Happy 1st Day of Spring!

Today is the 1st day of spring. One of the local Italian ice places was offering free Italian ice to all of it's customers. We headed over there after dinner for the kids to get a treat. Kate was thrilled to hear that she was Italian and that she was going to eat Italian ice. We all enjoyed our Italian ice, but it was a little chilly for the first day of Spring.
When we got home, I told the kids they needed to brush their teeth to get all the sugar out. Kate informed me that the dentist told her she had to brush her teeth really well and not to eat a lot of candy or her teeth would rot and fall out. She then told me that Anna Marie (her 6 year old cousin) ate lots and lots of candy and that is why her teeth fell out!- Note to self...be careful what I tell my four year old, she takes thinks very literally!

When I grow up, I want to be...

Kate was so excited to tell me that a police officer came to visit them at shcool today and she got to sit in his car. This was our conversation when she got in the car:

K: "Mommy, you won't believe it, a police officer came to school and we got to get in his car! It was so cool, you should have been there Mommy!"

Me: Wow, that's great. You sure are lucky to get in the police officer's car.

K: Yea, Brower wasn't lucky though (always competing with her brother)

Me: What did the police officer tell you? What did you learn from him?

K: Don't touch the radio!

Me: Did you talk about strangers?

K: Yes

Me: What did he say about strangers?

K: I don't remember.

Me: Did the police officer tell you what you should do if you get lost?

K: I don't remember. But Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a princess, a fairy AND a police officer! I got a really cool sticker that is just like the police officers!

I guess in the mind of a 4 year old, strangers and getting lost are not important. What really matters is that she got to sit in the police officer's car, she got a sticker and she has another occupation for when she gets older!

Neigh Neighs!

Our friend Kelly invited us to come to her horse farm to ride horses. Since Brower loves horses so much, we wanted to take him as part of his birthday celebration. This weekend was absolutely beautiful. It was 80 degrees all weekend! We went out to the farm and Kelly let us walk through the barn to see all the horses and then we were able to ride her horse Bey. The kids loved it. After riding, they got to feed Bey carrots and brush him. It was a fun family night!

Kate and Nadia in the bobcat

Brower and Ross in the Bobcat

Kate feeding Bey a carrot after their ride

Brower and Ross pushing the barrel

Brower brushing Bey

Kate brushing Bey

Fun In the Snow

We woke up to a beautiful sight of snow covering the trees and a few inches on the ground. We bundled up and headed out. Kate loved throwing snowballs. Brower still didn't like being cold but he was at least happy scooping up the snow and putting it in a bucket. He didn't last long in the cold! We had a lot of fun playing in the snow for one last time this winter!

Kate and Brower making snowballs. Shortly after this picture, Brower lost his balance and did a face plant in the snow. Needless to say, he was a little upset!

Get ready Mommy, I have my snowball!

Random fun with Kate and Brower

Kate is such a great big sis and she loves to play with her brother. As you can see, they both love to dress up. Brower in a princess dress with butterfly wings is Kate's doing. After this picture they both ran around the house "flying and flapping their wings".

Princess Kate doing an arabesque

Princess Kate and Cowboy Brower. Not sure how the purple boa fits in to the cowboy costume. According to Kate it is an accessory.

This baby is taking up too much room in this bed! Bella, Max, Brower, Kate and Anna Marie heading to the play with Nonna and Papa.

Hugs...

...and Kisses from Kate and Brower!

Happy Birthday Brower!

I woke up this morning to hear Brower calling "Mommy, Mommy". What a sweet sound. Chad, Papa, Kate and I greeted Brower with singing Happy Birthday to him in his bed.

We decorated the table and Brower's chair and made him a Happy Birthday pancake, bacon and strawberries. He loved it.

We enjoyed a whole day of celebrating Brower. We had a party for him at the Fun Zone at church. Nonna, Papa, Mimi, Aunt Heather, Uncle Scott, Anna Marie, John Thomas, Eliza and Jack all came to Cary to celebrate with us. Laura, Holden, Jill, Steve, Kaylee, Zach, Aunt Linda, Uncle Rob, Emma, Aunt Jane, Derek, Juli, Lilee, Ausley Claire, Grandma and Grandpa all came to the party too. Brower loves "neigh neighs" so we had a farm theme for his party. I think everyone had a lot of fun!

Farm cake

How old is Brower? "Do"

Kids table-everyone loves pizza

Cute cousins- Brower, Kate, Emma and Eliza

Brower blowing out his candlesKate and Brower enjoying the cupcakes

Brower opening his presents

Brower climbing up to the slide. He isn't quite big enough to just climb up each platform. Big sister Kate used to push him up each level and then she taught him how to stick his feet in the net and climb up himself. He's like Spiderman!

The kids were exhasted from an exciting morning. We all rested and took naps. After dinner we ate popcorn and watched Charlotte's Web. It was a great day! My little boy is two!

Bringing up boys...

Well, today was a good reminder to me of what is to come of my life raising a little boy. Brower is getting ready to turn two. If you ask him how old he is, he'll hold up his hand in an attempt to show two fingers and say "do". He has such a fun personality. He has just started to try to hide what he is doing if he knows he shouldn't do it. Today we were having a muffin at Panera with some friends and Brower got Lilee's juice box without me seeing. He turned his back to me so he was facing the back of the booth and was hiding the juice box from me. When he realized I was looking at him, he refused to look at me. He'll either do that or give me a huge cheesy grin that says "It's okay mom, I'm really cute!" He knows he's cute and his smile will get him out of anything.
The child is so full of energy and runs everywhere he goes. He is finally pretty stable on his feet, but he still runs a little out of control, usually with his head down and his fists clenched! He was playing in the car with Kate while we were waiting for a store to open and he hit his eye on something. He cried for a minute and then moved on. He now has a black eye. Tonight we were in a store after dinner and he fell and hit Kate's leg. Again, he cried for a minute, asked for a kiss and moved on. A few minutes later he had blood dripping out of his mouth and covering his hand. He had busted his lip and was bleeding but didn't care a bit. He fell at least three more times while we were in the store. I saw at least one couple gasp when he fell and of course Chad and I are so used to it, we barely even blink. He is all boy! The child looks like he got in a fight.
I can't believe my baby will be two in a few days. He is just so full of joy! He loves to perform and to be the center of attention. He loves to talk and will say (or make an attempt to say) whatever you tell him. He loves to sing. His favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me and Hallelujah. We were at the fun zone the other day and he was up in the maze singing Hallelujah! So cute! Chad always says he is like me because he doesn't like to be cold and he loves to sleep...sounds a bit like me :) What a joy it is to have a little boy! He likes to get all of his animals and line them up in the play roo. He loves "teats" (treats) and "nacks" (snacks). His favorite foods are bananas, craisins, pancakes, oatmeal and any kind of bread or crackers. He could live off of fruit and crackers. I just love learning what he likes and what makes him happy. I am so thankful to have such a precious little boy. He is such a joy!

He went to the doctor for his 2 year well check up. He talked to Dr. Adams and played with him. He weighed 25 lbs. (only 7 less than his sister) and was 32" tall. Whoo hoo Brower...he finally got out of the 10th percentile! He only had to get one shot and he did great. He was happy after getting a Mickey Mouse sticker and a "kucker" (sucker).