THREE!!! (And Some Easter Fun Too)!

Everyone always says "enjoy this time because it goes so fast." On March 30, 2012, I couldn't have agreed more as my "baby" celebrated her third birthday complete with a Chinese food party and an Olivia (her favorite books) birthday cake! Olivia did not last long however (as Evie decapitated her pretty quickly in order to eat her) but we celebrated into the evening a very special little gal! We even got a special visit from our friends, The Thousands, all the way from Wisconsin to wish Evie a special day!

Evie got a new sandbox from Grandpa Dave and Grandma Allyson! She and Titus both love it (Titus mostly loves eating or throwing the sand), although the box proved to be the favorite toy the following morning!

That same weekend, Evie and Grandma Lucie made a popcorn ball lamb in honor of Palm Sunday! It's hard to say who enjoyed the lamb more: Evie making it or Mommy eating it! No wonder Evie stated that same day, "Mommy, I don't need a treat after lunch. Grandma Lucie can be my treat. Not to chew on, but to love on!"

The morning of Evie's birthday, Dad took time off work and we headed to her favorite place "Mall of My Mericas" to visit the sharks at Underwater World and have lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. We solidified our thoughts there that Titus is indeed afraid of storms, but pretty ladies sitting next to us oddly suddenly made his tears stop!

The following Monday, we took Evie, Titus and three neighborhood friends to Pump It Up to continue the celebration! I have never seen more red and sweaty three year olds than I did that night! They had a blast jumping in bouncy houses and sliding down slides that were so fast, they had to have bumpers to stop them at the bottom! Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa joined us to help, as we were almost as sweaty as them by the end of the night, just trying to keep up!

Decorating Easter Eggs with Jackson and Krista Bull...

We headed to Little Falls for Easter this year and the kids enjoyed their Easter Egg Hunts (especially the nickels Grandpa Dave put inside the eggs), as well as playing with their "cousins" Molly and Luke and driving Grandpa's Purple Jeep (I would suggest staying off Highway 212 in about 13 years...yikes!)!

Office Chair races.....................Triple T not happy about his Easter Outfit!

Phoneix Phun!

It's hard to complain about MinneSNOWta when we have had such a mild, easy winter. But even with that, we were excited to escape the snow and cold for a 5 day visit to see Grandma Allyson and Grandpa Dave in Phoenix! Evie and Titus were excited for the airplane ride and handled themselves pretty well...all things considered!

It's hard to tell who liked the water more: Evie or Titus! Evie is very much looking forward to swimming lessons this April and loves to put her head under water, eyes wide open and come up with a huge smile on her face while Grandpa Dave discovered Titus fit perfectly in a pink princess tube and loved to bob around the kids pool, barely bouncing off the bottom and swimming for hours (well, at least 45 minutes)! The two of them kept the four of us on our toes, but we loved our fun in the sun. Evie also loved jumping into the hot tub, although we are not sure what the other guests trying to relax in there thought about that one!

Titus and Dad swimming...and enjoying their first In-N-Out Burgers!

Thanks to Daddy's friend, Julie, we got a behind the scenes tour of the Red's Spring Training Facility on the outskirts of Phoenix. It was fun to get up close and personal! Titus loved all the baseballs!

Another highlight for Chad was getting to introduce Evie to one of his former college teammates, "Wolfie." We think he got quite the kick out of Evie and especially enjoyed her hugging him good-bye and telling him she loved him! Golf, hiking Camelback Mountain, visiting friends and taking lots of walks were also part of our Phoenix Phun!

Before we left, we headed to the Phoenix Zoo! Evie loved all the animals, especially the "rhino." Titus could have cared less until lunchtime when he got to feed the ducks a good portion of his chicken nuggets. All we heard for the next half hour was "duck...duck!" We will have to make a trip to Noonan's Park in Alex this summer for him to get his fill of feeding those little ducks!

"Hok!" (Titus speak for Hockey!)

Last weekend, we headed to Minnesota State Mankato for their hockey Alumni Weekend. The best part was getting to play on the ice before the Mankato/Duluth game (in which Mankato came away with a great 4-4 tie)! It's safe to save Titus LOVED the ice and the action! He seemed to also love the penalty box, which may lead to nothing but problems in a few more years! All in all, he enjoyed his first Unofficial visit there (Evie's second)!


On Monday afternoon, Titus was not feeling well and not a happy camper about it while vacationing in Phoenix. Nothing could settle him down and he definitely did not want to do anymore swimming. Finally, I tried walking him around the complex. After about 10 minutes, he said "ball, ball, ball!" We had come across the basketball court and he finally got a smile on his face. For awhile, we watched the boys who were playing and then Titus practiced his own moves on the court!

Triple T!!!

While in Indianapolis nearly two weeks ago, Grandma Lucie and Bumpa stayed with Evie and Titus for four days. Although most everyone was sick for the majority or the time, I think fun was had by all and Titus even came away with a brand new nickname: Triple T! It's fitting and has stuck! Triple T standing, of course, for Titus The Terror (replacing his previous nickname of Titus the Destroyer). Even Evie has taken to calling him Triple T now and he seems to bask in the glory or terrorizing many things around the house...and usually looks back at us after the destruction with a gigantic smile on his cute little face!

Alongside of terrorizing any and everything he can get his hands on, Titus has really come into his own in the past two to three weeks. He still communicates mostly with sign language (milk, please, water, thank you, more and kiss are his go-tos), but now he can also actually SAY ball (his official first word; Chad was thrilled while I silently cried in a corner that it wasn't mama), "ack" (when we ask him what a duck says), possibly Bumpa (the jury is still out on this one) and, as of three days ago MAMA (although it comes out baba, but he will point to me or to me in a picture and say it, so we are pretty sure he just cannot make the M sound). Another amazing thing is he seems to understand about half of what we are saying now. He will head for the stairs when we say it's time to go upstairs for a bath. Putting on shoes, sitting down, washing hands, cars, balls, take off clothes, change diapers and many more are just a few simple commands that he for sure understands and will do an action accordingly. And, although the debate in our household has always seemed to be between hockey and basketball, Titus has seemed to take a huge interest (and seriously is pretty darn good at it) in a sport all his own: soccer! He loves to kick the ball around and into a make-shift goal Grandpa Dave has made for him out of cones! This sparks clapping too, as he knows it is a good thing when the ball goes into the goal! Of course, we have not been able to get a great shot of this on video, but the one below is not too bad! While Chad was in Indy, my goal was to get him used to using bowls and plates too! It has officially been such a success (although occasionally in a Triple T fit the plates or bowls can get flipped upside down still), that we added a place mat today! I think he loves being a "big kid" like Evie! Speaking of Evie, Triple T can still out eat her at every meal! Today he finished off her sweet potato pancakes and blackberries after his own meal that was already much bigger than hers! I guess when you Terrorize your Mom, Sister and Home all day long, you can work up quite an appetite!


For Valentine's Day, Chad and Evie went to the Chaska Community Center's Sweetheart Dance, although Dad's day was complete when Evie asked him if they could leave the dance early to go watch the hockey game next door! They did and she is super into the Zamboni now and claims that all of Titus' big trucks are Zambonis! We continued the Battey-Family tradition of having heart waffles in the morning, followed by our giant heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie in the afternoon. Uncle Marc came for dinner to be Evie's Valentine and she even received her first bouquet of flowers from him!


It has been nearly two weeks since Chad and I have been home from the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. It was an AMAZING experience and one that neither of us will ever forget. I am fortunate to get to reap the perks of Chad's job from time to time and this definitely was the best "perk" I have ever received! The night before the Super Bowl, we went to a party hosted by "The Girls Next Door." It was interesting to say the least! We were definitely the group wearing the MOST clothing there! The next morning, we happened to meet Condaliza Rice at brunch, got to have sushi, Saki and more while listening to The Fray and Lenny Kravitz live before the game and then enjoyed watching Chad out at the field for the coin toss and alongside the Patriot's sideline during the game. And don't even get me started on Madonna! She was AMAZING! It is definitely an experience neither of us will ever forget, but one we are crossing our fingers we will get to do again sometime...hopefully with the PURPLE!