"Daddy is going to get those geese!"

 

 Brent had these last two weeks off from work and was really excited to do a little hunting. He says it's relaxing.... I like being warm - like sitting in my bathingsuit on a tropical island....  Alas, Brent packed his long johns and hand warmers and sat outside ALL day in the 22 degree snow and wind and waited for the birds.

Brent's view from his hideout

The first time he went (December 12th), the hunters reached their limit by 10am and he was home "early"; this time wasn't so speedy and he was out in the cold until the sun went down.

There were nine in his group, but Brent is a pretty good shot - he said he dropped at least seven of them on his own.

The return home wasn't so nice - he had to come back over Snoqualmie Pass (I-90) which while he hunted, added another foot of snow to bring the total to over TEN FEET. Chains were required on all non-four-wheel drive vehicles and he saw six cars that had slid off in to the embankment. Good thing he was safe and secure in the Tundra!

Yay - we love having Daddy home!!! :)

Merry Christmas 2015 edition

The Eason Family has been so busy preparing for Santa!! Brock helped me make some sugar cookies and then we were off to see Santa at the mall! Wasn't that a great idea to wait until the week of Christmas for that event! Yeah......

After waiting *cough* over an hour *cough*, we were next up to see Santa! 

Brock seemed so excited! We had prepped him on what to say, he was ready to see Santa and tell him what he wanted! He didn't want to be left out on the big night! 

Poor Brock - didn't even want to sit on my lap next to him. Yet another picture where Kade looks at big brother in amazement! ;)  Ah, one day we will laugh at these.... (hopefully he will too)

We were asked to play a critical part for Saint Margaret's Christmas Eve Children's Service. Kade was to be Baby Jesus and Brent and I were to play Mary and Joseph! How cool! 

And of course.... when baby Jesus was born, there was a random young Shepherd hanging around....

 The 3:00pm service was great for us in that it didn't interfere with dinner, but not so great for the boy who missed his nap. At St. Margaret's, as the Christmas story is read, all the characters come up to the front and end up all sitting with the Holy Family. Brock was getting a little antsy every time more and more people joined us on stage. He did really well considering, but at the end when people tried to take our picture, he was done. We headed home for Brock to decompress and eat some dinner. 

 

 Finally it was time for all children to be snug in their beds! (Yay!)

 Santa, and his husky, had work to do!!

We were ready for the pitter-patter of little feet! Oscar was ready too! He oversaw every present placement!

The next morning was super cute - we took a video of Brock and Kade coming down the stairs.We opened one present, stopped for breakfast, then resumed back promptly at 9:30am! We had it set up for my mother and Grammy & Grandpa Eason to watch the boys open their presents through video chat.

It was a whirlwind of excitement and wrapping paper everywhere! This Christmas, there were several times when Brock did NOT want to open anything else and only play with the latest toy revealed after unwrapping!

 

The boys loved everything and got sooo many new things.... I sense a purge coming of the not-so-loved toys!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends near and far!!

Cool scooter from Aunt Carol & Uncle Jeff!!!

Happy 6 months Kade!!

Our sweet Kade turned six months yesterday! When did he go from an infant to a baby that sits up?? Kade is such a happy baby - really enjoys being held, but I think that's more so he can see all the crazy things that go on in our house! Now that he's sitting more, he seems to like just watching everything as he chews on his latest toy (or whatever toy Brock hasn't grabbed from him to play with himself. How are baby toys soo much more appealing than his toys?!?).

Please disregard the messy shirt

He has progressed so much with holding toys and grabbing toys in the last two weeks, it's amazing! I've forgotten how much they can change in just a week's time!!

Let's see - Kade is not really enjoying eating with a spoon - he doesn't seem to like the purees so much. He likes feeding himself baby wafers and managed to get a few pees in his mouth earlier this week when I put some on his tray to play with at dinner. He was a champ at actually "chewing" them too, so okay baby, we are going to do things differently with you.

He has started to soothe himself to sleep for naptime which is so helpful during the day. I don't have to fret while nursing him to sleep what Brock has gotten in to while being left alone! Naps are still 20-30 minutes, so eh, that could be better. Evenings are a little better too - only gets up one more time about thirty minutes after I put him down - I run in to put paci in his mouth and he's good until 5am.

Kade is a feisty little one when he plays though - he likes to hit things pretty hard to hear the noise and BELLY LAUGHS while watching Brock act a fool. He loves watching Brock kick the ball and follows the ball or the car down the hall to see where it went. The "Tennessee blue" eyes, as Brent is calling it, seems to be sticking around.... we'll see if they last. 

Christmas is going to be fun tomorrow. Kade is going to have a lot to watch tomorrow as Brock opens up all his presents (and probably helps Kade with his too!)

Bring it on Santa, we are ready for you!!

"Mom, there's nothing in here!!?"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

The boys and I have had a great time getting ready for Christmas this year! We have decorations everywhere! Brock even helped me make cookies one day - even dressed the part too (check out his apron)! :)

 

We've had fun at some functions around town too! Last Saturday while Brent was off shooting geese, Brock, Kade and I ventured to Springfree Trampoline in Issaquah. This showroom for very expensive trampolines was hosting free gingerbread house making!

They get your info when you walk in the door to be on their mailing list, but then everything is free. Brock tried out several trampolines - he liked the one that had the basketball net attached the best (in case you're looking for a way to spend $1,550).

He really is quite crafty! I spread the frosting on the house (which were pre-made by the way - all different house styles set up for each child to choose), but Brock really enjoyed picking which candy to put where. He really liked the gummi bears. :)

 On Wednesday, we met Brent in Bellevue for dinner. Look at baby Kade sitting in the high chair at Maggiano's!

Can't fool Brock - he knows that right above the restaurant is the "games place" - we had to stop there for a few rounds of baseball and skeeball! Check out the video below for Brock's power arm!

We reconvened at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens for the Garden d'Lights. It was nice - cold, but not rainy (which is why we went that night). I think they did a better job last year - more butterflies and types of flowers.... this year just didn't wow me. Brock enjoyed it and loved that he was able to run along the path and pointed out every single display.

 Kade was bundled up in his jacket Grandma bought in Ireland, football hat from Aunt Katherin, also in a blanket wrapped in the Ergo carrier and with my jacket covering his legs around me - trust me, he was cozy (and also napped through all of it).

Look - a family shot!

 My sweet little Kade was happy to be home and out of his gazillion layers of clothes! (We all were!)

Brent's 3rd Annual K9 Candy Cane 5K Fun Run

Pre-race picture

Brent completed his annual 5K race this morning.... in the rain! Brent has been training since October to knock his time down - this event not having to worry about a dog stopping short of the finish line (or pooping mid-race). Diesel, age 8, has retired from racing and unfortunately Oscar has other issues preventing him from running - he hates new people. Too bad really - he is quite an athlete.

Brent started a little behind the first mass of people, but kept a good pace - he said no one passed him.

We ran in to the gym to get out of the rain and stay semi-warm. Kade fell asleep in his stroller - all cozy in his blankets. I knew what time Brent had completed the race last year, so I knew about what time to head back outside to see Brent finish..... however, I had a feeling he would be a lot sooner than that!

Sure enough, Brent crushed last year's record.

He completed the race, 27th overall, in 24 minutes 41 seconds - 4th in his age division. He shaved off over 2 1/2 minutes from last year's time. Yay Brent!! :)

So proud of you! Husky was happy too that he didn't have to run, but still came along to say hello to all the other canines!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving as a family of four. The day was great - sunny, but cold - and everyone was in a happy mood!

Brock helped me make some pancakes while Brent cooked us some "real bacon" from the meat market right up the street.

I believe this picture was from a few days prior, but we had fun on a little walk around the neighborhood too.

 Then it was time for some turkey cooking!! Brent stayed a safe distance from the house and set up his usual deep-frying station for the bird. Our way of bringing a little North Carolina up to the Pacific Northwest! Works great for me - Brent does the turkey and I get the kitchen alone to work on all the sides! Well... kind of alone...

Time to eat! I didn't have to tell brock twice (at least initially). Marshmallows first (from the sweet potatoes), then corn, then turkey (after asking for more marshmallows). He eventually ate everything on his plate except the cranberry sauce.

And he is loving his Pottery Barn Kids Reindeer plates! He loves choosing a different reindeer for every meal since!

Sweater outfit by Great-Grandmother Lillian

Kade says he can't wait until next year when HE can have all this food on his plate too! (As I'm sure the dogs will be looking forward to another kid to sit under!)

Let the holidays begin!!!

Brock and his "Thankful Turkey" - his list 1) My Daddy 2) A turkey 3) For Diesel & Oscar 4) My brother Kade and 5) Chuck E. Cheese (he specifically stated "No, not Mama")

We are SOOO excited for the holidays this year! (It really is so much better to celebrate with children) Brock has already started asking if Santa came - to which I reply, no - it's not even Thanksgiving yet and we haven't put the tree up! Brock: "Santa took the tree Mama." Sweet boy - yes, it's been missing since January, but no, Santa didn't take it with him!

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet (I just told Brock that again now), but Christmas is all around us (cue Love Actually) and I think after Halloween is fair game anyway. :)

The moose above the fireplace all decorated for the holidays

We went to Bass Pro Shop today to see their Winter Wonderland, and of course, Santa. :) To be fair, Brent needed some items for goose hunting and he had money on a gift voucher that was expiring after today.

I think our family picture came out pretty good! Brock was NOT interested in sitting on Santa's lap (nor talking to him either for that matter). I figured this would be a good trial run for the "real Santa" at Bellevue Mall. ;)

Brock was super excited about the other activities. They had play bow & arrows for the kids to shoot ducks. Brent enjoyed them too....

And pretend rifles to shoot ducks, deer, bear, etc (we didn't shoot the bear).

Yes, it was a pink gun - they only had two and you get what you get and you don't get upset. ;)
Kade was there too!!

Last was a craft - coloring a wooden Santa ornament. I love this picture with Kade looking on in the background!

Brent helped Brock write his letter to Santa since he didn't want to tell Santa in person.... he didn't really understand this yet, but he liked putting the letter in the mailbox to the North Pole.

Super fun start to the holiday season and a very pretty drive down to Tacoma!