First Haircut

Yesterday afternoon, it was haircut day for my boys.  Early in our marriage, Ted was getting sick of paying money to get his hair cut, so he bought a $20 haircut kit and convinced me to cut his hair.  Almanzo got his first haircut done at a salon where my friend, Liz, worked, but after that he was always excited to get his haircut with daddy.  After Ted got his haircut yesterday, Almanzo climbed up on the stool all ready for his turn...until Oliver started jumping around, begging me to cut HIS hair too.  It's hard to tell in photos, but his hair was starting to get long in the back.  I just wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to his baby hair.

But in that moment, as he stared at me with his big, bright eyes, I couldn't resist.  I knew it was time and I wanted to take advantage of his excitement to make it a fun experience too.  So, Almanzo climbed off the stool and let Oliver have his first haircut.  Ted snapped a few photos and before I had a chance to get all sentimental and emotional, Oliver started giggling that full belly toddler laugh that is completely contagious as I started using the buzzer to trim the long hairs in the back.  It was certainly a challenge between his giggling and squirming over the way the buzzer tickled his neck but by the time I pulled out the scissors to trim the top he sat still enough for me to finish.

When it was all done, I stared at the pile of bleach blond baby hair on the floor and then at the big grin on his big boy face and I couldn't help smiling.  As bittersweet as these milestone moments are, I'm just so grateful God gave me this little boy just when I needed him.  There was a time, in the midst of a long and hard battle with postpartum depression and anxiety that I thought we were done after two kids.  But then Oliver came along and brought so much healing and joy to our home and I just can't imagine our days without his smiles. 

The Mom Project

I never knew what it felt like to have my heart beating outside my own body until I held my firstborn in my arms and [then] wondered how I ever did life without her. Now, three kids later, I wonder what it was like to sleep through the night or take a quiet shower, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. These three are my hearts, my joy, my life – they are the gifts God has so graciously blessed me with. -Stephanie Hanes

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of welcoming Elizabeth of Story Tree Photos into our home for the morning.  She has a heart for telling stories through photos and chose to tell our story as part of The Mom Project she is working on right now.  She spent the morning watching our daily life unfold through her camera lens and took the time to listen as I shared pieces of our story.  I felt like I was visiting with a lifelong friend as she both listened and shared pieces of her own story and her heart as a mom and a photographer.  It was such a priceless gift to have her tell our story (which you can see on her blog) - thank you so very much, Elizabeth!  I can't wait to print these photos in a photo book as a family heirloom we are sure to treasure for years to come. 

Mother's Day Weekend Getaway

I am waaaaay behind on posting to this blog, because I so often just post a photo album to facebook and call it good.  I still want to keep this blog going though, because this has become my "scrapbook" of this crazy beautiful life we've been blessed with.  For today, I'm just going to post the most recent update and then, maybe, I'll find some motivation to catch up on other long overdue posts (like what we've been up to since January...)

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For Mother's Day this year, my sister, Melissa, and her boyfriend, Nate, invited us to the annual Mother's Day Brunch at the golf course where Nate works.  My family decided to make a weekend getaway of it by spending Friday-Sunday at the Metropolis Resort, a hotel nearby with an indoor water park and game room.  The kids could hardly wait to go "simmin" and Almanzo was especially excited to see Nate, because, as he says, "my yike Nate!".

Friday morning, after a week long packing process (because there's no such thing as last minute packing OR packing light when you have three kids!), I loaded up the van and cleaned up the house in case there was a house showing while we were gone.  Ted came home after lunch and we were on the road by mid afternoon for the three and a half hour drive.  We made it there just in time to check in and head out to dinner with my family at Chipotle, which had many gluten free options so I could also enjoy eating out for a change.

After dinner, the kids wasted no time getting their swimsuits on and demanding we all go down to the water park right away.  They just couldn't wait any longer!  Almanzo was really nervous about the water at first, but by Saturday morning he was going down the kid's slide over and over.  Valerie, on the other hand, surprised us all by going down the BIG water slide with pretty much every adult in our group at least once.  The slide was a long, twisting, dark tunnel that ended in a three foot pool with a big splash.  She wasn't scared one bit and laughed when she got splashed with water at the end.

The lazy river was right after the end of the water slide and Valerie thought it was so funny to go under the water falls along the way.  She even tried to swim a little in the ramp between the kiddie pool and the 3 foot pool.  She was so proud of herself - "Look, mommy!  I simmin!" she yelled and then dunked her head under water and came up giggling.  Where, oh where, did my baby girl go?!

Oliver loved the water too, even the water falls on the lazy river.  He just blinked away the water and then smiled.  He loved to splash and crawl around in the kiddie pool with cousin Karli, who was all smiles and giggles too.  We spent most of the waking hours besides meal times swimming, swimming, swimming!

We also took some time to check out the game room for some "market research", because, when your dad works at Bay Tek Games, that's just what you do.  My parents purchased a few game cards and let everyone take turns playing games.  They were excited to use the tickets earned to get Valerie and Almanzo a t-shirt souvenir as well as a little toy to take home.  Of course, it would have been cheaper to buy a t-shirt, but we all had fun checking out all the Bay Tek Games we could find there as well as some of the "competition".

Sunday morning, we all packed up and then headed over to brunch at Lake Wissota Golf Course.  All the moms received a beautiful rose and then we were all treated to a beautiful and delicious brunch buffet.  There were so many options that I was able to fill an entire plate with gluten free and dairy free foods.  I felt so spoiled and blessed to be able to spend the day with both my mom and my entire family.  It was the perfect gift and just what this mom needed.  I'm so grateful for Ted, who sacrificed of a lot of time I know he would have rather spent biking (especially when the mountain bike course was RIGHT next to the hotel) and works so hard to make sure we can enjoy special getaways like this.  I am so very blessed!

Goats in the Van

Does that sound like the title of a kids' book?  Because I could totally write it from experience...

The day after Ted returned from being out of town for a week to attend a training course for work we decided we needed a family day.  The kids had missed daddy so much they didn't want him to leave their sight all day.  So, we packed a picnic lunch, loaded up the van, and drove to Glacier Ridge Animal Farm.

When we arrived, it was strangely quiet.  The website and sign along the road both said the farm was open, but there didn't seem to be anyone around...except for the goats.  As we were walking around to figure out why it was so quiet, I noticed a goat wandering our way.  I said casually to Ted, "Look, there's a goat"...and before we knew it there were several goats wandering over for a friendly visit.

The kids took one look at them and jumped into daddy's arms screaming.  They were so distraught, they nearly climbed on top of his head.  I, of course, took the opportunity to take a picture to remember this moment, because, after all, this is the stuff that memories are made of.   

The goats thought Ted was their new friend, but the kids were terrified.  We tried to assure them they were friendly goats, but the moment Valerie saw a break away she took a run for it and ran all the way back to the van.  I followed her back while Ted tried to nicely tell the goats to not follow him back to the van with a still distraught Almanzo.

Ted unlocked the van and the kids made a bee-line for their car seats, crying about the goats getting daddy.  I tried to assure that daddy was just fine while attempting without success to stifle laughter at the comedy of the entire situation.  Ted walked over to pet the goats to prove to the kids that they really were friendly goats and I took out the camera for another photo op. 

The problem was that the moment I walked back to the van, the goats thought I was their new friend and followed me back to the van.  I tried to sneak back into the van, but those goats were too fast for me.  Before I knew it, one of the goats tried to climb right into the van, followed by more screaming from the kids, and another goat took that opportunity to try climbing in as well before Ted finally came to the rescue.

Ted, of course, got head butted by one of the goats as he tried to push him out of the way to finally close the van.  "Those stupid goats...they really wanted to get right in the van with us!" he said as we finally drove home, laughing all the way as our kids sniffed away tears while declaring, "I not yike goats!" 

To add to the humor of the entire story, today the lawn mower wasn't working so Ted said, "Kids, maybe we should just get a goat."  Without skipping a beat and very distraught, Almanzo exclaims, "Noooooo!  I NOT yike goats!!!"  Valerie agreed, very matter of fact, that there would be "No.goats." at our house ever. 

Project Life 2012: Weeks 51 & 52 {Christmas}

December 16 - 22

This week was crazier than expected when Valerie ended up having tonsil/adenoid surgery.  We were also busy finishing up last minute things on our Christmas to do list like mailing out Christmas cards & baby announcements and packing for a week in Michigan visiting Ted's family.  I blogged more about the surgery here.

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December 23 - 30

Saturday morning, we packed up the van and began the long drive to Michigan.  With three kids, including a newborn, we knew we'd be stopping at least for lunch and dinner, so we braced ourselves for an entire day of driving.  We brought along my laptop with DVDs and plenty of toys to keep the kids entertained.  We stopped for lunch at Sarah & Dan's new house and enjoyed a break from traveling to visit with Sarah and little Danny. The rest of the drive went well, but we arrived at Ted's parents house just before midnight, exhausted and tired from a long day of travel.

Ted's older sisters, Sarah and Lisa, and his brother, David, were not able to travel home for Christmas this year, so it was a much quieter Christmas.  We enjoyed visiting with Ted's parents and attending the Hanes family gathering after church on Sunday.  The kids had a blast playing with (uncle) Joey and (uncle) Robbie.  Almanzo and Robbie are so funny together, giggling over the silliest things and chasing each other all over the house.  Almanzo says, "My like Robbie.  He's fun." 

Laura & Eric and Justin came over the weekend to visit as well.  Along with Mackenzie and Vickie, we all enjoyed staying up at night to watch some Hallmark Christmas movies Ted's mom had recorded on the TV.  There's something about a quiet night in the country in a home heated by a wood stove that just says Christmas to me.  It was so relaxing and the smaller gathering this year allowed us to spend some more one on one time with family members we don't get to see often enough.  


Christmas morning, the kids woke us up bright and early at 6.  We opened the gifts from our stockings and gave the kids their gifts from us before gathering with the rest of the family for breakfast.  After breakfast, Ted's dad read the nativity story straight from the bible and we all exchanged gifts.  We then enjoyed a Christmas lunch along with birthday cake for Jesus and a quiet afternoon nap before going to visit Ted's grandparents.  Mackenzie joined our little family and Ted's grandparents were so happy to see us all.  Having lost my own grandparents so recently, I know how precious time is so I cherished that time spent with Ted's grandparents. 

On Thursday morning, we packed up the van again and drove back home.  The drive home always seems longer, especially when we ended up driving through Chicago during rush hour.  At one point, in the middle of Chicago traffic that was almost at a stand still, all three kids were crying and I wanted to cry right along with them.  Somehow I managed to calm Ollie back to sleep and then put a movie on for Valerie and Almanzo that was just long enough to last until we stopped for dinner.  After dinner, the kids all fell asleep and we carried them into bed when we finally arrived home late that night. 

Friday morning, we packed the van yet again and drove to my parents' house.  We enjoyed Christmas with my family that night and then a Christmas gathering with my mom's family on Saturday.  It's a tradition every year for the cousins to perform a nativity play.  It was bittersweet to celebrate Christmas in my grandparents' home without them, but traditions like this keep their memory alive.  This year, my mom asked me to direct the play and my cousins came up with the most hilarious addition to our yearly tradition - the narrators read their lines southern preacher style and the actors sang their lines.  We were all laughing so hard by the end and the memories we made will last a lifetime.