sarah & cindy plus two

fun may

2011-11-06T22:33:00.004-05:00

"Fun May" is a saying that my old college roommie and I came up with a hundred years ago when we had an exceptionally fun time in May (it may have had something to do with just having graduated, we took several road trips, and had limited responsibilities in our life). At any rate we still have Fun May (and june, july, august, you get the picture) around here. Garrett and Cindy went on a field trip with his school to a farm and got to do all sorts of neat stuff. We decided to try out Thomas the Train at Greenfield Village, which sounded like a good idea. The weather was cold, raining sidways, Ezra was on his 80th ear infection of the season (coming next month: TUBES!!), and we were all a little cranky. But aside from that they seemed to enjoy themselves! We hit the Detroit Zoo for the first time with friends, celebrated Cindy's 35th, and at the very end of the month Cindy took on the project of tearing up our front yard, installing a sprinkler system, and laying new sod. With the help of two of her friends, our handy neighbor Hal, and two shorty helpers (pictured below) we turned out with an awesome front yard, a cool sprinkler system, and a crazy high water bill for those first two months!

bare chested brothers doing the farm chores

round and round

cold, wet, & thomas the train

happy 35th birthday mama!

detroit zoo

working hard/hardly working

ezra doing his share

april: visitors, nice weather, & easter

2011-11-06T22:22:00.004-05:00

April brought us a weekend visit from Aunt Heiney, Aunt Deena, and Baby Nowen, the start of warm days, and Easter fun.

sarah, ezra, & owen
the old roomies, owen, & garrett

tiger fan

garrett's one wheel bike

tessa's easter party

coloring eggs by candle light, a tradition started thanks to a power outage in 2010.

easter egg hunt at great grams

coloring

ez and his loot at the easter party

march-ing on

2011-11-06T22:18:00.002-05:00

Some highlights from March.....
playing at jungle java with tessa

garrett and the possible future producer of our milk at calder's farm

mom and ezra at calder's farm (taken by g)

yumski

ezra turns one!

2011-11-06T21:40:00.009-05:00

We are trying to return from the land of the long lost bloggers.....and catch up 10+ months of pictures. Starting with February which was Ezra's first birthday!! He started walking in January at 11 months and was in constant motion by the time his birthday came! His actual birthday was nasty snowy day so I took the day off and stayed home with my boys!!! We had a great birthday party for him with family a few days (and a lot of snow) later.

pancakes for breakfast on ez's birthday
once the driveway was plowed it was scooter time!

ezra's cake from gerryFirst bite of cake - ever!decorations party cake (by mama)

birthday boy

the fam

happy birthday ez!

digging in

ezra and mama

ezra and gramps

ezra and great grams

Christmas & New Years

2011-01-04T15:57:00.004-05:00

We had another great Christmas in 2010, our first one as a family of four! Garrett really "got" the whole Santa thing this year, which made things really fun. We got to see Santa in early December and both boys sat on his lap without any major meltdowns (a first for Garrett!). We put on our tree (with fewer and non-breakable ornaments), listened to Christmas music throughout the month, and talked about Santa. At school during Santa's visit Garrett told him that he wanted "cooking stuff" and that Ezra wanted a fire truck.

We spent Christmas Eve at Oma and Opa's house and had a great time. We spread the "reindeer dust" in the front yard when we got home that night and hoped that Santa would come. Garrett work up around 8:00 (after both moms were waiting patiently for him to wake up), came upstairs and said in the most geniune, innocent voice "Merry Christmas Mom, Merry Christmas Mama, Merry Christmas Ezra!". I just about started crying right there! He was concerned that Santa did not come, so we hurried downstairs turned the lights on, and sure enough - he came! It was a great Christmas day that we spent at home together all day long. Santa brought the boys a duplo lego table that doubles as a car table, which they both loved. Garrett also got some playdough (which was a big hit), and Ezra a variety of cars. We ate Christmas Dinner at our favorite neighbor Hal's house and it was delightful! We spent the day after Christmas at Grams/Great Grams house with the Crane family.

We rang in the New Year at a party with friends. Well actually we rang it in at 8:00pm, and then went home to bed! Later in teh weekend we went to another party (a bowling party) with more friends. Garrett has become quite the bowler and loves to be around his friends!

Ezra has just about beat his runny nose after a week of dealing with a cold. Since he took his first steps back in November, he has been doing more and more walking. He's not quite a full time walker, but certainly he is a "part time walker". He has developed quite the sense of humor and loves to make everyone laugh, and he loves to pretend to take naps by putting his head down wherever he is. He has been enjoying pushing his brother around in his fire truck around the house (with surprisingly good ability to stear around the corners).

Santa did come!
Brothers on Christmas morning

The family 2010

New hats!

Helping Ezra open his present

New bathrobe

Christmas at Grama Donna's

Playing with Oma and Kennedy

Playing at Oma and Opa's house

pretending to take a nap in Zoe's bed

Bowling party with friends on Sunday

December 2010

2011-01-04T10:56:00.003-05:00

Keeping up with tradition, we made a "cookie house" in December. This year was a little less tricky than last year, as we didn't have to make too many repairs to the structure before the decorating began. Garrett was really into it this year, no surprise as much as he loves anything cooking or art related! (the candy factor didn't hurt either).

The finished product.

Garrett and Mama went on a "football date" in December to see his first Lion's game at Ford Field. Garrett was super pumped about going to the game, had a fun time watching the Lions play, and of course the popcorn was a highlight for him too. He only last until the second quarter, but hey, he's only three. Unfortunately this was a game that the Lions actually won and they didn't get to see the victory in person!

"go blue team!"

Garrett in front of Comerica Park and the Tiger in his Carhart after the football game as the snow was really starting to come down.

Chef Garrett making cookies with Mama, another favorite family tradition.

Showing off his big smile and teeth - there are five now!

professional family photos

2011-01-04T10:49:00.003-05:00

In late October we had professional family photos taken by the talented and lovely Melissa LaRue. It was a first for the boys (and us) and they did great, thanks to the Melissa's awesome skills! enjoy....

Garrett's Birthday Party and the Rest of November

2010-12-27T21:23:00.004-05:00

November was a big month for us. Garrett turned three (wow!), we made a trip to Ohio to see some good friends, Ezra took his first step, we survived taking both boys for a well baby/kid check up at the same time, and of course Thanksgiving. we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

We had a great third birthday party for Garrett with family back in early November. We had a houseful of family, some good chili, and of course cake!

Happy birthday big brother
E in his birthday suit for the occassion, well before the party.

Lion Cake made by Mom and Mama

#3 and leaf cookies, decorated by all!

Garrett's new easel from Mima and Grampa

Garrett's new scooter from Oma and Opa

"happy birthday to Garrett, happy birthday to you!" Happy Birthday Garrett! Posing with his two special cakes (the sports one made by the lovely and talented Gerry)

George, Garrett, and I spent a cold November day at Greenfield Village riding the carousel and Model T cars over and over and over again!

Rub and Dub Dub, three cuties in the tub! In late November we also took a trip to Cinci to see Lindsay, Dana , and Owen (Aunt Heiney, Aunt Deena, and Baby Nowen). We had a great visit with them and got to celebrate Owen's first birthday a week early.

and he's three!!

2010-11-03T23:32:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe it, but Garrett turned three yesterday!! He wasn't too convinced that morning when I told him that it was his birthday and said "where are the candles and all of the people?" We've been talking a lot about his birthday party (this weekend) and when you are three birthdays and birthday parties are the same thing. He is very excited to have his grandparents, great grams, and uncles over to celebrate with him. He's been very concerned about where everyone will be sitting at his party. I learned today that this is a concern he and his great grandfather had in common (one of the two richards that he was middle-named after).

At any rate on his actual birthday we split a delicous piece of tres leches cake, opened a few gifts, took a bath, and went to bed! And to round out the birthday celebration next week he will be bringing a birthday treat to school (homemade zucchini bread muffins, aka "zumi muffins")

baking, ezra updates, and halloween

2010-11-03T22:50:00.004-04:00

Garrett has become quiet the helper in the kitchen lately. He's been helping me make bread on the weekends and seems to have the recipe memorized better than I do! On this day in October we made pizza dough, bread, and pumpkin pie for an early Thanksgiving with dear friends. Ezra has been growing like a weed. He loves to eat and "explore his food". He recently got four teeth in the period of about one week. We thought they'd never come and he was quite bothered by their slow arrival. Ever since they've come through he's been sleeping a little better at night. He continues to be increasingly mobile, crawling at warp speed, and walking along furniture. We imagine he'll be walking soon as he's been showing off his ability to stand all by himself a for a few seconds at time. He's started to have a hard time with being dropped off at day care, gets a little weepy when I have to leave him. (I get a little weepy too!). And he is forever watching is big brother and trying to play with everything that he plays with. I imagine this won't fade away anytime in the next hundred years.

Mima came to stay with us for a few nights to visit and help with watching the boys.
building a tower with mima

playing with mima

Halloween this year was a big hit in our house. Garrett decided that he wanted to be a lion again this year (which made things easy for us) and Ezra got to be a cow. Garrett was very excited about Halloween and all of the decorations around the neighborhood. Some of them he told us were "too scary" as we went for walks leading up to the holiday. He is starting to get scared of other things too lately, namely the dark. He got to dress up for a school Halloween party the week before and again this past weekend to go trick-or-treating. Garrett also helped to design the jack-o-lantern that I carved to put out on our porch for Halloween.

hangin' during pumpkin carving

roar & moo

holy cute cow

the finished product

up north, 10/10/10, & school

2010-11-03T22:17:00.006-04:00

The first weekend in October we headed up north for Ezra's first trip to Da Cabin. It was long overdue, but because we were so busy this summer, we just didn't have time to fit it in. He had to be dressed in the special cabin outfit that Aunt Joy got for Garrett, of course. He was a little too big for taking a bath in the sink like G did the first time he stayed up there. The fall is always a beautiful time to be up north in general and especially at da cabin. Our friends and their almost two year old son stayed with us for a night and then we headed further north for a Camp Daggett staff reunion. It was a beautiful fall weekend for spending time at camp. It was great to catch up with old friends and have all of the little kids run around together exploring camp.

playing at da cabin

goodbye cabin, see you in the spring

climber ezra at the indoor adventure center at daggett

garrett on walloon

We also took the boys (and our friend's daughter Tessa) to their first concert in October. We got tickets for a family show at the Ark. It was a lot of fun, especially for Tessa and Garrett.

On 10-10-10 Mama and Garrett made mom a very special birthcake from scratch. Garrett chose the decorations and was very proud of his work. Look out cake boss.

ta-da

nakes

Garrett is continuing to love school and do really well there. He goes twice per week for a few hours to a play-based coop preschool in our area. This means we get to work in the classroom about twice per month and join in the fun. We really like the school as does G. He has made some new friends and absolutely adores his teacher Mrs. Springer. He had his first field trip in October to the Plymouth Apple Orchard. Mama and Ezra got to go with him, and join in on the apple picking, pumpkin picking, hay ride, cider, and donuts (well i'm sure ez didn't actually have cider and donuts)

funny cat

buzz buzz

pumpkin picking is hard work

late september

2010-11-03T21:51:00.004-04:00

I've managed to go more than one whole month without blogging. Which means I've got a lot of catching up to do and we've been busy busy busy with the boys. Here are some shots from late September.

big smiles

look at me mom!

hiking at maybury state park

taking a break with mama

along for the ride

holding hands

At the end of September the Biddle Bunch had their almost-annual block party. It was a total blast!! It started off with a great bike parade, lunch with neighbors, lots of bike riding in the street, a visit from the FIRE TRUCK, a delicious potluck feast, a fire, and more bike riding in the street until it was much too late!

" hurry hurry to the fire, i'm in a fire truck"

apple picking with friends

apples and friends

2010-09-24T00:13:00.002-04:00

We went out to our favorite - Frosty Apple - in Dexter this weekend with some friends. Unfortunately a spring frost did a number most of the Michigan apple crop, but we managed to walk away with a bag of honey crisps that were set aside for us. Score! Garrett had a great time playing with Tessa and Ezra loved hanging with Tessa's moms.

hanging out under the apple tree
mom and e

looking for some golden delicious

cheesing with tessa. for some reason "big smile" to garrett means he has to pull his shoulders up as high as he can and he showed tessa how to do it too.

from picking blueberries to starting school

2010-09-23T23:51:00.003-04:00

And to round out the summer and jump into fall we did some blueberry picking with friends at a great place in Dexter. We got a ton of blueberries and ate them all before we could get to freezing them -oh well!

Garrett also started preschool a few weeks back. We found a great co-op nursery school that we fell in love with while we were on the school hunt and he did too. Garrett has really enjoyed going to school twice a week for two hours. We get to work in the classroom and I've already done my first shift, it was so much fun to watch him interact with his peers and be a part of this experience with him. He adores his teacher and recently told me "I'm gonna be a teacher after I get bigger".

blueberry picking
showing of my horse eating skills and my big fat cloth diaper

yup, watch out folks, I've got the hang of standing, before you know it I'll be running along side my brother. at shelly and justin's wedding 9-4-10

fueling up for his first day of preschool 9-13-10 cheesing with his soccer ball before school

first day of school

luckily he didn't make this face at anyone while he was at school.

back in august

2010-09-23T23:28:00.005-04:00

Way back in August ...... JARED AND ELIZABETH GOT MARRIED!!! It was a most wonderful day and beautiful wedding. Lots of our family were all around for the weekend extravaganza. Here are a few shots of the fun that we had...

watching tv with "the girls" kennedy and taylor
taylor, g, jack, ez, jc, and kennedy

the cranes

the big cranes

bride & groom with the ring bearer and flower girls

checking out the fountain

trying to avoid all of the picture taking

way up high

eating with sarah

uncle trav & e

the fam

kennedy & g

ezra updates & toledo zoo

2010-09-02T23:33:00.007-04:00

July also brought us several trips back and forth to the doctor for Ezra, eventually leading to surgery in August. He made an almost instant recovery and is so much happier now! He passed the 6 month mark in August too and started crawling, sitting up, and a few times we've caught him pulling him up to the standing position. Look out big bro!! He also has gotten the hang of solid foods since his surgery and is loving all of the goodies that we make for him, mango, pears, sweet potato, squash, banana, and avocado. And of course because I'm so drastically behind in posting to the blog.....he's already 7 months today! Where does the time go?

We managed to get together with some friends at the end of July to check out the Toledo Zoo. It was a hit with Garrett, but it was a mighty hot day for Ezra, Mom, and Mama. Thank goodness for ice cream!

south carolina

2010-09-02T23:06:00.005-04:00

In July we took our second big trip of the summer to Hunting Island, South Carolina. This is a magical island in the low country of SC that will always hold a special place in my heart. The four of us flew down there for almost one week and stayed in a cabin on the beach with Mima, Grampa, Jack, and Brett. We had beautiful weather, wonderful food, and awesome company! Garrett really liked the ocean right off the bat and spent a lot of time playing around the the waves. Ezra loved to get his feet wet in the salty water too.

snoozing in the shade

fishing with jack on the pier

in the lagoon the kayak grampa built this winter/spring

row, row, row your kayak

july

2010-07-14T07:42:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy july and the camera hasn't made it out much. We are getting ready for our second big trip of the summer, this time to South Carolina to go to the beach with Mima, Grampa, Jack, and Brett. We'll all be staying on Hunting Island in a cozy cabin enjoying the steamy hot summer on the ocean. We are all pumped! baking cookies with Mama
big ezra

showing off the first zucchini and second harvest of green beans picked by Garrett

june & more arizona pictures

2010-06-28T08:33:00.009-04:00

Here are the pictures from Mima's camera from early June and our trip out to Arizona. She got some wonderful shots of the family, the wedding, and the sights out west. Enjoy red pepper
chowing a red pepper like an apple

showing off in the kayak grampa built this winter

g & e in grampa's kayak

family pool time

first swim

swimming with mama

swimming

mom & g at the rehearsal dinner

playing with great grams

rehearsal dinner

g and his "favorite uncle" jack

so proud

THE ring bearer

the family

Arizona

2010-06-23T08:49:00.005-04:00

We made a whirlwind trip to Arizona for the wedding of my cousin Jayme and her new husband Tim recently. It was our first time flying as a family of four and it was quite smooth. Garrett got to sit in his own seat and did really well on the way out there and on the way back. Ezra didn't seem too bothered by flying either. The whole Crane family (20+ of us) stayed in a gigantic and beautiful house on the Colorado River for the event. It had plenty of space for all of us, a wonderful pool, and fabulous views. It was so great to be out there with everyone, although we saw little of Ezra because he spent lots of time with aunts and Garrett was off playing with the "big kids" much of the time. The weather was more bearable than I'd expected, but still darn hot!! Garrett spent much of the weekend running around in his underwear, which he proudly shows off now that he is potty trained! (and his moms and pretty proud too, plus now we only have 1/2 the amount of diapers to wash - score!)

Thursday we hung out at the house and played in the pool all day long. Friday we spent the day at the spa with all the bride, her bridesmaids, and family. Saturday was the big event and we came home Sunday. We missed the family trip to the Grand Canyon and Painted Dessert because we had to come back to go to work (boo). I'll post more pictures of the trip when I get them from my mom who good some great shots. The view from one of three decks at "da party pad"

Ezra's first time swimming

Cool in the pool

Swimming with Mima

Relaxing in the shade with Great Grams

the fish

Playing with Uncle Jared

Ezra at the spa with the bride Jayme

Jame & Tim's Wedding

2010-06-23T08:33:00.005-04:00

Here are pictures from the wedding. I'll post the really good ones when I get them from my mom, who has a fancy schmanzy new camera and got some awesome shots of our family on this very special day. Garrett was asked to be the ring bearer and he did a fabulous job. He's got another ring bearer gig later this summer when Jared and Elizabeth get married. I think his performance in Arizona sealed the deal for their wedding!

Bros in tuxedo shirts for the rehersal dinner Ezra and Grampa watching the wedding
Getting ready for his big job

Walking down the aisle

Ezra, Cindy, & Sarah after the wedding (with Garrett in the background)

chad grad

2010-06-21T09:35:00.005-04:00

Uncle Chad graduated from high school a few weeks ago. We had a lovely time at his party and got to visit with lots of family.

mom & ezra

(p)laying in the grass

garrett & kennedy

opa & ezra

ezra & uncle dave

aunt denise & ezra

4 months

2010-06-21T09:28:00.003-04:00

Lots to catch up on - including Ezra's 4 month visit. (I know, where has the time gone?) He got a perfect bill of health a few weeks ago for his check up. Here are the stats:

13lbs 7.5oz and 25 inches long

(and for comparisons, he is just a little bit smaller than his big bro was at this point, 14lbs 2.5oz and 26 1/4 inches)

snoozing in the chairloving the bath and his toes

end of may

2010-06-03T07:47:00.002-04:00

Hers are some pics from the end of May. Ezra is growing like a weed, smiling and laughing a ton. He started rolling over almost two weeks ago - the boy is going places! Garrett is still loving being a big bro and loves to hold his little brother, as evidenced by the pictures below. We've been spending a lot of time playing outside - even got the little pool out last weekend. Garrett helped me make (and decorate) Mama's birthday cake last week. We celebrated at home and didn'y make our usual trip tp the cabin on Mmemorial day this year - hopefully later this summer!

visit with megs

2010-06-03T07:30:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago cousin Megan came to spend the night with us. It was great to see her and Garrett loved playing with her every minute that she was here. Ezra loved soaking up the sun anf being outside. She also helped me brave the super busy plant farm with both boys to get our vegetables to plant in the garden. Garrett helped to plant the green beans, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, three of his favorite goodies.

indy mini

2010-05-12T08:27:00.008-04:00

We took a trip to Indianapolis last weekend were I ran a half marathon and we visited some wonderful friends that we haven't seen in quite a long time. Both boys are such great travelers, which is a good thing, because we are "on the go" a lot. Garrett loved the pool at the hotel and we spent quite a while there on Friday jumping into the water and playing around. Saturday morning brought some lousy weather, so while I was running Cindy and the boys watched from "way up high" in the hotel room and then met me at the park at the end of the race. I ran with my old college friend Eliese, her partner Mandy, and a bunch of their friends and family. It was a great time and I would definitely do it again. We also got to enjoy a wonderful mother's day brunch made by our friends Amanda and Mary who recently moved to Indy. Overall it was a fabulous weekend. the family after the race
mom & garrett

mom and her "old" friend eliese

40,000 runners (view from our hotel room)

"another one another one"

one the road again

naked bros

who me?

mama and her boys

getting into the routine

2010-05-12T08:17:00.003-04:00

We've been negligent bloggers lately, but we have a good excuse: Cindy went back to work a few weeks ago (BOOOO!!). It's been an adjustment but I think we are getting into the swing of things, slowly but surely. Recently we got a membership to the Henry Ford/Greenfield Village and went with our friends, Tessa, Tina, and Trudi at the end of April. We had planned on going to the village, but the weather was not cooperating, so to the museum it was! Garrett loves to check out all of the cool cars, planes, and trains that they have on display.

mom, mama, ezra, garrett & tessa
garrett and tessa hot dog

new bball hoop

clean grbc

big big boy

nakes

choo choo

2010-04-14T22:44:00.005-04:00

We took the boys on their first train trip to Chicago this weekend to see Uncle Brett. Garrett loved riding on the train and Ezra didn't have any complaints either! Taking the bus, subway, and riding in the elevator "way up high" to Brett's apartment was also big fun for Garrett. While in Chicago we went to Lincoln Park Zoo on Saturday, which was another big hit for everyone. Of course Brett showed us a great time and we had beautiful weather!

While in Chicago Garrett was asked what color hair everyone has, and he responded: Mom has - "blonde hair", Mama "brown & grey hair", and Uncle Brett: "no hair!" We promise we didn't prompt him with this one! Garrett has become quite the chatterbox lately always telling us all about the world around him and asking lots of questions. He's been practicing everyone's name, yesterday he said that Mama's name is: "Cinny Bousley-Crane" and Mom's name is "Mom Richard Bousley-Crane". Ezra is doing great and growing a ton, he is developing quite a sweet personality and smiling a ton for his moms and brother.

waiting for the train in Dearborn
looking out

mama & ezra

mom & ezra

it was opening day - go tigers!

eating bagels with uncle brett

happy e

the family

mom, g, & uncle b

one of g's favorite animals

raaaar checking out the lions

little bro snoozin'

easter

2010-04-14T22:28:00.003-04:00

We colored Easter eggs by candle light this year. Biddle St. lost power for 8 hours or so the afternoon/evening before Easter and we had eggs to decorate - so we got out the candles and head lamps and got our eggs colored. Garrett loved being able to play with the flashlights. Eventually the lights came back on just in time to go to bed. Unfortunately Garrett was sick on and off all weekend and Easter morning saw him sick again, even in the middle of searching for the eggs! So, Mama and Ezra went to Grama Donna's and Garrett and I stayed home so not to spread the germs to the family. coloring eggs by candlelight
smiling ezra, mama, and not so sure garrett

" look what I did" mom, ezra, & garrett with the finished products

easter morning

great grams and ezra

great great aunt margaret and ezra

snoozing with great aunt joy

visiting, visitors, and more!

2010-04-03T14:38:00.012-04:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to E-ville a few weeks ago. It was our first overnight visit anywhere in quite a while. We went to celebrate Uncle Jack's 13th birthday (yikes!) and also for a "Meet Ezra Party" that Aunt Maria put on for us.

mom, mama, ezra, & grams ezra & great grams

We also had some visitors here on Biddle St last weekend - Lindsay, Dana, & Owen came to stay with us. The are more commonly known around our house as "Aunt Heiney, Aunt Neena, and Baby Nowen". We took the out-of-towners to Eastern Market and to our/their favorite restaurant Antonio's for dinner. It was great to be together visit with them and to see how much baby Nowen has grown since we first met him in December.eeastern market

ezra (almost two months) & owen (4 months)

Cindy is continuing to enjoy her time off work and having fun at home with the boys as she enters her leas month of maternity leave. Ezra had his two month check up on Friday and is doing great. He weighed in at 10lbs 11 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. While we took Ezra to the doctor Garrett got to go to the marshmallow drop with Uncle Jared and Aunt Elizabeth - big fun!!

checking out the helicopter before the drop

got the marshmallow...

and traded it in for a treat!

Here are some recent pictures of the boys playing outside and in the bath

bike riding

watching big bro play outside loving bathtime

tub time

Spring...

2010-03-22T22:33:00.004-04:00

..has sprung around here, even if winter keeps peeking it's ugly head in and out. The boys have been loving playing outside and getting fresh air. Here are some pictures that cindy took march 15, 2010. More to come from the last week/weekend once I load them from the camera.

last week & weekend

2010-03-09T07:27:00.002-05:00

Last week both Gramas came to visit us. Mima got to spend the night and hang out for two days with Cindy and the boys while I went to work - lucky guys! And on Friday Oma came over and brought Uncle Chad to visit.

We were are so excited about the warm weather that came last weekend. We spent Saturday morning at Eastern Market walking around and checking out the goods. Garrett was especially helpful because he brought his backpack so that he could carry some of the goodies. We aslo did some playing outside and took a few walks around the block. Spring is coming!

pajama time
snoozing ezra with oma

reading with uncle chad

we love eastern market!

one month

2010-03-02T21:00:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe it but today Ezra is one month old! The shortest month of the year has surely flown by at record speeds as we have become a family of four. Ezra is doing great and continuing to gain weight and steal the hearts of his moms, brother, and all of his other family and friends. Garrett is continuing to love being a big brother and having some typical challenges related to big change in his world. Nothing that we all can't roll with!

march 2nd
hands

more visitors!

2010-03-02T20:53:00.003-05:00

Aunt Denise and cousin Kennedy came by for a visit to meet Ezra last week and see Garrett and Cindy. On the same day Jackie got to meet Ezra for the first time too!

aunt denise & ezra
jackie & ezramarch 1st
brothers march 1

good morning

2010-02-23T10:11:00.002-05:00

Good morning! We are enjoying our last sweet day all together at home before I go back to work tomorrow. These three weeks have flown by and have been so wonderful. I just wish I could stretch out the time a little longer. We got a lot of snow yesterday and it is coming down again today, so G and I may have to go play outside today. Garrett is starting to let us know how Ezra is feeling and what he needs. We often hear "Baby Ezra no happy" "Baby Ezra hungry" or "Baby Ezra Mama nana" (translation: Ezra needs to nurse).

An almost smile from Ezra

more pictures and updates

2010-02-18T15:16:00.002-05:00

We are all doing well here and staying busy loving our boys. Ezra went for his two week appointment and is continuing to gain weight at a great rate, he weighed in at 8lbs 8oz. Uncle Brett (Uncle Baa) came to visit us last weekend and meet Ezra. He was a big hit with both of the boys, which is no suprise. On Sunday Uncles Brett and Jared came sledding with Garrett and myself. It was a lot of fun for all, especially watching all three boys squished onto one sled flying down the hill. This week Grampa came to stay with us to have some quality time with his grandsons. Garrett has enjoyed having Grampa around - someone else to play cars with!

wide eyes (feb 8th)
sledding with uncle brett & uncle jared

the long walk back up the hill

meeting uncle brett

bathtime for the b-c boys

happy (feb 18)

lunchtime

fun and snow on biddle street

2010-02-14T11:43:00.007-05:00

We had our first "real" snow storm of the season this week and it was cause for lots of excitement (especially since neither of us had to go to work!). We are continuing to enjoy our time at home just the four of us. Wednesday brought us loads of snow to play in outside and a sleepover with Mima who didn't want to drive home Tuesday night in all of the mess on the roads. Everyone was very excited to play outside, except of course, Ezra.

Ezra is continuing to do very well, he is a very laid back baby and gets lots of love all day long from his big brother and his moms. Garrett really has been having fun helping Mom cook. This week we made pizza for dinner, cupcakes for our friend Tessa's 3rd birthday, and zucchini bread last night. He loves cooking!

february 3rd ezra with great grams and mom

snoozing with mima

making pizza with mom

garrett, mama, & ezra

sledding in the front yard

lots of snow

shoveling

tummy time

decorating cupcakes for Tessa's birthday

ta-da the finished product

garrett & tessa

garrett, ezra, mama, & tessa

happy monday

2010-02-08T14:48:00.004-05:00

All is well on Biddle St. We have been enjoying the company of many friends and family over the last several days. Ezra had a check up at the doctor and gained a whopping 4 oz in less than three days. He is just about back to his birth weight and doing great. Hats off to Cindy and the big eater Ezra!

brothers

more pictures

2010-02-06T22:58:00.010-05:00

Here are more pictures from Ezra's first few days and the visitors that have come to see us.

ezra patrick day one
opa, oma, & ezra

grampa & ezra

mima & ezra with uncle jack and big brother garrett
mama & ezra

the family

the big brother

snoozing ezra

look at me!

uncle jared & ezra

ezra & great grams

grams, ezra, mom, garrett, & grampa

cowboy garrett playing with uncle chad

ezra & uncle chad

introducing ezra

2010-02-04T19:35:00.006-05:00

Greetings! Just a quick update on our family. All four of us are doing well and adjusting to the new addition. Ezra has been nursing like a champ from the moment he was born and he is an absolute delight. His birth was truly amazing, Cindy did so well, which is no surprise. She worked had and labored for 12 hours before he came into this world. Garrett was at home during the whole experience. He did not seem too bothered any of the activities in the house on the birthday. Since he arrived Garrett has been very interested in kissing and hugging Ezra.

We are having multiple technical difficulties right now, our computer got a virus last night is out of commission and being fixed at the shot right now (we hope!). Also today our camera got wet today and is on the fritz. Hopefully it will come back full force after it sits in a bowl of rice for a while. In the mean time we dug out our old camera took a some pictures and are borrowing a computer (thanks uncle jared and aunt elizabeth). We hope to retrieve all of the great pictures we took over the last few days including when Ezra got to meet his Oma, Opa, Grampa, Mima, Uncle Jack, Aunt Elizabeth, and Uncle Jared for the first time

he's here

2010-02-03T07:21:00.001-05:00

Just a quick update......

EZRA PATRICK

born February 2, 2010 at 1:47pm
8lbs 1 ounces 21 inches
all four of us are doing well and enjoying our new love!
we will post pictures and updates later

It's all about perspective...

2010-02-01T19:13:00.004-05:00

... and we are taking the positive one. Some may say that Cindy is 16 days past her estimated due date, we've decided that she is only 2 days past her EDD. How does this math work you ask?? Well since babies tend to arrive two weeks on either side of the EDD - she is two days past the two week mark. Get it?
Cindy is doing great and so is the baby. She continues to stay at home having all kinds of fun playing with Garrett during the day while I'm at work. We are having frequent visits with the midwife and are confident that this baby will come when she/he is ready. Just gotta focus on the Four P's a little bit longer..... perspective, patience, positive, and peaceful!

still waiting

2010-01-28T20:38:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately our lack of posting this week does not mean that we have added a family member. Little brother/sister is very comfortable on the inside right now. Cindy had another visit with the midwife today and both she and the baby are doing just fine.

Even though it seems like "forever" since the January 16th passed, Cindy, as a first time mom, is still within the normal range of being past the estimated due date. It is (of course) an estimate, meaning there is no scientific formula that will produce the "exact day" for the baby to come. The baby is in charge and we must go with her/his schedule.

Staying patient and positive.....s-c-g

basketball

2010-01-25T07:03:00.003-05:00

No news......is THE news in the new baby department. And today we are officially edd+9 which is the day that Garrett made his grand entrance, so this waiting game isn't anything new to us. But just having been through it before doesn't make it any easier!

We took Garrett to his first basketball game yesterday. We got to see the U of M women's team play Indiana and it was very fun. We only lasted for the first half before Garrett got hungry and restless, but I have a feeling this is a first of many times that our family will watch some basketball. Checking the internet later the "yellow team" was victorious...sorry hoosiers!

ice sculptures

2010-01-23T19:57:00.003-05:00

We ventured down to the Plymouth Ice Festival this afternoon. It was packed with lots of people and some pretty impressive ice sculptures. Garrett enjoyed checking them out and so did his moms. No other news to report here.

edd+6

2010-01-22T07:06:00.001-05:00

We are still hanging in here as a family of three. any day now, right?

edd+2

2010-01-18T21:15:00.003-05:00

So at two days "past due" we are all hanging in there just fine. We had a lovely three day weekend together as a family of three with no signs of becoming a family of four before I head back to work tomorrow (Tuesday). We did lots of playing, grocery shopping, and cooking throughout the weekend (the freezer is stocked with lots of soups, stews, pizza dough, and other good eats). One thing is for sure - we will have plenty of food to last us once the baby arrives, we'll just need a Randazzo run for produce here and there and for Stan the milk man to continue to bring us delicious milk on Mondays!
Since most first time moms go beyond their estimated due date, the fact that we are waiting is no big surprise and no cause for alarm. If we go by Garrett's time frames, we still have another 7 days to wait. Cindy is holding up remarkably well (which should be no surprise, she IS amazing!). She's been dealing with back pain/pinched nerve issues for a few months now and that has continued to cause her pain as the end of the pregnancy comes near. Luckily the cure for all of her aches are giving birth. Stay tuned....

due date

2010-01-16T20:47:00.002-05:00

So the due date has come and almost gone and nothing is seeming to be giving us a sign that the baby is ready to make his/her appearance. We spent the day running errands and doing things around the house, just a normal Saturday on Biddle. Hoping no one has been fooled by any false alarms or too annoyed by the increase in emails and texts from the "New Baby Has Arrived Notification Network CEO, CBSO" (known to some as Grampa Jay).

We are being patient, but we don't really have a choice now do we?!?! Stay tuned....

39 week pictures

2010-01-12T19:34:00.003-05:00

While Garrett napped this weekend we got a chance to take some pictures of Cindy in all of her pregnant glory. She looks great!

sledding and hot chocolate

2010-01-12T19:06:00.003-05:00

On Sunday we went over to Oma and Opa's house to celebrate 63rd birthday. The have a great hill in their back yard, perfect for sledding. It was Garrett's first time sledding on an actual hill (rather than being pulled around the flat yard of ours) and he had a blast. He kept asking for "another one" until he was too tired to walk up the hill again. Don't worry, Mama's only invovlement was taking the pictures. He also had another first that day - Opa made him some hot chocolate to warm him up after sledding, it was a big hit.

sledding with mom

look at those great butterfly arms

snow angels

hot chocolate

getting so close

2010-01-09T13:38:00.004-05:00

Cindy is getting very very close to her due date - it is only one week away! The time has flown by for all of us, especially Cindy who has had a very enjoyable pregnancy. She is working her very last day of work today and is very excited about being able to be home and "relax" before the baby gets here. She has been experiencing some pretty typical end of pregnancy stuff, getting tired easily, aches, not sleeping well, and not being able to get comfortable, and she is doing so awesome through all of it. I am so very proud of her!

We are planning another homebirth (more specifically a waterbirth) with the same midwife that attended Garrett's birth. This will be extra special for Cindy because her mom was a midwife in Germany before she moved to this country. So we've got all the stuff ready, just waiting on baby to be ready to make his/her appearance.

We do not know the gender of the baby and we have lots of guesses for both boy or girl. At Thanksgiving Great Aunt Janel organized a "baby pool" for everyone to guess the baby's gender, birthdate, length, and weight. So far at least Great Grams is already out of the running because she guessed New Years Day.

Garrett thinks that he is having a baby sister (actually he says "baby ister"). He's had a lot of fun talking about the baby and speculating on what the name will be, "baby cookie" and "baby bike" get some good laughs out of him. He is very affectionate toward Mama's belly and loves to lift up her shirt and give the baby a hug and kiss when she comes in the house each night. Hoping at least some of this enthusiasm toward the baby stays around for a while!

Stay tuned for the big news any day now...

Christmas 1-2-3-4

2009-12-27T18:31:00.008-05:00

We celebrated Christmas four times this year! It started out on Christmas Eve at Oma and Opa's house for dinner. Garrett was excited to open up presents and especially enjoyed his new baby doll and some new balls he got, among other things. We headed back to our house to enjoy Christmas Eve together as a family at our house, ate some cookies, put on new pajamas and snuggled into bed to wait for Santa.

On Christmas morning Mama and I got up first and had to restrain ourselves from going downstairs and waking up Garrett, but eventually he woke up around 8am and we got to go downstairs. Christmas morning was nice and relaxing and Garrett enjoyed opening up his gifts, playing on his new tricycle in the house, and carrying on the Bousley tradition of having creamy beef for breakfast.

We then headed off to Great Grams house for the day, met by another tradition of coney dogs on Christmas. Garrett was quite a trooper and loved helping everyone open up their presents and playing with his dinosaurs and eating cookies, lots of cookies.

The day after Christmas was a day of rest for us and getting ready for the fourth and final Christmas here at our house on the 27th . Today Mima, Grampa, Jack, Brett, & Jared came over and we had a Mexican feast and exchanged gifts. Garrett managed to go all day without a nap, because having his uncles around is just way to much fun too waste time napping. Needless to say he went to bed at 6pm tonight after falling asleep at dinner.

Settling in for a long winters nap at Oma and Opa's on Christmas Eve

opening up his new baby

one more cookie before bedtime in his new pajamas

Merry Christmas - new crayons! opening up his snowman ornament

new bike!

the family on Christmas morning

playing with dinos at Great Gramsriding with Uncle Jack
helping Mima open up her gifts
fire truck from Mima, Grampa & Jack

cookie house

2009-12-24T07:39:00.005-05:00

Last weekend had a lovely pre-Christmas event here on Biddle, made cookies, shortbread, a mini thanksgiving dinner (with our first turkey), and most importantly decorated a gingerbread house. The gingerbread house was bought from an unnamed Swedish superstore and came broken in many pieces. Luckily we were able to sugar glue it back together while Garrett was still napping. He had a blast decorating it and we had so much fun watching him. Surprisingly he didn't even try to eat the candy while we were decorating (the same can't be said for his moms).

trip to ohio

2009-12-15T13:37:00.004-05:00

The weekend before last Garrett and I headed down to Ohio to meet Owen and visit with his moms. We had a great time and Garrett loved "baby Nowen". Garrett was gentle with him and wanted to show him lots of toys and play with him.

Unfortunatey this weekend was not nearly as fun. All three of us got sick while we were at Grampa and Mima's house and had to stay in bed for almost two solid days. It was rough, but we were thankful that we had mima and grampa to take care of us.

checking out baby owen
smiling with baby owen

aunt lindsay, mom, & owen
reading the choo choo book with Theresa - so much fun!

lots to be thankful for

2009-12-02T21:28:00.006-05:00

We truly do have a lot to be thankful for. Cindy is continuing to have a great pregnancy. She has been feeling well all along and we all are very excited for the arrival and the transition from a family of three to a family of four. We are using the same midwife that we used when I was pregnant and are looking foward to another wonderful birth for our second child. Garrett has become very affectionate toward Cindy's belly/the baby lately, which has been so sweet. We are not finding out the gender of the baby until the big arrival, but just about every time we ask Garrett if he'll have a baby brother or a baby sister, he replies "baby ister". . . So we'll just have to wait and see!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week and as always constant reminders of all of the love we have in our lives. We spent Thanksgiving day at Great Grama Donna's house with lots of family. Garrett had a blast and was on the go all day long. He especially enjoyed G-Gram's roll throwing and green bean casserole at dinner. It only took moments before he was asleep for the car ride home after all of the playing we did that day. Thanksgiving was also the birth day of baby Owen, to moms Lindsay and Dana. (check him out at http://danalindsayandbabymakesthree.blogspot.com/) We are super excited for them and can't wait to meet the little guy.

watching something with Uncle Jack

Barry Sanders

everybody all together at Thanksgiving

Mama had to work Friday and Garrett and I stayed at home all day long, no shopping for us thank you, just resting. Saturday we celebrated with the Bousley family for Kennedy's first birthday party. Garrett and Kennedy interacted much more than the last time they were together this summer, which was very fun to watch.

Mama, Garrett, and KennedyOma & Gcousins

On Sunday we set off to do something fun and new and ended up at Henry Ford Museum to check out the Lego Exhibit. It was so awesome and Garrett instantly fell in love with it, especially checking out all of the cars and trains. He wanted to pose in front of every car for a picture and really enjoyed himself. checking out the dragon Mama & Garrett with the knight

cool car

race car

We also went to the tree lighting ceremony here where we live last night. Garrett was very into the pretty lights and cookies and very anti-Santa again this year. He had his picture taken with him but he was very frightened and not happy with the situation. Maybe when he's 3 he'll like Santa? Or maybe never. Oh well!

a pic of G at the park taken by Mima back in October

second birthday party

2009-11-10T17:55:00.008-05:00

We had a birthday party with family this weekend to celebrate Garrett's second year. He had a lot of fun with his uncles, aunt, and grandparents. Mama made a beautiful car carrot cake that was a big hit with everyone. For dinner we feasted on eggplant parmesan (one of Garrett's favorites), salad, and sundried tomato and garlic bread made by grandpa. The three of us plus Uncle Jared decorated number 2 cookies for the party, which really meant that Garrett dabbed a few cookies with frosting and ate some when we turned our heads momentarily. It was a lot of fun! happy birthday

the family

yummy

yummy cookies

playing outside during the party

mima, grandpa, & opa
"frosting cookies"

halloween

2009-11-04T08:41:00.004-05:00

Well Halloween was a success! About a week before Halloween we showed Garrett his costume and suggested he try it on. He wanted nothing to do with being a lion, despite how many times we put the different parts of the costume on ourselves. So, we hung it in the hallway and talked about it all week long, which didn't do much good. He got the "ROAR" part down pat, but the suggestion of putting it on was followed by a very serious "no". But, as soon as he saw other kids running around outside in their costumes, the story changed and he was willing to put it on, so we quickly changed him into the lion costume and headed out the door to play and trick or treat at a few neighbors. It was a lot of fun and he especially enjoyed passing out candy to other kids when we got back to the house.

two

2009-11-04T08:34:00.003-05:00

Holy moly Garrett is TWO! Monday was Garrett's big birthday - two on the second. Mom brought home a piece of tres leches cake to enjoy after dinner, and boy did he enjoy it. He also got to open his gift from Mom and Mama - a baby. He loves the baby and has been snuggling with her/him at night time. This weekend he'll be having his official birthday party with family.

how time flies

2009-10-24T14:58:00.008-04:00

Two years ago today we had just put the finishing touches on "appleseed's room" and it was the due date! And now we have an amazing little boy and one on the way. Who would have thunk it?

We spent a long weekend up at the cabin while our one full bathroom was getting remodeled. Made it home Tuesday to see some serious progress, all of which we are very excited about. Now there are just finishing touches to do when parts come in and a nice coat of paint and we'll be back in business! Grandma (Mima) stayed the rest of the week with Garrett because our daycare provider was on vacation. He had such a fun time and I know she did too. Every morning Garrett woke up and immediately asked for Mima, even today (she left last night). We did some walking errands today to the post office and cake shop, played outside before the rain started. Here are some recent pics.

hiking at reedsburg

getting a free ride

reedsburg dam

playing with uncle chad on his 18th birthday

yummy treats for uncle chad's bday

last weekend

2009-10-10T07:48:00.002-04:00

Last weekend thanks to the weather Garrett missed an opportunity to be in his first 5K, well the opporunity to be pushed in the stroller in his first 5K. But, the route went right by our house, so Mama and Garrett were able to do some cheering. We also met up with some friends at the pumpkin farm for cider and donuts. Garrett adores the big girls and tries his best to keep up with them!

reegan, bailey, & garrett

cider, donuts, pumpkins, apples, & friends

2009-09-27T20:51:00.005-04:00

Today we had a whirlwind tour of two of the local apple orchard/pumpkin patch places. In the morning we went pumpkin picking with some of mom's old college friends and their children and Three Cedar Farms. Garrett loved the wagon ride, trying to pick up heavy pumpkins, playing on all of the toys (especially the train) and of course enjoyed the cider and donuts!

The family
Heavy pumpkinsMom & Garrett trying to find the perfect one
oink oink Mr. Conducter

In the afternoon we hit our second favorite apple orchard (The Frosty Apple is the best!), Plymouth Orchard with our friends. There are four little girls between their two families and Garrett adores all of them. Whenever we are all together Garrett and the two oldest love holding hands, it is so sweet.

The family, again
Tessa, Garrett, & Georgia

A hug and a kiss for Tessa

anniversary

2009-09-26T13:20:00.005-04:00

We recently celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. We visited the Andersen Center Rose Gardens where we got married and stayed the night at the inn that we stayed at three years ago. I dug up some old pictures to chronicle how things have changed in our lives over the last three years. (I'm missing pictures from 2008) Enjoy!

2006
2007

2009

And now.....BELLY SHOTS!!!
23 weeks 23 weeks

camping

2009-09-26T13:10:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we went camping at Rifle River with a group of friends, old and new. It was a great weekend, a little chilly at night time (37 degrees) but the days were perfect fall days, the park is beautiful, and the company was awesome too! Garrett got his first big kid sleeping bag, which he loved and he got to run around with "big kids" all weekend long.

learning about red pines weeeeee

getting ride on Jamie's bike

collecting rocks with mom

kicks

2009-09-15T18:26:00.002-04:00

Last night we both got to feel the new baby kick for the first time - it was so exciting! Cindy has been feeling great, very healthy, and growing right along. The prenatal visits have been going well and we are getting very excited. This weekend we got all fancied up and went to Cindy's company party while Garrett stayed home with Uncle Jared and Aunt Elizabeth for the night - fun times for all!

planes

2009-09-15T18:13:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday we went to see a radio controlled plane air show in the area per the suggestion of our favorite neighbor. It was definitely a hit with Garrett, and his mom thought it was pretty cool too (except for the one crash, which was a little startling)

Garrett loves to check out pictures and talk to his grandparents and uncle on the computer!

moooooo

2009-09-05T14:30:00.003-04:00

We went on a little trip today to check out Calder Dairy, only a little more than 30 minutes from us. We got to see lots of cows, other animals, and got some milk.

Beep beep, watch out, I've got milk to deliver!

tomato soup & a haircut

2009-09-05T14:18:00.005-04:00

One of Garrett's favorite foods is soup, specifically tomato soup. He enjoyed this bowl A LOT.

Dr. G would be proud of his dental hygiene habits.

Garrett went to get his first haircut on Thursday. It surely was much tougher for his mom than it was for him. He wasn't sure about the cape, but eventually the trimming began.

pre-haircut
snip snipMr. Thirty-five Years Old Friday fun at the park with Mama

the walk, visitors, and a party

2009-08-24T07:30:00.006-04:00

Cindy is starting to look pregnant and is feeling great. She has recovered from the breast cancer three day walk last weekend - 60 miles go Mama!back at camp after a long hard day hitting the pavement
Cindy and her walking buddies

This weekend we had another whirlwind weekend. Aunt Lindsay and Aunt Dana were up from Ohio to visit for the weekend. They are expecting their first child around Thanksgiving time and we are so excited for them. We had a great time visiting with them and Garrett loves to play with them and show off. Garrett and I squeezed in a quick visit with Oma and Opa on Saturday, but we don't have any pictures to prove it.

two of the most lovely pregnant women out there aunt lindsay, garrett, and aunt dana

garrett escaped with only a diaper and shoes

We also headed up to E-ville on Sunday for a party at Grama and Grampa's house and got to see lots of family and friends. great grams, garrett and great great aunt margaret

playing basketball with grampa hanging out

Up North Weekend

2009-08-11T21:02:00.005-04:00

We went up north to visit with Mom's camp friends this weekend and had a blast. Garrett stayed very busy playing with the big boys (3 & 5) and loving on the two babies (8 mos). Unfortunately due to all the fun we were having I took very few pictures. Graham & Garrett We love Walloon! Garrett and Mom at the Narrows

Garrett loved the boat, especially driving it.

Uncle Mike, Graham, & Joseph (the big boys)

Random July

2009-08-11T20:50:00.005-04:00

July flew by and we have only few pictures to prove it.

Farmer Garrett pondering what to harvest from the garden.

Staying hydrated

Senior picture poses during the play date with friend Jonah and his parents at Kennsington.

Biddle Block Party 2009

Parade fun

surprise....

2009-07-18T19:56:00.002-04:00

we made a few changes to the blog and there will be a change in our family soon! we are so excited!!

the lake

2009-07-18T19:22:00.005-04:00

On Friday Mama and Garrett spent the day at Silver Lake with the Bousley family. Garrett got to play with his cousin Kennedy and uncle Chad.

playing soccer with uncle chad

nose kisses

hugs for kennedy

garrett and uncle david in town from alaska!

bath

2009-07-15T22:24:00.001-04:00

rub a dub dub one mohawk in the tub

da reunion

2009-07-15T21:35:00.005-04:00

a good time was had by all at da seventh annual crane family reunion. we had great weather, great company, and even better food. thanks to aunt janel/janoy for the great pictures she took.

getting ready to go up north from grama & grampa's house

bubbles

the fam

mama surfing

giddy up
flying high with uncle brett

vroom vroom

playing in the flowers with megs

colorado 6: rocky mountain national park

2009-06-25T20:41:00.004-04:00

for our last day in colorado we spent it at rocky mountain national park. it was incredible, and the pictures don't do it justice, but they are nice to look at. enjoy!

brrrrrrrfree ride
garrett & uncle jack

picnic by the snow

alpine visitor center

one of many elk

colorado 5: sugarloaf mountain

2009-06-25T20:34:00.004-04:00

monday we went hiking at sugarloaf mountain and back down to boulder to check out pearl street a little bit more.

the fam

kisses for grama

the whole fam
c & s

colorado 4: the big event

2009-06-25T20:16:00.005-04:00

sara and sam's wedding was absolutely beautiful, the rain and clouds cleared just in time for a perfectly sunny ceremony to be followed by a great reception. garrett had a great time dancing with jack and running around the reception.

sara & sam

the bride!

watching the ceremony

good lookin' waiting for the party to begin

sarah & sarah

the fam

may i have this dance?

colorado 3: the picnic

2009-06-25T20:09:00.003-04:00

on saturday (the day before the wedding) sara and sam hosted a great picnic at a park in boulder. it was a big hit with garrett because the park had a great playground area and he found lots of grapes in the fruit salad, what more do you need?

peek-a-boomonkeysara and her bridesmaids after the rehersal

colorado 2: the house & boulder fun

2009-06-25T19:56:00.005-04:00

the whole fam rented a nice place outside of boulder with some great views of the mountains and a great park nearby. garrett's eldest uncles went skydiving, which he slept through, his moms, although, watched every nerve-wrecking moment. we also enjoyed walking around downtown boulder during our vacation!
teeter totter

weeeeeee
chilling on the deck
g & e the view from our back deck, not too shabby
uncle jared
uncle jack's cool hat....and the rest of us

colorado1: horsetooth mountain

2009-06-18T22:52:00.009-04:00

we are all out in colorado for the week for sara a.'s wedding. today the whole fam went for a hike at horse tooth mountain. everyone took a turn carrying garrett and he was quite a trooper. we also went for a tour at new belgium brewery. by the end of the day everyone was exhausted!

settling in for a long hike/napriding with e hiking with mama

resting with mom

sticks!happy x2

beautiful views during our rest

the whole family biking riding at the brewery

zzzzzzzz

working hard & playing hard

2009-06-13T13:59:00.001-04:00

memorial day weekend

2009-06-02T07:15:00.004-04:00

here are some photos from our first trip to the cobin of 2009. lots of family joined us for the weekend up north and we also celebrated cindy's birthday. the people who live next door have a horse and let garrett get on it. i'm not going to bother to post the pictures because he wanted nothing to do with sitting on mama's lap on the horse. it was not his thing, but he has perfected the answer to "what does a horse say?"

best buds

helping mama
33!?!?!?

the family

we all scream for sherbert!

2009-05-28T18:32:00.003-04:00

go-go-chicago

2009-05-26T21:28:00.005-04:00

we took garrett to chicago to see uncle brett last weekend. the trip was long overdue (right unc-b?) and we all had a blast hanging out in the big city. we walked downtown from brett's place, checked out navy pier, hit the lincoln park zoo, and of course had a ton of laughs.

cool dudesnavy pier navy pier

relaxing
raaaaaaar

giraffe
marissa's fancy shoes

see you later uncle brett!

purple or green?

2009-05-08T06:51:00.003-04:00

spring fun

2009-05-01T18:41:00.008-04:00

we have been busy as usual lately - spending a lot of time playing outside and going to the parks now that the weather is so nice. garrett got a wagon from grama and grampa for christmas and he has been enjoying rides in it, and of course walks and runs in the stroller with his moms. he has been saying quite a few words lately, which has been so much fun to experience with him. last weekend we went to grama and grampa's house and got to check out the new garage. grampa had a few special things for garrett in there. check it out!

10 for 10s!!

so funnytoo cool relaxing in the backyard
mama put together my wagon!
decisions decisions
get my stanking socks off

new boots grampa put together my very own work bench in his new garage, including power tools!
playing in da garage
want to go for a bike ride?

easter

2009-04-13T21:38:00.003-04:00

we spent easter day at great grama donna's house with the family. g-grams planned a really sweet easter egg hunt in her yard, which garrett loved.

"you missed an egg"

marshmallow drop & decorating eggs

2009-04-11T09:25:00.003-04:00

Garrett got to go to the 30th annual marshmallow drop with his aunt and uncle yesterday while his moms were at work. apparently it was quite the busy event, but uncle jared managed to help garrett get one of the hundreds of marshmallows that were dropped by a helicopter.

And last night we colored eggs so that the Easter Bunny will have something to hide on Sunday.

mo ohio

2009-03-29T21:39:00.003-04:00

we were too busy having fun in ohio last weekend to get any really good pictures. garrett loves visiting his aunt lindsay & aunt dana and playing with their cats, or at least their cat toys. we got to play outside, go for walks, and play with their nephews and neice while we were visited.

gimme those glasses

visiting columbus

2009-03-21T09:07:00.003-04:00

Friday we spend all day visiting with cousin Kennedy, Aunt Denise, and Uncle Michael in Columbus, Ohio.
kennedy
twin cousins, we promise we won't do this too many more times!

mama, garrett and kennedy

checking out the cool fish tank at kennedy's house

mama in the paper

2009-03-08T13:02:00.001-04:00

famous again! read allabout cindy and how awesome she is:
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/03/letter_discount_tire_staffer_s.html

end of february

2009-02-22T10:28:00.002-05:00

garrett in a box again two cheesers
one super extra cheeser

a game

2009-02-15T22:04:00.003-05:00

guess who i am?

(you may enter your guess in the comment section. the winner will get a free nose wipe or kiss from garrett, two of his favorite things to do lately.)

boxes

2009-02-05T20:39:00.003-05:00

back to da blog....not sure why it has taken us so long to get a little post up here. and now that i'm sitting down to write it, i can't really think of what we've been so busy doing lately, whatever it is , we've been quite busy. probably just life.....

today we got a few boxes in the mail, which translates into lots of fun for garrett. he loves to play with them, getting in and out of boxes and also figuring out how to use them as step stools to get to things that are just out of reach.
in other updates he started saying a few things including mom and mama, how convenient, eh?!?!?! he's been giving great hugs and kisses, learning a few new signs, and is understanding more and more of what we say each day! enjoy the pics

visiting g-grams

2009-01-20T22:05:00.003-05:00

we spent monday at great grama's house visiting with her, grampa, and uncle jack. as usual garrett "destroyed"" her house. he's really into throwing things lately so all of her decorations had to be put up, way up. we had a lovely visit!! lounging around on the couch
best buds

garrett hearts yogurt

backyard sledding & updates

2009-01-11T18:21:00.004-05:00

thanks to a snowy saturday we got a chance to go outside and play in the snow today and try out garrett's new sled. it was a hit for sure! we've been busy trying to get organized with our new room and new roommates. cindy put together the last of our new furniture, now just getting all the stuff put away is the next chore. all three of us are back to the regular routine with work and day care now that the holidays are over, which is no fun. we've also all been dealing with some cold/sore throat type issues for a week, which has been an added delight. garrett is getting a bunch of new teeth right now, one molar is completely through and two others are working their way up. this has made him a little more sensitive lately. he never was really bothered by teeth when he first started to get them, so i consider him/us lucky for him to just be a little cranky with molars.
today we had a thanksgiving in january, quite a feast here on biddle street and leftovers for days!!

2009

2009-01-01T15:14:00.004-05:00

happy new year everyone! we started 2009 with a lovely blueberry pancake breakfast, which garrett thoroughly enjoyed.

a very biddle christmas

2008-12-31T08:31:00.005-05:00

we celebrated christmas on biddle street this year, it was great - our first time sleeping in our own beds and waking up at our own house with our family at christmas. it was wonderful. garrett had a lot of fun with helping to open presents. santa brought him a sled, but his favorite gift was the ice scraper that was in mama's stocking. it has provided all kinds of entertainment! we carried over a christmas morning tradition from the bousley family and had chipped beef for breakfast and then got our stuff together and headed to great grama's for more christmas fun. the rest of the weekend was spend with grandma and grandpa, uncles jack, jared, and brett.

our tree that just made it up in the nick of time, a few days before santa came!

christmas morning in front of the tree, amazingly zoe posed too!

the two coolest gifts...the sled and ice scraper

almost ready to go to g-grama's for christmas

at great grams house, getting tired

phew....

2008-12-20T18:49:00.004-05:00

the remodel is done as of yesterday afternoon and we are about to go back to life as usual around our house. we have a lot of stuff to get organized, moved upstairs, new furtinure put together and arranged. although, life won't be quite the way it was before the remodel because not only did we get a new bedroom and but we also are expecting two new roommies - jared and elizabeth! they are on there way back from colorado to their student teaching in the area. we are very excited to have them around, and garrett is too. here are a few shots of garrett posing in the new room.

welcome cuz

2008-12-20T18:43:00.002-05:00

here is kennedy - garrett's brand new cousin! cindy got to visit her last weekend, unfortuantely garrett had to stay home so that he didn't give kennedy his runny nose and cough.