An Anniversary Message

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Elise

Dear Peter,

You know, I used to think it was pretty silly when people would say things like, “I love my husband more than I did on the day we got married.” I mean, sure the way you love someone changes and evolves over time, but if you really love someone more later on, then maybe you just got married too soon or something. Right?

Well, we’ve been married eight years as of today. And it may be silly (and I know it’s a bit corny), but I just have to say… I love you even more than the day I married you.

Because I knew that you were patient and steady, but I didn’t realize how you would always be able to talk me down off the proverbial ledge.

And I knew that you had a great sense of humor, but I didn’t realize how I would need you to make me laugh when I was feeling overwhelmed by life.

Because I knew that family was important to you, but I didn’t realize how grateful I would feel every time you make a decision to do what’s good for us, rather than what is easy or convenient at the time.

And I knew that you would be a good father, but it’s totally different when I see the depth of your love for our kids through the ups and downs of parenting.

Because I knew that you were smart, but I didn’t know how proud I would feel when over and over I see others seeking out your thoughtful, well-reasoned advice, and as I came to depend on it myself.

And I knew that you were hard-working, but I didn’t realize that you would be so good at making sure that there was still time for me every day.

Because I knew that managing money well was important to you, but I didn’t realize that every time I’d suggest giving some of it away, you would name a higher number than the one in my head.

And I knew that you trusted me, but I didn’t know that you would give me the freedom to make so many decisions without second-guessing me, or requesting an accounting of dollars spent or time used.

Because I knew that you wanted to follow Jesus, but I didn’t realize that serving the church together would help align our priorities to such a great extent.

And because I knew that you loved me, but I didn’t realize that you would continue to look for ways to show me how important I am still, eight years, three children, and a mortgage later.

Happy anniversary and all my love,

Elise

Caleb John: Weeks 11-19

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Elise

Our sweet baby Caleb is four and a half months old already! I know it’s been a while since my last update, so this one covers weeks eleven through nineteen.

Caleb is growing up so quickly. I need to get him in for his four month check up, but his stats from his two month check were quite impressive. His height was 24 inches, weight was 15lbs, 13oz, and his head circumference was 42.5 cm. That means he was in the 64th percentile for height and 92nd for weight. Unfortunately he slipped down to the 98th percentile for head circumference. I think I need to rename my blog.

Despite displaying all the classic signs of teething for 6 weeks now, (aka constant drooling, chewing on his fingers, and not sleeping through the night anymore), he has yet to cut a tooth. I know it’s still early, but I hope they start to come through soon, because this mama would really love to get back to a regular good night’s sleep. His current nighttime schedule is down at 7:30pm, up to eat between 1:00 and 2:00am, another feeding between 4:00 and 6:00am, then up for the day between 7:00 and 8:00am.

Alethea and Lydia continue to dote on their brother. All it takes is a little fussing and they zip right over to meet his every need. The only thing they don’t seem too impressed with is the spitting up and drooling. As Alethea told me when Caleb got up the other day, “I like Caleb’s hands in the morning.” I gave her a puzzled look. “Because they haven’t been chewed on yet!” she exclaimed. Oh right. I see.

Caleb continues to be a very social baby. He doesn’t mind being put down, but someone needs to be within talking range, or he’ll get to fussing pretty quickly. He’s generally not too picky about who is holding him, unless he’s tired, hungry, or sick, and then no one but Mommy will do. Sometimes when I put him to bed and leave the room, he’ll cry until I come back and sit in the chair next to his bed. Then he’ll stop fussing and talk and talk until he’s told me everything he needs to say. And then he very slowly drifts off, periodically opening his eyes and looking in my direction to make sure I haven’t left. Lord help me, I think somehow we’ve managed to produce an extrovert.

Family meals are enjoyed by all. Caleb sits in his high chair and interacts with everyone at the table. However, he is getting pretty jealous of the rest of us eating when he’s not. He watches the food as it travels from a plate to someone’s mouth. Sometimes he even comments, “Mmmmmm,” which I know seems coincidental, but I swear he only does it at meal times. We did let him try some baby food pears. He did well with them, but seemed to know that he wasn’t getting what everyone else was having.

Other milestones from the last eight weeks include Caleb rolling from front to back, rolling from his back to his side (he tries to get all the way over, but can’t quite get past his shoulder), and starting to sit up on his own (though not well enough to be left unattended). We’ve also begun the transition from his Rock ‘N’ Play to his crib. So far we’ve been trying his morning naps in the crib, but his afternoon nap and nighttime still in the Rock ‘N’ Play, and that strategy seems to be going reasonably well.

Between his two or three daily naps and his approximately 12 hour nights, Caleb still spends the majority of his time sleeping. However, when he’s awake, his favorite things to do are watching his globe mobile over his crib, playing in his exersaucer, and going outside. He also laughs and smiles every time he’s getting dressed or taking baths. Any excuse to be naked!

So that’s our Caleb John at 19 weeks: handsome, healthy, and happy! We just love our little boy!

What Does it Mean?

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Elise

I know I’ve mentioned in the past that sometimes when I find toys my children have abandoned around the house, I wonder about the story lines they are creating in their minds. It almost makes me feel like I’m in an art museum sometimes.

Here’s a recent masterpiece of Lydia’s:

Is it a woman drinking the world’s largest bottle of OJ to help her fall asleep? Or is there a deeper meaning here?

Perhaps the artist wants to send a message about the over consumption of western society. Perhaps there is significance to the portrayal of the female figure using a bed as a dining chair. Could it be that this young artist is struggling to define herself as she’s pulled further from her infancy, moved relentlessly on by the changing seasons.

Or… maybe three-year-olds just don’t really care about realism, scale and proper function.

I’ll leave you to ponder…

Sunday Afternoons

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Elise

Wearing flannel and watching football with Daddy. What Sunday afternoons are for.

The Picture of Sophistication

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Elise

There are no words….

Kindergarten

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Elise

Hello everyone, I’m back! Sorry for the long silence. Labor day weekend Caleb decided he’d had enough of being a good night sleeper and we spent the entire month of September trying to figure out what the problem was. Good news is, he’s done better the past few nights and I’m hopeful that I’ll be getting more sleep again.

Bad news is, the sleep deprivation pushed me into survival mode and a lot of things got left by the wayside including cleaning my house and blogging. I have so much I should write about including Caleb’s growth, fall activities, a family reunion, and of course, Alethea starting Kindergarten!

So rewind back to the beginning of September. Alethea got her hair cut! But it wasn’t your typical because everyone gets a back-to-school haircut sort of thing. It was an emergency, “well I guess you have bangs now because you cut your own hair” sort of thing. Two days before school started Alethea took scissors to her hair. Fortunately she left us something to work with, and also fortunately my neighbor is a hair stylist and was able to make them look mostly on purpose, if a bit short.

The first day of school arrived and Alethea completed her fresh look with an outfit that she picked out herself at Target and her new pink backpack. I had hopes for a fun first morning of kindergarten photoshoot, but Alethea said she was too nervous to smile so we settled for a few quick photos on the front porch.

Fortunately, things got better from there. And now she’s really loving school. We carpool with some neighbors in the morning and then Alethea rides the bus back in the afternoon, which she thinks is about the coolest thing ever. Her school highlights include getting to use her My Little Pony lunchbox, her new best friend Emme, recess on the playground, and playtime in the classroom.

She doesn’t so much like having to wear tennis shoes every day, even after I ordered her some that were sparkly pink and light up when you walk (not pictured), but now after a month of school she is finally putting them on each morning without complaint. The worst tales that she has brought home are one girl pulling another girls hair, someone being told by the teacher not to use potty words, and the horrific tale that one boy in the class actually claimed he doesn’t like the movie Frozen, which she related to an astonished Lydia in tones of disbelief. She seemed convinced that he was either lying or something was seriously wrong with him.

Alethea and Lydia continue to be close friends, although I do feel a shift in their relationship that has resulted from Alethea’s being gone during the day. Lydia now follows me around the house asking “What fun thing can I do?” and if we do an activity, the second we’re done, she said, “Now what fun thing can I do?” The absence of the activities director is being keenly felt.

Truth be told, Lydia isn’t the only one who misses Alethea during the day. It’s almost enough to make me rethink our decision not to homeschool, except that I see how much Alethea is learning and growing and it’s hard to second-guess that. She’s definitely matured over the last month and is acting more and more like a big kid, in good ways. Somewhere along the line she even found out that it’s cool to pose for the camera….

So that’s the update on my suddenly grown-up kindergartener. Hard to believe that she’s five and a half and off taking on the world, but it’s so great to see her being self-confident and independent. She’s making her Mama proud!

Caleb John: Weeks 7-10

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Elise

Can you believe it? Caleb turned 10 weeks old last week. Happy 10 weeks, Baby Boy! (Since my last post was at six weeks, this one covers weeks seven through ten.)

Caleb continues to be a pretty easy baby. He loves his family and is smiling at us all more and more. He’s happiest when Mommy or Daddy is holding him, but is also content to sit and watch his sisters sing and dance. He doesn’t even seem to mind it too much when they get right in his face, which they do on a frequent basis. He’s not quick to cry, but when he does, you know it’s coming because first makes you feel guilty by sticking out his lower lip like this….

Caleb is very “talkative” and we have long conversations on a daily basis. (See below for a photo of him telling me a story during our photo shoot.) He’s very earnest in his “oooos” and “mmmms” and “ungs”. Not sure if “ung” is a normal baby word, but it’s one of his favorite sounds. Probably it means, “feed me”.

And we do feed him, quite regularly, which is probably why he’s such a big boy. He hasn’t been in for his 2 month well child check, so I don’t have any firm stats, but the fact that he’s too big for some of his 3-6 month clothes gives you an idea of how quickly he’s growing.

He continues to be a good sleeper, taking several naps every day and then sleeping for a nice stretch at night. He zonks out around 8pm, gets up between 4 and 5am to eat and then goes back to bed until 6:30 or 7am when he’s awake and ready to get on with the day. It’s still earlier than I like to get moving, but I figure he’s really doing me a favor by prepping me for our upcoming earlier mornings that will have to happen when Alethea heads off to kindergarten in a couple weeks.

These last four weeks included Caleb’s first speed boat ride. Spoiler alert, he LOVED it! Despite the wind in his face and having to wear a life jacket, he only started crying when the boat slowed down. He’s a total motion junkie. He also cries in the car any time we come to a stop sign or stoplight. His car ride preferences seem to be having the radio turned up loud and the faster and curvier the road, the better. I’m actually just a little nervous about the idea of him EVER driving. Especially because the thing he hates more than anything else in the world is being buckled up securely in his car seat. Sigh…

One very special moment these past few weeks was Caleb’s baby dedication at church where Peter and I thanked God for the gift of Caleb’s life and committed to raising him in an environment that exposes him to the Gospel of Christ at every turn. We do feel so blessed to be Caleb’s parents and were glad for the opportunity to publicly dedicate him to the Lord.

One of the reasons we chose the name Caleb was because Caleb in the Bible, the Israelite spy, chose to believe God’s promises rather than give into the fears of the people around him. We pray that our Caleb will always remember to trust God’s word, even when others tell him it’s unreasonable.

Other milestones during this period were Caleb’s first time laughing (which is a sweet, sweet sound). His neck and head control continue to improve and he’s starting to reach for things and to play with his hands when he doesn’t have anything else to grasp at. The girls love it when he does this and they say, “Caleb’s praying!” The other day at breakfast when we were done saying grace before the meal, Caleb continued to have his hands folded. Lydia looked at him in exasperation and said, “Amen. We’re done praying, Caleb! A-MEN!”

So that’s where we are right now. We’re starting to be on the lookout for his first time rolling over. He’s also been drooling a lot, so we’re wondering if teeth are on the near horizon, although I sort of hope not. We’re also thinking about moving him to his own room, since he’s still sleeping in ours and is getting noisier all the time. He’s still swaddled for sleeping, won’t take a pacifier unless you hold it in his mouth, and is a bit spitty, although we’ve avoided reflux medications by my not eating garlic, onions, and anything spicy.

And now on to week 11… He goes in for his check-up this week and we’ll find out just how big he’s gotten. He is growing up too fast, but he’s still a baby for now and I’m soaking up every moment I can with my boy. Love you, Caleb!

Too Cool for School

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Elise

Someone went a little crazy at the tattoo station during our neighborhood’s Night to Unite party last Tuesday…

Just call her… The Girl with the Temporary Dragon Tattoo.

Little Moments

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Elise

The other day I had Caleb on the changing table when Alethea marched into the room. She watched me finish up the diaper change, then asked, “Mommy, did you want three babies?”

“Yes, I definitely did,” I told her.

She looked at me doubtfully as I disposed of the diaper. “Why did you want three babies?” she wondered, “That’s a lot of work.”

Yes, it is a lot of work. And if I’m honest there are times when I feel a little nostalgic for my pre-kid days. No diapers, less laundry, and more importantly no one having a melt-down because I gave them the wrong spoon, or because I refused to get bogged down in the specific details of their requested Angelina Ballerina Halloween costume, because IT’S ONLY JULY FOR GOODNESS SAKE! True story.

Yeah, I could do without that. But I suppose those drive-me-up-a-wall crazy moments are a small price when I also get to live moments like this one, the girls learning to play Rock, Scissors, Paper with Daddy…

And this one, Caleb’s first time playing dress-up with his sisters…

And this one, Alethea and Lydia building a sand castle while discussing all the princesses that are going to live in it…

Yup, three babies is a lot of work. But I’m so thankful for each one of them. They are little blessings, even on the hard days.

Caleb John: Weeks 4, 5 and 6

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Elise

My how time flies. Caleb turned six weeks old last Wednesday. Crazy!

Since his last update was at three weeks, this post covers weeks 4-6. They were busy ones, including his first time at the beach, his first real big smiles, and his first out of state trip to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa for the 4th of July.

He also had his one-month well-check and his current stats are: height 22.5 inches, weight 13 lbs 2 oz, and head circumference 41 cm. That puts him in the 84th percentile for height, 97th for weight, and (do I even need to say it) 99th for head circumference. He’s a solid little fellow!

Caleb continues to be a pretty easy baby. He sleeps well at night, usually doing a 5 or 6 hour stretch at one point or another. He also takes multiple 2-3 hour naps during the day as long as we are at home. However, he doesn’t sleep much when we are out and about, and if he’s not sleeping he wants to be held or kept in constant motion, so he’s not the most portable baby ever. But really, as long as he sleeps at night, I’m okay with whatever we need to do to get through the daylight hours, though I wouldn’t be upset if at some point he decides that 6:30am isn’t time to get up and at ’em.

We’re finding more and more that Caleb is a pretty social baby. When he’s awake he wants to be where he can see people. He will also holler at me if I’m not in the room when he’s going to sleep. He doesn’t usually need to be rocked or have me sing him a song, but I must be present until he starts to drift off.

He’s smiling more often now and with bigger expression, and it never fails to make my day. We also enjoy conversations with each other. His side consists mainly of “Oh!” and “Mmmm”, but he seems genuinely pleased with himself for communicating so well.

Mommy is definitely his favorite person, but I’m confident at this point that he also recognizes Peter. He really likes attention from Alethea and Lydia as well, although I’m not as confident that he would be able to differentiate between them and any other children, but maybe.

He still doesn’t love it when they “hold” him though…

His favorite things are eating, sleeping, taking baths, being swaddled and going outside. He doesn’t mind diaper changes anymore. He still won’t take a pacifier, so I’ve pretty much given up on that. Being buckled into his carseat is on the top of his “Things I’d Rather Not Do” list.

But overall, he’s a good-natured baby and we’re having fun getting to know him better as his personality emerges bit by bit. As the girls would put it, “We love our Sweet Baby K!”