.

Hopefully we are through the worst of the cold and flu season so hanging out with other kids each day won't be anything but fun for James!

Here is out little man, ready for his first day!

And here are two pics Kelly sent us during the day.

Always nice to see a happy smiley face while at work!

Loving the excer-saucer - real men play in pink :)

More Cousin Time!

Last weekend Patrick and I met Jeff and Jenny for wings, beer and Die Hard while James got to spend some time with his cousins, Claire and Jack.

Amy and John took a few pictures - I think they all had a good time!

This one cracks me up --- :)

Claire helped feed James and change him. 

She was born a little momma so I know he was in extra good hands.

Jack got in on the feeding too!

Even though the age difference seems big now, these boys are just over a year apart.

 I am sure they will have tons of fun together as they grow up!

Thanks again to the Conlons for babysitting - we had a great time at BW3s and even though the movie was not nearly as good as the first three (or even the 4th, which wasn't that good either) it was still fun to go out and watch John McClane kick some butt :)

Spoon or Weapon?

Don't really need to say anything other than the title of the post!

The video does also explain the messy shirt in the other video below!

Silly faces and noises

So lately James has started to make spitting noises and a silly face along with it.  We have been trying to catch a picture of it - but no luck yet.  Last night after a messy cereal dinner he was doing it - so I videotaped it to be sure and catch it.  Enjoy!

Also, just to be clear - he was wearing a bib when we fed him, the leftovers down his shirt some how got under the bib.  This kid is going to need a raincoat when we start veggies and fruit!

Happy Birthday!

We celebrated TJ's 4th birthday and Patrick's 31st birthday in Kalamazoo last weekend.

James, our hungry little badger, was ready to party!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Lisa made an awesome Lego cake :)

Great family photo before singing to the birthday boys!

Thomas is getting really strong lungs - this year double the candles ---

4 for him of course and then 4 more (3 and 1) for Patrick.

The cake was delicious and colorful :)

Thomas got a trampoline for his birthday - the perfect gift for a little boy with lots of energy!

Here are the guys putting it together. Thomas got out his tools too.

 And the happy boy bouncing away! We realized very quickly that the netting was a terrific idea!

Happy Birthday to both Thomas and Patrick!