Grandpa Jimmy's "cabin"

We all needed a break - between Chris' work load and all that is going on at home, things are getting a bit hectic. So Chris decided to take Xander up to grandpa Jimmy's cabin to play and spend the night. They weren't even gone for 24 hours, but managed to pack a lot of outdoor fun. Of course, it seemed to me like they were barely gone at all! I had hoped to get a lot of stuff done around the house, but mostly ended up enjoying the peace and quiet. It is something I never get these days and expect to get even less of in the near future. :)

All ready for the 3+ hour road trip

Who needs a sled when you have wet, nicely packed down snow?

Treking through the snow

Xander and Patti building the cutest snowman! Taking a minute to rest
playing checkers by himself
Patti and Xander making snow. I had never heard of such a thing!
Grandpa and Xander reading a book (although Xander seems more interested in grandpa's chin)
There was just no way to keep him awake for the car ride home. Great-grandpa Ernie started making noise around 5 a.m., and eventually woke Xander up. After playing outside after breakfast, he was already pretty tired. Chris decided it was time to head for home. He must have been very tired because it takes a lot for Xander to fall asleep in the car!

Sloppy playtime!

All that snow and spring-like temps made for a very fun day. When Ann asked us over to play in the slush, Xander could hardly contain himself. It was so nice to sit outside and feel the sun on us. Xander was soaked when he was done! We are looking forward to even more outside fun. Snow is nice, but I cannot WAIT for Spring!!

Sliding down the slope
Playing with the girls' fun toys

Sand, melting snow and colored water! Messy and extremely fun to play with. No wonder Xander loves playing at their house!

Playdate and Linda & Maya's house

Our friends Linda and Maya invited us over to play at their condo today. We took the kids down to the building's raquetball court to let them run loose. Xander and Lew did so many laps back and forth, running around with the shopping cart and chasing balls. Then we went back up to their place and Linda had put together a yummy spread for the kids to eat and really yummy salads for us mommies. Thank you Linda!

Playing with a fancy ribbon thingy...what the hell is that thing called?

Run like the wind!

You can never have enough mohawk/bathtime photos

It seems like everytime the boys are in the tub I get summoned to come look at how cute Xander is. I have taken a lot of soapy, bathtime photos...and never get tired of it. He's naked and bubbly. What could be cuter?

Round 2 of the snowstorm

As if the first foot of snow wasn't enough, less than a week later we are getting another foot on top of it. Chris barely had the snow cleared when it started coming down again. Getting snowed in is kind of fun and Chris actually got a snow day from work...well sort of. He had the on call phone and ended up working from home all day long. But they did manage to find a block of time to go out and roll around in the snow.

That is a big pile of snow!
Beautiful!
Wading through the snow
The angel our little angel made

Both boys making angels in the fresh, deep snow

Fun new rec center

A friend introduced us to a new fun place to play on Wednesdays...the St. Louis Park rec center. We have gone two weeks in a row and Xander keeps asking when we can go again. As long as I am able to get him in and out of the car, I will be bringing him. He has so much fun! It has two big bouncers for him to get out his energy in and plenty of riding toys, trucks and blocks to play with. Fun times!

Xander, Lily and Lew jumping like crazy!
Three dump trucks? What more could a little boy want?
Little big wheel
Trying to dismantle the lawn mower

Fun with foam blocks

Round 1 of the snow storm

It finally happened - after a lame winter with hardly any snow, we finally got our first snowstorm. 12 inches of snow! It is what Xander has been waiting on for so long. And he put those snow pants to good use. He had a blast!

Taking a break!
Helping out daddy

That is a lot of snow!

Xander's new bathrobe

We bought Xander this super cute snowman bathrobe and he loves it! He loves to sing Frosty the Snowman... or he thinks it looks like a little bird and scooches around saying "tweet, tweet!" Either way, it is adorable!

Singing!
Squeeky clean and trying out his new robe

Snuggling up with daddy to watch a movie before bedtime

Hanging out with the ladies

Chris took the day off so that I could have a day off - yay! While I went out for lunch with my friend Jordana to finally celebrate my birthday, Chris took Xander over to play with Ava and Lily. And boy did they get the special treatment! Instead of playing in the playroom/family room, they got to play in Ava's bedroom upstairs! Xander has been dying to go upstairs and play see the girls' rooms. Thank you Ann for letting my boys come over and play!

The girls have so many toys, and many of them are very girly! Xander thinks that is so neat and loves checking out all the pretty pink things that they have to play with. Lily is looking more than a little nervous as Xander contemplates what to do with the hair brush
Xander thought it was great to crawl around in Ava's bed and bang on a tamborine. Ava looks like she has had enough of this very loud little boy!

Xander loves doll strollers! And since Lily is such a little peanut, she fits in it. Of course he wanted to push her around in it.

Father/son bonding

While giving Xander's bits and pieces a chance to air out a bit between diaper changes, the boys took an opportunity to read a good book together. Xander thinks it is neat when daddy gets into his bed. These days? I don't even try. I would either get stuck or break it --or both!

discussing the book
with all the climbing around, it was bound to happen! ;)

I never turn down an opportunity to capture a shot of that cute little tushie!!

A taste of Spring

It was a beautiful day today! Ann invited us all over to play in their backyard. Xander was so excited! He loves playing at their house...

enjoying some toys before heading outside to play
the kids shoveled snow and used spray bottles with colored water to decorate

I always seem to catch him bending over and showing off a little plumber's butt! I can't resist taking a picture...

Daniel's 4th birthday party

Our 2nd Pump It Up birthday party in a little over a month...Xander is starting to get spoiled! He had so much fun and it was much better for him this time because daddy got to be there to play with him. There was so much jumping and sliding! All the kids had a blast and Xander asks all the time when he gets to go to another party there.

climbing up to the big slide
Chris and Viet taking a break from the jumping to play a quick game together
Chris teaching Xander to do the hula
Viet having a Zen moment
Chris took many trips down the slide with both Xander and his buddy Lew on his lap. Every picture except this one came out blurry. But trust me, Chris didn't look this serious...he was having a great time with the boys. I caught the moment when he was trying to hoist himself up!

Xander loves singing "Happy Birthday" and knows that the next thing to happen is cupcakes!

Then and now

Me at 31 weeks with Xander. I carried him much differently...hard to explain, but it felt like he was everywhere. I also retained so much water in my legs and feet that these were the only shoes I could wear. I had to adjust the straps to get them on and I still stretched them out so bad that they don't fit me that well anymore.

Me at 31 weeks with Baby Nathan. I am all baby in the tummy! He sits much lower and sticks out much more than Xander did. Thankfully, I haven't had to deal with the severe swelling that I did with Xander. But the trade off is that he is much more uncomfortable for me to carry around. Of course, that could also be attributed to the fact that I have a 2 1/2 year old to chase around all day as well. What a difference between the two babies!

Busy weekend

It must have been a long, busy weekend because this NEVER happens anymore! After spending the night at grandma Linda's house and no naps (per usual these days) he crashed out on the car ride home. He was so tired that we were able to get him into the house and get shoes and jacket off without waking him up. He slept on me for another half hour after we got home. Baby Nathan was complaining the whole time because of the pressure on my stomach.

No matter what, I enjoyed every minute of having him sleep on me. I miss those days so much!

Valentine's Party

Our playgroup had a Valentine's Day party at Noni's house and the kids (and moms) had a blast! They decorated heart-shaped cookies with lots of good, sugary stuff and then devoured them. There was also plenty of time to run around and play like crazy to try to work some of that sugar off.

adding some mini M&Ms

The best part - eating the final product!