2021 :: week 13

March 21

Miles is extremely independent. He does not like to be carried when he can walk, but he is still hesitant about steps. The big kids are doing pretty well with our transition to weekly in-person church attendance and limited second hour classes. Miles is having the hardest time. I try to pack a big bag of tricks to keep him occupied, but he struggles with sitting still and being quiet. I spent a lot of time with him in the hallway during Sacrament Meeting because he was so loud.

March 22

Lauren has a real entrepreneurial drive. She wants to buy a suitcase for our upcoming Spring Break trip to Florida. She decided she wanted to make Easter decorations that she could sell to her friends and extended family members. Lauren and I spent some time brainstorming what product she could make that people would want, how long it would take her to make each item, how much her supplies cost and what was a fair price to charge. We landed on these customizable Easter bunnies made out of felt, embroidery floss, stuffing and buttons. I helped her create a pattern and did most of the cutting for her. She did all of the stitching, stuffing and advertising herself. She used her own money to buy supplies at Hobby Lobby. She has been working on these bunnies for most of the past month in the evenings while I read to her. It has been a fun bonding experience for both of us, but it was not without a few tears and exasperated moments.

March 23

The big kids had their spring teeth cleaning on Tuesday morning. Everything looked great so I treated them to Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwiches before taking them to school. 

March 24

On Tuesday the newest Maisie Dobbs book was released! I am not kidding when I say I have been looking forward to this day for years. I read the first novel in 2014 while I was recovering from a D&C and read the next nine books over the rest of that year. Since then I have been excited every March when the newest title is released. The author did not release a new book in 2020, so I listened to all fifteen audiobooks last year during the quarantine and stay-at-home order phases of the pandemic. Escaping into Maisie's world helped me deal with the uncertainty and stress of life. I love the history that is mixed in with the cases Maisie works on and the growth of Maisie as a person over the course of the series. Maise is about the same age as my great-grandma and so it makes me think about what life was like for her as she came of age during the Great War, then was raising several children during World War II. 

March 25

The Rock Store is back in business! Elliott and Blasie search for rocks around the neighborhood and then display them on the side of our house. They are quite the salesmen, hawking their wares and trying to get people to pay for rocks that were most likely scavenged from their landscaping. 

March 26

For the second year in a row, Will has joined a Fantasy Baseball League hosted by Anthony's friend, Darren. It makes me smile every time I get on the family computer and see his team name--"WillJDaMan"--pop up on the screen. The draft was set for 9pm Friday night and Tony went to McD's for Dr. Peppers to help them stay energized. When mom isn't home things get wild!

March 27

Early Friday morning I flew to Utah to spend a weekend with the John ladies. We spent the weekend in an nice Airbnb doing almost nothing but talking and eating. We got take out from Costa Vida, Tonyburger, Tradition, Penguin Brothers and Chip. We talked all day and into the night, took no naps and barely slept. It was great fun, but I came home sooo tired. On Saturday evening we Facetimed before the kids went to bed and it made me happy to see the faces of my favorite people.

2021 :: week 12

 

March 14

When we were driving him Sunday evening we saw three coyotes on the grassy knoll at the exit of 69 Highway and 103rd Street. This is not the first time we have seen a coyote in that location, though we had never seen three at once. In other wildlife news, Will saw Snowy--the white squirrel that lives in our tree--was snatched by a bird of prey from our front yard this week. Thankfully she was able to jump to safety, because we have grown attached to her.

March 15

Lauren has been hard at work making bunnies to sell for Easter decorations. She has perfected her pattern and assemblage. I think she has learned a lot making these. She has been forced to be patient, adapt and work through frustrations.

March 16

I caught these two monkeys jumping on the bed after naptime. One of the monkeys should know better, but he was making Miles so happy I let it slide. Miles seems to think Elliott's bed is very fun because he climbs on it regularly.

March 17

It was a very chilly and wet week. Usually Will is outside shooting hoops and running around with our neighbor Curran after school.  This week it rained so much our yard is saturated. Will was happy to fill his time with Fortnite and Rocket League. 

March 18

Miles was not in the mood to take an abbreviated walk Thursday morning. The rain finally stopped but it was cold and windy! I wanted to cut things short, but Miles had enough energy for the three of us. He found Elliott’s old Daniel Tiger hat and put it on for our walk. 

March 19

One of the ways that Lauren is like her dad is that she is very enthusiastic about things she loves. You don't have to spend much time with Tony to know he loves Finland and he has invited almost everyone we know to use our sauna. Currently Lauren is very into crafting with felt. She has hyped it up so much that she now has friends wanting to get in on the fun. Friday the kids did not have school and Lauren and I picked up Daphne and visited the craft store to help Daphne buy supplies to make felt decorations and stuffed animals too. Lauren insisted on taking her so she could lead to to the "right" supplies.

March 20

We decided to mark the first day of spring with a morning of yard work and an evening walk around the Plaza. We picked up sticks, cleaned the leaves that had blown into bushes (the most tedious of all the tasks) and raked the leaves and debris that had accumulated against the fence and in the corners of our yard. We parked at the Plaza and planned to get some ice cream at Coldstone but the line was LONG! The lines were long at every food and dining establishment on the Plaza. The kids humored me and took a picture with Amy, one of the Plaza Bunnies. We walked to the grounds of the Nelson Atkins in hopes of walking in the glass maze, but alas it was closed. We played for a bit on the lawn before returning to our car. Miles would yell, "up!" to Anthony in the hopes that Anthony would toss him up in the air. Because we promised the kids ice cream we stopped at Hy-Vee and let each kid pick out an ice cream of their own. It was a beautiful day after a week of cold and rain.

2021 :: week 11

March 7

Will made this Lego creation before church. This Sunday marks the third time that Will has passed the Sacrament. Because of his late birthday he is the youngest Deacon in our ward (and probably one of the youngest in the entire church!). He takes his responsibility seriously and does a really good job. He is a great example to his younger siblings. He is a lot like his dad--smart, sensitive, spiritual, clever and multi-talented--probably why I like them both so much. Our ward also reimplemented second hour meetings at church this week. We are the last ward in the building and are able utilize the entire building to spread out. Will attended the youth Sunday School class for kids not yet in high school while the younger three kids attended family Sunday School with me. If we are going to make it next week we are going to need more snacks!

March 8

About six weeks ago I ordered a bunch of knock off Star Wars Lego minifigs for Elliott off of ebay and on Monday they finally arrived. I knew I was taking a gamble when I ordered them, but figured it was worth it if it worked out. Elliott loves to play with the Star Wars minifigs that we have, but many of the guys he wants are not available in the sets that are currently being sold. When I looked into buying some of the retired sets most were crazy-expensive.

March 9

Tuesday was a big day for Miles. In the morning we had our first in-home appointment with Infant Toddler Services (before now we have done phone calls and zoom). Chloe and Stacy came and spent time getting to know Miles a bit better. We set a few goals and I am feeling more optimistic about his speech than I have in awhile. In the afternoon he had his two year well-child checkup where we found out that he had gained weight and went up percentiles--yay! He is now 25.5 pounds and in the 19th percentile. 

March 10

The gang is back together again! Wednesday evening marked the first practice of the Spring 2021 season for the Pink Thunder. The girls picked up where they left off and had a great practice, despite the high winds. We also found out that this season EVERTY game will be on Saturday. We are so thankful for awesome Coach Luke who does his best to accommodate our no-Sunday preference. 

March 11

Elliott and Miles know how to pander to their audience--me!--especially when they want to distract me from the fact that theydidn't tidy up the balls like I asked them to. Elliott yells, "brother hug!" and Miles runs over and joins him in a big bear hug. 

March 12

One of my goals for the week was to clean out my desk drawer. I can really only work on it when Miles is in bed because he wants to touch everything. After I put him down for his nap I cleared out the drawer and got to work. I had saved so many receipts. I am trying to get better about that. In true, if you give a mouse a cookie... fashion, I ended up organizing files in the office and did a little work in our craft closet too. 

March 13

Lauren and I had some fun girl time Saturday. Our first stop was at the library where she checked out as many books as would fit in her bag. She found a shelf full of Thea Stilton books that she previously did not know existed. Thea books are her current guilty pleasure reads. Our next stop was Hobby Lobby. Felt was on sale for 50% off, so she stocked up. After she got her felt we walked next door to the Dollar Tree where she bought some Twix Bars and Gummy Bears. She reminds me so much of myself at the same age. I have vivid memories of laying on my bed and reading books when I was in fourth grade and making friendship bracelets with embroidery floss.

2021 :: week 10

 

February 28

The kids were getting a bit squirrely Sunday morning, so we took a walk up to the elementary school park. That was not my intended destination when we left the house, but the kids wanted to play on the playground--without rules--so that is what we did. Their principal has very strict rules about the number of kids allowed on various parts of the playground and how fast and how high they are able to go. Tony and I hypothesize that she must have parents complaining to her about safety all the time because of the number of limiting rules they have.

March 1

Miles and I took a quick trip to Target while the big kids were in school on Monday. I typically do pickup, but wanted to pursue the toy aisles for birthday inspiration. I didn't get any ideas, but we did buy a bag of Easter candy so the trip wasn't a total loss. What do you buy for the soon-to-be two-year-old with seemingly everything? 

March 2

Will's friend Knox comes to our house a few mornings a week before school. His mom is a teacher at Aquinas and occasionally has to get to school quite early. Knox hangs out in our front room for about fifteen minutes before the kids are able to arrive at school. Previously the school opened its doors thirty minutes before school started and kids could wait in the gym. Now they don't open the doors until fifteen minutes before school starts. Elliott loves Knox and they often play games on Elliott's kindle together while Will and Lauren finish up breakfast.

March 3

Miles and I cleaned the van while Elliott was at school. My favorite car wash has a "happy hour" in the morning when they drop the price of their premium washes, so we were able to get the most thorough wash at a discounted price. Our van was covered in dirt and salt and grime from whatever they use to treat the roads. After the outside was cleaned we parked and vacuumed and scrubbed the inside. I LOVE having a clean car. For the rest of the week I was so happy every time I got in the car.

March 4

Elliott, Miles and I met Jill, Arthur and Henry at the zoo Thursday. It was a gorgeous day, I was almost hot in pants, and we had a fun time sticking to the top area of the zoo. When we came home we met the big kids at the park and Elliott crossed the monkey bars by himself for the first time. He had been working on it in the fall, and had successfully crossed several times at playgrounds where the monkey bars are not as high off the ground a spaced a bit closer together. He went back and forth several times, I was very proud of him. Lauren was also very proud of him too. One of my favorite things as a parents is when my kids support and encourage each other and then are excited about their siblings' new accomplishments. 

March 5

Miles turned two on Friday! We celebrated by eating Little Caesar's pizza (recently reopened in Olathe after closing in the KC metro in the fall of 2018) and eating cake and ice cream. I tried my hand at making the funfetti birthday cake from Cakes by Courtney. It tasted delicious, but my cake wasn't nearly as pretty as hers. If I want to dive deeper into the cake world I am going to need to invest in a few supplies. This is what I wrote about Miles on my social media: Happy birthday to Miles! He is a lover of books, Daniel Tiger and basketball. His favorite parts of the day are our to twice daily walks to the park, post-dinner dance parties and bedtime sing a longs. He thinks he’s as big as the other kids in the house, and now he’s one year closer to proving it. He’s our “covid toddler,” who has spent literally half his life at home. Here’s to hoping this next year is more precedented than the last. Love you, Miles! Rereading this I realize that he is actually pretty well travelled. In his short life he has road-tripped to Florida twice, flown to Boston and explored New England, accompanied mom and dad on a trip to Mexico, roadtripped to Utah and flown to Oregon. 

March 6

We hosted a low-key birthday party for Miles at the park Saturday afternoon. I bought a bunch of individually packaged cookies and juice boxes for treats and Tony organized a kickball game for the kids. We brought along our speaker and blasted some peppy music. The weather cooperated and it was such a fun afternoon. The party grew as kids walking by the park joined in. I am so grateful for the amazing neighborhood we live in. Yes, a kickball game is not really the ideal activity for a 2 year old, but Miles' forced BFF Gabriel has siblings Lauren and Elliott's age that needed to be entertained too. He really enjoyed himself, he just got very shy when we stopped the game to sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

2021 :: week 9

February 21

On Sunday I got an email with a 40% coupon code from Blurb, the company I use to print out book each year. I decided to kick things into gear and get things finished by Thursday to take advantage of the savings. I got woefully behind on our blog last year. Thankfully I keep a daily planner/journal that I use to I jot things down, especially things I know I want to write about. The pictures for each week were chosen throughout the year when I backed up the pictures from my phone, usually on Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of work, but  I got it done! I am excited to get the new book in a few weeks. Working on the book reminded me how very blessed I am.

February 22

I finally hung the Brown Bear wall art above Miles' crib. He loves looking at them! I made a decade ago for Will's room when we lived at Aspen Lodge. I never hung them up in his room when we moved here and found them a few months ago when Lauren and I were cleaning out her closet. Looking at this photo helped me realize that the round push pins I used to hang the pictures caused some of them to tilt, so I have since bought straight nails to rehang them.

February 23

Will had complained of a headache for the past few days, so when he asked to stay home Tuesday to get some extra rest I let him. It is very out of character for him to stay home and voluntarily take a nap. After his nap he walked with me and the little guys to the park. We have started walking to the park somewhere between one and three times a day. The weather has been gorgeous and it is the perfect length for Miles to burn some energy and see the world. 

February 24

I got warm fuzzies looking out the window and seeing Elliott jumping on the trampoline with Blaise and Luke Wednesday afternoon. February has been such a long cold month, but the sunshine seems here to stay, at least for the next week. By the end of the day all of the snow in our yard was melted.

February 25

Stephanie and I took the kids to Emerald City on Thursday morning. It was the first time we have taken the kids in over a year! They have limited slots and everyone was wearing a mask, so we felt pretty safe. The kids had a blast! Miles had never been somewhere so fun. He kept running from place to place.  Emerald City is a gymnastics academy--Lauren briefly did gymnastics there last year before covid shut everything down. The gym has an indoor playground, trampolines, rope swings and a foam pit, rings, slides and a zipline.

February 26

We hosted a small celebration for Dana's 85th birthday Friday evening! Because Dana doesn't eat sugar we sang to her over a plate full of berries. Dana has become such a good friend over the past year. She is a great conversationalist, and can converse on a variety of topics. She is thoughtful, helpful and generous. She pays attention to what is going on in the lives of people around her and is proactive about reaching out. I am moved when I think of some of the acts of kindness she did for us while she lived with us. 

February 27

My dad came over Saturday morning and helped me build a box for our garden. In the next week or so we will haul in a bunch of fresh soil and fertilizer. We have a few theories as to why, but the soil in this part of our yard is fairly poor. I am hoping that bringing in new soil will rejuvenate our garden situation. Elliott fell off our swing while we were measuring the boards, and has scratches across his face that look similar to Anakin Skywalker before he falls to the dark side. 

2021 :: week 8

 

February 14

Church was cancelled, but thanks to the zoom system our ward already has in place we were still able to "meet" together for church. Anthony hosted the meeting from our front room and Will and Lauren gave the opening and closing prayers. In honor of the passing of Christopher Plummer we watched "The Sound of Music" in the afternoon. Due to an act of parental neglect our kids had never seen the movie before. Elliott's vivid imaginations led to bad dreams about the Nazzies coming to get our family and him defeating them with his Darth Maul lightsaber. There was a lot of Elliott and Dad cuddling during the second half of the movie.

February 15

This week was the coldest week we have experienced since we moved to Kansas eleven years ago. Anthony was sent home from work early on Monday because Evergy (power company) was performing "temporary controlled power outages." We planned on using the sauna, but decided to wait as the sauna requires a lot of electricity. We didn't lose power on Monday, but were part of the rolling blackouts on Tuesday morning. Our power was out for just shy of three hours from 8-10:45am. The kids were already off from school Monday and Tuesday, but had Wednesday as a remote day due to the cold and power issues. Anthony's work was closed on Tuesday as well.

February 16

Tuesday night while we ate leftover French Dip sandwiches our kids discussed and ranked their favorite meals. I made a note in my phone because I find the rankings and how they described them useful and amusing. Will's "favorite foods" are: smashburgers, steak, tikka masala, zupa toscana, salmon soup, homemade pizza and stroganoff. Lauren's "top foods" are: creamy chicken and rice, tikka masala, smashburgers, pulled pork, homemade pizza, steak and sweet willy chili. Elliott's "top ten" are as follows: (1) French toast and bacon, (2) holiday ham, (3) homemade pizza, (4) beef and barley stew, (5) salmon soup, (6) smashburgers, (7) steak, (8) tikka masala, (9) friend chicken, and (10) mashed potatoes. He gave an honorable mention to zupa toscana, his "third favorite soup." 

February 17

We have started working with Infant & Toddler Services to help Miles talk. One of the things I have started doing is narrate every single thing we do. For example, if we are going to go outside I will say to Miles, "Let's get ready to go outside. Let's get our shoes. Where are Miles' shoes? Where are Mommy's shoes?" I pick up his shoes. "Is this Miles' shoe?" I put on his shoes. "Miles has his shoes on." I do the same things while I put on my shoes. Then I'll walk over to the hat bin and say, "Let's put on our hats. Where is Miles' hat? Where is Mommy's hat? Is this Mommy's hat? Mommy has a hat on her head." It is simple, but also a little tedious. Since I started doing that Miles has said both shoe and hat, words he was not saying before. I thought he looked cute when he put on the football helmet, and was especially pleased when he said "hat" while he was wearing it.

February 18

Jolie texted me after school and said she was taking her kids sledding and wondered if we wanted to join them. It was almost thirty degrees warmer than it had been earlier in the week, but it was still very cold. It was fun, but both Jolie and I agreed we would be okay if we didn't go sledding again until next Winter.

February 19

Miles did not take very good naps this week. I am very worried about this development. I refer to him as "Thumper" because he will often lay in bed and kick the wall when he is tired of being in his crib. He had been kicking the wall while I was doing dishes so I decided to make him wait until I finished. When I went upstairs to get him up he had fallen asleep and looked so peaceful. It must be hard to be a toddler, full of feelings, but few words to express them.

 

February 20

Will has been asking to go to Freddy's for weeks. On Saturday afternoon we made his dreams come true. It was the first time our family had eaten inside a restaurant since...last spring? We have had plenty of take out. We went just after 4:30pm and had the place virtually to ourselves. Miles has a ways to go on his eating out etiquette, so we didn't stay long. The food was tasty, but we all agreed that Tony's burgers are better. 

2021 :: week 7

 

February 7

We had such high hopes for the Super Bowl, but alas, Tom Brady and company thwarted things again. On the plus side Anthony made some delicious smashburgers for dinner and we got in some epic dancing to the Weeknd at halftime.

February 8

A late night Sunday means a slow morning Monday. Miles was extra snuggly after I returned from walking the big kids up to school so we cuddled on the couch and I read while he watched some Daniel Tiger. Miles isn't much of a snuggler. He likes to sit on my lap and read, or to keep siblings from sitting on my lap, but he rarely lays on my like this, I was happy to soak it up.

February 9

It snowed overnight on Monday and dusted again Tuesday afternoon. In the afternoon I shoveled our driveway and sidewalk to the corner so when the kids walked home from school they would have a clear path. We had salmon soup for dinner that night and it was the perfect meal for the cold day. 

February 10

Wednesday Tyler turned seven! We had cookie cake at Memaw's to celebrate. The little boys and I went to Target in an attempt to buy him some pokemon cards and every single pokemon item was sold out! Lauren made him a poke ball out of felt. Tyler is a fun cousin and one of Elliott's best friends.

February 11

Miles is an opportunist! He seized the moment that Elliott left his Lego unattended and climbed on the bench. Elliott likes to bring his Lego downstairs to play on the kitchen or dining room tables. His skin has gotten really dry lately so we are keeping him in pajamas throughout the day to prevent him from scratching the eczema patches on his feet, knees and waist.

February 12

Friday the kids ended up having a remote learning day due to the cold. I was a bit skeptical about the closure, but when I went for a walk in the afternoon I had to cut back early because I was losing feelings in my legs and face from the cold even though I was dressed to walk in 4 degrees! The wind was biting. I liked having all my kids home together. We spent so much time together over the past few weeks and the last year really. It's nice to know that we still enjoy each other's company.

February 13

Tony and I slept in a bit on Saturday morning and while we did the kids were up having a "John Kid Lego Masters Competition" up in Will's room. Elliott was the judge and feelings were hurt as he gave hard feedback about Will and Lauren's builds. Will built a house that was on fire while Lauren built a zoo. I thought both were pretty impressive considering that the kids were limited to using the bricks and minifigs we have at home, compared to the massive amounts of bricks and figures the contestants have access to on the show. Elliott didn't think so. Cue many eyerolls.

2021 :: week 6

 

January 31

We celebrated Grandmamere's 89th birthday by eating Klondike bars in her honor for dessert.

February 1

Monday marked the first day of Lauren and Elliott returning to school, so it was a little disorienting how quiet the house was while I worked on laundry. I feel a lot of satisfaction when I get our laundry washed and sorted. The big kids put their own clothes away while I help Elliott with his. I put away Miles' clothes as well. 

February 2

Post dinner dance parties have become the new normal in our house. Anthony puts on one of his Spotify playlists and we dance. The kids were surprised that dad knew the macarena. Anthony and I got tested for Covid and once again we tested negative. 

February 3

Wednesday was a great day!  The weather was beautiful, sunny and unseasonably warm. I hired the kids to pick up the many sticks that had fallen from our trees over the past few weeks. With everyone working together we were able to gather up four bags of sticks and twigs in less than 15 minutes. I paid each of the kids $1 and a pack of fruit snacks. Elliott wasn't interested in helping until he saw everyone get paid. 

February 4

I have a hard time sensing how old Miles is. Obviously I know his age (23 months). But he is the youngest which makes him seem younger than the older kids did when they were his age. When Will was 2 I felt like he was a man. He was talking in full sentences and newborn baby Lauren was the baby. The fact that he talks like a 1 year old also makes it difficult. But he does several things that make him seem older. He has a great attention span for books. When he plays with his phone he "talks" in it with gibberish that has the intonations of a conversation. We are in the initial stages of working with infant toddler services to help him with his speech. The benchmark number of words for an 18 month old to use is 10, for 24 months it is 50. He uses less than five words regularly--ma (mom), da (dad), hat, ba (ball) and tee (teeth).

February 5

We are exchanging Valentines with our John cousins this year and Lauren in crafting conversation heart pillows out of felt for each one. She has been working on these while I read the Vanderbeekers of 141st Street to her before bed each night. 

February 6

Saturday afternoon we made our first family outing in over a month to Will's basketball game. The nice part about our kids having had Covid is that we are less worried about them getting sick. We have also been told that they are not considered contagious for the next 90 days. Will played great at his game, playing point guard for a few rotations and scoring a few layups.