Happy Easter!

We had a nice Easter here in MN. It was cold and rainy but that didn't stop Colt from getting as many eggs as he could at the Easter Egg Hunt. He did pretty good! He did even better at the house with the eggs left by the Easter Bunny! He has been asking a lot of questions about the Easter Bunny, like if he comes down the chimney like Santa, how does he know where we live, etc. I wasn't quite sure how to answer all of them. I told him with Easter magic! I think he bought it this year, I may be in trouble next year.

He really had a good time dying eggs. We did it three days in a row. He would have done more if I would have let him. He did the same thing last year too.

Mike got a new lawn mower! Colt LOVES it! It is a Bad Boy mower and Mike has taught Colt to sing the Bad Boy song! Colt sang it to one of his teachers at preschool and she asked me if I let him watch the tv show cops! They both sing it all the time! It is really driving me crazy!

For the last 2 1/2 - 3 years I have always been lucky enough to wake up to Colt saying over the monitor, "Mommy, where are you?" or "Mommy, it's bright out!" or my favorite, "Mommy time to wake up." Well, I am afraid that is over. The other morning I woke up to Colt standing next to me completely dressed, with his back pack and sunglasses on, ready to go to school (see pics)! I cried! I can't believe how grown up he is. He even went to the bathroom before getting dressed! After I picked him up from preschool he told me that he forgot to put on undies! I didn't even think to check! Of course he told his teachers that too! There have been a few mornings where he has called for me, but mostly he gets himself up now.

We have really been enjoying the house and the space. Colt loves to ride his bike and probably needs a bigger one now. We are starting to meet neighbors and have found some kids in the area. Mike is enjoying having the horses here and has found a place to rope 10 minutes away. He has entered a rodeo this weekend and Colt can't wait to go!

January and February

I am not sure what we have been doing for the last two months, but I know that we have been busier than ever! You would think that without a house, ten acres, animals, a job, etc we would be bored! Mike is crazy busy with work and often has work dinners twice a week. I am hoping that isn't just an excuse to eat some good food since my cooking has weakened since living in the apartment. It is hard to cook with one pan and a cookie sheet. Colt isn't complaining, we have had plenty of hot dogs and spaghetti o's!

We have managed to fit in a little fun! We went to the Fire & Ice Festival a few weeks ago. They had basketball, miniature golf, bowling, and lots of other games, of course on the ice. Colt thought it was fun. He was very disappointed that he couldn't skate so I think ice skates will be purchase in the near future.

We are headed back to MO to clean up the house and barn so we can close on it on the 29th. Colt is very excited to get all of his toys in one place. I am probably more excited to be able to sleep in my own bed! With a little luck we will be able to have the movers deliver it right into the new house. We are still working on closing that deal! I have been put in charge of most of the real estate business and boy have I learned a lot! I have learned I do not want to buy, sell or move for a very long time after this. If everything goes through I will be posting pics of the new house soon!

We had a nice visit from Grandma Rhonda in January. We went to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. It was pretty busy but Colt had a blast. What 4 year old doesn't like dramatic play, water play, or just an entire place dedicated to play!

Colt really got into Valentine's Day this year. I think we had to have painted at least 50 hearts. We taped them up all over the walls of the apartment and gave one to Mike every night when he came home from work. I was able to go and help at his Valentine's party at school. He loved getting all of the Valentine's.

Merry Christmas! Much to our disappointment (and it hasn't happened in the last 6 years) it wasn't a white Christmas here in MN. We thought for sure it would be. We still had a great time with Geema and Grandpa Mo coming to stay with us. We took Colt ice skating at the Depot which is an old train station. Colt LOVED ice skating, and only fell down once. I am looking into lessons for him. I don't think that you can live in MN and not know how to skate. Colt had so many presents we had to open some on Christmas Eve and some Christmas morning. He really had a good time this year! For the entire month of December our friend Jo Jo (Elf on the Shelf) came to visit each morning. The first thing Colt would say each morning is, "I wonder where Jo Jo is?" We also decorated a ginger bread train which was a ton of fun. He was more in to it than I thought he would be. He also got to have a little Christmas tree in his room and loved decorating it. He wasn't too happy when we had to take it down.

He has started preschool two days a week and seems to really like it. I also enrolled him in a Parks and Rec class that just started today. It is at a fieldhouse, which is really common here. It is basically an astro turf field that they completely enclose in the winter so it can still be used. They have obstacle courses, kick soccer balls, play with parachutes, throw balls, and get all his energy out! He did really good today and can't wait to go back next week.

We look forward to all the blessings that 2012 is sure to bring!