Lincoln turns 4

It's happening. Our kids are growing up right before our eyes. And this weekend, we celebrated the baby of the family turning 4! Four just seems like such a big jump. He's no longer the baby I cuddled in my arms for hours on end. We're finished with diapers and bottles, nursing and pacifiers. 

We've conquered skipping and jumping, counting and the alphabet. He's moving in to boyhood and adores all the super-hero costumes he discovered this weekend (before Halloween). His preschool education is taking on more of a learning approach nowadays as he learns how to cut, rhyme and work on his social skills. I know he'll always be my baby, but he's sure looking less of a baby right now. 

Here's a list of the FOUR things we love about him: 

He is outgoing, eager to meet new friends and wanting to play together. 

He is sweet and gentle, quick to give a hug and a kiss when you're feeling down or hurt. 

He is appreciative, always thanking me for buying him new clothes or new toys or a special treat. 

He is loving, insisting on saying "I LOVE YOU!" 

Happy Birthday Lincoln! 

We love you :) 

Lincoln turns 4-birthday eve

Well here we are, the last night with a 3 year old. How in the world can that be? Tomorrow we will wake up and he will be 4. It's surreal, because I still think of him as my toddler, or my baby (who am I kidding, he will always be my baby). But this baby of mine is getting bigger, growing older and I love him more everyday. 

I can't help but think back on this birthday eve of his, to 4 years ago. It was a Sunday, and I sat on the couch with Ryan and my parents...my big round belly serving as a table for Ryan's water. Man was that belly big (who would've thought there was a 9 1/2 lb baby in there!)! 

And following that night, we headed to the hospital where (thanks to some meds), our baby boy was born only 45 minutes after my water broke. He showed us his stubborn side 4 years ago, refusing to come out without a gentle nudge. I firmly believe he would still be in there if it weren't for the medication that jump started my labor! 

Oh how we love our soon-to-be 4 year old! This last go around the sun was pretty awesome for our sweet little boy. Looking forward to what 4 has in store!

Firsts that are actually lasts

I read a blog post recently about children growing up. I get sentimental about that topic. Can bring tears to my eyes in a heartbeat. It read "this is just the beginning, the domino that starts a cycle of firsts that are actually lasts". As much as I love to watch my kiddos get older and see them grow up, it pains me to think that all of Lincoln's milestones, are actually the last. Soon we will celebrate the last four-year old birthday. We've already changed the last diaper. Eventually it will be the last first day of kindergarten. And the last first loose tooth. You get the pattern. Might as well pull my heart right out. I love this little boy with all of my heart and adore watching him grow. Simply can't believe he's nearly 4!

MEA Break: Road Trip

Some years on MEA, we stay home. Other years, we climb into the car and drive. Last year we headed east, landing in Stillwater on an impromptu road trip. This year was a bit more planned out. In the grand scheme of road trips, it was pretty minor, but we still had a great time.

Ryan had to work and we were sandwiched between several activities (when activities cost a pretty penny, we find it difficult to skip practices), but we planned to head south this time to offer help to my mom who has done more than her share of work around our house lately. She recently painted my  popcorn ceilings!!....she's a saint I tell you :)

So I packed myself and the kiddos into the car, headed to Lincoln's swimming lessons, and then we were on our way! On the way down, we stopped at a small apple orchard/pumpkin patch to take in some activities. I had looked at the calendar earlier in the week and realized we had very few opportunities to take in an orchard this year, so we jumped on it that morning.

All the kiddos had a great time, bouncing from activity to activity. Sidney begged me to let them do UPick apples, something we haven't ever done. Turns out, it was my most favorite activity!! I loved searching all of the trees for the perfect apple. And that bag seemed never-ending as we stuffed it full of plump red apples!

After we got our fill from the orchard, we continued on and in another quick hour, we pulled into the driveway of my childhood home. We spent the next 24 hours racing around town, seeing the sights, enjoying the weather (minus the wind!) and visiting friends and family. I wished we had more time; sadly Regan was due in a catcher's clinic the next afternoon. We made the most of it and sure had a good time :) 

 We explored the exact spot that Ryan proposed oh so many years ago....Sidney even re-enacted for me :) 

MEA break and a big fall

I got an extended weekend to hang with the kiddos over MEA break and the weather surely cooperated with our plans. 

We spent day one checking out some fall colors at a nearby lake and they sure didn't disappoint! 

Regan sort of giggles at me these days, saying she can't really understand how I think all of those colors are so pretty....she claims "maybe if they were all red I would agree!" So I found a pretty awesome red one and had to snap their picture. 

The lake is about 2 miles around and we opted to bring along the hooverboards and Lincoln's strider bike for a little exercise. Sidney isn't nearly as comfortable on her board as Regan is. She gets nervous and her muscles work overtime to stay balanced. 

I could've stared at this scenery for hours, but my crew quickly got bored and insisted we keep moving along. So I snapped a mental picture, one that I hope sticks with me through the bitter winter cold that is coming far too quickly. 

Lincoln does amazingly well on this little strider bike of his. He can keep up with those girls with no problem and enjoys himself even more when he has a hill to descend! 

 Part way around the lake is a small waterfall, and the same stunning colors in the background. I perched myself on a ledge as the kids climbed trees and Lincoln tossed rocks into the water. I can't ever remember a previous fall with such amazing weather. 

Sadly, just as we departed the waterfall, Sidney, in her uneasiness on her hooverboard took a pretty hard fall. She screamed in agony and I honestly wasn't sure if she was scared, hurt or seriously injured. Turns out it was the former two causing her tears. She managed to scrape herself real good but thankfully nothing was broken. Lucky for me....I got to pick up that 30 lb hooverboard and carry it the remaining mile and a half around the lake as she promises never to step back on it again. 

"Fall photo shoot"

When we first had Regan, our day care provider was located near a pretty awesome park with the most beautiful fall trees I had ever seen. And ever since Regan was 1 year old, I have brought her (and later her siblings) to the same tree to take an informal "fall photo shoot" picture. All of the kids now know when I announce it's time for the annual fall photo shoot, that I'm referring to this particular tree, in this particular park. Some years we have hit the nail on the head in terms of timing, some years we are too early or too late. 

I love this progression of Regan over the last 11 years, all taken in the same favorite park of mine. 

The colors it produces never get old. And this year was no different. The shades of yellow, red and orange were spectacular! 

I may have to get my own maple tree so I can enjoy those colors more than this one afternoon/year. 

I'm so thankful to have some patient children who amuse me and pose for photo after photo :) 

Fall activities

As the fall softball season wrapped up, we jumped two feet into some (new) activities for the remainder of the fall season. And I'm one proud mama to see these kids excel or try new things. Although each of them are only in 1-2 activities at a time, multiply that by 3, and we have ourselves a pretty jam packed week racing kids to/from activities.

I know I've mentioned it before, Regan joined the middle school cross country team this year and has had the time of her life. Contrary to how we thought this was going to play out, she is loving the running and the only complaining we hear is how sore she is. Not once has she whined about practice or tried to weasel out of a run. Her coaches remind us that soreness is a sign of growth, and so she runs on :) Too bad this season has just ended, because I think she would've just kept on running! So for now she will continue dancing several nights/week and see what else she can find to occupy her time. 

Couple of videos from her last meet HERE and HERE

Sidney also has been dancing in several classes/week, in addition to gymnastics. She teetered on not signing up for gymnastics this season, but last week when she found out that she had passed out and will be moving up to the next level, she was on top of the world! I'm pretty sure she was super happy with that original decision to sign up, and of course is begging to stay in for the next season. So she flips on. 

Video of her attached HERE.

And then there's Lincoln, who has turned into a complete fish! At the end of the summer, when he really started swimming well without his life jacket, I knew it was time to get him into formal classes. We headed back to the (unfortunately super expensive, but fortunately really good) swim school and they placed him where they thought he belonged. Our little guy has blown it out of the water with this swimming lesson business. Not only does he pay attention and do as he is instructed, he is good. And I'm not just saying that cuz he's my little boy. No, really, he is a fish! So much that the deck guard plopped down next to me last week and requested we move Lincoln to the next level...now. She expects that he may even head up to the level ahead of that when the session is finished! What's even better, he adores this class! Begs to go to "fwimming wessons", even as we're driving away, he's asking when we go back. And he swims on. 

Video of him in action HERE

I'm so proud of these kiddos of ours, watching them grow, engage in something new and participate in these activities. It sure is a lot of work (or, it's a TON of work!), but we do it for them and wouldn't want it any other way! 

Bring your parent to school day

We've all heard the whole "Bring your kid to work day" (which by the way doesn't occur when you work in a hospital), but I was pleased as punch to experience the opposite this year when Regan's school hosted a "Bring your parent to school day"!! How fun is that!? 

Seriously, she was mortified when I signed up, and then begged me to leave at the first class. Which I totally would have done, but when it came down to it, and the first class ended, she was happy to have me there and allowed me to stay the remainder of my time :) 

It really helped put so much into perspective, in terms of understanding what middle school is all about. As we bopped from class to class, I got a quick handle on why she loves her reading teacher, and struggles with the social studies teacher. Their styles are polar opposites. And who wouldn't love someone who dances at the front of class, chants and cheers the boring rote memorization tasks and then at the end of class, has the students shout "tell someone you love them!!" as they prepare to exit the class. It was pure FUN! I loved it too :) 

And now when I help her with the nightly homework routine, I can use the teacher's style to my advantage.

Thanks for letting me tag along Regan!

Party day!

With how busy full life has been for us lately, we ended up doing a combined family birthday party for Sidney and Lincoln. Sometimes it's just the little things, like finding an open weekend, that can prove super challenging!
This sums up what our calendar looks like right now....

We found a Saturday that happened to land pretty much between the two kids' actual birthdays and it just made the most sense for everyone to combine the two. These two were easy peasy when it came to picking out decorations and themes as well (whew!). One wanted ORANGE everything, the other didn't care at all :) Made my life so much easier. Lincoln and I ventured to the party store and picked out an assortment of orange and pink items and viola, we had ourselves decorations for a dual birthday party!

The weather cooperated with us in a big way too. Despite the rainy dreary morning, the sun peaked out around party time, dried up all the rain and made for a great day to play outside. I was beyond thrilled that all those kiddos could run off some energy (and cake and treats) OUTSIDE!

 Too bad Regan missed out on this picture :( 

We are so thankful to everyone who came and helped celebrate these two munchkins of ours. Where has the time gone?!

Happiest of birthdays to our two littles! 

Sidney's birthday party day

We had to hold off a bit for Sidney's friend birthday party because of all the softball hoopla around here lately, but I think she will agree, it was well worth the wait! Once she finally decided on a party location, she choose some awesome friends to join her, and we got to spend the day rock climbing! How fun does that sound?! I'm so glad that she surrounds herself with some pretty great friends who seemed to have just as much fun as her at the party :) 

Let's take a closer look at that big huge smile! 

Her little arms were exhausted after all of that climbing. But it never got old for me to watch her pull herself up, wall after wall, one rung at a time. 

Regan was lucky enough that Sidney let her join the party (let's be real, I was hoping she would help me out a little too!). Turns out, she's a real climber herself! Scaling those walls like it's no one's business. 

They even got to do a little bouldering (climbing without harnesses), which seemingly was more exhausting than with a belay! 

Isn't this group of girls just the cutest?! We had a great afternoon of games, climbing and of course, cake! 

Happy birthday (party day) Sidney!