Last Trip before Baby/Meeting Baby Titus

Matt had a conference for work a few days last week, and I wanted Miles to get a chance to celebrate his birthday with my family, so we decided to take one more short trip to St. Louis before the next little one makes an appearance. Brooke was really excited that Matt's not being there meant that she got to sleep in bed with me. A little too excited. Pretty sure I took this picture around 10:30 our first night.

We stayed with my parents the first night, and Tim and Krissi the next two. I love these four together so much. (Don't mind Brooke's toplessness.)

Of course there was lots of dressing up and playing "Frozen." The problem is that Brooke really throws herself into her role, so several times we went to break up what we thought was a fight, but was actually just the girls being Anna and Elsa. It was good to see them channeling their drama into something productive.

Uncle Joel was on spring break, so we got to see a lot of him this visit, which was great. One day we went to the zoo. I think I'd be there once a week if we lived in St. Louis.

This was one of Miles' favorite "exhibits". The little guy loves his "beep beeps".

We sent the two guys on the carousel with all four kids. Ha!

It was chilly that day, but we still had a lot of fun.

We also spent a morning at the St. Louis Science Center. Yet another free, kid-friendly, St. Louis attraction. Most of the exhibits were geared toward kids a little older, but we stayed busy. Miles loved the overpass where he was able to watch cars on the highway passing underneath us.

Digging for dinosaur bones.

On Wednesday, we headed up to Amy's to meet the new baby. In retrospect, 5+ hours in the car, alone with the kids, at 36 weeks pregnant wasn't the best decision, but I'm still really glad we did it. For the ride to Amy's, Tim and Krissi took the girls (guess what movie they're watching?) and I took the boys, who both slept. Woohoo!

Lunch at Blake and Amy's.

Holding Baby Titus. Brooke was so distracted with playing with Mati's toys that I think she forgot about the baby.

Sweet Lukie.

And Miles was quite taken with the baby. He stood there watching him for awhile. He's actually been really into babies lately, which I would like to think bodes well for our upcoming new addition. However, when I ask Miles where Mommy's baby is, he point to himself and says, "Me baby!" Stay tuned...

We're officially home now for at least the next couple of months and I have to say, it feels pretty good.

Frozen Party

My good friend Jen's daughter, Grace, has seen the "Frozen" movie as many, if not more times, than Brooke, so Jen decided to do a small "Frozen" themed-party for a few of Grace's friends. Brooke had been looking forward to this party from the moment I told her about it and it did not disappoint! To begin the party, the kids had to dig in the ice using tools, salt and warm water to retrieve "treasures." I will certainly be using this activity at our house when the weather warms up.

Then, we went downstairs for a "Frozen"-themed obstacle course (did I mention Jen's also an OT? Love it.). Here are the kids in their "snow shoes" about to jump over the mound of snow.

We then went upstairs to her amazingly decorated table (she had decorated it for another event and it parlayed nicely into the party) for some lunch.

Then, on to "Pin the Nose on Olaf".

And finally, a little dancing to the annoyingly infectious soundtrack, complete with Elsa scarves.

The gang, minus Miles. (Brooke's weird smile is because she was worried we weren't going to find her Anna figurine and she didn't want to be bothered with a photo op while searching for it.)

 

It was a blast. Brooke's only complaint was that the other kids weren't really game to "play Frozen" like she and I do at home. Not to worry, she got plenty of that in when we got to St. Louis later that day...

March So Far

Thankfully, we've all been pretty healthy this winter, but March started out with Matt and Brooke both having a fever/achy/chill bug. Brooke actually wanted to stay home from school AND took a nap, so I knew she wasn't crying wolf. It only lasted about 24 hours, luckily.

Miles has been really into playing with the train that he got for Christmas (finally!). We're working with him to learn that when the train tips over, he can put it upright himself without needing someone bigger to help. A new game that he plays with the train is pretending that the toy lizards that Grammie Deb and Grandpa Brian brought back from Florida are either attacking or riding on the train, depending on the day.

He's also been really into books lately, although he likes to fly through the pages rather than actually having the words read to him. He's often carrying a book around the house or to the car.

And he's really into sunglasses. Uncle Mike brought him a pair of his own, but he still seems drawn to Brooke's fun, sparkly sunglasses. Can you blame him?

We stopped by and got to see Aunt Jamie and Will's new place. Maybe next time we're there they'll be a little happier.

They usually play well together at bath time. There's not much better than hearing them make each other laugh.

Miles is learning to master the selfie. He managed to get an inadvertent photo bomb from Scott in this one.

Miles is becoming more interested in coloring and pseudo-crafty things, which has been a nice way to kill a little time as winter drags on.

Brooke has gotten really good at coloring thoroughly within the lines. She's also learned to draw hearts. Her interest in letters fluctuates, so I'm not pushing it.

Fun times at the Bordners. They were all dancing to a singing Mickey doll here.

They all got quiet in the other room so we went to check on them and found 3 of the 4 of them spinning in this chair. (Notice the bump on Miles' head. He's had a rough few days of spills capped by a fall from the roller coaster in our basement that left him with a nasty goose egg.)

Brooke never especially got into dressing up when it seemed that most of her friends were, but she's making up for that now. Most days during rest time she'll come down with an outfit on, complete with "accessories" - a word she learned a week or so ago that she likes to use often.

I didn't realize she had makeup in her room until she came down with her "makeup done". At least it wasn't all over her walls or furniture.

Before I forget, a favorite new game of hers is playing "Frozen". She's seen it 4 times and we have the soundtrack, so she knows what she's doing. She'll have me be Elsa and she'll be Anna and we'll sing an entire song, complete with parts and dialogue as appropriate. It's a combination of entertaining and exhausting. One of these days I'm going to capture both kids belting "Let It Go" in the backseat. Right now, they stop when they see me pull out the camera/phone.Hopefully the next post will have some pictures of us outdoors. A girl can dream!

Papa and Grandma Visit

My dad had some unexpected time off, so my parents came up for a couple of days this past week.

We went to the Children's Museum on Monday. It was another pretty quiet day there, so the kids were able to do pretty much any activity they wanted.

They were too engaged to pose for pictures.

My dad  also got a couple of shots of me with each of the kids.

And of course we got lots of play time in at the house. My parents were able to watch the kids for us on Monday night when we went to community group with church, and then again watched Miles on Tuesday morning so I could have some time for myself. It was a nice bonus in addition to getting to see them. Thanks, again! We love you!

"Soccer's Not My Thing"

When I told Brooke this past Monday that it was her last day of soccer, she said enthusiastically, "Yes!" Then thoughtfully, "Soccer's not my thing."

To her defense, she always went willingly to "practice" and seemed happy to do the exercises with her group. She also legitimately seemed to learn a few things, like trapping the ball (even though she misses it about half the time) and passing the ball behind her. Granted, she ran with the ball in her hands about 50% of the time - but she's 4.

Based on her performance at Soccer Shots, she's going to be like her mom - much more interested in the social aspect of sports than the competition. Classic example: during the scrimmage that they played, she stood about 20 feet from where the ball was with her arms out, guarding a boy. Then when the ball came near her, she stepped out of the way to avoid having to touch it. I think we'll take a break from soccer for awhile.

Bye-bye, Kaner

I've been talking for awhile now about how Miles was due for a "proper" haircut. We've also gotten a few passive-aggressive comments about the length of his hair. We were nowhere near mullet status (although our friend Scott called him "Kaner" after the mulletted Blackhawks player). Matt, not one to care what others think, was less than enthusiastic about cutting off his curls. To his defense, when it curls, it really doesn't look too long. Dry winter days don't lend themselves well to naturally curly hair, though, so I finally put my foot down.

I've given him a few trims, but wasn't comfortable with a legit haircut, so we decided to spring for having his first cut at Kidsnips. Brooke also had her first (and only) haircut there. It was crazy how much she remembered about the place. She told Miles he'd get to sit in a car, pick out a movie and eat a lollipop. She had him at lollipop. I emphasized to the stylist that we wanted to keep some of the curls and that the clippers weren't necessary. Thankfully, she listened. He did great and it took less than 10 minutes. Well worth $25, right? In all fairness, at the rate our kids' hair grows, that should average out to about $12.50/year.

I forgot to take an "after" pic, so I did the classy thing and took a picture of the picture that they took. He looks quite distinguished, don't you think?