Tag: Shecklet #1

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Happy 5th birthday, Nolan!

Dear Nolan,

Wow, 5 years!  I can’t believe how fast time has gone.  I suppose I may say that with each passing year, but it’s the truth every time.  You have grown so much this year I can hardly believe it.  You continue to grow in confidence and compassion and are such a funny and loving young boy.  I am amazed at how much you absorb throughout the day and am grateful to be able to experience life through your eyes.  I am so thankful to be your mother.

Today we began the day in the best way possible, thanking God for the gift of you at mass.  When word got out afterward that it was your birthday, you proudly told people that you were now 5!  And you held up your fingers to prove it 🙂  We stopped to pick up donuts (which has become a bit of a Sunday tradition) and a cappuccino (for me) and brought them home to share.  Then I got started with frosting your cake.  This year, I asked if you wanted a caterpillar cake (like the one we saw in a magazine) and you said yes.  While I was frosting the cake, Daddy went to the garage to get your present ready.  The look on your face when you saw your new red bike in the garage pure joy!  Lincoln helped you check out every detail of it and you hopped on to check out the size.  I think you have a great summer in store!

Our family & friends arrived around 2:30 for cake and ice cream.  After singing to you, we dug in to the tasty caterpillar and then you went outside with Lincoln and our friend, I.  A little while later, you asked if everyone could come outside to watch you open your presents.  You did a great job sharing your new things.  Your uncles helped you break in your new bat, glove & baseball and you also played a round of croquet with Nana.

I pray you always share that wonderful smile and welcoming personality with the world.  Your Daddy & I love you very much and look forward to seeing what God has in store for you this coming year.
XOXO

Mommy

 

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Blue footed boobies

While I was in FL, Jake sent me a recap of a conversation he had with the boys on their way to church this morning:

Nolan: “Look at those boobies.  Blue footed boobies.”

Me: “Those are geese.  Blue footed boobies live in the Galapagos Islands.”

Lincoln: “I want to go to Galapagos Islands and see the boobies.”

Nolan: “But we have to wait for mommy to come home.”

Just to give a bit of background, the reason this even came up is because one of the animal magazines the boys get recently featured the Blue Footed Booby.  I can only imagine the restraint it must have taken Jake to keep from busting out laughing during this conversation.  I love my boys!

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Cousins

Jake and I got up this morning and went to mass with Ingrid, letting the rest of the house sleep in.  My dad was there as well.  Afterward, my dad offered to take us to breakfast on main street.  Jake told me to go and he would head back to the house to check on the boys.  When we walked into the restaurant we found my brother and cousin Jared sitting at a table.  We sat down and shortly after, Josh and his girlfriend, Jordan, joined us.  My mom eventually joined us as well.  Good food and good conversation.

After breakfast Jared took Tony & me to see Josh’s new house and dogs.  Then we went back to Jared & Kyla’s to pack up, have lunch, and try to get a few pics of the cousins.  Emphasis on try.  (You may notice that Lincoln is missing from the little cousins photo – he wasn’t in the photo taking mood.)

I don’t know which group was more challenging to capture, the younger cousins or the older!

Finally, as we left town this afternoon we stopped to say one final goodbye to Uncle Joe.  As we were pulling into the cemetery, Lincoln said to me, “Mommy, that sleepover was a blast!”  It was really good to be with family.

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Goodbye Joe

Saturday morning we got ready for the funeral and again, had the boys stay home with a babysitter.  The funeral was a beautiful good-bye to Uncle Joe.  My brother, cousin Kerri and I were asked to read the readings during the mass and we were also pall bearers along with Jake, Jared & Kyla, and Josh & Jordan.

After we returned from the cemetery, the church ladies provided us with a wonderful luncheon.  We were able to visit with many of our extended relatives, many of whom we had not seen for several years.  “Why is it that we only get together at weddings and funerals?” was a question that was asked many times over.

Jake and Jared brought the boys to the church after we were finished eating so we could introduce them to family members who had only seen them in pictures.  At that point we also selected a few items of Joe’s to remember him by.

After a long & emotional morning/afternoon, we returned to Jared & Kyla’s for the evening.  We had dinner and sat around the table reminiscing and looking at photos.

Uncle Joe ended up having the last laugh tonight.  My cousin, Josh, had brought home a humidifier box (after the encouragement of my mom).  When he opened it at home that night, he had to drive back to Jared & Kyla’s to show us what he had found.  Apparently my mom had used the box to send Joe a care package for his birthday back in what we think must have been 2004!  The birthday card and treats inside the box were never opened!  Little Debbie cakes were hard as rocks and Hershey Kisses exploded while Hershey Miniatures disintegrated.  From what we can figure, Uncle Joe must have thought he was getting a humidifier for his birthday and didn’t even bother to open the box.  So funny & yet, not surprising 🙂

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Weekend trip to SD

We traveled to SD this weekend to lay my Uncle Joe to rest.  It was a sad reason to get together with family, but at the same time, good to be with family.  The kids and I rode with my dad (my mom had gone down earlier in the week and Jake and Tony drove together after work.)  All 3 kids did quite well in the car.  The boys were entertained for a while by good ‘ol Cars.  Thank you Pixar.

Once we arrived at my cousin’s house, we had dinner, changed and went to the prayer service for my uncle at the church.  Jared & Kyla found a sitter to watch all 4 boys so we could attend the service undistracted.  When Kyla and I arrived home, we found the boys here:

They remained up until about 11:30.  WWWWWAAAAYYYY past bedtime, but they were having so much fun with each other, how could we put them to bed???

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Just like Mommy

After putting the boys to bed tonight, Jake and I were talking in our room while I was feeding Ingrid.  At one point, he looked across the hall and saw the light on in the boys’ room.  Opening the door, he saw Nolan in bed with a Dr. Seuss book.  (Thankfully, Lincoln was out to the world.)

Jake: “Nolan, what are you doing?”

Nolan: “I’m reading to relax, like Mommy does.”

Oh what that child observes and retains.

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Some kind of berry

Nolan: “Mom, why is she blowing cranberries at me?”

Ingrid has learned how to blow “raspberries” with all of the extra saliva she’s producing in preparation for her new teeth.  Today, she blew them at her brother 🙂

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Backwards

It seems I need to do a better job at looking at the kids’ clothes before they head off to school.  I went downstairs this morning with Lincoln and Ingrid and told Nolan to get himself dressed.  (He sometimes dawdles a bit too long if I wait for him, so when I leave the room and he generally gets dressed faster.)  Well, I didn’t even think to look closely at what he was wearing.  I just assumed that since his shirt looked fine, everything else was in order.  Wrong.  I think he was going for the Kris Kross look today.  His preschool teacher had to point out to me that his pants were on backwards.  I guess they were roomy enough that they didn’t bother him.  It’s nice to know he’s not the first to have done this at school 🙂

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Run, boys, run!

Little Miss Ingrid and I went to a friend’s house tonight for a “ladies night.”  Just a little out of the house time with my favorite little girl, friends & conversation.  While we were there, Jake took the boys to the gym to run.  Yes, all 3 of them ran on the track…for a bit.  Apparently it was quite a sight and many who were also working out got a chuckle out of it.  It’s amazing the boys survived because they were incredibly distracted by all of the action and machines that are located in the center of the track.  Jake said that when they finished their 2nd lap, Lincoln requested that he and Nolan go to the childcare room so Jake could get his workout in on the treadmill.  Two laps was enough for him.  Not bad for little legs like theirs!  And when they got home, they crashed!  Yes!  This may be what we need to do to tire them out until they can resume their (almost) all-day adventures outside when the weather is warmer.

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Lug-a-by

The boys frequently ask me to sing to them before they go to bed.  Starting this past summer, they have requested a “lug-a-bye” (spelled phonetically) in which I recap the days events to the tune of “Lullaby, and Good Night.”  I have to admit, it’s one of my favorite parts of the day.  I love that they get so excited to hear me sing to them, despite my ability to always stay on key.  I’ve gotten pretty creative with turning everyday activities into song lyrics, if I do say so myself!