Getting back to normal...finally!

We are all finally feeling like ourselves again after a long couple of weeks. Matt and I were laying in bed last night commenting on how life really gets thrown off when one of us is sick. We had back to back illnesses which made for a crazy house. We all were looking forward to getting back into the swing of things today. Matt went was able to head to the Y this morning for his Monday morning workout and Casey and I also made it there ourselves, a few hours later though! Tomorrow Casey and Matt have swim lessons while Tinker bell (baby) and I bob up and down in water aerobics!

Casey has been doing and saying a lot of funny things lately. Last night I was checking his diaper to see if he left me a present and he says to me, "stop it mommy". It made Matt and I laugh. He also ate his entire evening meal as if he were some type of loud animal, or perhaps cookie monster. His imagination is growing, that's for sure!

When sickness strikes...

Matt was knocked out last week with a bad flu bug and was feeling better just in time for Easter Sunday. Unfortunately I woke up on Easter morning with a sore throat and cough. As the days went on I got extremely sick and was stuck in bed. Wednesday I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a bronchial and bacterial infection. I am taking an antibiotic that will hopefully have me healthy soon. Casey has had a runny nose and cough this week as well but hasn't seemed to be bothered by it much.

So while I was stuck in bed my wonderful hubby took time off of work to spend with Casey. Yesterday it was sunny and 50 here so they bundled up and went to the ZOO for the morning. They enjoyed seeing the animals and and spending some quality guy time together. Since the weather was so nice we grilled out brats...yum!

As we were cleaning up the kitchen Casey discovered the door stop by the back door. He kept pulling on it and saying elephant stuck. It took us a little while to realize that he thought the door stop was a trunk and that an elephant was stuck in the wall! We are really enjoying this stage, he makes us laugh daily.

That reminds me of another good story. On Easter I asked my niece Hannah what she thought was in my belly. She stated very matter of factly that my breakfast was in my belly. I must have had a large breakfast that day!

fun stuff!

Friday night Matt and I were able to have a date night while Casey spent the night at his cousin Hannah's house. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner and saw Vantage Point afterwards. It was a very good movie for those of you looking for something to do this weekend! Casey of course had a blast with his big cousin. Aunt Leah took them to McDonald's Saturday morning for some pancakes and fun. She said he was a really good boy.

Later that day Casey came home to rest up for grandpa and grandma Buntrock's visit. They flew in Saturday afternoon just in time to babysit Casey for us while we attended our very first Murder Mystery Party. It was a really neat experience and Matt ended up being the murderer. Who knew he had it in him?Sunday we celebrated Easter with Matt's mom's side of the family at Nana and Buppa's house (even though they were baking in the sun in Hawaii). Casey really enjoyed playing with all of his cousins and of course all of the toys. That night we left Casey with grandma and grandpa for a couple of days. Dad had to work anyways and mom had jury duty...

Most of you know that I didn't want anything to do with serving on a jury. Although I wasn't picked for a trial ( I was rejected in fact) it was still a good experience. It was neat to see how it all works and learn about the judicial system. I have a deeper respect for the Milwaukee County Court system. By the way, the trial that I was called for was really lame, a step father and his daughter were fighting over $500. I was glad that I wasn't chosen to be a part of that, it seemed like a waste of everyone's time.

The rest of the week we have been enjoying our time with Matt's parents. Unfortunately Matt has come down with something and he has been in bed. But hopefully we can get him feeling better by Easter Sunday. Keep him in your prayers please.

busy, busy

Friday we went to Froedtert for our 20 week appointment. The ultrasound tech did a full anatomy scope on our little one. We still don't know the gender, by choice. At one point she asked us to look away so she could check to make sure everything was fine in that department...it was. The baby is growing right on schedule and appears to be healthy. The last few days he/she has been very active and mobile. We included a couple of pictures of how I am growing as well. Casey loves to hug my belly and say..."ohhhh, tinker bell". If you ask him what is in mommy's belly he says "a baby!". Little does he know what is to come....


Last week was a bit of a blur for us. The Upwards basketball program that Matt helps direct and coaches for had a big celebration on Sunday. So to wrap up the season Matt had a pizza party for his team on Thursday night and then pretty much was at church most of the weekend for set up, games and the big celebration night which was Sunday. My mom took Casey for us Sunday so that I could help out on Sunday which was really fun. They had a Christian magician come and he was rather entertaining. At one point Matt got to be a "dummy". Hopefully we'll get the video of this, it was rather amusing.

Last night Matt surprised me and took me to Lafuentes for dinner. It was so nice to be able to have some quality time with him while Casey hung out with nana and bupa for the evening. A date night to wrap up the business of the past couple of months was a great idea!

Casey's big weekend

Friday Casey had his cousin Hannah over for a sleepover. Hannah is a year older than Casey and he follows her around like a puppy dog. They played so nicely together.

On Saturday after we dropped Hannah off at home and visited Hailey and Riley we stopped at Stonefire Pizza for some lunch and fun. We pooped him out good before our trip to Chicago for Dylan and Summer's birthday party. He fell asleep in the car right away but then he woke up at the first toll.

When we got to Chicago Casey was ready to play with his other Cousins Summer, Dylan, Quinn, Emily and Cora. They all got along so well. Casey's favorite parts of the birthday party included playing with Dylan's train table, dancing and singing with the guitar woman, and playing with his big cousins.
To add to the fun we decided to stay over night at Dylan and Summer's house and go to the Shedd Aquarium with them on Sunday. Casey absolutely loved seeing the dolphins, whales, fish, turtles, and sharks. It was such a neat experience.

Roller Coaster of Emotions

We had our first pregnancy scare yesterday. This past weekend while I was away at the Spring Creek Women's Retreat I didn't feel real well. My stomache was just uneasy and I didn't sleep well. By the time Monday rolled around I was feeling better but had stopped feeling movement from the baby. By Tuesday morning I had myself very worked up and concerned to the point where I was feeling cramping and mild contractions. My friend Amy took Casey for us so that Matt could go to the hospital with me. We were prepared for the worst case scenario.

God is good and faithful and Tinkerbell was fine. What had happened was my belly had shifted last week and my placenta was covering the baby like an umbrella. So I probably won't be able to feel movement for a while. What a roller coaster of sad and happy tears yesterday! After the appointment we picked up Casey and went out for some ice cream to celebrate.

Model Trane Show at the Domes

While Joy was away at the Spring Creek women's retreat Casey and I went to a model train show at the Domes. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but it turned out to be very cool - and you can imagine how much fun Casey had watching all of those trains! They have a bunch of displays in the lobby, with all different size trains and different scenery. The detail that was put into the scenery was amazing; one of them had sections representing different cities in Wisconsin. Devil's lake had a cliff with some climbers on it, there was a mini Lambeau Field, the house on the rock, Miller Brewery, the ducks in the dells and on and on. Inside on of the domes they had a huge display set up with 4 tracks running in the middle of the dome. We could walk around the whole thing, we actually had our picnic lunch right there and Casey could watch the trains the whole time! Watch the videos to get a feeling of how big this display was.

Growing up so fast!

Yesterday Casey got his first haircut with a clippers. I have been cutting his hair just about every other week since he was 8 months old. Well, Casey didn't like the clippers very much but I think the results are pretty good. Unfortunately it took two tries before I was satisfied, but Casey survived and looks so handsome! I even put a bit of daddy's gel in it this morning for the picture.





We also finally were able to capture Casey reciting his ABC's on camera. I wish I could say that he did it out of being obedient...the truth is we bribed him with a candy heart! He loves his candy hearts just like his daddy:)

Fun weekend....so far!

In celebration of Valentine's Day Matt and I enjoyed an evening out on Friday night. We went to the Prime Quarter, a place we like to visit about once a year. Let me tell you, it a a pregnant woman's dream come true. In fact we saw a few other pregnant women there as well! Anyways, we took our time eating salad and talking before grilling our fillet mignons. They were yummy! I picket a good night to where maternity clothes, there was plenty of room for my belly to expand:)



Saturday Matt met his accountability partner at church before his 4 hour shift at Upwards began. I decided to take Casey to Tumbling Tykes open gym to get some energy out. I had taken him there one other time last winter. They have slides, a huge play mat with lots of balls and toys, a sandbox, ball pit, trampolines, and some other fun climbing toys. Casey's favorite was jumping in the balls. When our time was up we stopped at Wendy's to pick up lunch for daddy. What a fun day!

New adventures at the YMCA

This week in Casey's gym class at the YMCA we learned how to bowl and crawl on scooters like a crab. Casey showed all of his friends how fun it is to knock the bowling pins over with your arm rather then the ball. He also enjoyed watching mommy crawl on the scooter like a crab rather than doing it himself. He has learned a few new songs in his class as well as some fun movements. My favorite is when he does head, shoulders, knees and toes. But, like most two year olds, he won't do it on command for the camera. He only does things when he wants to do them. Like today at Walmart when he was singing his ABC's in his loudest and proudest voice. He brought a smile to the faces of the ladies around us.

The one thing we can always count on is that Casey will count as he walks down the stairs. Sometimes a little more accurate than others. Here is a video clip for you (sorry it is sideways):