A travelogue of our trip to the Boston

It has taken me a few days to recover from our recent trip to Boston. Not because it was exhausting. Opposite. We had quite a relaxing time. Mostly it has been hard for me to get back in the pattern of feeling like I need to get up and actually get going in the morning. It was nice having Tony and other family members around to entertain Will and to be able to read or chat or take a nap. My body gets used to sleeping in and a life of leisure very easily. This does not bode well for our all the changes our family has in store come late October.

We flew into Boston Wednesday afternoon. Will was a champ on the flight. Anthony and I took turns following him as he wandered around the airport while we waited to board our flight and it paid off as he slept 2/3 of the way.


Doug and Tina picked us up and when we arrived at the John house we were greeted with a delicious meal of baked ziti, corn and strawberry shortcake prepared by Hillary and Ben. Will was extra shy at first, but by the end of our first night there he warmed up a bit and let Hillary and Nana read him some stories.


On Thursday Meredith arrived. Soon after she got to Belmont we put Will in the stroller and walked to Star Market in Cambridge. We were quite the entourage--there were 7 of us--but it was fun to get out and get some exercise. We picked up a few things, including water, and then walked home by way of Grove Street Park to let Will play. He loves to swing and it was nice having his Nana, aunts and an uncle to humor him as he wanted to switch to a new swing approximately every minute.

That afternoon we drove to IKEA. Anthony stayed behind so Will could nap and he worked on a presentation for work. After eating lunch, Meredith, Tina and I spent some time looking at stuff for our kid's rooms, as well as looking for various storage boxes. When we got home we dined al fresco on a some delicious BBQ chicken prepared by Doug. Will didn't much care for sitting at the table so the two of us explored the backyard. He is always wanting to "go, go, GO!"

He wasn't a fan of the fence either. That night we all hug out and played music and watched Will dance. He finally settled down and let Papa read him some books.


We started off Friday by taking a walk to Burbank (Anthony's elementary school), with Meredith. Will enjoyed the swings and the three adults lamented the lack of shade at most playgrounds. When we got home we were ate with a delicious breakfast prepared by Ben and Hillary. After cleaning up the girls headed over to a secondhand children's store. We found some treasures--including a chunky car puzzle for Will and some baby gear for Meredith's boy. That afternoon we headed to the Full Moon Cafe for a late lunch. They have a cool play area for kids, which is great for Will. After lunch we headed home and hung out while our food digested. We were all so full from lunch we didn't do much for dinner. Meredith, Tina and I ran to Target to get diapers for Will and look at baby stuff. We talked a lot about babies being that there will be three new John babies by the end of the year (Carly had Elise in May, I'm due in October and Meredith is due in December). When we got back we played some rousing games of nertz. Anthony and I were partners the first game and we won, clearly not everyone was warmed up yet. After that we changed the teams up and neither of were victorious again. Matt and Hillary are an unstoppable force when it comes to team nertz.

Saturday we woke up and got ready to head to New Hampshire. We figured since we didn't have a holiday or wedding to focus on this trip, we could check out Meredith and Steven's current stomping grounds. Doug made us some delicious french toast and we hit the road. The drive wasn't bad, although towards the end Will started to get a bit restless. When we got to West Lebanon we had lunch at the Maxfield's and then put Will down for a nap. While he slept the adults chatted. Steven had worked an overnight shift at the hospital the night before, so he probably should have been sleeping. We felt honored he gave up even more of his precious time to hang out with us. After Will woke up we went canoeing on the Connecticut River. We rowed for a bit and then got out to enjoy the water.


Will wasn't a huge fan of his life vest, so he was especially anxious to get in the water. We were surprised that he had no problems getting in the water, but he was perfectly content to follow his Uncle Steven around.


The water was so peaceful, and the setting so pretty, I left feeling very relaxed.


Then again, I didn't row once. Thanks, TJ, for picking up my slack. After our canoeing excursion we went back to the Maxfield's and grilled some burgers. They live in a really cool old farmhouse built in the late 1880s. Their living areas are really open with lots of windows. They have a large storage area adjacent to their apartment which is actually an old barn. There are also some cool old trees in their yard that Will enjoyed. We meant to get a picture outside their house but forgot. After dinner we went to an ice cream place called Ice Cream Fore You. I think they are associated with some sort of mini-golf. The best part (besides their generous servings) was the playground located right behind. Will wasn't interested in even a bit of ice cream. He was too busy swinging and climbing and going down the slides with his uncle. When we got home we turned on some music and let Will dance before he crashed and went to bed.

Here he is slow dancing with A.G. Bear. The rest of us stayed up talking for awhile and then the boys went to bed and Meredith and I continued to talk until much too late. It was fun though and luckily we didn't have to be at church until 1pm, so we all got to sleep in a bit. When you only see someone once a year or so it is okay to stay up late and catch up.

It was nice to sleep in and have a leisurely Sunday morning chatting, packing and getting ready for church. Will fell asleep on the way and slept through the first fifteen minutes of church laying across Meredith and Steven's laps. Anthony ran into some friends from his BYU days, proving once again that the world is very small.

We took some group photos and then said goodbye.


Meredith and I took a belly photo so we can prove to our kids they were friends before they were born. I am 31 weeks and Meredith is 24 weeks.

We're really glad we had a chance to see where Meredith and Steven are living. The Hanover/West Lebanon area is really beautiful. It had more of a small-town feel than I was expecting. I hope we can visit them in the fall sometime when all the leaves are changing colors. I've seen pictures, and they are breathtaking, but I would love to see it in person. Thank you Meredith and Steven for your hospitality!!

On the way home we got caught in a rainstorm and didn't make very good time. We did make it back in time for the event of the evening, Matt's Court of Honor. I didn't see much because Will was not interested in being quiet. Will really loves his Uncle Matt. He liked to follow him around and then poke his face. Matt was the only adult patient enough to let Will do that more than once.


Will had definitely just poked Matt in the eye right before I took this photo.

On Monday Doug once again made French Toast. Then Doug, Tina, Anthony, Will and I headed into Boston to explore the Public Gardens. We wanted to do something "Boston-y" where we could all (including Will) enjoy ourselves. I think we made a good choice. First, we rode the swan boats.


Will preferred to call them ducks, though. He did pretty well, but didn't like being told no when he tried to touch the water.

By this time in the trip he had totally warmed up to everyone. After the boats we walked over to the Make Way for Ducklings statues.

Despite the look on his face, he seemed to enjoy taking his turn to sit on each one.

He didn't really like being told what direction to walk, so Papa and Nana held his hands and lifted him up occasionally to keep him happy.

We stopped at the Frog Pond, which Will preferred to walk next to and then over to the playground.
He had a good time climbing and then the O's in the fence caught his eye. It was a fun park, but we were getting tired so we headed home for lunch. After lunch we chatted and packed. Doug grilled some hamburgers and before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport. I wish I could say the trip home was a sequel to the flight out, but it was not. Will struggled to fall asleep until he finally crashed about 15 minutes before we were to land.

We are happy to be home, but are missing our New England family. Thank you Doug and Tina for a great trip! You know it was a good when you wish it could have been just a little bit longer. Will still mentions Papa, Nana and Matt at least once a day, and although he won't say anyone else's name, he enjoys pointing everyone else out in photos.

gone but not forgotten

We just got back from spending a week visiting the John family in Boston and New Hampshire. We had a fun and relaxing time. The weather was great (for August) and it was really nice to spend time together without a strict schedule. We were welcomed back to reality today when I picked up our mail and found a summons for jury duty addressed to TJ and a notice from a collections agency for me--in regards to a bill I can prove I paid months ago. Also, we haven't mowed our grass since we moved in and both of our next-door neighbors definitely did while we were gone. I guess life isn't always a vacation, but it sure is nice to take one from time to time.

Oh, and here is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.


A little preview until I can post about the people we saw and the things we did.

Where's Will?

There he is!

And after 10 days with minimal internet access at best we are back on the grid. And Where's Will? is one of Will's favorite games.

Life

I've been thinking a lot lately. Mostly about how a new person will be joining our family in (hopefully) less than three months and all the changes that will entail.

Am I ready for the lack of sleep that is involved with caring for a newborn? Will's toddler sleep schedule is pretty sweet. Going to bed by 7:30pm most nights and up at 7am leaves me plenty of free time in the evenings as well as enough time to get a good night's sleep if I so choose. I suppose I am as ready as I will ever be.

Will I be able to love my baby girl as much as I love Will? I assume that will come once I meet her. I loved Will before he was born and I love my daughter too, but my love for Will has grown so much over the past 19 months. I'm sure the same will be true with this child. I never knew how much love I was capable of before I had kids.

Have I really appreciated and enjoyed my time as a mother of one? This has been the hardest question for me to answer and given me the most pause. So often I am guilty of wishing my life away. "Things will be nice once this happens or that is over." "I can't wait for this far off event." Lately I have been wishing Will's toddler tantrums away. But unfortunately, I can't really get rid of the toddler tantrums without wishing him into an older child who won't explode with excitement every time he sees a bus because that is what his dad rides to work or who can't seem to function if he isn't within a yard of me even when I'm trying to cook dinner because I'm his favorite. I'm going to miss those things when he's a sullen teenager and would rather hang out with his friends than parents and thinks most things we do are uncool instead of awesome.

I think that figuring out the answer to this question to some degree is the trick to having a happy life. We need to learn to enjoy each season, taking the bad with the good, and be happy anyway. No stage of life is without its trials, and some are worse than others. But finding the bright spots in each day can make even the most difficult season of life easier to bear.

This week I've been thinking even more about how fleeting time is after I learned of the unexpected death of my cousin. I have always expected to live to an old age. I have no real reason not to and don't think we should plan on that not happening. But the truth is, that isn't always the case. Our time on Earth is a gift that we shouldn't take for granted and wish away. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have of the eternal nature of life and families.

My heart aches for Cari at the loss of her husband and for his young boys at the loss of their dad. I feel for my Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Tim at the loss of their son and my cousins at the loss of their brother. I know my prayers are joining with the prayers of many others to send feelings of comfort and peace their way. I didn't know Kasey as well as I would have liked because my family lived far away from the rest of the family and is the youngest, but when I picture him I picture a friendly smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. My most vivid memory of Kasey is him playfully teasing me about a perm his mom had just given me when we were out visiting one summer.

So between my pending life change and this tragic accident, yeah, I've been doing a lot of thinking. And I keep getting lines from one of Will's book stuck in my head. It's called I'm Thankful Each Day, by P.K. Halliman.

I'm thankful each day
For the blessings I see,
And for all of the gifts
That God's given to me.

. . . .

I'm thankful for friends,
For laughing and sharing...

I'm thankful for family,
For loving and caring.

I'm thankful for all
The kindness I see.

I'm thankful for peace
And for pure harmony.

...If ever I worry
That trouble is near,
I always remember
I've nothing to fear...

For each hour is laden
With God's perfect love.

Each second brings comfort
And joy from above.

And I guess in the end
The best thing to say
Is I'm thankful for living...

I'm thankful each day!

I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say other than life is short. Take the time to hug your family and tell them you love them and don't wish it away. I wanted to write this down so I can have something to look back at and remind myself to not wish a season of my life away in a few months when I am sleep-deprived and feeling exhausted after our daughter is born.

lately

I feel like we've been keeping pretty busy lately, but our blog has little to show for it. Some of the things, namely cleaning and packing aren't really photo-worthy.

I suppose Will makes everything photo-worthy.

Eating
After a few months of pathetic meal planning that I am whole-heartedly blaming on pregnancy and food aversions, I have regained an interest in cooking. And meal planning. And scouring food blogs for inspiration. I am posting links to two recipes that have been big successes at our house this past month. They are especially great for summer because neither require the use of the oven and we generally have most of the ingredients on hand.

The first comes from my friend, Holly's food blog. Rather than type it up again, I will send you to her.

Mexican Tortilla Skillet

The only thing I do differently is I generally use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and I also make sure to use a mild rotel. My acid reflux has been really bad this pregnancy so I have to go mild.

The second comes from the blog of a weight watchers leader. When I did WW after having Will I occasionally attended her meetings when I couldn't make it to my usual meeting time.

Slow Cooker Weight Watchers Lasagna

Again, I usually use turkey burger, and it tastes just fine. I also forgot to buy ricotta cheese and had to use cottage cheese as a last-minute substitute. It still tasted great. I would say to make sure you don't over-cook, especially if you plan to have leftovers and prefer your pasta al dente. The first time I made this I cooked it on low for about 5 1/2 hours and the next day the noodles were very soft.

Grooming

I have given Anthony two haircuts since Will had gotten his last. Suffice it to say, the time had come. As great as the pseudo-mullet was, we were ready for cleaner-cut things. At least, I was. Will was fine with his shaggy 'do as long as it kept the clippers away from his head. Last Saturday, with the help of Anthony, Baby Signing Time and a watermelon dum-dum, I cut Will's hair. It wasn't pleasant, but it's done and I don't have to stress about it for at least two months.

Before:

After:

Crafting

My friend, Mitzi loaned me an awesome book that contains the pattern for this bag.


I never had a really good diaper bag with Will, and with two kids I know I am going to need something nice and roomy. This bag seems to fit the bill. I just finished it last night and was almost sad to do so. It's been really fun having a project to look forward to doing after we put Will to bed. We've been watching old episodes of Freaks and Geeks while I work, and that show makes me laugh every time I watch it. So clever. I'm hoping after we move and get settled I can start up another sewing project. If anyone has any cute or fun ideas send them my way.

Fender-Bending

We got in a minor car accident last weekend. Emphasis on minor. It didn't really seem to be that big a deal until the other party decided it should be. Needless to say, I am grateful for insurance. I don't think Tony has appreciated my increased backseat driving, but I just blame it on the other driver and how his erratic driving and dishonesty has caused me to lose faith in other drivers. :)

we made it to church on time today(!) and other weekend ramblings

The time we arrive at church shouldn't be worth blogging about, but we've really struggled to make it on time this past month and we did it today! And Will went to nursery!

In other weekend news, despite waking up to rain on Saturday, the day ended up being quite hot and sunny. We visited the Lenexa BBQ Battle at lunchtime. Highlights include Will getting to ride a bus (we took a shuttle to the park) and some delicious samples of pulled pork.



After nap time we went to the pool and chased Will around for awhile. I love Saturdays with no major plans.

Oh, and here is my current "baby bump." This picture is mostly for my sisters who haven't seen me in awhile. Summer sure is hot when you're pregnant.

take me out to the ballgame

By Anthony

Will made it through whole baseball games last summer. He fell asleep for most of the game and had no idea what was going on. This year baseball games are different. Baseball games are a setting of things Will dislikes: He detests loud noises as he has not gone deaf like the rest of us yet. He dislikes anything that takes his parents' attention from him. At the same time, there are enough pluses for Will to make the games a happy place. Before entering the stadium Will pointed at flags around the stadium and yelled excitedly, "Baseball! Baseball!"


From our Hy-Vee seats 10 or so rows from the very highest seats in the stadium, Will literally had a birds-eye view of the game AND importantly all the birds. Will loves birds and loves to identify them as birds by yelling "Tweet tweet!"


Mommy, expert toddler caretaker that she is, brought apples and dipping sauce for Will. He had a grand time dipping the apples in caramel and sucking off the sugar. He only ate the chunks of apple he mistakenly swallowed and spit out the rest, which made his parents laugh.


We took a lap around Kauffman Stadium for the hour before the game started, letting Will have as much free-range as possible. He liked and pointed at the fountains until the wind "spit" the fountains in his face.


He sprinted to the giant ball. He loves balls. We have taught him well. It is not as if we reserve love and adoration until he plays with balls. Well, maybe I do. But he truly does seem to have a natural affinity for all balls. I just hope that he can keep up his 50th percentile size.


He liked Slugger, though before this picture was taken and mom picked him up, Will gave Slugger some shots to the groin. I think Will was trying to inspire (the behavioral/psychological term: positive punishment) Slugger and the rest of Royals to greatness. They started the season well, but have recently found themselves in a familiar place: last. Hopefully his punishment was timely and severe enough for Slugger to effectively relay the message from Will that their current performance level is unacceptable.



Yes. Will loved the game. We made it through 5 innings of fully attentive Will. We only went home because Will hasn't been sleeping well recently and we didn't want to mess with his sleep schedule too much.

Check out this link to a video we made of Will. He is so fun right now.

eighteen

Today we celebrate 18 months of Will.

Some facts about our little man:

He's currently weighing in at 25 pounds and standing a proud 32 inches tall. That puts him in the 40th and 50th percentiles, respectively. He's got 16 teeth and lots of thick blonde hair. And a sweet farmers tan.


He's very vocal. His favorite thing to yell is "Daddy!" He enjoys some good onamonapia. He likes to "tweet" when he sees birds, "woof" when he sees dogs, and "vroom, vroom" when he sees cars. He loves praise and hates to be denied anything.


He is a lover of basketball and baseball, really any type of ball he can throw (and he's got quite the arm).


He is a lover of milk and yogurt and identifies all red fruit as an "apple." He loves to dip (chips, nuggets, veggies). He can handle spicier food than I can.




He's getting pretty good at identifying his aunts, uncles, and grandparents thanks to the wonders of the internet.



He's growing up so fast and I am amazed every day by how much he remembers and the things he is able to do.

Happy Half-Birthday, Wilbur!

On my mind

I keep thinking June just started, but it's almost half over.

I am really bad at getting my laundry folded in a timely fashion.

I struggle to get Will to drink water from his cup. Yet at the pool he reminds me of a pelican with his mouth open wide trying to scoop up as much *really clean* pool water as he can.


I wish there were sound effects for pictures. Oh wait, that's what videos are? Too bad I didn't think of that in time. Just imagine Will yelling "Go, dog go! Go dog, go!"

There is something about being pregnant that makes me CRAVE cookie dough. CRAVE it. Seriously, I think about it all the time.

Why do I do the things I do? I am pretty meticulous about paying bills on time, yet I struggle to return library books in a timely fashion.

I hate having a cough. I am *recovering* from a cough right now and it is so annoying. Robitussin tastes disgusting.

When did Redbox raise their prices? Why does everybody raise their price? Don't they know I'm trying to stick to a budget?

Why do I always pick the slowest line at the checkout? I've been on a roll lately and it kind of stinks. Tonight I ran to the store to pick up a few essentials--milk, yogurt, kleenex, orange sherbet (orange sherbet is definitely considered an essential in our family). I know exactly where each of those items are located in the store. Exactly. I figured it would take me about 5 minutes to find them, a couple minutes to check-out and I'd be on my way. Think again. All the lanes seemed to be about equal, so I just picked one. Bad choice. Nearly ten minutes later I leave the store. At least I wasn't in a hurry.

I enjoyed watching some of the NBA Finals games with Will this year. The last time the Mavs took on the Heat was in 2006, the summer Anthony and I were engaged. It's fun to think about much life has changed since then.

our poor, neglected blog

I can't believe we let the entire month of May go by without a single post. Be patient and there should be some good posts coming soon.

In the mean time I have 2 main excuses for the lack of blogging.

1--I am pregnant! We look forward to welcoming Baby Girl John to our new home on or around October 21st. Wait--new home?



2--That's right--we bought a house! We've been looking for a few months and finally found a house we are really excited about. It is in the area and our move-in date is in early August.


So between growing a baby and looking for a house, we've been busy. In fact, we found out we were having a girl and had our offer accepted on the same day. I've had a headache ever since. I think the stress (even though it is mostly good stress) is too much for my pregnancy hormones to handle.