Ringing in 2013

Wow, I'm extremely behind on blogging. I don't know what has happened. Many times I have just considered ending it all together, but who am I kidding, I love being able to go back and read the posts!

I will catch up on everything else later, but for now I need to get in the 2012 recap!

We started off the year slow, celebrating birthdays, hanging out at home in the snow, and attending Children's Hospital Events. Brode and I did one dance marathon event and one radio telethon to raise money for the Children's Hopistal of Wisconsin. We shared his story and met other families!

May 2012 Brode had his (hopefully) last and final surgery. He had eye surgery at Children's in Milwaukee on both eyes. His eye muscles were adjusted to prevent over tracking and causing his eyes to float back and side to side. After surgery we had a check up with his eye and cranio doctors and everything is looking great and we're now down to yearly checks!

Summer came and we were busy! We spent a great deal of time outside playing in Brode's waterpark and taking trips to have some fun!

 (Brode caught his first fish)

(We went to a movie at the drive-in) 

 (We played at Badger Sports Park)

 (We went to the Milwaukee Zoo and Green Bay Zoo)

 (We visited the State Fair)

 (We went to a Brewer Game)

 (We rode rides at Six Flags Great America)

(We visited the Children's Museum with day care)

(We went to Quarry Quest)

 (We picked pumpkins at Little Farmer)

July 2012 also brought a HUGE month for Dane and I! 

It started with a trip to Disney for the 4th of July:

 I then came home to 2 full time job offers and accepted one at the place I had interned. During my transition I was surprised with a trip back to Disney (10 days later) and we got engaged:

The fall flew by with wedding planning and new jobs!

September 2012 Brode celebrated his 4th birthday! We had a party at Monkey Joes for his day care class and they were all exhausted afterwards.

December 2012 we took a family trip to Disney with Dane's family and my family for Christmas. We enjoyed rides, great food, and getting out of the snow to the warm weather.

We came back to 14 inches of snow! Christmas was spent with all of our families and being very busy. Brode got way too many amazing toys and had a lot of fun. Brode also got his first skate on our backyard ice rink before the end of the year!

The end of 2012 brought another big step as Dane and I officially became homeowners! We began moving in and Brode and I look forward to settling in when we all become a family.

2013 will undoubtedly be a HUGE year. With a June wedding, an amazing honeymoon planned, and a new house to settle into I can already tell things will be great.

Here is to health and happiness in 2013!

Backyard Ice Rink

You may remember this picture from Brode's birthday in September:

Brode got a backyard ice rink from Grandpa and Grandma for his birthday. We have been waiting and working on in ever since as it has many steps to it!

Frist the boys needed to order some boards and paint them. I got pictures in a text message while I was working.... this looks dangerous.

Next steps meant measuring out the rink and finding the most level spot. Easier said than done. We spent 2 afternoons perfecting the measurements this past weekend. A rectangle should not be that hard, but really it is.

Once we found the best location we put in all the braces and boards: 

Our weekend project was finally finished and we've not got a backyard ice rink just waiting for cooler weather. Once it freezes and snows we'll put our liner down and fill it up with ice! Brode can't wait!

Get out your ice skates and come on over!

Catching Up: Fall Fun

Fall has been very fun. Brode could NOT wait for the first leaf to fall and rake them up. We raked many times and he jumped again, and again, and again.

The weekend before Halloween we carved pumpkins and got Brode's party snacks ready. Brode helped pull the 'guts' out of the pumpkin and separate the seeds. He chose to do Lightning McQueen on his pumpkin!

He went Trick or Treating as "Lightning McQueens Pit Crew" this year and was SO excited. The past few years he just hasn't been excited and this year he told everyone what he was and said Trick or Treat and thank you at every house!

Catching Up: 4th Birthday

Pre-Warning: Picture Overload!!

Well Hello! We've been around, just very very busy. Free time is rare so catching up on here has clearly gone to the back burner! We have had a few big things happen the last few months that I will post in a series of catch-ups.

Up first is Brode's 4th Birthday Party! We had a birthday party at Monkey Joe's with his day care class. The kids jumped, ate pizza, Brode opened presents, and we all had cake. See below for our fun party!

Brode's actual birthday fell on a Wednesday so we celebrated with dinner, presents, and cake at home. Brode got this life size Mickey to play with, lots of games, and keep reading to see what he got from grandpa and grandma.....

.... Brode got an ICE RINK for the backyard! Bring on winter!

I can't believe little man is 4 years old! He is moving up in car seats, he is still as curious as ever, remembering everything, and eager to learn! I just can't get enough of him (when he is in a good mood!).

Watch tomorrow for another catch-up!

Around

We have been around. Very busy, but around. Here is a quick catch-up to things going on around here:

Fish tank cleaning day - a big project! The fish needed clean water and Brode helped to make sure the glass was sparkling.

Nerf gun fight - The rule in the house states Nerf guns are not to be shot at people. These balloons with faces served as great "bad guys" when they bounced back and forth. Thanks Pinterest!

Go Karting - We took Brode go karting at the beginning of the summer and he would NOT get in, this time he loved it!

Star of the week - Brode was very excited to be star of the week and turn pages during story time, help with the calendar, be line leader, and show off his poster of favorite things to his friends.

Six Flags Great America - Last weekend we used up our Six Flags tickets. It was a beautiful day and wasn't too busy so we were able to get on a lot of rides. Many of the kids rides spin, but Brode loved the smaller roller coasters as well!