It's FINALLY Spring!

On Saturday we went downtown to cheer on the Crazyleg runners. It was sort of weird to have Patrick cheering next to me vs. running, but he was great at spotting people in the crowd!

James was ready for the sun, but it was pretty cloudy.

Instead, he sported the mad scientist look with his shades :)

 Sunday was gorgeous and we enjoyed doing some work in the yard.

Those little bare feet were so happy to be free!

And with the warm weather came the need to rip all the plastic off the windows and let the fresh air in. 

In James' room this included opening the curtains, raising the shade and ripping off the plastic that had all hidden the window from sight for the past 5 months...

If I could make a little thought bubble for James and this photo it would say, "no way! how come no one told me there was a window in my room!" Such a happy boy!

And here is a quick video of James "walking". he is finally tall enough to reach the ground and with shoes and a hard surface... he is on the move!

http://youtu.be/INsmbs-kd40

Wisconsin Badger #44

Last weekend after the spring game we went to the Great Dane - Hilldale for dinner. Apparently we were not the only ones that had that idea! But the boys were good and we were hungry so we stayed and waited for a table. While we were waiting, the guys noticed Chris Borland walk in with his family. 

Back story --- a couple years ago when Chris Borland joined the Badgers he chose the #44 to wear on the field. As the season went on, Borlad proved to be a pretty great Badger and we were pumped that he was sporting Patrick's number. Our hope was that he would continue to excel and Bucky's locker room would create #44 jersey's!

Back to the present --- Since James was wearing his homemade 44 jersey we decided we should go up and meet the latest #44 in the flesh. 

He was very nice and happy to hold James for a picture. 

 I am not 100% sure I explained very well that my husband was the ultimate #44 back in the day,

but either way - it was cute :)

John, James ... Jingleheimer Schmidt!

Last weekend Andy, Beth and John came to visit and attend the spring game. It had been a couple of months since the boys had been together so we were pumped to see them interact. They did not disappoint!

Everyone was so happy to see the sunshine, we took the boys down to State Street to do some window shopping before the game.

We enjoyed the spring game from the comfort of the Varsity club - perfect for babies :) and we were very excited that the boy's jerseys still fit!

Every photo taken started with us saying, "John!" "James!" "Smile!" So as you can see from the title of this post... It became a song!

And it would not be a Ulrich/ellestad weekend without the big boys initiating some "baby fights" :)

These pictures crack me up, Patrick did a great job of getting some action shots, because I am pretty sure they weren't actually fighting! Also just to be clear, Johnny has a blocked tear duct... So those aren't real tears!

Despite the fact that we Ellestads were all battling colds, it was a great weekend!

Can't wait to get together again soon

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Football Buddies

Last weekend we had brunch with some of Patrick's football buddies and their families. 

These guys used to meet monthly for happy hour and talk football for hours...

(well actually, I am only assuming since it was typically a guys-only event!)

Boy how things have changed! Each one of the guys now has a little guy of their own and their monthly meetings have now become family time!

Here are the 3 boys - all about 7 months apart

The boys are starting to interact more together - and James felt right at home and laid down for his nap in the middle of their family room while we ate!

He also got to try out some big boy toys!

The company and food are always wonderful so I don't think the guys are too upset that their gatherings have changed and doubled in size. We are certainly enjoying watching these little guys grow up together and often joke about them playing together at Camp Randall some day!

And if James goes a different route and chooses to spend his saturdays in  the stands vs. on the field...

we are prepping for that too!

(thanks Grammy for the photo!)

Spring football practice

This past weekend Patrick, James and I went to check out Coach Anderson's Badgers during the first open practice of the year. The weather wasn't ideal, but we came prepared and had a great time.

James has a lot of Bucky clothes and they are only going to fit for so long... So we (well, lets be honest... I) I decked him out from head to toe. I joked that it looked like Bucky threw up on James!

But he was cute, and he was warm :)

At the stadium we added mittens and a blanket and he was set.

Patrick and James were checking out the talent...

James is already really into the game as you can see below!

Here's hoping the spring game is a little warmer with a lot more sunshine!

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James is 6 months!

James is now 6 months (and some change) and doing great!
He is about 17.5 pounds and 27 inches long.

 He is working on sitting on his own and is getting pretty good at rebalancing when he starts to tip.He loves to stand and if we hold him under the armpits, will happily walk across the room. At this point we think he might learn to walk before he crawls!  

We are trying all sorts of new homemade foods and so far he will eat just about anything (broccoli, carrots, spinach, green beans, bananas, blueberries, mango, etc.)

Since he was born we have been taking pictures of him with some animals that sit on the bookshelf in his room. We have been waiting for the day that James can also sit on the shelf and it is finally here!

Our thought initially was that he would blend in with the animals, especially with the lamby hat, but he is getting so big, you really can't miss him!

Elf James on the Shelf!

Spring is finally here... sort of

We kicked off April with a Brewers win on opening day (woohoo!) so Patrick and I decided to fire up the grill and have a post game tailgate of our own to celebrate!

We did not go to the game or even hear much of it - but baseball season is here which means the warm weather and sunshine has to be close!

We had a great dinner and even toasted Lucroy with some Miller products! 

The warmer weather also means outside runs for Patrick...and James! 

Patrick says this stroller is like a Cadillac and James seems to really enjoy the smooth ride and the views!

Such a happy boy!

 Just wait until he can be out there in shorts and a t-shirt and a baseball cap of his own...

this little hot box is going to be in heaven!

Here's hoping we hit 50 degrees by the weekend :)

Easter!

Here is our little lamb after church on Sunday!

He is REALLY excited about Easter and the fact that he can sit up by himself :)

We spent Sunday afternoon in Fond du Lac with the Ellestad family.

Despite the non-Easter weather, we had a great time!

Here are the big kids waiting for the countdown for the Easter egg hunt!

 Jack was more interested in the bike than the hunt :)

Back inside there were more eggs to be found...

and lots of playtime!

Elise got some dress up clothes from the Conlon's for her birthday - the girls spent most of their time in the bathroom perfecting their look!

And below are some cute cousin pics.

Claire and Elise, check out their fancy finger nails!

Elise and James



This was supposed to be a "boys" picture - but Jack was not interested... Landon and James don't seem to notice Jack is facing the wrong way!

And here are all 6 cousins --- Patrick and I noticed it slightly resembles this famous painting below with the "V" between the two in the middle.  I guess it is fitting as we celebrate Easter!

And last but not least, we were the last ones to go home on Sunday so James got a little

extra Grandma and Grandpa time!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend with family and friends and here's hoping that spring is just around the corner!

Bros and Dads weekend!

I got a few pictures from the guys weekend --- it looks like they had a great time together! For those of you that don't remember last March - it was MUCH WARMER in 2012 --- here is a link to Lisa's blog and the fun the boys had in the 70-80 degree weather!

As you can see, it was much colder and snowier this year - but they made the most of it, even creating a huge snowman. I believe it was mostly to hold beer cans to shoot at - but still fun! They also brought out the trick skis (normally used in the summer on the water) and went skiing behind a 4 wheeler. I have seen a video, but it was a little too long to email!

And every year the guys manage to pile all of their used beer cans/bottles in/on one of Lindy's antiques.

It is always interesting to see what they choose!