Six Months Old

April 12, 2013

Our Oliver is six months old and never stops moving. He is almost crawling, but can get anywhere he wants far too quickly by rolling, scooting, and turning with his arms. He can sit up, but won't sit still long enough to keep his balance. He is growing so fast too - already wearing 9 months and some 12 months clothing. He makes us laugh with his goofy smiles and silly babbling. He has TWO teeth and we suspect another is working on poking through right now. I keep telling him to slow down, but he just likes to "move it, move it".  He still keeps momma up at night, but goes back to sleep (on his belly now) as soon as he has a full belly of momma's milk, the only food this growing boy wants and needs. We are so blessed to call this sweet boy our Ollie.

Five Months Old

March 12, 2013

Happy 5 months to our Oliver! He is our squirmy, always-on-the-move, smiley littlest peanut. He adores his big sister and big brother, reserving his biggest smiles and giggles for them. He scoots all over the room on his back by kicking his legs and arching his back - it's the funniest thing to watch! (I'll have to catch it on video sometime!) He knows how to roll too, but he wants to SEE everything that is going on around him while he moves. When daddy gets home from work, he practically squeals with delight and giggles when daddy tickles and plays with him. He is still nursing like a champ and, as much as he loves daddy, sister, and brother, there's no one else quite like mommy. Daddy likes to say, "you not mom!" whenever you start to fuss while daddy is playing with you and the moment mommy picks you up, you are all smiles again. You melt our hearts with your cooing, giggles, and baby babble. We love watching you grow and learn new things every day. You are more than a blessing: you are an answer to prayer. We are so grateful God has chosen to gift us again with YOU.

{WORS 2013} Iola Bump & Jump

The 2013 WORS race season has officially begun (albeit two weeks late since winter decided to invade spring...)!  A constant bed time prayer at our house is for bike races, so the kids were just as excited as their daddy for bike races to begin. 

We loaded up the van Saturday and, by loaded, I really mean loaded.  Taking a family of five anywhere is always an adventure!   There were three bikes, a jogging stroller, helmets, bike accessories, coolers filled with food, water bottles a plenty, diapers, wipes, coloring books, baby toys, one big "picnic" blanket, sunglasses, sunblock, a baby carrier, changes of clothes, and, of course, a roll of toilet paper...because you never know when you might need one.

Sunday morning, we finished packing our lunches and ate a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, and bacon (straight from the farmer's market - yum!).  The kids were so excited they asked pretty much every five seconds, "does the clock say it's time yet?".  When it was finally time to go, they practically leaped into the van and began singing a song about going to bike races.  To them, life is a musical and every adventure deserves a song.  It's just more fun that way!

The drive to the race was an hour and a half, so we left with plenty of time to get there so Ted could get ready, warm up, and line up for the start of the race.  About a half hour away, Oliver decided he was starving, so we made a quick stop at the "gas can" (aka: gas station according to Valerie-speak).  While I fed him, Ted took the big kids inside for a potty break, which seems insignificant unless you know how long and hard the road to potty training our 3 year old son has been.

We arrived at the bike race at the perfect timing to park right behind me sister who had just arrived with my niece to join us in cheering on our favorite racer.  We found a shady spot to set all our stuff and then made our way to the kids' race.  We were late for the official race, but they still got a chance to race each other around the kids' course and got a race medal to show off to daddy.  Almanzo, of course, proved just how much he is like daddy when he tried to forge his own path on the race course.  No tree or rock can stop him, because to be fast is what he likes!

After the kids' race, we made our way to the start of Ted's race, just in time to hear Don's countdown and watch them GOOOOOO!  It's always funny to watch how mesmerized the kids are at how fast they start their races.  It was hard to tear them away to go back to our spot along the race course! 

My sister and I spent the rest of the race keeping the babies from rolling down the hill and getting into the big kids' food - they sure keep us on our toes!  Valerie decided she did not like bugs and practically climbed on top of me every time she saw the tiniest little ant crawl on our blanket.  I had to explain to her that there will be bugs at bike races, because that's where they live.  Oh, that girl!  Almanzo, of course, is her knight in shining armor, squishing and removing every bug she squeals about.  Haha!

Ted finished 18th, which, contrary to what he might say, is a great start to race season and we were proud of his top 20 finish.  The kids were so excited to see him at the finish and show off their medals.  We made our way from the finish to the spaghetti feed for all the racers and the kids made sure to crowd around him so they could share his meal.  Our race day finished by watching Ted receive some WORS cash for finishing first in his age group and then packing up to head back home. 

All in all, it was a beautiful day and a great way to kick off the 2013 race season.  The kids have been asking every day this week when the next race is and we are excited for more adventures 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...)

***

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. 

Four Months Old

Two posts in one day?!  Since tomorrow is our Littlest Peanut's 5 month birthday, I figured I better get caught up on these monthly updates.  Ha!

February 12, 2013

Happy 4 month birth-iversary to our Ollie bird! Our littlest peanut is growing way too fast; he grew FOUR inches in two months (hence why he is in 6-9 month clothes!) and is now 13 lbs, 14 oz, and 27 inches (putting him in 97% for height!). (He may catch up to his brother by the time he is three - ha!) He is rolling and scooting his way all over the house and charming us with his baby chatter, silly smiles, and playful giggles. He is always on the move and I imagine will be crawling way too soon. We love our Oliver!

Three Months Old

Also overdue, but I'm working on catching up on "scrapbooking".  These are memories I don't want to forget.

(January 12, 2013)  

Our Oliver is three months old already!  He can roll all over already and is determined to get places no matter how hard it is.  He quickly grew out of 3-6 month clothes this month and is already wearing 6-9 month outfits.  I keep telling him to slow down, but he is determined to catch up to his big sister and brother.  He has started to interact more, making squealing and growling sounds to get our attention.  He loves his big brother and sister, giggling the moment the glance his way.  He loves to roll around on the floor watching them play and gives them the biggest smiles.  He is grabbing hold of toys and slowly learning the coordination to put them in his mouth and shake them to make noise.  He is totally a momma's boy, most content when he is in my arms or cuddled up in a baby carrier.  He is starting to teeth too and is drooling like crazy.  Night times have been rough lately as his gums are sore from teething, but he is still the sweetest baby and we are so blessed to call him our own.