Yankee Doddle Awesome!

Date With Bracken

April 11, 2014

Bracky and I had an afternoon to ourselves for a little mommy son date.  Bracken knew exactly what he wanted to do.  He wanted to hit up Freedom Station and play his little heart out.  We had a blast going from game to game collecting tickets.  As always Bracken had a hard time cashing them in, so many choices and just never enough tickets to buy what he really wants.  He cashed in his tickets for a giant, sour, gummy lizard, a few tootsie roll candies, and 2 plastic soldiers.

After Freedom Station we hit up Wal-Mart because Bracky had some hard earned money burning a whole in his wallet.  He purchased a king sized bag of Skittles (his favorite candy at the moment) and a mini rubbery, lifelike alligator  he named Gator and it goes every where with him.  He even whipped Gator out of his pocket in the middle of Church once, sneaky kid.

Bracky's First Game

April 7, 2014

Bracken's first game was a success.  He hit his balls on the first or second try, he ran the right direction every time, and for the most part he paid attention while in the out field.  He seemed a bit dazed at the beginning with the added commotion from playing an actual team, but by the second inning he was more confident.   

The Angel's

For 2 years Bracken has been envious of Nathan's post game treats and today he finally got his own.  It was quite possible the highlight of his day.

And just because he was so cute, here's a picture of Marco hauling his own chair.

General Conference Weekend

We live for General Conference in our home.  It's relaxing, rejuvenating, inspiring and elevating.  As usual we pulled out our 72 hour kits and the boys chowed down on old snacks and played their little hearts out with their emergency kit toys and trinkets.  Last year we added pocket knives to their packs so they were super excited to pull those out and enjoy some quality whittling time with Papi.

After the last session we spent some time outdoors before the sun set playing a little baseball.  We helped Bracken practice his batting skills for his first t-ball game coming up this week.

Sunday Snuggles

Our church services start in the afternoon at 1 p.m. so Sunday naps are a thing of the past for us this year.  But sometimes after church as the day is coming to a close we get in a few snuggles before the dinner and bedtime rush begin.

Temple Day with Friends

Curtis and I had the wonderful privilege of sharing a special day with our dear friends Jamie and Julia.  Julia received her Temple ordinances on March 21st and we were able to free up our calendar so we could be there with her.  It always feels good to be in the Temple but that day was especially powerful for us.  We will always cherish the memory of this day.

Marco Turns 2!

Our little Marquito is growing up so fast.  He is a big two year old and showing all the signs of being one.  When we are out and about the town people easily guess how old Marco is.  I'm not sure if it is the constant "My turn!" or "No!" that gives it away first.  But for all of his orneriness he is a cute little bugger that for the time being is still more sweet than ornery.

Stats:

Weight 30.3 lbs

Height 38 1/4"

Marco's birthday fell on a Friday so we shared a birthday treat with our Music Makers group.   Marco was able to dust off his candle blowing skills early and he did so good he blew it out before we even started singing.  His little friends really wanted to sing to him so we lit the candle again and gave it another go.

We also enjoyed a picnic lunch while we watched a movie.

Once everyone was gathered home from work and school we got our birthday celebration on!

Grandma and Grandpa Kleinman joined us for pizza and salad, presents and yummy cake pops which are one of Marco's favorite things.  Although I think we discovered that he likes blowing out candles more than eating the cake pops.

The first round of candle started in the living room just before opening presents.

After opening his presents we moved back to the table to eat our cake pops but Marco had other plans so round 2 of candle blowing commenced.

After round 2 I was able to distract him long enough for everyone else to start enjoying their pops but after only eating half of his own cake pop Marco begged for more candles so round 3 began and round 3 was a doozy.

I lost track of how many times we lit those candles for Marco.  The cutest part was hearing him sing Happy Birthday to himself before blowing out the candles.

Eventually Marco decided to sink his teeth into another cake pop and I quickly hid the candles and lighter.

Happy Birthday Marquito!