Valentine's Day with the Patrick's

On Saturday night, my parents offered to watch the boys so Ryan and I could go out for a romantic date! haha
None the less, we were excited to go out alone!  It doesn't happen often, so when we get to go out, it is very exciting!! 
We went to the Big Bowl in Roseville, one of our favorites.  The wait was an hour, so we enjoyed a beverage and appetizer at the bar while we waited.  It was so fun for us to get to chat and connect.  We did a lot of talking about our hopes and dreams of where we see our family in 1 year, 3 years and 5 years and 35 years.  The joys of being young and having big dreams for our family.  Best Valentine's date-  At the end of our conversation, we decided, we may not (OK, we don't) do things the same way as other families, but we do things our way and could be happier with our lives! :D 
On that note, I called my mom and got the report that Stephen was pretty fussy....  We got our left-overs boxed up and headed home.  Ryan put John down to bed and I rocked Stephen.  JOY <3
My mom brought V-Day goodies for the boys.  John got a little Elmo doll, a few new shirts and shorts for this summer.  Stephen got Sophie the Giraffe! Sophie is a teether, a fancy one at that!  Lucky boys!

On Sunday morning I got to sleep in while Ryan tended to John.  :) (Love this!)  Then we headed to Jana and Steve's.  It was a beautiful, beautiful day!! We hung out and talked about Alana's hockey game the night before, Steve played with John and little Stephen was quite fussy.  It was fun for Ryan and I to chat with Jana about our plans to head south to Florida next winter.  Yay! We are super excited (!!!)
Jana knows her Valentine's: ;)
She got John got a book about animals, Ryan got protein bars and I got chocolate hearts!  haha, Absolutely perfect!  :D  Thank you Nana Jana for thinking of us!
I had to cut our visit short because I was not able to console Stephen, I knew in my gut he must have an ear infection.  When he is fussy, I know he loves to snuggle in our bed with blankets and nurse.  So, that is just what I did with him when we got home. 

XXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXO
I took Stephen to the Dr this afternoon, and he has a double ear infection... his eighth!!!  We have been referred to an ENT.  SJ's primary Dr thinks tubes may be in our future....

We came home to pot roast and veggies in the crock pot.  Yummy.  For dessert, we had more heart shaped cookies.  Dad frosted his and I did mine and the boy's.  Many laughs at dinner-  Oh, I love my family!! XO

Hey Ry, can you tip the cookies up so I can get a better picture of them?

Sure!!   Hahahaha

John showing off our cookies.  Stephen eyeing them up.

Nummy!!!! 



Where in the world is my cookie?!?!!



Heart Shaped Cookies, Frosting, and Sprinkles

Today I hosted a play date for my mom's group.  I have been a member of Meetup: Moms and Munchkins  since May 2010.  It has been so much fun to get to know a bunch (92 members in total!!) of moms that are currently walking in the same shoes I am! haha  We are all taking life one day at a time, enjoying our new title (MOM) and our new babies.  The best part is having an adult to talk to while the tykes play.

Back to the play date...
This morning, I got the troops ready, myself ready and then we headed out to Cub to pick up my order, (heart shaped sugar cookies and frosting).  As we walked through the store, making our way to the bakery John was loving all the balloons.  Loving them!  He was crazy about them!  I thought, he wants a balloon... Why NOT?!  Most kids want candy, cookies and treats.... John wants a balloon... sure! How about 2?! haha  John picked out one for himself, a red heart.  Then, right away he looked at me and exclaimed, "baby?!"  So, I asked him which one he wanted to pick out for Stephen.   John knew right away- I big balloon shaped like a bear.  Oh boy was he proud and excited.  Anyways, we picked up or goodies and headed home.

Promptly at 9:30 the moms and kids started arriving!  Let the games begin!
I had almost everything set up and layed out. 

Now, on a side note-  I have done cookie decorating when I taught preschool and it always went pretty smooth.  However, today went prefect!!  Wow, it sure makes a difference when there is a 1:1 ratio of kids to moms.  Love this!

And the rest is history.....

John, "frosting" his Heart shaped marshmallow, and licking it off.  And repeat!

Elbow deep in frosting and sprinkles!

Stephen somehow got a hold of a to-go bag... all he wanted was a cookie.  :/

Maybe next year....

Yummy!! Frosting!!! :D



Frosting with her fingers! ;)



I didn't get a group shot... or, many pictures for that matter!  (Thanks Cyndi for letting me steal some of your pictures!)

Fun was had by all!  Thanks everyone for coming over and celebrating Valentine's with the Patrick's.  :D

Ice Dams

This winter has been brutal for our roof!!  On Sunday, it was super nice out and the snow on our roof was melting! :)  (ahh, spring may be in the air!?)

We got a couple quotes for someone to come remove the snow/ice from our roof.... wow, they aren't messing around!!  $300 an hour!  So, Ryan decided to do it himself.  He geared up, and climbed out our bedroom window and started shoveling.  I was seeing dollar signs dancing off our roof and back into our pockets.  :D

Thanks Ryan- very brave.  And, for everyone wondering if this was dangerous... yes, it was.  But Ryan was very careful and took his time.  I stood below ready to help if he slid off the roof into the 4 feet of snow on the ground. 

I didn't document the end result... but he got most of it off and then the sun finished the job!  :D

Suprise- Uncle Ryan is Here!

My brother Ryan called me when he was driving up here from South Dakota.  Ryan P and I have so many of our siblings that are out of town right now; going to school, working etc. So, when we get a call that one of them will be home for a bit- YAHOO! 
Ryan came over barring 3 pizzas, pop, ice, stickers, tattoos, and lots of love.  Uncle Ryan just radiates love for our kids when he is here.  We are very lucky to have him as an uncle for John and Stephen.  He read books, not just few- tons. 
Grandma and Papa came over too.  My mom brought John a personal chocolate pudding pie, topped with Cool Whip.  Yummy!  We all ate dinner and then Uncle Ryan and Grandma decked out John's arm with little puppy dog tattoos.  Grandma and I chatted and played with the little boys while Uncle Ryan, Daddy Ryan and Papa talked business.  It was a great night, so fun to spend time with family and all catch up! XO

John and Books

They are a package deal!!

John and a wild child-- very busy and always high energy! :D 
Except when there is a book available to read.  John has a love for books that is indescribable.  He will sit for hours and listen to anyone read to him.  Some of his current favorites are:
Go Dog Go
In A Peoples House
How Groundhog's Garden Grew
Green Eggs and Ham
Noah's Ark (Lift the flap book)
Elmo's: I Can Do It!
I'm a Big Brother
and, any potty book!
Lately, I feel like he "graduated" from board books...  I got out some "big kid" books, it was neat to see how accomplished he felt to get "real books".  The only problem is that if we offer him a board book to look at, he runs the book over to Stephen and ditches it.

Last Friday, Kelli came over to play.  She brought lunch and we hung out all afternoon.  Along with lunch, she brought BOOKS from grandma Mitty!!  A huge 3M reusable bag of them!!! ;D  (Thanks mom, we loved the bag too!!)  My mom got out a bunch of books that were mine from when I was little for John to use.  It is fun to see John enjoy the books I used to like reading with my parents when I was a kid.  One of them even has my signature across the front of it. haha

As I type this, John is snuggled up in bed with his Bedtime prayers for Little Boys book.  Love it. XO

Silk, Almond Milk!

Nana Jana introduced us to this wondrous beverage!  :D

A few weeks back, when I went to get John at her house she told me to try this new almond milk that John was drinking like water.  I tried it, and YUM!!  It is de-lish! 
We go to great lengths to get (healthy) calories and fat into Mr. John.  And he was practically gulping glasses of it down.  The next time I was at the grocery store, I thought I better buy some to quench his thirst/build up his knobby knees. ;)  I cringed at the price because it is about twice as expensive as regular cow milk. 
I buy the vanilla and dark chocolate.  They do have a high sugar content then regular cow milk... but I can cope! ;D 

You should all try some... I use it as creamer for my coffee now too!
Below is a link to a $1 off coupon!

https://silkparegistration.icmodus.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

MILK

*****  FOR MOMS ONLY *****  *** ABOUT NURSING ***

I just want to have this on record....
After battling mastitis on and off for 7 months, I am finally feeling better.  I saw specialists at the U of M Breast Center, had loads of labs drawn, got an ultrasound, and oodles of antibiotics I was still not getting relief!  I turned to two other people- Julie Matthews and Dr. Nicole Hamel.  Julie is a lactation consultant-  and she went above and beyond!  She helped me figure out what was going wrong while she was on vacation in CO.  Thank you Julie for taking time out of your vacation to help me!!!  And Nicole did acupuncture work on me.  These two women helped me so much, thank you.  Since then, I have not had any trace of the nasty M word!
I have been having a really hard time nursing Stephen in the last week.  He is constantly biting me and man, those teeth are little razors.  Needless to say, I am not too keen about ...  well, let's just say, nursing (right now).  I am super bummed because it is so important to me to nurse Stephen until he is at least one year.  I am seeing that dream possibly slip out of reach if I can't get this biting habit to be a thing of the past.
Yesterday, when I was so desperate for a nursing break, so I could heal a bit.  I thought I would try for a bottle of my frozen milk.  That's when the devastating news struck--
ALL 1000+ OUNCES OF MY MILK HAD ACCIDENTALLY THAWED!!!!
Somehow, our freezer was left open and all my milk thawed and was bad.  I am devastated.  I do have an abundance of milk (obviously) but, I worked many works to pump all that milk and save it for times like these.  Today, I filled a whole garbage bag with bags of rotten frozen milk- sigh.
An angel from my Mom's group sent me the kindest offer.  There was an email asking if I wanted her only 45 ounces of frozen milk to get me thought the next couple days.  That is a huge gesture, when you only have 45 ounces, and to offer up your liquid gold- wow. Cyndi, I owe you!  The offer ended up not working out, but still, major brownie points were earned!

Super Bowl

One of my favorite days to do my Target runs.... during the Super Bowl!  :)  The store is empty!! haha  Well, in more ways then one-  no shoppers, no food either : /
We had a very relaxing weekend.  On Friday night we went to dinner with our friends, Nate, Becky and Alexander.  Becky, who is new to the cities, wanted to try a  juicy lucy.  We went to the 5-8 Club in Minneapolis.  YUM!  And, totally affordable!!  :D  We are excited for the Kreniks- they both have new jobs! Congrats guys!  John and Alexander were troopers... the place was packed and they are two years old.... need I say more??
Today Ryan and I hosted an Open House.  It was packed.  We had probably 30 people come through today, all in two hours.  The boys spent the morning at Nana and Grandpa's house.  John played outside, did finger painting, and worked on building his new tool bench. Stephen stayed inside and played with his Auntie Alana.  Both boys had a great time (AS ALWAYS!)
Grandpa Steve came over to watch the game tonight.  We love having company-  John especially.  He was wild and wholly all night!  We even had to take a break out on the porch, hoping the cold air would calm him down.  We had a spinach salad and pizza.  It was simple but just right for a Sunday night.  Steve brought over some wine that was left over from their hockey party.  I now have a new favorite (adult) beverage.  Kim Crawford, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc-  Wow, I love it.  I enjoyed my one glass. :)  Thanks Steve!
There is six minutes left on the clock and I have yet to watch any of it-  another successful Super Bowl! haha

John's Birthday Continues

Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jinette bought John a sensory/water table!  It is HUGE!  They dropped it off on the porch one night late after we were all in bed.  When John woke up to a huge box on the porch, I was a bit nervous to open it and set it up--- I was thinking, Should I just wait until summer when I can have it in the back yard?  Well, that didn't last!  Ryan and John set it up the table on Saturday while I went to the gym.  They filled it with noodles, rice and dried beans.  SOOO FUN! There are beans, rice and noodle pieces everywhere in our house, everywhere!  Thanks Ryan and Jinette!  Rumor has it Ryan will be in town for a couple days coming up... we would love to have you over for some sensory play!! ;D

Aunt Kelli came over on Friday barring gifts, too.  Kelli came over and brought John the big cardboard building blocks!  WooHoo!  John helped tear the package apart and was sure Kelli and I were very efficient while putting the blocks together.  Both Kelli and I had "cardboard cuts" by the time all 65 were folded.

Ryan loves the blocks as much as John, their favorite is building a wall with a window to peak through! :)

It was really fun to have Kelli over, she helped feed Stephen his lunch, played with John and helped get everyone ready to go to the Dr.  Oh how I love an extra set of hands!   And the company- adult interaction!!!  It sounds like we have a standing lunch play date every other Friday....  I'm so excited!  It will be really fun for all of us, John and Stephen just love their Auntie! <3

 





 If you are looking for a birthday gift for a 2 year old... these are both excellent ideas!! :)

And, Moon Sand it a great one too!! ;D  Auntie Sara bought John this really weird dough/clay/sand stuff.  It is hard to explain, but a HUGE, HUGE hit with John!  He knows it makes a disaster, which is probably his favorite part of it. haha  We (I) am excited for this summer-  we will be playing with it in the sensory table, outside!! :D Yay for messy, super fun toys!  John loves to make messes!

Here is Stephen up on all fours...

Waldorf, In Review

I will just speak for myself here...
I couldn't agree more with the philosophy of Waldorf!
It is an extremely nurturing, safe school. They really look at the child as a whole, every part counts. I love this.  At the end of the day, I would rather have our kids have all B's and be involved in sports, volunteer, do family things, have a social life, etc.
Ryan and I went to a reading class that was geared towards 2nd graders.  The teacher was so engaging, he could rattle off rhyming stories and songs that were very intricate.  I was so impressed and truly excited for the next part of the lesson- I could have listened to him all day.  He talked about the method they use to teach the children how to write a story. First, they come up with the picture of their story then write the words.  DUH!  It was really an "ah ha" moment for me. 
When I was the student, as soon as the teacher said, "today we are going to write a story about an elephant" (or whatever for that matter) I was immediately drowning in anxiety.  My mind would be racing a million miles an hour... What would the elephant do? What should the first line be? How should it end? Should he be nice? Mean? Funny? Ahh, BARF!  I felt so relaxed at Waldorf, they teach by having the child see the whole picture, and then put it on paper.  Completely the opposite of a traditional school.

My BIG hesitation was that they are years behind a traditional school.  They actually don't teach the children to read until they are in second grade!  EEK.  I get a pit in my stomach thinking about that.  Having worked in a traditional preschool, I was teaching preschoolers what the 1st graders at Waldorf were learning.

Ryan and I are going to go visit a couple other schools. I do think Waldorf may be the perfect fit for our family for Preschool and Kindergarten.  We are not sold on the grade school part....yet.  
The search continues.

Update

This week was a bit of everything....

John has been very interested in potty training.  He wants to sit on his little green Ikea potty all day... all day...alllll daaaayy.  We don't have a bathroom on the first floor, so by the time we get upstairs to use it we usually have an accident.  To solve this, we have a little green Ikea potty in the living room.  To be honest, this was not my preferred potty training method.  I wish he would learn to just go to the bathroom in the bathroom!  It really saves a step from the green potty to the regular toilet.  Ryan and I are entertaining the idea of turning Stephen's room into our (temporary) play room.  Then, during the day John can be right next to the bathroom. John doesn't care which potty he is on, he just wants to be on a potty.  :)
We will see how all of this continues to pan out...
John has been regressing with his sleeping lately.  He was sleeping about 12 hours during the night with a 2-3 hour nap.  This week I was lucky if he took a 1 hour nap and he was waking up during the night 3-4 times.  Hmm, I would love for this to just simply go back to how it used to be! ;) haha

Stephen had a bit of a rough week.  : / 
My worst nightmare came true, he rolled off our bed.  Luckily, (and I can't stress that enough) we sold our very tall headboard and just had our mattress on the box spring, laying on the floor.  He cried for a couple minutes, and then just wanted to nurse.  I cried for ... a loong time, called Children's Hospital, iced it and then stayed up watching him for 6 hours.  Oh man, I felt terrible, to say the least.  By the next morning you could barely see where he "bonked" Oy, vey!
He has the little red rough knees!!  The true sign of a baby learning to crawl! SJ has been getting up on all fours and doing major rock sessions.  It is bitter sweet to see him becoming mobile-- exciting to watch him hit his next milestone, but so sad to not have a bitty baby in the house. :)
Stephen did break through his 5th tooth!  He is obsessed with grinding his teeth.  Ryan and I think that is one of the worst sounds... but Stephen thinks it is one of the best sounds. lol He is so proud of getting a reaction out of Ryan and I.

During dinner, Stephen has been wanting to be a part of all the action! We moved John to a real chair, which is proving quite difficult.  His little body is just pretty little for the big chairs.  However, Stephen is loving sitting in John's old chair.  He is reaching for all the plates, cups, silverware, and anything John tries to sneak into his reach/mouth.

Today I took the boys back to the Dr ...again. We had them re-run their blood work and listen to their coughs that are still in full swing.
John weighed 27lbs! :)
The Dr was worried because John is wheezing and she thinks his airways seemed tight and constricted.  Now he is on Albuterol 3x daily and Pulmicort 2x daily.  She also put him on an antibiotic for 10 days for his sinus infection.
Stephen weighed 18lbs! :)
The Dr said Stephen is in the same boat with his breathing.  He is also doing a neb of Albuterol 3x daily and Pulmicort 1x daily.  And an antibiotic for 10 days... sinus infection. 
Stephen's hemoglobin has been low the last couple of draws, so we are watching that as well as his high platelet count. 
( I realize this is boring for you all to read... I just want to have it "on record") :)
Oh, I am dieing to whip these windows open and let these germs fly!!! I guess tonight is not the night to do this because today's high was 1 degree! Brrr...

Pre-School

Our school search begins!

As John is sitting here playing with his flashcards of "Minnesotan Animals" and Stephen is playing with plastic farm animals, I am in the beginning stages of our search for the boys (future) school.  Ryan and I are really looking forward to this process of choosing where best suits our boys!  We realize there are many options out there and want to be sure we do our homework.  I am pretty well versed in what a pre-school classroom should look and feel like, so I am confident we will find a great place for JR and SJ to start their school careers at! :) 
We are looking for a pre-school that will love, nurture, and celebrate being 3, 4, and (finally) 5 years old.  It is important to us that they are treated as (young) children, but not babies.  We want them to get plenty of fresh air, taught how to be a part of a group and connect with Jesus.
Some things we want them to know coming out of pre-school:
*Numbers
*Colors
*Shapes
*Letters
*Songs
Etc...
Life is about balance and too much of a good thing.... just isn't right either! :) 
Play, Laugh Grow ... I can't think of who 'coined' this phrase, but every time I hear it I think, this should sum up your pre-school years!

Places we are planning to visit:
Country Day, Mendota Heights, (January 27th @ 9:15a)
St. Kate's, St. Paul
Waldorf, Maplewood (January 21nd @ 9:30a)
House of Hope, St. Paul
Dodge Nature Center, West St. Paul
St. Mark's, St. Paul

These are in no order, just ones we would like to look at.  We know there will be pluses and minuses to each of them.  There will be places we would feel most comfortable at... but at the end of the day, it is about where John will do best, and where Stephen will do best.  It's all about you boys!! :D

Tomorrow begins our search.... Waldorf 9:30a-12  ... We will let you know what we think!

I would LOVE feedback on where you sent your kids. What you liked about the program or any advice you have! :)

John's Baby, ELMO

I have some picture's that are actually from Christmas, but I still want to share them. 
Since I do a lot of caring for baby Stephen, John has a lot of time to care for his baby, Elmo.  John likes to feed Elmo a bottle while I nurse Stephen, he gives Elmo a tootsie, he rocks Elmo, reads to Elmo, and the list goes on. 
Some of my favorite stories that my parents tell me about my childhood are the ones of me caring for all my dollies.  I love hearing about how I "nursed" them, dressed them, bathed them and so forth.  I really cared for those dolls as if they were real.  I believe this teaches children the gift of compassion, how to care for another, and be nurturing (just to name a few).  These are very practical things, I know.  But important! :)  John, you are a very sweet boy, I love when my daily routines rub off on you! : *

Elmo, having "tootise time" 

John was holding Elmo, so Elmo wouldn't cry.

Again...

Here is John's picture from tonight!  He is starting to learn to to SMILE for the camera! :D

Love you John!

Stephen Joseph is on all fours!!!

Yikes! It is time once again to double check my "baby-proofing"

Today, I caught Stephen up on all fours a couple times.  He happily will do a little rock back and fourth and then go back to the tummy time.  Stephen is a very strong baby, he knows what he wants and will do what he needs to make it happen.  If he sees a toy across the room, he will get it....by any means necessary... rolling, scooting, batting at it, he means business.
 I just can't believe he is in the beginning stages of crawling!! *tear*
By the time I got the camera out, he was not so happy!  I was a tad late on feeding him his "bedtime snack" because Grandma and Papa came to visit!! :D 


Stephen, playing with our doctor kit, and beginning to get a bit ticked off at me flashing my camera at him!

Ok, this looks worse then it really was!  I was trying to get a picture of him on all fours, rocking... but we were not jiving! Sooo, Grandma was going to prop him up and then get back so I could snap a picture....  well, it looks like he was not very fond of our plan!! D:

Stephen eating his FIRST snack before bed! It went pretty well, he seems to really like it.  After the "apple wheel" was gone, all he did for about an hour was grind his front 4 (almost 5) teeth. Ahh!! Nails on a chalkboard!
Thanks Aunt Terri for all of the Gerber treats! :D

Painting the Snow

Last night, Ryan was feeling sick so I wanted to get John out of the house so he could sleep.  I needed to do some overdue shoveling and John and I both needed fresh air!  So, I went to work shoveling and John went to work pushing all the shoveled snow back onto the sidewalk. :)  We had a lot of fun and it was a really nice night to be outside! The snow was so deep that John had a hard time moving around in it.... I needed a way to keep him busy on a little bit of sidewalk. That's when the food coloring, spray bottles and water came into play!
I made a green spray bottle and a blue one.  (I decided yellow wasn't a good color...yellow snow... or red...) Anyways, John had a blast walking up and down the sidewalk spraying the snow green and blue.  John made "art" with his spray bottle, and I wrote names and letters in the snow.  It was fun for us to get outside!! :)  Oh, what a little food coloring and water can do!

Becoming Mobile

Both boys are becoming more mobile!

Since we have been on house arrest, I have noticed that John is going up and down the steps standing up the whole way.  We have very steep steps, so he usually would go down them backwards (which I thought was a good idea!) and then almost "crawl" up them.  He wants to be a grown up when it comes to the steps- he won't let anyone hold his hand, help him or go down backwards anymore. 

Stephen is working on his 5th tooth!!!  He has his bottom 2 and top 2 front teeth.  The top tooth, on the left side of his front teeth, is just about to poke through.  He is actually a pretty good "teether" ...  no diaper rash, no rosy cheeks, and not too much fussing.  He just likes to chomp on everything that goes in his mouth! :)  We are feeding him baby food once a day since the end of December.  He really likes to have the solid food, but still loves nursing.  It has been nice for us both.  If I need to be away from him for a little bit, he can have solids because he doesn't like bottles, at all!!
Stephen has been pushing up on all fours!!!  His army crawling is getting better every day, he is able to scoot off the rug in the living room and maneuver himself to a toy he wants.  I was really shocked the other day when I went to the basement to change the laundry and stir our dinner, when I came back to the living room SJ was off the rug and halfway to the dining room. He is pretty quick on his tummy.  If he has plenty of toys in front of him he will push up on all fours and rock back and forth a little.  Oh boy, I am going to be in trouble soon when he is mobile!! Yikes!

This weekend Ryan and I are finally sick too.  Ryan came home from work early yesterday and went right to bed with a head cold and now today I am feeling it too.  Both, John and Stephen still have their coughs and stuffy noses.  I can't wait to open the windows and let these germs fly!

Not Much to Report

I really have nothing exciting to blog about!
We seem to just be sick, all the time!!  Ryan and I have all these "dreams" of things we want to do with the kids during these cold, snowy winter months... but instead we are busy meeting our insurance deductible. 
We would love to be out sledding, doing winter crafts, making 'creations' in the kitchen, and sipping hot chocolate laughing about all the fun we have been having!  
We haven't done that, but I do know their daily white counts! ;)
Stephen is now running a high fever (103+) and John has been running a lower one (99-102)  And we can't figure out what either of them have... again. So, here we sit, watching Elmo, reading books, doing puzzles and waiting. 
I am so exciting to put the Tylenol away, thermometers away, and be able to be a part of the world happening around us.  I have been to my Thursday nanny job ONE time since Thanksgiving!!  It has been (almost) every Wednesday that the boys come down with a fever, vomiting, etc.   I am sure you can feel my frustration-  I just feel so couped up here. 

Let's just say, our new (awesome) insurance plan from 3M started at just the right time!! :D

Dreaming of a weekend at the cabin, 80 degrees out and the boys playing in the sand.....

Uncle Ryan Comes to Visit

With John being so sick over the holidays, we have been spending a lot of time at home.  We don't want to spread our germs or catch anyone else's! :D

But!  Ryan came into town from Sioux Falls for a job interview! We were so excited to see him- it had been way, way to long!!  We went to have pizza at Davanni's on Grand.  John loved all the attention, Grandma's stickers, and all the pizza he could eat. 

Sara, Ryan and John-  SO excited to have dinner with the FAM! ;D

Stephen and his God-Daddy! (Markie)

I will explain...

When John was sick with his high fever we (made) him constantly have a cool rag on his neck.  At first he fought it the whole time. We tried to bribe him with books, Elmo shows and his tootsie to leave it on his neck.  Then, he completely had a change of heart-  He wouldn't let us take it off to even re-wet it!  Now he wants a rag (or anything) on his head/neck.  Oh John- you are a silly boy!

The boys!

Mike, Ryan, Papa Joe, Ryan, Stephen, Mark, and John

These boys are out numbering the girls.... eeek!  We girls need to stick together! ;D

MINTED.COM

The story of our Christmas New Year's cards...

I ordered our cards from Minted.com back on December 6th!!
They sent me a proof that was missing John's name and there were a couple spelling errors... no problem, that's what a proof is for, right?  I talked to a couple people at the company that day and thought everything was smooth sailing.  I waited for my cards to come in the mail (they were to be overnighted) but, after 5 days I was a little confused as to why I hadn't received them.  I called back, the woman I spoke to said that the order was never sent to "print" ... OF COURSE IT WASN'T!
I finally received our cards on December 17th!  I was pretty bummed because I wanted them out "right away"  But, I was able to settle with a December 21st arrival date to our family and friends! :D

I got the cards and started putting them into the envelopes- excited to get them out!!   After writing notes on them, addresses, and sealing about 1/2 of our Christmas cards I realized that they had made 2 spelling errors (different ones then before) and said "We welcomed our son Joseph!"   WHAT~!?  His name is Stephen Joseph!!! 
I called them back and said, you omitted John's name before, and now Stephen's.... What is going on!?   They told me they would give me a 10% refund on my (expensive) order and correct the mistakes and resend them (overnight).  I was very frustrated, but I didn't have time (or energy) to fight with them about these cards anymore! 
After waiting until December 25th, I was ready to just bag the whole idea!  Christmas was over, the cards were not here and they were a hot mess!  I called back to tell them to just forget it and that I wanted all my money back and no cards.  The woman I talked to said, "Well, that's just fine because we FORGOT TO PRINT THEM!" REALLY!??  I couldn't believe it!
I asked for a manager.... her bright idea was to change the front to "Happy New Year" and correct the spelling errors and over night them (again!) and she would give me a 25% refund.... 
Needless to say....  They STILL screwed up the last copy... that I reluctantly sent out anyways:
Our our dream first home....  NOOO 

I am waiting for my FULL refund and am burnt out on Christmas New Year Cards!

I hope you enjoyed them!! :D LoL

John is 2!!!

Dear John Roman,

We have been so blessed with your smile and love these past two years!  We are also very happy that you are feeling better on your birthday.  These past few days have been very hard on mommy and daddy, and you, as you have been very sick and in and out of the hospital.  You were running a very high fever (104-105 degrees!) and mommy and I were very worried about you!  Mommy and I both had tears in our eyes when the doctors had to put IV's in you and draw your blood, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times!  Seeing you in such pain, and so scared about what was going on was so hard!  Even though you did not know what was going on, and from your end, mommy and daddy looked like the bad guys (holding you down for the nurses) you still just wanted to be held by mommy and daddy.  Your innocence and love just makes our hearts melt.  We love you so, so much and are so lucky to have you as our little boy!
John, here are some of our favorite memories from the past 2 years.

Let's start from the beginning...finding out on Mother's Day that Mom was pregnant was the perfect day to find out!  We were both so excited!  After Mayo Clinic and countless other doctors had told mom that she may never get pregnant, we were able to prove them all wrong.  It was a long slow wait for you to be born.  I was in school at the time and working full time, and mom was also working full time at Nativity, so we kept busy.  Finally the time came to go down to the hospital, and welcome you into the world!  You were born on 12/31/08 - the perfect day for an accountant's son!  The amount of love that we felt when you were born was overwhelming.  You were and are perfect! 

February 2.  You always loved to be held and rocked when you were a baby, and on this night, Mom was rocking you in the living room, and it was the first time that you looked up at her and smiled.  Your smile would prove to be infectious, and you could light up the room anytime you flashed it!

Fast forward a few months, and you became mobile!  We were living in Grandma and Papa's apartment building at the time, and I remember Mom and I sitting on the floor in the living room one night trying to get you to walk.  All of a sudden you did, and you were waling back and forth to Mom and I!  It was so fun, because you had a big smile on your face the whole time and were so proud of yourself.  Little did we know that we now had a mobile destruction unit on our hands that would put any army ranger unit to shame...

Going to the cabin.  Your first summer, we went to Nana and Grandpa's cabin quite a bit to try to get away and relax...well, it didn't always work out so well. You were never really a good sleeper as a baby, and we spent many sleepless nights up holding you.  Even though these were long, hard nights, we would not trade them for anything because it was just more time that we got to spend with you.  I do remember your first fourth of July, and you playing on the beach at the cabin.  It was right around the time that you were first sitting up, and you loved squishing the sand.

November of 2009.  Mom and I held an early college graduation party for me at our apartment and invited Grandma, Papa, Nana, Grandpa, and all of your aunts and uncles.  Little did any of them know that we had something else in mind...when it was time for cake, I lifted up your sweatshirt to reveal a homemade t-shirt that said "I'm going to be a big brother in July 2010!"  You were so excited, but really, you were just excited for the cake that Mom made, and that you would soon have spread all over your face and dining room floor.  You were just thrilled for all the enthusiasm and attention you were getting!!!

Curious George John.  You are such a curious little boy and have always been very interested in how things work.  Not only are you curious, but you are also very intuitive and seem to have a knack of knowing how things work, even if you have never seen them in action.  One thing I remember is a sprinkler that you found outside at Nana's.  You had never seen it before, but after looking at it intently for a moment, you reached out and flicked it so it spun in circles.  Another passion of yours has been books.  For as busy as you are, books are one thing that you will sit down with for hours.  You love to have Mom and Dad read to you, even if it is the same book over and over again.  Your favorite bedtime book is Go Dogs Go! ever since Papa read it to you one night.  We love reading to you, and love that you love books!  Lately, one of your favorite things to do has been to read books to your Elmo doll at night.

As mentioned before, bedtime has never been easy for you.  You slept in bed with Mom and I until you were about 9 months old when you switched to a crib.  Now you are in a big-boy bed and you love it!  Bedtime is my favorite part of the day.  After working a long day, and not seeing you, I love laying down in bed with you.  Our routine goes like this:  First we have to find your tootsie - that is the main priority!  Then, we brush your teeth.  You stand on the toilet and I scrub your pearly whites.  After this, we get in bed and read Go Dog Go! Then we sing a few songs as you drift off to sleep.  Lately you have wanted to hold someones hand while you fall asleep. 

Nana and Grandpa.  Mom and I were very fortunate to have a lot of help from our family when you were a baby.   One of the biggest helps was Nana.  Nana watched you for several months while you were a baby so that Mom and I could go to work.  I was still in school too, so we had a lot to be thankful for for all the help.  You developed a deep love for Nana, and really enjoyed spending time at her house.  Nana kept you busy with all kinds of art projects, playing outside, and reading.  You also love seeing Grandpa over at Nana's house.  You have always been very smiley when Grandpa is around, and he loves showing you new things.  One of the latest things Grandpa has shown you has been a whoopee cushion!  You and Grandpa and I will laugh for hours while you sit on it over and over again, all the time while Nana and Mom just shake their heads - they will never get it!  For Christmas this year, you got a fishing pole and net to take to the cabin.  Grandpa is really excited to teach you how to fish, as it is something he is very passionate about.  We can't wait to see you catch your first fish.

Mama.  After I got my full time job and after Stephen was born, we decided that Mom would stay home with you and SJ and work part-time.  Your Mom has been the best mother you could ask for, and is always ready to give you a hug, read a book to you, or make you some nummies (lunch).  Mom takes you to ECFE two times a week so that you can play with other kids.  You absolutely love going to school with Mom and playing with her there.  She is so dedicated to you and your brother, and you are very lucky to have her.  We both love you so much, and are so happy that you get to stay home with your Mom.

Grandma and Papa.  We were very lucky to be able to buy our first house in St. Paul so that we would be close to both sets of grandparents and Nativity where we hope to send you boys to school.  Our first house on Ashland is only three blocks from Grandma and Papa's house.  You have really enjoyed having them walk over to our house and drop in to see you and SJ.  After I graduated school, I had to take more classes to study for my CPA exam, so that left Mom at home with you and SJ every Tuesday and Thursday night for about 9 months.  Mom took this opportunity to head over to Grandma and Papa's to spend time with them and have dinner.  You enjoyed being able to see them this often and spend this time with them.

NO.  By far your favorite word.  I think you get some sort of satisfaction from saying 'No!'  No is your answer to pretty much everything these days.  When we were in the hospital recently, we were asking you what kind of food you wanted after we left or what you wanted to do- it went something like this:  "John, do you want some french fries?"..."no"..."Do you want some ice-cream?"..."no"...."Do you want to see Nana?"..."no"...."Do you saying anything other than no"...."no".    We do have to admit John, that it is quite cute.

Trying to sum up these past two years is not easy, as there are so many memories.  You are such a sweet boy, and so loving.  Mom and I are so blessed to have you as our son, and we look forward to many more memories with you!  We love you John!  Happy 2nd birthday buddy!

Love Mom and Dad

3 YEARS AND COUNTING

December 28, 2007
Ryan and I got married at Nativity in St. Paul and celebrated all night at the Landmark Center.  Ryan and I say it all the time- that was our favorite day ever!  We had the time of our life that day, it was everything I could have ever dreamt up. It was romantic, fancy, family friendly, crisp and comfortable.  The ultimate celebration of two families coming together- forever!

Jana and Steve                                        Joe ad Mitzi
Thank you to our moms and dads for making our wedding every dream come true!! Thank you.

We had ALL kids that came to the wedding under age 12 proceed down the aisle carring white roses to the altar.  Away in a Manger was being sang, beautiful!



Our celebrants; Bishop Lee Piche, Fr. Dick osc., and Bishop Peter Christensen


Grandma Evie Patrick  and Grandma Jackie and Grandpa John Brown


Grandma Glennie Ann Lais  and Grandpa and Grandma Kreuser


Men in Black!  All the men in our wedding (minus the dads)

 
The Ladies! Yikes, we were having SO much fun!!







Something...
Old: My Baby ring that my parents gave to me on my wedding day. 
New:  My Dress!
Borrowed: Jana's pearl necklace
Blue: A gift from Madeline Shinbach, she embroidered on a piece of lace ,
"Caroline Lais marries Ryan Patrick December 28th, 2007" The words were in blue and my mom sewed it into my dress the morning of our wedding.

Attended: 420 people
Cake: six tier all white! and Dilly Bars served later in the evening! :D
Photography by Andrew Vick, he does AMAZING work!!!  I would recommend only him!

Oh, I could go on forever!!  Thank you Ryan for an amazing 3 years! (9 years together!)  You are my rock, soul mate and I couldn't imagine life without you. Cheers to forever, together!
God has blessed our marriage.