First Haircuts and Weekend Fun!

Super fun! Kade loved the little ride!

We had a busy weekend! On Friday, both boys had a hair appointment - the first for Kade! This was Brent's first time at this mall, so Brock had to run around and show him all the cool things we do - ride the quarter rides, Wiggleworks, and crepes at the food court!

Kade did excellent! He loved playing with all the toys.... and showed the hair stylist his favorite game - fetch! He dropped the toys and looked at you until you picked them up!

Such a good plan to have them done at the same time! Good thinking Momma! ;)

The mullet is gone!! Don't worry, we saved a little piece of his hair for his baby book. He just looks so much more cleaned up now.

 On Saturday, we dropped Kade off at the babysitter's and we went off on a dinner date with Brock!

This was Brock's first big boy movie - and what a good choice! We saw Finding Dory! I think Brock enjoyed it. He was getting tired at the end, but hung in there for the whole thing. It helped we saw the movie at a restaurant-styled theater - it gave him something to do while he watched the movie. And he was in heaven with his Cookies n Cream Milkshake!

On Saturday, Brock and I headed out to Bellevue after church for the annual Strawberry Festival!

Crossroads Park has a cool splash park section - which was perfect because all the inflatable rides cost money! Way more fun to get your feet wet and run in the sprinklers anyway!

The sun is back though and it was hot! Good thing we found shade for lunch.

They had some cool things to see and lots of booths with free swag.

Not too many "strawberry" things though. We did watch the strawberry eating contest and picked up a strawberry shortcake after our lunch, but not too prominent of a theme I say.... Still fun.


Last picture is from today (not technically the weekend), but super cute, so I must add. The boys' first swimming lesson of the year was today and they looked adorable in their red swimming trunks! Thank goodness the sun is back for our outdoor morning lessons!

Happy 1st Birthday Kade!

Happy FIRST Birthday little Kade! Abbey - we did wear the "Birthday Boy" shirt for a few hours today.... before it got nice and dirty before his birthday festivities. (This is photo evidence) ;)

What's a birthday without cake?? (I'm sure my mother feels that way) Well, I doubled down and got two cakes! One for us and one for Kade to SMASH! Yes, I know - so first world of me.

First off, we were so lucky to snag a few hours from Evan and Kali's busy schedule this past Sunday to have them celebrate with the little birthday boy! They were so sweet and brought both my boys presents! Kade received an adorable little pull-toy crocodile and Brock received an opposite matching puzzle.

My boys both love them! Brock loved helping Kade open his present too....

 Finally it was time for the main event - the smash cake!!!

Kade loved being sung to and looked around smiling as we all sang Happy Birthday. Brock helped with his candle and then he dug in. Wow, a 6 inch cake looks bigger on the highchair tray.

"Are you coming to help me eat this thing??"

And..... done!

Thursday was his actual birthday - you would have thought it was Brock's birthday for how anxious he was waiting for Daddy to come home to open presents! Brock had helped me wrap the presents earlier and was super excited to help Kade open them again!

Cards are just as fun!!

And ribbon!!

Brock had picked this out for Kade's birthday and I think he is enjoying it just as much as Kade does!

Then a big present from Grandma - a super awesome slide!!

That face! Is he excited or what??

Finally, a cute video (after birthday cupcake and bath) of him enjoying his birthday toys.

Thank you for all the well wishes, cards, and gifts we received (and will be receiving). He is one loved little boy!

Berry Picking with Brock

A couple of weeks ago, Brock and I visited Remlinger Farms for some berry picking! (Sorry, a bit late on the blog) It was a beautiful day for a Brock/Momma date!

We were the third car to arrive and got to picking strawberries right away! It was a little easier this year for me as I wasn't 9 months pregnant!

Brock enjoyed picking the strawberries and ate a few, but after seeing a little bug crawl on one of them, he immediately ceased. Remlinger Farms uses only natural pesticides so they are safe to eat right out of the field.

I told him to pretend he was a strawberry

We were a little under last year's pickings - 4 pounds - which was fine by me. We have been eating strawberries like crazy at home up to this point!

Remlinger has a "Fun Farm" (like an amusement center) that you pay an additional fare and get to explore. It's really quite fun - amusement rides, animals, train ride, hay maze, etc. Unfortunately we had come so early and that part didn't open for another hour, we had time to pick raspberries!

I think Brock found raspberry picking a whole lot easier than strawberry picking.

He wouldn't let me pick any of them - and ate quite a few more of these too.

Finally, paid our entrance fee and we were ready to explore! I had heard it was fun, but if I had known how much there really was to do there, I would have packed a lunch!

Brock was fearless feeding the goats!

He even gave the big ox a big hug!

 We boarded the train for a little ride. It was cute - went around the park and saw some other bigger animals (cows, horses, emus, etc).

Peacock would NOT turn around for the picture!

Whoohoo, we found the rides!

Brock loved this one called the "Flying Pumpkins". He was loving going so fast and so high in the air..... I showed him the roller coaster and asked him if he'd like to try it?

He was super excited about being tall enough - just didn't want the sun in his eyes

He was tall enough to ride.... and there were other children going on that looked even smaller than him. He watched the ride go around and was excited to go on it.... until ours started. NOPE. When that first jerk to start the ride happened, he was NOT about it. (To be fair, it was quite a small "roller coaster." A few turns to the sides, up, then down, then done) The nice man stopped the ride after one go (I guess they go around 4 or so times for a turn) and let us get off. Hopefully we'll feel better about roller coasters in another year or so!

Okay.... let's stick with something a little more low-key. :) They had a few more fun ones - tilt-a-whirl (like the teacups from Disney World) and a canoe ride that went slow in the water.

We had a really great time together and I think it was just what Brock needed after our trip to the east coast. Brock talked to me the whole time and listened to what I told him to do. He really didn't argue with me and was just plain good the whole day. It's nice to have days like this among the typical three-year-old days....

Early Summer Trip to the East Coast - Part II

Nancy and Brian had a prior work commitment to attend on Saturday, which worked out great for us to drive down to Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff's house (opposite side of Charlotte)! The boys had a blast! Brock played with Andrew & Evan's (my cousins, Aunt Carol & Uncle Jeff's sons) legos.... possibly slightly destroying a red pirate ship...sorry Evan! And Kade had a ball with the VCR door flap!

We also celebrated Kade's birthday a little early too. Uh oh... this was like a practice round - now he's going to KNOW what to do with that smash cake next week!!

Looks a bit unsure...

Sly little grin like he knows this is a special treat!

Oh yeah! Give me more!!

 Thank you Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff for a wonderful visit and tasty dinner! Thank you to Ara for letting Kade borrow your bed - he had a fabulous 2.5 hour nap there! ;)

Then it was back to Uncle Brian and Aunt Nancy's house.... and Riley and Chase! I adore that my boys are animal lovers! It's okay Brock, we'll still love you if you're a cat person. ;)

And boy, the foosball table was a hit! Who knew you could play by yourself for an hour plus?? ;)

 More fun to play with Uncle Brian though!

Picture taken by Brock and the ONLY picture of Aunt Nancy, so sorry Aunt Nancy - this is what I have to work with ;) 

One evening, we attempted to enjoy some outdoor time. Kade was NOT a fan of the scratchy grass! 

Hi Mom, yes, I refuse to have BOTH legs touch this green crap!

Ahhh.... so much better!

 Brock and Riley reveled in the backyard chasing each other.

Alas, the weekend was over and it was time to board the plane for Nashville!

Tom and Blaine waiting for our flight - Brock was in awe of big cousin Blaine's height! 

We were greeted at BNA by almost the entire family! So nice to have all these helpers!  

 We came at the best time - there was a lull in the humidity and it was gorgeous while we were there! Brock and Kade explored every inch of Grammy & Grandpa's house - showing just how un-baby-proofed their house was! Good thing there were several adults and two teenagers always on hand to grab a crawling Kade!

 Grandpa treated us all to a day at Nashville Shores. Thank you! This place was a hit with everyone! I definitely have two little water babies! Swimming lessons start back home in less than two weeks - hope the weather gets a bit warmer for that (currently 64 for a high today!).

Blaine and Reagan were so excited to show Brock and Kade all the cool spots!

Brock is in most of the pictures in the background - just too busy to stop and pose!

 LOVED splashing!

 I thought it was cute when I put Brock to bed that evening, he wanted to ask me about "Daddy's sister" and if we could come back and play at the water park again - But ONLY (and he was very adamant about this) if we went with Blaine and Reagan. :)

Aunt Brandi telling Brock he can't swim so far out there! My little sensitive guy is a little too brave in the water!

After some awesome naps for the two littlest cousins (and one bigger cousin), it was time for snack! I'm so glad that Barbara and Tom were able to enjoy some time with their Seattle grandchildren. It's the little things like this that I'm sure they savored - watching little 11 month old Kade pick up strawberries with his chunky little fingers. :)

The family decided on Cracker Barrel for dinner - "Eason, party of 8 and a highchair!"

These horses were fascinating - Kade tried catching them as they galloped away. So sweet - Grandpa and Grammy ended up gifting one for us to take home!

Blaine had just come from TWO baseball games, that unfortunately we missed due to naps. The crowd was hungry - but so cute all lined up! :)

 Late night after dinner, and after packing for the trip home the following day; it was time for Brock to say his goodnights. He climbed right up on Grandpa's lap and laid like this for quite some time. So sweet.

Quick trip in Nashville before our flight home through Chicago, but it was a really nice visit to see everyone. I know Brent appreciates that I added a stop to my trip to see his family. Thank you so much for welcoming us in to your home and allowing the three of us to commandeer your bedroom!

I'm sure it was wonderful for everyone we visited, but I know it was even more special for Brock (Kade too, in a way). Just seeing his face light up while playing with his Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and being reminded you are "Daddy's/Momma's Momma" and "Daddy's/Momma's Daddy" was totally worth all the traveling to Raleigh, Charlotte, and Nashville.

....Just too bad I just couldn't get tickets to the Grand Ole Opry that night to see Carrie Underwood..... next time! ;)