Day 5: This old house

Four years ago I wrote this post about our first home as a married couple.    Our little white house on White St. was the perfect fit for our small family when we moved to Fredonia with our first blondie, Ben.  We loved the proximity to Andrew's work, library, playgrounds, hardware store and local eateries but in the winter of 2015 after our family of three grew to four and five in the near future we decided to start looking for our forever home.  Our long term plan is to stay in Fredonia.  We have both grown to appreciate our lives here and raising our children with so much family nearby is important to us.

In February of last year with my belly rapidly expanding and feet of snow on the ground we began our search.  We were hopeful that our house would quickly sell and we would find something that suited the needs of our growing family.  Our first trip out with our realtor made us want to stay put.  From a house with a basement out of horror movie to another where the tenant was making sauerkraut in the kitchen to another where the nicest room was the laundry, we felt a little discouraged.  But then we looked at "the one,"  a beautiful white victorian that both of us had admired from afar for years.  Once inside, though it was freezing, we both really liked it.  Hardwood floors, a huge kitchen, two full bathrooms, a basement, attic, etc., it checked most of our boxes.  We were sold.  The only problem was the house was listed as a short sale so we knew it might take a while.  We put our offer in and sat back and waited.  and waited. and waited. and waited.  February turned into March, April quickly passed by, Hannah arrived in May and while on vacation in July we finally heard that our offer was not accepted and they were taking another.  Disappointed, but also a little relieved to finally know something we took a step back from the house search.  With a brand new baby in tow, the thought of moving was overwhelming so we thought we would wait for a while to see if anything else came up that we liked.  We had exhausted the list of houses on our list and were not in a huge hurry to move.

That didn't last long.  The entire time we looked at houses, there was one in particular that I always clicked on when it popped up on zillow.  I admired the pictures but never wanted to look inside because it was out of our price range.  For months it sat on the market and every six or eight weeks the price fell.  While we were waiting on the other house, the price kept falling and falling.  Finally Andrew contacted our realtor and said we wanted to look at it.  I dropped the boys off with a friend at the playground and told her before seeing it there was no way we would buy it--it was too expensive and out of our league.

When we walked into the house I was a little taken aback by its beauty.  It checked all of my boxes:  mudroom, beautiful kitchen, gorgeous woodwork, room for a playroom, fireplace (with woodstove), upstairs laundry room, four bedrooms with nice closest, attic, basement, garage...I was in love.  Beautiful leaded glass windows, pocket doors, pull out shelves in the kitchen with nice appliances, the house was a dream.  It was way nicer than any house I ever imagined owning.  Sensing we liked it, our realtor encouraged us to think about putting in an offer.  A few days later we did and right now I am writing this post from my new living room.  We closed quickly, moved in a lot sooner than we'd planned and unpacked with the help of my wonderful in-laws.

Every morning I wake up excited about our new place.  Whenever I walk or run home I think about the memories we will create here.  The kitchen that I love will cook birthday cakes, create meals for friends and family and host numerous small groups.  Our kids will get off the bus here for their first day of school and will shoot baskets at the hoop over our garage.  This is the home that our kids will come home to when they are off at college.  This is the house that our children will bring their children too.  This, our forever home, is where Andrew and I will grow old and gray.

Thankfulness Day 4--Today

Every November my facebook feed is flooded with thankful posts.  Four years ago I blogged every single day of the month of November with memories, people and things in my life for which I am thankful.  Four years later, I am still thankful for all of those things but, so much has changed I thought it would be fun to revisit the month of thankfulness and hopefully challenge me to continue to blog beyond the month of November.

When teaching English I gave the journal prompt at least once a school year to describe your perfect day.  Students would often include things they ate, people they hung out with and activities they would do.  As a mom of three littles "perfect" days might not look like one would expect but today for me is one.  The last three days were rough.  Daylight savings time, Halloween and general excitement led to blond boys who woke early, didn't nap and a princess who didn't sleep very well.  I felt like a zombie.  A very tired, very frustrated, very frazzled zombie.  The situation deteriorated to the level that on Monday night as I was trying to clean the crayon off the floor, finish our small group dessert, make dinner and keep all three kids alive, I had to send a text of desperation to Andrew to walk fast on his way home.  I was spent.  My patience was totally gone.  I honestly was wondering how many more no nap, up early days I would be able to handle.

But, yesterday things started to turn around as all three kids got the sleep they needed.  Today they woke up just as I was leaving to run and when I returned we settled into our morning routine.  We enjoyed a big breakfast, the boys were quiet as I put their sister down for her nap and once we were all ready we headed outside.  Our new house is about 400 yards from the playground and on this perfect morning we embraced our location and headed down the sidewalk with our load of trucks.

Ben pulled and Caleb pushed our red wagon stacked with six or seven trucks, balls, a blanket and snacks.  Their blond heads bobbed along as they worked together to reach our destination while I walked along with Hannah smiling in her carrier.  T-shirts for all of us, not a hat, glove or coat in sight and even shorts on Caleb's skinny little legs.  Once we arrived, the friends started coming on foot and in vans.  Our wagon quickly emptied as all the boys used the wood chips as their construction site.  Dump trucks zoomed down slides, laughter filtered through the air from the swings, the babies cooed on blankets and snacks were shared.  Everyone embraced the sunshine that I am sure we will soon exchange for snow but for today, things were perfect.

Days like today make my heart feel so full it could burst.  I am so thankful for the sunshine that is showcasing the fall colors, the playground outside my door and the warmth that is such a gift in November.

Loving Life at One Year

On Monday January 6th, we sang "Happy Birthday" to our effervescent little guy.  The year has flown by as we've adjusted from a family of three to a family of four and we've watched Caleb grow into a little toddler while Ben grew into his role as a big brother.

Stats: (His official one year appointment is on the 28th, but he was sick in December so this what we have:)
Height:  29.5 inches
Weight: 20 pounds
Teeth:  3 on his first birthday but three more are peeking through.
Hair:  a very blond baby mullet
Clothing:  All 12 month
Shoes:  0-6 month, size 2 (TINY feet)

Eating:  Despite his light weight, he is a huge eater.  He can out eat his big brother (and sometimes his mom).  He enjoys every food we place in front of him (except for lemons) and eats with enthusiasm.  He is very very neat when he eats and rarely needs a bib.  On his first birthday, his first bit of cake and ice cream were nibbled very delicately.  He loves to try to use his utensils and wants whatever is on our plates.  He drinks from anything he finds and thinks we are horrible people for denying him coffee.  He continues to nurse 4-5 times a day/night.  I plan on nursing him for a couple of more months.

Sleeping:  Over the last month he transitioned to one nap a day at 12:15 and sleeps for 2-2 1/2 hours.  He is in bed by 6:30 and up the next morning around 7:00.  Between the nighttime hours he is really inconsistent. He goes to sleep on his own, is happy when he wakes up and while I am ready to sleep through the night again, Andrew will not be called into duty for a little while longer.

Communication:  Caleb wants to talk and enjoys babbling.  He emphatically points to what he wants.  His words thus far are: "ba" (ball), "be" (Ben), "du" (dog), mama, dada, "bo" (book), "no" (nose and no), "mi" (milk).  He loves to nod and shake his head.

Skills:  Caleb started walking on December 11th.  He took a few steps in our living room for Andrew, while I was not around.  He continued walking in short spurts.  Over Christmas he was sick and his walking took a backseat but now he is toddling around with more confidence than skill.  He is even starting to bend his knees.

While playing, he likes to use his shape sorter, rolls cars across the ground, put things in and out of containers and mimic whatever Ben is doing.  He tries hard to stack blocks, but enjoys knocking things over even more.  He can wave "hi" and "bye" and is learning where his body parts are.  He would way rather imitate the words for different body parts however, than point to them.

Likes:  He likes to go on walks, pet his dogs, and bring books to us (though he doesn't always sit to listen).  He loves cars, trying to eat crayons and dumping out cups of water.  He is big enough to hang out in the learning tower with Ben, which makes baking a new adventure for all of us.  He loves people and will go to anyone who is willing to hold him.  He loves to play peek-a-boo and to be chased up the stairs.

Highlights from the month:  We celebrated Christmas with Andrew's family.  Caleb was sick for most of the week but it mostly meant he wanted a lot of extra snuggles and sleep.  He wasn't sure how he felt about being Cousin Lauren's baby doll but he enjoyed the Christmas tree and constant stream of music in our house.

His bubbly personality is contagious and we are having so much watching the relationship between our two boys grow.

Eleven.

Decorating our Christmas tree was so much easier this year without a Caleb sized bump in the way.  Now instead of knocking off ornaments with my belly, my little guy is on the move and doing his best to take them off on his own.

At eleven months old Caleb is truly one of the happiest babies I have ever met.  He smiles at everything and everyone.  He experiences very little separation anxiety and he rarely protests when he is passed around.  His personality is one that overflows with joy and each moment with him is full of smiles.

Some stats:
Height:  Right around 30 inches
Weight: around 20 pounds
Clothing:  all 12 months
Shoes:  0-6 months (another small footed guy)
Teeth:  still only two on the bottom
Hair:  not nearly as bald as his big brother was but it is still pretty thin and pretty blond

Sleeping:  Caleb is slowly transitioning from two naps to one.  If he naps in the morning it is from 10-11.  He still likes his morning nap but if we are out doing anything in the morning he skips it completely.  In the afternoon he sleeps from 1:00-4:00 (most days).  At night, he is down by 7:30 and up once, maybe twice.  He has started sleeping for 7-8-9 hour stretches which is amazing.  He likes to nurse before he goes to sleep but it is often followed by daddy snuggles to get him settled for the evening,  On nights Andrew is gone in the evening Caleb is awake a lot more because he wants his daddy.

Communication:  "dadada," "mama," and "buh" for Andrew, myself and Ben.  He also identifies balls with the "b" sound.  He babbles a lot and laughs even more.  He thinks that baths with his big brother are pretty much the best thing in the world.

Likes:  Everything Ben is doing so trucks, balls, books, trains, etc.  He loves to bang away on our piano.  he loves going for walks and runs in the stroller.  He loves when Ben climbs into his crib to hang out and bounce him up and down.  He is fascinated by the toilet--which is totally disgusting.  He loves our dogs and enjoys trying to climb on top of both of them.  The dog water is a huge draw and we keep having to move it higher and higher the taller he gets.  He enjoys emptying cupboards and banging away on pots and pans. He loves to bounce his butt up and down when he hears music.

Skills:  He pulls up on everything and runs around our house while pushing walkers.  He has stood on his own for a second or two and is thinking about walking but has yet to commit.  He sometimes walks on his knees instead of crawling.  He likes to stack things and has started sorting shapes.  He likes to try to color when Ben is coloring.  According to Andrew, his skills are cooing and being hilarious. He can zoom up our stairs and rolls a ball across the floor.  He also figured out how to climb in and out of the little rocking chair we had on the day before Thanksgiving.

Eating:  He continues to nurse 5 or so times a day and eats three big meals and a snack.  He eats whatever we put in front of him and whatever he sees on our plates that he wants.  He loves to steal sippy cups that his big brother leaves all over the house.

Highlights from the month:  Caleb met my side of the family when they came up for Thanksgiving.  His status as happiest baby in the world was confirmed by my sister-in-law who is a nurse practioner in a NICU.  He loved all of the attention (and food).  This month he saw his first snow and enjoys watching it out the window.  He tolerated getting our Christmas tree even though it was freezing and snowing.

Day 7: Body Pump

In February of 2012 I headed to Buffalo for two days of intense bodypump training.  I was way out of my league and way out of shape.  I came home so sore I couldn't sit on a couch without hurting.  A couple of months later, I started teaching at Darwin's Health Club, a local gym.  I taught until I was 37 weeks pregnant with Caleb and started back six weeks after he was born.  As a stay-at-home mom, getting out of the house a couple of times a week to lift weights is a welcome change.  I love learning new choreography, lifting weights and hanging out with members of the community that I would never have met.

Ben and Caleb Part 2

Today Caleb is ten months old.  It is so hard to believe that in just two very very short months he will be a year.  While I remember life before Caleb, it is hard to imagine our family without him.

Stats:  (on October 24th)
Weight:  19 pounds 8 ounces (25%)
Height:  29 1/2 inches (80%)
Head Circumference:  18.5 inches (97%--shocking, I know)
Teeth:  still just 2
Clothing size:  12 months
Shoe size: 2-3
Personality: larger than life!

Eating:
Caleb still nurses 5-6 times a day but he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES solid food.  He would rather eat solids than nurse so I think he may wean earlier than Ben.  He wants to eat whatever we are eating or cooking.  He devours his breakfast lunch and dinner every day.  He loves bread, pasta and meat.  He likes vegetables over fruit.  He enjoys water from a sippy cup (or whatever he can find in Ben's sippy cups that seem to be scattered all over our house).

Sleeping:  Most of the time he is up by 7, naps at 9:30 and 1:00 and is in bed by 6:30.  From 6:30 p.m.-7 a.m. it is anyone's guess.  He sleeps really well some nights and not so well others.  He goes to bed easily on his own in his crib.

Communication:  He babbles and laughs all of the time.  Rarely does he cry.  He will cry if he is really tired and his crib isn't nearby.  Other than that, a good way to see him cry is to have someone around him get hurt or feel sad.    For instance, a couple of weeks ago Ben fell over and not only did Ben burst into tears, but Caleb did the same.  Last night we were watching the Jimmy Kimmel Halloween candy clip and the kids were scooting around.  When Caleb heard the sound of the kids on the clip crying, he joined in the tear fest. (We turned the clip right off to keep the distress at a minimum.)

Favorite Things:  He is ball obsessed, which makes Andrew incredibly happy.  He is also Ben obsessed.  Anything and everything Ben is doing, Caleb also wants to be doing.  I feel a little bad for Ben sometimes because as he would say, "Caleb is always in my business!"  He enjoys listening to books but doesn't really sit still for very long.

Skills:  He pulls himself up on everything and is walking holding onto hands or push toys.  He moves along furniture and is getting a little more daring as he tries to let go.  He claps his hands, gives high-fives, and reaches his arms up to show he is "SO BIG!"  He likes to turn pages in books, rolls cars back and forth and chase after balls.  He gives really sweet, really wet open mouthed kisses.

His personality is all sunshine.  I love getting him out of his crib in the morning because I am always met with a huge smile.  He is a little snuggler and I like to think he brings joy to others with his big grin.

Days 5 and 6: Ben and Caleb Part 1

I always knew that I would love my kids, but I didn't really realize how deep that love would be until I held each in my arm.  I could easily post a thing each day about both Ben and Caleb that I am thankful for but will try to reign it in a bit.

We'll start with Ben:
At almost 33 months old (or nearly 3!) he is a joy every single day.  From the moment he explodes into our room asking, "Is it daylight?" to the end of the day when he wants, "Just one more snuggle," my heart feels so full it could burst.  Over this past year we've watched him go from only child to big brother and even though at times he has some not so nice moments, he is developing into a very caring sibling.

Ben is an incredibly thoughtful, smart and kind little guy.  I know, I know, every parent thinks that his/her child is bright and we do as well.  He can sit for hours "reading" to himself.  He knows the street on which he lives and the names of the streets where his buddies live.  He loves when people come over, especially his Heather and Kevin.  He loves to sing songs, he remembers everything we say and do.  He takes care of Caleb by moving the dog water out of Caleb's way, taking crayons out of his hands and feeding him food off of his plate.  (He also does his fair share of taking toys, knocking over and generally trying to teach Caleb that Ben is the boss).

Every single day he learns something new.  It is fun (and a bit tiring at times) to answer the endless series of toddler questions as he discovers the world around him.  The other night he asked Andrew what salvation is, which led to a long conversation.  His imagination is continuing to develop as he builds houses with blocks, fireplaces with cardboard boxes and construction sites with whatever he can scrounge up. He loves to do puzzles and play with playdough.  He is my right hand man in the kitchen and can tell you what each mixer attachment is used for.

He is such a fun little guy to hang out with each and every day.  He has his challenging moments (ask me sometime about what happened before we went to Dayton) but overall we couldn't be happier with how he is growing.