Todd's Night Out

Todd was in town babysitting his niece Paige, and we met up at Great Lakes Crossing for dinner and playtime.
First, it was off to the Carousel, which is an absolute "must," every time we go to the mall.

Then, we headed over to the Rainforest Cafe. Caitrin used to really like this place, but the last few times we have gone, she has been afraid of the thunder and the gorillas. But, she and Paige both really liked being there. Todd and Paige:

Jeff and Caitrin:
After dinner, we headed back to the play area for a little while. The girls got along well, and had a great time playing around each other. They didn't necessarily interact, but they knew that each other was around.
I think we all had a pretty good time. And Todd is an excellent uncle. You'd never have known it was his first time babysitting! And now, every time we drive by GLC, Caitrin asks if she is going to play with her "friend Paige."

The Chuck Stops Here!!!

Caitrin is lucky to have the best aunties and uncles a girl could ask for. And her Aunt Patty is obsessed... with Chuckie Cheese, that is!

On a very cold day, Patty came over with the intention of going to the Chuckie Cheese on Dixie Highway. Apparently, though, that one is no longer there. We ended up in Rochester at the CC, after driving all over the place trying to find one. I think Patty was desperate to be the first one to take her there. And although I don't think she cared very much for the Big Cheese himself, Caitrin had a great time. And Aunt Patty did too... she even climbed up in the giant tubes with Caitrin! What a great aunt!

I collected all of the tickets... I think we'll save them up to get a giant inflatable princess couch or something like that.

Easter Sunday

Caitrin woke up on Easter to an Egg Hunt! And she was a good seeker, but next year, we need a list of where everything is hidden! Inside the eggs, she found Gummy Lifesavers, beaded bracelets, tattoos, and Tinkerbell socks!

After searching the house for all of the hidden eggs, it was onto the hunt for her Easter Bucket!! She was on a mission!

Found It!!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Pre-Easter with the Brunzell's

We were fortunate to spend an afternoon with Dennis Brunzell (our friend from way back in high school) and his 2 kids, Bridget and Aidan (Sorry, D, if I butchered the spellings...). Julie, his wife works for a well-known area Theatre, The Purple Rose, and was out of town for the weekend. Dennis was back in Romeo visiting his folks for the weekend, and rang us up to get together.

Dennis and the twins came over and shared a meal with us, and generally caught us up on their lives. Dennis is a high school guidance counselor (a job he is made for) and has the best stories about his students! We determined that we hadn't seen each other since our 10 year reunion in 2004. As pathetic as that is (the reunion and the lack of keeping in touch), it was really as if we hadn't talked since only the previous week. There are certain people that you fall back with easily, and he is one of them.

Dinner was a controlled chaos, with three about-2-year olds taking on three about 32-year olds. And after we ate, the kids got to work out some of their energy. Caitrin absolutely loved having kids to play with. Just look at that messy hair!

She almost seems to be directing them where to go. I think she gets that "bossiness" from me. Here she is hugging Aidan before they left.

Now, it's almost as if the Brunzell kids are saying, "Let's get out of here!"
The Brunzell Clan (minus Julie)
It was great to see them, and hopefully, we can get together again soon.

Tenting in the Family Room

Jeff usually works second shift, but since American Axle is on strike, his GM plant is not running production, so he has been working first shift this week. So, instead of waking up and getting to spend the first part of her day with her daddy, Caitie has to wait until he gets home from work.

Each morning this week she has come into our bedroom and asked, "Where's my father?" When I tell her that he is at work, she says, "He not at work," and proceeds to look around for him, under the covers, in the bathroom, in the closet...

So I tell her all day long that she will see him when she wakes up from her nap. Today, she especially missed him. Since it was Friday, we let her stay up a little bit later than normal so she could spend a little extra time with him.

I brought up her little IKEA Igloo tent from the basement and got them each a small pillow and a blanket. They settled into the tent in the family room and watched a movie, "Snow White." Now, Snow White is one of those movies that she says is "too scary," so Jeff had to skip through most of the beginning to get to the seven dwarfs. After that, they watched it intently together, while munching on popcorn.
Actually, it looks like Jeff is the only one that is in the tent.
Truly, she is her Daddy's girl. It's the most wonderful thing to watch them together.