The Bike

Y has been asking for a bike since sometime after Christmas.  Unfortunately, we live in Michigan and wintertime isn't exactly bike friendly so we told her that she could get a bike for her birthday.  She was more than content with that but every time we passed the bike section in Wal-Mart she wanted to see "her" bike and helmet.

She has ridden it several times since she got it and it's clear we need to build those leg muscles up!  Today we took her and her bike to a park and she peddled for quite a while but she wanted B's assistance up until she saw a little girl who was probably a couple years older than she is peddling a bike all by herself.  And then she could be heard saying things like, "I can do it by myself" and "Daddy, I don't need any help" and of course, "Stop helping me!"  I did giggle to myself quite a bit as I pushed Q in the stroller.

Boy do they grow up fast!

Y's Birthday Party

Y has finally reached an age where we thought was appropriate for her to have a few friends over for a birthday party.  Truth is, that was probably last year but since I had only recently given birth to Q, there was no way that was going to happen!

The worst part about Y's birthday is that if falls at the very beginning of September which is also when Labor Day occurs each year and then school begins right after that and the life of parents gets a lot more crazy!  So in dealing with those 2 events we decided to have Y's birthday party on August 25th.

Though we have a decent sized home, I didn't feel it was large enough to hold 12 children (including Y) and a parent of each child so we decided we would have the party in our garage which worked out perfectly since it was really a pool party and we planned to just walk them all over to the pool as the main event.

I was extremely nervous about the party as I'd never thrown a party for children before and because I have this annoying tendency to over-analyze everything.  Fortunately it turned out to be a beautiful, hot day - perfect for swimming - and the kids all really enjoyed themselves.

We went with a Princess & Knight theme so I bought each girl a tiara and made them a satin sash that said Princess followed by their name.  They then got to decorate their sash with all different types of jewels and stickers.  For the boys I bought them foam swords and made them shields from cardboard which I then spray painted silver - each shield was personalized with "Sir" followed by their name and they also got to decorate those.  Both were a big hit!

Unfortunately, I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked but that's what happens when you're in the middle of hosting a party!


The before photo, you sort of get the idea.

They started decorating their sashes and shields as they arrived and waiting for the others.

Nana B. made the cake, she did an awesome job!

Q at 12 Months

I had completely forgotten just how much fun it is to have a 1 year old in the house!  Q is really a little ball of fun now that she's crawling around.  She loves to follow her big sister around or even just crawl around on her own.  I'm never surprised to find her in a room alone playing, she's fairly good at entertaining herself but she is still very much a mommy's baby.

Over the past few weeks she has really begun to start trying to mimic words and sounds, they can be words or sounds from us or even from her toys.  It's too early to tell but I wouldn't be surprised if we have another early, clear speaking baby.  From a very young age we always heard comments about how clearly Y was able to speak.

She has more teeth coming in, the top two front teeth and that's been affecting her napping but she's still a great sleeper at night.  She's still a great eater, she loves to eat her baby food but she also wants to eat whatever food we happen to be eating as well.  She absolutely adores her big sister but she is also beginning to let Y know what she doesn't like.  She also likes to play with whatever toy Y happens to be playing with at the time, I like to explain to Y that it's what I like to call payback.  All-in-all they get along extremely well, but that can always change as Q grows older and even more strong willed and independent.

As for me looking back over the past year, I can't believe how fast it all has gone.  I know everyone says it and I know it's a cliche but it's still so very true.  Sometimes as I think about my baby growing up I get a bit emotional.  I know I've been through all these emotions before with Y and I'm sure I'll go through them again but each child is different and I can't help but want to hold on to them as long as I can.  I'm also having a hard time giving up breastfeeding.  When my babies are first born I really, really dread it but I do it because it's what's best for them (and what's cheapest) but by the time they are a year old and I can wean them I have a really hard time giving it up.  I guess I can chalk that up to trying to hold on to my baby as long as I can.

Q's Birthday Celebration

We aren't big fans of throwing big elaborate first birthday parties for our kids, for us it's more of a family event - we like to save the parties for when they're old enough to remember them and enjoy them.  With Q's birthday falling on a Wednesday we decided to head to Canada and celebrate it with family the weekend before her big day.

We drove up on Friday after B came home from work.  On Saturday we spent most of the day relaxing and after dinner we all sang happy birthday, ate cake and let Q open her gifts.  It was interesting to watch her eat the cake, she was all about the icing but didn't like the cake at all.  Her reaction to the cake was the same as her reaction to her birthday cake in North Carolina, I think she doesn't like the texture because both times, even though the flavor was different, she spit the cake out of her mouth.

On Sunday we were able to go to church, have dinner and drive to the bridge for a lovely walk all before coming back home.  It was the perfect way to celebrate our youngest princess, quiet and with family.

 

 

 

Birthday Party

Earlier in the month, Y had the opportunity to attend a friend's birthday party.  It was actually the first really birthday party Y has ever attended.  While we have given her small little birthday parties with a few family members she has not yet had one where she got to invite friends and she hadn't really been invited to one either, mostly because in 2008 when Y was born all of our friends that live close and were pregnant were pregnant with boys.

When she received the invitation in the mail she was so excited to see that she had her own pieces of mail and even more excited to learn that she'd be going to a Princess birthday party.  She knows the days of the week and so when the final week came around she knew exactly how long she had until the party, and she spent that whole week telling me, "the princess birthday party is Wednesday" and then she would list all the days that remained between the current day and Wednesday.

She loved going to the store and picking out the present, I set a price range and then asked her what she'd like to get her (her answer was, princess stuff) so we went down the aisle and put a bunch of different princess items in the cart and then I told her she could choose which one she wanted to give, all the while making sure she knew it was a gift for the birthday girl and not for herself.  She seemed to grasp that pretty well, because not once did she ask to open it and play with it, in fact she kept asking me when I would wrap it!

She had a blast at the party!  They decorated pretty notebooks with their name and pretty foam stickers, they played with toys, ate lots of yummy food, and they were even given darling little tutus to wear which our lovely hostess made herself.  It was a blast and has given me a few ideas for Y's 4th birthday, we had previously decided that 4 would be a good age for a birthday party with friends!

Happy Birthday

Today is B's 31st birthday.  Being as it's a Monday which also happens to be our designated grocery shopping day, we didn't really do much to celebrate.  After grocery shopping we had pizza (his favorite food), he and Y had birthday donuts (it's his birthday but he allowed her to pick his birthday treat) and then he went off to the gym for a workout.  Later in the week we will go out and all have dinner together at the restaurant of his choice.  It's been a much more low key birthday for him this year as compared to last year.

There are certain times each year when I really realized just how blessed we are to have him be the head of our household.  He's kind, he's gentle, and he's loving.  I know all this about him and I always appreciate those things about him but there's nothing like a special occasion to help remind you even more.  We (me and the girls) are among the luckiest females to ever walk this earth all because he is a part of our lives.  We can rest assured that he will always put our needs (and even our wants) above his own.  He will do all that is in his power for us to be happy.  When we are feeling our worst and thinking little of ourselves, he will be the first one to point out all the good things that may be overshadowed at the moment.  When we are unsure, he will be our biggest cheerleader encouraging us to continue on.  When we fail, he will not criticize and he will never say "I told you so."  And when we get angry and yell at him, he will not yell back.  He's not perfect but he sure is a wonderful example of what we should all strive to be.  I (we) love him for all that he is and for all that he is not!

Since he's now 31, here's 31 things that I love about him:

1. I love how he can think of a quote from a movie in the most random situation or setting.
2. I love his laugh, not his fake laugh but the laugh that he does when he finds something hilarious.
3. I love those 2 moles on either side of his nose.
4. I love to watch him play with our girls.
5. I love that he's a worthy Priesthood holder.
6. I love that I will never have to pay to have our computer repaired.
7. I love that when someone calls him asking about a computer problem or even just to help them create something using the computer he will do whatever he can to help them.
8. I love his little grumbles when I ask him to do something he doesn't really wanna do.
9. I love his fake little whimpers after I've cooked a big meal and I remind him that he has to do the dishes.
10. I love that even though he loves chocolate ice cream he knows that I hate it and thus he will only buy non-chocolate based ice creams.
11. I love that even though he hates getting up early, he wakes up each weekday morning at 4:20am to prepare for work and then does the same most Sunday mornings so that he can be at church for his meetings.
12. I love how he smiles even when I know someone (not me) is annoying him.  They will never know...but I can tell!
13. I love how honest he is, always.
14. I love that he doesn't just tell me what I want to hear.
15. I love that he realizes that even though I'm home with the girls all day that it can still be really hard for me to get things done.  He realizes that the two of them take up most of my time and never asks me what I did all day if the house isn't spotless.
16. I love that he doesn't see cleaning the house as just my responsibility.
17. I love his patience.
18. I love that even during the times that I don't feel attractive, he makes sure to remind me that he thinks I'm hot!
19. I love that he supports what I want to do, even if he has absolutely no interest in it whatsoever.
20. I love his ability to remain calm at moments when I would completely lose my temper.
21. I love it when we're walking or riding in the car or sitting in church and he grabs my hand - granted it doesn't happen nearly as often with 2 very young kids.
22. I love waking up next to him on the few mornings that we're actually able to get up at the same time.
23. I love how he allows my wants to supersede his own.
24. I love how he's taught me to be more financially cautious without counting ever penny I spend or making me feel guilty about spending.
25. I love that I can make fun of him when he's being grouchy and he not get offended.  (YES, he gets grouchy)!
26. I love his dependability.
27. I love that he loves my crazy family.
28. I love it when he sees that I'm a little preoccupied and so he will cook dinner AND do the dishes even though the person who cooks isn't supposed to do the dishes.
29. I love that he kills all the spiders that I find even though he hates them too.
30. I love his perseverance, if there's something he wants he never gives up.
31. I love that I have the ability so spend Time and all Eternity with him!!!!!

I have one amazing husband!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

On Sunday, Y turned 3 years old!!  She has been talking about her birthday for weeks now and in the days leading up to her birthday she kept asking, "is today my birthday?"  She was able to choose what she wanted to do, so on Saturday she and B went to the bounce house for several hours (I didn't wanna take Q because of the deafening music).  And when they came home, we all went out to dinner at Red Robin.  On Sunday, we went to church and I had bought cupcakes for her and her friends in nursery and that night we had cake and watched the videos that family members had made for her on her birthday. (Side note:  for much of the year Y has been making birthday videos for her grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents and so we thought it'd be cool if they made videos for her on her birthday.)  As gifts we gave her a Mrs. Potato Head (which she has been asking for for months) with over 40 interchangeable pieces as well as a Dora the Explorer bag which she can use to take her coloring books, crayons, and toys to church.  She also received a Dora paper doll book and the book Alligator Baby from Aunt J and Uncle R in Toronto.  A counting book with a CD of counting songs from Grandma G in Sarnia. And a Tinkerbell umbrella and matching backpack and a little cash from Grandma and PopPop in North Carolina.

At three Y is a smart, vibrant, curious, funny and fairly well-adjusted preschooler (she's no longer a toddler).  She loves to run, sing, dance, use her imagination, play in the pool and at the playground, she still loves to snuggle and she loves to talk and ask questions.  She is very observant of everything that goes on around her and she has one amazing memory.  Don't ever think you can tell her something and she not remember it.  She loves to be around other kids and will mimic whatever it is that they happen to be doing, regardless of their age.  She has found a love for all things Disney, especially princess and Tinkerbell movies, in fact she can frequently be heard singing or even re-enacting various scenes from Cinderella. When asked what she wants to be for Halloween she alternates between Tinkerbell and an astronaut.  She loves to touch and try to play with Baby Q and is very curious about her jerky movements.  She also can't wait for Q to get bigger so that she can really play with her.  Sometimes she tries to play with Q and gets a little too rough but she loves to hold her and take pictures with her.  One thing is for sure Q is going to have to be one tough cookie and will probably quickly learn to hold her own against her sister.  Y has had a bit of difficulty adjusting to Q being around but when we take her out one-on-one you can tell that she really appreciates having the alone time with either B or myself.  She always returns home excited to tell the other parent all about what she did while out. 



 I cannot even begin to put into words the unconditional love that I feel for my beautiful first-born child.  She brings so much joy to our lives whether it be in warm kisses and hugs, funny statements she makes, or bringing us something like a leaf from a tree while out on a walk.  I love to see how bright and wide her eyes get when she learns something new and the questions that she often asks amaze me at times.  I am often saddened at the idea of her growing up, in just 2 short years she will be starting kindergarten and it just makes me want to hold on to her tighter in hopes to slow time down.  But it also gives me the motivation to enjoy each moment with her, to take advantage of the time we have together.  She brightens our lives in so many ways and while there are many moments of frustration they seem pale in comparison to all the joy we have.  I love my little monkey!



Disney Fairies Cake, each  fairy has a ring and the box can store them all.

With it just being us and my mom this year, we opted for the 1/8 sheetcake and so there wasn't much room for writing and her name had to be written below.

The Dora bag we bought before we knew she was getting the bag seen below.



Blowing caution (and superstition) to the wind and playing with her umbrella indoors.  She's also wearing her backpack.  She had been begging us for months for a Mr./Mrs. Potato Head and wouldn't you know it was trumped by the umbrella.  That was apparently her favorite gift of all...who woulda thought?!?

Y holding Q on Y's big day!

30

Ever since I can remember I have dreaded the thought of my 30th birthday - even as a little girl. I was 9 years old when my mom turned 30 and I remember then thinking that was an ancient age that I didn't want to see. It wasn't really a coherent desire because I also didn't want to die before I turned 30! But sometime in the last year, probably after B turned 30, I stopped dreading it - I even accepted it!


I've realized that I'm a heck of a lot happier at 30 than I was at 20, and why shouldn't I be?!? I have an amazing and adoring husband. I have two healthy and beautiful little girls. My bills are paid, I know the direction my life is heading, I have a stronger relationship with my family, a better relationship with God, etc. I am looking forward to 30 and all that it holds for us and I honestly hope that when I'm turning 40 and looking back over this decade that I can say I'm even happier then!

Here's to 30 and Happy Birthday to me!!

B Turns 30!!!

Last Sunday, Dec. 12th, B turned 30!!  It's one of those birthday milestones which can be viewed as good and bad.  He was not looking forward to the day at all.  In fact most of our friends (outside of Michigan) have either turned 30 in 2010 or will turn 30 in 2011 and most all of us are viewing the same way...like it's a death march or something.  Honestly when I think about why it is so dreaded I can't logically come up with a valid reason.  All I can really say to justify it is that I remember when my mom turned 30, I was 9 years old and I remember thinking she was ancient.  Now that my mom is 50+ and I am approaching 30 it doesn't seem so old anymore but I guess the fear is that somewhere some 9 year old is thinking that I am now the ancient one.  I shudder at the thought.

But anyway, this post is about B and his birthday and not about my random ramblings about the animosity I feel towards a certain day which is still 9 months away (for me anyway).

One of the joys of having our new place is that it has so much more room.  In reality it is only about 600 sq ft larger but the fact that it is an open floor plan and the rooms are larger makes it seem so much more spacious.  And so I didn't fret when inviting 20+ friends and family members to come celebrate his birthday with us here.  The truth of the matter is that we invited far more than 20, but the bulk of the invitations went to family members which we knew, due to schedules and distance, wouldn't be able to make it.  We were originally expecting about 30 but some last minutes cancellations left us at 22 but that was more than enough!  It was pretty hard though because we would have loved to have invited more people but were uncertain of just how many people our place could hold comfortably.  I can now say that I definitely think we could potentially do 25-30 but more than 30 would be pushing it.  So we invited friends based on how many family members were going to attend and I think it worked out nicely.

Before the friends arrived we had B's birthday dinner which was of course pizza from his favorite pizzeria, Pizza Papalis.  If you live or are visiting the Detroit area it is a MUST have!  We had family visiting from Toronto and they have always heard us rave about it but had never tried it, and I don't think they were at all disappointed!  The only thing that was missing was the ambiance of eating at the actual restaurant, it is definitely part of the whole experience and it's best downtown when it is super busy.

At around 7pm we had friends start arriving, each of which was assigned to either bring something sweet or something savory/salty.  It was a Mexican theme and I myself made quesadillas, taquitos (store bought),  a con queso salsa, virgin Sangria, and brownies instead of birthday cake.  We also played some super fun games and spent a lot of time socializing.  It was really so much fun but I will say that I was extremely glad it was over!  Throwing a party can be really stressful.  I would love to say that I want to do it all over again in 9 months when I am turning 30 but I also realize that I will (if all continues to go well) have a newborn who could be anywhere between 2 weeks and 1 month old.  I'm not sure how much I'll feel like partying really...maybe a nice dinner or something.  Who knows, maybe we'll know more as the time gets closer!

Birthday Celebration

Since Y's Uncle T was going to be moving into his new dorm room (it's his first year at college) the weekend of Y's birthday, we moved it up a few days and celebrated with a few family members and friends.  It was a really good day and Y had a lot of fun, except she was extremely tired and somewhat cranky.  Here are a few pictures from that day.



She is REALLY into Nemo right now. In fact she watches Nemo at least once each day, sometimes twice. It never fails, even though she has seen the movie many times whenever it gets to a point where something might happen to Nemo, Marlin (Nemo's Dad), or Dori she gets very upset and distraught until I reassure her that that particular fish is going to be okay!



To me it looks like she is doing a Michael Jackson impersonation here and I am just waiting for her to throw that hat off at any moment.



She opened each present very carefully and wouldn't move on to the next until every single piece of paper was off the gift.



She LOVES this Elmo!  It is called Elmo's Greatest Hits (or something like that) but it has a microphone which allows her to sing along to whichever song she happens to choose.  Most of the time she just talks (or breathes loudly) into it.  I saw this at Walmart while in NC browsing through the toy section and immediately knew she would love it so when her Nana & Grandpa asked what to get her for her birthday...it was super easy!



My niece in NC had this drum set and Y just loved playing with it so we decided to get her one for her birthday.  You can see from the first picture that she already had some drumming experience.  And with the vast number of musical toys she has, hopefully she will have some sort of musical abilities...if not then I want my money back!

This arrived after the little party but before her birthday.  She has recently really gotten into Dora the Explorer (when we're not watching Nemo, we're probably watching Dora).  We thought that maybe if we got her a sheet set for her toddler bed then it would be easier to get her to sleep in her bed without such a huge hassle...not sure if it was the sheet set or not but she has gotten much better at sleeping in her bed.  She typically only wakes up once per night and I just return her to her room.  We really wanted to find an Elmo sheet set but I was really disappointed with the options.  First there apparently is no sheet set with strictly Elmo and the only Sesame Street one I was able to find was some sort of construction/sports theme which was very boyish, so we settled for Dora instead!

On her Birthday we had a very relaxed day.  We took her out to eat at Red Robin where they sang a birthday song to her and gave her a free ice cream dessert.  She LOVED being sang to.  When they came over clapping their hands and started singing to her she got the biggest smile on her face and started clapping along with them, she probably would have sang too but didn't know the words to the song they were singing.  After dinner we took her to the park to play for a bit but it was pretty cold that day (I think it was like 65°F and very windy) so even she tired of the cold pretty quickly.  We asked her if she wanted to go home and she was adamant that she didn't want to go there yet...she would rather freeze in the park.  So I suggested that we go somewhere inside, like a mall.  That worked perfectly because she loves to ride on elevators and escalators as of late.  In fact anytime we say we're going bye-bye she requests elevators and escalators, though she doesn't differentiate between the two.  We really wanted to take her swimming, her first love, but as I mentioned it was too cold for that.  We ended up buying her some new shoes to wear to church when it gets a little colder out since we'll be putting away her sandals!



 

The Best 2 Years

I have just completed the best 2 years of my life thus far.  I say thus far because I am sure that I will say this many more times in my lifetime.

Y is now a 2 year old, it is so very hard to imagine that my precious baby is now a toddler.  She has added so much to my life and has given us the greatest joy.  I can never think of her birth day without getting teary eyed and it's not because of all the grueling hours of labor, or the frustration of having a C-Section, or any of those things.  It makes me so emotional because I can look back and see how much our lives have changed since her birth, how much our lives have improved just because she makes our day brighter.  I never knew that a heart could hold so much love and adoration for one person and each day it expands and grows as we watch her grow and realize that she is being raised by two parents who not only adore her but also adore each other.  I truly believe that the greatest gift we give our children is a happy, healthy family environment where they know without a shadow of a doubt that they are loved beyond compare.

We've had our trials throughout the last 2 years.  Being a new mom, or just a mom in general, has been the hardest experience of my life but it is also my most rewarding experience.  Motherhood gave me a whole new perspective on life and a new set of priorities.  Not a single decision is made without first considering how it would affect her, I have learned a whole new definition for selflessness.  It is amazing how one little person can motivate you to do things that you should have been doing all along.  Things that will only benefit you in the long run but that you never really felt you had the time to do before, nor did you want to make the effort to make the time to do them.  And why do you do them now?  because you know that by making the sacrifice to do those things you are being a better example to her and guiding her down a better path in life.

In short, I love being Y's mommy and all the joy it brings me.  My heart and life are so full and so enriched.

As for Y she still loves to go to the pool and play in any amount of water no matter how big or small, she loves all things Elmo.  Recently she has discovered Nemo and Dora the Explorer but Elmo is still numero uno!  She loves to give hugs and kisses, mostly to mommy and daddy but with a little coercion she'll give them to others as well.  Her favorite animal right now is a monkey, she would wear her monkey pajamas all day, every day if I allowed her to.  She loves the color green; anytime she sees it she will grab my hand and want to go see it.  Her vocabulary is amazing and for the most part she speaks extremely clear (for a 2 year old).  Her memory, well it's nothing short of amazing as well.  She remembers the smallest details with ease and I am often left wondering, "how on earth did she remember that?"  She is very polite and can always be heard saying, "excuse me" when she needs to get by or "you're welcome" after you thank her for doing something.  She calls everyone Sweetie and I still find it hilarious how she says, "hi, sweetie" whenever someone enters a room.  She loves to sing and walks around the house all day asking for either songs or susic (music).  She is a HUGE daddy's girl and I absolutely LOVE to watch her face light up as she realizes he is walking through the door.  She thinks that any man with full facial hair is Jesus (we're working on that one).  And she loves to sit at the computer all day and look at pictures and videos of herself, many of the videos she can quote word for word.  She would rather sit and watch herself than watch cartoons or anything else that may be on TV.  She is TONS of FUN!!!