Christmas in Iowa

We traveled to Iowa for Christmas this year.  We left Monday morning, the day after Christmas, and made it to the farm just before supper on Tuesday.  Both kids travelled well -- Graecyn is a great traveler always and Cody is getting so much better.  We attached a mirror to the back of the seat he faces (his carseat is still rear facing) and I think that was a huge help.  Often when I assumed he was sleeping, he was just sitting there staring at himself in the mirror.  We had to stop a few times to let the kids stretch, but overall, it was one of the best car trips we've had so far with both kids.

Graecyn was fully over her stomach bug and back to normal, which was great.  Unfortunately, a few hours after we got to the farm, I came down with it.  Fortunately, it was short lived and I was feeling normal by the next evening.  Eric and Cody never got it, but Colton and Camden had it by Thursday and my Dad had it by Sunday.  It was a bit of a crazy, germ-filled week because on top of the stomach bug we were spreading around, Eric had a sinus infection, Danielle had strep throat, and Will and Theo had tonsillitis.  We still made the most of our time there and both Graecyn and Cody had a great time playing with their cousins.

While we didn't get to do everything we had hoped to do, we were able to squeeze in a movie (Mom and I took Graecyn to see Sing) and a birthday celebration.

On the way home we made it to the hotel in time to let the kids swim.  The pool water was freezing cold (Graecyn's lips were blue), but they still had fun and were able to burn off some energy.  Both kids favorite part of the hotel was riding on the luggage cart!

Cody 18 Months

1 and 1/2 years old already!  Time sure does fly. You are a happy, silly, stubborn little guy.  You have grown and learned so much over the past 3 months.  You...

• Are talking more and more --- saying ssshh, all done, all gone, hi, thank you (sounds like ti tu or ha hu)
• Bark like a puppy and honk like a goose
• Love to dance, jump, and climb on anything & everything
• Wave hi and bye
• Love to play with your cars and get pushed around outside on your tricycle 
• Give great hugs and wet, sloppy kisses --- you also like to blow us kisses
• Love to wear things on your head (baseball hats, stocking caps, princess crowns, your sister' headbands)
• Brush your teeth (you really just chew on the toothbrush, but also go through all of the actions, including spitting)
• Can blow your nose! (Yay!!!)
• Are a pretty good eater -- you seem to be a carb lover (especially with French fries and muffins).  You are really good at using utensils to eat.
• Are such a happy guy who loves to make us laugh.  You do have a temper though and when you're not getting your way, you tend to hit, scratch, or even spit on us --- we're working hard to break you of this habit.  You also bang your head on the floor when really mad (we're starting to see you do this less and less, so I'm hoping this phase is almost over).
• Everything still goes in your mouth, so we have to be really careful and make sure all of Graecyn's little lego and Barbie pieces are kept out of your reach.
• You LOVE to wear shoes -- you will go to the shoe basket, find a pair of your shoes and bring them to us.  You then immediately sit down and lift your foot in the air waiting for us to put your shoe on.
• You're still on the small side, weighing just under 21 lbs and standing around 30" tall (both around or under the 5th percentile on the growth charts).  You have 10 teeth (6 on top and 4 on bottom)
• For Halloween, you were a firefighter and Daddy had a great time building you a fire truck to go over your favorite ride-on car (you were so happy to go along for the ride during trick-or treating).
• You love to be outside and the fastest and easiest fix when you're mad or upset is to take you outside to play.
• You are a great napper at home (but a horrible napper at daycare).  You regularly take 2 almost 2 hour naps a day when at home (we're lucky if we can get you to take 1, 1-hour nap at daycare).
• You can scoot very fast down the stairs on your tummy and really want to go up and down stairs standing up like a big boy (you're so easily distracted that we make you go up on your hands and knees and down on your belly because every time you attempt to go up or down standing up, you fall).
• You love to go down big slides and the faster the better.  
• You love baths -- floating on your belly and making the biggest splashes are your favorites.

'Tis the Season

December was a busy month for us and we squeezed every possible holiday event in that we could.  Graecyn is old enough to really enjoy the holidays now and it is so much fun to see her excitement for Christmas.

We took Graecyn to her first Christmas musical - a huge, professional production put on by a church about 45 minutes from us.  It is one of the best Christmas shows I've seen.  The pyrotechnics scared her at first and the music was a little loud, but she loved it and can't wait to go back next year.

We picked out our Christmas tree from the same tree lot we have gone to for the past 6 years.  Graecyn and Cody had fun running up and down the rows of trees.  Graecyn wanted to help put the lights on the tree this year, which made me very happy (I hate doing the lights)...it only lasted about 5 minutes though before she was bored and wanted to just sit and watch a Christmas Story while Eric and I strung the lights.

I was worried about how Cody would be around the tree since he tends to get into everything.  But he did really well with it.  He was very interested in the ornaments, especially the ones that play music.  He would always want me to lift him up to see them and get me to push the buttons to start the music (sometimes having me get them all going at the same time).  His favorite ornaments seemed to be his tractor ornament (he would point to it and attempt to say tractor) and Graecyn's Frozen ornament that was Elsa singing 'Let it Go' (he would push the button to play the song over and over and over...).

Graecyn and I baked, decorated, and ate lots of Christmas cookies (and yes, she's not wearing a shirt...she got too hot). ☺

We had our first big snowstorm of the year with over 10" of snow.  Cody and Graecyn had a great time playing in (and eating) the snow.

We went to the Detroit Zoo for their annual Zoo Lights event again this year with Callie and her parents.  Millions of Christmas lights throughout the zoo were so pretty.  We also made a trip to downtown Rochester to see the lights on main street -- every business covered in Christmas lights from sidewalk to roof.  It is so pretty to see and the pictures do not do it justice.  We also had to stop by the bakery to see what cake creation they made this year -- last year it was a scene from Frozen, this year it was the Grinch --- everything in the window was edible!  Amazing.

We had a hard time finding Santa this year...we attempted a few places and there were always too many people also waiting to see him.  So, on Christmas Eve, we finally were able to track him down at Partridge Creek mall and Graecyn and Cody were able to sit on his lap and tell them what they wanted for Christmas.  Graecyn asked for a Shopkins ice cream truck, Barbies, and a bounce house.  Cody just cried --- maybe next year.

While Christmas Eve started off great, it ended horribly with Graecyn getting a stomach bug that afternoon and throwing up for about 5 hours straight.  I felt so bad for her as we had big plans to open all of our presents after naps on Christmas Eve...but that didn't happen.  We did let her open one gift once she started feeling better -- she really wanted to open the gift from her cousins Anna and Abbie, which was a stuffed Princess Celestia My Little Pony, she was so excited and happy to get that gift.  Fortunately, it was a short lived bug and she was feeling much better by Christmas morning in time to see what Santa brought her and Cody.  She was pretty happy to see what he left (a little bummed that she didn't get the Barbie Dream House or the pretend kitchen toaster...we had a little talk about appreciating what you do get) and did comment that even though she was sick, this was the best Christmas ever!  Santa left her a Barbie doll house (but not the dream house according to Graecyn), a pretend kitchen blender and mixer (but not the toaster according to Graecyn), the Shopkins ice cream truck, lots of blind bags (little toys that you don't know what they are until you open the bag), new sleep socks, an electric toothbrush, and more.  Santa left Cody a Little People airport, tool puzzle, Paw Patrol slippers, a new water bottle, his first toothbrush and tooth paste and more.  We opened all of our presents (Cody didn't care anything about opening presents, so Graecyn got to open all of his presents too) and the kids played with their new toys while Eric and I attempted to clean, organize, and purge the old toys.  While we were originally planning to get on the road Christmas day to start our drive to Iowa, we decided it would be best to wait until the next morning to make sure Graecyn was better (and that no one else came down with it).  Despite Graecyn getting sick, it really was a pretty great Christmas!

Thanksgiving in NC

We traveled to North Carolina for Thanksgiving; we found decent airfare so were able to fly this trip and Graecyn was so excited.  Both kids traveled really well.  Eric and my seats were split up on the flight to NC (the flight was oversold, so we were happy just to have seats); Eric and Graecyn were at the back of the plane and Cody and I were a few rows ahead of them.  We had hoped to be able to switch seats with another passenger so that Cody and I could be closer to Eric for extra help, but it turns out there were several other families with small kids traveling, so it didn't work out.  Fortunately, Cody traveled really well and ended up sitting in the back with Eric and Graecyn for most of the flight (bonus for me...too bad I didn't plan ahead and pack a magazine to read).☺

We had a great visit with family - the weather was nice a few days we were there, so we took advantage and took the kids to one of the local parks.  Cody had a great time going down the baby slides and Graecyn loved the big slides.  We also took both kids to an indoor playground one day too, which they loved.

Halloween

For the first time in 4 years, we had great weather leading up to Halloween and it was so nice on Halloween itself that the kids didn't even have to wear jackets!

Graecyn was Wonder Woman and Cody was a firefighter (Eric went all out to build him his own fire truck!).

We squeezed in as many halloween events as possible.

We went to the downtown Auburn Hills trick-or-treat with Graecyn's friend Elena.

We went to the downtown Rochester trick-or-treat and Greacyn's preK trunk-or-treat with Graecyn's friend Callie.

We went to Callie's Halloween party, Graecyn's preK Halloween party, and, of course, trick-or-treated in the neighborhood on Halloween.  We have enough candy to last until next year!

Fall Fun

We had a fantastic fall...the weather was great and we were able to squeeze in as many fall activities as possible.

We celebrated Eric's 37th birthday (Sept. 10) and Anna's 14 birthday (Sept. 25).

Brian, Rachel, Anna and Abbie came for a visit.  We introduced them to the Michigan Renaissance Festival where the girls got their faces painted and we ate yummy turkey legs.  We also took them to one of the many local apple orchards where we picked apples, drank cider, and got donuts.

Eric, the kids, and I went to a local farm where Graecyn got to ride a horse, pet a calf, and milk a cow.  We even got to go on a hayride to pick out our pumpkins.

Graecyn had a gymnastics showcase where she got to show us her great gymnastics skills.

And, Graecyn got to go to Disney on Ice with her 2 best friends, Callie and Elena.

Cody - 15 Months

At 15 months, you love...

• Shoes, flip flops - every chance you get, you will go into the laundry room where your shoes are and dig through your shoe basket to find your shoes.  You'll bring them to where ever we are, hand them to us, gently sit down, and stick your foot out so that we put them on you.  You seem to be happiest when you have your shoes on!

• Ceiling fans - if the ceiling fan is on, you are instantly drawn to it staring up and trying to reach out for it.  You love it when daddy slowly spins the ceiling fan and lifts you up so your head bumps it.

• Trying to figure out how things work - you'll get down on the ground to see how the wheels on your toys spin, you'll look closely at drawers to see how they move in and out.

• Dancing, spinning, and climbing - if there's music (or sometimes not), you'll start moving your legs to dance.  You've recently started spinning in circles to make yourself dizzy and think it's so funny.  And you are such a climber...any chance you get to climb up on something you'll take it (even when you're not supposed to be climbing).

• Playing peek-a-boo - you've just started playing this.  You love to cover your face with your hands and wait for us to say "peek-a-boo" so you can pull them off and show us your face.

• Talking - you don't say very many words, but man can you talk!  Your gibber jabber is the best and you are so serious sometimes - like you're in a serious conversation.  Other times you talk and talk and then start laughing like you've just said something so funny.  Some of the words you are saying are: "ahh" (after you or someone else takes a drink), "daddy", "all done", "no", "good throw" (the words aren't very clear, but you're trying hard to say them), "get down", "mama" (you finally said this as clear as day the other night while I was rocking you before bed...made my heart melt!)

• Going up and down the stairs on your belly - you've gotten pretty fast at it.

• Giving hugs - especially if you've just done something wrong and gotten fussed at.  If I'm holding you and you try to bite my shirt, I'll tell you "no bite" sternly and you'll instantly stop and lay your head down on my shoulder.

• Riding in your push car or power wheel tractor - you'll bring us your shoes and go stand at the door to the garage trying to turn the door knob to get outside.  The second you get into the garage you make a beeline straight to your push car and pull yourself over the edge to sit down on the seat.  You'll patiently wait until someone comes and pushes you around.  Getting you out of the car to go back inside almost always results in tears and screams from you because you don't want to stop.

• You have a bit of a temper and have mastered the classic temper tantrum flop (at least you've stopped head butting the floor when you're mad).

• You are a great eater and often eat more than your sister.  You never stop moving though so we just can't keep the pounds on you.  At your 15 month well baby visit you weighed 19 lbs 14 oz (11th percentile) and were about 28" long (5th percentile).

You have so much personality, are so happy, and are so much fun.  I can't wait to see what the next days, months, and years have in store for you!

Graecyn's First Day of Pre-K

Graecyn is officially in Pre-K!  She is so excited to be going to "big school" this year!  All summer long, every time we'd drive by her Pre-K school, she would let us know she was soooo excited to start school that she wouldn't sleep until school started.

It was a little sad sending her to her last day of daycare - she'd been there for 4 1/2 years - we knew the teachers and kids so well and was a routine we were comfortable with.  I thought she might be sad that she wouldn't see her friends any more, but she said she'd just come visit when we drop Cody off and had already planned playdates with her friend Elena for when there's no school.

A few days before the official first day, her school had a 'meet the teachers' day.  She was pretty nervous to speak to anyone, but loved seeing all of the new toys and activities to do at school.

The night before her first day, she said she was excited for school, but also a little scared and nervous.  We assured her that those are very normal feelings and that we feel that way when we're starting something new too.

The first drop off went great - no tears from anyone and she even posed for a few pictures for me before she was off to play with the Barbies.  When we picked her up at the end of the day, she was happy to see us, but wasn't rushing to leave...she wanted to finish coloring her picture.  She said she didn't remember much from her first day, but did love snack and playing on the playground.

She's 1 week in to pre-K and is still excited to go to school.  She says she hasn't made any friends yet because she's too scared to talk to them.  Hopefully her fear goes away soon.

Iowa Vacation 2016

We had an amazing summer vacation in Iowa.  The drive there went fine, with only a few crying spells.  I had a work conference in Western Michigan and was able to ride there with a co-worker, so Eric and the kids picked me up from there.  My conference didn't end until late afternoon, so we didn't make it as far as we had hoped on day 1.  Cody's max is about 3 hours before we have to stop and stretch...and it's never a quick stretch; Graecyn does much better now - as long as she has the iPad and a steady stream of movies and games.  We spent the night in Ottawa, IL making day 2 about 7 hours (it ending up taking us about 9 hours after 2 good stops to stretch).  We were fortunate that the weather was great, so we grabbed lunch and then found a nice playground off the interstate in small town Iowa.  The kids ran and burned off some energy for about an hour and then slept most of the last 2.5 hours to Grandma and Papa's house.

The weather was great the entire week we were there and we spent as much time as possible playing outside.  We boated and swam in the lake.  Spent a day at the Amusement Park.  Rode all of Papa's toys all around the farm - golf cart, go cart, power wheels galore.  The cousins had a blast playing with each other and I don't think Grandma and Papa's playground has seen so much action!  I even got to see my great friend, Holly - we hadn't seen each other in over a year (we were both pregnant last time we saw each other)!



We took advantage of Grandma babysitting and left Cody with her to take Graecyn to her first movie in the movie theater.  Addison and Colton came with us and we saw "The Secret Life of Pets" - such a cute movie and Graecyn loved it.

We went to the splash park, the big cousins had a slumber party with Graecyn, and we got to celebrate Camden's 3rd birthday (the superhero costumes Grandma and Papa got him were a huge hit with all the kids)!  Addison was in love with Cody and carried him around everywhere - where ever Cody was, Addison was close by!

Such a fun visit and so many great memories made!

Graecyn's First Soccer Game

Graecyn had her first soccer game this past weekend.  She let us know a few days before that she was excited to play soccer, but also a little scared.  I think she was a little overwhelmed at first and didn't really want to do it anymore.  But after a few minutes, she quickly warmed up and was a super soccer star scoring several goals!  She says she had a good time and wants to play again.  Good job monkey doodle!

Happy 1st Birthday, Cody Landen!

One year ago, at 6:19 a.m., our lives were forever changed.  You have brought so much joy to our lives and have truly completed our family.  You are a sweet, silly, happy boy.

Over the past month, you have started walking - taking a few steps here and there, some completely on your own.  You are such a fast crawler, though, so you usually prefer to get around on your hands and knees...unless one of your push toys is nearby; then you prefer to use that and RUN throughout the house.  You are also a major climber...you climb on everything and laugh at us when we tell you no. 

Our nicknames for you are Codster, Buster, Bud, Codmyster, and Bubbs.

You are finally sleeping through the night consistently and have to have your 'blankie' (aka swim shirt) to sleep with.  Graecyn also recently gave you her stuffed monkey which you also sleep with and prefer over all other stuffed animals.

You are a great eater and eat pretty much everything we do.  I finished pumping about 2 months ago, but had a huge stockpile of breastmilk in the freezer before I quit, so you've had breastmilk for a full year.  We only have about 14 ounces left and then I hope we can be done with bottles for good.  At your 1 year check-up, you weighed 18 lbs 5 ounces (8th percentile) and were 29.5" long (34th percentile).  You still have 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom), but I think you may be getting another soon based on the massive amounts of drool and gnawing you're doing.

You have definitely been a sick baby in your first year (at least compared to your sister) - you've had everything from ear infections, eye infections, stomach flu/nora virus, colds, and just recently came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease.  You seem to handle sickness well and it rarely slows you down.

You love to be around Graecyn and watch what she's doing and you show true concern for her if she's upset.  She does sometimes play a little too rough with you or tries to get you to do something you don't want to do, but you usually let her know to leave you alone by trying to bite her or swing your arms at her.

You love to 'talk' and say Daddy, all done, hi, and we've even heard you say what sounded like thank you.  You love to make noises and blow bubbles with your mouth.  You seem to have a deep, gravelly voice. 

You're favorite toys are your push toys (or anything that you can push around the room), anything you can chew on, and your cars.

We had a small airplane themed birthday party for you with a few of our friends.  Uncle Mark and Aunt Amanda came from North Carolina and we had such a good time celebrating you!  You seemed to enjoy your smash cake (especially the icing).

A glance at the past year...

Happy, happy birthday, Codster!  We love you to the moon & back!