"I'm 6!"

Actually...Bridger just turned 3 but deep down in his heart he thinks he's 6, so that's what he tells people.  He's a couple years off, but who's counting? :)

Last year when I bought his birthday presents, I took him with me and he was oblivious to the whole thing.  I tried to do it again this year, but wasn't successful.  It's hard to go into the toy department at Walmart and nonchalantly hide a Hot Wheels semi under the lettuce.  He's just too savvy now.  I told him I was getting toys for his cousin, but he didn't buy it and kept asking when he could have his semi.  The little stinker.

Bridger has an obsession with tractors and construction vehicles, usually putting me in my place when I call something a "big truck".  "No, Mom", he says in exasperation, "THAT is a skid steer loader". I'm sure he's thinking to himself, "Is she for REAL?"  However, it is true enlightenment on my part. And I sure do appreciate his patience with an imbecile like me.

He has now expanded his deep love for motor vehicles to include Hot Wheels, so we had a construction vehicle/Hot Wheels party and it seemed to make all his dreams come true.  Happy Birthday to my Bridgy Boo!

Spring Break

This past spring break I was lucky enough to go home to Ontario and visit with my family for a few days.  Here are a few photos with 2 of my favorite people (my mom and sister, Kaisa).  Looks like I didn't get the "wear purple" memo.  I feel so left out. :)

And finally, our supermodel pose...watch out Tyra Banks!  That's right, we're sexy and we know it. :)

All Aboard

This has to be one of my boys favorite past times - making a train out of the dining room chairs.  Whenever I mop, this is inevitably what I find in the living room.  This time, however, they got creative and wanted to put a "roof" on the train with the blankets. I remember my sister, Kaisa, and I doing the same thing when Mom would mop.  Guess it's in our genes. :)

At Last...

One of the great trials of Hayden's young life thus far has been the stubborn persistence of his two front teeth.  Being nearly 8 and not having lost a single tooth is almost too ghastly to mention.  When all of his second grade class has lost one or more teeth already...well, you can imagine the turmoil of his poor little soul.  However, Hayden has endured this hardship fairly well, with only the occasional, "Why ME?"

On Tuesday when Jeremy and Hayden went to the dentist for checkups, Jeremy asked Dr. Waite to just yank Hayden's front teeth out on the sly and put him out of his misery.   Not wanting to tramatize him, Dr. Waite didn't pull, but instead wiggled them around a lot to hopefully speed up the process.

So imagine my surprise when I see a beaming gap-toothed Hayden walking towards me when I went to pick him up from school that day.  He proudly told me that Ashton, a classmate, had backed into him and knocked his tooth right out.  He reenacted the scene, going into great detail about the amount of blood lost.  He walked around the rest of the day, flaunting his gaping hole like a badge of honor.  After giving it some thought, he wondered if he could ask Ashton to knock his other tooth out. :)

Express Yourself

Bridger is an expressive little guy.  Sometimes when he is talking I don't hear much of what he says because I get so wrapped up in the crinkling of his face, the arching of his eyebrows and the finger-pointing and gesturing involved.  He talks non-stop it seems and has recently used new words like  "aksully" (actually) and "whomunis" (humongous).   Never a dull moment with this one!

Snow, Glorious Snow

The day the boys have been waiting for finally arrived on Friday...a Snow Day.  Nothing brings children more joy then the cancellation of school or an excuse to stay in pajamas all day long.  And there really is something so cozy about being tucked safe and sound in your warm house while the storm rages outside.  I baked some bread and Jeremy amazed us with his culinary prowess by making a pork roast in the pressure cooker all by his little self. 

We received over a foot of snow, with the drifts in the backyard going up to Hayden's shoulders.  The boys were in heaven when it finally stopped snowing and blowing long enough to go out and play in it.  However, no one enjoyed it more than Finley, who bounded gleefully about, crashing through the drifts.  I think these pictures speak for themselves.

Parkin' It

When we hear it's going to be warmer then 40 degrees around here, we practically break out the shorts.  Yesterday was supposed to be in the 50s, so we headed to Black Forest for a hike.  I'm not sure what we were thinking, since the trails were still covered in snow and anything not covered in snow was an oozy mud pit.  We decided against the mud pit and went to Black Forest park instead.  Hooray for 40 degrees in January!

Not sure what Jeremy's doing here...