Easter fun!!

I am so happy to be back updating the blog!!! It has been way too long and I have missed my new hobby!! Our computer had a virus and my brother had been fixing it in Chicago (where he lives) - and I just got it back this weekend when he was home for Easter. I am SO happy to have it back!! Thank you for fixing it, Matt!! Anyways, enough about that. I have way too many pictures to backtrack with blogging, so I'm just going to start up with our most recent excitement - EASTER! We have kept very busy the past few weeks leading up to Easter. We visited the Easter bunny at the mall with some friends, made Easter cupcakes, mixed some sprinkles together to make "Bunny Dust", did some Easter crafts, dyed eggs, and of course went on Easter egg hunts! Brett has been so happy and just LOVED all the activities, and I loved them too!! I love birds, nests, bunnies, eggs - anything to do with spring and nature - so I have to admit that Easter is definitely one of my favorite holidays!!! So don't be surprised if you happen to stop by in the next few weeks and I STILL have my Easter decorations up :-) They might just be up all summer. HA!

The Lokers came over Saturday afternoon for an Easter egg hunt, and let me just tell you, we could not have asked for a more beautiful day!! It was perfect and the kids had A BLAST. It was fun to watch the different styles Brett and Abby had when looking for the eggs. Abby was off like a flash picking up as many eggs as she could find, as fast as she could. Brett, on the other hand, insisted on picking up each egg he found and opening it up right then and there to see what was inside. And if there was chocolate, he would quickly stuff it in his mouth while in the meantime Abby had collected 5 more eggs during this process! HA! Fortunately Abby was a good sharer and Brett was able to get a few more eggs when they sat down to go through their stash :-)

We took advantage of having the Lokers over and actually got a family picture! Thanks, Laura!

"I see an egg, mommy!"

Can you spy the egg?

Stopping to examine the goods.

Another stop along the way :-)

Time to sit down and look at all of our loot!

Like I said, Abby was a good sharer!

Lately Brett has really shown interest in Jackson and loves to make him smile. Here he is sitting next to his little buddy making silly faces and talking to him. Watching these interactions just melts my heart!!

Can you believe how cute these two are?! I just LOVE watching them grow up together!!

I think I will have to frame one of these!

Saturday evening we went outside so Brett could sprinkle the bunny dust on our sidewalk. This helps the Easter bunny find your house and Brett took it very seriously, making sure to cover the whole walkway :-)

Looks like the Easter bunny found our house! Here are some pictures from Easter morning :-)

Look what the Easter bunny left on the back porch! Legos!!

After breakfast we went over to my parents house where another Easter eggs hunt awaited along with ANOTHER Easter basket. He wasn't spoiled or anything :-)

Another family picture....YEAH!

Easter weekend was so busy we never got a chance to dye Easter eggs - so we did a little more celebrating Monday morning :-) Brett was extra careful with the eggs and didn't even break one!

This is Brett's "silly face" that he loves to make these days -- cracks me up!!

After dying eggs we spent the rest of the day playing with all the little things the Easter bunny brought. It was another fun day!!! Happy (belated) Easter everyone!!!

Getting our sillies out before bed!

As most parents of young children can attest to, evenings can seen very long in the wintertime. Since it's too cold and dark to play outside, we often end up playing chase games, hoops, or just being silly to pass the time. Here are some of the smiles and goofiness I've caught on camera while in action :-)

"Come catch me, mommy!"

"I ate too many silly beans!"

Shootin' some hoops with daddy - a favorite passtime :-)

"I got this one!"

And there you have it, this is what a night in the Bingham household looks like :-) Stop by anytime if you ate YOUR silly beans.

Playing in the SNOW!

After experiencing the ups and downs in temperatures over the past few months, we FINALLY got some snow last week, and we were all very happy that it arrived! The first thing Brett said when he woke up in the morning to all the snow was, "I want to build a snowman!". I thought that was a fantastic idea, so that afternoon we bundled up and went outside. Unfortunately it wasn't packing snow, so Frosty had to wait until another time - so instead we decided to help daddy out and do some shoveling. Brett was a great helper and was so proud of himself! Then, on Friday night it snowed even more, so of course we had to go sledding. Our friend and neighbor Garry (along with his daughter Carolyn) invited us over Saturday after lunch to sled in their backyard. It is the perfect size hill for 3 year olds and the kids had a blast! I didn't take the camera that time, but next time I will for sure - Brett was all smiles and giggles going up and down the hill - and the best part was that he would walk up the hill himself this year! It easy to forget how fun and refreshing some good outdoor fun can be - and both Kyle and I had a blast too --- and can't wait for it to snow again (as it has already melted :-( ). Below are some shots I got of Brett enjoying what winter should be all about! :-)

Birthday fun at the Hands on Museum!

I just realized that I have a problem...I take so many pictures and then when it comes time to blog I have trouble just picking afew - so I end up posting like 15 pictures sometimes! Oh well, the more pictures, the better, right? :-) Anyways, yesterday we celebrated Brett's 3rd birthday with his friends (and ours!) at the Hands on Museum. It was such a fun day and Brett had a blast! There is a new exhibit in the preschool room with all these chutes and tunnels that you put balls through - and wow was that a hit!!! As soon as Brett walked in he was mezmerized and busy, busy, busy! We played in the preschool room for awhile with his friends and then we all slowly ventured out to explore the rest of the musuem - it really is SUCH a great place for kids and really puts their minds to work, which I love :-) After an hour and a half of playing we went into a private room to make a volcano, eat pizza, open presents, and have cake. I swear all Brett could talk about all morning was how he wanted to open his presents and eat cake - so he was one happy little boy when the time finally came! It was such a fun day and we are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!! Thank you to everyone who helped make that day special :-)

"Yana and Papa are here!"

Brett, Albert, and Lucas checking out the cool ball contraption!

Look at that concentration!


All smiles :-)


Exploring the rest of the museum = good times!

Brett and his friends gathering around the table to make a volcano!

Look at that lava!

Sciece is fascinating!

Of course, Brett's cake had to have cars on it! Happy Birthday, Brett!

Raise your hands if you want cake!

Happy Birthday to you!

High on sugar and love :-)

Finally...Brett's 3rd birthday and Christmas in WI!

Long time no blog, right?! We've had some techinical difficulties with our computer lately (I hate virus'!) so I haven't been able to upload pictures or blog. We still haven't fixed our computer but Kyle got a new work laptop that he is letting me use because I couldn't wait any longer to update everyone on our now 3 year old little boy!

We had a rough start leading up to Brett's birthday and Christmas because Brett came down with Croup 4 days before we were suppose to head to WI. We woke up that Sunday morning at 4am listening to Brett gasp for air ---- probably the most scary moment of my life. We quickly did a breathing treatment which helped a little, but definitely not enough, so we were off to the ER in Chelsea. We were so scared and worried about his breathing that we didn't even put him in the carseat or put a coat on him - we just wrapped him in a blamket, plopped him on my lap and sped away as fast as we could. Thank goodness we live in Chelsea and are only 5 minutes away from the hospital! After more breathing treatments, steroids, and a little rest, we were on our way back home after afew hours. We thought this response to Croup was because of his asthma, but I guesss it can happen to anyone. So scary!! Anyways, because of Croup and an ear infection he was diagnosed with later in the week, we waited until Friday to make the drive to WI. We thought he was doing a little better - and had been on antibiotics for over 24 hours, but unfortunately, the beginning of the trip was pretty rough. Poor Brett clearly still didn't feel well and slept awful. The good part is that he was still a trooper and enjoyed opening his presents and tried his best to be a good boy despite how he felt. I think he still had a good birthday and Christmas :-) I seriously cannot believe we now have a THREE year old!!!!! I love him with all my heart :-)

Brett and his cousin Lily jumping from the big bed down to the mattress on the floor. I love how they are holding hands!

Action shot!
"Happy Birthday, Brett!" Here he is opening his first present :-)


Taking a break before heading to Grandma and Grandpa Mo's for more birthday celebrating.

Grandma Mo went all out for Brett's birthday - she had cake, decorations, poppers, presents, and games. Here Brett is playing "drop the clothespin in the jar". Both Lily and Brett LOVED that game!

Now, to the next game...pin the tail on the donkey! Another huge hit!

Here is Brett's personal little cake...Lily's birthday is just afew days after Brett's so there was a big cake for both of them and then they each had their own small one like this. Grandma Mo thought of everything!

"Happy Birthday to you..!"

He was a happy boy!

Make a wish!

Brett demonstrating the best way to eat a cupcake :-) YUM!

Now to the best part...presents!!!

The next morning it was time for MORE presents....MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

New trains!

The only shot I have of Brett and Lily dressed up for Christmas dinner! Lily was so proud of her beautiful dress :-) And Brett, well, he couldn't care less! :-)

And here's just a random shot of that handsome smile :-) I love you, Brett!!!