Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rest in Peace Grandma Brenda

Posted on by

How do you explain death to a toddler? In the course of one week Justin and I have had to explain the concept not once but twice to Avery and Emerson.  Last Sunday they attended the funeral of their Great Grandpa, Papa Mac.  The day before the funeral and after the funeral we gathered at my Grandma’s house; there were a lot of people and a lot of typical Jewish food, we told the girls we were there to celebrate the life of Papa Mac.  They understood that Papa Mac was not “at his own party” and he wasn’t coming back.  They knew he was in heaven, although I’m not certain that they understand that heaven is any different than going to the store. 

Five days after Papa Mac’s funeral, Justin’s mom Brenda passed away after a long and courageous battle with ALS.  And with that less than a week later, Justin and I again had to tell our girls that another one of their relatives, their Grandma Brenda had gone to heaven.  While death is certainly all around us and a normal part of the life cycle, the truth is it isn’t normal to have close family members pass away on a “regular” basis….and within 5 days made me feel like my girls were going to think, “okay, who is going to heaven next week Mommy?”

We explained that Grandma Brenda was in heaven.  They asked why, who drove her to heaven?  They asked when she was coming back.  We explained the concept of forever and that Grandma Brenda would be in heaven forever.   It’s odd but even at 3 years old, once we got down to Virginia Beach, neither Avery nor Emerson once asked where Grandma Brenda was.  They knew she was in heaven and wouldn’t be with us as we celebrated her life.  They knew that Grandma Brenda was now with Papa Mac in heaven forever….

Justin eulogized Brenda and did a great job.  Avery was his helper as she darted up the church stage to be center stage with Justin as soon as he made his way to the podium.  She definitely helped lighten the mood and helped Justin get through his eulogy.  As Justin said in his eulogy, when Brenda received the official ALS diagnosis in the summer of 2007, we all knew what that meant. The average life span from diagnosis of ALS is 3 – 5 years.  Brenda’s symptoms begin probably close to 2 years prior to her official diagnosis.  When Justin and I got engaged in spring of 2007 and were planning our wedding for the following year, we wondered if we were making a mistake by planning it for September 2008.  Was a year and a half to far away?  We decided to have an Engagement Party Labor Day Weekend of 2007 largely in part so that if Justin’ mom was not around for our wedding she would have participated in our wedding celebration in some capacity.  Well our wedding came and Brenda was there…she was in her wheelchair and she couldn’t eat any of our food, except maybe the mashed potatoes, but she was there and she was overjoyed to be there.  Justin and I never expected she would be around by the time we had kids…we waited  a few years before we had kids and it never crossed our minds once to rush into having kids just so Brenda could be around to see them.  So we were overjoyed when the time came to tell her about the news of her next TWO grandchildren….and we were overjoyed when she was not only still around to meet them, but that she was also able to make the trip (her last trip to Northern Virginia) to visit them in the hospital.  And could you imagine our thrill (and hers) when Christmas 2012, when the girls were just over 1 years old, that we told her that Avery and Emerson were going to be big sisters.  Since the girls were born, Brenda was not able to travel as she has been confined to a hospital bed in the house for pretty much the last three years with time in her wheelchair occasionally.  We were able to make the trip to Virginia Beach a few times a year and she loved seeing her granddaughters.  And with modern technology FaceTime allowed her to see the girls on a regular basis….at least every other night since the girls were born. We were told by many of people at her funeral that Brenda loved to show off pictures of Avery, Emerson, and Harper on her IPAD.  She would just scroll through the pictures and show everyone who came to visit. 

So right now, the fact that Brenda is gone seems surreal…we knew this day would be coming and for years thought this day would be sometime that year and each year she would amaze us and be around for the next….we said several good byes and it got to the point where truly we didn’t know when this day would actually come.  It came….and it was peaceful in a way….it’s still hard to believe that we won’t be Face Timing with her tonight or tomorrow or ever again.  But she is with is…she is with us in spirit and she is running around smiling and talking and laughing and watching over us…ALL those things that she hasn’t been able to do in her body since her ALS diagnosis.  I feel sad that the girls will grow up without her – she would have spoiled them like no other especially with her shopping habits.  There are going to be times, I’m sure many of times, where we will feel her void but I can only hope that we will feel her presence at the same time.

Brenda, even though you never complained of your condition or your diagnosis, we know you were in pain…you are pain free now and for that I am grateful….you can now do all those things that you have dreamed about doing the last 8 years….Rest in Peace Grandma Brenda.

A Great Grandpa

Posted on by

I was fortunate to have grown up with my Papa Mac being a big part of my life. He passed away one week ago at the ripe old age of 90.  He lived a full life.  I’m so glad that he got to meet all three his great granddaughters on several occasions and glad we were able to capture these precious moments.

Papa Mac with Emerson when she was 8 weeks old.

Papa Mac with Avery when she was 7 months old.

Papa Mac with Harper when she was 9 weeks old.

I also spoke at  his funeral yesterday….here is a copy of my eulogy.

Here I am questioning myself….why am I not more upset about your death….I’m sad your gone but I don’t have this sick feeling in my stomach about it….and I know the reason….It’s because you lived…you lived a full life that was rich in quantity (you were 90 years old) and quality!  You were a simple man; your greatest pleasure in life was your family.  In recent years as you became less mobile, your face would just beam with joy with each family visit. 

Your family was your pride and joy…..a loving wife of 65 years, 2 sons, 2 daughter in laws, 3 granddaughters, 1 grandson, plus a bonus grandson by marriage, and 3 great granddaughters who loved talking about Papa Mac.  I’m so fortunate that you were able to meet them and they were able to meet and know you.  You were proud of who you were and your roots.  You were proud of your parents and your siblings and when you told stories of your youth your face would light up; you remembered the stories like they were just yesterday.

As my Grandpa, there were two recurring stories that you loved to tell me….and each time you told it, it was like you had never told it before….I’m not sure if you didn’t realize you had told it before or you truly just loved the story that much…I tend to think it was the latter….anyway, the first was with regards to my birth…..35 years ago!…you  would always tell the story of hopping on a plane right away upon my birth to meet your first grandchild…and then how you were able to identify me right away in the nursery with my full head of black hair.  Then there was the story of how I would run down the hall at the Rotunda (the condominium I lived in until I was five) every time you came to visit. 

When I was a kid, you would come visit me and Lauren in Virginia a few times a year.  You would drive down in your Caddy and stay for a few days….although by the size of Grandma’s valise, one would have thought you would have been staying all month.  And a special gift for me and Lauren, often clothing, would accompany you.

For many of my childhood and my teenage years we would spend Thanksgivings together…you, Grandma, Mom, Dad, Russell, Mary, me and Lauren, and a few years Michael and Caroline before I went off to College.  On years that were seasonably warm, we would hang out outside in your “yard” as we waited meal time.   In between visits we would speak on the phone…for many years it was weekly and while in recent years the frequency has been far less, one thing still remained the same…each and every call would end with the both of us saying, I love you.  I will always know how much he loved me…and not only me, but also how much he loved his entire family.

Papa Mac was a real Jew…he loved to eat (incase you couldn’t tell from his belly)….he loved Italian Food and Grandma’s famous cooking….although he didn’t like cheese, something I’ll never understand….I have vivid memories of some of the edible goodies he and Grandma would bring with them on their Virginia visits…such as the famous Rainbow cookies and a good ‘ol Entammen’s Black-out cake.

Softball was my passion growing up and Papa Mac was one of my biggest fans.  He even played on his own softball team in Concordia!

Papa Mac’s long term memory was insane….he even had a great memory and liked to tell stories of his earlier years and of his parents and 5 siblings.  He was a sports enthusiast and would always love to talk about sports….especially those Terrapins.  He was funny too…although I think sometimes it was truly unintentional…. In the hosptial 10 years ago, he would flirt with some of the younger nurses.  One of the ladies’ names was Roma, and I remember Papa Mac telling her she was his favorite tomato! 

It was over 10 years ago when my Papa first met Justin, my husband.  I don’t know why but a lot of people get the name Justin confused with Jason….Papa Mac was no exception.  Sometimes he would call Justin Justin, other times Jason….sometimes he was quite aware that he would confuse the two…other times not as much…he liked Justin….he would often ask how his job at the bank was…often times I would humor him…but Papa I’m here to tell you one final time, Justin doesn’t work at a bank:).  But the important thing was that he liked Justin and considered him his second grandson.

While I know that this short eulogy in no way captures everything about you that was so great, I do know that you were special to each and every one of us who are here today in different ways.  You were also quite special to many other family and friends who either couldn’t be with us today or departed before you.  And while you were so special to all us in different ways, I can say with certainty one common thing we all share is that we are going to miss you.

 RIP Papa Mac

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Posted on by

This weekend we went to a Pumpkin Patch in Reston.  We had an AWESOME time! 

The girls had a great time going up and down the slide…Avery especially!  It was $3 per kid all day so the girls could go on and off of it as much as they liked. Emerson was afraid to climb up it the first few times but after about the third or fourth time on it, she mustered up the courage to actually climb up to the top and once she did, she was unstoppable.  Literally every time Avery would slide down, she would beam with excitement and shout out “I did it all by myself the first time”….she was so proud of herself. 

She even started a trend and started to go down head first…soon after many of the older kids were trying to copy her….go ahead my little trendsetter!

Harper happily ate her snack and took things in while Avery and Emerson did “big girl” activities.

She did get her turn on the slide…

The girls had fun watching the baby animals….they even fed the baby goats leaves!  Emerson was really into it and thought it was funny…Avery thought it was funny as well; however, she was a little scared to get too close to the fence. The roosters kept saying “cockadoodledoo” and the girls would repeat after the rooster!

They had fun riding the train…although Avery had a moment right before she was going to get on where she refused to go….so Justin ended up having to get on and ride with them and Avery rode on his lap the entire time.  Both girls were smiles the entire train ride!  Harper sat with me and watched her sisters go chugga chugga choo choo.

We treated the girls to some fresh popped popcorn.  They had to wait patiently while a fresh batch popped.

They found some seats in the pumpkin patch to eat their snack.

They picked out some pumpkins!

And they wanted to display their affection for their little sister….who wasn’t so fond of the situation.

It was a great little pumpkin patch and we all had so much fun….can’t wait to go back…so much so that we may even have Karolin take them one day during the week this season!

Not A Baby, But Always My Baby

Posted on by

Ms. Harper Paige!  While I still call you baby, the truth is, you’re not a baby anymore!  You have been walking for nearly 3 months now….and you are fast.  You like to runaway especially if you know someone is trying to pick you up or get you to go in a certain direction.  You run away and just laugh…you think it is funny and the truth is…it is funny!  You like to play with your sisters….they are rough with you…and you can surprisingly handle it…you are almost as rough right back at them.  You have developed a temper recently…especially when you don’t get something you want or if someone takes something away from you like a toy or something you shouldn’t have been playing with to begin with.  You have even recently started biting when you are mad or don’t get your way!  The first few times it was kind of funny just because you are on the young side to be doing so, but after the first few times, it wasn’t so funny anymore.  The main victims are your sisters….they are really good though and they don’t bite you back…even Avery who still sometimes has her own biting problem…the victim being Emerson.  You have been known to pull their hair as well, something else they are not a big fan of!  You grunt a lot…especially as a means of communication.  You say mama and dada on occasion but not really with meaning.  You understand pretty much everything though and I don’t think you are in a rush to talk….I guess you are satisfied with your sisters doing all of the talking. You love playing with your sisters and they adore you…they especially love to get up in your face and give you huge hugs….you’re not the biggest fan of their hugs as their hugs resemble very tight squeezes.  You have learned how to turn around and scoot down the stairs…you have been climbing the stairs for well over a month now…another task that you think is funny especially when you are supposed to be in the kitchen with mommy and you run away to escape up the stairs. 

Your hair is turning curly as I was certain it would….your hair is much lighter than when you were born, but not as light as your sister’s hair.  You are a pretty good eater although you don’t really like vegetables….and if there is a food you have been known to throw off your tray, its vegetables.  You drink about 18 ounces of cow’s milk a day now…I nursed you until about 11 months and frozen breast milk got us through just after your 1st birthday.  The switch to cow’s milk was no big deal for you.  Your sleeping is great….you go down about 8:30 and sleep for up to 12 hours…..you stopped getting up at 6:00 a.m. after Mommy stopped nursing you.  You still nap twice a day for the most part….although sometimes your morning nap gets derailed by your sister’s ballet class or their pre-school pick-up.  You still suck your thumb; although, not as much as you used to.

And while you are no longer a baby, you are still a joy.  While you go to sleep unassisted, one particular night earlier this week, you woke up crying about 45 minutes after I put you down.  I’m not sure what was wrong but it was so out of the ordinary for you that I went in your room and quietly picked you up. You peacefully layed your head in my body and we rocked….I forgot about the dishes that awaited me in the kitchen and the laundry that was waiting to be folded….in that moment it was just you and me baby girl!

Otter Banks

Posted on by

This year we were really late (as in last week of June) in deciding if we were going to go on vacation for the year.  We ended up finding what appeared to be an awesome condo on paper.  It was a little more than we wanted to spend, but we decided to go for it.  It was three bedrooms/three bathrooms  and it was right on the beach with a pool, kiddie pool, and hot tub. It was modern with an open concept kitchen dining living area. 

Sunday – Sunday was departure day.  We left at 9:30, one hour past the target leave time, but honestly who thought we would actually leave at 8:30? Certainly not me:).  It was actually a good thing we left late because we made record time getting down to the beach.  There was no traffic and the girls were so well behaved.  We made it to Nags Head in 6 hours and that included a lunch stop at Red Robin.  We checked in to the condo (thankfully it met expectations), we unpacked, explored the grounds, and then went to dinner at Mama Kwans Tiki Bar and Grill (yummy). After dinner Justin and I went to Harris Teeter to buy groceries for the week and since Karolin was with us we were able to leave once the girls went to sleep.

Monday – Can we say windy!  The winds were insanely strong Monday…so strong in fact that swimming was not allowed at the beach as the rip tide was extremely strong.  We spent the first part of the morning at the pool.  The girls had a great time playing in the baby pool and the hot tub.  YES, the hot tub.  The pools hot tub is unlike anything I have ever seen before…first of all it is huge…and it is almost like 5 little hot tubs in one….but in addition to that there are always lots of kids in it.  At first, I thought the girls were too young for the hot tub but after seeing all the other kids in in…many as young as Avery and Emerson I guess you could say I followed the crowd…and you know what, I’m glad I did….because Avery and Emerson loved the hot tub…and again every time they are in it, I think to myself holy crap, they are becoming kids!

Monday afternoon after the girls nap we went down to the beach.  It was very breezy and a cool wind.  The girls had a great time playing with their pails and shovels. Neither Avery or Emerson wanted anything to do with the ocean.  Harper on the other hand seemed to like the ocean and the sand (for the most part).

Tuesday – Tuesday still remained very windy. Again, the riptide was very strong. 

We started Tuesday morning at the beach followed by a little bit of pool. 

The girls took a good afternoon nap.  Harper woke up first in a playful mood so Justin snapped a few in her bathing suit cover up…we have the same pictures of the girls from our beach trip two years ago…

When the girls woke up, we headed to Jeanette’s Pier. It was so windy and the waves were in full effect that there were even surfers.

Avery wanted to push the umbrella stroller the whole time except when a few seagulls started to fly above us and she just wanted to be held as she was petrified of the seagulss.  And Emerson was continually refusing to take her picture (in fact a common theme throughout the vacation).  I think we  bribery to get these next few pictures. 

 

Even captured one of doing what Karolin does best….taking selfies!

In fact, sadly I think I was trying bribery for all of the photos….some of that bribery was ice cream, which was the next stop on the itinerary anyway….But even with that bribe, this was the best we could do!

 

Tuesday night the girls watched their first movie!  They watched Frozen….which Avery sometimes calls “Cold” when she can’t remember the name.   We weren’t sure if we were going to let them watch the whole movie in one night but they both did great.  Emerson stayed glued in one spot on the couch silent the entire movie.  Avery stood on a chair in front of the T.V. and did a combination of watching but her share of talking throughout the movie (mostly related to the movie though) .

Wednesday – More time at the beach and the pool…and the hot tub….

 

….some fun time indoors at the condo….

….and date night for Justin and me….yeah!  We went to the Nags Head Pier before dinner….it was still REALLY windy!

The light was great and Justin was underneath the pier taking pictures.  Justin has been challenging me recently to take a picture with good light and so I took him up on it earlier in the day on a morning walk and decided I would take him up on it again as he was taking pictures.  I decided to capture him taking pictures.  So I took my first one….not so good and I knew it.  Then I saw where the light was coming from and took this.  Then he moved positions, and I took probably the best picture I have ever taken in terms of composition and light.  It was of Justin and his tripod taking pictures of the pier as the sunset.  I showed Justin and he was beyond impressed.  It really was a great picture…we talked about it all the way to the car.  When we got to the car, Justin realized the memory on his phone was low and the picture didn’t save.  DAGGER…seriously, two days later as I write this I am still beyond bummed about this.  The picture was truly awesome.  Seriously, I was bummed….I figured something on draft might make me feel a little better…especially being that we had a one hour wait at our next stop Blue Moon Grill…we went there twice two years ago and have been thinking about the shrimp and grits ever since.  It met expectations…the food really is excellent.  The girls had a good evening with Karolin….they watched Frozen AGAIN!

Thursday – Thursday we decided to take a little break from the pool and the beach.  We started the day with a trip to the aquarium.  There was a little sea otter by the name of Otter Banks that Karolin wanted to take home with her:). Here is Mr. Banks himself….

We saw a sea otter, lot of fish, an eel, alligators, turtles, sting rays, hermit crabs, and sharks. The girls even played and of course we tried to capture it all!  Unfortunately the family pictures came out somewhat blurry but I liked them anyway.

Outside the aquarium was a pier that we took a quick stroll on.

After the acquarium, we went out for lunch…I can barely write about it as it was such a disappointment, and an expensive unhealthy one on top of it. Two years ago, when we were here Justin got hush puppies from this take out place and they were to die for (and dirt cheap).That same take out restaurant has a related sit down restaurant right next door.  We wanted to eat in the restaurant as we were far from our condo and we were headed to the Cape Hattaras Light House next, which was someone near the restaurant.   Anyway, we sit down, I order the hush puppies to start and the waitress says they don’t have hush puppies.  Turns out the restaurants have different food and also turns out we could have eaten in the one that we took out from two years ago.  Oh well…I’m not quite over it yet, but I’ll get over it soon.

After lunch we went to see the Cape Hattaras Light House.  It was really awesome and a peaceful setting.  We didn’t go into it as all three girls were in single strollers and the only way up was stairs.  However the stroll around the area was so peaceful and quiet.

We took an evening stroll along the beach with the girls.  It was much more leisurely in my head….but I guess a lot of things are with three young ones….well we were able to get a few pics anyway.

The girls have had a great time playing together at the condo and have truly been playing together quite well.  They have been doing a lot of jumping on the bed and cuddling on the bunk beds. 

Friday – Friday morning Justin and I woke up early to go watch the sunrise.  Karolin had actually awoke real early one morning to find shells and happened to catch the sun rise.  She said it was beautiful and suggested we take the opportunity to watch it. So off we went shortly after 6:00, which was especially hard as it was not a good night’s sleep four  hours sleep just wasn’t cutting it….Justin set up his tripod but after a short time realized it was too cloudy to see.  He did capture a few of me looking for shells and then we took a short walk on the beach. 

We spent the morning at the pool, followed by the afternoon at the beach.  The girls both got buried in the sand courtesy of Karolin.  And Harper even had a fun time playing with the pails and shovels.

Before dinner we went to the Avalon Pier.  We played in the Arcade area for a little while before heading down below the pier to take some pictures. 

 

Saturday – Our last full day of vacation….the last day is always bittersweet because in the back of my mind I know that vacation is coming to an end.  We decided to visit Jockey’s Ridge Sand Dunes in the morning.  The plan was Justin and Karolin would take Avery and Emerson while I stayed behind and walked the neighboring trails with Harper as she slept in her stroller.  The plan didn’t work out too well as the girls had a little bit of a meltdown.  They made it up a short way before they claimed they needed water or wanted to be picked up. 

After lunch and a quick nap, the plan was to head to the pool.  However, I had gone for a walk with Harper as she napped in the stroller and then sat on the beach by MYSELF for a half hour as the girls still slept and the beach was literally a different beach than it had been earlier the week…the wind had stopped, it was actually hot, and the ocean was calm.  We had to visit the beach one last time so we made a quick stop there before heading to the pool.  Avery and Emerson still wanted nothing to do with the water, but they enjoyed playing in the sand. Harper on the other hand had no fear of the water.

 

After the previous night’s dinner out for pizza with the girls, Justin and I decided we were going out just the two of us.  We went to Kill Devil Grill and it was delicious.

We had a great vacation…great weather, fun times, good company, and tons of memory making moments.

A Week Of Firsts

Posted on by

Monday the girls had their first day of ballet!  They looked so cute in their lavender leotards, white tights, and ballet shoes.  We took a few pictures before we set off for the studio.

There were a total of four girls in the class….I think it’s possible one may have been missing, but I’m not sure.  Avery was pretty quick to join in and follow the teacher’s instructions and did a pretty good job.  Emerson was about 50/50….for about half the class she followed instruction and the other half she either sat down or was running in and out of the studio to find me.

No tears were shed though and Avery thanked me for taking her to dance class as soon as it was over and told Grandma about the purple dots and the beanbags that they used as props.  I have no doubt that the girls will become more comfortable as the month goes on.

Thursday was the girls first day of pre-school.  We took a few pictures at home before we left for school since I figured my chances of getting a picture of them at the school was probably slim.  (BTW, Avery’s right eye was really irritated the night before pre-school so we had to take her contact out, which unfortunately made her extra squinty for her first few days at preschool).

I tried one more though as we walked into the building.

We have been talking about pre-school regularly since May, if not before then.  I anticipated Avery would barely look back when I dropped her off.  Emerson I knew would be reserved, but I thought she would hold back tears.  I WAS WRONG!  The good bye did not go over well….in fact, it was quite horrible!  We got to the school a few minutes early and as we waited for the doors to open Emerson sat quietly observing all the kids and parents while Avery boisterously jumped on me.  Once we were able to go in, the three of us walked to the classroom and the girls placed their bags on their designated hooks.  Then they went over to Ms. Denise to get their hands washed and as they stood in line, I could tell they started to get more reserved, but were still okay.  I started to say good bye and give them hugs and Emerson simultaneously started to let me know that she was tired.  I told her that she could take a nap when she got home which was not a satisfactory response for her.  Slowly the words she was tired became louder and louder and slowly we made our way out to the hallway and slowly her position went from standing and a little whine to laying out on the floor kicking and screaming.  During all this, Avery followed Emerson out to the hallway and Emerson’s tantrum set her off into full blown tears as well.  

Her teacher’s Ms. Kristen and Ms. Denise and even the Director of the Preschool Ms. Marnie were awesome though and told me that I should go if I felt comfortable and they would handle it. Let me add that there were at least two other classrooms too and the three of them were willing to focus on my children alone.  I’m pretty sure my children were the only two children that had visible meltdowns….

I gave the girls one final hug and walked off as they were still in full blown meltdown mode…I quietly let Ms. Marnie know I would be waiting outside to make sure they were okay.  After about 15 minutes she came out to tell me that they were “OK”….she said she couldn’t say they were loving school; but they were calm at the moment.   I rode home in disbelief of the events that had just occurred.  I fully expected Emerson to be reserved but really did not anticipate tears from  her and I certainly didn’t anticipate tears from Avery.  So I was very pleased when I received an email from Ms. Marnie less than two hours after the class started that said the girls “are settling in beautifully” and “are a pleasure to have in class”.  It will be interesting to get the girls perspective on their day when they get home and even more interesting to see how the second day goes tomorrow, particularly the drop off (which Justin is doing tomorrow).

Day 2 Update: According to the girls and their teachers, they ended up having a great day, as evidenced by the paint on their clothes and faces!  We talked a lot about the day and excitement was coming from everyone, so I thought for sure the Friday drop off would be better.  The drive was good, we set expectations, and even took a few more pictures.  We were ready….or so I thought.  Once we got in the classroom, pretty much the SAME repeat of yesterday (although Emerson was a little calmer in the sense that she was not on the ground this time and was truly trying to take deep breaths in between the sobs)….and again Emerson’s tears set off Avery’s tears.  I quickly left again at Ms. Kristen and Ms. Marnie’s suggestion.  Apparently they rebounded in 5 seconds and once again had a great day!  I imagine we will have a few more repeats of this next week….I will just have to do a better job of getting out of the classroom even quicker next time!

The Extended Birthday Celebration

Posted on by

I imagine that with all three girls having birthdays within one week of another, we will likely be having joint parties and extended birthday celebrations for years to come.  We decided to go big this year….and I mean 65 people big and a moon bounce slide combo. Going into it, I knew that we would probably alternate years with doing big birthday celebrations and other years with doing smaller family gatherings.  This was a year for going big though.  I think in part it had to do with last year’s birthday celebration being small as I was 38 weeks pregnant.  In part it also had to do with the fact that we had just moved in to our new house with an awesome backyard and many of our friends had yet to see the place.  So maybe the girls’ birthdays was just an excuse to have a party?!?!?  We decided to have the party on August 16 which was after both birth dates which allowed us to focus on enjoying their actual birthdays without having to focus on the party too much until the week before the party.

Even though we were having a big party for the girls, we still couldn’t let their actual birthdays go by without a small family celebration. Avery and Emerson’s birthday breakfast consisted of a ceral bar with a candle in it. They both were thrilled with blowing out their birthday cereal bar, so much so that I started to wonder if the afternoon presents were even necessary!   We had a quick breakfast so that we could be at Kid Junction when it opened at 10:00 as their birthday was on a Monday and Justin and I each were able to take the morning off, but only the morning and not the whole day. The girls had a great time playing and the grocery store is still by far the favorite room of the girls. What was super awesome this time was that Harper truly got in there on all the fun this time and was not only pushing her own shopping cart, but also she was pushing it backwards AND laughing about it because she knew exactly what she was doing.  For some reason the girls weren’t really into the slides and mazes this year as they had been the previous two times we were there….they were scared of them this go around….with the exception being the “baby” slide area.

Avery and Emerson had plenty of cards to open during the day including one from GiGi and Papa Mac that contained a Minnie Mouse Crown that literally took Mommy longer to put together than Dadddy’s frozen pizza took to cook.  Sadly, I think it would have taken me even longer than 15 minutes had Karolin not been in the room to give me a hint as to what I was doing wrong….sad, I know!

The birthday celebration continued in the evening with some Chinese Food for dinner courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa followed by a small little cake and ice cream courtesy of Giant. 

The celebration continued into the evening with opening of presents including a new kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa.

Turning three also meant “big girl” beds, which meant taking off the railing and putting on the crib rail!

Fast forward one week and one day, and it was Harper’s birthday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Harper’s 1 year photo shoot.  

We celebrated with a cake for Harper, which she wanted no part of whatsoever, and cupcakes for everyone else.   

I had actually made two cakes the night before her birthday…one for her Harper and then one for everyone else.  I was multi-tasking (making dinner for the current night) the same time that I made the cakes that I totally forgot to spray the pan with Pam, which equated to a disaster and a cake that I couldn’t serve.  Thus the gourmet store bought cupcakes, which turns out I probably didn’t need due to the fact that Harper wanted nothing to do with the cake.  Harper’s big presents were her very own baby doll and Pottery Barn Chair from Grandma Barbara and Grandma Adele which she was pretty excited about as she loved playing in Avery and Emerson’s chairs.

The Big Party!  The Big Party was Saturday August 16 and it was a hit. Justin and I for once decided to go all out….although money is always a consideration, we decided for this party it really wasn’t.  That included a moon bounce combo that truly made the party and really made the party a backyard party and eased my concerns and the obvious about our house not having a walk out entrance from the dining room or living room.  The kids had a great time playing in the moon bounce and some of the younger kids had a fun time hanging out in the ball pit.

The majority of our friends were able to come.  We also had plenty of family including Grandma Adele, GiGi, Uncle Russell, and the entire Petchenick clan.  We also had a few new neighbors who we look forward to hanging out with more in the future.  We of course over estimated on everything with regards to how much everyone would eat and drink so we had A LOT of left overs, but most things especially the beer will not go to waste.  

We had two awesome cakes that Karolin made from scratch that were delicious.  Everyone gathered to sing happy birthday and mid way through I realized I forgot to have someone video it :(.  I thought about having everyone sing a second time but decided against it.

Really though it was a great party…my only regrets were that I didn’t get to have meaningful conversations with some of our friends…but I knew before the party started that would be the case and we didn’t get better pictures…but again that was attributed to us trying to enjoy the party and not being so focused on capturing the event. We heard from most everyone that the party was awesome.  I even made goodie bags (which wasn’t in my original plan) but I’m glad that I did as I think the kids thoroughly enjoyed them as evidenced by Camden on her way home from the party….note to parents….check your rearview mirror if your kids are quieter than normal…lol. 

And because we didn’t get a chance to take any pictures with Grandma Adele at the party we took some the following day at Mom and Dad’s house.

I’m hoping that as the girls get older my chances of getting a picture where they are all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time will increase…oh well…at least these make me smile.

 

Next Time Harper

Posted on by

The past month has been tough for me.  It’s been a combination of things….work is crazy busy, not enough time to do the basic things such as cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, tidying the house, paying bills, and other paperwork, Avery and Emerson being very testy.  I would find myself getting annoyed with them and not enjoying and appreciating them like I should.  I was seeing the weeds and failing to see the flowers. I knew I needed to snap out of it, but constantly feeling like there was so much to do and so little time to do it all on, made it hard to simply snap out of it. 

I don’t know what occurred but Sunday morning I woke up feeling refreshed and like my old self again.  I wish I could say it was the good night sleep I had but I can say with certainty that was not the case.  The morning started with some cuddles that I thoroughly enjoyed and after breakfast the whole family took a few minutes to play and be silly in Harper’s room. Even though we had somewhere to go and a specific time we wanted to leave, I took the time to just stop for a minute and enjoy the fun family time we were having in Harper’s room!

Our plan for the day was to go to Frying Pan Park.  We hadn’t been there since spring of last year.  Wow, what a difference a year makes!  For one we had three kids now instead of two!  Emerson was very much into seeing the animals.  Avery was still scared of the animals at first, but she wasn’t petrified as in years past and she did emerge from the stroller to attempt to face her fears and would actually get super excited when she saw an animal.  Avery would see an animal, point to it with such enthusiasm, but then moments later be ready to move on to the next thing. 

Emerson was quite content to watch the animals. It was really neat to just see her take it all in.  She was not at all afraid even when the goat stuck his head through the gate and started eating the stroller.

Harper had a great time getting out and walking around!

We saw cows, baby calf, sheep, goats, pigs, lots of baby pigs, a horse, peacocks, and chickens. We explored the dairy and old house from late 1800’s.  When we were in the dairy, I was trying to explain what a dairy was.  Since Avery loved milk, it was the perfect opportunity to explain where milk comes from.  When I told her milk comes from cows, she kindly added on “and mommy’s boobies.”

We even attempted to capture all three girls in the same picture together.  Who said you needed to see faces to have a good picture!

And then it was time for Mommy and Daddy to get into the picture too (separately that is).

After we had made our rounds of the animals, the girls wanted to drive the tractors.  They were having a great time.

Avery even drove me to the airport.  Now this is what I call first class!

Next time Harper…next time!

We attempted to go on the merry-go-round twice.  It only runs 15 minutes past the hour.  We didn’t know that the first time as we were watching it go around.  Basically we just missed it. We weren’t certain if we were going to be around an hour later for the next one.  Turns out we were but we were too far away at the time and the girls don’t quite understand what making a mad dash for it would have meant, so we promised them for next time. 

Once the merry go round didn’t happen, we let Avery and Emerson play on the playground.  Harper meanwhile had fallen asleep in her stroller. They were having a great time.  They were being KIDS and it just warms my heart to see them running around, laughing, and playing with one another. 

Next time Harper….next time. 

We weren’t planning on eating lunch out but it was getting close to lunch time so we decided to try out Gordon’s Grill, which is on the premises.  It’s basically fries, burgers, dogs, chicken nuggets, etc….nothing at all remotely healthy.  It was reasonably priced so we gave it a try.  Justin and I had the barbeque….it was okay.  The fries were so deep fried that honestly Justin (who doesn’t discriminate too often when it comes to fries) and Emerson (who doesn’t discriminate too often when it comes to food) knew that these fries weren’t even worth eating and we ended up throwing some of them away.

Later that afternoon we took the girls over to my parents to go swimming.   It was around Harper’s second nap time and while part of me felt guilty for not taking her in, I knew that Justin and I would be able to concentrate on Avery and Emerson more this time if it was two on two versus three on three.  (Yeah, my dad was there but you know how that goes!). Anyway, the girls had a great time in the pool and every time they go in they seem to get more and more comfortable with the water. 

Next time Harper, next time.

11 Months

Posted on by

Harper is 11 months already.  Some days I can’t believe it…my little baby is hardly a baby anymore and in less than a month, she will be 1!  That is just insane to me.  I think I am going to be one of those moms that always can’t get over how old my children are….or how old I am 🙁….but that is a blog for another day!  Anyway, Harper took her first steps at just over 9 months.  Although we were proud of those steps and many others, we weren’t overly encouraging her to walk at such a young age.  First, she hadn’t been crawling that long…she got around real well but by means other than true crawling (a lot of scooting)….and crawling was an important development that I didn’t want her to take lightly!  Second, I wasn’t ready for her to be that mobile yet!  So while there were a lot of steps at 9 months and 10 months, it was literally the day that she turned 11 months that those steps turned into walking.  On her 11 month birthday, it was probably 50/50 walking and in the 3 days since then, she has pretty much become a full blown walker….to the point where last night I realized she needed real shoes…one’s that were actually supportive for walking and not just decorative!  So here she is at Stride Rite buying her 1st pair of shoes!

And here is Harper and proud big sister Emerson who picked out those hot pink shoes!

Eleven months so far has proven to be a big month for Harper.  At 11 months (or just shy by about a week), Harper’s two top teeth magically started appearing out of nowhere.  They are only just coming in, but they are huge.  And one on the bottom is coming in as well.  FINALLY!  I secretly was beginning to wonder if she had any baby teeth….THANKFULLY she does.  But don’t be fooled those teeth (or lack thereof) were not keeping Harper from eating and enjoying her food.  Over the last few months we have been introducing more and more table food and sometime last month Harper’s meals turned into all table food.  She joins us at the table (in her high chair) and she shovels the food into her mouth (a lot like Emerson did at the same age).   I don’t think she like peas or corn that much, but other than that she isn’t too biased when it comes to food. 

Happy 11 months Harper….one year is just around the corner!