Zoo

Sunday morning was beautiful so we decided to hit the MN zoo for the morning...the main attraction...THE GOATS! Ahh yes, perhaps for Brody's 2nd birthday we'll need to get him a goat of his own (LOL). They seemed a bit more aggressive this time compared to last, Brody got knocked down in the petting area, which caused a few tears but that was short lived and we were back to petting and feeding the goats! Of course we saw a ton of other animals but because they are in their natural habitat it's hard to see many of them.

Brody gets a "birds eye view" on top of daddy's shoulders!

Jason, Brody and NanaFeeding the baby goat...Brody says OPEN up!

Petting the big goat

Date Night

Sad but true, Jason and I hadn't been on a "real date" for more than 6+ months so we took advantage of my mom being here for the weekend! Friday night we had a hot date to Dairy Queen and then Saturday night we had a "real date" and went to a steakhouse called Pittsburgh Blue, Jason downed a big ol' steak and I had sea bass...we both walked out of there feeling overly stuffed! It was nice to have some alone time and not feel rushed! Thanks Nana for letting us get out of the house solo!

Nana's Here!!!

Nana arrived on Wednesday and of course we were so excited to see her! Brody greeted her with a walk down the side walk with open arms! I snapped these two pictures on Thursday morning before I left for work, Nana was already working in the yard (more to come on that later!) when Brody and I were headed out the door! I love the first picture where they are both blowing bubbles!

Balloon Fun

On Sunday we had a party for John and Judy and of course, what's a party without balloons!? Brody was having all sorts of fun playing with them!

Fun with Grandfather

Brody was having a great time playing with Grandfather John while in Maryland. As you can see from the pictures below Brody thinks Grandfather is pretty fun!

Maryland

Last weekend we went to Maryland to celebrate John and Judy's 40th wedding anniversary. It was an incredible time spent with family and it was the first time Jason and his siblings have all been together in 3 years! We took tons of pictures, so it's hard to decide which ones to post! (more pics to come as we had some family pics taken on Sunday)

Alia reading to BrodyBrody's first time playing in the sprinkler (it was a little cold for his liking!)

Daddy and Brody playing in the yard (the weather was beautiful)

Jeremy, Rudy, me and Grandma Judy

Jason and Jesse

Brody dining with all the ladies!!

Brody loved Isis

Me and Grandfather John

Eating Like a Big Boy!

I'm notorious for cutting Brody's food into incredibly small bites, out of habit and of course concerns for choking. While in Maryland Brody sat at the big kid table and watched his cousins eating waffles and decided that he'd just snag the waffle from my hand instead of the pieces that I had put on his plate!! He finished the rest of the waffle and wouldn't touch the small pieces I put on his plate...it was pretty cute and clear to me that he's getting bigger and more independent!

Trike Fun!

Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Ed gave Brody this fun trike for his birthday. He loves riding around the neighborhood like a big boy and we love having the movable handle so we don't have to stoop over to push him!! Only problem is, no matter how long we walk, it's never long enough so once we get to the garage there is always a battle to go inside!

Man At Work!

Brody loves to sit at the desk and pound away at the key board...just like his daddy!

Seibolts Visit MN!

A couple of weeks ago my old college roomie Stacey, her husband David along with their two adorable children Henry and Ruby made the very long trek to Minnesota for the weekend. On Friday night, I hosted a girls night out which was really fun. Would you believe I got so side tracked i didn't even get one picture!!! On Saturday we made a trip to the Mall of American to see the aquarium. Unfortunately Brody didn't feel well so he didn't really enjoy it as much as Jason and I did! We ended up leaving the MOA at noon to get Brody home given he had been sick with a high temp the last few days.

Family Photo during Brody's snack time

Brody and Ruby snacking, Brody's not sure he wants to share!!Brody was loving touching the star fish and rocks in the water.Jason, Brody, Henry and David

Sweet Tooth

Someone has a sweet tooth like his daddy!! At school when it's your birthday you bring cupcakes and as you can tell from the pics below Brody loves cake and his favorite is the frosting! In fact last time they had cupcakes one of Brody's teachers said that when he was done eating his cupcake he was signing "more".

Happy Mother's Day

On Sunday for Mother's Day I joined JRo and Jen for the Susan G Komen breast cancer walk. Minneapolis has one of the largest groups in the country with some 50,000 walkers. It's a real moving experience to see all the people walking for one cause. I always get all choked up with I see ladies who have a sign that says "I walk in memory of my mom", I'm thankful to still have my mom! What an incredible tribute to those who have lost their life or continue to struggle with breast cancer.

After our walk we met up with the boys for brunch. That was short lived as the littlest boys, Brody and Landon wanted nothing to do with brunch. Brody was super crabby the whole time, didn't want to eat or sit in his chair. I was able to snap one picture of my boys before he really started to fuss! Once we got home he did take a long nap, i think it was just a busy weekend and he was worn out by Sunday!

I feel blessed to be a mom, Brody brings me so much joy...its weird to think what life was like before he blessed us with his arrival! Each day is a new adventure and he keeps us on our toys and keeps us laughing daily! We look forward to adding his brother to the mix for even more excitement!

Primrose Benefit

Each year Brody's daycare has a benefit called Spring Fling, which includes several "carnival" type games and rides as well as food and a silent auction. Each year they give the proceeds to a family in need in the community. This year it happened to be a family at Brody's daycare. To make a long story short the mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, it went into remission and came back at stage 4. They normally do the benefit in June (for better weather) but the "lady" (she's my age) wasn't doing well so they moved it up so that she could hear about the benefit in her honor, unfortunately she passed away a week prior to the event (sniffle sniffle).

The day was chilly and dreary with spots of rain all day...then right before the benefit was to start, the sun came out. So while she wasn't there physically she was there in spirit. They had an incredible turn out and tons of items for the silent auction which was so nice to see the support!

Brody had a great time, the highlight was definitely the carousel horse ride. Brody hung on for dear life but had a smile the whole time. Jason had trouble getting a decent picture as it was going pretty fast.

Best we could do...Brody's watching the fun else where!He was of course enjoying playing in the water puddles on the playground!

Play Date With the Osendorfs

Saturday we went to the Osendorf's for lunch and to see their new home! JRo made a yummy meal but of course the dessert was the best part, pound cake on the GRILL topped with chocolate and raspberry puree, sooo yummy! They have a beautiful new home, which is decorated to perfection, which is no surprise...the only problem with the place is the location...they are 40 mins from us!!!

Of course the little guys had so much fun playing together. It's fun to watch them interact, especially as they get older...I think they are going to be great buds!

15 Month Update

The most exciting thing to report at 15 months is that Brody is WALKING!!! He's still got the Frankenstein walk but he's on his feet. I think over the next couple of weeks he'll get more fluid in his movements but for not he's a little bit unsure of himself! Once he's up on his feet he's got a smile from ear to ear and typically very vocal while he's moving around! He's even gotten to the point where he doesn't want to hold your hand as he can do it on his own! Mr Independent!

We moved to a new pediatrician that's closer to home, I was a bit nervous at first but LOVED the Doc that we picked so I'm very happy and it's only 15 minutes from home! He's right on track developmentally and Dr Manney said he's very happy with what he sees!

Height: 31 1/2 (50-75%)

Weight: 22 lbs 7oz. (10-25%)

head: 18 1/2 (50%)

I know Uncle Geoff is cringing at this pic, as he says its bad karma to have Brody wear Cubs gear since they never win, but the pic is too cute not to post!
He's likes to put the ball in his mouth while walking, it's pretty funny!

Brody tackled by Dad with the football!

Giving Thanks

My friend Annie sent this to me on Mother's Day, really made me think and give thanks for what I have in my life. I thought you too, might enjoy a few reminders...when the tough get going the going get tough! Enjoy!

It’s easy to think the grass is always greener in your neighbor’s yard. And perhaps it is. At least the part you can see.
But remember…

When you’re weary of fixing another meal and doing dishes yet again, somebody wishes they had food to put on the table.

When you’ve folded and put away a(nother) mountain of laundry, somebody wishes their children had proper coats and hats to wear to school.

When you’re groaning over the highest heating bill yet this year, somebody wishes they weren’t so cold.

When you’re losing sleep and gagging over a child’s stomach bug episode, somebody is praying for a miracle over her child’s hospital bed.

When the exhaustion and nausea of the first trimester are about to do you in, somebody is weeping (yet again) over a negative pregnancy test.

When your headache intensifies over your teen’s college financial paperwork, somebody is visiting the site of her teen’s fatal wreck.

When you wake up to another cloudy, rainy day, somebody is praying for moisture to end a season of drought.

When you pick up your husband’s dirty socks and take out the trash because he forgot, somebody is wishing that for just a moment she didn’t have to do it all alone, all the time.

The next time your situation threatens to steal your joy, try to remember… somebody wants what you have.

Happy Gram

Baby BOY Ward #2

Yesterday I had my 19 week ultrasound and we found out Baby Ward #2 is a BOY! I must admit that all along I thought I was having another boy, the pregnancy has been no different than when I was pregnant with Brody so I just assumed it was a boy. Now I'm not going to lie, I did have a glimmer of hope for tutu's and lots of pink...a little gal to help balance out the home but I quickly came to the realization that by having another boy I will get to rein as queen of the Ward house and will have yet another guy to adore me so! Anyway, we are thrilled that Brody will have a brother so close in age, they will grow up together and be the best of friends and for that I am thankful and excited!

The ultrasound results turned out positive, of course from what they could tell it looks like B2 is growing nicely with all the important parts! Below are a couple of pictures, of course the last one that says "boy" is hard to make out but its looking from top down and he has his legs open to each side (shy little guy).

Play Time

Tonight we went over to Ryan, Lisa and Caden's for dinner. Amy and Troy were there with little Kale and the boys had so much fun playing together. Brody and Caden are two weeks apart in age and it's funny to watch them play and "fight" over the same toys, when of course there are 1,000 others to choose from! Kale is 7 1/2 months so he just watched the bigger boys and took it all in. Lisa organized the band in the play room and Brody thought her musical talent on the harmonica was pretty funny! It was a fun night at their house!