Teddy Bear Sleepover

18 teddy bears and their proud owners recently took part in the first annual Teddy Bear Sleepover at Keller's school.

All the kindergartners gathered in their classroom for an evening of games, snacks and storytime with their bears.

Before leaving for the night, the kids wrote a letter to their bears and then found a comfortable spot in the classroom to tuck their "teddies" in for the night. Keller kissed "Brownie" good night and promised him he'd be back in the morning.

When the kids returned to their classrooms the next day, they discovered the bears had a little party of their own. Pizza boxes were all over the room, bears were everywhere and toilet paper covered the floor. His sweet teacher sent the parents a video of the kids entering the classroom and the expressions were priceless. Keller looked so confused and wasn't sure what to think of the mess. It was such a fun evening and I'm so glad I have it on video to share with Keller years from now...when these precious little hands won't be so little anymore!

I can't believe my baby is nearing the end of his kindergarten year. Love you buggy!

Happy {hearts} day!

This Valentine's day was a little bit different than years past and it almost killed me...not really but I was pretty heartbroken. Due to my crazy work schedule, I wasn't able to attend either of the boys Valentine parties and I've never missed one...not one, ever!

Kase is now a "cool 9 year old" so it didn't seem to bother him too much. He even informed me that none of his friends parents were coming so it was okay that I wasn't. Such a sweetheart and always trying to make me feel better...love him!

Keller, on the other hand, was not happy about me missing the party and did everything he could to change my mind...even crying real tears. I was devastated but knew there was just absolutely no way I could break free from work. However, after talking with Keller, I discovered that it wasn't the fact that I was missing the party that upset him. He just wanted to leave early with me after the party because their teacher told them they could.

Uh huh! The truth came out and I suddenly didn't feel like the worst mom in the world. He is such a little youknowwhat. Needless to say, we all survived but you can bet I won't miss again. The kids had a wonderful time with their friends and we had a fun evening at home eating our heart shaped pizza and chocolate cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes...it was so simple but so perfect. Just me and my 3 loves!

What a blessing it is to love and be loved by these two precious little guys every single day.

Shark Attack

This past weekend, we celebrated a very special young man turning 9.

Yes, 9! Can you believe it? I certainly can't and I'm having a really hard time with this birthday. Not only is it Kase's last year in the single digits but he is now only 6 years away from getting his drivers permit. Oh gosh, I am so not ready for that!

His actual birthday isn't until the 5th but for those of you that are die hard football fans, you know that is Super Bowl Sunday. Not that it mattered to us, but I know it does to many so we decided to have the party a week early. Kase was more than happy with that decision because it means we get to have two parties in one week. After much discussion and searching, Kase finally decided on a location and a theme for his party. It wasn't easy and I'm pretty sure this is the last year he's going to let me go all out with a theme. The "cool" factor is becoming more and more of an issue when it comes to mommy wanting to do "cutesy" things for his parties. Kinda makes me a little sad but is expected and I'm okay with that...I think!

The weather was perfect for an indoor pool party and the "shark attack" theme went over well with our little swimmers.

I mean, big swimmers.

Kase had several friends from school join him as well as special friends who've been celebrating with us since his first birthday. It's such a blessing to have them with us year after year and so fun to watch the relationships continue to grow and change with time. Judging from this picture,

it looks like we have a few options for an arranged marriage one day. Shhh, don't tell Kase because he gets upset when I talk about girlfriends. We're at the "girls are yucky" phase right now. The kids had a blast swimming and were pruned up with blood shot eyes by the time the party ended. I did manage to get them out of the pool long enough to sing happy birthday and have a quick snack and cupcakes.

Kase decided to wait and do gifts at home so the kids swam a little longer and then it was time to call it a party. We had such a fun afternoon with he and his friends. After the party, our families came over for dinner and to watch Kase unwrap his presents. It was a perfect day for our soon-to-be 9 year old!

Happy {early} birthday Kasen Michael. You are precious and mean the world to your daddy and I. We are so blessed to be your parents and look forward to many, many more birthday celebrations with you.

I love you to the moon and back...and then some!

Keller's "Real" Birthday

According to Keller, there was not a better place to be on his "real" birthday than where he was a couple of weeks ago for his birthday party.

His party was at D-BAT and they just happened to have a hitting camp on his birthday so lucky for him, it all worked out and he was able to spend the day doing what he loves.

Kase and I dropped him off that morning and he made sure to let everyone know it was his "real birthday".

He was so excited to be there and couldn't wait to get started. Kase let me watch a few minutes of the camp but then he was ready to go. His Christmas money was burning a hole in his pocket so he and I went shopping. Don't you know, he had to really twist my arm? We found some goodies and even snuck in a quick lunch date before we had to go back and pick up the birthday boy. Keller was having a ball so he was not at all excited to see us. Tony was already there so we watched little brother enjoy his special day at D-BAT and wondered where on Earth the past 6 years have gone.

After a quick nap, we went out for a yummy steak dinner and then to Aunt Bubba's house for a little family celebration. He chose frosted sugar cookies over cupcakes so we snacked on those

while he opened a few more presents.

Thank you Bubba, Papa and Grammar for making him rotten to the bone!

Awww, that smile that melts my heart every single time I see it!

Happy Birthday Keller. I don't know how it's possible that you're already 6 years old. It seems like just the other day that you completed our family of 4. What a precious gift you are to all of us and we can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year. We love you wild man.

Jolly Ol' St. Nick

Santa stopped off at the Lindeman house, had a little snack and left a few too many toys by the fireplace.

Apparently, the letters sent by way of our friendly elf Nick made it to Santa because he filled Kase and Keller's bags with things they asked for and even threw in a few surprises.

The boys were good in 2011 but goodness, I didn't realize they were that good...or maybe I did.



Kase was so excited to finally have his very own digital camera. He spent the rest of the morning taking pictures and learning how to upload them to his laptop. Could he be anymore like his mother. My sweet, sweet firstborn child...I think he is pretty much the neatest thing on the planet!

Keller was thrilled to finally have his very own bucket of balls, a strike zone net and a bike without training wheels.

I'm sure I don't even need to tell you where or how he spent the rest of his day. Just know, Spring Training has already started in the Lindeman backyard and my garage now looks like an indoor baseball training facility. At least, he and Tony were kind enough to leave a tiny area for my car. Between the basketball goal outside and the new baseball equipment, we are in full-on boy mode at our house...and I love it!

Christmas is over, decorations are put away and we are now preparing for Kase's 9th birthday. Another year in the blog book and what a wonderful year it's been for the Lindeman family. Goodbye 2011, hello 2012...please be good to us!