Draft Town - Dad Day!

Matt took all 3 kids to the city to check out Draft Town.  They had an awesome time!

Sweet Big Sibs!

Emmie is becoming much more fun to Maddie and Dane.  They are such great big siblings!!

Emerson - 18 Months

Weight - 22lbs. 2 oz (43%)
Length - 31.5" (39%)
Head - 46cm (42%)

18 Months and FULL of spunk!  Emerson has an opinion and she will make it known.  She can be a riot and she enjoys making people laugh.  She loves to tell people hi, hello and bye.  She will also scream and throw a fit when she doesn't get her way.  She loves to sing songs, read books and will still cuddle up before she goes to sleep.  She wants to hang with the big kids and she thinks she is one of them.  She wants to do everything on her own and will often push us away if we go to help.  She still takes off her socks and shoes and throws them when in car seats and in her stroller.  She also throws her drinks and food, which drives me a bit crazy! (I seriously don't think she drinks enough because she loses her cup after it hits the floor twice.)  She still loves baths and showers. After swim lessons, Maddie and Emmie shower together while singing songs and doing a shower dance. It's so cute to see them in action.  She is a little busy body and loves to climb.  She will pull a bar stool over, climb up it, and get onto the counter - scary.  She will pull up on handrails and hang from whatever she can find to hang on.  She adores her cousin, Charlie, and calls him "Char Char." She also loves looking for our neighbors and will call out to "Ro Ro." I am curious to see how she will grow and progress.  At this rate, it's looking like she will be our little firecracker!!!

Spring Break in Breckenridge

We kept the family tradition alive by stopping at Beau Jo's for some honey crust pizza on the way to Breck.

 We had beautiful weather!  A bit warm some days, but the snow was still pretty good! We got dumped on mid week so we got a morning of powder skiing in.

 We rented a house that was a 10 min. walk into town and to the slopes.  There was also a park and ice skating within a half mile.  Perfect for the kiddos!

 Flat Stanley came to Breck!

 We took the gondola to the top of the mountain so that we could ride the mountain coaster.  Maddie was so funny on the gondola - she loved it!  She was standing much of the trip.  She also went super fast on the coaster - this girl loves a thrill.  (Not sure how I feel about that!)

Dane was much more cautious.  He rode the coaster, but we had to go slow (I controlled the speed) and was very concerned about the doors on the gondola closing too soon.  He would say "hurry" and wanted to be last out of the gondola.  He takes good care of his family.

 Nico shared his googles with Dane - super cool!

 The hot tub felt so great after a day of skiing!  The kids loved going in it too!  They loved playing with water bottles in it and also playing a few games of telephone.  They liked running out of it to eat potato chips as well!

 This was spotted from the hot tub.  The kids named him Foxy Woe and we only saw him once although we looked for him often.

 Heading off to ski!

 Getting our equipment!  We stored at the bottom of the mountain which was super nice and convenient.

 We all skied together on our last day and had a quick break for lunch.

 Riding the chair up together.  Can't wait to go back!

It was so fun having Papo and Grandma and Grandpa Welke with us.  Grandma Welke took care of Emmie while we had our fun.  We are so thankful to have such awesome parents/grandparents!

Spring Break in Breck Videos

Maddie and Dane made up "Bubba Twins" a few years ago.  I bought them the same shirt for skiing, making them "Bubba Twins."  They are goof balls! 

My little skiers!  They did awesome!  Maddie REALLY loved it and she had the confidence as well.  Dane was great too, a bit more cautious and he would get nervous when it got a bit steep.  We did take him down some easy blues, but learned he wasn't quite ready due to his confidence.  Once we stuck with Peak 9, all was perfect! :)

Dane 4 1/2

Dane is growing up before our eyes.  He loves to hear stories about when he was a baby and we have fun looking back at old pictures and videos.  He is still my sensitive, sweet, sporty little Dane Train. As always, he is into every aspect of sports.  From the team mascots, to the players names and numbers, to various plays, positions and his favorite...buzzer beaters!  Basketball is his favorite and has been for forever.  He still doesn't like the idea of being on a team as he just likes to play.  He is currently doing hockey and is starting to get that competitive edge.  He loves riding his scooter and his bike now that the weather is warmer.  He has recently gotten more into drawing and enjoys making pictures for Matt and I.  His drawings are often sports related...shocker!!!  The other day was rough with Emmie, spills, etc. and Dane went and made me a card.  He will make up little projects using things around the house such as old containers and popsicle sticks.  As far as playing goes, he enjoys Legos and his basketball and football guys.  His writing is also getting pretty good and he likes to count to 100 and do simple math problems with his cousin, Allie.  Maddie and Dane are best of friends and they really do look our for each other. Maddie knows how to push his buttons and we are working on ways to handle that other than hitting...been our struggle these days.  His other interests are music and he has a sweet little singing voice that he clearly did not get from his daddy! :)  I feel SO blessed to call this sweet little guy my son.

Last Snow "People" of the Season

 Our last snow dump caught us a bit off guard.  The good news - perfect snowman snow!  Dane and I got to work and the melting started almost immediately.  When Maddie got home from school she wanted to make her own creation.  You can see how much snow melted in just a few hours.

March Moments

Someone is very excited to be in an upcoming wedding! Maddie and her AG dressed in a bridal dress-up.

 Dyeing eggs - always fun!  Dane loves to eat them too!

 Emmie at 17 months.  She loves brushing her teeth, so the picture with the toothbrush seemed so appropriate!

 Maddie had to bring in a collection of 100 things.  She decided to collect bottle caps.  We had to enlist the help of some family and friends, but she did it!  She then used her creativity to make her flower picture.  Emmie wanted in on the fun too!

Dane Caught March Madness!!!!

Dane just loves basketball.  He loves watching it and he loves playing it.  He knows all of the Purdue players and gets really into the games.  He is often in basketball attire and will change into his "uniform" as soon as he gets home. 

He came up with this idea...

 He loves playing outside when it's nice enough.  We got hit with snow today and his first comment was, "Now I can't play basketball outside!"

 He still loves football too...  These football guys are his favorite.  He really wants the basketball guys - his grandparents are going to make his day with that surprise!

Dane can play basketball all day long!

March B-days!

The kids were so excited for daddy's birthday!  They picked out gifts this year which included a 44 (Using Dane's iron on sport numbers) basketball "jersey," whistle, dry erase sport clipboard, Purdue socks and family pictures.  Happy birthday to an awesome and amazing dad and husband!

 Grandma had a birthday recently too!  We went out for a joint-birthday dinner.  The kids got an ice cream cone for dessert.  Emmie devoured it!!  Happy Birthday to our sweet and incredible grandma/mom!

Oh Emerson!

This little girl loves to climb!  She pushed stools over so that she can climb up to where she wants to get.  She looks so proud, doesn't she? I had to put away the safety gates because she started trying to climb over them...she got too close!

 She likes to be "up!"

 She won't keep on mittens, socks or shoes.  Awesome when it's freezing outside!

 She doesn't stop moving!

 This is what the back of her hair looks like!  There is often food in her hair and inside of her clothes...she likes putting things down her sleepers especially.

She likes to pose for pictures and tries to be silly.  The girl likes getting a laugh.

She loves climbing up to ride the horse and she isn't shy showing off her belly button!

American Girls!

We had so much fun taking the girls to American Girl Place.  Going on a Friday night worked out great!   We only wish we had more time to explore!

 Maddie brought Saige and Caddie.  Saige got her hair done and what a difference that made!

Maddie had a great time!

First V-Show!

Maddie and Claire had so much fun practicing and performing their "Waldo Act" with many other friends.  It was quite an event - 4 shows over one weekend!  I was on the makeup committee (that's a whole other story) and had 2 eager customers! :)  Can't wait for the next one!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh how I love the way they love each other!

The boys got us each a bouquet of flowers.  So sweet!