Happy Easter!

Isn't this the cutest thing?  Evan made it in Sunday School
last week.  There's a paper plate cave, and a ball of brown
paper is the rock you can roll away to find an angel inside!

Yesterday, we started the day with an egg hunt at a local church.  The sign said "All Welcome," so we figured that meant us too, why not?  Evan thought it was great fun, and was rewarded with a basket full of candy and Boo, a new blue sock monkey friend.  Drew didn't come home empty handed; his basket contained a number of (empty) plastic eggs that brought him tons of entertainment.

 

After nap, we started to dye our real eggs.  The neighbor's grandaughter Kaia came over as we were starting and invited us to come dye eggs together, so we moved the process to their backyard.

 

I love that Evan has a friend his age who is the grandchild of our neighbors - I spent years as a kid with a good friend Carolyn who lived next door to my grandparents.  After the eggs (and our fingertips) were properly colored, we all played at the playground before heading in to dinner.  Evan periodically asked throughout the evening if the Easter Bunny would come, and he told us that if the Bunny couldn't make it to all the houses in one night, she'd probably come to our house the next night.  Agreed!

This morning Evan stumbled into our room at his usual time, and it only took a minute or two for him to switch to excitement mode.  He was wonderfully patient, waiting for us to get Drew up before running downstairs.  He was thrilled to discover that not only had the Bunny come and left awesome baskets of toys and treats, but miraculously, presents from his grandparents and aunt and uncle had appeared too.

After church and brunch, we paused for a few minutes to take advantage of us all being dressed up and (mostly) clean to take some photos.  We're not a bad looking crew!

 

 

Then it was time for the most fun of all - an egg hunt with Kaia!  The kids went into the neighbor's house for a few minutes while some of the adults hid eggs around our backyard, then we let them loose.  Evan and Kaia were great together, racing around yet sharing and helping each other find eggs.  It's so fun to watch the kids - they spy an egg and dash to it, not even noticing the 3 eggs they passed and practically (or sometimes actually) stepped on to get to the one they spied.

It didn't take long for all the eggs to be found (we think, the adults failed to count them before hiding them... Mike may find a surprise or two next time he cuts the lawn) and we all collapsed on the grass to check the loot.  Eggs were traded (princess erasers for jellybeans, baby yogurt drops for a few coins), fingers and faces quickly turned a chocolaty brown, and sun-and-sugar induced yawns began to appear.  After more than a couple protests ("I want MORE candy, mom!"), we headed back in to our houses.  Evan had swim lessons to round out the day and after a delicious dinner, Drew was asleep shortly after 7, with Evan not far behind.  Unfortunately, the kitchen fairies didn't appear to clean up dinner, but we took care of the leftovers and declared this one great Easter.

Drew's Got Teeth

He's been a gummy little baby for so long, it's almost hard to see him with real teeth coming through, but Drew does indeed have his two bottom teeth.  The left came in a couple days before the right, but they're both fully emerged.  We've felt them for about a little while now, but he's been holding his tongue over them so even though he smiles and laughs more than any other baby I've ever seen, it's been terribly difficult for a photo of his pearly whites.  But today - we got it!  It's time to add more new foods to the menu...

Drew can eat!

Even though he really doesn't have much in the way of teeth, Drew's starting to get the hang of eating real foods.  He had a graham cracker today, and loved it!  I think he really loved the control of being able to feed himself at his own pace.  It's time to go over the school menu and see what else he can have...  The little boy is indeed growing up! 

Drew's first snow

It's finally snowing!  We went out and took a few snaps before darkness falls, just in case it's melted by the morning.  We're supposed to get a good couple inches by the end of the storm though, so there should be plenty of fun to be had tomorrow morning. 

Drew Crawls!

He's on the move!  Since rolling over for about 2 weeks at age 4 1/2 months, Drew's been content to just hang out and watch Evan do all the running.  Smart move.  In the middle of December he decided he'd like in on the action and started trying to crawl.  He went backwards a lot, then got really good at spinning in circles.  It was definitely "the long way" to get to his destination, but he always got there!

Then quickly, he realized the value of adding some legs to the scooting, and away he went!

It only took him 2 days to learn it's just as much fun to crawl AWAY as to crawl TOWARD.  Hmm.

Drew's First Food

Yumm-Yumm!  At 5 months, Drew's ready for food from a spoon.  He's starting now with baby oatmeal, but soon we'll graduate to the good stuff: apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, beans, and more.  He really did well for his first time - not too messy at all, and he got the hang of it quickly.  What a big boy!

Roll Over!

Drew's been practicing and practicing, and now he's got it!  Rolling over from back to front.  Interestingly he hasn't done front to back, which would seem easier, but he's just a little over-achiever. 

Since he's not constantly rolling over, it's become a game to catch when he does it.  Usually I'll be in the kitchen and put him on his back, then check a minute later and he's on his belly.  But we've rarely actually caught him in the act.  Today we spent a looong time on the floor with the video, trying and trying to get him to roll so we can document and share this milestone.  Evan was a great cheerleader, with multiple loud rounds of, "Go, Drew, Go!!"  Evan also is Drew's teacher, showing him how it's done and giving him a helping hand whenever he can.  I don't know if we'll catch it again any time soon, so here it is - Drew rolling over! 

(November PS: Drew stopped rolling shortly after we filmed this. He was great, rolling in both directions for about 3 weeks, then seemingly decided that he now knows the skill and doesn't need to practice or prove it any more.  He pretty much hasn't rolled since.  Everyone, doctors included, tell me that's ok, so we're just going with it.  He'll be crawling in no time.)

Wisconsin 4... Miller Park

This morning we woke up in Racine.  Grandma Kay and Evan made a delicious breakfast before we headed out to the Brewers Game. 

Then it was time for the game!  Grandma Kay, Grampa Arnie, and Grandma Barb all came with us.  We went nice and early to watch batting practice and explore the stadium and some of the kids games. Evan was fired up and wore his brewers shirt, hat, arm bands, and gloves.  He was ready!  Drew was decked out too, though somewhat less impressed at his first MLB game.  I guess he is only 2 months old. 

 

Evan played on the slide and gym set outside, and found some of the fun running and throwing games inside. He's a natural!  

When we went down to the field for batting practice, a nice staff member saw Evan and brought him a ball - straight off the field!  He was absolutely thrilled!  He was stoked to see his favorite players: "Brian Braun and Frince Pielder."  Hehe!

Our seats were in the Dew Deck, so we had a great view of the game.  Bernie even came up to say hi!  Evan had been talking about him well before we left for WI, and promised to be nice and brave and give Bernie a hug.  Even as we walked up to our seats he was excited to hug Bernie.  But when he actually showed up, it was a complete other story.  I guess we're not quite fully over the mascot fear yet.  Maybe next year. 

Drew loved being at the game too.  He watched all the colors and people, had a snack or two, and stayed awake for most of the game.  The Brewers won, and everyone declared it a definite fun day.  Go, Brewers, go!