There's a First Time for Everything

Collin started throwing up last night.  He had his four year old check up scheduled for today, which I almost canceled because I thought it was just the stomach flu.  His pediatrician did a strep test in the office and it was instantly positive.  My littlest man has strep for the first time...and it has wiped him out!  He finally got up to go to the bathroom and was gone a while.  I went in to check on him and actually found him on my bed, asleep, curled up next to our cat, Curtis.  Later, after he woke up, he said that he liked sleeping next to Curtis...he said Curtis loves him and even put his paws on his forehead to check his fever.  Even when he's sick, he is still my crazy little man!

My Six Year Old

My Middle Man is six...six just seems so much older than five.  He's not a little boy anymore. 

We celebrated in a special way for my big six year old.  He opened a few presents in the morning and then we went a saw Rio in the theater (we don't take them to the theater often, but who can say no to the dollar show?!).  After the movie, we headed over to grandma's pool and swam the afternoon away with a few cousins and friends.  That evening, Landon chose to go to the Chinese buffet for dinner...he loves it there!  Then, we came home and Dan put together his new Mario Racetrack and they played the night away.

Happy Birthday, Landon!  You are so precious to Mommy.  I still remember holding you on my chest for the first time, my first baby boy.  You have always been such a sweet, tender soul.  You are so kind and giving...always putting others before yourself.  I pray that you would continue to follow Jesus and make Him number one in your life.  I hope year number six is a great one for you my Middle Man.  I love you beyond words beautiful boy!

My Baby is Four

It's hard to believe that on this day, four years ago, my youngest was born.  After a long day of contractions, not knowing if he was coming or not, Dan raced me to the hospital to have him 37 minutes after walking in the door.  It was truly an entrance fit for Collin...a night I will never forget.

I will be forever thankful for the events that led up to Collin coming to be.  If it was up to my husband and me, we would be a family of four.  God had other plans, and through the heartache of a miscarriage, He aligned our desires with His will for our lives.

I cannot begin to imagine life without my youngest.  He is my wild and crazy, my talker, the life of the party...but he's also thoughtful and caring, putting others before himself.  Everything about him reminds me of my husband, right down to the shape of his head and the unique color of his eyes.

There were many highlights in his third year of life, but I would say the biggest one was him asking Jesus to be his Savior just days before his fourth birthday.  What a blessing.

Collin, my baby, my littlest man...I pray that you follow Jesus all the days of your life.  I pray that you would not lose your fun loving attitude about life.  There are so many things I love about you and who you are...the way your eyes sparkle, that smile of yours, the way you say your "r"s, how you are cautious yet a little daredevil all in one, how fast your legs move when you run, your wild imagination, your giving heart, your love of your hot chocolate first thing in the morning, your obsession with smells, the compliments you give...Momma could go on and on.  I am so sad that this is our last year together before you start school, but I guess you can't be my baby forever.  I wish I could have frozen you at three.  I am thankful for you and pray for many more years with my Zaiah.  I love you!

Highlights of our July

 My blessings and me on the Fourth of July

 My family

 Trip to Chicago

 The kids playing in the fountain in Chicago

 A weekend spent at my grandparents house in Northern Michigan...tubing with Kait.

 My three by the lake

 Cuddling with Nana

 Driving the boat with Papa

 Dan and the kids by the lake

 Celebrating my Mom's birthday

 Kait and her Gammy

 My Dad and the boys in the party hats

My kids and my brother's little girl

Filling

I had a goal...and I hate when I don't accomplish something I set out to do.  My dentist appointment last Tuesday brought much disappointment...I learned that I had my first cavity.  The dentist could see how upset I was over his findings.  My daughter however blurted out, "That's pretty good, Momma, especially since you hardly ever brush your teeth!"  I have come to terms with the fact that my Princess was born without a filter.

So, today I tried to relax in the chair while half my face was numb and my tooth was getting drilled out...if that doesn't scare me in to brushing twice a day, I don't know what will.  It was a first.  Not a first that I was hoping a waiting for, but it was a first.  I didn't make it to my 30th birthday cavity free.  I have a horrible headache and my jaw is killing me...but it didn't take away my sweet tooth...and that half can of frosting seemed to make all my troubles seem so far away for the time being.

Graduated

In the words of my Princess:

"It seems like just yesterday we were going to our first day of school!"

First day of school!

Now look at them:

Last day of first grade for my Princess and last day of kindergarten for my Middle Man!

Note to Self

Over the past few days, we have watched a few years worth of home videos.


I caught myself going deeper and deeper


in to thought the closer it got to September 2, 2008


the day Dan lost his job, which started the 22 very long months of unemployment.


As I watched us celebrate Collin's first birthday


exactly one month before getting the news,


I just wanted to whisper to the wife and mother I watched there on the TV screen.


I wanted to warn her of what was to come...prepare her in any way that I could.


I wanted to tell her that, yes, incredibly hard days were ahead


but also moments that she would look back and cherish


I wanted to tell her to enjoy the season a little more


laugh a little more


worry less


hope more


I wanted to tell her of the lessons she would learn, the friendships she would make, the person she would become


I wanted to hug her and whisper in her ear that it would all turn out okay


I wanted to tell her of all her Savior would do


how tender He would be to her


But, I really don't think the person that I was looking at would even listen


and so, as I watched the past few years of my life play out on our TV screen


I thought of what a lesson it is to the me right now


that God is the story teller


and even if at times I think


that there must be some mistake


or that I didn't sign up for this one


that His story is beautiful


and even though sometimes life causes unbearable hurt


He's refining and strengthening us for so much more

Rainbow

We had a birthday party for Kait on Sunday evening.  For the first few years of the kids' lives, I was a store bought cake kinda girl.  The easier the better.  I didn't want the mess or the hassle...just order it and be done with it.  After Dan lost his job that changed.  I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on a cake, but still wanted their big day to be special.

I was going to go the store bought cake route this year for Kait.  One day at work, I started looking around online for ideas and came across the rainbow cake idea.  It looked fantastic and I was set on doing one, no matter how hard or how long it took.

I was exhausted on Saturday after coming home from work, but for some reason thought that making a cake would be relaxing...ha, maybe if I was a pro.  I won't lie, this cake was difficult...but it happens to be the first layer cake that I have ever made...and it had six layers.

I mixed up the cake from scratch and then separated it in to six individual bowls so I could color each one.  I had to bake two layers at a time because I only have two cake pans.  Stacking the layers was a little stressful and around the four layer mark I just felt like picking up the whole cake and throwing it against the wall...but luckily my husband came home and talked me down.  I mixed up the frosting from scratch, got it all frosted, and was so pleased with the outside...hoping that the inside would be equally beautiful.

It came time for cake on Sunday evening...it was the moment I had been anticipating for around 26 hours at that point.  I cut in to it and sliced out the first piece and it was what I was hoping for.  It was beautiful and I was happy that my Princess thought her birthday cake was pretty neat.

Layer cakes?  Yeah, I think I might be taking up a new hobby.

Celebrating Seven

 A few minutes after waking up it was time to start the birthday festivities...messy hair and all!

 Looking forward to watching these with my Princess!

 A Penbo...she's been asking for one of these and was so excited that she got it!

 Her ATM...she is obsessed with it now and had fun depositing all of her birthday cash.

 All ready for school in her princess dress, posing by some of her loot.

 Buttery, buttery toast for breakfast...her favorite.

 I went up to her school and brought icecream sandwiches for her class...she was loving all the attention.

 For dinner, she chose Applebees.  The first one we tried had been shut down and so we drove out of our way because she was set on having Applebees for her birthday dinner.  She was thrilled when they brought her a big sundae after her meal!

Just so happened that Grandpa was in the area and was able to surprise her and meet us for dinner...it was special for her.

Traditional Blankies

This morning, K's eyes popped open and she immediately said, "One more day until my birthday!  I never thought this day would come.  I thought I would be six forever."

Six forever?  Now, that might make this mama pretty happy.  Seven just sounds a little too old.

So, tonight, as we count down the hours until our Princess turns seven we had our traditional pigs in a blanket for dinner.  It's the last meal I ate before she came in to the world.

Tomorrow will be filled with excitement, cards, presents, treats to school, birthday dinner, cupcakes, and looking forward to her birthday party this weekend.  In the midst of all the business, I am sure I will be taking a few "time outs" to whisper prayers of thanksgiving for these seven years God has given us with our first born...and praying for blessings upon her life and many more years to enjoy her.

A Lot

So much has happened since the last time I was on here.  I have neglected this space of mine and intend to post more often, I really do.  So, for a quick run down to get all caught up:

 - Kaitlyn lost her second tooth less than a week after her first.  After a traumatic (for Mom) first attempt to get it out in the morning before school, she pulled it out herself upon returning home in the afternoon.  Mom slammed the door...a string tied from the knob to her tooth...and the tooth stayed and just caused a big mess of blood.  I have vowed never to pull another tooth.  That's now Daddy's job...I just take the pictures.

 - I had the worst Mother's Day to date...many things factoring in.  My husband did his best to make the day special complete with a few surprises and a bunch of tulips, but by that time the damage had been done.  The decision was made to ban the holiday from this house...which might have been a bit too drastic.

 - Our pup, Zoey, has grown leaps and bounds in these past six months.  She is now over 50 pounds and the divider has been taken our of her kennel.  She had her first three mile run with me last Thursday.  She was a little tired out toward the end, but did great.

 - On May 15th, I ran my third half marathon.  You can read about it here.

 - Dan worked his first Friday in a few months last week.  I am so very, very thankful for the steady work that God has provided these past 10.5 months...and for my hard working husband.

 - I registered K and L for second and first grade, respectively.  The school year is almost over and I will be so happy to have all three home with me for two months.  They have both done extremely well in the dual language program.

 - My Middle Man surprised me and started reading some pretty big words.  A whole new world has opened to him and I am so very proud of him.  He attempts to read almost everything now...from street signs to labels...and him sounding out big words to spell is hilarious...too cute!  He has done so well for being such a young kindergartner.

 - My baby girl turns seven on Wednesday.  The boys couldn't wait to have her open her present from them and so they gave it to her early...which might become a tradition for them.  They were excited and she was overjoyed with what they got her. (And yes, C is in his underwear...it's hot here and we are not a fan of clothing in this house.)




Next post...of course...my Princess turning seven....

Finally

The subject of losing baby teeth has become a sore one in our home.  Mostly because my Middle Man lost his first tooth...and my Princess, being a whole year older, had not.  We kept telling her that her time would come...but we were getting a little worried ourselves.

Her two bottom teeth were getting a little loose and for the past week, all she did was wiggle them to try and loosen them up more.  By Thursday night, one of them was ready to come out.  She wanted to wait until the next morning to pull it...which I was bummed about because I had to work and knew I would miss it.

On Friday morning, I got an email from her at work saying that she had lost her tooth.  Daddy let her chose the method that it would come out...she chose to tie a string around it and then the other end to the door and slam the door.  I wish I would have been there, but I am glad that Dan didn't miss this moment.

Dan has become quite the tooth fairy in our house.  He has found a way to sneak the money ($2 for their first tooth...25 cents after that) under their pillow while kissing them goodnight.  Sneaky, sneaky.  Glad he has the part down because on Friday night, I didn't even remember that we needed two singles to give to her.

Both Princess and Middle Man have a few other teeth that should be ready to come out in the next month...can't wait to see them both with their snaggle toothed smile!