THREE!

A look back: William is born, William's first birthday, William turns two

Well, the long anticipated birthday is finally here! Can you believe it? We can't! John and I raced around last night to make a little "Happy Birthday" atmosphere. John ran to the store for the BIG present while I stayed home to [listen to the baby monitor, duh] frost cupcakes.

We blew up balloons and got things looking pretty festive before going to bed ourselves. The hardest part? Getting the bike and a bunch of balloons into his room without waking him up. Good thing he is a sound sleeper!

The longest part was finishing up my homemade birthday banner. At 1:30am, I finally had to face the facts: I didn't have what I needed to finish. The ribbon I had picked out for this project wasn't going to work and after several different attempts to fix the situation, I had to face the fact that it wasn't going to happen. So, I had to improvise - I think it came out okay. For the record, it was supposed to be finished at the top and have a ribbon piece attached. For today this works - I'll be working on finishing this up for sure though.

In the morning, when we heard William stirring, we got up (John stayed home for awhile this morning to greet the birthday boy) and put the caramel rolls into the oven before going in singing to the birthday boy. And he was SO excited. It was a perfect, wonderful moment.

Sleepy boy

Check it out! A big boy bike! With a helmet*! With balloons!
Looking at the bike, admiring the balloons.
Sitting on the bike - Amelia also loved the bike/balloons. This girl has an instinct for finding dangerous situations. She loved chewing on the balloons, putting her fingers through the spokes and pulling herself up on the bike. No big deal, right?
Admiring the letters. All day he would come back and trace the letters.
Tracing the letters
Cheese! Standing in front of the birthday banner. Note: Amelia also really liked the banner. She liked to pull it down, chew on the balloons and eat the clothes pins.
Making it up as we go along. We were waiting for the rolls to be done and we improvised by having William open up some of his presents and cards. Note: A BALLOON! ON MY CHAIR! FOR MY BIRTHDAY!
A RACECAR CARD!!! I believe he slept with this the night of his birthday and carried it around with him everywhere during the day.Racecar stickers!

We love mail

Amelia eats Cheerios while Mama does kitchen duty and Daddy does camera duty.
A Tag book! YAY! Thanks Great Grandma Gerry and Great Grandpa Tom!The carmel roll

An official carmel roll portrait
Candy? After breakfast? Why not?A new car carrier! WOW! Thanks Great Grandma Nona and Great Grandpa Budd!

Wearing his "3" shirt made by Mama in front of the birthday banner. I am so crafty.


John left for work and we settled in for a normal day. We had a nice day together playing. A friend came over late morning with her kids and we had a nice visit. We ate lunch together and then...normally it is time for a nap. William rarely naps anymore during naptime - maybe 2/7 days a week. But I very much need nap time to do chores, blog and mentally regroup. Absolutely necessary. About a month ago, William was complaining about having to take a naps usual. For some reason, I threw it out there that maybe when he was a big boy and three years old he might not have to take naps anymore. I haven't mentioned anything since then, honest (because I am not totally stupid).

Much to my dismay, William announced that thankyouverymuch he would NOT be napping today. What? Oh yeah, because now he is a big boy and all. Yes, that is right. After some initial confusion, William reminded me of my promise made more than 30 days ago about not needing to nap when he turned three. GAH**! We came to a compromise in which he agreed to read books on his bed for a few minutes while I did some Mama things. And by a few minutes, I mean about 16 minutes. You may be hearing less from me until I figure out a new time to catch up with our blogging!

We went out to dinner at our local Culvers with a lot of good friends. Coincedentally, our church had a fundraiser there and a lot of our favorite people were eating there in support. It is always nice to have an extra set of hands, but it is amazing to have forty extra sets of hands. Someone is always available to hold Amelia, entertain William, wipe up spills and generally keep us company with adult conversation. Wonderful. William was thrilled to have a whole restaurant of people singing "Happy Birthday" and loved sharing his "Dump Truck Cupcakes" with all his special friends (no pictures of these).
Wearing his birthday hat, waiting for his dinner.

Cupcakes are serious business, leave me alone!
After dinner, we came home, got ready for bed, and finished opening the rest of his presents.
A piggy bank! Thanks Aunt Megan!Putting money into the bank - fun!

And so came the end of the birthday. We improvised and pulled it together at the last minute. But, it was a sweet day full of special moments for our big guy. Happy birthday, baby. We love you more than you'll ever know.

*Funny story about the helmet. We tried multiple helmets on William at the store before we found one that met our criteria 1) No licensed characters 2) Fit his noggin. The one we went with? Is sized for children 5 and up. William has a seriously huge noggin.
**He made it up to me when he pooped on the potty today on purpose for the first time. So. Proud. So. Happy.

Almost Three

William is so excited about it being his birthday. We talk about it almost every day. Very cute. I asked him what he wants to do for his birthday. His reply:

Mama, Daddy, Mia, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Megan will be there! They will sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM!!! (jumping up and down in excitement) We will wear birthday hats and sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM (jumping up and down in excitement). Oh! and BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! (more excited jumping).

He is one excited boy. I am trying to focus in on the pieces that are important to HIM. You know, the part with the singing and the hats and the cake. Trying not to stress about the lack of a formal plan surrounding this Very Important Day. There aren't any presents, there aren't party invitations sent out. But, I know there will be singing. Oh yes, there will be lots of singing.




Here are a few other pictures of what is going on this week:

1/16/2010 Helping Mama make blueberry bread. Or, how to make something take 400% longer than it should.We love to stir and pour things.We also like to make messes, although this time we did alright.1/19/2010: We finally put a coat hook up at William's level so he can get his own jacket and hang it back up again. If you'll notice, he was so excited, he hung ALL his accessories upon it when given a chance.1/25/2010 Amelia was looking out this window and playing with this spoon (when we have hundreds of wonderful, educational toys, my children prefer flatware). Several times while I was watching her, I noticed her leaning back and standing TOTALLY UNASSISTED. That's right. My Baby girl. Standing up ALL ALONE. Sniff.
She may look cute. I promise this girl is Trouble.
Finally: Why, yes! I am a nerd who dresses her children alike at every opportunity. You have no idea how much I love this. Even though they will hate this picture.Look! The stripes line up!

A Hat

Update

We have been busy, busy, busy since Christmas. I'm behind on posting, surprised? You shouldn't be. Here is a peek at what we're working on:


-Prepping for a special birthday

-Good heavens!! Not sleeping a wink! Amelia hasn't slept through the night since Thanksgiving

-Crashing! Both William and Amelia have taken some pretty big tumbles lately, thanks to each other. Blogging while they quietly around the corner just isn't safe anymore

-wifely duties - I might just surprise you and dust one of these days

-Reading like crazy. Normal, but still. Currently averaging 2-4 books per week.

-Starting a quilt group? Maybe? It would be a dream come true.

-Making New Year's Resolution: Here are just a few:
1. Be better about using what food we have, make a PLAN for meals
2. Also: FIT INTO MY PANTS
3. Spend more time as a couple
4. Continue the part time job search
5. Build the savings account back up
6. Plan some father/son time for the boys
7. Sleep more.
See, we've been busy.

William the Explorer

If you are familiar with Dora the Explorer, you'll know she is always on an Adventure. She solves puzzles, she looks for things and she helps people/animals out. Each time Dora goes on her adventure, she always has three things to complete before she will achieve her goal. That girl is very goal oriented. Over and over and over and over and over Dora will repeat her three steps and enthusiastically cry "Let's go!".

William got a set of Dora books for Christmas and his love of Dora has only grown (I wish I could say the same, but it would be a lie). He loves the Dora books and frequently has one in his hands at all times in case she (Dora) shows up to take him on an adventure.

This morning, I was cleaning up after breakfast, when I overhead William talking and making up his own adventure:

The store, the van, Grand Forks! Let's go!

Bittersweet

Yesterday morning was our last 2 year old story time at the library. Our next story time will be with the 3-5 year olds! I know William is ready, but am I?


Also of note, William has successfully slept in his big boy bed without the rail for two nights in a row without falling out! Hurray!

The EYES!

I spend a lot of time looking at our kids, Amelia in particular. She is still such a puzzle with tiny little clues. I spend hours pondering: Who does she look like? What color will her hair be? What color will her eyes be? Will she end up with the hitchhikers thumb*?

At birth, Amelia had dark blue eyes. A deep, dark blue. As she has grown, her eyes have shifted and become more of a navy blue (which is somehow different than her original blue). In pictures, they appear brown, but when you look closer you'll find they are blue. This is the blue her eyes have been since she was roughly eight weeks old and I would have guessed they were going to stay the same based solely on our experience with William (his eyes are still the most brilliant blue).

However in the last few weeks, a subtle change has been happening. It is totally obvious to me (see above obsession), but likely not noticeable to anyone else. Slowly, little brown flecks have appeared in her deep ocean blue eyes. I'd get a picture to show you, but just changing the diaper on the girl can be like wrestling a squirmy little alligator. A loud, squirmy, baby alligator. It took me a week of looking just to confirm this change was happening.

Anyway, the flecks kind of remind me of spokes on a bike tire. They are thin and go from the center black section of the eye to the outer colored area. I can't wait to see what will happen next!



* I just did a search looking for a picture/explanation about hitchhiker's thumb and an add popped up for free shipping on metacarpal bones. Unfortunately, I think the deal has expired or I would link you through.

Cute Video of Giggles

These two crack me up. What a great way to start our day?

Rewind

Well, I missed a few pictures from our whirlwind trip over Christmas. So, here is what you missed!

All these pictures are from 12/22/09. Just goes to show you how incredibly busy we are when we make the trek home to Rochester. Although the events are different, we always pack in the fun when we are home visiting! We have so many special people to visit and see.


It snowed the night before and before Grandpa could drop Grandma off at work, he needed to shovel at least part of the driveway. William was NOT going to miss out on this opportunity! So, we bundled him up in his jammies with his boots, mittens, hat and sent him out to help Grandpa.
William isn't the most helpful shoveler - John (who was out with him) reported that both he and Grandpa tried to show him how to correctly shovel. William wasn't having any of it. He shoveled a little here, a little there and then decided his shovel wasn't working correctly.

So he found this one in the garage and went back to work, this time shoveling snow out of the drifts and back onto the driveway.


The boys came inside and we got everyone ready...just in time for Amelia to nap. It seems like this is the way things go lately, we hurry, hurry, hurry to get ready for it to be time for Amelia's morning nap. After a nap, we went to visit Grandma Kim at the hospital. She likes to have some fun visitors and we like to meet her friends. We didn't take any pictures there this time.After the hospital, we went to the store where Grandpa works to say hi. William was excited Grandpa had a guitar (ukelele) just his size! He did NOT want to give this up!
Amelia preferred a fancy guitar. We also played a fun piano, drums and talked with Grandpa's work friends. I was pretty sure we were going to have to pull William out of there kicking and screaming. Or with a new guitar in hand.


Then it was lunch time! So, back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. After lunch is a rest/nap time for some of us. A much needed time after going and going and going!

After rest time, it is time to go and visit Grandpa Heidt. Grandpa is always up for one of William's favorite past times - reading!

Amelia's silly face - she cracks me up!
It's crunch time! Mama has craftiness to finish! Here I'm working on Amelia's doll quilt made out of old sheets from when I was little. This quilt is important and special because it is the first time I've ever put the binding on a quilt correctly despite being taught a LOT of different times. Finally!
Amelia show the dolly who is boss! She loves babies, but she is NOT gentle!
She is also a fan of trucks - here Grandpa helps her push the fire truck to Daddy and William on the other side of the room.


The rest of the day we ate dinner, got ready for bed, played more with Grandma Kim and Grandpa Kevin and put kids down. And then, we probably played a game until way past our bedtimes. :) Very good times all around. Busy, but very good.

Ahhhh....home

We're finally home again after being away for about two weeks. John and I both adore having big, noisy, family filled Christmas holidays. However, it is always nice to sleep in your own bed :)

We rounded out the holiday by having the very last Christmas ever until December 2010 at our house. We decided it was time to institute our own family Christmas this year and leave most of our presents to each other and the kids at home. It always is nice to look forward to just one more celebration on that last long leg of driving home. Plus, the car was filled to the brim with all the generous gifts from our family and friends.

Christmas stockings, again
Amelia got a LOT of cute clothes!
She is going to be very well dressed this summer!
And....we finally broke down and got William a few trains of his own to play with. They are an expensive habit!
And Santa brought William some race car underwear! Maybe this will inspire him to hop back on the wagon? I can hope!