Grandpa’s Birthday

We had a little birthday party at our house for Grandpa Tom, but Noah stole the show with this fancy foot tricks…

Fun At The Shrine Circus

We decided to go ahead and try taking Alexis to the Circus. I had no idea whether she would actually sit down and watch anything, but we got her ticket for free so why not. It was a rainy day, so it was perfect to spend the day inside. Noah stayed at home with Grandma Rose and slept most of the time.

I don’t think she knew what to think at first, but once the lights went out an all the toys lit up the room, she was a bit mesmerized.

My plan was to go without a light up toy for the first half and then get her one at intermission, hoping if her attention span was getting short, it would be something new. It worked! So after we let her pick out a toy, we went and saw Grandpa and Cousin Cole, who were working the concession stand.

We got us all a couple snacks while we were down there too… some nachos and hotdogs for mom & dad and one of those giant pickles. Alexis took a bite and actually liked it! Once the show started again and the lights turned of, she joined all the other kids in waving her light-up wand in the air. She knew exactly what to do without us showing her how.

And then the animals started coming out again. She was extremely excited about the sheep dogs that ran around in circles and down a see-through tube slide. Then the elephants did their thing. Pretty impressive!

She was so impressed, we took her down below to see them a little closer as people took a ride (a very expensive ride).

By then, it was time for a nap. She fell asleep in the car before we were able to get home.

One Word: Exhausted!

It was time to paint the house and we started with a fresh slate… But the color we picked made some people uncomfortable. A little on the dark side, yes, but we knew we had to be bold to stand apart from the houses in the neighborhood. So we started early on Saturday morning.

With paint brushes and rollers in hand, nine people (and Alexis) tackled the house. We had beautiful weather! Some were up high…

Others worked down low.

And Alexis & Noah did some entertaining…

By the end of the day Sunday, the whole house was covered at least once and we were more than half done with the second coat. Once that’s finished, we’ll start on the trim… it’s virtually the same color as the windows.

We can’t thank our family enough for all the help!!!!

Thanks, Mom, Dad, Tom, Rose, Brent, Carissa, & Kris!

The areas that aren’t sided on the front of the house and garages are getting stonework. I’m putting that on order Monday and our contractor will install once it comes in. Then he’ll put in the driveway & sidewalk, grade the land so we can landscape, install gutters, air conditioner and that should be about it! As you can imagine… WE CAN’T WAIT!

Uncle Brent Is Home!

It took a little longer than we’d hoped but Brent finally got home the week after Easter.

Alexis made a beautiful little sign to welcome Uncle Brent home and it was quite a hit!

All the airmen were welcomed home by a flag brigade that included public figures from around Sioux Falls. The guys were going to be the final flight of the 114th to arrive back home, but the first flight ended up getting delayed so Brent was among some of the first ones to return home from their extended rotation.

Guess Who’s Home!!!

This is the sign Alexis made to welcome home Uncle Brent. He was scheduled to fly into the Sioux Falls Airport at 11:20 this morning!

He was originally supposed to come in on Easter Sunday, which got moved to the Friday before & then pushed back to the following Tuesday. Then, one more change moved his arrival to today. So, as you can imagine, we’re very excited to have him home… finally!

More photos to come!

Hoppy Easter!

Alexis woke up not knowing what the day was all about.  We hadn’t really talked much about Easter, the meaning behind it or what she’d be doing.  Let’s face it… she’s 22 months old!

So, I took her on a walk around the house and we searched in nooks & crannies… I’m sure she thought I was out of my mind.  But when she looked past the shower curtain in her bathroom… she seemed to figure out exactly what she had been looking for.

 

In her basket, she found a few play balls, a bubble wand, sidewalk chalk and Peeps!!!!  The Easter Bunny must have known about her milk & soy allergy, because they appeared to be safe for her to eat… and she like them all the same:  Alexis’ first Peep!

After an abbreviated naptime, it was off to Busha & Dzia Dzia’s house for an early dinner.  She had to search for her basket there as well.  She was able to find Noah’s and then found hers in a similar location.  She dug right in… and went after her new favorite treat… Peeps!

  

Of course, we didn’t leave Noah out of the festivities… he looks like a little stud in the outfit my Godmother gave him (Thanks, Auntie Susie!).  He found some goodies in his basket… as did Alexis.  She laid claim to his Peeps within seconds!

After dinner, we headed outside for Alexis’ Easter Egg Hunt.  The “Bunny” did a good job “hiding” the plastic, candy-filled eggs, but Alexis was too smart.  She was so proud of herself, she would find an egg and tell the rest of us what she did: “I found it. I found it.” 

But another highlight of the day was something you saw earlier… the bunnies have multiplied (as rabbits tend to do, right?).  These are the wooden Easter baskets my siblings and I grew up with.  A family friend made them for us right around the time Carissa was born and we’ve loved them ever since.Well, the four of them, became seven this year… with additions for Alexis & Noah and Christopher’s fiance’s son, Tristan.   You have no idea how special that is to me!  Mom and Dad did a great job replicating the originals. 

And by the end of the day, Alexis had finished an entire package of five Peeps and crashed from the sugar high and Noah missed a nap and was just as cranky.  But really, would I have it any other way?  Nah!

Noah: 6 Months!

My little giggle-box is half a year old!

And he’s so close to rolling over!!!!

 

I’m sure he’ll get all the way over soon!  Alexis is usually right there to “help” give him that extra “push”, though.  He’s doing much better about sitting up on his own… can do it for some period of time, but then he forgets he’s sitting up and rears back. 

I think we’re doing a good job coping with his allergy but we’re still having some skin issues.  I can’t wait to see the doctor next Friday to ask some questions. 

He wasn’t doing very good about sleeping through the night for a while there, but I finally got him to eat cereal for me.  So we give him that and a top him off with a bottle before bed, give him his Zyrtec and he’s out light a light until about 5:45am!  Big difference from getting wake-up calls at 1am, 4am and again at 7am!

For St. Patrick’s Day, the kids made shamrock hats at day care… too cute to not share!