Brooke’s Birthday Bash

If there’s one thing everyone knows about Brooke, it’s that she LOVES music.  And when it’s on, she loves to DANCE.  To celebrate her special day, we joined forces with cousin Quincy whose birthday is just ONE year and a few days apart.  Q loves music equally as much – just give her a microphone and sit back and enjoy.

The birthday girl!

And despite the fact that she’s very much a princess, she only wanted to wear her tiara long enough for me to snap a few pics.  Despite the paparazzi of girls trying to “help” her put it on.
We invited family and a few close friends…and we had so much fun chatting and eating food – we almost ran out of time for all the singing and dancing.

Brooke had her own plate full in her high chair – but still insisted on having a lil rondevue just helping herself to others like it was no big deal.  It was her BIRTHDAY after all!  Luckily, Q didn’t mind either.  That’s what cousins are for!!

When it came to the cake, Brooke got a lil excited.  So much that she tried to grab the burning candle all by herself. 

But the excitement was short lived…after a few small tastes of the frosting…she was DONE!

Who wants a piece of me now???


But there's always room for ice cream!!!  These lil microphones (aka mini ice cream cones) whee a huge hit!

Brooke had a grand ole time opening the presents – with the lil help from some friends.  She loved the fun books, clothes, toys, and especially the baby doll and stroller/car seat combo from Mom and Dad.  Now she can practice for next Fall when baby #3 comes along! 

And last but not least, we sang and dance to our hearts content.  There was tons of music to be made and boogying-woogying going on.  Unfortunately, you can't hear the original song playing, so it looks like we're all being completely ridiculous.


And cuz I couldn’t decide on which one was the best, here’s a few for your viewing pleasure:

Katelynn getting her groove on:

And then everyone else. 

Happy Birthday Brooke and Quincy!!! Our world wouldn't be complete with you in it!!!

Legoland

If there's one thing EVERY knows about Tanner, it's his obsession with Legos.  

If you could only imagine his excitement when we all went to Legoland together as a family.  Every now and then, Anthony has off on Fridays, and we're able to go on fun adventures together.  We had the ENTIRE place to ourselves, and Tanner was the happiest lil boy alive.

What's not to LOVE?  

The take you on a tour of a mini-factory -- and we learned a fun fact -- there's been over 400 Lego bricks made -- meaning there's more Legos than people that have lived on the earth...ever.

First, we went on a Kingdom Quest ride -- where we conquered evil trolls and skeletons, and ultimately saved the princess.  The best part -- the whole family got in on the action --including Ms. Brooke who sat on my lap.

Then we toured Kansas City min-figure land, which had replicas of all sorts of KC landmarks made out of nothing but Legos.  Of course, it wouldn't be complete without scenes from the Wizard of Oz.

Legoland is a Tanner's dream come true...but pretty sure Anthony was having fun.  Once a kid, always a kid.

Tanner had a blast racing his car, which consistently one even some of the older boys.  Anthony was having fun designing his own...

Brooke loved the unrestricted access to piles of girl LEGOS!  Once again, Tanner makes sure never gets even close enough as to touch one of HIS small Legos...so she was having herself a grand-ole time.

And she got Daddy all to herself while Tanner was busy playing on the fire escape play structure.

We also LOVED the 4-D movies, except Brooke could have done without the splashing water.

Tanner also got to ride on Merlin's Wizard ride -- where the faster you peddled, the higher you rose.
Luckily, he was over 4 so he was able to ride.  Last summer, I got the crazy notion to go with just Tanner, Brooke, and newborn, and he was a few days shy of turning 4 -- so he couldn't go on any of the rides by himself.  Such a bummer...but this trip made up for it.  Now, we were having to convince him to go on the rides, cause he was just as content building, racing, playing away.

We had a blast, but would still say it's one of those "special treats" -- all in all, it's a bit pricey for what you get -- and we still love all the museums and other exhibits in KC too.

But I'll never ever regret any other Lego toy we've purchased for him.  Tanner could have no other toys  the house, and be totally content just with his Legos.  He has every single Lego piece/accessory memorized from his collection, and will randomly request that I help him find the item -- like a the pirate's gold drinking class,  the Lego man's face with a certain face [insert Tanner trying to make face], or whatever the flavor of the day may be.  It's especially fun when he looks through his Lego Encyclopedia Book, where he spends hours glancing through, and then determines we need to build said item, although we don't have any of the pieces.  But we improvise, and do the best we can, and he's always so PROUD of our creations.  So PROUD, that you better not ever break a piece off or play with idea -- or you will be banned from any future Lego playing.

Imagine his sadness when he dropped a Lego man's helmet going into a store but didn't recognize it until we were leaving the store, and then re-traced our steps until we found the helmet, in the parking lot, ran over by another car.  Sad day in the Callison home!   

But usually he's busy quietly playing, plotting, building, and imagining away...just as lil boys should be!

Weekend Getaway

We headed out of town for long 3-day weekend to Branson. 

We originally booked this trip back in Spring Break – but the weather was cold/miserable so we decided to wait until the weather warmed up in the Spring.  But who would have thought, in May, it would be pouring down rain and SNOW?  Seriously.  The weather has put a serious damper on the weekend activities…but not our spirits.

The best of trips just involve spending time together.   My sister, Chelsea, and her family also came with.  The kids were all instantly entertained and loved all the cousin time they got to spend together. 

Here’s some memorable moments shared together:

Silver Dollar City

Anthony and Tanner braved the cold, rainy weather to visit this fun amusement park that is literally a blast from the past.  The park transforms to life 100 years ago—and all the works are dressed in costume and activities centering around it.

Tanner’s favorite part was the roller coaster. This was the first time Tanner was tall enough to ride a “real” roll coaster.  We honestly thought he’d be scared out of his mind, but Anthony kept talking it up and telling him how much fun it would be.  Tanner totally agreed!  While teenagers and even his older cousin Avery were freaking out and some even crying, here was Tanner enjoying every moment!! 

Later that afternoon, I asked him what he thought of it.  His response says it all “It was AWESOME!  It’s like a train ride gone crazy.  We went down these HUGE drops --it felt like my wee-wee was going up, even though we were headed down!”  That’s one way to explain it…

Tanner also was so excited to tell me all about the cave—with real BATS!  They climbed down the 600 steps to go on a tour of the Marvel cave.  Tanner held on tight next to the 200 ft drop off points in the cave, but was absolutely amazed when the sleeping bats woke up [he’s totally into Batman right now—and this just fed his excitement even more].  He was totally exhausted after all the stairs/walking, but luckily, there was Daddy to help, and a lil cable train at the end that takes you the rest of the way up – and Tanner was shocked they knew their way back :)

Anthony also had a good time – he LOVED seeing the cave as well – but he still says his favorite part was the train ride they went on where the workers totally stumbled over their rehearsed lines.  Oh the simple things in life that make us all laugh :)

Brooke and I decided to stay back at the condo.  It was her nap time – and it was on/off raining/snowing the entire time.  When she woke up, was amazed she had the whole place to roam by herself. And once she found the remote, she was in HEAVEN! She sat there, all smiles, changing the stations, adjusting the volume, doing whatever the heck she wanted with it– a simple luxury Tanner would never let her have at home!

Still Waters Resort

We rented a really nice 2 bedroom condo overlooking Tabletop Lake and tree covered mountains.  Scenery was beautiful! 

When we got to the hotel room, the kids were so excited to be staying somewhere completely new. They checked out every nook and cranny, and were shocked when they found an edition of the “Holy Bible” in the nightstand.  The favorite hangout spot proved to be the whirlpool tub in the master bath – followed closely by the murphy bed that folds down from the wall. 

Perfect for these two lil monkeys.  And yes, they did get to JUMP on the bed. 

Uncle Brandon also happened to find a few “lumps” in the bed , but turned out to be a few misplaced kids, hiding in their “fort” of sorts. 

Originally – we were looking forward to hanging out by decked out pools with slides and renting some wave runners on the lake, but the weather was way too cold.  Instead, we went exploring in the lake on the paddleboats.  The last day the weather cleared up, making it nice enough to enjoy some outdoor time. 

The kids also liked feeding the ducks, it was too hard to resist when we saw them outside our patio all day long.

And while we didn’t get to use the pools, we played a few games at the local clubhouse.

Joseph

One night, the kiddos went to bed earlier and Chelsea and I got to go see this show. Of all the hundred live shows in Branson, this was rated #1 so we had to give it a shot.  For some reason, I was thinking it was “Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat” Broadway show, but this was a totally different play – as the sales lady informed me, based upon the actual biblical account of Joseph and his brothers.  While I appreciated the spiritual touch and the awesome special affects – which included live animals on the stage, I would have preferred a better scripted songs and singing.  It had be questioning, where is Donny Osmond?

The best worse part was the group of 20+ old women sitting behind us, one of whom was CONSTANTLY saying, Oh yeah!, Yes, Yes!, or Amen! to every single line spoken.  Maybe I’m not use to this certain evangelical style of worship, but we’re not at church, so be QUIET already.  Sheesh!!

Discovery Center – Children’s Museum

On the way down, we stopped off in Springfield for lunch and then headed to the children’s museum for a fun-filled activities. 

Waterworks – anything involving splashing water is always a hit

Even Brooke could make this chair spin in circles!

Ever wonder was a Tornado going up to 80 mph would feel like – well, now they know!

Wind tunnel?  Brook was loving it, and we just love the hair!

Want a drink?  A bit perplexed at first, but then dives right in. 

The budding scientist…father like son :)

Brooke touches anything she could get her hands on...and this proves it

World travelers.  Tanner asked me later if Japan was a real place, and when I said yes, when we were going to visit.  One day…

Instead, he’ll have to ask Uncle Kenneth all about it :)

We also loved watching Brooke “play house”, Tanner and Avery’s puppet show performance, Tanner forecasting the daily weather (if only he would have been right – we would have had sunshine!), walking through a MOUTH and learning about dental hygiene (Anthony’s personal favorite, of course, but having to point out every lil error – go figure!), and grocery shopping in the store.  Pretty sure the kids could have played there forever, but we’ll definitely be going back.  So much FUN!

Gotta love how my membership to Perot Museum get’s us in for free at every other science museum.

Road trip

Not that I would ever refer to the driving time, all 3.5 hours of it, as a highlight of the trip, but it always proves to have the the most memorable moments.

Brooke, this time, would NOT stop talking.  She would incessantly repeat my name.  “Mom, mom, maaaa-maaa, mmmmoooommm!” It was quite cute, the first 10 times, but after a 100, it got old.  That’s when Tanner started pulling out the threats, “Brooke, you’re not going to get any BLUE ice cream” [a road trip tradition at Braum’s], or when she was repeating, “No mom, no.  Mom, no!” Tanner declared, “Brooke do you want mom dead?  Wouldn’t you be said?  Stop saying that or you’ll be sad!”

But somehow we all survived…but the grace of higher power or junk food overload…we made it to our beloved destination.

But 3 days goes by way too fast.  And we were pulling out and leaving town, Tanner, declared solemnly, “Branson, I’m going to miss you!”

One thing is for sure – we’ll have to go back again – and soon!

Baby Steps

Over a month ago, Brooke took her first steps, in front of everyone!   She's been walking around furniture and standing up without holding onto anything for weeks...but was scared to death of letting go.  But apparently, all it took was an audience cheering her on.  Over Easter weekend, she was loving all the attention -- and just kept taking steps all by herself -- over and over again.  She mastered 4-5 steps before falling, but could have kept going if she didn't launch herself towards me. 

It caught us all by surprise, but Aunt Kristan got the tail end of it on camera -- how lucky is that!!

And then days and weeks went by, and she didn't dare do it ever again.

Instead, she spent her days dancing away.  She'd lift herself up everywhere and get her groove on.  Clapping, swaying, and shaking.  Play a song, sing a song, make a beat -- anything will get her moving! 

She's addicted to toddler radio Pandora station.  She was listening to it on the iPad, and when Aunt Katelynn came by to pick her up, she looked at the iPad, then Katelynn, then back at the iPad. She handed her the iPad, then insisted on getting picked up next.  Wherever she was going -- the iPad was coming too!

She also loves to confiscate my iPhone, for the sole purpose of listening to music – or playing with the protective rubber bumper :)

Sometimes, even Tanner will join in too!

 
So while Brooke could stand up all by herself and dance her heart away, we weren't sure when she'd learn to walk.  Then something magical happened -- Brooke turned ONE and she realized, “Hey, wait, I can do this!”  The day after her birthday -- literally, OVERNIGHT -- she mastered the art of walking.

She just skipped the “baby steps” phase and went right to walking.  She'd take 10-12 combined steps, and within a week, too many steps to count.

Carpet, hardwoods, grass, cement, with or without shoes – nothing is stopping her now! This girl is on the go—and it’s as if crawling is beneath her—save if be for only the most desperate attempts. 

It’s opened a whole new world for her.  The food pantry – now she can really go explore and get exactly what she wants.  Playing outside – now she can run around and enjoy time our play system and other fun toys– and her favorite favorite, the SLIDE.

Ever since she was a baby, she’d sit by the porch window just wishing and hoping to go outside.

The ONLY sad thing...is she grew up OVERNIGHT too.  Now that she's ONE...and she's WALKING...I've had to come to term with the fact she's not a baby anymore.  But she'll always be my little girl, even when she's all grown up.  And I'll always remember the sweet moments we've shared -- with her as a teeny tiny baby in my arms.  And here's to many more sweet moments in the years to come!!

Grandpop's 60th Birthday

It's hard to believe, but it's true -Grandpop turned 60 this year.  This was a big year to celebrate, and celebrate we did!

On his birthday, we went out to dinner at Jack Stack, one of our favorite KC BBQ joints. Turns out everyone else in KC had the same idea-- it was backed!

The guest of honor -- caught mid-chew.  I'm nice like that :)

Ms Brooke -- who seemed to think it was HILARIOUS to stand up in her high-chair.

 Katelynn came straight from work -- and Ms Scarlett was so happy to be apart of the festivities too.

And these two -- you never know what you're going to get!! 

The other cute couple -- and Q being shy.

And I couldn't believe it -- I forgot to capture of the night's most important guests -- my brother Collin!  He was in town visiting -- after two years of being away.  He's in the Navy so it's hard for him to get away, but was so happy to get to see him and hear his stories over the past few years.  We're so proud of him and the all the hard work he's done -- and can't wait to for him to visit again!!

And Keith and Kristan wanted to come, but just having returned the day before from Dubai and Keith being in charge of a Cub Scout Pack Meeting made that a little difficult.

But we made it a whole week of celebrating!  And this time, everyone was able to my other brothers, Keith and Brendan -- we also able to join in.

On Saturday, we got together for lunch for some grilling (all gatherings most involve food, of course!)  And we topped it off with mom's homemade German chocalate cake!

The entite gang 

The boys then heading out to the golf range to shoot some balls, one of my dad's favorite pasttimes.  Unfortunately, none of the boys share his talent, but Anthony's hoping to change that now that he has an excuse/partner to "practice" with :)

Happy Birthday Dad!!  And I said in my card and as I'll say again: The only thing better than having you as a Dad, is having you as a grandpop to my kids.  We enjoyed it so much, in fact, we decided to have another one.  So -- expect the rest of your b-day present October 2013!