Spring Trainee

32 days until pitchers and catchers report!

I'm just saying...

His mom can dress him up in as many basketball shirts as she wants, but we can all see that Michael gravitates towards the sandlot.

Looks like a natural, no?

Reading Time?

Like just about every family in America, we try to end our evenings with some quiet reading time. However, quiet, reading, and Michael don't quite mesh yet. Here were the kiddos tonight...Katie trying to figure out why Michael is literally climbing the walls!

Shaggy Do

It's time again for a blog vote!!! That's right...we need your input! This time we are going to vote on Michael's hair. Over the holidays, we got so many comments on how he "needs a haircut" that you would think we were running a hippie commune cult over here. What do you think?

VOTE:

A.) YES - Cut that kid's hair! He's starting to look more like a Michelle than a Michael to me. The Bieber-Mullet combo is just not cutting it. (No pun intended.)

B.) NO - Let it grow even longer! Once you cut his hair, he'll no longer look like a baby. How can you even think of cutting that luxurious red hair? People drool over it everywhere you go!


Alright, people - let's hear it in the comment section!!! (PS - This is all tongue-in-cheek...we won't be offended either way you vote.)

Katie's 4th Birthday Extravaganza!

It's time to finally get caught up with all the events surrounding Katie's 4th birthday! We started the celebrations with the 2nd Annual Daddy-Daughter Dinner, where Katie gets a special dinner out with her daddy the night before her birthday. Our only rule for the dinner: she has to pick a new location every year. Her choice-of-the-year? None other than Subway!! (Nice cheap date, huh? Can't wait until she's a teenager and starts demanding 4-star restaurants in the city...)

Anyway, she had a fabulous actual January 4th, as well. She proudly took in cupcakes to preschool, where she was treated like a rock star for the day. The kids and teachers sang to her, she got to pass out the cupcakes, and she got a special birthday hat to wear for the day. She was on Cloud 9 when we picked her up at lunchtime. Later, Daddy came home from work early so that we could have her favorite dinner (Taco Soup), more cupcakes, and the present opening. That was when she got the big "surprise" of the night...her brand-new bike and helmet! (Please, Mother Nature, let a nice spring thaw begin. She has already run into the walls, her little brother, and the back of our legs trying to ride that darn thing inside.)

Finally, we hosted our first-ever actual birthday party for her this year. Since we have major space issues in our tiny condo, we allowed her to invite four friends over for cake and pizza. Unfortunately, one of her buddies bowed out with illness, but the rest of us totally rocked out to a prince/princess theme. The kids had a blast doing a craft project, playing with tons of toys, telling "Knock-Knock" jokes (4-year-olds definitely need some work on this), and leaving the party with their own sword and shield. We only had one minor injury (head to the wall) and a few tears, so...all in all...it was a major success!!

Phew, our holiday season is officially over and we can relax a little. Bring it on, #5!! Oh, and please feel free to look at pictures spanning all three events in our photo album to the right.

Christmas, Part 2

Nearly 1,700 miles of driving, spanning 11 days and 7 states.... Wow - we survived the most massive driving trip we have ever undertaken with kids!! But, it was all worth it, as our trip was filled with too many highlights to mention them all. There was the pit stop we made in Ann Arbor to eat lunch with our college buddy, Barry. And, then there were all of the amazing moments in East Grand Rapids, especially the ones spent with Grandma M. at Raybrook. Of course, we also had fun back in Bolingbrook/Chicago, watching Tom play basketball and meeting Ben's girlfriend (aka, Katie's idol). Finally, we rounded out our road trip ringing in the new year with family in Pittsburgh. Oh, and did we forget to say that Santa treated us all very nicely? Phew - it was amazing!! But, don't take our word for it. Please check out our "Christmas, Part 2" photo album to the right! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Shout-Out!!

Yes, we realize that we have quite a bit of holiday/birthday catching up to do...but we could not resist posting this video for the day. Katie's current favorite kids' band, Rocknoceros, appeared in the area this morning; so Traci and Michael treated her to a post-birthday show. Little did Katie know that Mommy may have whispered to the band that it was her birthday. See for yourself her shock and awe when she realized that the band and entire audience was singing "Happy Birthday" to her!!! Priceless.

(Please excuse the general poor quality of the video: 1.) I had no idea when the surprise was coming, so I had to scramble for the CamCorder. 2.) The room was rather dark, so you can't see much. 3.) Michael chose that moment to try and poke another kid's eye out, so the videography was a little shaky as I tried to deal with two things at once. Such is the life with multiple kids, right?)

Happy 4th Birthday, Katherine Reese!