Spring Break, Phil Niekro, and Gluten Free

Remember that song by C &C Music Factory, "Things that make you go hmmm?"
That's what I think of when I read this post title.

After we returned from Mimi's, we spent the rest of Spring break doing things closer to home. Although Mommy didn't do a good job of documenting it, we went to Legoland with Daddy, out to eat a few times at restaurants(which doesn't sound like a big deal but it is in our family because we don't do restaurants with two boys that like to taunt each other when they are confined to small spaces in public), had an afternoon picnic, spent a day at Bogan park, and went to the Gwinnett Braves opening day game.

We did snap a couple of pictures at the baseball game. Daddy and his boys. I tried this shot several times but this was the best I could do at getting the boys to cooperate at the same time :-)

 

Ethan got a foul ball and was able to get it signed after the game by the batter. He also got it signed by Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro who happened to be in the stands that night. Ben said he was such a nice guy when they asked him to sign the ball. What a special memory he now has!

 Another transition over Spring Break was going Gluten Free. Not a happy time for us...we love our wheat! We are giving it a 6 week attempt to see if it helps with allergies and impulsivity. If we see no change, we will happily return to our gluten-filled diet! If it does have some positive results, we will continue. It has been difficult for the boys to acclimate to it because of texture issues. I am baking much of what we eat now with coconut, rice, almond, and potato flour blends among other types of wheat-free flours. We spent an evening at Trader Joe's recently to stock up on some of our gluten free necessities and the boys got a kick out of having their own shopping carts. But I am POSITIVE that the patrons and employees of that store were EXTREMELY grateful when we left because the boys were determined to play Chicken and crash into each other every opportunity they got. Ugghhhh, someone please tell me when life with boys gets easier?!?!

Easter at Mimi's

Thankfully, Spring Break and Easter ran together this year and Daddy was able to take a few days off of work so that we could spend some time at Mimi's. The boys love going to Mimi's house so this was a definite plus in their book! 

Our first morning there, we decorated Easter eggs

 

 That afternoon, we headed over to the neighborhood school so that the boys could show off their bike riding skills. Ethan was a pro!

 But Caden was not pleased that I had brought the bike with training wheels! Daddy had to do some coercing to get him to ride because he much preferred his glide bike. This was probably because the previous week he had lost control of this bike and rode it down our driveway into the tail end of Ben's car...not a pretty moment or memory for him.

 Soon after, they decided that it was time for the playground

 

 Even Daddy joined in. I love that they completely forgot they were wearing helmets, elbow, and knee pads :-)

 Mommy made sure that the Easter Bunny knew we were at Mimi's house so he didn't skip us

 Then it was time to get ready for church!

 Mimi and her boys

 Our family picture...the best that we could get. 

They were pictured out by this point.

 That afternoon, we had an egg hunt in Mimi's backyard. 

They were on the hunt for the prize eggs!

 Daddy had them looking high and low

 The final outcome was a tie. That makes this Mommy thankful for no meltdowns!

 We had a great time at Mimi's! 

Can't wait until next time!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

So, this was the day that Ethan almost lost his life. We were getting ready to walk down to the park for the neighborhood egg hunt and Ben was finishing up something and I had run down to the basement to grab the boys' egg hunting Easter baskets. When we all met up at the door, Ethan was nowhere to be found. We called throughout the house, checked all of the rooms, looked in the backyard, the front yard, checked with the neighbors and still no one had seen him. While trying not to panic and think of the many possibilities of horrible things that could have happened, I told Ben to check the house and yard one more time and I took Caden down to the park to see if maybe Ethan had wondered down there by himself. Lo and behold, as we walked toward the entrance of the park, Ethan stood there waiting for us and called out, "Hurry, we're going to be late! What took you so long?" MY OH MY, the thoughts that went through my head!!!!! Some thankful that he was unharmed and others not so thankful that he was completely oblivious to what he had done! I called Ben to let him know we had found him and to meet us at the Egg Hunt. We had a short but very meaningful conversation about what he had done and told him we would address it when we returned home after the Egg Hunt. Then we put on our happy faces and had a good time :-)

The pre-hunt picture...it was a bright sunny day but it was sooooo cold! They took their coats off long enough to take the picture and then slid them back on.

 A jelly bean butterfly craft while the Easter Bunny hid the eggs

 Caden's final product

 Ethan's final product

 Caden's hunt was on the tennis courts. He racked up! It was so cold that there were only about 4 kiddos that showed up in his age group.

 

 Showing Daddy his loot. His allergies were out of control so as soon as his hunt was over, Ben took him back home and I stayed with Ethan for the older kids' egg hunt.

 Ethan's age group was on and around the playground and he had a few more kiddos participating but he still did really well!

 

 Ethan's loot

 And he ended the egg hunt decorating a sugar cookie. He called it a very successful day!

By the time we returned home, thankfully everyone's heart rate had returned to normal so we were able to have an important conversation about obedience and not EVER leaving the house without permission.

Shadowbrook Spring Show

Last week was the final school show of the year. The boys wore their Easter outfits and cheesed it up! Ethan did a great job singing and participating in the moves. He has come SOOOO far from just standing on stage.

 Caden, however, has stepped right into his place. He's not the least bit interested in singing or doing any of the hand movements but he did look adorable!

 Once all of the children got into position I couldn't see him so this is the extent of his pictures.

 And once he was off stage sitting with his class, he was faced this direction trying to yell "Hi" to us five rows back...much to our chagrin :-)

 At the end, Ethan's class took center stage by themselves to conclude the show. They were so sweet being the "big" kids and did a great job!

 And, in true Ethan spirit, he took a few liberties with the hand motions and added an alligator chomp with a little left foot right foot jump at the end.

 After the show, several people came up to us to tell us that it was worth staying until the end to see Ethan's "performance." Gotta love him!

Caden's 1st Rookie Ball Season

Caden had his first scrimmage game last week. It's so hard to think that he's old enough to play ball and he looks adorable in his little uniform! We have our first "real" game this week! 

Batter's circle

Batter up

Hanging out on 1st base with Daddy

Running home

In the field playing 1st base

Bike Riding

We have a big boy biker! I can only get pictures of Ethan's back because he is always zooming by me in the opposite direction! He has expressed interest off and on for the last 2 years but he finally decided he was ready. Mimi got the boys glide bikes 2 years ago for Christmas and while they have been riding those, Ethan has also alternated riding a bicycle with training wheels. A couple of weeks ago, Ben took him down the street to our neighborhood park and on the second try he was off and going by himself. NO training wheels!! Since then, every free moment that we have outside he wants to ride his bike and he is loving feeling like a big boy with the neighborhood kids.

Caden is a pro at riding and coasting on his glide bike and has begun practicing on the bike with training wheels so I bet it won't be too much longer before he follows in his brother's footsteps.