Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Cecelia's 5th Birthday


Cece Bird is five! It doesn't even seem weird that she's getting that big, because it really feels like she's always been around! It's hard to remember life before Cece.

All she wanted for her birthday was Barbies... which is not my thing... but hey, it's her birthday, not mine, and she was thrilled to get her dolls.


We were planning Cece's party on a Saturday, so on her actual birthday we went out to eat and got cookies for dessert, and then went swimming at a friend's pool! It was a really fun day.



For her party, her grandparents were unable to make it so we got together with friends instead and Cece had a super fun day. She wanted a butterfly cake, so I Cece'd it up with loads of sprinkles.








What she's up to: 
-Cece is SUPER active and honestly never sits still. She is solid lean muscle and is so strong.
-She's very girly and loves all things sparkly... she likes unicorns, makeup, princesses, pink, and anything else "girl" that you could imagine.
-However, she's also a wild animal. She always has crazy hair because she's constantly rolling around on her head, she climbs on everything, and she's generally just kind of wild. She has definitely toned down a bit in the last year, but she's still a little wild creature.
-She loves to go outside, do crafts or paint, watch TV, do anything involving water, reading, helping.
-GUM. This child is seriously addicted to gum. 
-Eating all the time. She's never not hungry. She's also not picky which is super nice.
-She still likes to act/talk like a baby sometimes.
-Cece continues to be a very heavy sleeper and almost always sleeps all night without a peep.
-She's the tallest of all my kids for her age... I need to take her in for a checkup and am curious to see where she falls on the growth chart. (As of August, she's 44 lbs, 44", and 70th percentile in both!)
-She is a total Mama's girl and always wants to be close to me. She often wants help even with things she can do herself.
-Slowly learning letters and numbers (poor neglected third child). She'll be in kindergarten this fall!

Her interview: 
What's your name? Cece
Whatd dayis your birthday? I don't know
How old are you? 5 
What's your favorite color? Pink and purple  
Favorite number? 3
Favorite letter? I don't know what letters are
Favorite shape? Circles 
Favorite food? Cereal 
Favorite candy? Gum suckers 
Favorite game? Potion Explosion 
Favorite movie? The Last Unicorn 
Favorite TV show? Boss Baby 
Favorite book: The fox book  
What do you want to be when you grow up? A princess 
What is your Daddy's job? To work 
What is Mama's job? To make food 
Favorite place to go? Ra's and Papa's house for Easter  
Favorite restaurant? My favorite restaurant is Noodles and Company 
Favorite animal? Zebras.  I mean giraffes.
Do have any brothers or sisters? Desy and Orion and Hazel. And you, Mommy. You're a Mama sister. 
Any pets? Enzo  
Favorite song? Happy  
Favorite ice cream flavor? Strawberry and vanilla  
Who is your best friend? Nana and Papa  
Favorite cereal? Mini wheats  
Favorite thing to do outside? Play on the trampoline with sprinklers and the pool and the slippery slide  
Favorite drink? Pop  
What toys do you like to take to bed with you? My giant puppy 
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. I love Christmas because we get to go on sleds.  
What are you good at? Playing princesses  
Who is the coolest person ever? You and Daddy and Papa and Ra and Nana and Papa and Ellie 
Favorite toy? My unicorn 
What makes you happy? Playing princesses with you. And playing with baiol polish to play princesses. 
What makes you sad? When people don't play with me  
What are you scared of? The dark  
What is your super power?  Laser eyes and ballerina

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Hazel's 2nd Birthday


My Hazel Nut turned two this St. Patrick's Day! She is the cutest, most rotten little thing I ever did see. She's hilarious, loud, shy, hot-tempered, stubborn, silly, smart, destructive, talkative, cuddly, and oh-so-naughty, and we all love her like crazy.



We had a Peter Rabbit themed party for her (mostly because I had the supplies left over from another project), and it was super cute. All of her grandparents got to be there to celebrate!


Here are the stats:
Height: 2' 8.25" (19th percentile)
Weight: 22 lbs 3 oz (4th percentile)

Yep, another peanut. She is so teeny!

Hazel has long, gorgeous wavy hair (it's 3 or 4 inches longer than any other girl her age I know) and - wait for it- hazel eyes. They're kind of gray and brown... very unique. She has the very best cheeks.


What she's up to:

-Talking up a storm. She speaks in full short sentences, though it can be hard to understand her. She is very polite with pleases and thank yous ;) The thing that impresses me the most is her understanding of "mine" and "yours." Maybe it's just because she's small, but she seems so young to have that kind of grasp on language.
-She loves to harass the cat, who is, blessedly, quite patient with her most of the time.
-Tearing up the house... we have to keep the bathrooms doors shut and litter box blocked off, and if she's not in the room I'll always send one of the other kids to "make sure Hazel's not getting into trouble." She's exhausting!
-She's pretty attached to Mama. She's still shy about strangers and new experiences and situations. She can really cling to me when she wants to.
-Her "lovey" is her bed pillow. She carries it around the house with her even though it's bigger than she is! She grabs onto the fabric of the pillow case and sucks her thumb (a habit we'll soon have to tackle breaking).
-Sleeping in a big-girl bed! She was doing some dangerous acrobatics in her crib, so we did some bed shuffling and moved her to a twin bed. She did great making the transition, thank goodness! Hazel is an excellent sleeper and rarely wakes up in the night. There have been a few nights when she seemed to be having nightmares and I would lay down with her until she fell asleep, but that's not the norm. She also naps once daily for 1-3 hours ish.


What she's into:

-Hazel's favorite things to watch on TV are Boss Baby and The Incredibles 2 ("Jack Jack!"). She wasn't interested in TV until she got to watch through the series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, with Nathan and the other kids. She loved it and snuggled nicely with Daddy every evening they watched it.
-She's not terribly picky, though she's not a big eater (miss 4th percentile). She likes to graze and often helps herself to snacks from the pantry, much to my chagrin. Her favorite food is probably blueberries.
-She loves to play outside.
-Hazel loves babies. Real, on tv, baby dolls, whatever. She also likes animals.
-Milk. This girl should have some strong bones.
-Mostly destroying the house and raging when she doesn't get her way. Let's be honest. :P


My almost-birthday-buddy! Happy birthday to the cutest girl I know!

Friday, January 4, 2019

2018 Year in Review


Geez louise... it has been over a YEAR since my last post. That gives you an idea of what kind of year it has been!! I have encountered ongoing (postpartum) depression for the first time in my life, so this has kinda been a year of survival. We have done a lot of really fun things, but the parts in between have been a struggle. I have hope and am working with a counselor and doctor to get better, and I think I see a twinkling of light at the end of this particular tunnel (heck, I feel like tackling this epic post, so there ya go!). Geronimo!

For Chritmas last year, I planned a year of dates for Nathan and me. It's something I did a few years ago and we so enjoyed that I worked with Robin to schedule babysitting and we got to do so many fun things (thanks a million, Robin!!). January was a visit to an arcade and deli in Dayton.


The year included a slew of adventures with our diet... we did Keto first this year (which we felt great and lost weight on, but I got sick of it). I've lost a few pounds this year, but have had a lot of ups and downs in that area. I miss my 18 year old metabolism...


We enjoyed a few decent snowfalls in the winter and the kids got to build a snowman (with Ra and Papa while I tackled hot chocolate duty) and go sledding.


For the first half of the year ish we had a snack and read-aloud time when Hazel took her afternoon nap around 3:00. I SO enjoyed this ritual, and hope to start it again next week. My quest to enjoy hot tea continues to be a failure.




We finished out the 2017-2018 homeschool year and made it half way through the 2018-2019 year. In a surprising twist, I signed the boys up to attend public school starting next week! I always said I was open to this possibility, but never honestly expected to make this move. It's what I need to do right now to take care of myself, and I have high hopes that the boys will thrive there. But hey, if not, I'm totally open to educating them at home again in the future!


Desy has become a master builder. This kid LOVES Legos and can follow the directions to build anything. Future engineer? (btw, Hazel gave him that scratch on his cheek which is now a scar. facepalm.) Desy turned seven this year! I think he must finally be growing, because he looks so lanky!


We were able to buy a beautiful new-to-us-but-actually-a-decade-old new Minivan! It's a Honda Odyssey in my favorite blue hue and has all the bells and whistles. And we can squeeze eight people in there. I LOVE it.


Another of our dates was the Dayton Art Institute. We had such a peaceful wander through until a security guard nearly tackled us for leaning on a display or something...




This girl turned one! She was the world's most perfect infant, but man oh man is she a stinker now! Hazel is a teeny tiny tornado who will not take no for an answer. I'm thankful her verbal skills are getting a lot better (at the end of the year) and hope she decides the toilet and litter box aren't super fun toys after all...

Besides that, she's a good eater, a good sleeper, and oh-so-cute.




Orion and Desy were in two plays at church and did such a nice job in both. We were especially impressed with Orion's pitch-perfect solo in the Christmas play. Nathan and I just looked at each other... who knew?!


The boys earned their junior blue belts at the United Church Karate Club and Cece was given (not earned.... ha!) an orange belt. We haven't gone since before Thanksgiving, I think, so we need to remedy that soon.


We got the cutest Syrian hamster for the kids for Christmas last year! Dandelion (Dandy) was the sweetest hamster ever, and we were so sad when she suddenly died this spring.




The very next day after Dandy died we got baby chicks! We had chickens once before and had fun with them, and we so enjoyed raising these little peeps. We started with 6 and got 3 more a few days later, all different breeds. We even got a fancy coop. Unfortunately, a couple months later we got a letter from the city stating that our lot is too small for foul and we had to get rid of them within a week. We were SO upset and disappointed (and surprised, as our neighbor three doors down had, and still has, chickens). Providentially, some friends of ours had just expressed their interest in getting chickens just a few days before, and when we contacted them they gladly took the chickies off our hands. We were so thankful and at peace after that. And the chickens are living a spoiled, happy life with their new owners, so all's well that ends well.


Aaaand a few days later, we brought home this handsome (though shockingly parasite-ridden) boy, whom Orion named Enzo (after the Ferrari founder). He is SO good with the kids and very loved. And getting very big!


I tried a straw bale garden this year with mixed success. There were zero weeds which was a big plus. Many of the plants I started from seed withered, mildewed, or straight-up disappeared. The hardier sprouts and the pre-started plants did pretty well. We got a good harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers, a few nice zucchini, and a few sweet potatoes. I left the bales in the yard and am hoping the decomposition this winter will help with next year's garden.


This feral princess turned four while we were on vacation with Nathan's family at Norris Lake in Tennessee. She had a unicorn cake with sparkles, of course. I don't know how one child can be so girly and so wild all at once.

The vacation to Norris Lake was the best family vacation I can remember, and we're going to another lake next summer.


My niece, Ellie, stayed with Robin and Larry this summer and we enjoyed having her around and having all kinds of little adventures (sure Sam's Club counts).


I donated blood for the first AND ONLY time. The next two times I tried my hemoglobin count was too low, and the third time my blood pressure was too low. Props for trying?




Since last year our anniversary celebration consisted of seeing Captain Underpants with all our kids, this year I wanted to do something special. Robin kept the kids, allowing Nathan and I to take a long weekend away for our 11th anniversary. We went to Origins game convention in Columbus for a day, then spent a couple days exploring Mammoth Cave and Onyx cave. We stopped at a couple national parks while we were at it (Abraham Lincoln and William Howard Taft). It was such a nice trip! The only bad part was that I booked a wigwam hotel that I was SO excited about, but it reeked of smoke so we had to leave (with only half a refund) and get a hotel room. I was totally bummed, but we ended up at a great hotel!


We took our family to see The Incredibles 2, 14 years after seeing the original The Incredibles on our first date. How time does fly...


Our yard was a veritable water park this summer. Nathan found a great bargain on this super nice inflatable water slide and it was a hit with friends and neighbors. So fun!


Another of our year of dates was going to the Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio this summer. It was SWELTERING, but we had fun and enjoyed some tasty food and history lessons. This picture is one of my favorites.



Orion attended Vacation Bible School at my brother and sister in laws' church this summer and expressed a desire to be saved and baptized! It was a long process of us trying to discern whether he had knowledge or faith, but we are happy he chose to take these steps! I'm really proud of him for pursuing what he needed to do.



We took a mini-vacation to my parents' house with lots of fun activities at the end of summer. We visited the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, the Toledo Zoo, a mini golf and go-cart place, a splash pad... all as a surprise to the kids. It was a GREAT little trip, and the weather was perfect the whole time.



The kids' first day of school this year and my favorite picture of all of them.


 I dyed Cece's hair pink... 'cause what four year old girl doesn't want pink hair?! It has all faded away now, but it was fun!


I finally consulted an ENT about the fact that it seemed like Desy couldn't breathe well (he could never breathe through his nose), seemed to have hearing problems, was constantly congested, etc. We ended up with surgery scheduled TWO DAYS after that consultation! He had his tonsils and adenoids removed and ear tubes placed. Recovery was a bit rough with day 7 being the low (as we were told to expect), and on day 8 he took a sudden turn for the better. He can finally breathe through his nose and says he's sleeping better. He still seems to have an issue with his speech related to a valve not closing tightly behind his nose, so we're following up on that in February.


I participated in "Inktober" on Instagram in the month of October. I had to play a lot of catch-up as I didn't do it every day, and I never did those last two days... oops. But I had fun with it and artistic stuff is good for me.


We got to go to Tuken's apple orchard about three times this year! With Nathan's parents, with my parents, and with our friends. And we ate every single one of the pounds and pounds of apples we bought. Can't beat fresh orchard apples!!


I tried to get outside more with the kids this fall. I realized that I feel a lot better if I get out of the house, and especially if we get outside (I think everyone feels better). We found that the disk golf course at a local park is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for wandering. We had a few really nice walks there.


From October 1 through Thanksgiving we did a "Healthy Family Challenge," which was supposed to encourage everyone to eat healthy (we chose Paleo), exercise, get schoolwork done daily, and Bible study. We earned stickers (traded in prizes) for the things we accomplished. It went remarkably well and I saw great physical changes (especially in Orion, Nathan, and myself), and I wish we would have jumped back in after Thanksgiving weekend.



We didn't get to go trick-or-treating this year because it was rainy, but we did enjoy our church's Fall Family Festival, and we let the kids eat a bunch of candy that night before tossing the rest. And nobody even complained. Whaaaaa?!


This is just a random picture of a nice moment. Nathan watched through the cartoon series, Avatar: the Last Airbender with the kids (the very best cartoon ever) and read them the books afterward. They absolutely loved it.


I got to go with a group from church to the Lifeway Women's Leadership Forum in Nashville, TN this November. I had SO much fun, inspiration, and awesome worship. We're currently planning a small conference at our church using videos from Forum.



My friend Mark died in November. He was one of my closest friends in college. He had cystic fibrosis, but he had a lung transplant years ago and was doing so well. But he got a lung infection and didn't make it. We visited him in Minnesota about three years ago and I haven't really talked to him much since then, but it's strange and hard to believe that he's gone. He never expected to live to be old, but I guess I did.


Orion turned NINE! Wowee. He's up to my shoulder and his feet are almost as big as mine. Crazy crazy crazy.


We had a really nice Thanksgiving with my parents. We had great food and enjoyed a traditional walk after our feast. 


We always love picking out a live tree and decorating for Christmas!! It was hard to find one this year and the prices were crazy, apparently because of the recession 8 years ago when these trees were planted! Huh! Anyway, we found the perfect little tree for our little house.



Orion and I got new glasses! Well, I did... Orion's are still on order for some reason. He's excited to get them, though we'll see how he feels when he has to actually wear them...




Christmas was SO nice this year. One of the best in recent memory. We just had Nathan's parents and Grandma Grim to celebrate with us, so it was quieter and smaller than usual, but so so nice. We had great food, read the Christmas story from scripture, lots of presents for the kids, took turns reading the names of God after dinner, and just had a very relaxing day together. We also celebrated Advent for the first time this year, with a wreath, candles, and reading. Very cool tradition that I want to continue.

The very best gift of all: Grandma Grim chose to accept Jesus after spending the week with our family. She wants to see her great grandchildren again (in eternity). This has been a lifelong journey, and we are so very astonished and thankful.



We had a big board game party with our Sunday School class (and former/displaced members) right after Christmas. We had a great turnout and I think everyone had a lot of fun. And a lot of tacos.



Our friends Joe and Jenna got married this week!  I got to get my nails done with Jenna and play photographer (and unofficial coordinator) for the wedding and Desy got to be the most handsomest ringbearer... and Nathan got to officiate the wedding! It all went so well and it was such a sweet little wedding.


As usual, we trekked up to Michigan to celebrate the new year with our college besties. It was a very small group this year (as seems to be the theme of the year), but it was so nice and both the kids and grown-ups had such a nice visit. I'm so thankful for friends.

That just about brings you up to speed! Whew! Happy New Year, y'all!