Weekends

Thank goodness it's Friday! Oh how I long for the weekends every week! And they never fail to deliver. There's just nothing better than a weekend. Whether we have no plans at all and spend it together as a family doing nothing, or we spend it getting a lot done around the house, or we spend it traveling to visit family or friends, or we spend it on a mini weekend vacation somewhere...it's always super satisfying! This weekend will be spent getting stuff done around the house. I turn 29 on Monday and for my birthday, want nothing more than a clean house, not a single load of laundry to do, not a single dish to wash and to know that there's no hidden mess somewhere behind a closed door. So this weekend we will clean and get the house organized which in turn helps to make my life feel organized. Monday evening will be dedicated to spending time with my 2 favorite boys in the world! Can't wait!

I know I will feel super good on Sunday after having a productive weekend...exausted, but good! There will be some 'down time' this weekend too. Like tomorrow during the Hawkeye game...I will be planted in front of the television rooting on my team. And can I just add that I couldn't have dreamed up better weather than the weather we've been having?!!! Wow...it could stay like this ALL YEAR and I would be one happy camper. Not too hot, not too cold...JUST RIGHT!

This time of year is my favorite...maybe partially because not only is the weather great, but I also get to celebrate Sean's birthday, my birthday, Tate's birthday AND our wedding anniversay all in a matter of a 4 week period of time! We will be celebrating 5 years of wedded bliss this year. Ha. That kind of cracks me up just typing that. I can't say it's ALL been wedded bliss, but I wouldn't change it for anything and the not so blissful times have just brought Sean and I closer and it's definitely brought me closer to God and taught me that I need to lean on Him more, which I will ETERNALLY be grateful for! As most marriages, we have a lot that we can improve on and even after 5 years, we're still working out the kinks, but we're doing it together and I can't speak for Sean, but I fall more in love with him with every year that passes! :)

All of that to say...

"I LOVE ME SOME WEEKENDS!!!"

love this...

I found this poem today on another adoptive mother's blog and had to share it!

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

--- Unknown

A Rough Night

Since Tate got pneumonia after his tonsillectomy 7 1/2 months ago he hasn't so much as had a sniffle. He's been healthy as a horse! Prior to his surgery, he honestly got sick with a cold and fever almost monthly! It has been glorious and uncharted territory for us to have a child without constant snot, fever and drool. We broke the streak though. Tate is S-I-C-K! I forgot how awful it is to not be able to do anything to make your baby feel better. He's been congested the last couple of days, but I was hoping that's all that it would get to. I was wrong. He was up literally ALL NIGHT last night. He cried and cried and couldn't breath and was coughing and coughing. I ended up giving him medicine because he felt like he was getting feverish and then I brought him in bed with us. This is something we don't do often, but I didn't feel like getting up and going in his room every hour in the night. He lasted in our bed without waking up for about an hour before he was tossing and turning and crying again. Sean broke out the Vicks VapoRub and Tate seemed to calm a bit after that was applied, but only for about 10 minutes before he was crying again. Finally, Sean decided to bring him in the livingrooom where he proceded at about 3:30A.M to throw up. After that, he never went back to sleep. Needless to say, it was a loooong night! I don't know how long I will be making it today at work, but I am going to give it my all. Sean isn't feeling well either and I have been battling a cold these last couple of days as well. I guess we were due! :(

Patrick Swazey

I was sad to hear that Patrick Swazey passed away today. When I think of him, I think of all the hours I spent watching Dirty Dancing when I was young. I knew every song in that movie and must have watched it every single day! I knew that it was coming, he has been sick for a long time, but I was surprisingly more sad than I expected I would be when it happened. Such sad news.

Happy Grandparent's Day!!!

Tate is SO BLESSED to have such amazing grandparents in his life that love him SO MUCH! He is blessed to have 3 amazing sets of grandparents and 3 Great Grandparents who we want to wish HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY to.

Tata with Papa P.

Tate with Nana P.

Tate and all of his 'Stewart Side Cousins' with Nana and Papa S.

Tate with Grandma Shingledecker

Tate with Grandpa Shingledecker

Tate with his Great Grandpa Clodfelder

Tate has another Great Grandpa, Don and a Great Grandma Mary Ann who we unfortunately don't have recent pictures of him with.

Thank you to ALL of Tate's grandparents for loving him so much!
We love you!

Out of the mouths of Mommies

I saw this on someone else's blog and I thought it was hilarious, so I am copying the idea...

These are some funny/strange things that have come out of my mouth lately:

It would be a lot easier if you'd eat those noodles with your fork instead of those sticks.

What? You're all wet? Is that water or pee? Let me smell it. Stop running away...come here right now so mommy can see if you smell like pee!

Come here so I can smell your bum.

No, we cannot eat dinner in Mommy's bed. We eat dinner in the kitchen. Mommy said no, we will not be eating in Mommy's bed.

No, that fly is not going to fly in your penis hole. Nope, he won't fly in your nose either. It's okay...stop screaming, the fly is harmless!

Put your sunglasses on so that you stop sneezing!

That's not a vaccuum, it's Mommy's back scratcher.

Tate, we don't eat Sweet and Sour sauce with a spoon. I don't care if it's good...it's sauce. I know you like it, why don't you dip your pizza in it.

You have a choice, we can go on a nature walk or we can go home and eat ice cream. What's your choice?

Many of these things would make a whole lot more sense when being aware of the context in which they were used, but being an outsider hearing me say these things makes them pretty comical! Ha.

It's been 8 years?!

It feels just like yesterday that I was sitting in my apartment in Minneapolis as I watched the 2nd plane fly into the World Trade Center. Where has the time gone?! I'll never forget how I felt watching that and how it scared me so much. It was not even 1 week later that I moved back to Iowa and haven't left since. It's unbelievable how much has changed in our world, my life and my heart since that day. I was only 20 and yet it feels like it was yesterday.

and more birthdays!

Not only is Tate's Daddy's birthday today, but Tate's birthfather Brandon's birthday is today too! We think about Brandon every single day and see him whenever we look into the face of our most handsome son, but today he is on our minds and hearts even more as he is on several other significant dates throughout each year. He deserves so much in life as he has given us more than we can ever repay him for! So today, we want to wish Brandon a Happy Birthday!!! We love you, Brandon! We look forward to seeing you very soon!

And Happy Birthday to Tate's Uncle Travis too! Today is a BUSY day for birthdays!!!

Happy Birthday, Sean!

Sean is turning 33 today. He deserves to have a great day. He's had a rough go at it lately and I don't want anything more for him today than to enjoy his day. I don't have much more to say than we love you and appreciate all you do for our family.

Happy, Happy birthday honey!!!!

More Family Photos

I edited some more of the photos Cassie took of us...

I am so in love with this little man...there are just no words!

And family pictures on the railroad tracks...GREAT idea, Cassie!

This is so fun having so many great pictures of our family! I love editing them and wish I had an amazing camera like Cassie's so I could take as fabulous of pictures as these!
Thank you Cassie!!!!

9

Today is 9.9.9.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009.
Wednesday has 9 letters.
September has 9 letters.
It's the 252 day of the year...2 + 5 + 2 = 9.

Just thought this was interesting.

Family Pictures

Here are just a few of the family pictures that Cassie took of us that I love. I am holding back from sharing some of my most favorite ones so I can use them for our Christmas card. I do need to disclose that these are the pictures she took and that I edited. She is going to edit them with Photo Shop and send them to me, so I may do another post with the pictures once she has edited them because I'm sure they'll be better than these, but I couldn't wait to post some...I love these! She did a great job!!! I think in this grouping, the first and the last ones are my favorite! I can't wait to see the ones Cassie edits!!!

A Busy and Fun Weekend!!!

We had a terrific weekend! It was busy and fun. We headed to Muscatine Friday night after I got off work. As soon as we got there, we ate a late supper. Then, Saturday morning...Sean, my dad, Paul and Brigg got up head to the IA vs. UNI game. Cassie, my mom, Lani, Ayla, Tate and I stayed home and hung out and watched the game on TV. It was STRESSFUL, especially at the end. What a relief that we came out with the win though! When the guys got home, we prepared ribs for supper and the kids played and had a blast while the adults relaxed. Then Sunday, we went to church in the park. It was so beautiful out and really nice to lay out our blankets and sit out our chairs for church outside. After church there was a picnic, bounce houses, a slip and slide, a rock climbing wall and all kinds of fun stuff for the kids to do. After church, we hung out at Mom and Dad's and played Bag-O while Tate and Ayla skinny dipped in the baby pool and Brigg and Lani rode bikes and played. There were some Gin Buckets involved in our festivities that somehow disappeared way more quickly than we expected. We ate a fabulous steak and shrimp dinner and stuffed ourselves silly. Everyone went to bed at a decent time while Mom and I stayed up a bit later and I did Mom's hair. Then on Monday, we had plans for Cassie to take some family pictures of us. I have been wanting my hair cut for a while and so I had my mom cut my length and then I went into the bathroom and gave myself some layers before our pictures. I haven't cut my own hair since cosmetology school probably! I love it though and am so happy I did it! The guys went golfing while we played with the kids, cut hair, ate lunch and scoped out some places to take our family pictures. Once the guys returned, we got ready for our pictures and headed out. It definitely wasn't the easiest thing because Tate is NOT cooperative when getting his picture taken. Cassie did a GREAT job though and we managed to get about 25 pictures (out of the 350 she took!!!) that we LOVE!!! Hence, the new blog header. :) I will share some, however, 1 or 2 of them might make an appearance on our Christmas card this year, so I may hold a couple of my favorites back. After pictures, we went out for Mexican for dinner and then cleaned up our stuff and headed home. I am SO HAPPY I took today off, I never would have made it to work today...I am exausted! It's so nice to have a day to get our stuff unpacked and cleaned up and ready for the week!

Mom and Ayla...

Cassie and Ayla...

CHURCH IN THE PARK
Cassie and Zeke...

Tate snuggling with Daddy...

Ayla must have gotten tired...she decided to take a rest on Lani.
So sweet!

Skinny Dipping...

Hanging out...

Tate loved 'playing' in Papa S's car...he especially loved eating his pack of gum he found in there when Mommy wasn't looking...

Almost there...

This has been a long week! We are almost at the weekend though and I am pretty excited about the weekend we have in store! The Hawkeyes play their first game (GO HAWKS!), we get to spend time with lots of family, relax and hang out AND the weekend is extra long to top it all off!!! I even took Tuesday off to extend my long weekend even more. Woohoo!!!! I need some time off of work. It will be so nice.

Tate had a blast at Nana and Papa's house last night and DIDN'T wake up with a nightmare! I was glad that Nana didn't have to wake up with a screaming boy. Tate continued to wear his Super Hero cape all evening and was extremely distraught when he spilled a small amount of milk on it. He practically hyperventilated and was insisiting on "wipin it off with a nackin", so I gave him a napkin and he very thoroughly wiped it off. That cape is precious to him!

So I hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend...I know we will!!!

Super Tate Cape

There are no words to describe how super excited Tate was tonight when Nana P presented him with his very own "Super Tate Cape" that she made for him bearing a huge 'T' on it! He couldn't get that cape on fast enough! He kept saying "I a super hero!" and was running around all over the place flaunting his amazing new cape! He would turn his head around and try to see the "T" on his cape and say, "LOOK, it's a 'T' on my super hero!" It was the cutest thing! And what a great gift!!! Thank you Nana P for this very special gift that I know will get TONS of use!

He was so excited that he WANTED me to take a picture of him in it! This says a lot because he never wants his picture taken. He was pretty proud!

Super Heroes fly...

and fight the "bad guys"...

their capes flowing in the wind...

and then they play with trucks too...

He played so hard with that cape on that he was drenched in sweat!
I'm not sure he'll ever want to NOT wear that cape!
He is truly our Super Tate!!!

A trip to Nana and Papa P's

This evening when I get off work, we are heading up to Colo to take Tate to Nana and Papa's house for the night. We will pick him up tomorrow. It will be NICE to have a full night sleep without waking up to a screaming child because of a nightmare, but I just hope he doesn't have a nightmare while at Nana and Papa's. I don't want them to have to get up in the night with him either! Tate will have fun hanging out with Nana and Papa. When he's there, he loves playing with all of their fun toys and especially loves their play kitchen! I am sure he'll have a blast with Nana and Papa P. like he always does!

More Nightmares

Poor Tater had an awful night last night! He had terrible nightmares. He woke up several times screaming bloody murder and needing much calming down. One time he was saying, "the cheetah is eating me...the cheetah is eating me!" He was practically inconsolable. He usually says, "the tiger is eating me". He has this viewfinder that has a picture of a cheetah in it and Sean just started telling him that it was a cheetah. It's not a scary picture, so I don't know why it's giving him nightmares. It breaks my heart when he wakes up so scared and crying and shaking!

Oh how I love potty training!

JUST KIDDING!

Okay, really...I do not think we are going to get Tate potty trained by the time he's 3. Is it possible that he just plain isn't ready? He doesn't get it!

We bought him a potty toy...you know, as bribery. Because that's how we roll! :)
He wants the potty toy...he wants it bad. He will sit and sit on the potty and then he'll get up and then sit and sit on it again and then get up and over and over. Then one time he'll get up and be just playing and suddenly pee. It doesn't matter where, he'll just pee in his undies while doing whatever else he's doing. He doesn't even care...it doesn't bother him.
So we say, "uh oh, you went potty in your underwear. Let's go clean you up. Next time you need to put that pee in the potty." He says, "otay".

I really don't think he's ready. I know by this age he should be, but I don't think he is. It's so frustrating! I mean, he's going to be 4 by the time he's potty trained!

But he is cute!

"Lord, please let me figure out this potty training stuff."

Or maybe a big glass of water will help me go...

I don't know whether to keep trying or to let it be and try again in a few weeks or month.

The Kremers Visit

One of my oldest friends Kay and her husband Ryan came to visit on Saturday evening. We have a very low key, but fun evening. We ate homemade salsa and homemade pizza. We played with Tate, watched him dance, gave him a bath and just chatted. It was nice. This morning, we all woke up and Sean and I made chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns and bacon and again sat around, watched Ratatoullie (however it's spelled!) and chatted again. They left around 1:00 to head back to Kansas City. It was so great seeing them and spending time with them!

Tate was quite fond of Ryan...

He was not fond of this little girl though...

This is Kay and Ryan's dog, Gidgett. She is a bit snippy with kids, but is harmless. She is so tiny!

Sean likes her too...

and I think she likes Sean!

And she was chilly, so she snuggled into Kay's sweatshirt...

Thanks for coming and visiting Kay, Ryan and Gidgett! We miss you already!