Shoveling the Driveway

More good news, we discovered today that Brendan can shovel the snow from our driveway. We never thought at such a young age he could shovel like this. But as you can see, he even did the sidewalk. Rich and I were really proud as we watched from the porch :)
Bailey on the other hand just ran around in the snow for a few minutes, then he was tired.

He also cooks!

Oh, in addition to taking out the trash, Brendan now helps prepare dinner. This is perfect as we prepare for the new baby to arrive. You can't do much in the kitchen now with Brendan's 'help'!

One of Brendan's Favorite Things.....TRASH

Brendan's loves to watch the garbage truck come and pick up our trash. Since he loves that so much, he also loves to help take out the trash on Sunday's. This involves him backing the car out of the garage (with Rich's help), pulling the cans and any boxes to the curb, and pulling the car back into the garage. He talks about trash all day Sunday in anticipation of the truck coming Monday morning and all day Monday about how the truck came. We have to admit, we're glad the truck comes on Monday, he is in a great mood after garbage pick-up.

I had to go swimming

Well, since Rich had Lasik done, he couldn't go swimming for at least 2 weeks. This meant the I (at 7 months pregnant) had to dig out a swimsuit and go to swim class. While Brendan would have preferred his Dad take him swimming, he made due with me but often complained that I was not throwing him in the air or bouncing around as much. I tried to tell him he should just be happy in the pool and join in the fun, but reasoning didn't do any good :)

Rich Fixed his Eyes

Rich got Lasik first thing this morning. He has been thinking about it for a long time and finally got it done. He got home around 10 AM and slept to mid-afternoon. His eyes are sore, but he is seeing well. He gets to wear these really cool googles till tomorrow morning when he goes to his check-up. Brendan was sushing me all morning because Daddy was sleeping. Brendan got to play some this afternoon with his Daddy, we was really missing his Dad.

New Year's Day Visit to Museum

On New Year's Day, we visited the museum again. This time going to the Natural History Museum. Brendan enjoyed running around and seeing the animals. He was a little scared in the bat cave, but liked visiting the Ice Age exhibit and Dinosaurs. We had a picnic lunch in the Rotunda before heading home. So far, we are really enjoying our museum pass. Next time we will visit the Cincinnati History Museum.

Brendan and Rich Swimming

Monday after Christmas, Rich took Brendan swimming at the community center with Brendan's friend Emily. Brendan is taking swim lessons right now, but there were no lessons during the holiday. Brendan is doing a great job and not afraid of the water. He jumps (or leans) to Rich, goes under water and loves going down the Frog slide. He really enjoyed swimming, which was evident to us since he said yes to everything once we told him we were going.

Opa and Grandma brave the weather

Brendan's Opa and Grandma made the drive down from Michigan on Friday through the icy weather. The roads were bad, so it took them a long time. Once they arrived, we had a nice dinner that Rich made and then opened presents. Brendan got a wagon, art supplies, rubber ducks, and a snow shovel. He also enjoyed helping his Grandparents open their gifts.

This Holiday, Brendan loved opening his Advent Calendar he got from Grandma. Each day he would run to get it off the dining room table after dinner. Apparently he loves chocolate. We saved the last one for when they were here so they could see how much he enjoyed it.

Christmas Morning

On Christmas, Brendan opened his gift from Santa right after breakfast. Breakfast is always a morning priority for Brendan. Santa brought Brendan lots of play food for his new kitchen. Santa also brought 3 books for Brendan in his stocking. We all went to Great Wolf Lodge and saw and animated show by luck. Brendan really enjoyed it and they even had fake snow fall down on us. Brendan opened the other 2 presents from us the rest of the day, since he was a one present at a time kid this year. He got new puzzles and puppets. We had a wonderful day together and all enjoyed playing with Brendan's new toys.

Christmas Eve

We had a quiet Christmas Eve evening after going to the Children's museum with just Rich, Brendan, Bailey, and I. After attending mass, Brendan opened his big gift from Rich and I, a Kitchen. We really like the kitchen and started giving everyone drinks right away. Rich and I opened gifts from my Aunt, then we all went to bed to be ready for Christmas morning.