Monday, April 30, 2012

April 2012

April started out a bit hectic for our family...  Pete had to work second shift (4 pm - 1:30 am) which just makes for very long days for me.  He is able to help more during the day but he also needed to sleep so it was a long, lonely week.  It especially didn't help that Grace and Jake were sick.  Grace woke up (after pediatrician hours of course) from her nap and was screaming about her ear so I took them all to stat care alone.  Luckily, Grammy came after about an hour and took Claire and Jake for me.  (Thank Goodness!)  Grace ended up having an ear infection - our first one out of all three kids so we had no idea what we were in for.  After a few doses of antibiotics, she was back to normal!

We celebrated Easter here in North Canton this year.  We had an Easter Egg Hunt in our backyard with the kids and it was fun to watch them.  We went to church with Pete's family and then spent the whole day over there.  It was a wonderful day!

Other events from April included going to the park a few times; Grammy, Aunt Sarah, Bently, my kids and I went to "Inflatable Insanity" which was a cheap indoor activity that the kids loved;  One evening we took that kids to dinner via bike ride which was very fun.  My mom came to visit and we had a great time.  That Saturday night, Pete and I went to a wedding reception and enjoyed a night out!  We also went to a charity event called "Night at the Races" where they show old horse races and you bet on them.  It was a fun night.

Claire is wonderfully energetic and always wanting to learn new things and do new arts and crafts.  She loves to play outside and is very proud that she now knows how to swing all by herself! Claire's favorite food right now is mashed potatoes! We FINALLY got over the hurdle of her being fully potty trained (It was almost at the two year mark) so we bought her a goldfish.  This goldfish died within 24 hours and I quickly ran out to the store to replace it and flushed the other one down the toilet.  (Note to self: ALWAYS double flush)  Claire found her little fish floating in the toilet so we told her when fish are sick, the go to the ocean to feel better. It worked.  Fish #2 died within a couple days.  So we got 2 "more durable" smaller fish and they are still alive to this day.  Problem being, we are pretty sure one of them is pregnant.  Geesh!

Grace is our little engineer in the making.  She loves puzzles, games and video games (on my phone).  She is really good at Angry Birds! :)  Her favorite foods are macroni and cheese and a chipotle burrito bol.  Whenever Pete and I get dinner there, she has 1/4 of a bowl at least!  We are proud to say that Grace is officially potty trained and it only took her a week!  She already naps in underwear.  Within the next week or so, we plan on having both girls out of pull up at night - here goes nothin!

Jake is on the move!  He is crawling all over the place, pulling himself up to stand, cruising along furniture and crawling up stairs.  He thinks baby food is for the birds so he is strictly table food now.  No more baby food for us!  We have started to introduce milk and he loves it so I think it is safe to say that we are also on our last can of formula!  He loves to eat pizza, bananas and black beans. 

Pete and I are still continuing to lose weight.  We have lost a combination of over 70 lbs since we started.  We really enjoy our new active lifestyle.  We have also decided that our family is complete and Pete will make that sterilization complete with a surgery at the end of May!

Here are some pictures from our month of April...

 Grace at STAT care



 Jake and Bently in the bath together





 So sweet...

 The kids love to go on bike rides!

 Claire reading Jake a story



The following are pictures from Easter...






Dying eggs the day before








Thursday, April 12, 2012

Jake Laughing

March

 March was a wonderful month for our family.  Some of the many highlights include: Claire's birthday party; my sister, Beth, getting engaged to Matt; and getting through the one year anniversary of my dad's death.

On March 21st of last year, my family was clearly devastated and while we still miss him every day - it is nice to have the "firsts" behind us.  (First Christmas, first child he missed being born, first anniversary of his death, etc.)  Pete asked me what I thought would help me have a good day on the 21st.  I decided that a day at the spa would make me feel good - who doesn't feel good after a spa day??  A girlfriend joined me for some of it and it turned out being a great day.  That evening some friends met up with us and we had a great time.  Back home, my family had a buffett of my dad's favorite foods (fried chicken, onion rings, corn dogs, applesauce, etc.)  They seemed to have a good time and enjoyed honoring him.

Onto lighter and happier subjects... Beth and Matt got engaged on March 18th and I decided to hop in the car and celebrate with them in Indy.  It was a short trip but was good to hang out with the happy couple!

Claire birthday (as you will later tell by the photos) took over much of March with celebrations.  Pete and I still can't believe we have a four year old, or even three kids for that matter!  We feel very blessed...most of the time!  Just kidding!

Claire and Grace swim with Grammy on Wednesdays and Claire has swim lessons before this fun swim time.  She has advanced to the "Eel" status which means she has been in the big pool without floaties and has to have goggles for all of her "torpedos" (dives into the water).

Jake is getting SO big!  He is now crawling on all fours and pulls himself up to stand.  He is so cute when I go into his room in the mornings and he just standing there smiling!  Problem is, he doesn't know how to sit back down gently :)

Grace is her same wonderful self!  She is definately a momma's girl though.  Is she is not at my side, she is in my lap or sitting at my feet! 

Here are some pictures from our month...



 We enjoyed the nice weather and took the kids on many walks...

 This is how Jake sleeps in the car - I LOVE how he crosses his legs :)

 We got Claire a bike for her birthday and she does really well with it!  She is still learning how to do the breaks, but she is getting there!


We took on the big project of staining our fence.  As you can see, it needed some TLC.  We were doing it by hand at first but that was taking FOREVER.  So we went and bought a sprayer and it was well worth the money!


We even got the little pool out for a couple of days




On Claire's birthday we went to the mall (She loves the mall!).  Grammy, Aunt Sarah and Bently met us there and we had a great time!
 Where's Claire?

 Thankfully she wasn't doing this to real people...




At the beginning of March, we took the kids swimming on a Friday night.  Our kids love to swim and we all had a great time!






 On Claire's actual birthday, Pete took her to the store to pick something out and she picked roller skates.  Claire is clumsy without skates so it is pretty disastrous on skates - but we admire her courage!  (It's a good thing we didn't name HER Grace :)

For Claire's birthday party this year, we went a little crazy!  We rented a pony to come to our backyard and give all of the kids pony rides.  It was a blast and well worth it!  The party was great and we simply loved being surrounded my so many family and friends.  We were touched at all of the people that drove into town to celebrate - Great Grandma and Great Grandpa K, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Kwabena, Aunt Beth and Uncle Matt (soon enough, right?), Grandma, and The Getty Family with Claire's best bud, Jude!