New phases

Kids just grow up way to fast. Sometimes I kick myself because I feel like I am wishing time away. There are the milestones like wanting them to sit up, crawl, walk, talk, and things like eating on their own, playing on their own, and the lists go on.  Also there are the days that I just don't have the energy to keep up and I am wishing for nap time and then quickly wishing for bedtime.  I really don't want my days to be like that. I want them to be filled with laughter, playing, and memories.  My kids are growing up so fast and as I step back and look at them I am reminded of how precious our time together really is. I was reminded of this again recently as I have been watching both the kids step into new phases of life. 

Leah has recently started to become little Miss Independent.  She is still overall her joyful, loving self but in the area of eating she wants nothing to do with it unless she is doing it herself.  This obviously also means that she has completely given up any and all baby food. Therefore she eats what we eat for dinner.  Kevin and I have given in to her new found independence and have resolved to having one very messy little girl.

If you can't tell, we had spaghetti for dinner and she loved every minute of it.  I still manage to get a few spoon/fork fulls into her every now and then but for the most part she does it all by herself.  This is also one of those parenting things that I said that I would never allow my child to do. That being making a complete mess with their food.  But other than all over her hands and face and, um well some in her hair and lap she eats all of her food.

Chase has reached two new phases of the "preschool" age.  He has reached a whole new level of curiosity and now EVERYTHING is "Why Mommy?" This phase makes me smile.  I love to talk things out with him and really get a feel for how his little mind works.  When they are young you read that they like little sponges taking everything in but now I get to talk to him about it.  I realize that at times this will be very annoying but I pray that I have the patience to always answer/talk through his curiosity.  The other phase he has reached is definitely annoying because it involves constantly repeating whatever it is that he wants. For example he wanted cereal and fruit snacks for lunch today. (not a typical lunch in our house but that is what he got at the store and he wanted it) I counted 47 times he repeated the request for cereal and fruit snacks even after I had acknowledged the fact that we would see about it when we got home.  I love his determination and persistence and I pray that I do not squelch those wonderful life skills but needless to say we are working on patience :).  

Condo livin'

I have to admit overall I really have enjoyed the easy livin' of the condo. We do not have to worry about mowing grass, lawn projects, planting flowers, and eventually will not have to worry about snow removal. This has really freed up a lot of family time for us.  Unfortunately though not everything can be perfect, there are down sides to not having a true yard when you have kids (and not to mention the dogs). We lack the ability to have a swing set.  Have no fear though when you have supper Daddy, we have found ways to be creative.....

When we were in temporary housing before we moved into the condo, they had a similar swing. It was Chase's favorite thing to do so it was an easy decision to get one for him.  Before we decided to get the swing for Chase, Kevin had already put hooks in the tree for Leah's swing and Chase has been swinging in that as well.  He is just getting too big for a baby swing :).

Now both kids have their own swings and we have more fun things to do around the house.  I love these sweet kiddos and all their energy, they keep me on my toes!

Lake day

So we have had some pretty crummy weather here the last week. It went from rainy and very humid to rainy, windy, and cold.  The weather was supposed to be nice this weekend so we planned on getting out on the boat.  When we got up Saturday morning it was still very overcast and cold but we were determined to make it out. We waited until after the kids got up from afternoon naps and luckily by then the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds.  We decided to check out a different lake this go around, Cass Lake. 

 

It was as beautiful as the last lake we ventured to but was much bigger. It was still slightly overcast and was a bit breezy so the water was a little choppy.  

The kids didn't seem to mind they were ready to go.  After a quick lap around the lake Chase was eagerly ready to "go swimming".  We found the shallow area of the lake where everyone anchors and swims. We also found the northern version of the "Red neck Yacht club". 

There were several pontoon boats tied together and a few special beverages being consumed. 

 Chase and Leah helped Daddy get the boat anchored so we could get in the water and play for a little while. 

The water really was not as cold as I was expecting, especially since it really wasn't that warm outside.  Chase actually chickened out on us and spent most of the time on the boat.  We had a really good time and have really enjoyed getting the kids out and seeing new things. 

Jump Jump

I have some amazing friends looking out for me!  My friend Ellen, who has obviously spent some time with me and my kiddos, saw this item on an exchange website and instantly knew who it would be perfect for....

And she was very right! Chase jumped all the way up until nap time and then took a 4 hour nap! WOW! I would have paid for that :).  After nap he continued to jump with a small break for dinner, for some tackle time with daddy, and then jumped all the way up until bedtime.  Hopefully he will continue to say excited about it. I may have to make it our disappearing - reappearing trampoline. 

Fathers day weekend

One of our goals for our time here in Michigan is to see all we can see while spending time as a family. So on Saturday we headed to a local lake to check out the beach area and have a little fun. 

After getting lathered up in sun screen both kids were ready to play.

 I think Leah is going to be our adventure child because she was ready to get in the cold water while it took Chase a while to actually get in...

Once he was in he was ready to play with his Daddy.  It seems like it will be a good location for me to take the kids to play during the summer.  On Sunday we got up and hit the road wanting to check out the west coast of Michigan.  We ventured 2 1/2 hours from home to Grand Haven on the coast of Lake Michigan. 

It was BEAUTIFUL! We felt like we were somewhere tropical with one small exception... the water was FREEZING.  That didn't stop us from putting our feet in (they went numb after a while) and playing in the sand. 

After some fun beach time we headed into down town Grand Haven to check out the pier/boardwalk and take Daddy for a fathers day lunch. 

We ate at an Italian place called Portabello's, you can't beat yummy pizza.  After lunch we took a walk along the boardwalk to check out the boats passing by, the shops, and of course to find some icecream. 

We walked all the way down to the lighthouse jumping on rocks and watching the boats along the way.  It is a very beautiful area and had a very large beach. We are excited to get back to the area and hopefully bring the boat with us next time!

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers day to all the dads out there.  We had a wonderful weekend and you will hear more about that soon but first I want to say thank you Kevin for all that you do:
-For leading your family
-For providing for us
-For putting your family first
-For making your marriage top priority
-For being a human jungle gym
-For the sweet giggles I hear when you play with the kids
-For knowing what needs to be done and doing it
-For the example you are to our children
-For your unconditional love
... and for sooooo much more.  We love you, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

WAKE UP!

If you have kids then you know that once they fall asleep in the car for a nap then there is no chance of them falling back asleep once you get them home and into their own bed (unless you are one of those lucky parents that have kids that will transfer). We are not those lucky parents. If either of our kids fall asleep in the car during the mad rush to get home for their naps, IT IS OVER. No nap equals not parent down time :).  A couple of weeks ago Kevin took Chase to a pool party that was from 12-3. They headed home at a reasonable time but it was a Sunday so Chase had been to Church that morning making for a busy day.  Well and you know that being in the water can really wear a kid out.  This is what Kevin was dealing with on the way home...

Now just don't think about how Kevin got the video while he was driving and trying to keep poor Chase awake.  You will notice the smile on Chase's face as he can not keep his eyes open... poor little booger. As you can probably tell he did not make it home and did not take a nap that day.... oh well. We did have some sweet time that afternoon. 

Baby girl?

 My sweet little baby girl was nine months old on Monday. I can't believe that she is already nine months old.  She weighs 19 lbs 9.4 ounces putting her in the 55th percentile and is 29 inches long putting her in the 75th percentile.  She is such a joy to be around. She lights up when you walk into a room and smiles in a way that just brings joy into your heart.  She loves to play peek a boo. Anytime she gets a blanket in her hands she puts it over her face and pulls it down waiting for you to play with her.  She has started saying "da-da", has said "ma-ma" once, will give mouth wide open kisses when asked, and signs the words more, milk, and all done.  She is striving to keep up with her brother. She started crawling around 7 months and has progressed quickly...

She is into absolutely everything keeping us on our toes at all times.  She is really good about playing by herself but is really quick to find you and pull up on your leg looking for attention.  I love how when I pick her up she burries her face in my chest in a sweet snuggle.  She is also becoming little miss independent wanting nothing to do with baby food and only eathing table food and prefering to do it all by herself. 

She is growing up so fast we are just enjoying every moment. We know that God has big plans for this sweet little angel and are so thankful for every joyous day with her and her brother! 

Can't catch a break

Kevin says that I am a pessimist by nature and I will have to admit I can be a "glass half empty" kind of girl.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not always doom and gloom but right now it seems like we just can't catch a break. I may be a pessimist but I am not typically a complainer so I will spare you the details of everything that has plagued us with the exception of this...

No Chase did not get into a fight. The doctor suspects that the swollen eyes are in response to allergies. My poor baby boy!  I am confident that God has a purpose for us here and honestly (even though it doesn't make it easier) the more trials we face the more confident I am that God has something big for us here.  So pray for us please because we do intend on finding what that purpose is! Hopefully Chase will recover quickly!

The Move - Last but not least

I couldn't blog about our new place without including a post dedicated to the "man cave" (aka the garage).  Most of you know that Kevin had the ultimate man caves (2 garages) at our first house.  I think from the beginning he knew that he could never replace what we had and it would soon become only a fond memory...

Our old attached garage

Our old detached garage

When we started our house hunting up here we quickly realized that having more than a 2 car garage was going to be impossible. So Kevin worked hard to make our very small 2 car garage functional for his workshop and holding vehicles.  

It is amazing what you can do with a little bit of organization.  Good work Kevin, sorry we couldn't find a place that had a "home" for the truck as well. 

Where am I?

So far I have really enjoyed living in Michigan.  Anything and everything that I could possibly want or need is well within a 20 minute radius of our house (without traffic that is).  Driving around town is pretty simple as well because the city is set up on a grid. It is not like most cities where roads change names 6,000 times and intersect in crazy ways.  This is good for me because I am what Kevin calls "directionally challenged". 

The down side is that since the city is on a grid when people around here are giving you directions they really tell you what direction to go in... ie: go west on 12 mile road and then go north on haggerty rd.  WHAT?!? Rewind now I need landmarks and right and lefts.  I came from Anderson SC where I worked in homecare and people gave me directions based on the old oak tree on the corner of Billy Bob's farm next to the old gas station. 

Yesterday a friend invited us to go to a place called Pump it up.  It is one of those indoor bounce places and we eagerly accepted the offer.  The only down side is that it is in a neighboring town and I was going to have to take the interstates to get there.  I typed that right, it is interstates around here.  The most confusing part about driving up here is that everyone uses the interstates because they are so accessible and there are so many of them that intersect at different locations.  Just to get to a place 15 minutes away I was going to have to take M5 to 275 to 696 to 96. 

CRAZY.  All I have to say is that I am thankful for Jill (AKA my GPS). Without her I would still be lost :). With all that said... Chase had a wonderful time and here are some pictures from our adventure.

Zoo

This year Bosch is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Each Bosch location is hosting their own individual celebrations of the milestone occasion and I was excited to find out that our celebration would be hosted at the Detroit Zoo.

  This event took place last Thursday evening from 6-9 pm. They provided dinner for us, special treats as you walked around the zoo, and special gifts as you left.  We of course went straight for the food first. 

Then we loaded up in the stroller to go check out some animals. Chase was so excited. 

You may not be able to tell, but this is the Otter exhibit.  It was our first stop and Chase was soooo excited!  I think here he was saying, "Look mommy an otter I see it I see it!"

We unfortunately did not get to see the whole zoo because 6-9 can be a tough time for our family and it is a BIG zoo. Before we left though there was one thing that we had to do...

Its not a great picture to tell you what were were doing so I will elaborate.  The zoo has a train that runs from the back of the park to the front so we took the train back to the main entrance. Chase was in complete AWE and wanted to ride again but poor Leah wasn't really in the mood for another ride. We are glad that we got a free sneak peak at the zoo and look forward to getting to go back and spend some more time seeing all the animals.