Florida & Five Months

A mini golden birthday, as Grandpa Dean calls it - 5 months on the 5th!  December has already brought an amazing amount of joy and it's not even Christmas!  Between vacations, birthdays, and log rolling, we have been very busy!

Justin, Erica, and I took Vaan on his first plane ride, 12/1/12, down to see Aunt Roselle and Uncle Mel!  Roselle, Erica, and I have created an annual tradition of an early December Florida vacation to celebrate all of our birthdays.  This year was extra special as it was our first family vacation as well!  Growing up, my family always went to Florida to see my Grandpa, so it is only fitting that going to Florida to see family was Vaan's first!  Vaan flew very well and won over the others on the flight with his cuteness!  While we were in Florida, Vaan had his first "swim lesson"!  He is an excellent back floater and has the skill of kicking mastered!  He loved the water and I can't wait to get him into swim lessons in January.  We exposed Vaan (and Justin) to our annual shopping extravaganza that goes along with this trip.  Even though we didn't do near as much as we normally do, we still didn't disappoint - our bags were packed FULL by the end!  We also continued with our annual tradition of decorating Roselle's tree with several hundred ornaments (I am not exaggerating) and putting our 3 matching ornaments on for the year.  Vaan got his own special ornament this year for her tree as well.  We had a great time seeing Roselle and Mel, celebrating Roselle and Erica's birthday, shopping, swimming, and relaxing in the warm Florida air!

At five months, Vaan's favorite past time is log rolling EVERYWHERE!  You put him down as far away from the Christmas tree as possible, a few minutes later he has rolled his way under!  He can get (almost) anywhere he would like and get at anything on the floor!  I guess this is his way of saying, "mom and dad, you better think about child proofing our house because I am ready to MOVE!"  He continues to be an incredibly happy baby and bring us joy each and every day.  We could not be more blessed!

Cheers to Florida, Festivities, and Five Months!


Florida

 

 

 

 

 Five Months

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

I have always taken time at Thanksgiving to reflect on how blessed I am and everything I am thankful for.  This year, there is no need to take time to reflect, my blessings are right in front of my each and every day.  The birth of Vaan has taught me that there are things in our every day life to be thankful for and I do not take these precious moments for granted.  I am thankful for each minute of family time, every smile on Vaan's face, auntie Ericas and Uncle Seans, grandmas and grandpas, big coffees, supportive friends, and so so much more.  AND, to be honest, I have never been so thankful for QUIET, hot showers!

As usual, Justin had to work on Thanksgiving day.  Vaan and I spend this day as I have for the last 28 Thanksgivings, at my great-aunt and uncle, Sheila & Trig's, house.  We were able to spend our Thanksgiving as a family the next day at home.  On Sunday we had another Thanksgiving with the Reese Family.  Lots of celebration and LOTS to be thankful for!

Four Months

November 5, 2012 is four months from the day we were blessed with our little miracle!  The last four months have brought sleepless nights and frustrations with fussiness, but more importantly, they have brought more happiness and love than we could have ever imagined.

At four months, Vaan is a master at rolling over, sitting in his bumbo and highchair, and talking (babbling) and giggling like crazy.  He loves to play peek-a-boo and laughs like crazy at any wild movement you can make (especially at his aunt jumping and flailing around)!  He seems to have outgrown his play gym because laying on his back looking at lights and toys is simply too boring these days.  The jumper with four different play stations is much more fun!  Vaan also enjoys his "workout" each day.  We can barely keep up with his CONSTANT business.  His legs are forever moving in the motion of running, jumping, or biking.  He also does "crunches", with his legs going up and down - toes in his mouth, toes out, repeat! We can barely keep up - I can not even imagine what he will be like when he can crawl, ahhh!!

I know I say this every month, but it is amazing the growth and fun each month brings.  This little man has completely stolen our hearts and we love him to the moon at back.  Cheers to feisty, fitness, and four months!!

Fall Fun

Pumpkins, patches, and police officers can summarize our fall fun thus far!  We went to the pumpkin patch 10/26/12 to get Vaan his first pumpkin.  Justin and I have both enjoyed fall for many reasons in the past, but this by far takes the cake!  Granted, all Vaan could do was sit and look at the pumpkins, but it was so fun!!  It might seem lame, but this family adventure was amazing.  We picked out a big pumpkin for Vaan that we carved a 'V' in and also picked out a few Vaan sized pumpkins for him to "play" with.  It was a typical fall day: gloomy, chilly, and spitting rain, but it was the start of a tradition we can't wait to continue.

The third 'p', or police officer, is Vaan's Halloween costume.  Vaan is a little mini me of Justin, so we decided we might as well have him finish playing the part with this costume!  Vaan was equipped with the hat, uniform, cargo pants, and whistle (pacifier!), just like Dad!  He obviously can not trick or treat, but we had fun dressing him up for a few different occasions.  We went to a play date with the Fuhrmann's where the little boys, Vaan and Jack, put on their police uniforms to match the big boys/dads, Justin and Ben.  Vaan also put on this uniform to visit both grandmas at work, eat dinner with Owen, and hand out candy to the big kids on Halloween. 

Every day and month brings so many firsts.  It continues to be so exciting to watch Vaan grow and spend time bonding as a family.  Enjoy the pictures of our fall fun so far! 

Two Baby Tuesday

We get to play with Cade on Tuesdays!  My friend Kallie had a baby boy, Cade, a month after I had Vaan.  She is back to work full time and we are having Cade at our house on Tuesdays.  Many people have doubted my ability to take care of two babies at one time, but guess what...we have one day in the books and WE ALL SURVIVED!  Until a week ago, I was super excited about having Cade on Tuesdays.  One week ago, I started to get nervous and doubt myself because of all the negative feedback I was getting about taking on this challenge.  My confidence and excitement was reinstated after Tuesday.  It was a ton of fun!!  I think it was more mentally stressful than anything; I was trying to be super diligent and meet the needs of both babies before they had to tell me (cry).  I was successful with this for the most part!  Next week will be a lot more relaxing knowing I can do it!

 

Here are a few pictures from our day:

3 Months

Vaan, you are three months old and more amazing than ever!  Each day you grow and change.  It is incredible to watch the unique little person you are becoming.  Mom and Dad could not be happier and celebrate you at this three month mark!

Each day continues to be blissful with our little one, but each day also brings it's challenges.  As Vaan has grown, he has developed a personality, specific needs, and of course, unknown crying and fussing.  The worst feeling I have ever experienced yet in life is listening to him cry, not being able to comfort him or know what he needs.  The last week has been filled with a lot of this!  The little guy is trying to be more independent and stay awake longer.  Our two hour schedule of eat, play, sleep has completely gone out the window!  It has been challenging to find something that works for him without him becoming over-tired and extremely cranky.  Oh the joys of parenthood!  I'm sure this won't be the last bump in the road and Vaan will try to mix things up fairly frequently.  Either way, having a family continues to be the best decision we have ever made and brings us a vast amount of happiness.

Cheers to trials, triumphs, and three months!

Married Life, A Year Later

September 24, 2012

One year ago, our lives were propelled by our love for one another.  Our biggest priority was being the best we could be for one another, now as husband and wife.  Today, our lives continue to be propelled by love, but the love is much greater and much broader.  Our biggest priority is being the best we can be together, as spouses and parents.  Our love for each other and Vaan grows each day.  I had no idea one year ago that love this great was possible.  Erica said in her toast "I hope you look back on today as the day you loved each other the least".  I didn't know if it was possible to love more than I did that day, my heart was so filled with love and happiness.  I now know that with each passing day, love grows, relationships get stronger, and family is where the heart explodes.  It has been an amazing year filled with beautiful blessings.  What a great start; I can not wait to see what the years ahead have to bring.

Justin, let me take a moment to thank you for loving me the most when I deserve it the least.  You are my hero, my best friend, and my one true love.  I will appreciate you, honor you, and respect you all the days of my life.  You and no other.

I love you Justin, Happy Anniversary!!


**On a lighter note, this is an anniversary we will never forget.  I have been back to work for one week.  I have reduced my hours to 11 per week and am working Monday and Friday afternoons.  On Mondays I work from 1-7pm and today Justin is off.  Perfect scenario, until Justin is called at 10:30am and is told he has to work from 3-7pm.  Grandma Karen to the rescue!!  Grandma is asked to leave work early to help us out, and like the awesome grandma she is, of course she is willing!  I got home a little after 7pm to no water, emergency shut off.  No problem, except I'm dying of thirst, really need to go to the bathroom, and would like to give Vaan a warm bath to soothe him and get him to bed so Justin and I can have a little time together before I crash.  It is now 9pm, I am just getting Vaan down and Justin is still not home.  I guess I should have mentioned above, getting ordered from 3-7pm never means actually getting done at 7pm.  Justin got home at 9:30 and now we need to decide what to eat.  Justin asks, "So, do you want Taco Bell?"  Umm, no I don't want Taco Bell on my anniversary!  Haha, so I settled for Papa John's pizza, not great - but better than taco hell.  Our pizza arrives at 10:15, we eat, Justin thinks the world is going to end after a disastrous call at the end of the Packer game causing the Packers to lose (in case you didn't know - I am a Bear fan, so this part I will most likely forget in years to come), and we go to bed.  Was it how I pictured my first anniversary?  No, but it was still great.  We were together as a family and I wouldn't have it any other way and I can say, we will never forget this one!  Cheers to one year :)

Thank Heaven for Baby Boys and Little Sisters

The last few weeks have left me reflecting on how extremely blessed I am.  I am so fortunate to have such a perfect baby boy, a loving husband, an amazing family, and fabulous friends.  It is easy to get wrapped up in the day to day activities, the busy schedules, and the hopes for the future; however, I have realized how comforting it is to take time each day to be thankful for and cherish all the love that surrounds me. 

I would like to highlight my sister in this post.  Erica is my sister AND she is my very best friend.  She knows not only me, but Justin and Vaan as well, inside and out and would do anything for us.  I know this because she does everything for us most, if not all, weekends.  If there are dishes to be done, she does them; if there are clothes to be washed, she washes them; if I need someone to take Vaan for a bit, she plays with him.  I could go on and on about all the things she does, but most importantly, she knows what I am thinking and feeling without me saying a word and tends to my needs.  Even though she is my little sister, I find myself looking up to her ability to be so selfless and nurturing.  I have needed her more than ever, especially after Justin went back to work, and she knew that without me saying it and has been at my side to support, help, and love.  In all this, she has developed a special bond with Vaan that no other has and no other ever will.  Vaan loves his auntie just as much as she loves him and they will be buddies forever.  Erica is a God sent and I honestly do not know what I would do without her.  Thank you Erica for being the most amazing sister and friend anyone could every ask for.  I love you; we all love you and we are so thankful for you each and every day. 

CHEERS TO AUNTIE ERICA!!