Discovering the Fun in Normal!

The ISU Health Promotions & Wellness office sponsored free admission into the Children’s Discovery Museum, so it was the perfect opportunity for Evan and Jaden to explore the museum. And explore they did!

Obviously there was a lot they couldn’t do, but they kept busy the whole time! 

Nate built a tower they could actually crawl under!

Jaden LOVED the cows!  He had to pet them all!

And then Jaden watched all 4 videos about the 'Farmer'!

Evan got some work done by planting the corn. 

And then we all got to harvest it. 

Jaden found a ramp for the tractors. 

Evan plotted how to get the animals out of the barn......

Although I love the sciences, I have to say the 3rd floor with more of the 'arts' was my favorite! 

Jaden got to star on stage as the King----really he just ran back and forth; up and down the stage but had fun in doing so. While Evan clapped for the kids who were playing with the lighting effects. 

Some kids were putting on a puppet show. They boys loved it!! I was surprised how long it kept their attention. 

Of course, Jaden was a little skeptical of the puppets. He had to figure out how these things worked!

 The secrets out! 

Evan enjoyed watching others step and hop to play the piano. Unfortunately, he didn't weigh enough to make the keys sound! 

The last thing we had time for was dancing to some music! The boys got to shake maracas and tambourines while spinning and dancing. The picture isn't very clear as the room was dark with a screen showing neon outlines of the kids dancing. They had a blast!

Soon enough, Jaden, you'll be big enough to climb on the fun two-story net playground!

Thanks, ISU Health Promotions and Wellness for a fun-filled afternoon!

Playing at the Park!

On the few days of warm weather this spring, the boys have had fun playing and exploring at area parks. It is amazing to watch them challenge themselves and do more and more each time. Which frightens me a little as I watch older boys at the park jump on things with no fear! At first they went down the slides backwards (like they do stairs).

We have a park across the soccer field in our backyard. Jaden bee-lines it to the playground, while Evan often takes a rest to cheer on a soccer match.

We have also ventured to Rosa Parks, which has playground equipment much more Evan-and-Jaden-sized.

 Aunt Laurie brought bubbles to the park!

The day before our last snowstorm we went to Carden Park at Prairieland. They had so much fun venturing on the playground. I think Nathan had just as much fun!

One of the largest parks – not completely Evan-and-Jaden-friendly- was Northpoint Elementary. You can tell a lot about Evan and Jaden’s personality by their independent selection of which item they ran to first: Evan found something he could sit on and chill, while Jaden picked the climbing wall which he found his way to the top right away!

Easter Egg Hunt

After a little hunting around the Bloomington-Normal Calendar-of-Events, we found an Easter Egg Hunt at the Assembly of God Church in Normal.....which was a big event: 60,000 eggs!! There was a bounce house, popcorn, cotton candy, face painting, and door prizes. They had age-categories for the egg hunts, which was nice to not have the 10-year-olds trample over the 18-month-olds! 

Aunt Laurie trained the boys in the morning to pick up the eggs and put them in the basket! Evan did a great job picking up the eggs, while Jaden loved to take the basket and dump them out!

The boys seemed to have a great time at the Easter Egg Hunt! A fun event for all!

Down on Grandpa's Farm

The temperatures finally warmed up on Thursday of Spring Break to take the boys to see the baby cows. 

Jaden loved the adventure!! He could have spent all day playing with the calves and splashing in the melting snow puddles. Evan on the other hand, was afraid of the cows. He screamed and held on tightly to Grandpa. 

We did all enjoy sledding---lazy sledding= being pulled by the 4-wheeler! 

Back inside the boys got to 'play farm' with Grandpa's barn and tractor. 

The boys got to spend time with Great-Aunt Bondell and Great-Uncle Chuck. They loved their Easter Baskets!

Last time we visited the boys were afraid of the tunnel---this time they loved crawling through it and would crawling over each other in it and roll side to side- never a dull moment!

For the first time in their 18-month-history with me as their mother.......I lost one of them. As someone told me: It won't be the last time. 
Of all the places to lose a 1-year-old, I picked the church. Not a bad pick! In between the services we ate supper in the fellowship hall, and the boys did very well eating and then went and said 'hi' to all the other kids. I was talking with a friend and had Jaden around me, when she asked about Evan, we noticed he was not around.....I thought G & G Raeder were watching him. He had ventured back into the sanctuary and was dancing in the back pew to the worship band! A little moment of worry for me as I looked around for him, but others had been keeping an eye on him knowing who he belonged to. I apparently will need to find another set of eyes, legs, and arms to keep these boys in check this summer!!

Spring Break Part 2: Jackrabbit Country

As we made our way north in South Dakota, we entered Jackrabbit Country! Of course we had a stop at SDSU’s campus. Where the boys were once again recruited at the President’s Office---this time with some ‘bendable bunnies!’ These kept the boys entertained in the car!

In the spirit of the Jacks making it into the NCAA Tournament- the boys enjoyed some SDSU ice cream from Grandma Linda and Aunt Rachel.  

Grandma Linda told me she had baby-proofed her house. However, I followed the boys around and ‘Evan & Jaden-proofed’ the house!
They are quite the curious ones….with little fear.

Evan played for the longest time with 2^nd-cousins Bridget and Heidi learning his shapes……or training Heidi to turn the box fast enough to put the associated shape inside. 

 

 The boys had a great time being spoiled by Grandma Linda, and hardly had time to sit still for a picture!

Spring Break Part 1: Aunt Laurie’s in Sioux Falls

It was a record breaking drive to South Dakota for Spring Break this year. For those of you who don’t know—my husband and I are a little competitive and always like to break new records on our drives to SD…….least amount of stops…….fastest time……etc. I beat: “Fast time traveling with 1-yr-olds” record!! I also use the phrase ‘Spring’ ‘Break’  loosely this year. It was very cold in SD, lots of snow, and I seemed to work a lot with phone interviews and an email inbox that multiplied the week prior. But all in all it was a nice break from the ‘Normal’ world and the boys loved getting spoiled by family. So I don’t leave any family out, I’ll break up the pictures into a few various posts.

Our first stop: Sioux Falls. Aunt Laurie’s flight for her marathon that weekend didn’t take off, so we got to spend extra time with her. The boys loved exploring her place after sitting in the car all day! 

The boys got to cheer on the Jackrabbits on Saturday night.....and again on Tuesday when SDSU won their spot on the NCAA brackets! Jaden really gets in to watching basketball! Go JACKS!

Aunt Laurie gave the boys Easter baskets filled with lots of goodies- including a bat. Something every 1-year-old should have......???  Didn't take Evan long to figure out what it was for! Oh Mr. Evan. 

Jaden learned that the basket also dubbed as a hat. And then you'll see Evan practicing his tackling skills. 

 We were welcomed at Embrace church with a sermon series on 'Normal.' Ha! 

Side note: both boys did get taken out to the nursery......I try explaining that they won't make it through the service, but every family member wants to try it!!

We visited miss Taylor in Harrisburg. I don't even want to know what Evan was doing in this photo. 

She did share that adorable pink chair with the boys.