Thanksgiving 2012

I know it's been a long time since I last posted.  In between "Blessed" and now, we've given Kyleigh solids, she's started to sit up on her own (if only briefly), and she's attempting to crawl.  And it's only been 3 weeks since my last post!  Bottom line, life has been busy and by the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is sit down and blog.  Sorry, I'm just being honest!

To be honest, I was really worried about Thanksgiving this year.  Family wasn't coming, we knew we weren't doing anything with our Wheaton friends, and the Lehmanns were out of town.  We had been planning on spending the day on our own and I was trying really hard to be okay with this.  It seemed very strange, as if it was going to be just another day.  I didn't think it made sense to make the whole fixings for 3 people to eat (I thought about writing 2 1/2 people, but we all know that Reagan eats the same as a whole person!).  Then, things changed.

Ryan's boss invited us to having dinner at his house because their family wasn't coming either.  And we were also invited to Adam and Holly's house.  Ryan thought it would be a great idea to "get out of our bubble," so we went to Josh and Christine's house.  Only after accepting the invitation did we find out that Christine's parents and brother would also be coming to town.  Oh boy!  Now we felt like we were intruding on their family Thanksgiving.  Even though Christine's family was now coming, they still wanted us to join.

We went anyway and had a great time!  I was a bit nervous because I am usually an introvert in situations like this.  However, I wanted to branch out and have a good time.  So, I chatted up a storm with Christine, her parents, and of course, their adorable twin girls.  Watching Reagan interact with the girls was a lot of fun.  He was great - didn't hit - and loved their see-saw alligator.

Dinner was also awesome.  We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, with the exception of one item - the turkey!  Christine made Cornish game hens instead of a turkey.  I've never eaten a Cornish game hen before, but it was great.  Unfortunately, Reagan threw a mini temper tantrum in the middle of dinner.  Ryan made the mistake of giving Reagan candied sweet potatoes as the first sampling of the dinner.  Of course, Reagan wouldn't eat anything else!  He cried until we gave him more sweet potatoes!  Oh well, what can you do?

Even though we couldn't spend Thanksgiving with our family, we still had a very nice day with Josh and Christine.  The whole day was great and we had much to be thankful for.

Blessed

I am blessed.  I have felt the Lord's blessings so much in just the past week alone.  I'll give a few examples because I never want to forget how blessed I am.

Example 1:  I was having one of those days.  It reminded me of Judith Viorst's "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."  The kids were acting horribly, they were barely sleeping, and just being a pain in the rear!  I made a comment on Facebook, not really thinking anything of it, but about 30 minutes after my announcement of the long afternoon that would ensue, I heard the knock on the door.  I peeped through the window, thinking who could possible be here in the middle of the afternoon.  It was my dear friend, Janie, to the rescue!  She saw my comment on Facebook and showed up at my doorstep with a latte in hand for me.  She then followed with "I have a great idea.  I don't have to get the kids until 3p, so you go take a walk by yourself and I'll watch your kids."  This was more a blessing than Janie could have ever known!

Example 2: Kyleigh is getting to the age where we will begin solids very soon.  With Reagan, I really aspired to make my own baby food.  I did some weeks, but not all of the time.  I just couldn't find the time while working to make it myself.  Anyway, no excuses this time around.  I'm going to make food for Kyleigh.  I've been thinking of purchasing a Baby Bullet by Magic Bullet because the blender I used the first time around was so big and didn't really puree the way I hoped.  And, since I broke my blender during my horrible, no good, very bad day in example 1, I was definitely facing a new purchase!  That's when I received a phone call from Amanda offering to GIVE me her Baby Bullet!  She didn't even know I wanted this, and yet she's going to give it to me!  Once again, I am blessed.

Example 3:  A friend is getting married this weekend and the girls wanted to have brunch with the bride-to-be.  I initially was hesitant to say yes because brunch was at 11 and I knew I wouldn't be home before 1.  Reagan normally naps at 11 and small group was at our house that night.  Needless to say, I needed Reagan to nap.  But, I didn't want to be the inflexible mom who can't do something special just because of a nap.  So...I went!  Why is this a blessing?  On our way home from brunch, Katie offered to keep Reagan for the afternoon!  This gave me the opportunity to get my house cleaned as well as cook for small group without having to worry about my inquisitive toddler!  I was so thankful.

These are just a few examples of how the Lord is blessing me through some wonderful friends.  I am so grateful for how many people have touched my life and encouraged me with something small and simple.

LOVING Reagan's Age

WARNING: this post is primarily written so I don't forget the little things.  Continue reading if you'd like, but don't say I didn't give you a heads up first!

Let me give a disclaimer before I get too far into this post.  Not every day is as peachy as I'm about to describe.  There are days when I want to throw in the towel because I just don't think I can do it anymore.  Reagan is a challenge (what toddler isn't?) and I sometimes wonder what I'm doing at home because he can make me crazy, BUT I am LOVING his age right now.  He just turned 19 months a few days ago.  I never thought I'd say I love this stage because he's getting into EVERYTHING (literally), but I really am.  Every night, I talk with Ryan about the day and I'm often reflecting on the cute things Reagan did.  I will go to sleep at night with a big smile on my face, just thinking about how cute he is and how much fun and laughter he brings to my life.

Following is just a simple list of the things Reagan has been doing lately that make me stop and truly enjoy this time.

CLIMBING: Reagan has discovered climbing and he's taking it on full force.  Back in September, I found him on the coffee table.  I thought back then that we'd entered the climbing stage, but alas, it's in October that his climbing has increased.  Two days ago, I was feeding Kyleigh in her room and actually shut the door to keep Reagan out (that sounds awful, I know, but he distracts her and she was really tired, so I needed it to be quiet and peaceful).  I could hear him running around the house, having a grand time.  Then, it happened; I heard a loud crash.  I quickly left Kyleigh's room to find the remnants of Reagan standing on the toilet seat, grabbing stuff from the second shelf of my medicine cabinet.  As I walked into the bathroom, Reagan was simultaneously falling backwards and sideways off the toilet, landing in the garbage can in between the vanity and the toilet.  Fortunately, he didn't injure himself, but was just a little startled.  Note to self: NEVER leave the bathroom door opened ;-)

Climbing on the living room table

Or take the instance when Ryan and I were in the church nursery this past Sunday.  We look into the toddler room and there's Reagan sitting in a drawer.  No big deal, you think.  Oh no...he was in the second drawer from the bottom.  He found a way to climb into the middle drawer of the cabinet.  I almost didn't take a picture, but I couldn't resist.  It was too funny!

Second drawer and very proud!

CURIOSITY: I said at the beginning of this post that Reagan is into everything.  I mean this, I really do.  Whether it's the garbage can, which he frequents daily, or digging things out of my purse, or taking stuff out of the refrigerator door when I've got my back turned, or emptying the drawers from the living room table tables, Reagan is into everything.  It's cute and funny the first time around, but it drives me crazy!  If I turn my back just for an instance, he's into something new.  He's exploring the house and finding new and exciting things, I know.

I can think of two instances this past week alone that just make me laugh.  First, he's discovered his closet.  Ryan put up drapes to cover the opening since we'd removed the doors.  I thought this would be a place for him to explore in the past, but he hadn't shown interest.  Until this week, that is.  I've got a box of diapers on the floor and we have a hanging organizer in the closet.  Reagan now finds humor in getting behind the drapes, climbing (there it is, climbing again) on the box of diapers and playing with all of the things in the closet organizer!  If I can't find him when I'm trying to leave, I go straight to the closet and there he is, standing and taking everything off the shelves!

The second instance is probably my favorite.  Kyleigh was asleep and I needed to take a quick shower. Normally, Reagan just sits on the bathroom floor and plays with my hair dryer or Ryan's shaving pod thingys.  Today, he decided to go into my bedroom.  Big mistake, mom, leaving the bedroom door open.  Lesson learned, for sure!  I'm in the shower, I hear a big clang, not a crash, something noisier.  Then come the frantic footsteps from the bedroom to the bathroom.  I get out of the shower and Reagan is at the bathroom door, pointing to the bedroom, and repeatedly saying "Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh."  (I'm laughing as I write this because I can hear the "Uh Oh's" in my mind).  I followed Reagan's leading into the bedroom and there it was.  Ryan's change jar scattered all over the floor.  Nothing broke and Reagan didn't eat any pennies (I don't think, anyway!), but his curiosity of the change jar left us with a big mess to clean.

"AH DO":  You might wonder what "Ah do" means.  It means "All done" and he usually signs this as he's saying it.  What's funny about this is that this past week, while in the middle of changing Reagan's diapers, he's constantly saying "Ah do".  It's like he's telling me, "Mommy, I'm all done with you changing my diaper!"  

DADDY:  Reagan absolutely LOVES his daddy!  He has always smiled when Ryan walks in the room, but this past week has been different.  On Monday, I left late in the afternoon for a quick errand and Ryan actually made it home before we did.  As I turned the corner, Reagan caught a glimpse of Ryan's car in the driveway and he immediately began saying "Daddy, daddy, daddy!!!!"  I unbuckled his seat and Reagan trotted over to Ryan's car in search of him.  I told him that Daddy is in the house and he went inside.  So cute.

The very next morning, I got up early with Reagan.  I usually turn off the light to my room and shut the door before I get Reagan.  He loves to play in our drawers, so it's just easier to not even let our room in sight!  Anyway, this particular morning, I forgot to shut the door.  After I changed Reagan, I put him on the ground and he quickly walked into our room and over to Ryan's side of the bed.  While he's doing this, he's saying, "Daddy, daddy, daddy!"  I sadly had to tell him that daddy is at work and he'd be home later.  Of course, later that night when Ryan was coming home, Reagan heard the storm door open.  He had a such an excited expression on his face and said "Daddy!!" as Ryan walked in the door.    He just loves his daddy!

MOMMY:  He finally uttered this precious word two days before he turned 19 months old.  Ryan was encouraging him to say "mommy" and he just repeated it several times.  The way he says it is adorable!  I just love it!  He doesn't say it often, but if I prompt him, he will say "mommy."  This makes my heart happy.

I'm sure, in fact, I know, there are plenty more adorable things my little man does.  I just needed to highlight a few of them that have happened recently and are on my mind.  I am just loving this time.  It's a challenge, but really rewarding at the same time.  I love you, little man!

Feeling Great

I have been so encouraged this week.  Seriously, I've been praising God each day for how great and encouraged I feel.  It's like I'm a new, different person than I was in September.  THAT was a hard month!

Back to the good stuff!  Ryan's job has been going well.  He's usually home around 5:30p every night, sometimes 5p if I'm lucky :)  In fact, he walked in the door one evening at 5p and I was overwhelmed with joy.  I wasn't having a bad or hard day, I was just simply excited to see him home 30 minutes earlier than expected!  I'm pretty sure I shared this in an earlier post, but one of my bigger concerns with the new job and the commute was dinner.  Ryan handled all the cooking in our house, by his choice.  I was glad to step out of the kitchen and let him take over.  However, now that he would be getting home later, cooking for our family became my responsibility.  Oh no!!!!!!  I was not looking forward to this new daily task, but thought I should embrace it as much as possible.  I definitely asked for prayer from our small group as this was weighing heavily on my mind.  I am happy to report dinner has been much more of a pleasurable experience than I could have ever imagined.  This HAS to be the work of the Lord because I am not passionate about cooking and I'm so stressed in the kitchen.  The past two weeks have gone well and we've eaten healthy meals.  Yay :)

Another thought on the kitchen duties....I still do not enjoy cooking.  I LOVE to find new recipes and try to expand our horizons (well, maybe just trying different types of chicken dishes - nothing too far out there!).  I've found two blogs that I follow and have tasted several of their dishes.  This is what is great about cooking.  It's finding the new things to try, but I would still rather have Ryan cook them ;)  By the way, he doesn't mind - he loves to cook!

Okay, a main reason why I'm feeling so great is that Kyleigh is starting settle down into a schedule.  This is a HUGE praise to the Lord!  I honestly think that's why September was such a hard month.  Just this past week, she has seemed more predictable and easier to handle.  This has certainly brightened my spirits.

There is one down side to life right now.  Reagan is going through a phase and I KNOW every kid goes through it.  He's hitting.  And he's hitting a lot.  I took him to a play cafe on Monday and he hit 6 different kids.  SIX!!!!!!!  I am completely embarrassed and don't know what to do.  He doesn't understand time out yet and I discipline him with a stern voice, but he thinks it's a joke and laughs about it.  Needless to say, I don't know how to handle this.  I pray this phase disappears soon and he can go back to being the sweet, loving, little man I love!

That's it for now...I'm going to enjoy some time to myself while both kids sleep!

Different People

It seems so obvious; everyone is different.  However, this hasn't really hit home to me until the last few weeks.  My children are two different people.  They have their own thoughts (although I have no idea what they are), act differently, get upset for different reasons, and the list goes on!

What really brought this thought home for me is through the whole sleeping issues I've been experiencing with Kyleigh.  Naturally, I've forgotten what it was like when Reagan was 4 months old.  On a side note, how could I forget, it wasn't that long ago!!!!  Anyway, back on track...I have been expecting Kyleigh to sleep the way Reagan sleeps - no crying when I put her down and she should take 2 hour naps at the minimum!  Wrong - Kyleigh is different.  She prefers to take shorter naps and will cry before I put her down.  This may be just a phase and she may end up being a great sleeper like her big brother, but for now, she's a different sleeper.

Another area in which the kiddos are different is in their personality.  I do remember that when Reagan was about Kyleigh's age, he was stoic.  He would eventually smile, but it took a lot of effort from us to get a smile.  Kyleigh is the opposite!  She is so happy all of the time.  She's always smiling, cooing, and laughing.  It makes me smile as I'm typing this right now :)

I know this is a "duh" post - of course everyone is different.  It just hit home recently.

September: The Month in Review

This has been an emotional up and down, roller coaster type of month for me.  I don't even know where to begin.

The month started off on an emotional high of Ryan's new job and all that it brings.  We were looking for a car, were excited about the opportunities the new position would bring, etc.  However, that excitement also brought a low for me personally in how this new position would affect me and the kids.  I began to think of the longer days for me and the shorter amount of time Ryan would see the kids.  I also pondered how the new job would affect my relationship with Ryan.  Mostly in the sense that since he'll be gone more, we'll both be exhausted from long days by the time he gets home, would we have enough energy to put into our relationship.  Since having the kids, we have both admitted that our communication is not what it used to be.  Given this, I am especially sensitive to making sure Ryan and I are doing okay.

The next big thing was the start of sleep training for Kyleigh.  I won't say much here because I've already written a post about it.  Bottom line: it's been terrible!  She will only take short (30-45 minutes) naps while she's in motion.  So basically, she sleeps while I'm walking or driving.  That doesn't really give me the opportunity to get anything done around the house.  I am thankful she sleeps through the night, so I know I shouldn't be complaining at all.

Then, we had family visit.  Again, I won't say much because I've already posted about it.  It was wonderful to have both moms here and spend some quality time with each.  This, of course, was part of my emotional high for the month.

The end of the month was definitely my low point.  I have been putting so much pressure on myself to be the perfect stay-at-home mom.  I get so down on myself if the house is dirty or I haven't found 5 new recipes to try out for the next week.  Ryan has been more than understanding and has encouraged me on multiple occasions that his expectations are nowhere near where I've put them.  Although we had a good conversation about this, I still struggle to believe that I'm doing a good job.

I feel extremely blessed to be taking a parenting course called Entrusted with a Child's Heart.  I just started the class last Friday and it will go through May 2013.  God's timing of this class could not have been better.  Even in the first lesson, I was reminded that God chose ME (and Ryan) to be the parents of Reagan and Kyleigh.  I was uniquely chosen for them and I am so blessed!

As I reflect on this past month, while it was a tough one, I can see God's faithfulness.  I had a really hard morning (broke down crying) and I had two friends come along and encourage me.  They reminded me that they are praying for me and shared some wonderful verses.  One of those verses is Matthew 11:29, "“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”   I also saw God's faithfulness through Ryan.  We were able to spend extra time together before his new job started and we were able to talk through a lot and get on the same page.  I am so thankful for my husband and what an encouragement he is to me.  With Kyleigh's sleeping, I know there will be rough days ahead, but I am thankful to be going through this time with my children.  I wouldn't have it any other way!

Family Visits

September brought family and that made me happy.  Darcy came first in the middle of the month.  We enjoyed a lazy afternoon and then prepared for nachos and watching the Bears vs. Packers game that night.  The game was terrible, but the company was great ;)

On Friday, we all squeezed (and I mean squeezed) into the Civic for an all day outing to the Outlet mall in Aurora.  We first drove through Batavia so Darcy could see where Ryan will now be working.  Ryan was also able to get his TB test done so he didn't have to drive back to Batavia a different day.  The outlets were great!  We scored several good deals and just had a great time shopping for the kids.  We learned on this visit, though, that Reagan's feet require EXTRA WIDE shoes!  His fat little feet make me smile!

I read Holly's facebook status about going to a U-pick apple orchard and I thought that would be a fun thing to do!  So, Saturday morning, we again squeezed into the Civic and drove up to Heinz Orchard and picked a peck of apples.  We had a really nice time.  Reagan actually ate a whole apple while walking through the orchard!  He was really into it :)

The rest of her visit was very low key and absolutely wonderful.  It was really hard to say goodbye, as it always is.

My mom came two days later and I was so excited to see her!  This was a very different trip than in the past.  She came as a big favor to us because Ryan and I were going on a camping trip with our small group for the weekend.  We needed a babysitter, so my mom helped us out!  I tried to take advantage of the short time we had before Ryan and I left.  Thursday afternoon was low key before we headed to P.F. Chang's for dinner.

On Friday, the kids didn't nap on the same schedule, so it was a little difficult to get out of the house.  Katie came over in the morning to visit (mom always wants to see her when she's in town).  After Katie left, it was time to feed Reagan and get him down for a nap.  When he finally got up, we made a quick trip up to Babies R Us to pick up a lamp for Kyleigh's room.  Unfortunately, the wrong lamp was put on hold and we left with only a few pairs of socks!  Before I knew it, we needed to get home and ready to leave for the trip.  I was packed up and just needed to feed Kyleigh before we met the group at Photo's for dinner.

I was incredibly nervous that Kyleigh wasn't going to eat and that she's cry the whole weekend and make it a horrible time for my mom.  Everyone kept telling me that she would be fine.  She wouldn't starve herself and she would eventually eat from the bottle.  I wasn't convinced, but then again, what could I do?  Ryan insisted that we needed this weekend together and everything would be okay.  I knew he was right.  So, off I went with the rest of the small group.

Camping was fun - cold, but fun.  It was nice to just get away for a little bit and be with adults and have a conversation without worrying about swaying back and forth to keep Kyleigh happy or picking Reagan up because he wants something!

It was pretty cold this weekend.  I climbed into my sleeping bag Friday night and really hoped I wouldn't have to pee because I didn't want to get back out of it!!  I must say, though, I slept really well Friday night.  On Saturday, we went canoeing.  I wasn't sure I still wanted to do this because it was chilly, but I went anyway.  I'm glad I did.  The day was beautiful (no rain as forecasted) and canoeing down the river reminded me of floating down the Deschutes River.  We had a few scary moments on the river.  Anita got caught on a log and her kayak flipped.  We barely missed hitting her head as we floated by.  The Oakley's were also trying to miss her and got caught on the same log.  Their canoe completely flipped.  And of course, this happened at the deepest and narrowest part of the river.  Despite the very cold water, everyone was okay and we continued on our trip.  Saturday night brought yummy dinner and s'mores around a great fire!

Greg gave a great devotional on Sunday morning after we ate breakfast.  We then packed up and headed home.  Again, I was very thankful to get away.  It was great time come home, see the kids, and give my mom some relief!  Even though she said she'd do it again, I know it was a tough weekend for her.  Reagan woke up at 3:45a Sunday morning and wouldn't go back to sleep.  Needless to say, she was tired when we got back Sunday afternoon.  We went to a different Babies R Us Sunday afternoon and then came back to Lou Malnati's for dinner!

Unfortunately, Monday morning came and it was time for mom to head back to CA.  The visits from family are always welcome, but it is always hard to say goodbye.  I am doing my best to enjoy each moment they are here.

Thanks mom and Darcy for your visits this month!  I love you!