I left my heart on.... Vancouver Island

Here are the pictures from our trip to Vancouver Island. Like I said, it was fantastic! (Still haven't found that thesaurus.) The trip was as wonderful as our honeymoon (stop your snickering!) and I think I've decided I like "winter" beaches more than "summer" beaches. We were visiting over their cooler months, but it never really gets hot. My kind of place. No sweating or sunburns! It is a temperate rain forest, so there is also a lot of rain, although in all our time there we only had one wet day (thanks, God!). Now all we have to figure out is how to take a trip like this every year, just the two of us, not every eight years!

Check out these tidal pools. You can see how vast the tidal difference was- about 12 feet every day.

I was joking that Erik was trying to kill me off on this trip to collect on my life insurance (kidding, kidding!) because he had planned on us taking a sea plane tour. I deplore little planes. And it didn't help that I had a movie in the back of my mind in which one crashes in the wilderness. However, I must admit it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. The pilot took us into the glaciers and then at the end we flew over the ocean and spotted three gray whales migrating! I will never forget that sight. I couldn't decide which pictures to post. They all were fantastic (there's that word again!).

Our pilot also said that he came here on vacation and never left. I had the same thoughts...

A 1500 year old tree (fuzzy picture- it was raining that day) that we saw on our kayaking trip to one of the inner islands. Think of all that this tree has seen!

An old open pit mine that was turned into a garden 50 years ago. I'm wondering if I could get my yard to look like this...

A sprinkle of pixie dust

Maybe I should be blogging about the fantastic trip that Erik and I took just the two of us at the end of May. Suffice it to say it was wonderful. Glorious. Magical. Did I say fantastic? Where's my thesaurus? Anyway, we had to drag ourselves home. Except that there was the draw of these two very cute kids waiting for us...

Here's the fairy, at her ballet recital last week:

In case you were wondering, yes, they were the cutest ones there!

If you are curious as to why they are all doing different things on stage, have you ever tried herding cats?

Luckily she didn't notice the giant crowd of people until towards the end! And like all good things in life, after all that time, effort and money, their performance was over just like that. Like, one minute and fifteen seconds. Um, can we get an encore?

Matthew thought his sister was the star of the show, clapping and screaming when she came out to perform. Only problem was he was trying to be the star from the audience. Needless to say the men left during intermission.

Growing

Maybe it is Spring heading into Summer, maybe it is being surrounded by children who seem to grow an inch overnight, but I have been thinking of all the growing going on around me lately.



Let me start with Matthew. At his one year check up, the doctor was very concerned that he had only gained ONE pound since his six month check up. In fact, for the "little man" who started at the top of the weight chart when he was born, he is now not even on it. I admit, I was concerned, but I really was thinking that it all had to do with him being sick for practically six months and all the antibiotics he had been on during that time for his ears that, er, gave him the runs (I'm sorry- there is no nice way to describe it!). Anyway, even though our beloved doctor really wanted to go ahead and start running some tests, she decided to give me another month with the condition that I keep a food journal and if he hadn't gained any more weight in a month, the gauntlet would fall.



Well, praise God that last week at the check up he had gained a couple of ounces, which under the circumstances (he had some sort of stomach virus for about 10 days) was acceptable. I am to bring him in again in another 6 weeks and I'm sure he will have gained more weight. After all, as I told our doctor, he eats like a pig! He routinely out-eats Grace, and on a number of occasions has matched what I ate. This is what I had in mind as I am telling her how much he loves to eat:



I admit it, the table doesn't always get cleaned up right away after a meal. There is on occasion a potty emergency, a phone call, or I just get distracted and plumb forget. Matthew has never been one to pass up food, so seeing that he left some on his tray, he decides to help me out by cleaning up for me. I just happened to catch him in the act. Hey, could be worse. He could be eating off the floor again!


This year we decided to finally grow that garden we have talked about since we first moved in five years ago. My Dad and Erik built the frame, Erik hauled in the dirt and added our compost, and then he and Grace bought the plants on a "Daddy date". Have you heard of the book about the $64 tomato? Basically this man starts a garden, and after all the materials, the plants, the dirt, the fertilizer, he figures out that his one tomato cost him $64. I think he got his inspiration from our little plot here:

After all the time and work this project has taken, I'm sure it would have been easier just to go to the grocery store! But it sure wouldn't have been as much fun (well, fun for me- all I had to do was stick the plants in the ground!). And these three were about as helpful as you can see:
Now this is a father's love: he lets his daughter eat the $64 strawberry! :)
Oh, I forgot one last tidbit. Matthew is finally all weaned. I dropped the dreaded evening feeding last week, and he hardly complained. He even let Daddy put him to bed! Now that is an accomplishment for a mama's boy.

And lest you think this is one of those "clever" blogs (like you could be so fooled!) that ends a blog about growing by telling you I am pregnant, let me put your fears at ease. :) I am not! That would fall under the crazy mommy category right now! However, I do have a funny story to end with.

Grace telling Daddy at dinner: "Well, I am going to have a baby in my belly, and Mommy is going to have a baby in her belly."

(Me, side glance to Erik, "No, honey, don't panic, I'm not pregnant!")

Grace: "We are going to have Matthew, me, one boy and one girl." After pausing for just a moment, she says "We are going to need more mommies and daddies!"

Amen to that, sister! I couldn't stop laughing at her perceptiveness!

Matthew's Birthday

Here are Matthew's birthday pictures. We were so blessed with a day of sunshine between weeks of rain.

Don't let that first picture fool you- if you notice, he was quite disgusted by his birthday cake, and hated the way the icing felt on his fingers. Mind you, I know that the dislike of sugar is not to last. After all, he does have me as his mother and I have never met anything sweet that I didn't like! :)

P.S. ABQ crew- Sorry that these took me so long to post!

One year ago today

It was one year ago today that our "little" man was born, nearly two weeks overdue and 9 1/2 pounds (think there was a correlation there?).

It was one year ago today that we were driving to the hospital for the c-section I had tried to avoid for 10 months by trying for a VBAC. One of the few times in my life that I actually feared a "known" over an "unknown".

It was one year ago today that we added one child to the family, and yet somehow more than double the work load (does anyone else feel that way?).

It was one year ago today that my sweet boy, who loves to cuddle, who has always wanted to hold my hand while he nurses, that will rest his head on any one's shoulder became my son.

This year has gone by faster than any year before. How many times have I said I feel like I was just pregnant? I feel like that surreal drive home from the hospital with both kids in the backseat was just yesterday.

What a difference a year makes. I now have a super fast crawler, who somehow knows instinctively that anything with wheels must make a vroom vroom sound. He still loves to be held, still wants to hold my hand while he nurses (which, sadly, we are starting to end) but is also much more independent than Grace ever was. I didn't need a baby gate with Grace because she followed me around like a puppy; but Matthew will wander around, entertaining himself. He will out-eat Grace any day, and that is no exaggeration. We are constantly getting up from the table to get him more food. I have no idea where he is hiding it, because he is no longer that super chubby baby.

I dread the next year because I know how much faster it too will go. Matthew will turn from a baby into a toddler. From crawling to walking to running (oh, Heaven help us!). He will start talking, further reminding us how much he has learned even though he seemed to be too young to do so.

I know birthdays are supposed to be happy, but for this mother, they are sad because they are blatant reminders that my children are growing up, getting older, somewhat wiser :) and will be out on their own before I can even blink!

Easter

"The Uncles" came for a visit over Easter weekend. Only Crazy Mommy tells a 3 year old when someone is coming before they are actually here. A point that was proved yet again when Peter's afternoon flight was late and he didn't get to our house until after bedtime (Erik took Peter and Stefan out for a little male bonding time after they both got in).

So on Saturday morning when she woke up, I went into her room and said "Grace, I have a surprise for you! Your Uncles are here for a visit!" Her answer was, "REALLY?!? I love my Uncles! They do silly things!"

Silly must run in the family. Check out my little man's hair. And Grace's reaction to discovering there was candy inside those eggs she was finding.

We tried telling her there were surprises inside those eggs. But she was more intent on finding them... that is until we showed little-miss-never-gets-candy what exactly I was talking about. :)

Next year she will have a little competition for all that stash! (I have no idea what we are talking about- I'm quite sure it was nothing as serious as it looks.)

On the move

Here Matthew sports his 'do. It got cut off a little in the picture, but he has a tuft of hair on the top of his head. Sadly, this is where most of his hair resides. Anyway, he likes to sleep wedged in the corner of his bed between the bumper pads and therefore has an almost permanent Mohawk. I'm thinking of resorting to styling gel. You think they make an all natural version for kids? My little boy will be a year old in a few weeks. I refuse to accept this. After all, is this surprising considering the fact that I have been going back in years with every one of my birthdays recently? (In theory, I am in my early 20's :)!) It's not that I don't want Matthew to grow up. I love seeing who Grace has become over the few years that we have been blessed with her. I just am enjoying this stage and age, so why rush things? After all, this is a known. I fear the unknown.
This guy is his own little person now. He says "da-doo" which translates to doggie. He would chase Dixie all day if he could go fast enough. She is the first thing he looks for in the morning after Grace. Other favorites are "uh-oh", which he says a lot because he drops things a lot. On purpose. And today he started saying "wow". What a silly vocabulary. Kind of like Grace's first words: nothing endearing like Mommy, it was "this" and "that". NOT kidding.

We tried really hard to get both a good video and a 11 month picture and failed at both. The above was the best we could do before he catapulted himself off the chair. For some reason tears and a giant carpet burn are not camera friendly.

One disclaimer on the video: we do not normally feed our children on the floor. (Although just today Matthew ate three peas from under the table as he crawled around after lunch. Thankfully, they were relatively fresh, although I cannot account for their dog hair coating.)

This was for bribery purposes only. Which I would like to say we also rarely do, but that would be a lie. :)

If the video was any longer, Blogger timed out uploading it. (Any tips, you gifted bloggers?)

Matthew's 10 month pictures

We are two weeks out now from getting the tubes put in. In that period we had one full nights sleep. Then Matthew got sick (ended up being bronchitis) and Mommy got sick and neither one of us was sleeping at night, or during the day for that matter. Everyone is back to being healthy and last night we decided to let Matthew try to settle himself down.

I never thought I would say this, but we are ready for Spring. Normally we love winter, but so far all it has brought us is illness after illness! Today it was 74 degrees. Looks like we might get our wish. :)

Anybody need a miracle?

Grace and I had the most hilarious (to me) conversation in the car today. She had been "reading" in her Bible about when Jesus brought the little girl back to life. She informed me that she could bring someone back to life. When I told her that was called a miracle and it was something that only Jesus could do, she still insisted that she could do it. I tried not to laugh, but I also didn't want her to be sacrilegious, so we continued talking about it. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to argue with a kid. The final result was that she decided maybe she couldn't do it now, but when she turned four she could. Um hm.

Cock-a-doodle-doo

You know your kids are early risers when...

...you can't remember the last time you had a good nights sleep, not to mention the recommended 8 hours.

... it's 7:15am and you are at the kitchen table, not for breakfast (that's been had a while ago), but for playing with playdough.

... the baby is having his first nap before "normal" kids are even awake.

... you wonder if its wrong for mommy and daddy to be in bed only an hour after the children.

... you don't know which to do first- lunch or naps.

I just giggle over these. Both are 9 months old. I just love those little bald heads! I also caught them both as they were first learning how to go from lying down to sitting up. Remember how they keep themselves awake those first few times? My kids just passed out from exhaustion, still sitting up. The only difference is one is in pink and one is in blue... and one is having to use a crib that his older sister used for teething! :)

Can you hear me now?

First of all, has anyone noticed that you can talk to me on the phone now and get the added bonus of actually getting to hear what I am saying for the first minute? We got new phones! Woo hoo! Thank you to Circuit City for a going out of business sale. Now I am able to have everyone hear me babble away. :)

In other hearing related news (hey, I have to connect these somehow!) Matthew is officially getting tubes in his ears this week! After 5 ear infections in just the last 4 months (and a 6th one just this week) I took matters into my own hands and made a consultation appointment with a specialist after being fed up with the run around at my pediatrician's office. He has been on more antibiotics than I care to count, which cannot be good for his tiny body. And the ENT doctor said he has some minor hearing loss already, hopefully to be reversed by draining his ears during the surgery. He also noted (duh!) that hearing loss during this crucial time of language development could hurt this phase, and ongoing ear infections can cause permanent hearing loss (duh!). OK, *deep breath* I'm off my high horse now....

While I hesitate to say "woo hoo" here as well, I am excited by at least the prospect of getting to sleep through the night. Both of us. And I just want to see Matthew feel better. And not be taking him to the doctor bi-weekly. However, I am not thrilled about my baby having to go under anesthesia, but I am comforted by the fact that this is such a common surgery. The most worrisome part? He can't have anything to eat past midnight. And you ladies know how I get him to go back to sleep...

Please pray for us on Thursday, 7:30am!

Our snow day(s)

I had a very busy week scheduled. Something every day, which is big for a homebody like myself. I was a little stressed at how the kids, particularly Matthew, were going to do with all the going and doing. Well, God answered my prayers in an interesting way- a three day "snow event." (I'm not kidding- that's what they call it here in crazy Cincinnati where one falling snow flake means a snow day for all).

Although this time it really did snow. And sleet. And rain. And icy rain. We ended up picking up about a foot of snow and maybe half an inch of ice in between. Just check out the leaf in my hand below. We plucked that off our poor bush. We lost a decent size branch off a tree next to our fence. I'm sure more will come as the days go on.

The added blessing in all this was that even Erik got a snow day out of it! They actually closed the office today (although you know Erik, he still was working from home). He did get to play with Grace outside for a while. Even Dixie got in on the fun in the front yard because it was so cold out, we knew she wouldn't venture too far!

So just in case you are in the snowy region and need a cozy meal (or if you are in a warm region and these pictures make you shiver) I've included below a recipe for a tasty meatloaf. It takes a little more prep work than a normal meatloaf, but it is well worth the effort. Let me put it to you this way- even Grace had seconds for dinner. And several of you have witnessed us struggle to get her to eat THREE bites of anything. She even ate a piece cold the next morning while I was making Erik a meatloaf sandwich for his lunch. To which she replied, "mmmm"!

The ice might be brutal for the trees and bushes, but isn't it just gorgeous?

Grace and Daddy made a snow castle the day before our big storm. When you don't have sand, snow and flower pots will do just fine!

Honey BBQ Glazed Meatloaf

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, minced

1/2 cup diced red and yellow bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire

1/4 cup milk

2 pounds meatloaf mix (or just ground beef)

2/3 cup quick oats

1/3 cup fresh minced parsley

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onion, carrot and peppers in a skillet until soft. In a bowl, mix eggs, thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire and milk. Add meat, oats, and parsley, along with cooked vegetables.

Pat into a 9x5 inch loaf. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Put in oven to bake. Glaze with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce mixed with 1/2 cup honey every 15 minutes. Bake for 1 hour total or until thermometer registers 160 degrees.

This makes enough for a dinner for four, plus several leftovers/sandwiches.

What I did on my Christmas vacation

If I were writing this for school, I would have received an "F" if for the sheer fact that it was so tardy. But I'm sure that if it had been on time, I would have been given an A+ for how cute my kids are! :)

This is for those family members who have been asking for pictures (and rightly so). I apologize profusely if it seems a little obnoxious. There were so many great pictures (thanks, hubby!) from our Christmas at the Lake House in Minnesota that I had an awful time choosing which ones to use. Shocking, I know. I am certainly not an indecisive person! ;) It wouldn't be Grandma's house if there wasn't a baby in the bathtub! No comments on the flab, please. :)

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming! (There was a request made for a family picture in traditional Russian boots and hats- for those of you who don't know, my in-laws live in Moscow.)

Making peanut butter pine cones for the birds

Snowy fun! A little cautious at first, Grace learned to love sledding down the sled run that Daddy and her uncles made. We found the driveway just as fun- fast, but wide. We also got to do some snow shoeing through the woods that I am sure Robert Frost had in mind when he wrote his famous poem.

I see glimpses of this sweet child as a grown up girl. She looks so precious in her new hat from her uncle!

And in that same vein, does that mean Matthew is going to be the class clown? Check out this hilarious face he was making.