Days with Brett

Our days are busy making memories and living life. Pretty soon I'll have two little people to divide my attention between, so I'm trying to remember to spend as much time as possible with Brett while it's just him. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to in the last month or so.

 Governor LePage came to Ellsworth one evening, and Matt and Brett were able to go hear him speak. Afterwards, the Governor came over to shake Brett's hand, and they were able to get a picture together.

The first part of March poor Brett had to have surgery, something very much dreaded by a little boy who hates doctors and hospitals. We took lots of toys and books to occupy him while he waited to go to the OR. He tried to be brave and would often try to find something jolly to smile about even through the tears. He looked so adorable in his mini johnny shirt and hospital pants, that we had to snap a picture even though he didn't feel much like posing. 

He came through surgery perfectly, and by the time we got home he was climbing on chairs and acting pretty much like his normal self. We bought him a balloon from the gift shop while he was in surgery, and he kept exclaiming about the puppy on it when he got home. :-)

On one of Matt's days off he and Brett took me to get my hair done, and they spent some "guy time" together while they waited for me to be finished. Of course, "guy time" included stopping at Dunkin Donuts for a bite to eat ( and wearing sunglasses on your head just like Dad).

After Mommy got her hair done we met up with Dad, Mom, Pam, and Rachel, to go shooting at the new gun range at Maine Military Supply. Grammie and Auntie Rachel very sweetly sat in the truck with a sleeping
Winkie, while Matt and I and Dad and Pam went in to shoot. When we were done, we couldn't resist picking up this little coon skin hat for Brett that we had spied on the way in. We went to Dad and Mom's for supper afterwards, and we all had to try to get pictures of Davy Crockett and his hat.

 Brett's favorite thing to play with Daddy when he gets home from work is Lincoln Logs. Of course everyone knows that you can't play Lincoln Logs unless you wear the plastic rooves from the set on your head. *wink*

A haircut for Brett on one of Daddy's days off....

... and inspecting how well Daddy did in Mommy's mirror afterward.

 Daddy went up to the gun range again to practice his shooting and Brett and Mommy waited in the truck. Brett occupied himself by driving and talking on the "phone."

When we got home, Daddy and Brett had to clean their guns. Matt is such a patient Daddy and lets Brett do things just like him, even though it takes twice as long. Brett had so much fun using Daddy's brushes to clean his nerf gun, and helping Daddy clean his revolver.

Helping Mommy vacuum the house while tidying up one weekend. 

Our very own real, live jack-in-the-box. Daddy had just gotten a package in the mail, and there is nothing more fun than being able to get in the empty box when Daddy is done with it.

Brett came into the living room looking like this one morning. I couldn't help but think he looked like a typical teenager these days with his beanie and aviators. Matt and I both got a good laugh out of it.

We found out we are having a little sister, and we couldn't be more excited!!!

Brett came down with a nasty cold a couple of weeks ago, and  ended up having to take antibiotics for an ear infection. I knew he wasn't feeling too well when I looked over on the couch and found he had fallen asleep in the middle of the afternoon while watching Thomas the Train. 

He spent four days just lying on the couch with a fever, bad cough, and runny nose, but I knew he was starting to feel better when he got up and put on Mommy's hat and Daddy's shoes. 

 Brett stayed with the Bamfords this past Saturday while I took a concealed weapons class. He made this craft for me while he was there. It's displayed on my fridge right now, but it will be one of those special things that makes its way into my keepsake box.

Morning coffee with Dad and Mom on a day off, out of the tin mug Grampie and Grammie McFarland gave him for Christmas.

A special Thomas the Tank Engine coloring page to occupy an active little boy on a rainy spring morning.

Roof Trouble

We've had a lot of trouble this winter with our roof leaking because of ice damns that built up from all the snow. Poor Matt did everything he could think of to try to fix the problem including taking a day off work so that he could spend it up on our roof chopping ice with an axe and shoveling snow. He was even up there in the middle of the night once trying to stop leaks! When he was just about to the end of his ideas and energy, Seth and Rachel took a day off work and came down to help out. Their visit was such a huge blessing to both of us, and they spoiled us rotten!! Matt and Seth spent most of the day clearing snow off the roof and breaking up ice damns where they needed to, and Rachel and I were able to visit and watch our little boys play together. Rachel even brought lunch for us, so that I didn't need to worry about fixing a meal for everyone. It was a very productive day physically and emotionally, and we appreciated their kindness SO much!!

Here is what our roof looked like even after Matt, with some help from Jay, had put in hours of work on several different days. 

Our back deck had not been shoveled off all winter long, and with the extra snow that the guys shoveled off from the roof, I was afraid our deck might collapse. As you can see, the piles were up above the deck railing!  After they were done with the roof, Matt and Seth tackled shoveling it off, and by the end of the afternoon, the deck was snow free. I'm sure this is the tallest Seth has felt in years! :-)

Before Seth and Rachel had to go home, we were able to go out for supper with them. They introduced us to the Longhorn Steakhouse which serves DELICIOUS food!!! Brett and Tyler got to sit together and had so much fun drinking out of straws for the first time.

We are so thankful as well, for all of the time and effort Matt's parents have put into our roof this winter. They have spent more than one afternoon at our house shoveling snow and ice off our roof. I'm sure we'd still be dealing with leaks, if they had not helped us out. We didn't get pictures of all their hard labor, but we still appreciate it more than words can say!!

Snow Pics

Right about now I'm very much ready for warm, sunshiny, spring days, but it doesn't look like that's in the immediate future for this part of the country, so I thought I'd share some pics that we've taken over the course of this extremely snowy winter of Brett playing outside.
 The first snow storm of the season hit November 2nd, and it was a big one! We got dumped with snow, and were without power for almost a whole week. We were very thankful that the generator Matt ordered had arrived just a couple of days before! After we got our power back and the snow had melted a little, we took Brett outside to play. He was really too little to play in the snow last year, so this was actually his first time out in it. He loved everything about it except for all of the bulky snow gear that made it hard for him to walk and move around. He soon got the hang of it though, and now he loves getting his snowsuit and boots on to go outdoors.

The snow had just gotten deeper and deeper throughout the course of this winter. It's been a lot of work for everyone, but I have enjoyed watching Brett as he's discovered and learned all about playing in the snow.

We got Brett a sled for Christmas, but he is a bit scared of it right now, so sliding down the huge banks around our house is not an option right now. He mostly just likes wandering around poking at the snow here and there, and discovering the great outdoors all blanketed in white.

Brett's favorite thing to do when we got outside is to inspect Daddy's tractor. He would spend hours brushing all the snow off it, and making sure it is in perfect condition if I would stay outside that long with him.