Dekker Turned Four

Today was officially the day that Dekker turned four years old. We celebrated all day with Dekker-specific things. It was not extravagant at all, but neither are his tastes. We had croissants, bacon, grapes, and cheese for breakfast. Then we got everyone dressed and gave Dekker his birthday gift – a bike. Its his first ever bike, and it even has Lightening McQueen on it. It was a huge win. If you haven’t seen, I posted a video on YouTube of his first bike ride. It was wonderful. He was so natural on it. Sadly, it started to rain and get pretty cold, so we went inside to his very emphatic disapproval. But we got into dry clothes and had some snacks and a nap, and got some laundry going. I would have loved to keep them up from their nap on his birthday, but its been a busy busy month (at least) and they need some extra rest right now.

While the kids rested, Brady and I put together a bit of the decor for his party tomorrow, and got some food ourselves. We didn’t rest long before Rowan woke up, and absolutely would have none of anything. We tried to figure him out, and maintained the laundry.

Dekker and Laela woke up nice and late in the afternoon, and we let Dekker choose his birthday supper. We offered him all of his favorites, but he picked what he really wanted that wasn’t even on the list. That is how we found ourselves eating noodles and butter for supper. No lie.

Jerilee arrived for our evening date, and joined the fam on another bike ride. It really showed, though, that Deks was much more tired than his first ride. We didn’t go quite as far as the first one. The gravel is a challenge, for sure. Once again, Everyone was very sad to come inside, and even more so when they learned it was bedtime. But they ended up going down happy, thankfully. It truly was an awesome day.

Now that we have celebrated Dekker as a family, we’re having a little party at our place tomorrow. While we’re all thanking God for my fabulous firstborn son, let’s remember to ask him to keep the weather light and lovely. I would LOVE to just be able to play outside all afternoon! But either way, it’ll be nice to celebrate him again.

Love you, Dekker. Lots and lots and lots.

Hugs. Kisses. George.

Good To Be Home

We had a lovely time visiting my family this week, but being home feels grand. After we left this afternoon, we headed to the city for some things we needed for Dekker’s birthday party this weekend. I’m actually a bit nervous, as our only real plan was to play outside, and the weather isn’t looking so hot. If anyone has some awesome ideas, send them my way! We don’t have a big group, but they’re all five and under, so I’m not sure what a good but very casual activity would be. Thoughts? Ideas? Gosh I hope its at least a little bit fun!

After a longer shop than anticipated, we finally got home and put the biggest littles down for night. Rowan has been sleeping like a… something that never sleeps ever, so we’re hoping to keep him up a bit tonight in hopes that he is good and ready to sleep when he finally goes down. (As I type this, he’s finally started whining on my bed next to me. Yay?) Brady carried everything in from the van while I fed Ro, and he’s putting the groceries away while I blog. Tomorrow will be Dekker’s actual birthday, and we were hoping to have a big exciting outside day for him, so hopefully thats still possible. But I’ll also need to do a bunch of chopping and preparing for his party on Saturday. It is super minimal work, but I don’t really want to pour over anything too crazy, honestly. Dekker isn’t a high energy kid, really, and we’ve been super high energy the last little while, I think he’ll actually appreciate some quieter downtime.

I think we all will, actually. If its too crappy to go outside tomorrow, a movie and playing inside will have to suffice. I’m so thankful for my adaptable, fabulous children. I can’t believe that, at this time four years ago, I was in labour. I don’t think I would have had my epidural yet even, or maybe they would have just put it in. It took three hours of fussing with it before it finally worked. So thankful I had it though, whew!!!

I love you, Dekker! Can’t wait to celebrate you extra these next couple of days!! <3

Family Picture Day

With all of the siblings together, we attempted a family picture this afternoon. It doesn’t happen too terribly often so we do our best to get a picture. Thankfully it was really casual, because we didn’t bring anything fancy or even really nice for our family to  wear. Just about everyone wore neutrals or toned down colors, except for our family. I was fairly neutral, but the kids and Brady were not. Either way, we got all set up in the backyard and my mom used her remote to take five quick pictures in a row. The kids did pretty well, but when that stint was over, it started to go downhill. At first, it was so adorable!! Laela wanted to put her hand on Rowan. It was terribly sweet. Very quickly, she opted to have her arm around him. Then, it was a full on hug with a little “smack” kiss on his cheek. And he BURST out crying!! Now, we can all laugh at family pictures that include a crying baby, but he wouldn’t come back to us! He was just ticked! While we worked to calm him down, Dekker and Laela sat down for a rest. When we were going for another bout of photos, both of them started crying and practically refused to stand back up. Well, no, they didn’t refuse, but they were not having it. Lots and lots of crying. Hopefully those first five pictures are golden! If they’re not, at least Ro and I have this great picture while mom was trying to get the camera centred. DSC_0292

He’s cute upside down too. I’m glad I tested that out.

The Effect of Mennonite Food

Today was mixed with crazy activity and some peaceful quiet tv time. There was lots of big meals, and little snacks throughout the day as well. My kids wore their jammies all day long. It was a good day.

I’ll be honest. Tonights supper is likely my favorite kind of down home mennonite food that exists. I haven’t been able to sink my teeth into it for YEARS, and tonight, my sister and brother in law prepared if for our group. I ate an unreasonable amount of it, and have been mostly asleep ever since. It was delicious. I didn’t even have snacks this evening, unless you count the cup of decaf coffee I had while we all visited and took turns playing Mario Kart.

Its been a lovely evening, and now I’m sleepy. I still want a little bit of Seinfeld in my life before sleeping, since I don’t think we’ve made it through an episode since we got here. We’re just unreasonably tired for some reason!!!

So I’m calling this post a shorty and I’m heading off to bed. Well, let’s be real. I’m in bed. But I’m still in jeans, which is not ok. Its not bedtime until the jeans are off for the night!

Kids Fun

I can’t say a whole lot for myself today, but I can say that the kids had a riot.

I was part of the morning walk that took place between their breakfast and our brunch. My brother and I walked around the block with all of the four big kids. We threw rocks into puddles, into the ditch, and predicted the moves of cars and trucks nearby. Dekker was pretty on top of that part. “Oh, they’re just parking.”

Brunch was an enormous feed of custom made omelettes, and instead of following that up with naps as per usual, Simon and Stefan took the kids outside for an epic water fight. And I mean epic as in there were water guns and small children who got to squirts their uncles. That fight went on for quite some time. I watched them through the window occasionally when they made their way into the front yard. Both of my brothers were solidly soaked, Simons boys were soaked, Dekker was pretty dry except from his sweat, and Laela had her perfectly dry game face on. They played hard, but came in sweaty and dirty and tired. All four of them removed their shirts, grabbed a bowl of popcorn, and watched some Netflix.

There was another walk leading up to supper time, but I was in charge of supper tonight and as it drew near, I realized I had messed up the timing completely. I think the thing I am worst at in regards to preparing food is getting it all to be ready at the same time. I hear that comes with time, but for me, its taking its precious time. I’m just not good at it. However, the meal was saved and each part of it managed to survive and taste good.

Dekker was very upset, after all of his play, to have to sit at the table and eat food that was not in the mood for. Honey chicken is always tricky with him, because he insists that he doesn’t like it, but we know he does. Every. Single. Time. So I spoke to him in advance about it, since he was upset about the food long ahead of time. I told him that I understood if he wasn’t in the mood, but he needed to have a good attitude about it. I said that, if he had a good attitude about it, and ate without whining, he’d only have to have three bites and then I’d figure out something else for him. BUT, I said, if he whined a whole bunch about it and made a big fuss, he’d have to have five bites. To my pure delight, he came to the table and barely whined as Brady put chicken on his plate. And suddenly, his entire serving was gone. He loudly requested more chicken. He wanted it separate from his rice today, even though I had shredded it. Brady scooped some onto his plate, and again, he ate it and loudly asked for more. OH MY GOSH!! It was so lovely to feed him today 🙂 As he ate, he’d say “Watch me!” and take really big, emphatic bites. He asked me “Mommy, did you make this supper?” I told him I had, and he was like “Oh, thank you for making it, mommy!” I love those “thank yous” the most. The unprompted ones that quash all of the beliefs that kids his age don’t understand the concept of thankfulness. He ate beautifully and was so well mannered and charming. I was so very proud.

The kids got into their jammies well, and while good nights weren’t the smoothest they’ve ever been, they went down really really well. We had a nice visit with everyone else, but around 10:00pm, Rowan started to move around and we decided to call it a night. My parents are already down for the night, and I’m sad that we’re not out talking with my siblings, but I’m just so sleepy, and all of the busyness is making me miss my husband more than I thought I would. So we’re going to have some normalcy, tucked away together. A bit of snacking and Seinfeld 🙂

I hope tomorrow is this good!

Too Many Great Days

As I keep posting blogs, and my summer gets fuller and fuller and more and more fun, I’m struggling to titles these posts!!! There have just been too many fabulous days, and I’m not creative enough to name them all different things. If I could call them all “A Great Day” and number them off, I guess that would be one way. Either way, it goes without saying, today was a great day 🙂

We had made a bit of a plan yesterday that we’d all go into the city for a short shopping trip this afternoon. My parents decided to hang back, and our kids were in pretty rough shape, so we left Dekker and Laela to sleep while we took Ro with us. We did a bit of shopping for ourselves, and for the kids. I am incredibly proud of myself, actually! I didn’t buy anything for my kids at Carters, and I only bought the necessities at the Gap outlet, which meant new jeans for Dekker and Rowan. I’m not sure why I haven’t tried their jeans there before. Rowans fit him perfectly, which is rarely the case. I think lots of parents can relate to me about the long legs and the little waist. My kids aren’t particularly thin as babies (or not at all) but finding jeans to fit their waists and their leg length sometimes seems impossible. However, I found a great fitting pair for Ro! Dekker’s new ones are pretty long, but they fit his waist great, so they’ll likely fit for a good long time.

We got home pretty much just in time for a delicious supper of mashed potatoes and pork chops. Rowan is eating better than ever today, for some reason, so he actually had eaten and was down for a nap during the meal. Our kids went down on time, which is FABULOUS considering the excitement in the house.

I had a really wonderful chat with my sister after that, kind of spontaneously. We forgot time and visited for well over an hour, which was much needed and appreciated. I loved it. It ended with ice cream and joining the rest of the family.

Shortly after 10:00pm, Rowan woke up, and everyone seemed to disperse at that time to their separate quarters. Much earlier to bed tonight, which I think is good. Brady is back to work tomorrow, which is sad but good. Hopefully being this much closer to the city will bring him home a little bit earlier too. Its always so nice being all together <3

Another Week of Company!!

We are the company this week 🙂 We’re hiding out at my parents house for most of this coming week with all of my siblings. There are 13 of us under this roof, and it is a FULL HOUSE!

Before we got here and settled in, I spent the morning shopping with my friendy friend, Kim. We killed a solid three hours in Value Village together! I probably tried on fifteen shirts and none of them were quite right. But I bought a dress, a jacket, ad a couple of cute belts. I bought the kids a ton of fall/winter clothes, and I got a cute little decorative bowlish thing for jewelry, keys, or something else pretty down the line. It was a nice successful shop, and just a nice date in general. Starbucks and shopping is a really easy, fun time. And we were actually kid free this time around!!! We will definitely be doing that again!

I got home in the early afternoon and Brady and I packed while the kids napped. When they woke up, they got baths, piled into the van, and we drove to the party at my parents!

The house buzzed (the loudest buzz you ever did hear) until about 8:00pm, and then it quieted for the night. Until now, that is, when Rowan woke up considerably earlier than usual. Brady and I had to bow out of the visit a bit sooner than we had hoped for, but frankly, I am wiped out, and going to bed sounds lovely. Tomorrow will be another super lovely day, with an outing to the city too!!

One of these days I’ll put pictures up again. I have SO many that I’ve been too lazy to post, going back as far as Waskesiu!!!

I hope you are all sleeping already. Its late o’clock.

Mom Win

Our lovely guest left this morning. Dekker and Laela waved her out through the window like champs, and immediately seemed unsure about what we’d do next. We’ve had so much company recently, and when no one is over, we’re out! But today was a rest day. We watched some tv and played fairly quietly most of the day. When it came time for naps, everyone went down at the same time. Now this is actually very common in our house, but it takes some work. That goes without saying, really. But today, there was no work!! Laela cried a little bit as she walked up the stairs, but I’m pretty sure it was just because she was overtired. Dekker beat everyone upstairs and was in his room fast. While Laela took her time walking up the stairs, I wrapped Rowan up and put him down in his playpen in my room. He didn’t make a sound, and went down smiling. Once he was laying down, I scooped Laela up from the stairs and took her to her room. Dekker had his glasses off and was in his megabed. I tucked Laela into her crib. I asked her if she was comfy, to which she replied “ni night.” I climbed up the stairs to tuck Dekker in next. He was all under his blankets, laying very still, waiting for me. I draped over him kind of, and asked if he was comfy or needed anything. He said “Uh, I’m fine,” and that was that. I passed around lots of kisses before leaving the room.

Two. Hours. Later. They all begun to lull at once. I had two beautiful hours of rest, where I lay in bed and dozed a bit. Then, they began to wiggle and talk to themselves, but no one was in any way asking to come out, or have any kind of help. So I let Dekker and Laela visit, and I let Ro scoot around on his back and scratch the mesh around his playpen for a bit.

Thankfully, Brady came home soon after.

Not so thankfully, he is just as pooped as I am!!

I’m assuming that we will fall asleep tonight the way the kids did this afternoon. Hopefully they do the same! I can’t promise I’ll be awake to convince them back to sleep.

We’re always the most tired after such great visits <3

So Many Late Nights!

I haven’t had a summer with this much going on since I was a kid, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. However, my blog posts seem to be suffering a bit. Sorry to those who are bored and annoyed with all of the late and detail-free posts. Know that we’re happy and having fun!

I did laundry this afternoon and then Jessica and I spent the evening out shopping together, and having supper. We perused a few stores and tried on lots and lots of things. I got a great new pair of leggings, a cute shirt, some jewelry, and the NEW Naked eye shadow palette by Urban Decay. Aaaaahhh!! Its beautiful. I can’t wait to play with it.

After our big dinner at Boston Pizza, we went back home and watched 80% of a movie downstairs while doing face masks. It was pretty epic, and Brady was a good enough sport to do them with us. But now, its obviously after midnight, and I am bushed. So off to bed I go!!! I hope you’re all already sleeping!

Housework and an Outing

We rocked a relaxed morning around here, as per usual. Just coffee and breakfast, and then some quiet tv while the kids played. Jessica and I got in lots of visiting and catching up, which was lovely. Its been such a long time since we’ve been really in touch. This was a much needed visit 🙂

Once the kids went down, my craziness took over and Jessica was a great sport, helping me tidy some stuff around the house. We did some crazy cleaning to get the house looking “sale” ready again, and then we did our makeup in the dining room together.

Dekker and Laela woke up around 3:00pm, and we quickly got them ready and out the door. We picked Brady up from work and made our way to the newly opened Kinsmen Park!! Today they were offering free rides, so it was crazy busy, loud, and lined up, but we still wanted to at least go check it out. Jessica offered to stand with and occupy Ro so we could take the kids on the carousel, and they LOVED it!! Dekker was so excited right off the hop, wondering when it was going to “spin.” Laela was hesitant at first, and tried to squirm down a bit, but I climbed onto the horse with her and sat her a bit more on my lap, and she seemed to at least accept that she had to stay. Of course, halfway through their first time around, I asked if she was having fun, and she loudly squealed “YA!” So thats always comforting. I’m happy when they’re happy.

After a few rounds and balloons for both kids, we headed back to the van. It would have been fun to stay longer but it was SO HOT and we just knew it wasn’t going to happen. We grabbed some food from a nearby asian restaurant and opted for a quick picnic before driving home.

Kids went down, adults got dessert and coffee, we watched a movie, and now its 1:00am!!! SO! Total fail time wise today, thats for sure. I’m not taking much time to expand on anything really, or even add the beautiful picture we got today, but that one might have to come up in a follow up post soon. Its so good!!! But I am now tired, and poor Brady will have to get up in a very short period of time to go to work 🙁 So, to bed we go!! I hope you’re all sleeping well!