Great Grandma Stopped By

After Aunt Jess's shower, Great Grandma June stopped over to check in on Mr. Maddox. They both got some cuddle time which was great! He showed her all his tricks and flashed his winning smile (when the camera was off of course!) 

kissy face

Even Great Aunt Betty got some cuddle time in. So glad everyone got to get spend some time together

Jessica's Shower

Last Saturday was Jessica's shower here in Mankato. Quite a few people came and she got lots of great gifts! I think she and Mitch will be starting out married life quite well and the wedding hasn't even happened yet!

The table decor

playing some shower games

Yay, Jess can now make us breakfast next time we stay with her!

Thanks to all that came and helped celebrate with her!

St. Patty's Weekend in the ' Burg

As per tradition, we headed to the 'Burg to celebrate St. Pat's in style! We hit up the parade on Saturday and then Maddox got to chill with a sitter while we took a ride or two through town on the Dublin Express! The weekend was a good one and no one got into trouble, so it was a lot of fun. Can't wait to go back again next year!

Before Maddox went home, he and Papa posed for a photo with the leader of the bagpipers.
He was more interested in the big stick than the photo!

JB came to Iowa to celebrate along with us!

Ahh the Muellers. Always great to see them!

Dad and the young bucks hanging out.

The Voice of the Hawkeyes

As you all know, we are huge Hawkeye fans so when we saw Gary Dolphin "Voice of the Hawkeyes" at the St. Patrick's parade we were pretty excited! He went through pretty early so we waved and thought that was pretty cool.

It was even COOLER when he showed up right next to us and was just chilling with the group my dad was talking with. Justin kept pestering me to go ask him for a picture so finally I relented.

Maddox just loved all of Gary's Hawekeyes. 

 He kept pointing and staring at his sweet ring.

Quite a nice little highlight to an awesome weekend!

Update Struggles

Sorry about being lacks on updates. I have had some technical difficulties with photo uploads which has lead to LOTS of headaches! Currently I am sitting on about 5 entries that I can't get the photos to appear so, until that is fixed, it may be a bit before they are up for viewing. Sorry!!!

Visiting Great Grandma

A quck update on Grandma. We stopped by to see her on Saturday before the St Patty's parade and she was in GREAT spirits. She has been in her hometown hospital for a few weeks but is moving into Assisted Living for the time being. She had spunk and was genuinely happy that we all stopped by.

Glad to see her smiling and enjoying herself! 

The Crud.... continued

Friday afternoon I took Madman into the Dr. (finally!) and to quote him, we found out that he may be "on the verge of pneumonia". We opted not to do the chest x-ray but will go back in a week or so for a check up. The hardest part of this whole thing is the extreme ups and downs.... He would whine/cry/scream for an hour and then be totally "normal" (minus the non- eating and 100 fever)

He's on some antibiotics for now and to be honest, he has really started to come out of it. Hopefully that means he will kick whatever we had/have and we won't have to deal with it anymore. Is spring going to stick around now!? We've had enough of this being stuck indoors crap and really need to start running around outside!

5 Question Friday- 3/18/11

1. Have you ever testified in court? For what?

No, I have not had to testify.

2. Do you still have your wedding dress?

Of course I do! It is hanging in the closet downstairs and I love to go and look at it every once in awhile

3. Is there a special place you like to go when you're happy, sad, stressed, etc.?

I love to go home, meaning where I grew up. Something about that place just grounds me.
4. If you have kids, do they sleep with you? If you don't have kids...will you let your kids sleep with you when/if you have them?

No, he doesn't sleep with us- usually. Last night was an exception since I was up with him about 10 times and I finally got tired of it. Guess it is one luxury of having an empty bed when Daddy is working!

Since moving to his big boy bed Maddox has started coming into our room when he wakes in the morning and crawling in with us but that is the extent. To be honest, I am not sure I could sleep with him! He is quite the bed hog!!

5. Do you watch late night TV?

Occasionally. I have tended to watch Leno (then Conan and back to Leno) more in the past few years. I really don't much anymore though....

The Crud

Over the weekend I got hit by a mack truck...... A week ago Monday I started feeling a tickle in my throat which I chose to ignore-stupid! As the week trucked on I started feelin more and more icky. Friday I left work early and Saturday and Sunday I spent on the couch. Unfortunately for Maddox I wasn't much fun on our "Mommy and Me" weekend. Thankfully yesterday morning when I woke up had turned a corner...

Then it hit.

Maddox is now down with the crud so we are home today HOPING some TLC will keep the worst of it at bay. The little man is sleeping now and has been in pretty good spirits so I am keeping my fingers crossed he doesn't get too much worse.

Maddox Got Mail

On Wednesday afternoon I went to check the mail just like any other day.... I opened the door and look what I found!!

Of course I assumed (like any rational parent of a 1 year old) that this was Maddox's first recruitment letter! What else could it be?!

Grandma Jo sent Coach Ferentz a nice email encouraging him to watch the  Hawkeye Proud video I posted a few weeks back. He responded with a nice singed photo that I am not sure who was more excited, Mommy, Daddy, or Maddox. :)

Let's just say, it is awaiting a nice new frame, perfect for such a neat keepsake!

So, thank you Grandma Jo for sending the video on  and THANK YOU Coach Ferentz for making this Hawkeye fanatic family smile! GO HAWKS!

Cousins

One thing I always loved (and I know Justin loved too) was getting to spend time with my cousins. They were like extra siblings that I didn't have living with me but man, did I sometimes wish they did!

This is something I always wanted for my kids no matter what and I think you could say it has been mission accomplished thus far!

Just Keep Swimming

If we learned one thing last weekend, we figured out just how big of a fish Maddox is! That kid LOVES the water! Once he got a taste of the "freedom" his life jacket gave him, he was hooked.

He had no problem being thrown in the air, floating on his back, kicking his feet and even putting his face in the water. I shouldn't be surprised that he is comfortable because you can't get this kid outta the tub without a fight.

We got to spend some family time on Saturday night where the birthday kids got to come and play as well. Jenna swam like a fish and loved jumping in and out while Brode Man hunkered down with his dad. I think you could say it was a successful day at the pool.

Guess we better find a time to get to another pool soon! Or even better, get ready for a summer spent at the pool!

Who loves ranch dressing?!

Apparently Maddox does!

Justin decided to see what he would do with some ranch with his chicken and he LOVED it. I think he would have had it in his sippy if he could. Yep it is a bad habit that I am afraid is beginning WAY too soon but I guess there are probably worse things... right!?

Burdorf Birthday Party

Last weekend we made our annual trip to State Center for the kids' March birthday party. This year was pretty laid back which was fantastic! JR, Maddox, and I headed south on Friday afternoon and enjoyed an evening of relaxing with the Omaha sector of the Burdorf Family. We don't see Adam, Jill, and their girls enough so it is always great to catch up.

I even tried my first calzone at Old Chicago which was pretty good. I was proud of all 3 kids for being such good sports when it came to waiting as it was a 45 minute wait and even I was getting antsy/hungry. It was WONDERFUL getting to spend some much needed time catching up and enjoying our kids. Funny how times change, and how just getting out on a Friday night with great friends AND your kids, is considered a successful night.

Saturday morning we got up headed over to State Center for some partying. We enjoyed a delicious meal, watched present opening, and then got to dig in to the adorable cakes Jamie had made by a local cake decorator.

Jenna loves the movie "tangled" so it was fitting for her cake.

Brody loves trucks so what better than a Fire Truck?

The kids shared the spot light when it came to opening gifts and did a great job, I thought. Since I do not have a daughter (yet!) I love buying girly stuff so thankfully Jenna doesn't mind!

Miss Addison Grace all grown up!

Here all the MEN were being "manly" braving the cold an putting a sandbox together for the kids.  

Madman was pretty tuckered out so after he finally calmed down a bit, he crashed on his cousin's Dora couch. He looked too cute to pass up on this picture!

The party was a blast (as always) but the weekend seemed to go by a little too quickly... Hard to believe that at next year's party there will be 2 more little Burdorf's we get to celebrate!

Hawkeye Proud

The night before last Maddox was just silly! He kept throwing his football around the living room and was just too darn cute! You'll have to check out the video to see what happened next!

Just had to share, hope it makes your day as much as it did mine!

Grandma Update

Grandma is doing great! She was actually released from the hospital today and will be headed back to her hometown where she will stay in a "swing bed" for a week or 2 as she continues to recover. She seems to be doing rather well which is great news! I am sure the recuperation will be a long process but the fact that she is back to her fiesty self has us all sighing a big sigh of relief! Thanks for all your continued support these past few weeks!