Hands and Knees

Somebody has officially moved from a slither to a full blown crawl this week! 9 months old already - I'm behind on the updates!

For when I get home from school

Micah adores his little sister. It's so neat to watch all the little ways he loves on her. Yesterday morning before he left for school Livia was still sleeping so he decided he was going to wrap up a gift for her to open "for when I get back from school." 

It was a puzzle. 

Kindergarten

 

We've been waiting to hear about Micah's Kindergarten assignment for months now! Boston Public Schools had over 300 kids without assignments this year and Micah was one of them. We also applied to a great private school in our neighborhood that we love and have been hoping he could attend for a few years now. He was wait listed for both of our favorite schools and we just found out yesterday and he was accepted to our top choice! We are beyond thrilled for him and feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful school! 

I told him that he we know where he is going to Kindergarten and I am 'thrilled' that he will be attending Park Street School. He responded, "mommy, what does thrilled mean?" and I said "Super excited!" to which he responded, "Well then, I am really really really thrilled!" 

He asked me to take his photo on our walk home. He's been wanting a photo on top of this canon since we moved to Boston. My little Kindergartner. I can't believe it! 

Sunday

Absolutely LOVE this city on a Sunday morning! Peaceful, quiet and serene. No hustle and bustle of the usual day. Just a sweet calmness in a beautiful city.

What Livie said....

L: Daddy, you died! I'm so sad you died.
C: What? I died? No, I'm right here, don't worry.
L: But daddy, you died.
C: No, I'm still here. Who told you I died?
L: oh wait.....JESUS died! That's right, Jesus died. Not Daddy. But he's alive now.

Well ok. I'm glad that's cleared up!

The day we lost you

                                                                    photo by: KCK Photography

I cried for a few minutes (and maybe had a few outbursts) before I realized why my heart was aching so badly....three years...three years since our sweet Amelie Marie! 

The tears felt so good. . . . .a time to heal and be restored. 

Sweet girl, we grieved so hard for you last night. We held on tight and let ourselves feel the pain of your loss and it hurt so bad. We let it wash over us and penetrate our souls so that we can be stronger and cling to the Hope we have in Jesus; because when we grieve for you we can't help but yearn for something better. . . . something perfect. . . .something beyond our wildest dreams! 

Your life, though terribly short, has changed us and continues to change us over time. You are still a gift, my sweet Mia. To your life and loss God has given purpose and redemption that will last a lifetime. 

So we continue to hold fast to the one who gives and the one who takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord. 

Preschool Graduation

I had to document this special moment we celebrated a few months ago. 

Micah graduated from the preschool he has been attending for the past few years. It has been such a great experience to be a part of this place! I knew that working from home with a 3 year old and a newborn at home was not going to be possible, so we made the decision to put him in preschool a few years ago and he has totally flourished here! 

The teachers are all local to Boston and their husbands are firefighters, policemen and medical professionals. It's so much fun to be a part of the "real" Boston. The student population is also very diverse, which is wonderful too! 

Fortunately, we don't have to say goodbye to all these wonderful people just yet - Livia is signed up to start her first year this September! 

Micah proudly displays his graduation certificate and Livia stands by!

 I love this little guy to pieces!

 All of Micah's teachers, kind of a blurry photo, but it's the only one I got without Livia's dress up around her head! The teacher kneeling next to Livia will be her primary teacher next year.

5 and 6

Months. My 3rd born has flown past the 5 and 6 month mark and he is quickly approaching the 7 month mark! The past few months have been full of adventures and fun memories including a trip to Palm Springs, Vermont, Colorado, Maine and Cape Cod!

I wish I had the time to carefully document each month, but we are just having too much fun.....ha!

Calvin started solids around 5 months and has not looked back! Certainly my biggest eater yet. However, not my chubbiest yet - he's still lagging behind in the 14%, but we're working on that! I know I have pictures of him eating his very first solids somewhere and as soon as I find them I will insert them {here}!


This is a terrible picture, but it's the only one I can find that is right around the 5 month mark! Clearly while having so much fun I am also not taking enough photos!

Calvin loves his big brother! Micah definitely loves to take care of him and help out with feeding, "babysitting" and loving on this guy! 

Here's a photo taken right around the 6 month mark. He made a little friend while in Colorado! 

This little guy weighs about 15 pounds. The doc says he must be burning a ton of calories each day moving around and he is absolutely right! He is very similar to Micah in the way he moves - a TON! The only difference is that he loves to cuddle {grin}! 

He makes great faces and seems to enjoy lots of attention! 

 Those cheeks are really starting to fill out!

 Mind if I take a ride Molly?

 

The fire

We had a wonderful vacation in Colorado in spite of the fire that threatened to take half our beloved city! Unfortunately, we arrived in Colorado Springs that dreadful Tuesday when all hell (and I kind of mean that in the literal sense) broke loose!

The day before our departure date my mom called with concerns about the amount of smoke; questioning whether or not we should even come to Colorado. We followed the news closely and determined that the fire seemed to be getting under control. I checked the news on Tuesday morning and it was 5% contained, they were hopeful they would make even more progress as the day moved on, so we boarded our plane and prayed for rain.

By the time we flew in to Denver my parents were on pre-evacuation notice. My dad and I drove down to Colorado Springs and on the way you could see the plume of smoke coming from the mountain just a few miles beyond Colorado Springs. Now, I grew up in Colorado and there are wildfires nearly every summer. 10 years ago dear friends almost lost their house in one of the Colorado wildfires and my dad's secretary lost everything she owned in that fire. But, they lived in remote areas. . . . . .you just never think of the fire coming in to a city like Colorado Springs. It seems impossible.

I asked my dad on the way down to Colorado Springs what exactly "pre-evacuation" notice meant. He bleakly explained that they needed to be ready to leave in a moments notice. So we both decided it was probably best to leave my suitcases in the car until the notice had been lifted, which I eagerly expected might happen in a few hours. By the time we reached C Springs the smoke was really bad and the temps were unusually high. It didn't look terribly bad as the kids surveyed the area:

within about a half hour of our arrival I started to get a little nervous.. . . . .

My mom and dad had been packing up precious memories and important files since the morning. They never dreamed they would actually have to flee, but took the necessary precautions. As my mom and I sat on the bench in their front yard looking at the smoke we both started to feel a sense of urgency when we saw ash flying through the air. At that point my mom asked my dad to take a car load of important items down to his office about 5 miles away. When we went back inside we saw a reporter on the news reporting from the "barn" about 100 yards from my parents house. I joked that we were on TV and my dad left to take a load down to his office. 

20 minutes later I looked back at the news to see the same reporter nervously reporting from the same barn with flames behind her. All of a sudden I yell upstairs and start buckling Calvin in to his carseat. Micah has about a thousand questions and I told him we would talk later but right now it's really important that he just listen and do what I say. My heart was pounding so hard. 

In the midst of it all I see my cell phone ringing with my dad's number. I think to myself thank God! Dad is coming to help us! But, I'm wrong. Dad was stuck at the bottom of the hill and they aren't going to let him back in. I frantically shove all my kids in the car with pictures piled on top of them (no time for seat belts!). I grab the dog and sit her awkwardly on my lap and my mom nervously searches for the keys. She can't find the keys. My dad took her car because it was full of all their valuables and she can't find the keys to his car. I think for a moment of how we could possibly get out of this situation without a car. I start devising a plan in my mind to book it down the hill with Calvin on my back and Livie and Micah running beside. Finally my mom finds the key to dad's car and we start down the hill. 

The tears begin to come as we pull out of the driveway and I stutter through them...... Mom, we're going to lose this house! She calmly says that's ok. . . . .I have you guys. That's all that matters. And we drive off. 

I snapped these photos as we were driving off. The fire was literally barreling down the mountain behind us.

As we drove down the hill my dad calls and I frantically tell him not to attempt coming up. When we get to the bottom of the hill there are hundreds of cars waiting to get up the mountain to rescue family members and pets. Thankfully, we were able to spot my dad pulled off at the side of the road and shuffle things around/get the kids safely buckled in!  

The view from the bottom of the hill (if you look closely you can see the fire blazing)

It was probably one of the most terrifying events of my life. I've been through terrifying experiences, but this one seemed particularly harrowing because my three children were involved. 

I didn't realize how attached I was to my parents house in Colorado Springs. As we drove away I felt a deep sadness over the loss of their home. We moved there shortly after Breanna died, but it was a process we started when she was still with us and the house represents a new leaf and a time of healing and restoration in our family. My kids have also grown up spending time in this home and we have made many memories there over the past 13 years. It was harder than I thought it might be to drive away. 

We listened to reports of the fire in agony over the next few days while we stayed in my best friend's sister's house (thanks Luke and Callie). 

Every report showed my parents house surrounded in flames and we couldn't quite tell if it had been lost or saved. Chris was listening to reports from Boston as we waited for news. 

Finally after 2 days we received a text from one of my brother's good friend's who used to be a fire fighter. He said he thought they were able to save my parents house and he turned out to be correct! The roller coaster of emotions was quite the ride!

My parents are deeply grateful to be among the houses that were saved! Our hearts are grieving for many friend's that have lost their homes and everything they own. More than 350 homes were lost in the neighborhood directly next to my parents. What tragedy and triumph the city of Colorado Springs has endured over the past few weeks! 

We spent a few days in Copper Mountain after the fire, but we were all anxious to get back home and survey the damage. Driving through the neighborhood was quite the experience. Giant signs with the words THANK YOU were on every corner. Some of the homes in my parents neighborhood came within feet of burning to the ground. The mountain directly behind my parents house is completely charred and only skeletons of trees remain. 

Driving through the neighborhood where homes were lost was like driving through a war zone. These families (even the ones whose homes were saved!) have a very long road to walk. Their lives will look very different for many months to come. 

May God be gracious and merciful in his way and his time. 

Here are a few pictures I took of my parents neighborhood when we returned: 

You can see trees completely charred in the background 

 There are various spots throughout the mountain where the fire spread, but it didn't burn the whole mountain.

You can't really tell from this photo, but the mountains are completely black in the background. 

This is 2 streets up from my parents house

 The mountain behind my parents house is charred. . . only little tree skeletons remain.

This photo was taken from my parents front yard. The burnt area is only about 75 yards from their house. 

We still can't begin to comprehend the devastation, but we know that God is faithful and he is good. 

4 Months!

I didn't want to miss posting about Calvin's 4th month! He was 4 months on May 3 and growing like crazy!

4 month appointment:
Measured 26" (85%)
13 pounds 10 oz. (25%)

Calvin started sleeping through the night around 4 months, but that quickly came to a halt when he got his first teeth! He cut his first two teeth by the time he was 4 months and we've been teething ever since! It's crazy early to be teething, but we are hoping this means it will be over sooner.
He started rolling over at about 3 1/2 months (April 20th, to be exact!) and has been pretty active ever since.  

Calvin is quite taken with the siblings. He loves it when they get in his face and sing sweet songs to him. Micah is a huge help giving him his pacifier and being my "babysitter" when I'm making lunch or trying to get something done.

We're starting to adjust to life with three and loving our newest little addition!
He is really so much FUN!

A day in the life . . . .

I thought it would be fun to start writing out some of my days for the kids to look back on and see what life was like when they were little. I chose to write out today because it was full of surprises and particularly busy. We don't rush around every day like this, but this kind of day is definitely not unusual!

A day in the life:

5am: Calvin wakes up to eat. I feed him and decide it’s way too early to rise and shine. We lay back down for a little more sleep.

6:40am: alarm goes off and Livia starts crying for milk. Darn, I was hoping it wouldn’t wake her up this morning! Daddy swoops in with a glass of milk and 5 minutes later she starts yelling, “I am done, I am done, I am done!!” consequently waking up her big brother. I guess I won’t be having any alone time this morning after all.

6:49am: Roll out of bed and get the coffee going; read my Bible for a few minutes

7:10am: start making breakfast for the kids.

7:30am: throw on some makeup and do something with the hair. Ask Micah to start getting ready for school. Ask Chris to change Livia and Calvin and think to myself we MUST attempt potty training again, we can’t keep changing two kids all day long! I quickly feed Calvin while Chris finishes helping the kids get ready.

8:30am: gather up snack supplies for Micah’s school (I’m not snack duty today), round up the kids and head downstairs to pile in the minivan. On our way out one of the resident’s stops by and informs us that we have no quarters left and the kitchen towels need washing. I take a mental note to grab some quarters while I’m out today.

9:00am: Drop Micah off at school and head over to the Starbucks parking lot to send a few emails. If I was a normal person I might go inside and order a cup of coffee and work on my computer, but I’ve got two kids in the car that are actually happy and stationary for the moment so we’re staying right here. I try to email a few people about possible summer stays at the IFH and get a few other things in order. After awhile Livia starts fussing and I realize she’s been patiently waiting for ½ hour!

9:40am: Head over to Trader Joe’s and on the way there Livia falls asleep (very unusual for her. . . I guess it was that 6:40am wake up call!). Thankfully there is a Starbucks in the same parking lot as TJ’s so I pull on over and get to work (again).

10:20am: I wake Livie up and grab Calvin and we head in to the store. We grab everything we need and head over to Whole Foods to get some dried beans in bulk. As we come out of the elevator I walk past the coffee stand and think it would be real nice to get a cup of coffee right about now. So, I indulge, but I also have to indulge Livia because that’s the way things work. So, I grab a {glass} bottle of Mango Orange juice and hand it to her. Just as we’re walking up to the cash register I think to myself, you probably shouldn’t let a two year old carry around a glass bottle in a store with cement floors. I immediately hear a crashing noise after that and then she starts to cry (very loudly). After the nice grocer helps us out and gets her a new bottle we are on our way. As I put Calvin back in to the car I see him give me the eyes and I realize it’s time to eat. So I set Livia up with her juice and head to the back of the minivan to feed Calvin. He’s a quick eater and we’re done after about 10 minutes.

11:00am: At this point we are halfway between our house and Micah’s preschool so I decide it would be easier for me to run home and get the groceries upstairs real quick instead of hauling everybody up the stairs in addition to the groceries. I quickly run the groceries up 3 flights of stairs and run back to the car. Livie and Calvin are still happily sitting in their carseats.   

11:25am: We start heading back to Micah’s preschool when I realize I have no gas at all. In fact, the gas meter says we have 7 miles before we run out of gas. Why is it that Boston has NO gas stations anywhere? I finally find one with 1 mile left and we roll in. (phew)

12:00pm: Pick Micah up at preschool and head back home. Everybody is starving. I realize at this point that I haven’t gotten any quarters yet so we pull over at the bank and take a “quick” trip inside to get our quarters for the month. Getting back to the car with 20 rolls of quarters proves to be quite challenging and a little awkward, but we manage.

The only photo I get today, Micah's fish face; right after we get home from school.

12:40pm: Arrive home and fix some lunch. Livia refuses to take a nap (probably because of her mid morning snooze) and I finally coax her in to it around 2pm.

2:00pm: 20 minute workout with Jillian followed by a very quick shower. I quickly put myself back together and realize Calvin is once again, starving. Unfortunately we have to leave for swimming right away.

2:50pm: frantic search begins for Livia’s swimsuit with the swim diaper (and I think to myself once again, we MUST potty train soon!). Livia has taken to carrying her swimsuits around like blankies every place she goes. I assume she must have left it at Church last night so I decide we’ll just buy a swim diaper when we get there.

3:10pm: arrive at fitrec for swim classes and I realize I forgot my wallet. Thankfully I have a stash of quarters tucked away in the van to fill the meter, but I have no way to buy a swim diaper. Swim class starts in 20 minutes and this is the highlight of Livia’s week. We rush down to the pro shop and see if they will enter a credit card number manually. Chris sends me a text with our credit card info and it works.

3:25pm: We rush in to the changing room and get in to proper swim gear. I rush Livia in to class and realize Calvin cannot wait any longer.

3:30pm: I plop myself in a corner and start feeding Calvin while I talk to my mom for a few minutes about our upcoming trip to Palm Springs. Micah is going wild with excitement about his class in ½ hour!

4:00pm: Livia out, Micah in. Livia and I head over to the locker room for a quick shower and I get her dressed. We finish up and walk back over to the pool to grab Micah for a quick shower. At this point I realize that I miscalculated the amount of quarters I should have put in the meter and we barely have enough time to shower and get dressed. AND I just recently paid off one parking ticket and talked my way out of another. I rush Micah to the shower and tell him he has to hurry hurry hurry! Why mommy? Are you going to get another ticket? Yes I am! Let’s hurry!

4:45pm: We finally make it back to the car and I have exactly 1 minute remaining. Yes! No ticket! On our way home, we pick Chris up from the Religious Studies building and I tell him about my crazy day thus far.

5:00pm: We get home and everybody is starving. We try to hold off for dinner, but everybody needs a little snack.

5:10pm: I ask Chris for 15 minutes to lay down before dinner.

6:00pm: Dinner with the guys downstairs. Shortly after dinner Chris needs to leave for a Parish Council meeting.

7:00pm: I make the kids get in to bed early and read some books while I clean up the house and feed Calvin.

7:30pm: We brush the teeth, say our prayers and head in to bed.

7:40pm: Livia starts crying about how “she can’t see” for 20 minutes. I finally figure out that she wants her nightlight (duh) and I give her a tuck (Micah is already sacked out).

8:00pm: Pour myself a glass of wine and start typing about my crazy day. Then I decide I’ll spend tomorrow at home. all. day. long. (maybe we’ll try some potty training!)  

Livia's first haircut!

Livie had her first haircut this week! I have been so reluctant to cut off her little baby curls, but it was getting to the point of looking sort of like a mullet, so we just had to do it.
She did a really great job of sitting still and she loves her new haircut!
Now, if I could just get rid of that ridiculous necklace she has to wear EVERY day!

Before

After

Blast Off!

Micah's birthday party was so much fun this year! We went all out with the space theme and held a "space training" complete with levels of activities. Micah loved it! I put a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself thinking that this birthday was so important and he would remember it for the rest of his life. . . .blah blah blah. One thing I learned was that it doesn't really matter how well everything is decorated and "done up" it's more about creating a memorable time for him. I think I accomplished that, but I think I could have accomplished it without all the extra pressure too. . . . . .lesson learned!

The kids had to drink their "rocket fuel" when they came in. We used the bottles later on for our rocket creation station!

cupcakes and asteroid cake pops!

One of the stations was star mapping

 I just love this boy!

 This was my favorite part of the party. All of the guys from the house came downstairs to enjoy the festivities and Caleb played a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday while everybody sang for Micah. It was really special to have all the guys involved (considering they are a huge part of his life!). Micah was thrilled to hear a special song just for him. He absolutely LOVED it!

The cake was super easy to make and it turned out great! I also discovered a new way to make cream cheese frosting that is a great compliment to my favorite chocolate cake recipe! Yum! There wasn't a piece to spare. ;)

Easter weekend

I think I just came through one of the busiest times of my life. Definitely glad to be on the other side now. In a matter of two weeks I managed to make a trip to California to spend some good time with my sister, take a family vacation to New Hampshire for a week, dance at the Easter Vigil, plan and host Micah's fifth birthday party, take 15 people out for brunch, lead the kids at Church in a special Easter song AND have Calvin baptized.

It's not that I planned to have all these things to happen at once, it just sort of unfolded this way. Each and every moment was special and memorable and I'm thankful for all those moments. . . . .I only wish they had more space in between to really savor each one. 

I'm so thankful to dance again. I danced at the Easter Vigil this year during a reading of Ezekiel 37, "The Valley of the Dry Bones." The Vigil is a dramatic service with candles, singing, readings, etc, so I think the dance fit right in. So fun to participate in this way!

The kids sang a song from the "Very Veggie Easter" CD and it went over pretty well! Livia thought it would be a good idea to hide behind the wooden spindles while she sang and it was classic. Micah was also classic boy (read: unable to stand still) during the song. I loved bringing a kids song in to the service. Unpolished, innocent little babes singing their hearts out! 

We managed to get a family photo with all 5 of our faces smiling! (Hurrah!)

Reciting the vows:

I love this pic! Mark is pouring the water and Calvin is smiling over at us. So sweet! 

Welcome to the family Calvin! 

Micah and Livie had a hard time getting through this service. They were both acting a little "OOC" as I like to say (out of control!) during the baptism. These last two pictures just about sum it up! I can look at them now and laugh a little but at the time I was feeling a little self conscious about my inability to reign them in. 

Above picture was taken right in the middle of the vows. Thanks (Heather) for capturing this moment. I'm glad I can look back on it now and say it was actually really sweet. :) 

3 Months!

Just passed the 3 month mark on April 3rd! This little guy is changing every day. He smiles all. the. time. And the laughs just keep coming! Micah did not start laughing for a long time and Livia wasn't any better. It's nice to have a baby that laughs all time time. Chris thinks he's fitting into the role of 3rd child quite well already!
The kids are absolutely crazy about him! And, of course, they make him laugh all the time too.
He's learned to be really flexible and sleep anywhere - in the car, on the couch, on the floor, on my bed at the beach. . . . .
He's starting to vocalize and make lots of cooing sounds. I love this age!
He also loves to cuddle and be held. Probably because his adoring siblings are always in his face, but I'll take it!
He just starting sleeping through the night occasionally. I'm hoping to get a better handle on that in the next few weeks.
What a fun little guy!
Happy three months, Calviny!

I had to include a picture with Hobbes, even though it's not so great!