Last weekend we made the trek to Grand Rapids for a four-day weekend visit with our good friends. We stayed with Pete, Liz and Brooklyn, so we were able to spend a lot of quality time with them. We didn't get to GR until 12:30 Thursday night, so we went to bed right when we got there. Friday Pete and Liz had to work, so we headed out to run some errands and hit Qdoba for lunch. We were all pretty tired after lunch, so we headed back to the house for a nap. The boys went to do some fly tying that evening, so Liz and I stayed at the house and played with the kiddos. We tried finger painting, but Charlie was Mr. Cranky and wanted nothing to do with it. Saturday morning the boys went ice fishing, and Liz and I took the kids to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. Charlie loved it! We spent most of our time on the wood fire truck. We stopped for some yummy donuts after that, then headed to Mike & Jen's house to visit with Jen and Anna. They live on the lake the boys were ice fishing on, so we were able to watch them out the window. We didn't get to stay too long because it was nap time, so we headed home. That evening, Pete and Liz invited all of our rugby friends over for a party. We had a great time catching up with everyone. Charlie... on the other hand... didn't do so well. He took a little spill down the stairs. He is alright, but it freaked him out a bit, and definitely almost gave me a heart attack. He was back up and at it very quickly, and we were very lucky he fell down the way he did. Later the evening he was a little cranky and warm, so it was early to bed. Sunday was a lazy day with a lot of napping. That evening we made a quick trip to catch up with Dave & Julie to see their new house and have some dinner. Monday morning we headed out early and made it home by 3. It was a great weekend, and we are so thankful to Pete and Liz for letting us stay with them and for having all of our friends over Saturday night. We really miss seeing our GR friends, but hopefully we'll see more of them now that we are back in Michigan! Thanks again for everything, Pete and Liz!
Playing outside in the snow. So in love!
Snack time at the Children's Museum!
Liz took a picture of Brooklyn like this, and she didn't know it would turn out so cool! Kind of a fun shot.
My little fire fighter. He loves fire trucks!
Very cool bubble table. You lift the metal shapes and make huge bubbles.
Charlie's favorite part was splashing in the water instead. He was soaking wet and smelled like soap!
Playdate with Anna.
Watching the dad's ice fish. Maybe wishing he could be out there? Next year, buddy.
Charlie's "smile" face. I love it!
Working on their art skills.
Spending some time in their onsies after finger painting. Liz had some cool animal magnets on the fridge for them to play with.
Watching the dogs outside.
Sharing some cartoon time together....
....wait a minute... how did we get so close to each other?
On Sunday, a friend of mine invited us to go snowshoeing with her family. Pete and I have not been out up here yet, so we were super excited to go. The drive ended up being a little longer than I expected, so I wasn't prepared enough in regards to Charlie. He had no Rocky to nap on the way there, and of course he fell asleep 2 minutes before we pulled into the parking lot. It was a definite test getting a cranky, sleepy boy dressed for an outdoor adventure, and Pete and I thought for a minute we weren't going to get to snowshoe. Once we got Charlie's stuff on him and we started moving, he was happy. We had 6 adults, two 2-year-olds, a 1-year-old, and two dogs in tow. The boys, Charlie and Joe, were either pulled in a sled or walking along with us (the snow was packed down enough for them to walk most of the time), and Anna, the 1-year-old, was in a backpack on my friend Shannon's back. It was about a half hour trek back to the ice caves, and it was one of the coolest things I have seen. There were a lot of people, and dogs, there. Once we got some pictures and took a break for a bit, we decided to head back. It wasn't long until the meltdowns started. Anna and Charlie were done. We finally ended up laying Charlie down in the sled and covering him with a blanket. He cried for about 5 minutes, then passed out the rest of the way back to the car. It really was a great little outing.... minus the meltdowns. It was so nice to get out and enjoy the winter with some new friends, and hopefully we'll have many more adventures after this! Hey, if we can do this with the kiddos, we can do anything!
Well, it's another sick day in the Hrodey house. Charlie and I are both under the weather, and it's no fun. The past couple of days Charlie has been saying, "nuh-nights" a couple hours after he wakes up, so I've made him a snuggly little bed on the couch with his favorite guy, Rocky. This morning, he was particularly whiny so I asked him if he wanted me to get him all snuggled on the couch. He lunged for the pillow, and told me to get Rocky. When I came back with Rocky, I snuggled him in with my blanket that was already on the couch. He said, "No, mommy, blankie, blankie." I asked him if he wanted his blankie, and he said, "yeah, blankie". He wanted his AC blankie, so I went back upstairs to get it, snuggled him in, and he got a big smile on his face. This blankie is one his Great Aunt Carol (AC) made him for Christmas. He's been sleeping with it at night because it's so cold in his room, but he wasn't too fond of it in the beginning. He also sleeps with the blankie his Great Aunt Judy made for him, so I had to put the AC one on him when he wasn't paying attention. So now Charlie sleeps in a long-sleeved onsie, fleece footie jammies, and two blankies made with love! Well, I guess he's had a change of heart on the AC blankie! He's apparently all about it now! So, a big thanks to AC for the Christmas present! Hopefully it keeps him happy and comfy during his sick days!
Man... we have a fish on our hands! Charlie LOVES to swim! Last week Pete had a meeting in Ashland, WI. The hotel he was staying at had a little water park inside of it, so Charlie and I decided to tag along. We dropped Pete off at his meeting at 8:00 in the morning, then Charlie and I rushed back to the hotel to go swimming. He just kept saying "swimming" and "mon, Mom" (come on, Mom). He was way too excited! We would spend 2 hours in the pool each morning, get out for a snack, some rest time, then lunch. We picked Pete up from his meeting, and then Charlie got to swim with Dad too! It was amazing how tired Charlie was from playing... and even me too! I had to hold him the entire time! Some of his favorites to do were: practice kicking, wading around the kiddie pool, dunking the basketball, throwing Michael & Randy (his toy fisherman and farmer) into the pool, then jump off the side of the pool into my arms to swim and get Michael and Randy. When they turned the water slides on the the first day, Charlie was not a fan. He kept saying, "don't like, don't like". Mom and Dad took a ride down the water slide, and he enjoyed watching us come out at the end, but he never made it down one of them. It was a great day and a half of swimming, and we are so lucky that we are able to tag along with Pete on some of his trips! Pete was telling me he remembers when he was a kid getting to go along with his Dad on some of his trips, so it's nice to keep the tradition going!
Yesterday we decided to go out and play in the snow since the sun was out and it was all fresh powder. We tried to build a snowman, but again, it wasn't the right snow. Charlie did sit on the ground, fluff the snow, and say, "snowman" over and over though. I threw the ball for Payton while Charlie tested out walking in deep snow. He was very apprehensive at first, but he finally got the hang of it. We were able to wipe off the swing set, go down the slide, and swing a bit. I even pulled Charlie around the yard on his sled! This was our first outing where I got Charlie to wear his gloves and keep them on the whole time! We are making progress! Now I just need to figure out how to get his boots on with the inserts in. He's not a fan of the boots. He kept saying, "boots off" in the middle of the snow. Silly boy! I didn't have my camera to begin with because it was so snowy, but I ran in and got my phone to snap one quick picture. I think it's a good one!
Charlie has the best ears in the world... thank goodness he didn't get mine! He hears the littlest things way before we do. He definitely hears all the sirens when they are getting ready to come by the house. No matter where we are, he says "ambulance" or "fire truck", and then he'll say "see it". I grab him as quick as I can and run to the closest window or door. The other day, we heard the sirens, so we went running to the front door. There was a big, orange fire truck, and they turned their sirens and lights off right in front of our house. Next thing I knew, they were pulling into the lot next to us, which has a big electrical house storage thing on it. After that, another fire truck came! It was way too exciting! I took Charlie outside to get a better look, but then it was too cold, so we went back inside. I was able to set him on one of his toy sorter blocks, and he was able to watch them the whole time. You can't see the fire trucks the best, but I got some pictures and even a video of them leaving (I couldn't get the video uploaded, but I'll keep trying). Charlie was very sad when they left. He kept saying, "Nother one?" "Fire truck go?" I had to distract him with other toys to get him to forget about the fire trucks!
