T-Ball Time!

The time has come for t-ball to start again! Yeah! Matthew did such a great job at his first "game" tonight. This is our second year of doing t-ball through the Southdale YMCA. They play once a week for an hour. The first 1/2 hour is spent practicing the basics - catching, throwing, hitting the ball and running the bases (of course). The second 1/2 hour is spent playing a little "game." I put that in parenthesis because they don't track runs, and there really is no winner or loser. Each kid gets a turn at bat. You get one base for each person that hits, and then the last hitter for each team gets to do a home run. Both teams get two turns at bat, and two turns in the field.

Watching them in the field is hysterical. The coaches (a.k.a. parent volunteers) really try to space the kids out and put them in a position. However, as many of you know, once that ball hits the ground - they all go for it! Before long, the outfield looks like a pile of five-year olds on the pitchers mound!

Oh well, it is all in good fun. Matthew seemed to enjoy himself, and that is all that matters. The first picture on top is of him catching a quick drink of water before heading up to bat. The second picture is of him coming up on third base, and the third is him up to bat for the last time tonight. Enjoy!

Father's Day 2010

Happy Father's Day! What had such a fun weekend. We actually started the annual celebration on Saturday. We woke Arik up early with some presents, and headed off to Bryant Lake Bowl for some breakfast. It was awesome. It is, by far, our favorite breakfast place in the city. The kids love the bowling alley, and we love the food! It's a win win for everyone!

When we got home, we put the kids in the double stroller and went for a long walk. We started off following the creek, and then we crossed over the bridge and headed back to our house along the lake. The kids enjoyed our little pit stop at the beach park. They got to spend some quality time on the swings and slide before climbing back into the stroller.

On Sunday morning, we took another long walk. This time, we headed down Chicago to Turtle Bread. We split a sticky bun, had some coffee, and headed back towards our house along the creek. It was another beautiful morning for a walk.

As you can see from the pictures, we then headed off to Woodbury for some water fun at the Hanson's. Rod and Diane grilled up an excellent lunch, and set up all of this fun stuff for the kids. They had the pool out, as well as the slip 'n' slide. Everyone had a blast. Even the big kids (i.e Arik & Aaron) got in on the water fun!

Happy Father's Day to all of the great Dad's that we know! Enjoy the photos!

Amy Goes To The Dentist!

We were due for Matthew's 6-month check up, so we decided to toss in an appointment for Amy and see how she did. Well ... she didn't like it very much. I forgot that Matthew was over 3 the first time we brought him. What a difference 6 months makes. She liked all of the toys and stickers, but wasn't real thrilled when it was time to get up in the big chair and open wide.

Needless to say, we didn't get a cleaning in for her. Just some teeth counting, and a discussion on getting rid of the beloved nuk. The time has come. Our goal is to have it gone by her 3rd Birthday in August. Wish us luck with that.

Matthew was a superstar this morning. He hopped right up in his chair and had his teeth cleaned in no time! Check out his shades. This pediatric dental clinic is awesome. In the second picture, he is showing Amy how to use the water toys. I love that they have these. Rocco and I used to play with these as kids!

At least we got Amy to smile at the end. She was definitely happy that we were LEAVING!

I haven't posted a Matthew conversation in a while, so here is a quick look at our walk back to the car. I was alone with the kids, so I grabbed Matthew's hand, and asked him to grab Amy's:

Matthew: "Hey Mommy!"
Me: "What?"
Matthew: "This is like a science experiment!"
Me: "Really? How so?"
Matthew: "Because ... (looking at Amy) ... small ... (looking at himself) ... medium ... (looking at me) ... and large!"
Me: "Wow! You are right! That is like a science experiment!"

Note to self: Teach son that women do NOT like to be referred to as large!!

2nd Lost Tooth!

Can you believe it? He lost another one! The Tooth Fairy is working overtime at our house! She was so proud of Matthew this time around that she left him TWO QUARTERS! He could not have been more excited. I am sure there will be many more posts like this to come. I hope the Tooth Fairy paces herself ...

Batgirl

Check out our little trouble-maker in action! This would never fly with Matthew around ... but when he is at daycare and you are home ill with Mommy ... the rules no longer apply. She had this on within 2 minutes of us getting home. What a stinker! She was so proud of herself. Enjoy the funny photo!

5.19.10 Uncle Aaron's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Aaron! After starting off the day golfing with Arik, he golfed another round with his parents, and then we all met up in Woodbury for a big celebratory BBQ. As you can see from the photos, we had another gorgeous night for grilling. This time it was steaks and chicken on the Hanson's deck. Everything was wonderful.

Nobody lacks for help blowing out their candles with our crew around. Matthew and Amy were quick to jump in and help. We hope you had a fabulous birthday Aaron! Until next year ....

Grandma Jane's Birthday 2010

Well, since we couldn't get together last weekend, we decided to do a joint birthday/Mother's Day celebration with the Bonello Clan. Another fun day was had by all. Rocco and Meg took my Mom to an art fair in NE Mpls all afternoon, and then we met up at our place for a BBQ.

The weather could not have been more perfect. Rocco spent most of the time teaching Matthew jokes. I am sure he will be the hit of the daycare for weeks to come! Everyone had a great time.

We grilled up some jerk chicken, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers. Very tasty. Plus, it wouldn't be a birthday celebration without cake and ice cream. My Mom loves anything with lemon. This year, I whipped up some tasty lemon cupcakes with homemade lemon frosting. They were the bomb! There was nothing healthy about them ... which is why they tasted so good.

Happy Birthday Mom!