Chris is a Super Star!

Chris had his first solo article published online today about Twitter. You can go here to read it. Way to go, babe!

It must be a boy thing

This was all Brendan's doing. Well, actually Chris and I had to help him get the underwear on his head since he couldn't quite do that on his own but it was all his idea. I bought him Cars underwear in hopes of using them when we start potty training sometime in the future but he got a hold of them and decided they would best be used as a head accessory.

And he topped it all off by wearing one of my necklaces too. I think it's a good combination.


I swear, I don't know where he gets this from and I have no idea what prompted him to do this. All I know is that all he wants to do now is put his underwear on his head and run around like a maniac. And we'll let him.

Blue is my favorite color

Maybe that's why Brendan decided to use the blue chalk to draw all over himself, the floor, his toys, the walls and the doors. How is it that I leave him alone for two seconds and he finds a way to get into trouble? I don't even know how he got that piece of chalk (we had hidden them from him because this has happened in the past). He must have a secret stash somewhere.

Beware of the Birthday Bandit

Carrie, it's your birthday, happy birthday, Carrie (sung to the "Lisa, it's your birthday" song from The Simpsons. Carrie, as pictured above making something in her kitchen, just had a birthday today. She had to share it with Mother's Day, which unfortunately means instead of getting treated like a queen on two separate days, she just got it all in one lump sum. Better luck next year.

Here are a few little known facts about Carrie. When we were younger she invented the "Birthday Bandit," a fictional character designed to scare Johnny -B-Fro into thinking that a robber was going to come on his birthday and steal all of his presents. The character was so believable that it left poor Fro in tears. I of course went along with it, but Carrie gets all the credit for his creation. I considered posting an artist's rendering of the Birthday Bandit, but I realized it would be far too frightening for many of our viewers out there and this is, after all, a family oriented publishing, so I will not be posting it...yet.

Another time, and in hindsight I've realized that most of my childhood memories involve Carrie and I devising ways to scare or torment our brother, Johnny-B, but anyway, she wanted to scare Johnny by hiding on top of a counter in his bedroom and jumping off of it in front of him when he unsuspectingly walked through the door. So, the plan went into action and Johnny walked through the door and Carrie jumped off the counter and yelled and then landed directly on top of Johnny's new guitar that was laying on the floor (I seem to recall being on the counter and jumping too, but I didn't break anything when I landed). I don't know if Johnny-B cried more from being scared or from seeing his guitar destroyed into hundreds of pieces right in front of his eyes. Either way, it was a hilariously traumatizing experience.

Lastly, I could write anecdote after anecdote of Carrie's hi jinxes, but prior to leaving for my mission I left explicit directions regarding all of my possessions that I left behind, such as my guitar, clothes and CDs. The instructions were simple, "DON'T TOUCH." After I was thousands of miles away in the urban jungles of El Salvador I received photos from Carrie portraying Watson (R.I.P. little buddy) wearing my clothes and playing my guitar. I never knew Watson could play guitar, but I guess he was pretty good and I also have to admit that Watson looked good in my hats and sweatshirts, but nonetheless, my rules were violated.

Anyways, I think Carrie turned 45 today, give or take a decade and few years, but what better present could a sister get than a loving tribute from her amazing brother.

Word to your mother, Carrie.

Love,

Chris The Hiss

This turned out to be a very long post

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice to take some pictures of me and my special little boy. It was harder than I thought it would be.

Brendan is always wound up after church so it probably wasn't the best time to try to get him to stand still. But I love his cute little outfit and I wanted some nice photos of us, so we tried.

This is about as good as it gets but I'll take it. I think I have the most handsome boy. I just love him.

(Please excuse my messy floor.)

Being a mother has had it's ups and downs but it's something that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I love Brendan more and more each day, and I feel blessed to have him. Being a mother has also made me appreciate my mother and mother-in-law so much more. Especially since I know I wasn't always the easiest child and Chris' mom had her share of shenanigans from Chris. I'm grateful for their examples, support and love to help me in my journey of being a mother.

And since I know there is no better gift for a grandmother than pictures of her grandchild, I will commence with some recent ones.

We went on a short hike Friday evening since it was so nice out. It was supposed to rain all day but luckily it cleared up and we were able to enjoy it.

My two boys. They melt my heart.

Brendan is in a full-on daddy mode. He wants daddy all the time. Those two are such good buddies.

Enjoying the scenery and throwing rocks into the water. Oh, the rocks. Brendan loves rocks.

Most of the hike was spent with Brendan searching for large rocks on the trail. He's gotten very good at saying "Rocks! Rocks! Rocks!" We had to stop every few moments for him to pick another rock and throw it a few feet.

I think we may have to start him a rock collection.

A photo by Chris. I think I need to put him behind the camera more often. I don't have many photos with me and Brendan but I sure do love them.

Saturday started off with a bang. We ran some errands and then toiled in our garden. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to growing things but hopefully luck will be on our side. We didn't get anything planted just yet since it took most of the early afternoon just to get the weeds pulled and the ground tilled.

After working in our garden, we met a friend and her son and grandson at the park to enjoy some playtime. The park was packed with teenagers, which I thought was odd at first but I guess there's not much else to do in Berlin on a Saturday. Brendan was a little upset because all those teens were hogging the big-boy swings. He prefers them over the child swings but he still enjoyed them.

Brendan was also sporting some new shorts I got him this week, which Chris says remind him of his Jam's shorts of the 80's. I think our boy has inherited my short legs.

He became a pro at climbing. I shouldn't be all that surprised since he climbs on everything these days.

He loves the slides. When he reaches the bottom, he stands up proudly and claps for himself. He's done this since he the first time he started going down by himself. We'd cheer for him and clap, and now it's a routine for him.

A very sad boy as we strapped him into his car seat. He hates leaving when he's having so much fun.

Picking his nose generally helps though.

Night out

(This photo has nothing to do with the post. Chris just really likes it and I don't.)

This weekend we went out with some friends to see the new Wolverine movie. It's the first time we've been out to the movies together since we saw The Dark Knight back in July or August, so it was quite exciting. We dropped Brendan off at the home of the Goyette's, a couple in our ward who have had us over a number of times and Brendan has gotten to know them and feel comfortable with them. We knew he'd have fun and behave.

The Goyette's have a cat that just had a litter of kittens a couple of months ago. The one on the right was supposed to be ours but Chris put his foot down. No kitty for us. How Chris could resist that adorable little guy, I don't know.

Brendan was super excited with the kittens but they didn't feel the same way about Brendan. They ran away from him and hid behind the couch and he was doing everything he could to get to them.

On our way to the movies, we stopped at a candy store called Chutter's. Chutter's is home to the world's longest candy counter and boy, did they have a lot of candy!


See all that candy- I was in heaven!!! But notice Chris's three bags here. I thought I was the junk food junkie but I think Chris has won that title now. I had one little bag and he walked out with four.


Chris couldn't resist buying candy that we'd never heard of until this trip. Like Mexican Hats. I think he got these in honor of Cinco de Mayo. They smelt spicy and strange.


Don't even ask me what a gummi Techno Bear is but they're not very good. Chris won't be buying these in the future. If I ever allow him back in that candy store. We spent way too much money on candy he didn't even like.

It was a fun trip and we had a good time being out with other adults and no child. It's a rare treat and we're thankful for the break!

An early post this morning

Brendan decided to wake up earlier than normal today so while he's enjoying his french toast, I will blog. We're still settling in at our new apartment so these pictures are a little old but only by a couple weeks. I've been too busy unpacking and organizing to get my camera out.


We are enjoying our new apartment though it's still a mess. The extra space is oh so nice and Chris has room in the basement for all of his guitars and recording equipment. And I have room for my sewing and crafts. It feels nice to be able to have a place for everything.

Brendan even has his own playroom, just off of his bedroom, which he loves. In the mornings, the first thing he wants to do is go play in this room. I am happy that he has space to enjoy all of his toys- I had forgotten how many he has. It's a little crazy in there but he loves it. And I love that the toys are no longer overtaking my living room.

Chris has decided to go green and ride his bike to work during the spring and summer so he's been tuning it up. Brendan thinks it's the coolest thing and loves to help his dad. He did knock down the bike once but Brendan got the worst of it. The pedals scraped his back a bit but he that hasn't stopped him from playing with it since.

It's rainy season here (out of the next 7 days all but one lonely day is supposed to be cold, cloudy and rainy) but we've managed to get in a few nice days here and there. We took a walk by the river and mostly spent our time throwing sticks and rocks into it.

Hopefully regular posting will resume soon. Until then...