Random pictures

The walls on our home have really begun to cave in on me this month as we have been home sick quite a bit. Poor Caleb and his cold sore (herpes) breakout kept us home for about 2 weeks. So we got creative and made Lego cities and race tracks, animals out of play dough, played with games and puzzles, and so many other fun things. Here are some random pictures from the month.

Poor baby...

Here's Casey with our "rainbow city"

Caleb wearing his monkey hat and playing with the candy dish he got out of the drawer

Casey wearing daddy's favorite (and mommy's least favorite) hat

My precious boy sleeping

Once Caleb's sores were no longer contagious we began to adventure out a bit more.
Here they are at the domes train show. I love this picture because Casey is holding on to Caleb's hand...melts a mother's heart

We went to Flabbergast this past Friday and Casey really enjoyed teaching
Caleb how to race cars. I didn't even have to put any money in!

For those of you who don't know...Matt is a Saint's fan. He has been one as long as I have know him (at least since high school). So I had to get him a championship t-shirt!

The next time I blog it will be about our trip to Mexico!!! I can't wait!

Princesses on Ice!

On Sunday I got to be a part of a special princess day! My sister invited my mom and I to join her and her girls (the oldest three) to go out for lunch and see Disney's Princesses on Ice.

We started our fun adventure at Applebees. I got to sit in between Riley and Hannah (Snow White and Cinderella). They were dressed up so cute and had their lip gloss and all.

When we got to the US Cellular Arena my sister realized she had left the tickets in the car. So my mom offered to jog back to get them. While we were waiting they got to pick out a souvenir. Hailey got a princess purse and Riley and Hannah picked out blinking crowns.

At the show I was blessed to sit between Riley and Hannah again (I don't think Hailey is an aunt Joy fan). The girls really enjoyed the show...so did I. Hannah had a lot to say about the characters and who was naughty and nice!


On our way home the girls crashed in the backseat. What a fun day! Thanks for inviting me along sis! Feel free to come along on any of our "boy adventures".

Happy 4th Birthday Casey!

Casey turned 4 years old on Sunday, January 31st! He was so excited to celebrate his birthday. For the past several months he has been talking about how he wanted to have a football cake. When anyone asked him what he wanted for his birthday he would say, "a football cake". Occasionally he might mention a train...


This past fall I was able to get a new bike from someone off of Craig's list for $10. So we added some training wheels and a horn and gave it to Casey for his birthday. He wasn't very excited, but we know he will love it once he can get outside and ride it!

To celebrate his birthday we invited some of his closest family and friends to a pizza/sports themed party. The kids played a few games, we ate pizza and football cake and enjoyed a really fun time together. Casey is so blessed to have so many people in his life that love him so much.

Here he is with his favorite person, cousin Hannah. He wants her to be his Valentine, how cute is that!

On Monday Casey got to stand in front of his school at music class while the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Then he got to lead them in the song of his choice. He choose "The Wheels on the Bus". I was so proud of him as he ran up there and stood like such a big boy, he didn't even get stage fright!


I can't wait to see what is in store for Casey this year. He has grown into such a smart, loving, polite little boy. I am bettin' that he may be the next Doogie Howser M.D (remember that show?). Time will tell!

So quicky they grow up!

I can't believe that my baby is 18 months old already! It was only yesterday he was 7 pounds all cuddled up in my arms. Although he is now 24 pounds, he still enjoys being cuddled up in my arms.

We refer to Caleb as monkey boy for several reasons. The first one being that when he hugs you he wraps his arms and legs around you just like a monkey. He also enjoys climbing and jumping, eating bananas, and has the cutest little smile (much cuter than a monkey in fact).

How could I forget...he is Curious Caleb, like Curious George the cartoon. Caleb gets into EVERYTHING. It is a wonder I haven't had to call the poison control hot line or 911 yet! Here is a good example of what I mean...

Last night while we were waiting for daddy to get home and I was trying to get dinner ready Caleb wandered off into the bathroom to play. Usually he plays with my feminine products or makeup. He got into my tiny little rubber bands this time and made a mess all over the bathroom...In the meantime daddy got home and asked if I had seen the bathroom, of course I have just didn't have time to clean it up yet. So while Matt and I were cleaning up the mess Caleb made in the bathroom he pulled his dinner plate off the kitchen table and began to eat without us (did I mention I just mopped the floor?)

Caleb also has been enjoying doing just about everything Casey does. Matt was pulling Casey around in this Rubbermaid container the other night and so now Caleb climbs inside and whines until someone gives him a ride too. Every time he needs his diaper changed I give him a ride to the bedroom. It works well!

At meal times Caleb wants to eat whatever we are eating. He does well with a spoon so I thought we would try cereal. Sure a lot of milk ended up on the table but he was so proud of himself. I have to say, it kept him busy for awhile so I could unload the dishwasher.

Time goes by so fast. Don't forget to enjoy every hug, kiss and giggle
you share with your little monkey!

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

I can't believe that 2010 is already here! When I look back on 2009 I have to say it was a good year for the Buntrocks. No major changes occurred, but we made a lot of fun memories.

Here are the boys at the beginning and end of the year. Caleb made major growth progress and reached many milestones. Casey has turned into a very bright, well-mannered young boy.

He went from choking his little brother...

...to hugging him!

My top 10 memories of 2009 (you know how I love to make lists)

1. Family trip to Las Vegas in the spring
2. Casey and Caleb becoming playmates
3. long walks while Casey rode his bike
   
4. Camping with our Sunday school group
5. Camping at Devil's lake without the boys (anniversary trip)
   
6. Camping at Baraboo Hills with my family
7. WI Dells getaway
   
8. Wipe out Wednesdays in the summer
9. Visiting many different Milwaukee area parks in the summer
10. Playing at the beach with the boys

I could really go on and on because we had so many great adventures last year...but it is time to look on to 2010. This could potentially be a very big year for our family. We are hoping to put our house on the market very soon and move a bit west (only 15-20 minutes from where we are now). Once we accomplish this we hope that the Lord will bless us with an expansion of my belly and our family! We are very excited as the year begins and can't wait to see what God has in store for us. Happy New year to you all!

Pump it Up!

My oldest niece Hannah turned 5 on December 31st! She had her birthday party at a place called Pump it Up, the inflatable party zone. Casey and I had a lot of fun jumping, climbing and sliding.

Casey had to know where Hannah was at all times!

I think my brother and his girlfriend had more fun than some of the kids!

After jumping and playing we went in the party room for cupcakes and presents.

Casey really liked the present he picked out for Hannah...a Thomas video.

Happy birthday princess Hannah!

Christmas highlights

Christmas 2009

The boys are lucky enough to have three sets of grandparents as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins to share in celebrating the birth of our savior. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Christmas 2009.

Christmas morning at home

One of the best gifts ever!

Casey was happy to see a train chugging around the tree that morning.

The Reed and Buntrock kids (except for Lucy...she was napping)

Here they are later in the day...not as cooperative.
Noah is even picking a little gift for grandpa Lew!

Casey and cousin Dylan playing hot wheels together.

The boys with grandpa and grandma Buntrock

White Christmas

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

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Jingle Bus

On Saturday night we met my mom, sister and her kids at the Grand Avenue Mall downtown Milwaukee to take the kids on the Jingle bus tour. It costs $1 per person and they take you on a 35-40 minute bus tour of downtown. They give you a bit of history about some of the major buildings downtown while playing festive music. There are some nice light displays around town as well. Casey enjoyed riding on the back of the jingle bus and Caleb enjoyed the lights and being entertained by his cousin Hailey. After the bus ride we watched the holiday bears perform in the mall and walked around a bit. Above you can see a picture of the kids in front of one of the Christmas trees at the mall. No Santa...Casey was bummed (just kidding, he doesn't really like Santa).

Below are just some fun pictures of us from Sunday. We were trying to get daddy in the Christmas mood. He has been working so hard lately that he hasn't been able to enjoy the season much. Cheer up daddy...it's a 3 day work week!!!

Holiday fun

This weekend we began to celebrate the true reason for the season...Our Savior, Jesus' birthday!

On Friday morning I put on a birthday party for Jesus for the 2, 3 and 4 year old Moppets children at church. There were about 18 kids there excited and ready to celebrate. My friend Amy started us off with the story of Jesus' birth and then I took over with some games, a craft and of course cupcakes!

Here they are between the parade through the Pastor's office area and cupcake time.

Here's Casey with the ornament that he made. It is hanging front and center on our tree!

Friday night we were invited over to my mom's place for dinner. It was nice to not have to cook or clean up:) For those of you who know my Casey, he is a picky eater. Grandma told him if he ate his dinner he would get to have some chocolate pudding. Before long he was commenting on how his dinner was "actually yummy" and he cleaned his plate.

Grandma with her favorite boys (sorry Andy, you take a backseat to grandkids!)

After I finished my crazy shift at the mall on Saturday I was able to attend my Uncle Scott's wedding. My uncle is a chaplain at the VA hospital in Milwaukee so that is where the service was held. Afterward we were all invited to a Thai restaurant for dinner. The whole event was quite an experience. Welcome to the family Aunt Sung!

All of the family that were lucky to be there.

My goofy brother Andy and Uncle Scott

The newlyweds!

On Sunday evening Matt and I were blessed to join some of our very best friends for our Sunday school class Christmas party. It was such a fun night filled with food, laughter, and conversation because we all left the kids at home! We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful network of friends to do life with. We love you guys!