Squishable

 

My sweet smelling, curly headed, bouncing beauty, squishable little girl – how have you been with us for 2 1/2 years already?  How is it that the little girl I cuddled and caressed and nursed for those hour long sessions can now feed herself and dress herself (perhaps backwards and inside out, but you can do it “all by myself!”)? 

Over these past couple months we’ve been working on potty training with you.  You weren’t so sure about it at first, and your Mommy was growing weary of the battle it seemed to be to get you to even try the potty without melting down in to a puddle of tears.

And then we made a potty chart…

Stickers and yogurt raisins must be pretty valuable to you because all of the sudden sitting on the potty was all you wanted to do! 

Yesterday morning you woke up completely dry for the very first time.  You wore underwear all day long and didn’t have one accident.

You are so proud of yourself and so proud of how big you’ve become. Your Mommy, Daddy, and brothers are very proud of you too.  So proud.

But yesterday as I was watching you wash your hands after one use it hit me…

After you are potty trained I will never change another diaper for one of my own babies again.  I may change some nieces and nephews diapers, diapers of my friends babes or the like, but not my own flesh and blood.  Not until I am a Grandmother will I change another diaper for one of “my own.”  It was just such a stark realization that it truly took my breath away.  My life has been diapers, desitin and doo-doo for the past four years and I’ve been okay with that.  I love being a Mommy to my little ones.

And all of the sudden I’m going to parent/teacher conferences for my preschool sons and you’re climbing up on the big potty all by yourself without any help. 

I know it’s all part of where parenting leads.  We love you, nurture you, pour life in to you and over you, and then we watch as your little wings spread.  We watch as you tackle just one more small thing every day that makes you just a little more independent, until one day we look back and wonder how you have changed so much in such a short amount of time.

I am so immensely proud and deeply in love with you precious daughter.  I look at your curls bouncing as you hop around the house, pretending to be a frog a kitty cat or a combination of the two, and I am amazed by this gift I have been given in you.  Your sweet little voice talking a million miles an hour is music to my ears as your vocabulary is exploding and you have so much to express and get off your chest.

I just want to savor, savor, savor these moments with you and your brothers. These days where we are together, where there is no major agenda or place we have to be.  Where you still want to crawl up on my lap and read books.  Where you let me pick out your clothes and put on whatever I ask.  Where you still sleep in a crib and I can still picture that little babe all swaddled sleeping peacefully.  I know all too soon these days too will be a memory.  I want to sear it in my heart, sear it in my mind, and never forget the gift I’ve been given of life with you today.

Winter Fun

The other night Chris headed out to take the boys sledding one last time before this snow (hopefully!) melts away. They had gone one other time a few months ago and had a blast, although Ethan had received a bloody nose from a tumble down the hill.  Makes for a better story though doesn’t it?

Within a few minutes of leaving home Chris called me and told me he was considering taking the boys tubing at a local ski resort instead. (Yes Minnesota has big enough hills to warrant at least a little bit of skiing!). They met the age and height requirements this year, so I said a quick prayer and gave my blessing for them to go.

The boys had no idea what to expect as this was an entirely new experience for them.

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The video above shows two excited little boys!

Ethan was a bit nervous their first time down the hill.  When they reached the bottom though he was all grins and giggles.  He told his Daddy, “I was scared to come down the hill and I was crying a little bit, but that man on the top just laughed at me and pushed me down!”  I guess there was someone working at the top giving friendly nudges and didn’t let Ethan’s tears get in the way of a trip down!

 

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My three boys on one of the trips down the hill!

As stands to tradition Ethan did receive another bloody nose and lip. However, this time it wasn’t received going down the hill, but going up!  They had to stand on a conveyer belt and get pulled up the hill, but one boy slipped and down they both went!  Ethan smacked his face right in to a railing.  Sweet boy!

I love how my little bruiser looks like Mickey Mouse in this picture with those tubes behind his head! Isn’t he just precious?

42

I’m not sure if I would normally consider 42 degrees as being really warm, but after surviving the temps we have this winter it felt pretty amazing! What else is there to do on such a beautiful day than to strap on our wading shoes and do some stomping!

Protective big brother G keeping his sister’s ears warm

She had a blast until she fell face first in to an icy puddle!

 

Love the look on Grayson’s face!

Today though we experienced yet another winter storm and highs this morning in only the single digits paired with 4 inches of snow and blizzard conditions.  Spring is bound and determined to come! Until then we’ll enjoy every little glimpse of life after winter we can!

Amazed (Boasting a Wee Bit About My Child Alert!)

 

I have been truly shocked and amazed by how quickly Grayson has caught on to reading!   We find him reading everything he can get his eyes on: the back of a cereal box, a billboard, people’s shirts, stacks of books… He is hungry and excited at this new skill that lies before him. It has truly opened his world and I love being able to stand on the sidelines and watch my son fall in love with learning. 

To access the following video I think you can hold control and click on the link at the same time. I hope it works.  I taped him the other night before bed reading this book about Biscuit.  We had only read it once together before about a week prior to this.

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Our Ten Year Anniversary…Two Years Late

I must blame my lack of writing on the delusion that I am still laying by the water’s edge in sunny, tropical Cozumel. 

 

Chris and I recently returned from an amazing trip away.

 

My parents were gracious enough to take care of their grandchildren for the week so the two of us could sneak off together and celebrate our “10th” wedding anniversary two years late.   With the arrival of our precious daughter two years ago we weren’t interested in taking a trip until she got a little bigger, hence the delayed celebration!

Skyping with our family back home and showing them our views!

 

Chris and I had never taken the opportunity to try an all inclusive resort before.  We had done the cruise thing before our kids came along, but thought we’d try something a little different. We weren’t disappointed!

The resort we chose was Secrets Aura Grand in Cozumel.  From start to finish our stay there was amazing. There was very little we would have asked to change.  The weather was near 80 and sunny every day.  A couple days we dealt with some wind, but it was a warm wind and felt pretty nice if you asked me!  The food was amazing. There were three sit down restaurants in our resort to choose from, along with a couple other more casual options.  24/7 room service was also included in the price so we did not go hungry! 

Chris and I arrived on Friday, February 15th and had a couple days there by ourselves before my brother David and his fiancée Sarah joined us.  We scoped out the place and knew a bit more about the ins and outs before they arrived so we could all jump right in together!

The trip wasn’t filled with an agenda and daily schedule of activities.  We truly just spend time being.  Just being still.  Being present. Shutting off our phones and computers and just letting our bodies rest.  It was a beautiful thing.  There have been trips in the past where Chris and I have had a pretty hectic itinerary and there are trips where I love that!  Here though we chose to get some rest and relaxation instead!

Chris and David did take one day to deep sea fish. They had a great time and a great sunburn to go along with it!

We spent one evening in the city of San Miguel doing some shopping and having dinner out.  It was nice to see life outside the walls of the resort.

We also went on a two hour snorkeling adventure where we visited three of the world’s most famous reefs in that area.  We were able to see sea turtles, eels, baby sharks, and starfish.  Pretty awesome!  Our tour guide also looked and spoke exactly like Diego from the tv series “Go Diego Go” so we got a great kick out of that!

It was truly tempting to come home, grab our kids and a change of clothes, and head right back to the beauty that is Cozumel.  We truly fell in love with the nature and the people.  Everyone we met was so kind, genuinely kind.  They made our trip feel very special and treated us as if we were the only guests staying there.