Lovely Month of May

I'm trying to catch up on blog posts, and posting a monthly update seems to be the easiest way for now.  So, here we are with the month of May behind us!  It was a fun month full of activities that kept us busy!  Here are some snapshots and tidbits of how we spent our time over the past several weeks...

Tyler's "Turning 3s" class held a circus-themed party!

Danny, Rhys, Tyler and Sam - preschool buds

A warm, beautiful spring evening means a pizza picnic with the next-door neighbors

A family snapshot on Mother's Day

Aww, my sweet Gavin.

Mom, attempting to capture a sibling photo, always an interesting challenge

The little pianist at her first recital

Cassie's piano recital program; she had 2 songs, and Erik was able to accompany her on the second.  Very sweet.

Daddy/Daughter duo!

Wouldn't be spring without Gavin in a baseball uniform

Tyler was the cutest bat boy around!

Very busy...

Gavin and his buddy, Danny

Our sweet neighbor, Moritz, joined us to watch Gavin's game and cheer on the team.

A trip to Lexington to visit family; it was Ellie's 8th grade graduation!  The cousins played a round of one of Grandpa Reder's favorites, "Sorry"

Congratulations to Ellie, the 8th grade graduate

Ellie taught Cassidy the basics of using a sewing machine

She made a soft bookmark!

We all went out for a pizza dinner with extended family from Cincinnati (my Uncle Robb and his family).

Reunion photo!

Sisters photo (we had no idea Gavin was photo-bombing in the back, it was hilarious when we saw it a while later)

On the porch swing with Grandma and Grandpa Reder

Cassie took part in "Girls on the Run" - we completed a 5K together along with her group of friends and their moms/dads.

Hooray, the finish line!

Strong girls!

We celebrated with ice cream cones afterwards...

Warm spring days bring out the lemonade stand!  We usually drink more than we serve to customers.

That lemonade stand turned into a fun sleepover with friends, complete with Harry Potter robes and movie night.

Tyler and I have been attending "Moms & Tots" music classes on Fridays for a few years.  However, the chapter is closing!  Next year he'll be in preschool on Fridays so this is our final class.

Being silly with his buddies...

Late May evening dinner on the picnic table, my favorite

My baby, I can't resist peeking in at him as he sleeps...and oh, how he loves blue bunny and nini (paci).

A trip to the DQ after a day at the beach

Tooth Fairy, we have something for you!

Reading buddies!

Our little lovable bookworm.

Spring is Arriving!

The month of April has brought plenty of springtime fun.  Cassidy and I went to see Riverdance; Gavin started spring baseball and Tyler, as always, keeps us busy and makes us laugh.  Here are some photos of the things we've been up to!

Cassidy and I (along with friends from her Irish Dance group) went downtown to the Cadillac Palace Theatre to see a performance of Riverdance.  The dancers are really amazing!

Loved our Mom/Daughter date!

Tyler has started swimming lessons.  He loves to play water games, but has no interest in putting his head under water...

Tyler brought this elephant home from preschool; it was hungry! 

Tyler loves to be a helper.  On this particular afternoon, he was helping Daddy fix the lock from our door that was sticking.

Gavin's baseball season is underway!

At Roemer Park, in the dugout

Such a great group of first grade boys! 

Fresh from the field, he scored a run!

Grandpa Brown came to watch the game.  He and Tyler had hot dogs!

Some post-game photos, for Mom.

Brothers!

Under the old-fashioned sign at Roemer Park.  Such a fun place to play.

Family bike ride to Gillson Beach!

Too chilly to swim, but always fun to feel the sand.

March 2016 Happennings

March was a busy month around here!  For starters, Gavin turned 7 on March 12!  We had so much fun celebrating our birthday boy.  Also, we had a festive St. Patrick's Day, joining in the downtown parade with Cassidy's Irish Dance troupe.  Thereafter, Gavin wrapped up his basketball season and Cassidy was part of the school play, Seussical, which was a musical celebration of the works of Dr. Seuss.  We wrapped up the month of March with a lovely Easter spent with family.  As always we are so grateful for our blessings.  We are enjoying life with our kids who bring us so much joy.  Here are some photos of the month's events!

Birthday breakfast - Swedish pancakes, one of his favorites!

7 years old!  We had Grammy and Grandpa Brown, along with our cousin Jack, over for cake!

Gavin loved his Star Wars BB-8 robot and loved seeing Grammy and Grandpa!

Family selfie (well, an attempt!) at Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade

After years of being one of the younger dancers, Cassie was proud to assist and lead the newer dancers this year.

Sibling love!

On stage, moments before her performance at school

Gavin wrapped up a fun season of 1st grade basketball!

Cassidy, on stage for Suessical (she is in the dark blue shirt, second from the end on the right)

Flowers from Grammy Brown for the little actress

Gavin had a fun triple birthday party with these 2 friends who also have March birthdays.  We had all the boys in the class for a movie party at our small local theatre.  They watched Big Hero 6, always a hit!

Easter celebration!  We went to Grammy and Grandpa Brown's house for an Easter egg hunt.

It was a gorgeous early Spring day and the cousins spent hours creating fairy houses in Grammy's front yard.

Fairies welcome!

Easter morning at home - the kids are always so excited to wake up to Easter baskets!

Tyler was in awe - a full basket of candy at 7am? The best day ever to a 3 year old!

Tyler loooooves jeeps - how did the Easter Bunny know???

We had Easter Brunch at a local restaurant called Firefly.  We are ready for spring and grateful for the joy that Easter brings!