Kase is TWO!

Over the weekend, we celebrated my littlest buddy's birthday. He saw me frosting his cake on Saturday morning and kept saying, "It's my BIRTH-day! Daddy, look it? It's MY birthday cake!" as he grabbed Kent's finger and pulled him over to look at the cake.

I have so much to say about my bulldozer-built, soft-spoken youngest child.  His tough guy, strong man build is often what gets him noticed, especially at our park where he scales the climbing wall with ease.  Neighbors have already started asking Kent to coach with him in future years, hoping to secure their son's spot on a team with Kase, commenting on his "D1 linebacker build."

And while Kase has often been caught stealing food right off your plate if you're not looking, he's also the first one to give you a big hug and apologize.  He talks a lot for a two year old boy, but he also thinks hard about what he says and really makes his words count., then speaks them in the sweetest voice.  His sense of humor and infectious laugh often light up my day. And the cheeks.  Those cheeks! He's still got 'em.

We had a great day celebrating on Sunday. He opened presents right away in the morning and especially loved the fish tank we got him! The kids named the three fish Bengal (it's orange and black), Sunshine (it's yellow), and Green (which is actually blue, but Kase's favorite color is green, and when I asked him what he wanted to call the blue one, he said, "Green!")  Kylee actually had a friend's birthday party at the zoo, so we decided to head out there as a family and walk around the zoo while she was at her party.  Kase loved seeing (most) of the animals.  He isn't the bravest kid so he wasn't very excited about some of the things like snakes.  He did love seeing the goats, which he called reindeer.  When we got back, my parents stopped by to help us sing to him and share some cake.  It was a great day.

These two were so proud to help me with the cake!

He may look like a bruiser, but he doesn't often act like one. You should have seen how slowly and carefully he opened each gift!

Carousel ride at the zoo. 

"I'll hold his hand, Mom.  So he doesn't fall." 

'Dozers! Backhoe! Dump truck! Kase's faves.

YUM!

Happy birthday, Kase! We love you!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful my mom was willing to watch Kase last week for a bit so I could shop.  I had called her earlier in the day grumping about how I didn't have any gifts for the kids yet and no time to shop.  She graciously offered to keep Kase for the morning so I could get some stuff done.  Mom to the rescue!

I'm thankful Kent wasn't too upset with me when I accidentally let Kase stuff a few quarters in my car's DVD player. As it turns out, this will not be an easy or inexpensive fix.  Ugh.

I'm thankful I got the kids into the swimming lesson session I was hoping for.  Seriously, you guys.  Swimming lesson registration is cut throat around these parts.

I'm thankful for the pictures I came across that should have gone with previous posts but I'm adding them now so I don't forget.

Short and sweet today.  I've got some birthday prep to do!

Happy Thursday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

You guys know the drill by now, so let's just get to it.  A few stories and lots of pictures from our fun-filled Easter and birthday weekend!

Friday was so lovely.  I am the luckiest girl- seriously.  Neighbors, friends and family showered me with birthday gifts, texts, calls all day long.  It was a beautiful day out so while the kids were at school, Kaser and I (and baby Reid!) spent some time at the park. Kase couldn't have been happier finding these tiny pinecones and throwing them into the pond.  My dad stopped by during the day and brought me lunch and later that evening our little family of five went out for dinner at a new restaurant in town.  When we got home, it was still so nice out so we spent the remainder of the evening playing at the park. 

Saturday was this cutie's birthday!

Saturday morning we went to Mill Pond (where my grandma lives) to do the Easter Egg Hunt there. She was thrilled to have us visit and the kids came away with an unbelievable amount of candy and snacks.

Saturday afternoon/evening we spent in Collins celebrating all the April birthdays with Kent's side of the family.  We had the nicest time enjoying the beautiful weather on their patio. The kids, of course, were thrilled with all their gifts and I enjoyed catching up with everyone.

Boys in blue. 

The crew!

When you're a gymnast and there's open green space...cartwheels are a must!

Cupcake Kate! She made the best cupcakes (orange- Kael's favorite color, Oreo- to die for, and chocolate- yum!!) 

How pleased was I that we got all seven kids to look at the camera? Clearly, Kael was as excited as I was!!

Sunday morning was so fun.  The kids were excited about the things the Easter Bunny had left for them.

What a difference a year makes! (2014 above and 2013 below)

Back to the present...

So ornery.  Poor kid doesn't realize what's about to hit him- he thinks he's being so sneaky trying to eat a black jelly bean and looks at me like, "I'm going to eat this!" and I give him a nod like, "Go ahead..." You should have seen the look on his face as he tried to spit it out!

 Love these three with all my heart. 

Sunday after church we went to my mom and dad's house.  My grandparents and one of my sisters and her family were all able to be there which was just so fun.  The food was amazing, the Easter egg hunt was epic and the weather was beautiful. A perfect day all around.

Check out Kael's flashy new shoes! Thanks, Kevin!

So, the story behind this GIANT bunny is that Kylee and my mom were shopping together a few weeks ago and she begged and begged and begged my mom to buy it for her.  She didn't.  But my mom and I went back and forth, "Should we get it for her? Is a 3 foot tall chocolate bunny just too much? Should the Easter bunny bring it? Should Grandma give it to her?" Ultimately, Kylee was beyond thrilled when she opened it at Grandma's house.  I have yet to decide how we're going to tackle this thing- Kylee is more than willing to share with her brothers but I'm still not sure how much of it I'm actually going to allow them to eat.  Are you dying?! Have you ever seen a chocolate bunny like this?!

This picture kills me for a couple reasons.  First of all, this is Kase's first year to participate in our Annual Egg-Cracking Contest.  Kent was trying to show him how to tap the eggs together but all Kase could understand was that he was supposed to actually hit the egg.  Like, with his hand.  So he kept smacking Kent's egg and we were all dying.  The second reason I love this pictures is because of my nephew in the background.  We spent the better part of the day trying to keep the kids out of the birdbath water.  

Supermom! Mandy defeats Kylee with a toddler in her arms!

The championship- although this is the first year we've ever had some uncertainty about who the real winner was.  My dad's egg had one of those shrink-wrap things around it, thus fortifying it a little bit from cracking.  His egg beat Mandy's egg, but in the end, when Mandy picked a new (also shrink-wrapped) egg, that egg defeated my dad's egg.  They're both winners, in my book!

Sunday afternoon it was warm enough to get out Kael's new slip and slide. Kent's parents also stopped by so we enjoyed some park time with them.  I'm looking forward to another busy week as we prepare for the last of the April birthdays.  I can't believe Kase will be two!

Have a good week, guys!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that Monday was the last snowfall of the season. Right? I hope.

I'm thankful the kids have been sleeping in.  As the weather warms and outside time increases, I'm thankful to tuck tired bodies into their beds each night.

I'm thankful that the birthday fun continues this weekend! Looking forward to celebrating with Kent's family this weekend.

I'm thankful River Monsters is back on TV...not. If Jeremy Wade would have blamed any more deaths on a catfish in the Amazon I threatened to delete it from the DVR. Lucky he caught an eel this time and River Monsters survives another week on our DVR.

I'm thankful for Easter cookies delivered by some sweet neighbors.

I'm thankful our summer calendar is staring to fill up with fun plans and camps for the kids.

I'm thankful for my new throw pillows. Except when I try to explain to Kase that he's not actually supposed to throw the throw pillows. *sigh*

I'm thankful that Kent has an 8:00-5:00, Monday-Friday type job. Anymore, it seems like those kind of hours are hard to come by and I try not to take it for granted and I'm so thankful for the lifestyle it affords for us. By that I don't mean fancy things and huge vacations, but I mean being able to hang out as a family every night from 5:15 until the kids' bed time and all weekend. Together. Us five. I love it.

I'm thankful that Cindy got to watch Kylee's gymnastics practice yesterday.  After years of sitting through baseball games, football games and wrestling meets, I think she had fun watching Kylee do her thing at gymnastics.

I'm thankful for some sweet advice from Kael.  The other night he was wanting to teach me how to power slide on Mario Kart so I promised I'd let him show me after I finished putting away some dishes and getting dinner ready.  He told me, "You know, Mom, sometimes you have to stop doing Mom stuff and just have fun."  You betcha, buddy!

I'm thankful my lemon seeds have sprouted! I planted some in a mug on my desk a few weeks ago and up until a few days ago I saw no signs of life.  But now, green stems are starting to pop through the soil and it makes me anxious to plant our pumpkin seeds outside soon{ish}!

I'm thankful that I get to attend an Art Show tonight- a piece of Kylee's art was selected so tonight we get to go to the Art Center and see her work! What an honor for her!

I'm thankful for some fun girl/neighbor time at the Garden Tea Party last weekend. 

I'm thankful for a sweet friend for Kylee.

I'm thankful for my boys' haircuts for two reasons.  1. I was fully prepared for an all-out battle with Kase to sit still but he did awesome. 2. Kael has not wanted to get a haircut for a very long time and I was happy he finally agreed to a trim.  I'm completely fine with him having an opinion on how to wear his hair, but I just wanted it shaped up a bit.

I'm thankful that because I'm a stay at home mom, sometimes Kase eats ice cream cones for lunch.  

I'm thankful for family traditions like dyeing Easter eggs. Kase was so excited this year to dip his eggs in the dye. He proudly showed off his eggs and his dyed fingers. Kylee and Kael were happy with their eggs too!

I'm thankful for some brotherly love.

I'm thankful for this hilarious helmet that Kase tried on. 

I'm thankful that I found Kase from such a tricky hiding spot.

I'm thankful for construction season.  Kase seriously loves his 'dozers.

I'm thankful for this hilarious picture. 

Happy Thursday, all!