Happy 4th, I Mean 3rd Birthday Sutton

Sutton turned 3 on January 21st. On the actual day of his birthday Nate stopped at one of our favorite establishments (Maggie Moo's) and picked up some ice cream cupcakes. I had asked him to have them write something on them. When he arrived home with them I took them out of the bag and noticed that they said happy 4th birthday. Nate said he was in a hurry and they were handed to him in the bag. The funny thing is prior to the cupcakes coming home, when we would ask Sutton how old he was going to be he would tell us 4!! We had a tasty Mexican dinner since Sutton requested tacos. Then Sutton enjoyed opening a few gifts from us. On Saturday we had a small gathering of family over for dinner and cake. Sutton told us he wanted a baseball and a baseball bat cake. I can't take credit for these cakes. Well I guess I get credit for baking them, but Nate did all the decorating. Pretty impressive I think, they turned out really great.

I Know Where The Kids Get It

Nate can usually be just as entertaining as the kids!! As you can see from this recent photo of a cold outside grilling event for steaks.

MONSTER JAM!!!

Well our third annual Monster Jam has come and gone. This year Sutton and I also tagged along for the first time. We had planned to eat at Five Guys and Fries, but of course there was no parking near by. We then parked close to where we needed to go to get to Monster Jam and walked to a nearby restaurant only to find out there was a two hour wait. Just by luck a cab driver happened to pull up and get out and was standing behind us, so I told Nate to ask him how much it would be to take us to Five Guys. His response "Whatever you think it is worth to you". So we all piled into the cab for the boys first cab ride. The cab driver was very nice and gave us his cell phone number and told us to call him when we were ready to get back for Monster Jam, this ended up working out great. After a $15 dollar bag of cotton candy and a $6 bucket of popcorn we were ready for the show to begin. The boys enjoyed themselves very much and were excited to learn that Monster Jam would be making 2 appearances in Michigan next year!!

Silly Sutton

I think the title captures these pictures. The red thing on top of his hard hat is his toothbrush!!!

Full Of Hot Air

My grandma gave us this neat hot air popper for Christmas. From the time we opened it the boys wanted to make popcorn. We finally made time about a week later. By this time they were both feeling pretty awful thanks to a nasty cold bug, but they enjoyed helping make it they just didn't eat it.

Making Room For Company

My brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and Sasha the St. Bernard arrived at our house the Wednesday after Christmas. We had not seen them since late August, so it was nice to have them at our house for a few days. Our boys shared a bed while they were here. It was a little rough, but they were usually asleep by 10:00 pm. We had fun sledding, playing board games, making pictures, and eating. While they were here we also went to my dad's house for our Chirstmas with them and Shandy and his family. On New Years Eve we went to Fire Keepers for a tasty $7.95 buffet. When we arrived home Shandy and Kristy headed for home.

Welcome Baby Trent

On December 18th Nate's brother and his wife (Troy and Lauren) had their first baby. Our boys can't seem to get enough of him. Nate and I were both surprised at how interested both of them were in holding him and looking at him. They both are so careful when holding him, Sutton even rubs his arm!!

Different Day Same Activities: Presents And Food

After opening presents with us my dad, step-mom, grandma Elting, and Aunt Debbie came over for a tasty brunch. I know this was a different mix of people. When I told my grandma that my dad would be there she just said "I don't hold grudges". So it all worked well. Of course brunch was followed by more flying wrapping paper. The boys got their first "real" remote control trucks from my dad and step-mom and also a bag of one of their favorite things life saver gummies!! My grandma and aunt got them a deluxe tent/house/and 2 tunnel system. They all hook together for lots of crawling, camping, and hiding fun. Once all the presents were open the boys had to show everyone how they ride their dirt bikes.

Get Your Motors Runnin'

Nate decided that the boys were in need of dirt bikes this year for Christmas and before I really knew what happened he had bought them. After the boys opened all the "small" presents we hinted that their might be something in the basement for them. We go down stairs where we one dirt bike covered up with an old sheet and one covered up with Nate's old go-kart cover. The boys are looking all over and appearing not to even notice the covered dirt bikes. So we had to come right out and tell them where to look (we think they were looking for something wrapped). Once they uncovered them the joy entered their eyes. Then they couldn't wait to get them outside and get riding!!! Before taking off Nate had to lay some ground rules. Sutton was so cute, every time he would come around he would stop and wave. My front yard turned into a dirt track in no time!! Sutton was even kind enough to let Nate ride for a short time, that is what you call a big man on a little bike!! Notice I said a short time, see the picture with Sutton's hand out telling Nate to stop!! So far both of the boys have surprised us with how well they have handled the bikes.

Christmas Take 2

I think Nathan was more excited about Christmas morning this year than the boys (he couldn't wait to see their eyes for a special present!! More on that in a later post). The boys opened all their presents from us including books, ornaments, nerf guns, a sled, and hats. They were also finally able to open their special presents from Germany. Our friends Ina and Christoph always send a Christmas package that arrives shortly after Thanksgiving and the boys always want to open the gifts then, but we make them wait.