Trainfest 2008

Trainfest 2008 was on Saturday the 8th, Joy had to work that day so it turned into a Daddy-Casey adventure. Joy asked Karen to watch Caleb so Casey and I could go hang out together. Casey is into trains, big trucks, construction vehicles, helicopters basically anything big that moves. I had been talking to him about the show for a couple of days so he was very very excited to go. The show was HUGE - it took up the whole expo center at state fair, there were trains of all sizes, types and yes there was plenty of Thomas the tank engine. Casey got to start and stop one of the trains at a booth (I somehow forgot to take a picture). There was a Lego setup complete with Lego trains. There was a train you could ride but it was a circus theme, and Casey wanted nothing to do with it. One thing I learned, the smart or experienced train show parents brought a stool for their little one to stand on so they can see, otherwise most of the exhibits are to high. I ended up carry Casey most of the time, at least I got a work out (sorta) out of the day. Casey's favorite of the day was the exhibit pictured below, I thought it was cool too. It was the only setup that was on the floor, they had multiple trains going at the same time, there was a Christmas train, a Thomas train, a Percy train, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. There is a video that goes along here, it's neat but a little long.


After we got back to the car Casey said "I went to the train show and it was fun" and when we got home he told me he wanted to go back. It was so cool to see Casey so excited and having such a fun time. I love being a dad.

Fun!

This week we have had some really beautiful weather in WI. You never know when it is going to get really cold and start snowing so I decided to take advantage and get these boys outside.

Casey has absolutely been having a blast playing in the leaves. Yesterday at the park I got some great shots of the boys rolling around (well one was rolling) in the leaves. This is a great way to get out some energy I tell ya. Both boys had great naps yesterday afternoon.

Besides playing around in the leaves, Casey has become a great commentator. He likes to tell you what he's doing, what your doing, etc. So today after nap I put him on the potty and this is what he told me:
"Mommy's putting on make up, Casey is going pee pee. Mommy will not put medicine in Casey's bottom (long story). Oh, I hear it...pee pee is coming out of my peeeeenuts! Now I will get a new sticker".

I about fell over laughing! What a funny little man.

Angel Madilynn

Today marks the 4th anniversary of our angel Madilynn Marie Buntrock's birth date. We try to celebrate it every year by doing something special as a family. So tonight we took the boys to visit her grave site at Parklawn. We brought cupcakes and 4 purple balloons. When we released the balloons we prayed for 4 things:

• That our boys would grow up to be healthy, strong, Christian men
• That the Lord would guide our path as parents
• Casey prayed for his cupcake:)
• For the future of our family

Here is a picture from our time as a family honoring Madi's memory.

This day always is a day of reflection for me. It is funny how the whole ordeal is engraved in my memory like it was yesterday. But yet I look at how much we have been blessed since our loss. I will never regret carrying Madi in my womb for 5 short months. Her little life has been the source of many blessings.

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. -Job 1:21

Trick or treat

What an adventure! We went trick or treating in my sister's neighborhood last night with Casey. Let me tell you, Casey has never held my hand or stayed so close to me ever! He has not been a fan of costumes this year. My favorite was when he was afraid to walk past a little girl dressed like a fairy. Needless to say he got a nice bucket full of yummy treats. Here are some pictures of our little Thomas the tank Engine and his care bear cousins. Oh, and of course we dressed up Caleb like a little lion (no trick or treating for him this year).

My favorite was when Casey said to a lady, "I want some". How many times did we practice that we say trick or treat when they open the door and thank you after they give you a treat...oh well! Later at least he said please.

Fall Fun!

I can't believe how gorgeous it is today. It doesn't feel like Halloween at all. After taking a trip to the library to stock up on new books and train videos I decided to take the boys to the park. Every time we have gone in the past few weeks I have told Casey, this will probably be our last trip to the park this year, it will be getting cold outside soon. So today he informed me that it will probably be our last time to the park! Here are some pictures of us enjoying this 60 degree day.

All about Caleb

Last night Casey was feeling under the weather so Matt decided to cheer him up and build him a new track for his trains. So while they were bonding in the basement Caleb and I had some fun in the tub!

Here is a video before bath time. It is the first time I have been able to get Caleb to laugh for the camera. In fact, Matt hasn't even seen him laugh yet. He is a hard one to crack!



Then we have Caleb in the bath. As you can see, he has discovered his tongue. In fact I think his favorite things right now are blowing bubbles and chomping on his fingers!

After bath he was all snuggled up in his towel. This picture reminds me of Casey so much.

All about Casey

Sometimes I find that with a newborn in the house our big boy seems to loose a lot of attention. So I decided to feature him and him alone in this blog.

Casey just loves the outdoors. He doesn't seem to be bothered by the heat, cold, rain, snow, etc... Here are some pictures of him and daddy after they raked up the yard together.

Here Casey is holding the pumpkin that he picked out on his own. It won't be to long until he wants to find the biggest pumpkin rather than the smallest.

For those of you following our potty training adventure here is an update for ya. We decided that underpants was not the way to go with Casey. He really doesn't care when he has urine dripping down his leg, but I do! So we put him in pull-ups during the day and a diaper at night. We try to put him on the potty after meals, nap time, and snacks. On average he goes on the potty 2 times a day and has stayed dry several days. He refused to poop on the potty and we aren't pushing the issue due to some constipation problems. Every time he goes on the potty he gets a sticker for his shirt and one for his chart. He filled up his first chart (30 spaces) so we took him to Stonefire Pizza for his reward. We are very happy with his progress. He is too!

WI Dells getaway

This past weekend we took the boys to the Dells for a little getaway. Each year we try to go with my sister and her family as well as my mom. Last year we went during the summer but were not able to make it there this year due to Caleb's arrival. So we decided that it might be fun (not to mention a lot cheaper) to go in the fall.

My sister found us a great deal at the Polynesian. They had the perfect pool area for the kids to splash around in. Believe it or not it was really relaxing. Now that the kids are getting older we don't have to follow them around as much. We sat at the edge of the pool and enjoyed watching them have a blast.


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Besides the swimming we spent some time at the outlet mall and went out to eat at IHOP and McDonalds (both kid friendly). We also enjoyed some downtime during naps.

Besides the swimming pool I would have to say that Casey really enjoyed his sleepover in Grandma's room with his cousin Hannah. They are the best of friends and have so much fun together. It will be fun to watch them grow together. As much as these two were attached at the hip I wasn't able to get a picture of them! Go figure!

THE BIG 30!

I can't believe it but I have hit the big 30! Surprisingly enough I feel really excited about it. It has been really fun to look back on the past 30 years and see how much I have learned and all that I have been blessed with. I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband and 2 precious little boys.

Casey helped me bake and frost a cake for the occasion. He really got into it and was a big help.

Matt took the day off of work so we could spend some time together and so I could get a bit of a break. So we started the day off at the YMCA. This may not sound very excited to most, but Matt and I really enjoyed working out together. We used to work out together at the wee hours of the morning before we had children. It was fun.

We spent the rest of the morning at the Family Farm in Grafton. Here are some pictures of our
adventure.

Here we are hanging out in the hay romp. Casey really enjoyed jumping around in here.

The family farm had a ton of animals to look at and feed. Matt made friends with a goat. Casey and Caleb got to take a turn pretending to be animals too.

We took a tractor hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Casey didn't like any of those pumpkins though so we needed to go to another patch to find him a baby pumpkin. He picked out his very own and was as proud as can be!




In the afternoon Matt watched the boys so I could go to the mall and buy some new clothes with the gift cards I had gotten. It was a ton of fun. Then I came home and we had a ham dinner and carved our pumpkin!

Matt made me a very special gift this year. He made a DVD of pictures from all 30 years of my life. It was really fun to look back on some of my fun childhood memories as well as my crazy teenage years. What a full and blessed life I have had so far. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me in this decade!!!

Let's get this party started!

Well, this weekend started our week of fun. My dad and Sheryl came down to celebrate my 30th birthday! We hung out at my sister Leah's house and ate pizza and cake. Of course we watched the Packer's game too! Here are some pictures of our fun day.

Here are the cousins dressed up in their Packer gear!


Our happy family as Casey likes to say

The Reed family (with another one due in April!)

Big cousin Hannah practicing for the new arrival!

Me and my daddy!


Stay tuned, we have lots of fun stuff planned this week....