Brendan Sings on his "Stage"

So, I apologize for the video quality. And the fact that it's sideways. I always forget that I don't know how to rotate it. But, if you can get past all that, this is Brendan's performance of the ABCs. He wanted to pretend that he was putting on a show on his pretend stage.

Easter

Easter this year was on the Cole's side. And of course we started our busy day by finding what was left for Brendan in his Easter basket. He was most excited about his Disney Cars toys, his Bambi movie, and his humongous chocolate Easter bunny. We went to the early service at church, joined by Aunt T, Uncle Danny, Aunt J'me, Brendan's cousin Jaxon, NaNa, and Baw Baw. Our group took up a lot of space in an already packed house. Afterwards, we took some pics at NaNa and Baw Baw's house before we made our way to Brendan's great-Granny's. We feasted, as usual, and had our Easter egg hunt indoors (it was a really rainy day). Aunt Lanie (Elaine) had provided so many eggs we had to keep a count of how many we had hidden in each room so they wouldn't be finding eggs for months to come. Each plastic egg was stuffed with a candy or cookie treat. We let Brendan go to town on the cookies, and he had a blast tossing (or I would call it chucking) out the candy surprises to the rest of the family.

Brendan's chocolate bunny:

All dressed up for church. (Poor buddy woke up that morning with a stye. It bothered him all day):

Posing for some pictures at NaNa & Baw Baw's:

Eating a cookie-filled egg. In this picture, you can see just how many eggs we hid for him. And he found every one:

The wind-up:

And the release. He's surprisingly accurate:

Purina Farms

On Good Friday, we took a trip to Purina Farms with some friends to check out their Easter Village. Though extremely busy since it was only 2 days before Easter, we still managed to have good time. They had all kinds of baby farm animals that the kids could pet: from lambs, to chicks, to bunnies, to puppies. The Easter Bunny was there for photos, but of course, Brendan wanted nothing to do with that. (Still afraid of the big mascot-type suits). After going through the Easter Village we went outside, in the rain, to watch their dog show. Brendan especially liked when the dogs would dive into the pool to catch a frisbee. What a fun day we had!



Brendan pets a baby chick:

Bobbie climbs to get a better look at the animals:

Becky (Michelle's sister), Christopher, and Michelle:

Jessica and Josie take a moment to say, "cheese!":

Christopher pets a pretend pig:

Bobbie rides a goose (don't worry, it's not real):

A Day for the Fam...

Ryan and I see so little of each other throughout the week because of our opposite work schedules, & what precious time we do have we usually find ourselves trying to squeeze in a chance to be with the other friends and family that we love so much. So the opportunity to do something with just the three of us is few and far between. But this particular weekend we made it happen and went to a Parents As Teachers activity with Brendan. It was called "On the Go" and featured many city professionals and their vehicles. Some examples were policemen and their squad cars, firemen and a fire truck, EMT workers and an ambulance, highway patrol with a patrol boat, etc.

This event was right up his alley. Though it ended up being quite a cold & windy day, Brendan had a blast looking in on all of his favorite vehicles. He even got to go on his first school bus ride...which was his favorite of the day. Partially because it was a warm relief from the winds. Though he also really liked being on the big highway patrol boat. What a fun way to spend some family time.



Driving a mail truck:






Looking inside a dump truck:

Driving a Bobcat:

Brendan's First School Bus Ride:

They're yelling: "FIRE TRUCK!"

Brendan saves a life:

Baseball Day!

Cardinal's baseball is back! As is tradition, we went downtown prior to the opening day game to enjoy the pep rally at Kiener Plaza. This was the first year that I dared to bring Brendan. I pumped him up for the few days prior by referring to it as "Baseball Day!" Pretty soon, he caught on to my excitement and kept yelling "Baseball Day!!!" at random times. It was kind of a dreary one to begin with, but once the sun came out from behind the clouds, it warmed up a bit and wasn't too bad of a day. We drove out with Uncle Shane and his best friend, Kurt. Once we arrived at Kiener plaza we met up with Mandy's Aunt Kathy, her daughter, Lynn, and Lynn's little boy. We all try to meet up every year, and this one was no exception. We enjoyed some live music, dancing, and fun. The excitement of what they call "Cardinal Nation" is something you just have to experience to understand. So much fun! After leaving downtown, we all went to watch the game at Mandy's cousins', Chad & Tara's house. There more family were able to join in the fun. Though the Cards lost the game in the 11th inning, we still have another fun-filled opening day to add to the memory books. And Brendan's 1st one at that.

Mandy's cousin, Lynn, and her baby, Tyler along with Mandy's Aunt Kathy. They join us every year, too:

Uncle Shane and his best man, Kurt:

Me and Bubba:

The fam (from left): Me, Brendan, Aunt Kathy, Lynn, & Shane (up top):

Feeding the "cardinal bird" a cheese-it:

Baby Tyler slept through the crazy noise of the band! Couldn't believe it.