Celebrations

This fall has been filled with a few important celebrations! To start, halloween which is one of my favorite holidays, was a whole lot of fun this year. As a kid my parents hosted a halloween party each year. My love of this holiday and my fabulous party memories, prompted me to continue the tradition.  This year was truly our "1st" annual!

We welcomed our new niece, Mayzie Lauren on November 8th!

We celebrated Morgan's 40th Birthday with lots of love and fun!

Colin's Kindergarten class hosted the most adorable Thanksgiving Feast this year. We are loving all the festive and educational activities Mrs. Ramaekers has for the kids!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day, and a relaxing weekend afterwards at the cabin!

Thankful

Here I sit, Saturday evening of Thanksgiving weekend. The last couple months have truly been a haze of commotion and although holidays are here, I feel relaxed. September and October proved to be among the busiest times I can remember. I went into them willingly, knowing they would be ultimate craziness and flurry of activity, but doing it knowing it would be temporary.

In September, both kids were still in weekly swim lessons. Logan had just begun a weekly gymnastics class. And Colin was to begin soccer mid-September with Morgan as his coach. Professionally, September is my busiest month as I gear up for my big fundraiser. All this simultaneously happening would prove to be enough to test my stress levels for sure.  So when it came to our attention that Jean's theater YAT would be performing The Jungle Book mid/end of October - - rehearsals beginning early September, I nearly fell over. Yes, The Jungle Book.... the one musical Colin has repeatedly asked to be a part of since he was about 3. After thinking it through, I decided it would just simply be too much: rehearsals an hour away 2-3 times per week and performances hitting on two inconvenient and booked weekends. I felt disappointed, yet certain in my decision. What I didn't expect was Colin's reaction to the news of absolute devastation.  He even suggested he could give up both soccer and swimming. I knew this was a learning moment - for ME! To remember that everything is temporary and to allow Colin to be part of this special experience that was clearly so important to him - just as it was to me as a child. And so it began... Monday: Jungle Book, Tuesday: Soccer practice, Wednesday: Swimming, Thursday: Jungle Book, Friday: (not all thankfully), Jungle Book as well as gymnastics, Saturday: Soccer games, Sundays: BREATHE!!!  This schedule consumed our September and October months and Morgan and I passed in the night many a days as we toted children from school to activities. Thankfully, my family also helped a lot with transportation - something that saved us for sure! And when all was said and done, it was SOOO very worth the long drives and juggling. Colin was an absolute star and shined so brightly. Morgan and I couldn't get enough of him watching countless performances, and he was a natural. The soccer season was a hoot, and I'm not sure who enjoyed it more - Colin playing or Morgan coaching. Our little gymnast, Logan is having the time of our life. And we are doing what we are supposed to be doing... being busy parents who juggle work, family and friends and do it as a team.

This Thanksgiving I had the realization of how fortunate Morgan and I are to HAVE a dilemma of whether to commit our children to too may activities or not. We are blessed with healthy, capable and vibrant children, we have the means to allow them to be involved in these wonderful activities, we have the flexibility with work to take them to and from activities, and we have each other to rely on with the day to day tasks of parenting, ensuring it is both of us raising them.

Stay tuned for November updates! For now, here are a few fun shots of our active boys!

Off to Kindergarten

Colin started Kindergarten on August 15th. Vintage Hills Elementary is his new home with his teacher Mrs. (Marie) Ramaekers. It was a momentous day and I'm still not sure who was more excited...Colin or me! We took fun pictures to mark the start of this new adventure, and a babysitter came to stay with Logan so Morgan and I could together take him to this very special orientation. I was every so slightly nostalgic for his baby days, but less so than I anticipated... probably because I was swept up in the excitement of it all. Quite honestly, it was the next day when it all hit me and I yearned for my babies: not through Colin, but in taking Logan to preschool. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning has been a special time when the 3 of us would venture to ABC preschool. Our drive although not long, always included a silly song I would make up, and the tradition of driving the "back way" to drive by the horses. We would all identify "tofu" the white horse and "chocolate" the brown horse. We would walk into school together and give kisses and hugs. And this particular August morning when Logan and I drove solo is when it all hit me.... Logan sat quietly with a slight sadness eveident on his face. After a few minutes of silence, I asked him if he was sad and he just answered, "where's Colin?" The dam broke for both of us, and my emotions of transition and change got the best of me.

Of course now we have settled into a routine. Everyone seems adjusted, and this new phase is a happy one. But I can't help but miss those moments on Tuesdays and Thursdays when it was a little noisier, a little more complete with both my sweet boys in tow :)

Summer in review

Here I sit realizing August is here. End of August, actually! How did that happen? I'm in disbelief that July went by without a blog update, but peaceful in knowing we were having just too much fun to stop and record. Here is a little peek of what we got up to this summer...

Annual 4th of July trip to Ashland:

Lots of fun outside time with cousins, family and friends!

And Colin's 1st production... "A Pirate Musical"

Yes a fun summer indeed! We were busy alright, but managed to pack in many, many fun and memorable moments as we prepped for our first born to head to kindergarten. (This milestone is deserved of it's own entry which I'll get to soon!) :)

Three for my Lo's...

Something about knowing I now have a 3 and 5 year old feels different. I guess different in that my kids are exactly that...children, and no longer babies. In some ways it's exciting: new things to look forward to like earning extra time in our days as we phase out naps, the joys of what school will bring come August, and feeling a little more free as they dress themselves, communicate clearly, and play together as friends (although fight like brothers too!). And yet, I find myself mourning the baby days...the innocence, the LONG cuddles, the days when "I can do it myself" didn't exist. Perhaps our family will grow by one more so I can experience it all again, but in the meantime I am fixated on my current baby being 3. THREE! When did that happen? My happy smiling baby is now so big, so determined, and so strong! We all knew there would be a day that he would give Colin a run for his money, and that day is here and has been for some time! I watch in amazement how he is growing so rapidly - so confident and sure of himself. And yet, it warms my heart to see those innocent moments rain, his shyness, his need for cuddling in the "rockie rockie", the head on the shoulder. We "Ta Day" (his abbreviation for Talk about the Day) and moments slow. Life is good.

Logan, you are such a light in our lives, and I simply can't chew on your cheeks enough. Your eyes disappear when you smile because you simply radiate joy, and you will never know how much I love you.  Happy Birthday, Pookah!