Happy New Year 2015!! I don't know about you, but I am ready for a good adventure....
Colleen
Happy 2014!! If I would have known what the beginning of
2014 would have been like, I would have tried as hard as possible to stay in
2013. The polar vortex hit this family hard. Being pregnant during the winter
does have its advantages though…I was never cold, but the perks stop there. We
started the month with 3 snow days which were fantastic. Don’t get me wrong.
All teachers love snow days. Especially ones early in winter, however, when
it’s below zero and one can’t go outside without freezing (literally), it’s
kind of a drag. Coupled with the fact that my snow pants didn’t fit and I
couldn’t go skiing or sledding, which I normally enjoy, I was a total stick in
the mud as far as the kids were concerned.
My winter months pretty much looked like this: Work, meetings, doctor
appointments, snow days when it’s negative 10 degrees. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
The highlight of our month was our niece and nephews’ bowling birthday party,
and a definite highlight was a 4D ultrasound that I had. I got to see what our
handsome little baby was going to look like! Because I was already 33 weeks or
so, I was at the tail end of the “window” in which those ultrasounds even work,
but it was pretty awesome. I got to see that our little boy looked very much
like Adam. I could see he perfect little lips, which were quite full really,
and they had Adam written all over them!! Too bad Adam couldn’t go to that
appointment because how could I neglect to mention….he was gone for a month
during January and February. Normally I do pretty well when he is gone, but
there was something about being pregnant, working, being utterly exhausted, and
single parenting, and I nearly LOST MY MIND. The tipping point was when I was
set to be Martha Stewart one morning and make my darling daughter some blueberry
muffins, and the EFFING can opener didn’t work. I about lost it. So I called
Adam who was in Sault St. Marie (Thank GOD he was in a colder spot than me
because if he was in Miami or something I would have really lost it. Not even
kidding.) and unfortunately there was nothing much he could do about my can
opener over the phone. The month ended ok (I suppose) because I had some
friends over with their kids, and I do enjoy a bit of socialization here and
thereJ
But January pretty much sucked. Oh and the first week he was gone, the
“critter” was back in the eaves scratching over Carter’s room which
understandably terrified him. And me. JOY
On to February! Adam was gone for half the month. I turned
33 on the 5th. We had a little party at my house with the kids and
my mom and Bob. It was nice. Grandma put a bag of Gus’ breadsticks down on a
candle and nearly burnt the house down. The breadsticks had a nice campfire
taste to them. Honestly it was hysterical. I needed some excitement in my life.
This is kind of sad. Most of the time these blog posts are about the kids, but
I was so busy working and just trying to take care of life, that I don’t have
anything too interesting to report. There were so many snow days, I felt like
nobody was getting any smarter, but at least it just wasn’t my kids. We
probably watched too much TV and played on the ipad too much, but I only have
so many things in my bag of tricks for snow days. I feel bad for the poor teachers who have to justify all of the
low test scores because of the polar vortex. Something tells me your
administrators won’t care about your plight! We went to Castaway Café twice,
which the kids loved, and also Adam came home a day and half early just so he
could take Gabrielle to the Daddy-Daughter Dance, so that was super sweet. It
was their 3rd dance already! Gabrielle started at age 3 and it’s too
bad it happens only once a year because it is a highlight for both of them! And
I was relieved because I was no longer an 8 month pregnant single working parent!
Wahoo! When Adam came home we worked on
Carter’s new room. We wanted to get him out of his crib and into a big boy bed
before the baby came so he didn’t think he was being ousted by a newborn. We
cleared all my junk and the kids’ toys out of the bonus room over the garage to
make room for Carter’s new red Corvette bed. It’s pretty awesome actually. We
also painted the new room, put up a cool checkered flag border and matching
valance, and hung some cool street signs and a vintage Corvette sign in there
too. He loves it. The room is huge!
March came in pretty quickly which is so fantastic, but I
was so busy at work trying to prepare for a long-term sub and trying to get all
the paperwork done and data analyzed for my final evaluation that it’s a blur.
I can’t believe the number of meetings I go to. I have meetings all the time. I
have never had so many meetings in my life. Which explains why when I got to
Gabrielle’s conference at her school, I had no clue what was going on and
pretty much felt like one of those flakey parents who drive me crazy when I
have parent conferences at school. Excuse the cliché, but you gotta love the
pot calling the kettle black!! One more reason not to judge, huh?!
One of the highlights of the month, however, was meeting
Melissa Gilbert at a book signing. Growing up I loved watching all the Little
House on the Prairie shows. I wanted to be a part of her TV family. Truly one
of my most pervasive and defining childhood memories was watching that show! I
thought her family was so wonderful, and she had siblings which was odd and
interesting to me. Is that sad? Or great? I don’t know. Anywho, I was star struck and plan on renting
all the seasons of Little House to share with Gabrielle.
So as the month of March kept on, it was still FREAKING cold
and snowy outside, but one lovely advantage was having a snow day on parent
conferences. Like the one that I had to host. That was the best gift EVER
because I only had one more week to work before I took a week off to relax a
little and do some special mother/son things with Carter. Well, case in point that planning doesn’t
always work, because our darling little COLLIN PHILIP was born one week
early!!!!!!! My plans for relaxation
were totally thwarted! But that is the way my mind works. As soon as all the
stress of planning for the sub was done and as soon as I signed on the dotted
line for my evaluation, I had the baby. (That happened the same way with
Carter!)
It seemed like such a long and arduous pregnancy because I
never had a chance to sit on my a** unless I was at my uncomfortable desk chair
at work. This pregnancy was the hardest by far. I had no complications but I
just worked so much! I went to the hospital Thursday night after a full day at
school. I knew something was up. My last day was supposed to be Friday, but I
said goodbye to the students a day early, and went to the hospital when Adam
got home from work. Collin was born around 11:30 am on Friday. I got admitted
to the hospital and was already dilated to a 5 with no pain. The nurses wanted
to wheel me to my room, but I insisted on walking. They were like “What??! Your
at a 5 and want to walk?!?” I did it in style too… jeweled flats and my MK
bag…and a hospital gown too. Very cute, ha! Pretty unreal. Labor is easy for me
it’s just that I cook up these enormous babies so when push comes to shove
(sorry unintentional pun there (those are the best right?)) getting them out is
not easy. Collin was 8 lbs. 10 oz. My biggest yet by 3 oz! Second prize goes to
my tall and skinny Gabrielle and third prize goes to my little Carter who was 8
lbs., 2 oz.!
We named Collin after me with the two l’s and after his dad too,
because Philip is Adam’s middle name. We also did it to confuse people with 2
l’s in his first name and only one in Philip! HAHA! As soon as Collin was born,
the stress of the school year was just a figment of a memory. I really cannot describe a better feeling
than holding your newborn in your arms. I was instantly totally smitten with
love as soon as I saw that little boy. He’s so sweet and cute and handsome! He
looks just Adam. It was so great being in the hospital. The only thing I had to
do was hold my baby. I had no other jobs!! It was amazing. We even got to stay
an extra night because Collin wouldn’t pee and it is a necessity for the
doctors to verify that all bodily systems are working. He peed late that extra
night. I knew he would, so I was not worried. Overall, it was a wonderful
experience, and I can’t accurately describe how wonderful it is to the mom of
three beautiful kids. I feel blessed beyond words!!
April
It sure is nice having a baby in the house. Collin is so
sweet as all babies are! It’s wonderful not to be working. It’s also wonderful
to be getting Gabrielle on the bus everyday. I really miss her during the day!
Gosh it seems like she is gone forever. Good thing I am pretty happy staying at
home/close to home. Carter, Collin, and I get out a little bit, but we have a
pretty good time at home! Collin sleeps a lot, which give me time to have one
on one time with Carter. I am so glad it’s April—nicer weather on the horizon.
Maybe I’m crazy, but we decided to have a little birthday party for Gabrielle.
There was no way I was having anything at the house, so we rented a little room
at 242 Community Church where there is a playscape for the kids. She is really
into Frozen, so it was a Frozen themed party. She had a few friends from
school, and we also invited family. It was fun for her. Collin was so easy at
the party because he just slept and had a bottle. Gotta love the newborn stage!
It was great having Gabrielle home over spring break even though we didn’t do
anything!! The week after spring break Gabrielle started swimming, which I have
been encouraging but she never wanted to sign up. Finally I just had to sign her
up because learning how to swim is a non-negotiable. The class was only 30
minutes, so it was over in a blink, but she seemed to enjoy it. She also
continued to be in Daisy Scouts. That was her other activity. I am learning
that Gabrielle is very particular with her time. She had zero interest in
continuing dance or gymnastics. Ok then.
The adjustment to having a baby brother has been tough for
my poor little Carter boy. All this time he has been my baby!! All of a
sudden I was back at work after being home for over two years, and then I was
done working, but I was home with a baby. In addition to switching rooms,
things have been different for him, and he is coping as best as he can. He
doesn’t show much interest in the baby, but occasionally he’ll peek in on him
or rock the “carriage” and one time he wanted to give him a bottle. He has know
idea how much more fun Collin will be once he grows a bit. Carter continues to
go to the 2’s program at Grace Lutheran. It really hasn’t been the best
experience much to my dismay. First of all, there wasn’t much consistency with
the schedule. It was only once a week and with all the days off due to snow
days, scheduled Fridays off due to the Howell schedule, and semester endings
Fridays off, there was lots of starts and stops for him. He also is only
interested in playing with cars and trucks and using large motor skills. Art
isn’t his bag at this stage in his life. He also was very clingy with me at
school which makes sense seeing as how Grandma was always the one who took him.
He’s working on it. Carter is my cuddle bug. He is the best kid to sleep with
(if necessary) because he snuggles in and sleeps in one spot…as opposed to his
Bed Hog Betty sister. HA!
Collin had his first real smile and coo on April 22. He is doing
much better at latching on to nurse. Thank goodness he’s #3 or else I may have
given up. He will latch on and then he loses it making meal time difficult, but
being an experienced mama has greatly helped. Just a little extra patience is
needed. Love having a snuggly bundle of a baby. Seems like I always knew his
little soul, but now I get to have him in person. It’s perfect!
May
The month started out with Collin’s baptism which was
awesome! It was done outside of mass by Deacon Gary so it was smaller and a
little more informal which was great because Carter was running all over the
place. They forgot to heat up the font, so instead of getting “dunked” he was
just baptized the “regular” way. Having two other children immersed, it was so
much easier for Collin not to get dunked, so I was thrilled. There is something
very complicated about getting a diaper on a wet baby, and then putting on a
scratchy outfit, all while everyone is looking at you ! My wonderful mother and
Bob hosted the baptism party at their house and it was amazing, phenomenal, and
outstanding!!(All Adam and I had to do was show up. After having a lot of
parties at our house, I cannot even describe how nice it was to not have a
large party at our home. You see, I go CRAZY before parties. And I make
everyone else crazy too. I clean everything and want the house spotless. In
reality, it’s really hard and not fun at all.) Anyway, the party was catered
and their house looked amazing. It was really nice.
What else? Gabrielle continued her swimming class at the
Howell Pool and also continued Daisies. She also had her spring music program
at school. It was super fun to see her first school concert. She looked so
cute.
We also had Kyle’s Baptism and Cadyn’s First Communion, too.
I was asked to be Kyle’s Godmother, which is so super special to me, it is such
an honor to be his godmommy! He is a handsome little hunk of laughter and love, and I adore him! We celebrated with them, and then we left for our
first weekend at the cottage! Memorial Day is the kick-off to our summer season
at the cottage. The weekend previous, we kicked off our summer season by
getting our brand-spankin-new pontoon delivered… it’s pretty awesome… and now
our summer has officially started. Woot-Woot!!!
June
My favorite month…I wish June never ended. Our property
values would spike! Oh wait, never ending summer is in California. DARN.
Gabrielle had a field trip to Potter Park Zoo and grandma got to be a
chaperone. She was enthralled by the albino peacock. That animal seemed to be
the most interesting to her. Her last day was June 10th after having
to make up two days due to the polar vortex. We had 6 doctor/dentist
appointments between me and the kids, and now that school is out, that is
something that while I don’t look forward to, it’s easier to schedule rather
than during the school year.
Collin was 3 months
on the 21st. He continues to grow quickly and is close to rolling
over. He went for his two-month check up on the 5th. He weighed in
at 13 pounds, 10 ounces (61%), 23.75 inches (57%), and his head circumference
was 16.4 inches (94%).
We spent every weekend at Houghton Lake with the exception
of the weekend of Jacob’s graduation party, Father’s Day, and Carter’s birthday
party. Carter turned the big 3!! He wanted a construction-themed party this
year. This year had been rough on poor little Cartie. Mom went back to work for
the first time since he was born, and he knew something was going to change
with the addition of Collin. We had a little party at our house, and I know he
felt like the special boy he is. He was very polite and thanked everyone for
their gifts. That is one cool thing about Carter—he is not shy and usually has
something personable to say. Love that kid!!!
Being up at the cottage every weekend in June is simply the
BEST. With a long summer ahead of us, we really enjoyed our time there. Our
favorite activities don’t change much… We love the fun on the water. The
biggest difference this year is our awesome new boat. It’s a behemoth of a boat.
There is room for our family of 5 to lounge all over the place. We take off
mid-morning and set sail around the entire lake. It’s Michigan’s biggest inland
lake, people, so it takes HOURS to get around even when you don’t stop. There
are several favorite sandbars, or “sandbarges” as Gabrielle likes to say, where
we throw the anchor out and swim around in knee deep water. Adam and I have a
particular fondness for throwing a Frisbee, football, or this neat little
sucker ball and disc game that Gabrielle got from great nana. This boating around the lake has to be our
favorite activity. At first, we had a hooptie boat that would make it around
the lake, and then we had a speed boat that didn’t allow for much lounging, so
now we have the perfect vessel to rendezvous in. Yippee!!
July/August
July started with, you guessed it, a long vacation to our
cottage. I like to do July and August together because there isn’t much
difference between the two! LOTS and
LOTS of lazy days on Houghton Lake and many, many hours on our boat. We took off at the end of
June for the entire 4th of July week and weekend. My favorite time
and holiday of the year. The quintessential feeling of summer. L ove Love
Love…. We about wore our new boat out! We put Collin’s rock-and-play baby widget
on the boat, and he would take his naps with the wind in his face. We had no
respect for Carter’s nap schedule (which he takes everyday mid-day) so he took
his naps on the boat too. We were pros at packing our lunches and beverages in
the cooler for a day on the lake. In July, we had two fun visitors: Great Nana and Aunt
Tui. We spent a lot of time out on the boat. Who would have guessed?! It was
fun to have an extra baby-holder, and they were happy to oblige. Adam and I got
to play Frisbee and throw the football around with our free hands and play
Baggo!! We ate like royalty. Nana brought a blueberry pie and blueberry
breakfast cake and Tui brought the most amazing breakfast casserole. Adam and I
made shish kabobs, and the grill caught on fire. There were billows of black
smoke teeming from the grill. Needless to say, the kabobs were, uh, a little
extra chargrilled, but we made the best of it! Ha!
Collin went for his 4 month check-up this month too. He weighed in at 17 pounds on the nose which
is in the 79th percentile, and measured in at 25.9 inches which is
also in the 79th percentile. His head measured 17.3 inches which is
the 96th percentile. (Big brain, I guess!) He continues to be an
easy baby, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I am not grateful for my
sweet Collin.
Toward the end of July, Adam and I traveled to Chicago for
the baptism of my beautiful goddaughter, Olivia Madeleine. My girlfriend, Liz,
asked me to be her godmother, and it was such an honor for me to be asked.
Olivia is my niece just like my other nieces and nephews and I just adore her!!
September
This was a lovely September mostly because I didn’t have to
go back to work. Gabrielle started back to school on the 2nd, and
honestly I was sad to see her go. I like having her home everyday. The thought
of homeschooling crossed my mind, but who am I kidding? Gabrielle would much
rather be at school, and while I think I could teach her, she would rather
learn from a 1st grade pro teacher. I was so so SO happy to be able
to get her on the bus because otherwise it would have been my first day of
school too. It’s amazing how one can appreciate such a little thing as being
able to get their kid on the bus, but last year I didn’t get to at all until
after Collin was born. Gabrielle seemed to like school right away. (“My teacher
is SO beautiful!”) She got the cool teacher, so I am very happy for her.
Another big thing this month…My sweet, funny Carter-boy
started 3 year old preschool!! How in the world is that possible?? I remember
toting him in his baby carrier when I took Gabrielle to preschool. I was
extremely worried about him starting school because he didn’t have the best
experience in 2 year old preschool (lots of changes, mom at work, full-time
grandma babysitting, expecting a new baby), so I was afraid that he wouldn’t
want to be at school. Adam and I worked very hard with him to get him potty
trained and really talked up the whole school thing. Lo and behold---he did
wonderfully. He let me leave without a tear. I didn’t even walk him to the
classroom door, rather I gave him a hug and a kiss and he walked down the hall
by himself. I think it was actually harder to leave Carter at school than
Gabrielle because I had prepped myself for tears. I was so proud of him. In my
eyes, he is my baby boy and it pulled at my heartstrings to see him go. WAH!!!
We started swimming lessons this month, too. Gabrielle and
Carter at the same time! Gabrielle was repeating the same class from the last
session, so she was ready to rock it especially since we took the summer off,
and she spent so much time in the water to practice her skills. Carter, on the
other hand, was going into the first class where kids don’t need a parent with
them. While he was very reluctant, he got in the water and did the best he
could. Another proud mommy moment for me.
This month Auntie Kristin (one of Collin’s godmothers),
Donnie, Carter, Collin, and I met for lunch at the café at Nordstrom. Are we
crazy?!? The boys sat next to each other and acted like silly little boys, and
Kristin and I sat there and rolled out eyes at each other. They were funny and
lunch was delicious because I didn’t have to make it! I had a taste for
cilantro and lime and shrimp and was able to satisfy my wish! Wahoo! We also took the boys shopping afterward. They were hooligans!
We finished out the month with Collin’s 6 month doctor
appointment where he weighed in at 20 pounds, 6 ounces!! What a little hunk! He
had a few milestones this month such as rolling tummy to back on September 8th,
eating sweet potatoes on September 11th, holding his bottle on
September 18th , and starting to sit up on September 20th.
He’s still not sleeping through the night, but he is a good little snuggler so
that makes it ok with me. He’s just really fun to play with. He loves all of
his baby toys, and grabs onto them and plays his little heart out. He’s fun and
such a little dude with his own personality. Adam and I love to marvel at him!
October
My fourth favorite month. October in Michigan is quite
heavenly. The colors, the smells, pumpkins everywhere. As I write this on
November 3rd and look out the window at all the brown, I already
miss the color. Grandma and Grandpa Sexton left on September 15th
for a 6 week European/Moroccan/Asia Minor vacation, so the kids and I were left
to our own devices this month. I took Carter to his “Woodland Wonders” field
trip to his preschool teacher’s house. (I blogged about this for Gabrielle too
in October of 2011.) Carter is a different kid than in the spring when Collin
was born and when he was in the 2 year-old play group with Grandma. He’s
matured so much. He’s so funny, so sweet, and so outgoing. I love that about
him. We had such fun that day…on the nature trails, fishing on the boardwalk,
playing in all the stations that were set up. I loved having that time with
him. This was during the week that Adam
was away on his half business trip to Michigan Tech and his annual man hiking
trip.
The kids and I did something fun every day:
Monday-Jimmy John’s take-out at the Imagination Station in
downtown Brighton.
Tuesday-late night (i.e. 8:00) MCD’s run for chocolate
milkshakes and then we drove around Gabrielle’s bus route with her telling me
which way to go. (This was especially fun.)
Wednesday-I will have to ask Gabrielle. She will remember! I
think it may have been a trip to Target.
Thursday-Castaway night for Northwest
Friday-get together with friends
Saturday-birthday party
The fun ran out by Saturday evening. I was SPENT. Adam
didn’t get home until 6ish on Sunday, and it would have been a fantastic week
if he had come home about 9 hours sooner to be exact or a day early would have
been amazing. All-in-all, I give the week a “pretty good.”
The window washers came on the 10th. This was
funny because Carter chatted with them the entire time. I was exhausted by the
time they left because I had to keep up with Carter so that he didn’t get in
the way too much. On the 14th, we got together with Liz and my sweet
goddaughter, Olivia. This was a new record for us because I got to see her in
September too. It was fun to see how behemoth Collin looks compared to Olivia.
He’s only 6 weeks older but is ginormous. Being the youngest of 3, it is
obvious that his threshold for noise is greater. He makes this high-pitched
schreech that made poor Olivia cry. On the 18th, we surprised the
kids and took them to see Disney on Ice at the Palace. It was a fun
out-of-the-ordinary thing to do. Carter thought we were going to Disney World,
so he may have been a little disappointed, but he enjoyed the show nonetheless.
On the 19th, we had the photographer that took Collin’s newborn
photos do some family pictures for us. I have a serious weakness for pictures,
so I was very happy to see how great they turned out! On the 22nd, I
took Carter to the Chelsea Tree house to play for the morning. I didn’t even
tell Gabrielle. We would have both been too sad that she couldn’t go… One of my
favorite memories of being home with her when she was in preschool was going
there. I’m sure there is a blog post or two where that is mentioned. This time
it was just me and the boys. Still fun. There is the fastest slide with a huge
dip that always makes me scream, but I still missed my girlfriend. The next
day, Gabrielle had picture retake day. She missed picture day back in
September. I teased her for the past month that I was going to be “so mad” if
she lost a tooth and had a hole in her perfect little baby-tooth smile. Well,
lo and behold, on the 18th she lost the one next to her big front
teeth. I’m sure her pics will be just as cute. She cracks me up when it comes
to her loose teeth. Once they’re ready she just yanks them out. No drama. 1-2-3
pull! And there ya go.
This not working outside the home business is quite nice. I
was able to go to Carter’s and Gabrielle’s Halloween parades and festivities
without having to take comp time and get a sub and write sub plans. I was so
proud of Carter at his Halloween parade. He wore his entire Spider man costume,
including the mask. I wasn’t sure if he was going to because the concept of
costumes is/was very scary for him—especially because he saw a scary costume
and was scared for DAYS. He is still scared now, but Halloween is over thank
goodness. I also got to help out at Gabrielle’s Halloween party. The first
graders in her class are so cute and so precious. I loved them! I was in charge
of the ghost races where they had to blow white cups with ghost faces on them
across the table. They were so into it. It was priceless. I loved being there.
Halloween this year was cold, cold, COLD!! We just hit a few
houses in our neighborhood and a couple in the other neighborhood…enough to
each fill up their pumpkin. Thumbs up!
November
I love how November is a month when people remember to be
grateful for the little blessings. For me that is easy because I have 3
beautiful children and an awesome husband, so I am always thinking about how
blessed I am! One of the biggest blessings that I think about on a daily basis
is how I don’t have to work outside the home. I really don’t have words to
describe how happy this makes me. I love taking care of my own children,
getting Gabrielle ready for school every day, and spending my days with my
boys. It is truly the most wonderful thing!
This month started with me being the preschool helper mom for
the first time this year in Carter’s class.
It is still hard for me to believe that he is in 3 year old preschool. I
think I was the last mom to be on the rotation, so I had to wait for what
seemed like forever to get in there! Carter is so different than Gabrielle,
that I had a different kind of experience in the class with him. As much as I loved being there with him, I wasn’t
too happy with the experience that day, but it had nothing to do with Carter.
(Just keepin’ it real here…I was HOT when I got home!) I felt that the teacher
was annoyed with Carter just being Carter, she was nit-picking a few other
children, they spent way too much time trying to learn how to use scissors and
way too much time listening to directions. Sonshine time was now being done by
a new person and it didn’t have the same feel as the pastor who did an awesome
job when I was there with Gabrielle.
Needless to say, I was ready to disenroll him that day, but not being one to
make rash decisions, I decided to give it to the end of the year and
reevaluate.
I also got to help out in Gabrielle’s classroom during “Daily
5” twice this month which I loved. Her class is so cute, and even the ones that
aren’t so cute are still cuteJ
I know all the kids now…I knew a lot from last year and some from preschool
too. I always get to take them in the
hall and work on some kind of phoenemic awareness activity. It’s fantastic. I’m
very grateful that Grandma can watch the boys while I go in there!
In other Gabrielle news, she lost BOTH of her front teeth on
the 14th! How funny is that? Her new little smile is adorable! She
also had parent conferences on the 13th, and her teacher told me how
well she was doing in class. It was great hearing that she is a good friend to
all. In fact, her teacher has her sitting by someone who is very difficult—he has
some emotional issues—and Gabrielle handles him really well. “People don’t
understand him, mom” is what she told me. She’s right. Bless her heart!
Little Collin turned 8 months this month. He learned how to
clap his hands to pat-a-cake, which is so cute to see him clapping, and he also
knows to look to the window when he hears an airplane flying overhead. He picks
up on so much! I don’t remember pointing out an airplane to him, but he must
have seen one outside. He wants to crawl SO BADLY!! He lays on his belly and beebops
his hips all over, but doesn’t know to get on his knees, so he doesn’t get very
far! However, he is a master roller so he can roll and shimmy enough to get
whatever he wants! He doesn’t miss a trick. He also knows the word “kiss” and there
is nothing better than his juicy, open-mouthed kisses!! I love having a baby in
the house. That is something I am grateful for everyday…there is nothing better
than a warm, squishy baby. I pretty much tote him around all day. (My left
bicep looks amazing! I really need to even myself out and carry him in my right
arm, but it feels so awkward!) I know I am creating bad habits by carrying him
around all the time, but I don’t care. J
December
My favorite time of the year….we actually put up our tree
before Thanksgiving. It’s so magical with all the decorations in the house and
all over. I just love it. I found myself loving it even more this year. I loved
looking at all the kids’ ornaments, and I have a few that I really love. I also
really enjoyed other Christmas items such as the 3 nativities that we keep
under the tree, Gabrielle’s glittery nutcracker, my miniature bird ornaments,
my cardinal Scentsy warmer, and my Christmas photo frames! I LOVE IT!!!
December is always busy, but it’s a good busy. During just
the first week of December, I was Gabrielle’s classroom helper, she had
daisies, Carter had preschool twice, we had a friend over, I hosted my book
club at my house, Gabrielle was a bell ringer for the Salvation army, and we
had our first official Christmas party! All good things-all good things! Luckily I got 75% of our Christmas shopping
done last month, so I had very few errands to run, which is one of my least
favorite things to do…. Overall this month, we had 4 more Christmas parties…a
fun cousin cookie decorating party at Aunt Laura and Uncle Drew’s house, the
Sulkowski Family Christmas at Jammie and Grandpop’s house, Christmas Eve at
Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and finally Christmas Day evening at Aunt Tui and
Uncle Joe’s house. It was all very manageable this year!
We also got to see
Santa and Mrs. Claus at the centennial school house in Brighton Twp. (Not the
real Santa, as Gabrielle informed me, because his beard looked fake…The best
Santa is at Twelve Oaks mall, but I could bear the crowds there this year! We
also saw Santa a second time at our financial planner's annual Christmas party,
and Gabrielle told me that was the REAL one… I made a major mommy SNAFU because
we went to see a real reindeer at this said party and the reindeer left at 3…we
got there at 3:15! OOPS!!!!! So instead I let them eat some cookies and
brownies even though we were en route to the dentist. I was only a bit
mortified when they opened their mouths for the dentist, and there was brownie
in all their teeth!! "What is that?!?" asked the dentist.
A little update on Carter… After last month, I was ready to
pull him out of school and just do enrichment activities at home. Well, Adam was
the classroom helper dad this month, and things are better. For a few sessions
after I volunteered, Carter had separation anxiety and didn’t want me to leave
but that waned, thank goodness. I complained about Sonshine time, and
miraculously Pastor Tom is back at it with his loud voice and guitar! I was
very happy about that. And it seems that Carter’s teacher knows not to push him
too much to do art projects, and as long as he tries and puts forth some
effort, that’s great. My number one goal for him is to just enjoy school, and
for a three year old boy who wants to
run and jump and play with trucks, I am always impressed when he brings
home anything artsy! And so we will continue into 2015...
Carter also participated in a Christmas program at school.
For the first part, he was dressed as an angel, and for the second part, an
elf. It was precious. Carter was on it!! We practiced a lot at home and in the
car, and that really paid off. He was animated and sang all the words. I
managed to get it all on video for Adam. It was awesome! As I mentioned
earlier, Adam was preschool helper dad this month, and he was a helper dad for
Gabrielle’s Christmas party too. He went right from one school to the other on
his last vacation day of the year. The kids were thrilled, and he really
enjoyed it too.
Santa was very good to the kids this year, but not too over
the top! It was Collin’s first Christmas and he really seemed to get into the
noise and fun on Christmas morning. That’s
one thing about third children…loud noises don’t necessarily phase them!
Collin went to the doctor today for his 9 month well-baby check-up, and he weighed in at 20 lbs., 8 oz. (61%), he's 2 ft., 4 inches (44%), and his head circumference is 18.5 inches (92%). He doesn't like anyone touching him for the most part, so when the doctor reached out to touch him, he would grab her hand and push it away.
It has been wonderful having Gabrielle and Adam home over
this Christmas break. It is a bummer that Adam is out of the house as much as
he is, and I miss little Gabrielle when she is at school every day, so I am
savoring every moment with them. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for an
adventure in 2015! Wishing you a happy, healthy new year full of adventures for
you too! (I'm pretty happy I managed to get this 2014 blog post done too.)
Colleen
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