Brody's debut!

Brody FINALLY got to make his first pitching debut last Sunday.  He's been waiting for this day for awhile.  Previously, he has only played t-ball and Sunday was the real deal.  No coach pitch, entirely player pitch.  That's kind of a lot in second grade I think, but we just roll with the rules.  

Brody, as my mom would say, was like a fart on a hot tin skillet Sunday morning.  He had his uniform, belt and all the things laying out for over a week.  This kid loves, loves, loves baseball.  

Aaron, I mean Coach Dad, let the kids pitch an inning at a time.  Brody pitched second in the first game and in typical fashion, I was a nervous wreck.  What is it about your child pitching that makes your stomach do flip-flops?!  I'm the same way with Jenna.  

Anyway, Brody did ok the first game and found his control even better the second game.  After the game I told him I was proud of him and the kid was just smiling from ear to ear!

I was able to get some pictures of his very first go-around.  

We'll just keep working at it and I'll keep my fingers crossed he keeps lovin' it!

The kids' actual birthday days!

I'm only like, two months behind here, but since it's my blog and I can do what I want, I'm going to! ;)  I felt like all of the kids' birthdays were extra, extra special this year and since this is my journal, I wanted to be able to have memories of what we did.  And, this is probably going to be long.  So here we go...

JENNA - MARCH 14TH - 8 is great!

Blake was in the hospital for Jenna's birthday.  I knew at the beginning of the week it wasn't looking good for us to be home.  I was about ready to have a meltdown about it to be honest with you.  Our friend, Jay, called and asked if he could do anything.  I asked if he would be willing to bring Jenna to Iowa City and then hang out with Blake while we went out for lunch.  He agreed!

After some Child Life activity in the morning, we headed out for lunch.  Lunch was Steak 'n Shake, Jenna's choice.  Burgers, fries and shakes...need I say more?  After that we hit up the mall for a new birthday outfit and got some stuff for the root beer floats she was having for her class treat on the following Monday (since she skipped school to hang out with mom!).  What was nice was that I could just talk to Jenna with no interruptions.  After the crazy months prior, we didn't get a lot of quality time together.  On her birthday, we did.

 When we got back to the hospital, the art therapist stopped by, so Blake and Jenna made this monster together.  I love the bond these two share!

 I made Jenna pose for pictures before she left me.  I can't believe how grown-up she is.  I can't believe my first born is eight.  Eight!  Happy Birthday Jenna, you are one-of-a-kind!

 

BRODY - MARCH 28TH - Super 6!

Brody was very concerned about whether or not I was going to be home for his birthday.  One night when we were talking on the phone while at the hospital he asked me.  Broke my heart.  I hate that my kids should even have to worry about this.  It turns out we weren't in the hospital - yay!

Friday was Brody's big day and I surprised him by having lunch with him at school.  He saw me and said, "Mom, what are you doing here?!" *biggest smile ever*

 On Saturday, I thought it was only fair that Brody get a special few hours with mom, just like Jenna did.  My plan was to go to Sky Zone in Des Moines and then to lunch.  Well, Sky Zone was sold out for like three hours! Ugh...fail. 

It's always good to have a plan B!  I asked Brody if he wanted to go to Perfect Games (bowling, arcade games) in Ames or to Bass Pro Shop.  He picked Bass Pro Shop. I mean, that place is pretty awesome... :)

 We literally were there for an hour and a half.  Looking at fish and animals, checking out some Duck Dynasty stuff, picking out which 4-wheeler and boat we wanted :) and playing some hunting games.  We played hunting games forever and I'm sure we could have stayed there longer. 

 Did I mention we tried on hats?  Yes, I would pick the dorkiest one I could find... ha!  We then headed to Ames to eat at Brody's favorite - Texas Roadhouse.  After way too much food, we headed home to bring the leftovers to the rest of the gang.
Happy Birthday Brody!  I love the way your mind is always working and you have, hands-down, the best smile ever!! :)

BLAKE AND BOWEN- APRIL 8TH - TERRIFIC 3 (times 2!)

For the second Burdorf Birthday in a row, we were blessed to be home!!  HOME. One of my favorite words ever.  With everybody at school all day, it was just Blake and Bowen and me hanging out at home. 

 

They got this gator for their birthday and they are smitten with it.  They can think of nothing else when going outside except this gator. This looks like trouble...!

 

 This picture, it's so them.  I love how they are alike, but so different.  How they function so well together, but can make it a part.  I guess it's a twin thing.

 I cannot have a birthday pass without getting teary-eyed.  Especially this year.  I thought about, briefly, on their birthday, about the scary day and what might have been.  I had so many prayers of thanks April 8th, I just can't even tell you. 

This is a crazy, hard, emotional, but oh-so-worth it, journey we are on.  I wouldn't trade it.  I wouldn't trade these twins for anything in the whole wide world.  They are who they are and that's what makes them great. 

 

I say it every year and I'll say it again...Blake and Bowen, you are the best things I never knew I wanted!  I love you both, you are the best!

Shaving Cream Fight

First, let me say that I have missed blogging.  Life has been super-duper busy around our house, but I'll save that for another post.  It's been a month.  An entire month since I've been on here posting about our family.  Hopefully things will start to settle down now and I can get you caught up on our life.  I have lots to tell you about!

Moving on...I saw this idea online somewhere.  Supplies needed: shaving cream and your kids.  Perfect.  We had actually planned to do this the first weekend after school started, but then I was in Iowa City with Blake, so it didn't work out.  We did it the next weekend though.

FUN!  The kids loved it.  I'm talking serious love here.  What a cheap, fun way to spend an hour.  AWESOME!  We will definitely do this again sometime.  The pictures speak for themselves, so enjoy!

 Somehow this happened to the mom...

 Tip:  Have a towel handy, just in case they get carried away.

 Brody spelled his name in the shaving cream.  See?  It's educational too! :)

 And Jenna, our little artist...

 Our backyard.  The aftermath.

This made my heart so happy.  It was one of those times where I was surrounded by my kids' squeals of laughter and I wish I could have bottled it for another time.  Good stuff!

My Ode to Brode

On March 28th, we celebrated our second of four birthdays at our house.  Mr. Brody turned 4!!  For some reason that is so hard for me to fathom.  It feels like just yesterday his big 'ol 9 lb. 10 oz. self came into the world.

I love this kid.  He marches to the beat of his own drum.  That's how he likes it.  

He's ornery.  He's sweet.  He's rambunctious.  He's full of energy.  He's full of love.

He eats with gusto.  

I love this face.  Don't let his innocence fool you.

Sportin' his new camo rubber boots.  This boy loves all this camo.

This is Brode at his finest.  He tried on these new basketball shorts he got from his birthday.  They were just a little big, so he decided to solve the problem by putting on his belt. :)

Even at four, he still wants to curl up in my lap and cuddle with me.  I love this.  Brody holds a special place in my heart and I feel so lucky I get to hang out with him three days a week.  

The Marsh

West Marshall is on spring break from Thursday through Monday. On Thursday, Jenna, Brody, my dad (who had come down for Jenna's birthday), Bailey and I decided to go to the marsh to let Bailey run around.

What a nice, even hot, day for a walk in the sunshine.

Jenna was hilarious. She kept telling me, "Mom take a picture of me like this." She's a creative little thing.

We took time for a group pic. Don't mind the squinty eyes because they were staring into the sun. haha.

We walked through grass. And a cornfield.

And Brody lost a shoe. :)

Then Brody was soooo tired and needed a break.

When we walked through the cornfield I found some ears of corn. The kids figured we could feed the squirrels at our house, so then it was like a scavenger hunt to find ears of corn. I'm in love with this picture of Brody.

He ran out of hands. So we shoved a couple of ears in each of his pockets.

I was surprised at Jenna. She really got into it too.

It was a great day for a great walk. This day, I was thankful for beautiful weather and hanging out with family.