Hide 'n Seek

This is what playing Hide 'n Seek looks like with Alex.

Brother pictures... sort of

This is what happens when I try to get my boys to stay still, smile and both look at the camera at the same time.



Oh well, maybe they'll sit still next year.

Snow Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being homeschooled growing up I didn't really get the full excitement of the snow day, but now that I am a teacher, I LOVE them. Some people told me that in order to ensure a snow day you have to sleep with a spoon under your pillow, someone else said you have to jump on your bed with a spoon in your shirt and if it doesn't fall out then you will have a snow day, and yet another person told me to sleep with my PJs inside out.

Alex with his and Matt's spoon. They did start off in the shirts, but that didn't last long... they make more noise when you steal your brother's and keep them in your hands. Both boys were nice enough to put their jammies on inside out, Matt thought it was funny that he could pull on the tags.

This is Alex's version of the Snow Day Dance. It's not exactly what I was told to do, but seeing as I'm at home posting this blog instead of at work, I think it was successful...
... and it's still snowing!

Seeing Santa

Saturday we went to The Somerset Collection to see Santa. A place that is so swanky they call it a "collection" instead of a "mall". When Macy's is on the less expensive side of the mall, you know you are in trouble... Lucky for our bank account, we don't go there for the stores, we go to visit the most wonderful Santa I've ever seen. They take your name and give you a time to come back, you may have to wait an hour to see him, but it's not in a line and they cheer for your kids when they call their names to see Santa. You get 3 coins per kid to spend at certain stores in the mall, sorry, in the collection while you wait for them to develop your film. It's a great time and I look forward to it every year.

Alex looks a little nervous, but he was so excited to see Santa and tell him that he wants a bug vacuum for Christmas.
Matthew, on the other hand, freaked out when I tried to put him on Santa's lap. He climbed right up my arm and Santa said "I've never seen a child move so fast. He's like a spider monkey." So we took a family picture with Santa peaking out from behind the tree instead.
Once we did the group shot Matt was calm enough to sit by himself on the block, he had no idea what was going on behind him. My mom was happy because even though my nephews and niece went to see this Santa until they moved and they had some unhappy shots when they were this age, this is the first behind the tree shot we've had in the family. Oh well, he was interested in getting closer when Alex was telling Santa what he wanted and managed to gave Santa a high five before we left. He'll love it next year.

I'm not sure she's a good influence

All I can say is that this is Ms. Lisa's fault.

Christmas Trees

Today Dennis and Dan went on their yearly trip to pick out a Christmas tree. This year Alex was old enough to go with them and was very happy to be added to the family tradition. He asked if Matt and I could go too, but it was cold and snowy and Matthew will not keep a hat or gloves on so he wasn't allowed to go. Besides Matt and I had a secret mission to go on while the men were out hunting for a tree, we called it, Operation Christmas Spirit. While the details of our mission are top secret, I can tell you it was a success. Dennis, Alex & Uncle Dan (the best Burdziak brother-in-law ever!) ready to go get my tree. Alex wanted no part of the picture until Uncle Dan said he would pick him up and suddenly a picture seemed like a good idea.
Alex in front of our tree... in the wild
Matthew inspecting the bottom of the tree... everything checked out okay.
Alex hanging ornaments on the tree.

The finished product. I think the Burdziak men did a great job picking out a tree this year.

Another Fashion statement by Alex

When he saw that I had brought him home a Madagascar toy in a Happy Meal box he said, "A McDonald's on a Farm food container. Thanks Mom, it can be a hat for me." This is how quickly fashion inspiration strikes him.

Two Peas in a Pod

I laughed when I went to check on Alex one night in May of 2007 and found him sleeping like this. I thought it was so cute that I couldn't help myself, I had to take a picture before putting him back in bed. Then a few nights ago I went to check on Matt and found him sleeping like this. I laughed and knew I had to take a picture. It will make a great scrapbook page. I just love my boys.

Our Pumpkins

Dennis had a lot of fun carving the pumpkins this year.
My mom bought the boys each a small pumpkin and Dennis put an A & M on them for Alex & Matt
These are the pumpkins that the boys picked out. I don't remember which is which, but Dennis carved characters from their favorite show Pheneas & Ferb. Everyone loved these ones.
Dennis made me an Elmo pumpkin...
...and Dennis' pumpkin was a Storm Trooper.

Finally, Halloween Pictures

Everyone has been asking about the boys Halloween pictures and I finally had time to post them. We did a lot for Halloween this year. The boys got a lot of use out of their costumes. Matt was a fuzzy puppy, but didn't like the hood, so you can't see the ears in most of the pictures.

Daddy & Matt at the Great Pumpkin Quest in Brooklyn Michigan. The stores in downtown Brooklyn pass out candy and have fun activities for the kids. Alex loves getting to hang out with his "boy cousins", and we got to see them both play soccer in the morning before heading into town for the Pumpkin Quest.
Daddy & his boys picking out pumpkins at Mary's Farm Market in Canton. They only charged us $3 per pumpkin and gave the boys each a little one for free. Alex & Matt had a great time picking out their pumpkins. Alex kept saying that they were either too big or too small for him because he was either "not a grown up" or "a big boy". It was pretty funny to hear his logic for why he shouldn't pick each pumpkin.
Alex & I went to the Safe Halloween put on by the students in the SADD program at Woodhaven High School, one of the buildings I work in. Alex loved following the footprints around the building. He got to paint a pumpkin, make a cookie, get candy & have his face painted by one of the students. He had her try Lightning McQueen, it didn't really look like him, but Alex loved it.Then we went to the Trick-or-Treat Parade in Canton with Pa. They have companies and organizations from all over Canton come and hand out candy. Each little area has a different theme.
Here's Matt with his ears kind of on. He pulled it off as soon as I snapped the picture. The boys and I went out trick-or-treating for about 2 1/2 hours while Dennis handed out candy at home. We got a LOT of candy! So much that we divided it up and gave Grama & Pa their favorites, Dennis got a bag of his favorites, I took some to work for my high school students and the boys still have too much left over at home.
Here is a link to check out all the pictures from our Halloween -->adventures.

Alex the Great

Alex called us all into the living room for a 'concert' and performed this magic trick for us. He thought of the trick all by himself. This video is of the encore performance.

Matt's First Haircut

The boys waiting for Matt to get his first haircut. Alex offered to do it, but we thought it best to take Matt to see Mr. Victor.

He got to sit in the police car. It makes Alex happy, but not so much with Matt. Maybe he didn't want to loose his hair anymore then I did. I love those little baby curls.
Matt stood in the car for a while, he fussed a little, but was very well behaved. There was a kid screaming while we waited and another screaming while Matt got his hair cut. I was really worried that they would set Matt off, but he was very brave. Especially once he saw that Mr. Victor had suckers for Matt and Alex once the hair cut was finished.
All smiles! I think he loves his new hair style. He looks a little too grown up for me, but I'll get used to it.
The after shot of my boys. Maybe next week Alex's hair will have grown out enough to get him a haircut.

Maybe he'll be a hairdresser???

Alex cut his hair today while he was at his Grandparent's house

Dennis says the guy from Genesis used to have the same hair style.
What more can I say?

More of Alex's room

My mom was able to come over and paint another section of Alex's wall and it's my favorite scene yet. The cow tractor turned out fabulous and I love the blues that she used for the night sky and the ground.

Who do they look like?

People tell me all the time that the boys look like me, but I think they look like Dennis.

They are getting so big

Alex & Matt got their pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids today.
Aren't they cute?

Alex's 3rd Birthday

Dennis had to work on Alex's birthday, so we gave him his presents and went to the Hands on Museum in Ann Arbor the day before. The blog was being a pain, so I couldn't include any pictures from that day, but the link to see all the pictures is at the bottom of the blog, as always.
On Alex's actual birthday, I took the boys to Southland Mall, so Alex could buy something at the Disney Store. The pacifier fairy had come by and left him money in exchange for his 'blue'. He picked a Webkinz Crocodile and named her Isabella after a character on his new favorite TV show, Phineas and Ferb. We ended up at Meijer where he asked to look at the fish, like always. While we were looking at them, he told me that "A fish make me so happy on my birthday." How could I say no to that? So , since I had already picked him up a tank at a garage sale for $1, I figured what will $6.50 hurt?This is Alex with his fish $80 later. The tank I got leaked on the counter, so I had to run back to Meijer and pick up a new one, and some rocks. Then I thought about how Alex asked me if we should take his fish back to the store because "he will miss his family." and I just had to pick up another fish... but just look how happy he is.
So, this is Phineas and Ferb. The goldfish was our first purchase, which Alex picked out and quickly named Phineas and I picked out the little one (with the help of the lady at Meijer). When I came home with the new tank, I said "Alex, look what else I got you." He looked at the bag in my hand and said "Ferb!"
This is Alex with his new friends Phineas and Ferb the fish. He woke up this morning, after going to sleep without 'blue' with no tears, and screamed "MOM", then stopped and I heard him say "Good morning fish, you have to sing me my birthday song." I just love my little Alex.

Here's the link to the museum pictures,

How cool am I, oh I mean Alex's 3rd b'day party

I am so proud of the cake I made for Alex's birthday party. The boys and I went to Joanne Fabric to pick up some stuff when Alex saw the tin for this cake and had to have it for his party. I said that I didn't think I could make it, but Alex said that I could and it would be wonderful (one of his favorite adjectives)
It's Lightning McQueen! and Alex thought it was perfwec (his version of perfect).
The cake rose funny in the middle, so after I pulled it out of the oven I cut it off to make is level. For some reason I saved the piece and while I was trying to get Matt to go back to sleep (from midnight to 5 am) I thought of what I could do with it. Alex wanted to help with Lightning McQueen so badly and he was so good about not touching it while I was working on it that I let him frost the extra piece. He did a great job, I just added some to get all of the edges and put on the decorations.
It's the new road! "I bet the roads on the moon ain't this smooth." I put the dotted line down the middle of it and Mater and Lightning McQueen toothpicks driving on it. Alex picked out the candles himself. He thought it was so cool that he could have his name spelled in candles. Of course, he still needed his 3 blue candles right behind them.
Okay, so I didn't make these, but I did pick out the pictures and messages to put on them and placed the order. I hope everyone can tell, they say "Happy Birthday" and "Alex is 3" and they have Alex's picture on them. It has 2 different pictures, it's just hard to tell them apart. I only know because I picked them. Alex got the biggest kick out of telling everyone that we had M&Ms with Alex on them. I'm not sure why he said "Alex" instead of 'me', but it was really cute.

Here's the link to the party pictures.

Alex's new bed

When the kids turn 3 their Pa makes them a customized bed. This is what he designed for Alex. It's Mater, from Cars.
The wheels have both boy's initials and birthdays on them. There are 3 drawers on each side for clothes...
...and Alex crawls in through Mater's mouth! He has a little hideout in the hood, it's so cute.
Alex and his Pa. He just loves his bed.

Detroit Zoo

Today the boys and I went to the Detroit Zoo with my parents, niece and nephews. Alex dressed himself. The costume was already put away in the garage, I'm not sure why he even thought of it, but the first thing I heard from him over the monitor when he woke up was "Mom, I need to be Tigger. I need my Tigger costume for the zoo. Tigger love to go to the zoo you know." I love Alex, he keeps life interesting.
Grama & Matt. Matt enjoyed looking at the animals, he was pointing and jabbering away about what he was seeing, smiling and, of course, flapping his arms.
Alex & Pa on the train ride to the front of the zoo. We did a lot of walking, but took the train back to give our legs a rest. Alex couldn't have been happier. Matt even enjoyed the ride and was laughing and trying to hang as far out of the train as I would let him.
Okay, so there isn't anyone in this picture, but it was at the zoo. These were in front of the wolverine exhibit and I just love these flowers.

If you would like to see all of the pictures from the zoo, here is the link

Work in progress

This is my mom painting a mural on Alex's walls. She's doing scenes from the movie Cars, Alex's favorite movie.
Here is a partly done wall
The wall is complete, except a little bit above the doors. There is a tree to the left of the Piston Cup.
The beginning of wall number 2.
This is what my living room looked like for a couple of days. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to begin redoing Alex's room, then switch Matt's room with my room... so this is some of what was in my living room, there is also a desk, another set of shelves and more toys that you can't see. It drove me crazy. Thank goodness Matt's room was finished in a day.

Just because

Alex dressed himself today, after I told him that he couldn't go outside to water his plant in his underwear. Isn't he cute?
And Matt... well he's just cute and gearing up to follow in his brother's footsteps.

Matt's new room

I noticed that Matt kept trying to crawl up the steps and when I would let him go all the way up, he would just go into his room and play. So, being the wonderful person that I am, I decided to switch rooms with Matt this way he could be downstairs and go into his room and play whenever he wants.
Alex and Dennis worked very hard all day yesterday priming & painting, we set up the furniture after the boys went to bed.
Matt was very upset this morning when he went to play with his toys, while I showered, only to find that there were none in his (old) room. He was very happy to find them all downstairs.
We painted the walls a light yellow with green, blue and white polka dots around the window and doors.
Matt loves being able to look out his new window!
Alex likes the new room too. He is very excited that his brother is going to live across from him.

On the way home

Alex saw a bunny in Casper WY after we stopped for breakfast. He named him Pop, we saw a bunny that looked just like Pop at the Flinstone themed park in South Dakota. Alex thought he followed us there.
The boys checking out Mt. Rushmore. It was really amazing, I highly recommend taking a trip to see it. We drove past Crazy Horse, but didn't stop to take pictures because we thought that we'd come back that way when we left Mt. Rushmore, not so. At least we saw it, it was pretty cool even if it wasn't finished yet.
This is a little out of order. We stopped at the Flinstones themed park at lunch and before we got the Mt. Rushmore. The boys haven't seen the show before, but got a real kick out of all the stuff.
Matt & I at Wall Drugs in South Dakota. It's an old west themed restaurant/store with dinosaurs. We saw tons of signs for it on I-90, "5 cent coffee", "free ice water", and other weird random statements with no exit number. It got to Dennis, so when he finally saw the exit we got off for dinner. The boys would have had a better time if they hadn't been so sleepy.
When Matt slept we gave Alex his iPod and let him listen to music. Yes, it's the boys iPod. We got Dennis one for Christmas a couple of years ago, which he gave to me when he bought a new one for a graduation present in April and then just before we left he won a new one from a pod cast that he listens to. So, he kept his graduation iPod, I got the new one and Alex & Matt got the old one. It worked out really well, it kept Alex quiet while Matt slept and Dennis and I could listen to our own music.

Once again Shutterfly's 250 picture limit has required that I break the pictures up into two links.

Here is the link for the misc. pictures on the way home, a cool red rock pyramid in the mountains in Wyoming (that didn't turn out so well), some mountains in South Dakota, Alex's shoes (because it made him happy to have their pictures taken), Wall Drugs...

South Pass

South Pass City
Matt loved going off roading in his stroller. They were working on the road in town, so we had to walk back on the grass. Seeing the equipment digging up the street took a little from the old feel of the town, but it was still pretty cool.
South Pass was almost Wyoming's state capital. The first female justice of the peace came from South Pass City and Butch Cassady used to stay here. Now they have 7 residents.
Dennis and his boys in front of one of Nate's favorite stores and Wyoming's first Masonic Lodge.
Alex wasn't much for the pictures today, you'll see some of him just laying on the floor at Nate an Angie's, which is not like him at all. He spiked a 101 fever, just before throwing up all over me... twice. We took him back to the hotel, gave him medicine, water and dinner and he was feeling like himself again before bed. Not quite the way I pictured saying goodbye to my brother and his family, but in some ways it made it easier because it had to be quick.

Thermopolis

The canyon to Thermopolis is just so beautiful, Dennis and Nate got out to take a lot of pictures. This one is of Chimney Rock.
We swam at the Hot Springs, I'm sitting in the kiddie pool, Matt and Alex loved it because they could walk in the water. It was so warm. Alex also enjoyed going down the two slides they had there.
Alex got to see Buffalo again, he was so happy. He just loves them and was happy to get to show his Daddy.
He wanted to take his picture with this picture of a train, but he had taken so many pictures that his smile went a little nutty.
Matt, sucking on the draw string on his shorts on the way home from Thermopolis. Don't worry, it's sewn in, so he can't choke.

More parks & Lander

Since Matt had a rough night he and I stayed behind at the hotel while Dennis took Alex & our niece to the safe park. It looked like a really good time. Alex just loves his cousin. They got to go swimming while Matt took a nap before heading out to get Uncle Nate.

Dennis and Alex in Lander. Matt was feeling better, but we still wanted to take it easy, so we walked around Lander. He did okay, but had a fever again that night.

Boysen & the Party

The next day we walked around beautiful downtown Riverton and swam at the hotel pool until it was time to get Nate.
Matt fell asleep on the way, see he's happy... right now

Our next stop in Boysen was Nate's favorite place to collect rocks. I guess the water was higher here too and Mom says that the rocks further in are even more beautiful. Oh well, the kids had a great time in the water. Alex stayed in the shallow parts, just like we asked, but when he bent down to pick up rocks to throw with his Daddy, he bent at the knees and soaked his butt every time. By the time we got back to the car, his entire outfit was wet. We woke Matt up and he had a great time sitting in the water looking at the rocks. Dennis is a rock skipping master, it made him laugh that I was impressed when he could get a rock to skip more then once. Matt thought his Daddy skipping stones was the funniest thing in the world, if the video is on the link, that's what he is laughing at.

Because they missed Matt's party and won't be home for Alex's, they gave the boys their gifts and a party while we were visiting. Alex loved this gun, he calls it a sword because it's like one that my parents gave him.
Matt took a little turn for the worse as they were decorating for the party. He spiked a fever and after some medicine and sleep back at the hotel he started throwing up around 10, with a temp of 102, so he and I were off to visit the ER. He spent New Years day there on our last visit. He was at 103 when we got there, but they saw him very quickly and Dr. North said he had an ear infection in his right ear, gave him a shot (because he was vomiting and they wanted to keep the medicine in him), a popsicle and sent us on our way after only 2 hours in the ER. By 12:30, his temp was normal and he and I were resting.

Our first day there

On our first day we went to a park in Riverton. I didn't know that it wasn't the best park to go to, I guess park rangers don't always equal safety... sometimes they just hang out in the park and drink. We didn't see any.
After Nate woke up we drove out to Lander and went to Mom & Dad's favorite place, Sinks Canyon. This is me with my wonderful sister-in-law Angie. She has the weekends off and we didn't get there until dinner on Saturday, so we only had Sunday with her, next time we will plan a little better.
Then drove up the Switchback trail and climbed a little on the mountain, we had a great time. It was thundering and there was a little lightning, but we made it back to the car before it started raining.

There is no limit to how many pictures can be in a folder on Shutterfly, but they limit how many you can share, so I had to break this day into 2 folders.

On the Way

There aren't many pictures from on the way, but here is a link anyway. I tried to break the days up so you wouldn't be looking at a billion pictures at once.

more from Wyoming

Here we are in Riverton, checking out the stores on Main Street.

The kids had a great time collecting & throwing rocks at Boysen State Park. I left with 2 pockets full! Dennis had a blast skipping rocks, which Matt thought was the funniest thing in the world.

Enjoying some shaved ice after a hot day. Uncle Nate was the only one allowed in the house.

Of course, Matt spiked a fever & was vomiting from an ear infection and he and I ended up in the ER at 10 that night. He's recovering, but still a little warm. He got sick last time we visited also, Matt and Wyoming don't always get along.
Shutterfly is being a pain, so I don't have more pictures to link you to, but I'm sure that will be remedied soon.

Our trip, so far

We stopped yesterday at the Iowa 80 truck stop, the world's largest truck stop and according to Dan, the first. Alex was so excited to get to met Lizzie, he just had to get his picture with her. For those of you who don't have to watch Cars almost everyday, Lizzie is the old car in the movie.


We drove a long, long, long way on 80, Dennis took this picture when Alex was trying to use the bathroom on the side of the road today.
Dennis finally got to eat at a Sonic! They run the commercials all the time, but until recently there hasn't been one near us and now that there is, it's very busy all the time, so we haven't gone yet.

Our navigators, no wonder it took so long to get there, one has yesterday's directions and the other has the return trip.
Here they are, just happy to be in Wyoming and that much closer to our western family.
We made it safe and sound and are looking forward to having a good time for the rest of the week.
Get ready for a lot of pictures coming your way soon!

I love my family

Today the boys and I got to spend the day with Melissa, Becky, Grace, Laura and John (who made a brief, but memorable appearance. Even with the summer off, I just don't get to spend enough time with my cousins, so it was a much needed play date.


Alex (almost 3) and Grace (2) are about 8 months apart and Matt (1) & Laura (9 months) are about 4 months apart, so they all had a good time playing with little people their own ages... or at least near them.

I think he's rubbing off on me

When we moved a couple of years ago we looked for a 4 bedroom, so I could have an 'office' for my collection and scrap booking stuff. Dennis has been teasing me about calling it an 'office' because I only use the desk for my piles of stuff and to display my Disney Villains. After Christmas I ran out of shelf space and had to leave some of my new Barbies in their boxes. I'm a collector, but I remove the dolls from their boxes because I like to touch their noses. About a week ago the boys and I were at a garage sale and found 3 tall shelves for $20 each. The lady was nice enough to give them to me for $40 for all 3, they run about $60 a piece at the store. That purchase lead me to admit that the room is not an 'office' as I liked to call it and as Dennis and I shoved the desk out into the living room, it became my 'collection room'. I think I need a better name for it, but it will do for now.
Dennis gets teased a lot for all the toys he has in our basement, our whole basement is covered in his collection gone crazy. I just thought I'd post some pictures and show everyone that the longer you are with someone the more you become like them. Dennis and his collections are certainly rubbing off on me.
Okay, so the blog won't let me post any pictures for some reason, but you can follow this link to see my little collection.

4th of July

We had a great time at Aunt Jan & Uncle Jerry's 4th of July picnic. Alex loved swimming in the pool and Matt had a great time sitting in a big puddle of water on the lawn. After the party we stopped at the store and picked up some fireworks and let Alex stay up late to watch. He liked the first couple, but once Dennis did a loud one Alex decided that he needed to go inside and get his shield and sword to protect he and I and we watched the last few fireworks from inside our Florida room.
If you'd like to see all the pictures, click on the link below. I'm trying shutterfly instead of snapfish because it downloads the pictures in the proper order, instead of mixing them all up.

nosey people

I was reading an article in a parenting magazine about what to do when random people give you advice about your children and it got me thinking about our trip to Meijer a couple of days ago. Dennis carried Alex into the store and when he went to put him down Alex's arm twisted funny and he started crying. A man walked past as Dennis was trying to comfort him and he said some thing about "He learned his lesson, huh?", as if Dennis had hit him or something and that if it had happened it was okay and kind of funny. It really bothered Dennis. Then we went to the service desk to return a toy Matt had gotten for his birthday and when Matt and I finally made it to the counter the lady took one look at my 1 year old and said "Your too big to have that." talking about his pacifier. I just laughed and said something about it making him happy and quiet when we are shopping this close to bedtime and she had the nerve to continue and tell me that he was still too big for it and that I should take it away from him. I couldn't believe her nerve, it was one thing to say it the first time, but to continue after I had already said that he needed it...
I don't remember getting any comments like that while Alex was a baby, but with Matt it's been like this from the beginning. When he was little he had a hard time gaining weight, I was very sick and feeling really bad about and people would constantly comment about his size. People would ask his age and when I would tell them they'd say things like "Wow, was he a preemie?" or something about there being something wrong with him. I even had a lady tell me that her new puppy was bigger then Matt, the 3rd comment of our 5 minute walk through downtown Plymouth with my Mom and after a doctor's visit that showed Matt had finally reached the 5th percentile for his age/weight group.
Anyway, it's been on my mind for the last few days, I'm not sure why people need to comment on other people's children. It's not like I haven't seen people out in the world and thought that they could be doing something different, but I would never say it to them because I realize that there may be something going on that I don't know about and even if there isn't a good reason for it, it's none of my business anyway. Maybe next time I'll tell them to mind their own business or ask for their boss and tell on them, or maybe I'll just leave and post a new blog...

Here are some pictures of our trip to Muskegon. My Mom does a face painting job there every summer and we went to hang out with her and my Dad. There are a lot of pictures and for some reason they are not in order, but we had a really good time. The first day the boys got to see their first parade, Alex loved the rides at the fair, but Matt preferred to watch his brother from the ground. The second day we went to the beach and on board a huge transport ship. The third day we walked around the Montague & White Hall, met up with my sister and nephews and went back to the beach, then to see a submarine and coast guard boat.