Skip to content

Toadfrogs & Elephants

The Burch family Photo Blog
  • Archive
  • Books
  • LittleToadfrogs
    • Alex
    • Teague
    • Kaitlyn
    • Ben

Month: April 2011

30 Apr

April 30, 2011


Alex loves helping his Daddy.

30 Apr

Poetry by Wade

Wade and I spent the day cleaning out closets and working in the yard. In one of the closets we found an old notebook of Wade’s. It contained poetry from college and this was my favorite:

Ode to Pink Pencils and Tapestry
Hebee jebee
Cocka mee mee
Temper tantrum in a teepee
wink a left
wink a right
my grandmother got in a fight
with cabbages
and sausage links
sent by balding sprocket finks
until one day
they made a truce
by offering a gimpy moose
and now this poem
has reached an end
since my grandma will always win
29 Apr

Those Boys

We spent the morning at the zoo and the boys had a great time climbing, running, and snacking. They even occasionally looked at the animals too.

29 Apr

April 29, 2011


Bathtime is always fun!

28 Apr

April 28, 2011


We tried out the Madison Children’s Museum today and Alex loved it!

28 Apr

A Trip To Madison And Birthday Sushi

Amber and I loaded the boys up for a trip to Madison today with two stops on our agenda – the Madison Children’s Museum and Nicki’s diapers.
The boys love any new place to play so the museum was a lot of fun. Alex’s favorite activity was the “pizza kitchen” (the last series of pictures). He loved to put the ingredients on the pan and then crank it through the oven.


To end a fun day Heidi, Nicki, and Amber took me out for a belated sushi birthday dinner! Yum!
27 Apr

Puddle Jumping

It was pouring rain when I put Alex down for his nap. He’d been wanting his umbrella all day so I promised him we would jump in puddles (with the umbrella) after his nap. Alex ended up sleeping 3 hours and by then the rain had stopped and most of the puddles were gone. He was still adamant that he needed his umbrella and I did find a puddle for him to jump in.

27 Apr

April 27, 2011


A rainy kind of day.

26 Apr

Tabit

Yup. We pretty much all still love Tabit. Wade does think she’s huge now, but that’s only in comparison to the tiny malnourished kitten we got last September. I think she’s perfect.

26 Apr

April 26, 2011


What a trooper. There is no Mother’s Day Out this week so Alex is having to entertain himself while I work. Thomas helped too.

25 Apr

Abram Comes To Play

These boys have so much fun together:

25 Apr

April 25, 2011


I got a Zoo pass for my birthday and Alex and I went this morning. I turned my back for a second and Alex tried to get a real close look at the elephants.

24 Apr

Happy Easter!

We started the morning with a hunt for Alex’s Easter basket. The bunny left a trail of Legos to show the way:


Alex had a blast going through his basket. He especially loved the helmet and umbrella:


We made time for a family picture after church:

Then we rushed to our Easter Sunday Potluck. The rest of the afternoon was spent napping. After napping for 2.5 hours myself, I finally woke Alex up at 4:30 for a quick playtime with Abram.
24 Apr

April 24, 2011


Watching a Lego train circle the track.

23 Apr

Easter Egg Hunting

We had an Easter brunch and egg hunt for the neighborhood boys. The boys had plenty of fun playing inside while we ate and “hid” the eggs:


We had three 2 year olds and one 3 year old (Phoenix, Abram, Alex, and Riley).

This was one of the few times it was obvious who was oldest. Abram was much quicker to spot the eggs and get to them. The good news is none of the boys cared how many eggs were in their basket.


The boys were quick to check out their treats and spent an amazing amount of time quietly sitting on the steps (and eating):

23 Apr

April 23, 2011


Waiting for the Easter egg hunting to begin.

22 Apr

April 22, 2011


Alex has recently become fascinated with the shower. When I said I was going to shower this afternoon he wanted to get in too. I let him and then he refused to get out. He happily played for at least 20 minutes after the water had been turned off.

22 Apr

Moustaches (again)

Moustaches take two (using the middle layer of the window stick-on cupcake)

21 Apr

Bubbles!!

I must confess one of my favorite birthday gifts came from Abram (my 3 year old neighbor). He got me a bubble-blowing Transformer (Bumble Bee, of course). Alex was determined to make it work like Mom, but needed a little help from Dad.

21 Apr

April 21, 2011


A boy and his dog.
(How times have changed – 2009)

20 Apr

Happy Birthday To Me!

I turned 32 today! The day was pretty uneventful, but Wade and I had a nice dinner out at the Melting Pot (thanks Amber for watching Alex)! Then we came home to presents! I got the promise of two adirondack chairs, dog clippers, a zoo pass, a pitcher, enamelware plates (for summertime cook-outs), a car iPhone dock, quilted china/crystal storage, and gift cards to restaurants. I have lots of new things to keep me entertained!

Alex was a little too excited and threw his gift for me (a plate for his fish), which happened to be breakable. Oops.

20 Apr

April 20, 2011

Alex is enjoying my birthday boxes!

19 Apr

April 19, 2011


Bedtime books with Mom.

19 Apr

We’re Staying Put (For Now)

Wade and I are always looking at houses – usually not seriously. We recently found one that caused a lot of thinking and discussing. We viewed the property twice and seriously talked with a realtor about selling our house. In the end, we decided now wasn’t the time to move. Since Wade and I both commented on the relief we felt after making this decision it was obviously the right one!
The could-have-been-new-house (on North Ave. in Brookfield):

18 Apr

Snow? Really?

I knew that snow was in the forecast, but I didn’t really believe it. Turns out the weather people were right.

18 Apr

April 18, 2011


Putting the tractor to good use.

17 Apr

April 17, 2011


Driving home!

16 Apr

Bye Bye Nashville

Alex is becoming a pro at checking out of hotel rooms (see here).

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon with Melissa, Chris, and Harper. Alex tried to comfort Harper when she cried, but grew tired of that game pretty quickly (and she only cried for a few minutes).


We took a few group pictures and then loaded up for our drive to Paducah.

16 Apr

April 16, 2011


It turns out Alex does like noodles – as long as I don’t cook them.

15 Apr

Babies And Mustaches

When Alex was a newborn I wasn’t taking pictures with a nice camera. Today I got to take tons of pictures of Harper and she didn’t mind (or move) at all.


Harper has hip dysplasia and has to wear a harness (see Melissa’s post here). It doesn’t seem to bother her a bit and hopefully the harness will take care of everything.


Today was rainy outside so Alex had to be entertained inside. My favorite distraction of the day was when Wade introduced Alex to fake mustaches.

15 Apr

April 15, 2011


Aunt Lissy teaches Alex how to play chopsticks.

14 Apr

Meeting Harper

Today I finally got to meet Harper, my 18 day old niece. She is precious. She slept all day and I held her all day – perfect.

Thankfully the weather was gorgeous and Alex could play outside. He and Daddy got a lot of quality time.

I needed a picture of Alex with Harper and that got interesting. He wanted to hold her, but then refused to look at her. Finally we asked Alex to find her nose. That broke the ice and made way for a “hug”.


Then we took Harper out for her first meal. (Which is fitting since Melissa and Chris took Alex out for his first meal – see post here).

14 Apr

April 14, 2011


Alex meets Harper (his new cousin).

13 Apr

To Gram’s House We Go

Alex and I left Milwaukee early this morning and made the trip to Gram’s house in record time. After being in the car, Alex was excited to be able to run around outside. He was fascinated with Gram’s lawn care equipment and Gram couldn’t resist buying Alex his own weed trimmer.


Alex’s favorite part may have been the safety glasses. Wade and I definitely got a kick out of them.


After dinner at El Chico (yum!!), Alex got an Easter basket from Gram and then good-night stories.

13 Apr

April 13, 2011


Alex loves his new weed trimmer.

12 Apr

Unofficial Playdate

The beauty of having your best friend across the street is most of the time he comes outside the minute he sees you playing.


Alex still loves hats of all types and always wants a “helmet” when riding a bike. Don’t tell but he’s finally going to get his own in his Easter basket.
12 Apr

April 12, 2011


T-R-O-U-B-L-E

11 Apr

Screamin’

One of our house rules is no screaming in the house. I was curious how long it would take Alex to figure out he just had to go outside to scream. He figured it out this morning. He wanted to scream and I said not inside. He asked to go outside and out we went:

11 Apr

April 11, 2011


Dog, cat, and child know how to use and prefer the dog door.

10 Apr

April 10, 2011


Alex got on Madison’s pillow with her and then requested “cover up”.

10 Apr

Good Neighbors

Today we had amazing weather – 80 degrees. The Strouds invited us for a cookout and we were happy to spend the time with good friends outside. Abram*, Riley, and Alex had a lot of fun running around and enjoying the weather.


Two of my favorite pictures from the evening:


Alex is obviously not used to wearing shorts. His poor knees took a real beating today. Amber tried to put a “monkey George” band-aid on his knee, but he wanted it off. He thought it was a sticker and shouldn’t go on his knee (Yes, that’s right. My child doesn’t know what a band-aid is. We just haven’t had the need before.)

*A disclaimer per Amber’s request. Abram dressed himself.
09 Apr

April 9, 2011


After dinner treat -yummy!

09 Apr

Little Copy Cat

I carry my camera with me just about everywhere. (I’m sure you never would have guessed) Alex is also quite addicted to his and often demands to have his before I am allowed to take my picture. Today we had fun taking each other’s pictures:


08 Apr

We Are Ready To Play

After a week of craziness, I was ready to return to normal. Amber was happy to accommodate me with an outing for the boys. We spent the morning at the Bettry Brinn Children’s Museum. We haven’t been since last year and we loved it this time just as much! There were quite a few new areas full of pretend play for kids of all ages.

08 Apr

April 8, 2011


Alex has always loved his bath. After we added this Thomas toy he refused to get out for bed.

07 Apr

April 7, 2011


Alex entertained himself while I cooked dinner…

07 Apr

Mr. Fix-It In-Training

Alex has always enjoyed playing with his tools and “fixing”, which of course we encourage. Tonight he really wanted to help Wade with a plumbing leak.


After Wade had removed the broken piece and left the room, I happened to glance back and saw that Alex was still “fixing” with the forgotten wrench.

07 Apr

Jury Duty Ends

I have had an interesting week. Today the jury deliberated and finally agreed on a verdict. We found a young father guilty of “recklessly causing great bodily harm”. His daughter was 24 days old when the incident occurred. He admitted to the police that he was angry and frustrated (three children and neither parent had a job). He admitted that the baby was fussing and he pulled her legs. The manner in which he pulled the legs caused four fractures. The state had a doctor from Children’s Hospital testify about the injury and how they occur (only with one particular motion, never during play or an accidental drop, and require abusive force). The twelve people on our jury could not agree that the young man “intentionally caused great bodily harm”, but we all agreed he was guilty of child abuse. The judge had given us the second, lesser option of “recklessly causing great bodily harm” and we finally all agreed. It was interesting to see the system at work, but I’m glad I won’t have to serve again for at least four years.
The other interesting part of my week is the role reversal that Wade and I experienced. He stayed home all day with Alex and I was gone from 8 till 5. We both agreed that we have a greater understanding for what the other does all day and wouldn’t want to switch jobs on a permanent basis. Tomorrow I plan to play with my boy!

06 Apr

April 6, 2011


Guess who went to see the Easter Bunny today?

06 Apr

Hippity Hop

Wade and Amber took Alex and Abram to see the Easter bunny.


They boys seemed to settle down pretty well for the real picture:

We didn’t go to see the bunny last year, but Alex’s first trip was with Abram too.

Posts navigation

1 2
  • Alex
  • Archive
  • Ben
  • Books
  • Kaitlyn
  • Little Toadfrogs
  • Teague