Meeting G&G

At the end of March, Dad had a conference, so he, Mom, Bradley and his German friend Torsten all came in early to visit us and the boys.

It took them a while to warm up to strangers, but they stole everyone's heart immediately. And they loved their extended family very quickly.



Eric had to do month end stuff at work, so he was gone for a bunch of it, but did get to go up in the Arch with Bradley and Torsten.



We asked Torsten what his favorite parts of Missouri were, and he said, "Um, the Arch, and the boys." So they're tourist attractions now!

We also went to Crown Candy which was a miserable experience. Going to a busy soda fountain with a one and two year old is not very much fun. Good milkshakes though!

We also went to the Busch Brewery. It's legal for Germans to drink... out of their milk bottle? So Torsten has had beer before. He wasn't disappointed in our US laws though. "Budweiser sucks," he said. None of us 21 year olds took advantage of the samples at the end of the tour. Bradley took an empty glass and posed for this lovely shot.



The factory looked like Willie Wonka's.



Nothing says alcohol like "kid friendly." But there you have it.

We were sad to see everyone go at the end of the weekend.



Justin is way cuter than in this picture. I think he was leaving a little surprise on Bradley's lap!

Easter

For Easter, the boys got a toy chest, swanky new outfits. And tons of Candy.



By the way. That's our poor little dog Izzy in the background. More on her later.

The boys were very helpful putting the toy chest together.... Okay, okay. Holding the screwdriver while I did all the work.

Cards fans

Our little Cardinal fans are dang cute in their fisherman hats.

Fred Astaire

If there's one thing Jacob loves, it's dancing. The hands up in the air thing is him playing air guitar like his daddy.



That's right Philistines, I let my kids dance to Hell-uh-good.



Whenever I start to dance he goes, "STOP DADDY!"... Always. I guess it's true what they say about white guys!

Cuddly brothers in matching towels

Jacob and Justin have become the closest friends. They're so cute together. Jacob gets fussy if Justin doesn't have his Pooh Bear, or his stuffed duck in his crib at night and always makes sure to share. Justin is learning to talk at light speed to try and keep up with Jacob. And while they both LOVE when the other is asleep and they get to have some alone time with Mom, they also can't stand to be apart. We'll often hear, "Jacob. Jacob. Wake up!" over the baby monitor at night!



Around this time, some anonymous friend of Diana's showed up with a puppy towel and a duck towel with Jacob and Justin engraved on the butts. They look so stinkin' cute!




People we've never even met really love us and our boys!

Jacob's birthday

For Jacob's birthday, we took him and Justin to the mall to ride in their favorite toy in the world. 25 cents well spent!



Then it was time to wait at the door for the Taylors. (This is how I find the boys every day when I come home. It's cute).



Maria made a cake with Jacob's favorite character, and got a balloon to match.





He was very impressed.



Among his many many presents was a Dog named "Bear" which he carries with him everywhere.



Justin was a little confused on who it belongs to!

The big present was one of those slidey bead things that doctors have in their offices.



He never plays with it. But I do!

And we ended the night with the boys wrestling under the bubble machine.


Happy birthday Jacob!

Jacob looking dapper for Easter

Have you ever seen such a good lookin' boy?