Declan,
You are 2 years old now! As usual, this all happened in the blink of an eye! We had so much fun with you from 1.5 to 2 years old. Here's what we were up to:
Mom had to go on a work trip for an entire week. That was a VERY long time for both you and me! When I returned home we headed straight to the Magic House. You had so much fun playing at the construction site.
A little later in February, you weren't feeling very well, so I took you to the doctor.
Later that night Gram called to see how you were doing. Based on this video, I'd say you were feeling much better that night!
At the end of February, we celebrated my birthday. You guys gave me a pink John Deere shirt, the movie Love Actually and some Chocolate Covered Strawberries and truffles. You were a little upset because you didn't get as much truffle as you wanted.
We also celebrated at Paw Paw and Grandma's Gerry's house.
With March came one more snowfall. You and Alex really wanted to play in the snow, but Gram didn't want to take you guys outside until after nap. You were both thrilled to get up from your nap and be able to go outside and play in the snow!
You absolutely adore your brother. You call him "Bro". When I pick you up from daycare, I always say, "Who are we going to get now?" And you enthusiastically say, "Bro!" It's adorable!
With the weather starting to get nicer outside, we started trying to do a few more outdoor activities. One of your favorites is the Zoo. You and bro love the sea lions!
You absolutely love your Poppy and he love you too! He loves you so much that he pulls you and bro around in a wagon. You guys just love this time with Poppy!
The middle of March brought St. Patrick's Day. We had a great day! We got all dressed up in Green and then headed downtown. We at breakfast at Rooster then headed over to Aunt Elizabeth's condo for a bit and then headed down for the parade. It was such a fun day!
We had more and more warm days at this point in time, so we took many visits to the park. You love following Alex around the park and you love when he pushes you in the swing.
At the end of March, we had Palm Sunday. For Palm Sunday, we went to DeSmet for their mass in the gym and Easter Egg Hunt on the field. You and Alex had so much fun picking up eggs from the field and eating all the candy. You also loved eating the donuts afterwards.
You have a lot of fun with your friend, Olivia at Lisa's house. You guys love to look at the trash trucks as they pick up the trash.
In early April, Aunt E became a doctor! We were so proud of her and wanted to let her know it, so we made this video and took some pictures:
And then it was Easter time. You and bro woke up very excited to see what the Easter Bunny left for you in your baskets.
After that we went to mass and then to Aunt Debbie's house for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt:
After Aunt Debbie's house, we headed over to my Uncle Thos's house for dinner and another Easter Egg Hunt. It was a great day!
Gram bought you some sunglasses for Easter. One day I caught you hanging around the house like this:
You guys still absolutely love the Museum of Transportation, so we try to go there whenever we can. You love riding the mini train and you love going in all the different train engines and cabooses.
April 13, 2015 was a big day for mommy. It was 5 years of being cancer free for me. I really wanted to go out and celebrate, but I had so much to do with packing up the house (we were moving at the end of the month) that I didn't think we had time. But then when I picked you boys up from school, I decided that packing is for the birds and we need to celebrate. So we went to McDonald's for dinner and then off to Cold Stone for some ice cream. It was a great way for me to celebrate all the blessings I have because I survived cancer. You and your brother are my greatest treasure!
One of my favorite things you do is play a "Peek-a-boo" type of game with the glass doors in the bath tub. I was hoping I could get you to do this one last time before we moved so I could capture it on video. I was lucky!
We did the Color Run again this year. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. We brought the stroller, but as it turned out, we really didn't need to. You had so much fun actually RUNNING in the Color Run! You didn't run the whole thing, but you did make it for most of it. And you loved having the color all over you. It was a great day!
At the end of April, there was a Parents as Teachers Event that had a Fire Engine, Ambulance, Police Car and lots of other fun activities. You and bro had a great time.
At the very end of April it was time for us to say good-bye to our first home. It was a bittersweet moment. We made so many wonderful memories in that old house, but we are looking forward to all the memories that will be made in our new house.
With the last time in our old home, came our first time in our new home. You guys were pretty excited when Grandma Gerry dropped you off for the first time at our new home:
Right after we moved, mom and dad's 7th wedding anniversary came up quick! So quickly that we forgot to get a babysitter for you and Alex. No worries though, we decided to just celebrate with you guys. It ended up being one of the best anniversaries ever! We started the day at the Museum of Transportation.
Then that evening we headed out to Kirkwood for Dewey's Pizza and then over to the custard stand for some yummy frozen custard.
After we finished our custard, we noticed that the firemen were outside the station. So we went over to see them. They gave you and Alex each a fire hat and an ambulance card. We all had a great night!
Gram and Poppy's back yard in May is a great place to be! We have so much fun playing baseball and feeding the fish. Gram says if we put our fingers in the pond, the fish will nip at our fingers. You and Alex each have a fish in there. Yours is named Nemo and Alex's is named Zero. We have so much fun in the spring at Gram and Poppy's.
We got a brand new kitchen table for our new kitchen. We got a bench seat for you and brother to be able to sit together. We did get you to sit there with him once, but you still prefer to sit in your high chair. I'm sure you guys will sit together again soon.
We try to go to Frisco Friday at Frisco Train Store as much as possible. You guys just love the train store. You are starting to get more and more into all the activities there. You get your hand painted and you LOVE the cookies. But most of all you absolutely love playing with the trains!
In mid-May, we celebrated Mother's Day. You guys gave me some mascara and chocolate covered strawberries. I had a great day with my boys!
In late May, we celebrated Aunt E's doctorate. You and Alex were more than happy to partake in the cookies I made for her:
It was finally Grant's Farm season too! We did plenty of Grant's Farm this summer and you were finally big enough to ride on the carousel. You weren't crazy about it at first, but once it got going, you had a great time!
Daddy has to work sometimes on the weekends so we like to go to the Museum of Transportation. You guys are just in heaven there with all the trains. This summer they started running a street car on the upper lot. You guys had so much fun on the L from Chicago!
The strawberries were delicious this time of year, so I made you guys some popsicles with them. You guys loved your strawberry popsicles!
With the new house, came a big bathtub in mom and dad's room. You and Alex really like the bath, but you do not love the jets. We just don't turn those on. It's so much fun!
With June came school picnic season. We headed up to our new parish, St. Margaret Mary. You guys had a blast playing all the games. You especially loved the candy prizes!
You guys really wanted to see a parade, so we headed up to our old parish's school picnic, but unfortunately there was no school picnic this year. Big bummer! But luckily your friend Hudson has a school picnic parade that goes right by his house. So we headed over to Hudson's house and watched the Queen of All Saints parade. You guys got candy and stickers and cheered the kids on.
There was a day in June where Lisa had to cancel on me at the last minute and I couldn't find anyone else to watch you that day. Darn, I guess I had to take the day off and hang out at the Zoo with you. It was so much fun hanging out with just you all day long. And this time you stayed awake for Adriana's!
One night when daddy was out of town on business, Aunt E came over to hang out with you guys. You love it when Aunt E comes over. She played with you and read you books.
Since we have a nice new house, we like to have friends over sometimes. We had a fun little pizza and pajama party one night with your friends Jordyn, Braden and Cate.
We took you to the June Frisco Friday and again you had a blast. Dad and I love your cookie decorating/eating technique:
Aunt E wanted to take you and Alex to her yoga class, but unfortunately you have to be 2 years old to do yoga at her studio. No worries though, I took you out for some fun in Lafayette Square while Aunt E and Alex were in yoga class. We started with a trip to the coffee shop. You loved the blueberry muffin I got you. You didn't quite know what to do when the muffin started to crumble, so you just put it down on the table and dug in:
After the coffee shop, we stopped by the fountain to make a wish:
Then we went to the playground to play for a bit until Aunt E and Alex's class was finally over.
Speaking of playgrounds, daddy and I decided that since we have a nice big backyard now, we could get you your very own playground. You and Alex love playing on you playground in the backyard. Alex loves pushing you on the swings and you both love climbing up the ramp and going down the slide.
And that swing set came in handy when we hosted Father's Day too. You guys loved playing on the swing set with all your cousins.
Dad had a great Father's Day. We started the day with a pancake cake and bacon and then we gave him his gifts.
Then we had cookie cake (for Uncle James's Birthday) and home made ice cream. It was a great day!
At the end of June each year, the nursing home by Grandma Gerry's has a picnic for the community to celebrate early the 4th of July. You guys had a great time eating snow cones and popsicles. You also loved getting your hand painted and dancing to the music. But your favorite part was the bounce house! Neither you nor your brother are too into fireworks yet, so we headed over to Uncle Boris's house for the fireworks show so we wouldn't be too close to them. Honestly, we didn't even last long over there. But we had a wonderful time that evening overall.
At the end of the month, we met some friends out at Shaw Park. You guys had a great time eating our picnic and playing on the playground, but your favorite part was the splash pad. We did bring your swimsuit, but you just ran right in before we could even get it on you!
With July came another trip to Grant's Farm. You weren't so sure about the goats this time, but you loved the carousel!
Shortly after this trip to Grant's Farm, your brother unfortunately got sick (you escaped it, Thank God!). But because he was sick, we got to have a little pajama party. We rented movies and you and I ate some popcorn while brother was recuperating.
Luckily by the 4th of July Alex was feeling mostly better so we decided to have some fun. We went downtown to have some breakfast at Rooster and then headed over to City Garden to play in the fountains and pools. You guys had a lot of fun at City Garden.
After all the fun at City Garden, we headed over to your friends Braden and Cate's house. You guys had fun running around and eating patriot popsicles. Yum! After that we went home early since you guys do not like fireworks and you were so tired from the lack of nap that day!
We did the July Frisco Friday. You really liked getting your arm painted this time. You asked for a blue engine. You also really liked the Frozen Custard we had after all the fun with the trains!
We bought a new blow up pool for you guys to splash around in. You weren't so sure about it at first, but seemed to enjoy cooling off as long as you were with mom. You really liked hanging out next to the pool with a popsicle!
We celebrated your brother's 4th birthday. You had a great time at this Paw Patrol party. We had lots of kids over at the house and you played with them and ate cake and ice cream.
We headed over to America's Incredible Pizza for Alex's actual birthday. You had a great time running around the mini-golf course and in the tiny tot area.
Daddy likes to take you guys to the airport to watch the airplanes take off and land. You guys always have a good time with this!
With August came some more hot weather. So we filled up the pool and hung out in the back yard. Again, you weren't so sure about the pool itself, so you much preferred to just hang with mommy.
You like to play a silly game with Poppy where you say, "No train, no train, BRIDGE!" Here's you and Poppy playing that:
At the end of July we had to pull you out of your daycare at Lisa's. Long story of what happened, but let's just say we were thrilled when we were able to start you at Casa Dia with your brother. You took to your new school like it was nothing. You sat and ate breakfast and then you went to your classroom and started playing as if you had been doing it everyday. It was a great transition and you really seem to like your new school.
Daddy and I took you to your first Cardinals game this month. You loved cheering for the Cardinals too. We walked around a lot and you were just in awe of the stadium!
We went to Fritz's Frozen Custard. You just love ice cream and we love taking pictures of you eating it!
You still seem to like dumping thing out all over the kitchen floor. Dad and I have to get better about not leaving things within your reach!
Here's a box of pasta:
And here's some sprinkles:
You love to play baseball and we pull out the tee every chance we get.
You've gotten pretty good at brushing your own teeth (of course mom still takes over after you are done);
You also like stacking things. You will stack anything you can get your hands on . . . including my baking supplies, lol:
You still love your Lambie and it has been a comfort to you whenever you go somewhere you aren't too sure of. You also love sleeping with Lambie every night.
You love ice cream and your brother loves feeding it to you. It's a win win!
You LOVE trains! You and bro are so happy to have a nice big room to play with your trains now too. Daddy likes to make you guys big tracks to play with. You guys are in heaven with your trains!
You like to do whatever your brother is doing. When Alex put on his rain boots in his underwear, you put your rain boots on too!
When Alex got Paw Patrol pajamas, you had to have some Paw Patrol pajamas:
You like to take baths with your bro, although I'm not quite sure why. Although it looks like he is waterboarding you, I assure you, you loved this! You also love it when he squirts you with the Ninja Turtle squirt gun!
You both love firetrucks too!
And you both love donuts!
And of course popsicles too!
You love to dance. It's so funny. You will stop whatever you are doing to dance if you hear a good song. Daddy and I have been playing silly songs called "Big Block Singsong" and you go nuts over them.
And this leads us to your 2nd Birthday which I will make its own post. I love you so much my Little Britches!
Love,
Mom
