Grandparents and a pre-Valentines date

I thought I had it all figured out.  I had planned a super exciting surprise Valentine date for Max and me on Saturday February 9th. Also, My mom and Don like to take out their grandkids for their birthday. I thought, hey, maybe we could incorporate both these events and have the grandparents drive the hour to our house, take Edwin out to get his build a bear and then babysit all the kids while Max and I go out on our surprise date. Perfect plan right? and there are no babysitters better than grandparents! Anyway, the day before the date, Portland declared that we were going to have some huge blizzard for like 10 days. My mom assured me it was all hype and she was still planning on coming. And despite some snowflakes she still braved it and came down! Thank you Mom! But the sad news was that the venue for our date closed because of the "inclement weather" Anyway, the "blizzard" was hardly anything. My mom and Don were able to take Edwin out to make his build a bear. and apparently he had strong opinions about what he wanted. He picked out some glasses for his bear right at the beginning and held on to them the whole time. He also was super set on getting the Chase paw patrol sound for his bear. Sometimes it's fun to see some opinions come out. Anyway, they had a fun time and enjoyed some ice cream.  Then they came back and ate puff pancakes with the boys and Max and I left on an unplanned date. It was actually kind of exciting to just go out without plans. We went to Salvador Molly's for dinner. And didn't really document much of this date...but here are some food pictures...

After dinner we were deciding on going to a movie or clothes shopping. None of the movies lined up with our schedule so we went clothes shopping. More than anything it was a time to talk and laugh without interruption from our children. so we quite enjoyed it. Then to end the night we were going to go to the Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe. Moonstruck Chocolate is a yummy chocolate made in Portland and we had never been to the cafe. It said it was open until 10 but once we got there, there was a sign on the door saying it was closed for "inclement weather" By the way...the weather was nowhere near a blizzard or even lightly snowing, the roads were clear and it was just a bit chilly, so it was kind of annoying that so many things weren't working out. Ha! Anyway, we were right next to Fred Meyer which sells Moonstruck Chocolate so we went there instead, a much different ambiance but still fun. And here is the last picture I took on our date. We also got this and shared it. Ruby Jewel is another Portland company and this ice cream sandwich was amazing.

Anyway, when we got home we saw the valentine's cookies that my Mom and Don made with the boys, who inevitably had a blast with their grandparents.

And here is Edwin, the next day with his "Chase Bear" which he loves dearly.

Anyway, even though, many things didn't turn out how we expected, we loved having date time and are grateful for the grandparents to care for our crazy boys. And luckily our super fun valentine date was rescheduled and we have it to look forward to in a couple weeks!

Birthday Snow Day

February 5th was declared a snow day and all the Baertleins rejoiced. Tuesday February 5th was Edwin's 2nd birthday and all of our plans were pretty low-key so it worked out perfect that Charlie didn't have to go to school and Max didn't have to go into work as early as usual. Miles and Charlie wanted to bombard Edwin's bed with balloons when he woke up but we weren't sure how this would work because on a normal school day, Charlie leaves for school before Edwin and Miles are awake. And Max leaves for work before anyone is awake. So the balloom bombarding was way more exciting with the whole family home. Thank you snow day! So that's how our day began...

After a family breakfast, (which never happens on a weekday) The boys got their gear on and started exploring the 1 inch of snow!

 It's not technically Edwin's first snow day, it even snowed on the day he was born, but it is the first time when he could go out and enjoy it since he started walking.

And it was the first snow day for my girls...they weren't sure about it and didn't come out of the coop right away.

 They pull their legs up and curl their toes to keep them warm in their toasty feathers.

 

There's the birthday boy!

Edwin and I hiked around to check the roads by our house. They were all clear and safe to drive on, so Max had to go  into work.

 Miles loved making "snow globes" by shaking all the snow off the bamboo.

 

 And this was his sad face when daddy finally had to go into work shortly before 11. But we sure do feel lucky that we got the morning with him.

After some good times in the snow, we had lunch, Edwin took a nap, and I made his birthday brownies. when the boys came in, I made them clean the living room for the party. Once Edwin was awake, we had a dance party until Max came home. Then we had dinner and birthday brownies.

 Followed by gifts. Edwin was so excited when he was opening some cars, he started shaking. That boy loves his cars!

 The rest of the evening was spent playing with Edwin's new toys, then to bed because the snow was all melted and there was no hope for a second snow day.

The boys and I had been building a pinata but it wasn't quite done so we may save it for another occasion, when we have more people over.

Edwin is 2!

Well, Edwin sure is a special kid. I love the age 1-2. It is fascinating watching him learn, pick up on things, repeat words or phrases and figure out the whole speaking thing. For his photos we went on a little walk at a park and I didn't find the scenery I was looking for since a huge part of the park was closed for construction, but we still had fun walking together, checking out the many, many geese, and playing at the park.

 

Edwin doesn't love to hold my hand but he will if he feels like he's in an unfamiliar situation. I've found that he is quite in-tune for when he needs to hold my hand so I can often take his lead on this.

I believe he is the most aware of me when we go to public places. He was super shy but has warmed up to others in the last couple of months. But when we are out he is almost always aware of where I am and doesn't get too far away. It's actually been quite wonderful. I can set him down in a store and trust him to stay close and usually not destroy things. This is a first for me, and it may not last but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

It was hard getting photos of him because he almost always wanted to be right next to me.

He loves to be outside, if he hears his brothers playing outside he will run to get his shoes, He loves to check for eggs, jump on the trampoline, play on the tractor etc. He has become a great jumper on and off the trampoline.

His favorite things are animals and cars. He will usually have 3 cars in his hand at any given time. He likes to find the most flat surface in any room to line up his cars. He mumbles his own scenarios as he plays with his cars and animals. He has 6 stuffed animals that he likes to sleep with and will notice if one is missing. This is new to me too. He is not easily distracted. He remembers where he leaves things! It's pretty great.

Edwin is the biggest mimicker out of all my kids. He copies all the good and bad things that his brothers show him. He will do pretty much anything to make his brothers laugh.

He is not particularly cuddly but he loves to snuggle when it's time to go down for a nap or bedtime. It is actually one of the most calm parts of my day.  I can't say that bedtime is the most calm with the other boys, haha. Often times, Max will put the two older boys to bed while I give Edwin his milk and read stories and cuddle him before setting him in his bed. This time with him is therapeutic for me. especially after long crazy days.

Edwin love Elmo, (Sesame Street), Neighbor (Daniel Tiger Neighborhood,) and Paw Patrol.

 And that is a little bit about our amazing Edwin. We all absolutely love him! I'm going to post about his birthday celebrations in the next post. It ended up being better than expected because it was a snow day and brothers were home from school and Max got to go into work late...Stay tuned for that. 

And here is a photo of Charlie when he turned two

 And here is two-year-old Miles.