It's a Beautiful Life

Esquela!: The First Attempt

2012-01-30T07:56:00.001-05:00

One of the main things we are trying to do to help Baylor with the Asperger's symptoms he is experiencing is to get him into a class through our school district, ultimately in hopes that it will help him feel less anxious when around kids his own age. Our first attempt to get him to his 9:00 a.m. Friday morning class came two Fridays ago, and I am sad to report it did not end well.

It did, however, start out okay. I got Baylor up at 7:00 a.m.; plenty early enough, I thought. Throughout the morning I tried to make things as calm and leisurely as possible so as not to intensify any stress or anxiety he might have been feeling. That approach may have been my undoing in the end.

Regardless, he got to put together some Legos he earned by using the potty the night before.

And he got to have his favorite breakfast: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, crusts cut off, and the sandwich itself cut into two triangles, two rectangles, and two squares (a.k.a. "how Oma does it").

It was right about then that I screwed myself over. Notice how Mollie hasn't been seen or mentioned yet? Yeah, that's because she wasn't up yet; I, like an idiot, didn't wake her up until about 8:00 a.m. Smooth move, Nic.

The morning ended up devolving into a bunch of shouting, crying, and anxiety for both Baylor and me, and I wondered how we would ever make this work. Mollie, for her part, was a trooper; though she absolutely dilly-dallied through her breakfast, she was Johnny On The Spot when it came to getting ready. Even after it was determined that we wouldn't be going to school that day, she still tried to get everyone dressed and ready to go - which also served to upset her brother even more, but hey, at least she tried.

In the end, we didn't go because I didn't want his first taste of school to be a sour one. He has years to build up his dislike for school; this initial foray should be purely fun as all we're really hoping for here is a little socialization. The class he's attending is actually a speech therapy class, only four or five other little boys about his age in it; he's not going to be there for the speech therapy part of it, but it's an ideal-sized class for socializing.

After I relented trying to get us all ready to go and told him we were going to stay home, he snapped back to normal and went on playing. I, unfortunately, was wrecked for the entire morning. My nerves were shot from trying to get us out the door even remotely on time, and I had let myself get my hopes up for an awesome experience. Once I calmed down, I tried reminding myself that this is all new, and it's all about him. This isn't about trying to fix how much I hated school; it's about trying to make sure that his first experiences with school are as positive as they can be. Forcing him into this, or most anything for that matter, isn't going to produce a lot of happy feelings. Yes, he does have to go to school and meet new kids, and yes it will be this Friday morning class; but to get Baylor on-board we need to go more at Baylor pace.

As I said that day ... there's always next week!

Random Photos from Recent Times, Part 2

2012-01-27T15:30:00.001-05:00

I thought you might enjoy looking at some recent photos of the kiddos and all their antics.

Like playing with their food (and being super excited about it) ...

Peek-a-booing out of the little house ...

Talking, talking, talking ... with one's hands, of course ...

Building sweet bridges that one's mom is so enamored of that she'll take a picture of it ...

Making stretched-out faces when one is tired ...

Smiling with family ...

Talking with each other after having successfully torn apart the couch ...

Not getting along ...

And being thick as thieves ...

Snuggling with Mom's beloved Teddy, gently of course as he is a "geriatric bear" ...

And being a silly little stinker and moving the bar stool into the living room ...

And joining one's sister in the mischievous fun ...

So that's what they've been up to in between all the big stuff of life. What have you been up to these days?

Mollie the Mommy

2012-01-26T07:56:00.001-05:00

Mollie has been very busy lately taking care of her new baby, Sally, and I must say she's doing a terrific job. She makes sure that her little girl has a clean diaper on at all times.

She provides her with good food to eat.

Sometimes she even uses her baby's food as a makeshift lotion ... isn't she resourceful?!

Mollie keeps Sally clean.

And reads to her to expand her ever-growing brain.

She's a good little mommy, my little girl! (It is hilarious and awesome to get to see her take care of her baby; I am just astounded by how much she picks up from what I do.)

Health Stuff ... Ugh

2012-01-25T07:29:00.001-05:00

I had high hopes that I'd be posting more these days, but so many things seem to be getting in the way. Potty training, dealing with Asperger's/PDD-NOS, and just the day to day stuff keep me busy enough. Unfortunately, I have had a few health issues I've had to deal with that are gumming up the works even more than usual.

First off, my soon-to-be former psychiatrist suggested I undergo another sleep study (I had one years ago that no one seems to have the results of ... *sigh*) to make sure we were still dealing with the same problem. So I did that. First, it was a night away from my both my kids for the first time ... looking like this:

It was tough to sleep with all that on me, particularly with the breathing sensor up my nostrils. Oh, and the bed was essentially a slab of concrete covered with a lightly quilted fabric.

Then, I spent the majority of the next day looking like this:

And taking five 20+ minute naps at two hour intervals. The waking time was particularly difficult because I had almost no cell phone reception and absolutely no access to the internet. I wasn't allowed to sit in bed (since I wasn't allowed to nap between naps) and there was only an uncomfortable conference-room style chair as my other seating option. Last time I went through the sleep study I LOVED it; I was an expert napper and wasn't constantly on-the-go in my everyday life. Now, I am almost always moving. It's not always productive movement, but between picking up after the kids, trying desperately to keep up with the house, scraping together meals that are healthy, and - most importantly - trying to give the kids a happy, fun childhood I feel like I'm constantly in motion. To have to sit with little to do all day was a weird form of torture. (Sad that this is my problem, isn't it? I feel horrible even whining about this.) I came home at the end of it, in an impressive showing of snow, and missing the kids like crazy; I pretty much burst into tears when I came into the door.

Which brings me to another health issue ...

In preparing for this sleep study, I had to stop my beloved Ritalin for a week. As a mom who regularly gets between five and seven hours of sleep a night, it was a rough journey to say the least - lots of falling asleep while attempting to read books to the kids. So needless to say, I was pretty bummed when I finished up the sleep study and ended up developing more health problems that have me not wanting to take much medication, including Ritalin. After having been on a slew of meds for months and months, I'm now down to just one, for better or worse. So now, on top of being tired, I am also more distracted with a widely variable mood (read: "I don't get much done, and I've been really weepy lately."). So there's that.

Oh, and just to add to the fun ...

On Thanksgiving Day 2011, I all of a sudden started having a high-pitched ringing in my right ear. It got louder with loud sounds, and on top of that I felt like my hearing had been compromised somehow. Then I started to have occasional dizzy spells, a couple so bad that I got nauseous and had to lie down with my eye mask on. My father-in-law (Hi, Chris!) has Meniere's disease, so I was aware that these were similar, but not identical, to the symptoms of this disease and after the ringing didn't stop and my hearing didn't improve, I saw an ear, nose, and throat specialist. After some tests, a round of steroids, and additional observation on my part, my doctor concluded before Christmas that I had high pitched hearing loss because of some nerve damage, though from what I am unsure, and that the ringing likely wouldn't go away and my hearing wouldn't likely return to full-strength. Armed with that knowledge, I tried to just ignore it and, largely, it worked.

Then on January 14th, I all of a sudden got dizzy again. Not enough, mind you, to restrict me to the couch, but enough to slow down all my movements and make even little tasks a bit difficult. The dizzy spells from 2011 were brief, only an hour or so long, but the dizziness this time didn't go away for about two whole days. Back to the ENT for me, and this time he said in light of the persisting (both the ringing and hearing loss were still there) and additional (low-grade, long-lasting dizziness) symptoms I was likely experiencing one of two things: either a Meniere's variant or a migraine variant - both being variants because neither was presenting in a classical way.

Since he is an ENT and since the nurse had already started me on a low-sodium diet a day or two earlier, a diet that was providing relief from the dizziness, he suggested I keep on a low-sodium diet (2000 to 2200 mg. of sodium a day or less) and see if that helped keep the dizziness at bay. If it mostly did but not all the way, diuretic tablets could also help and he would be happy to help me procure those. If the diet didn't help, then he said he'd suggest pursuing relief from a migraine variant standpoint and seek out this particular drug.

So I'm currently trying to figure out how to live a low-sodium lifestyle, and I'm not going to lie, it's a bit daunting. Some of my favorite foods are high-sodium offenders, namely movie theatre popcorn and lasagna, and giving them up will be tough. Some foods I thought would be okay turn out to be almost out of the question: our current go-to bread has 5% of your daily sodium intake in ONE slice ... meaning a sandwich would be at the bare minimum 10% of my allotted sodium, a figure I'm just not okay with; my favorite tortillas have 21% of your daily recommended sodium in ONE tortilla - I usually eat two when we have tacos; even Cheerios are higher than I was expecting - 7% in a one cup serving without milk. Oh, and milk ... that has sodium too. And forget about eating out; some places don't have nutritional information available and those that do are often so depressing it's ridiculous. (Want to see what I mean? Check out Applebee's nutritional stats ... just the sodium column alone will make you cringe.)

So my health has been keeping me busy, to say the least. I'm trying so hard to keep myself going and being the best mom I can be to the two best kids in the world. (Yes, I am biased. Any mom would say the same about her own children.) Hopefully once I get this all figured out, though, our lives will be much healthier for the long haul.

Football and a Fort

2012-01-22T22:10:00.001-05:00

Watching our beloved Michigan State in a bowl game is so much different now that there are two kiddos in the mix. For example, instead of lounging on the couch, the couch transforms into a fort.

A fort, mind you, that can only hold one child. But hey, it does have a garage door!

And instead of focusing all your attention on the game, you get to explore all the cool stuff Oma has around her house ... like the smoking man.

I know smoking is bad for you and all, but this is bitchin'! (My grandpa has one and used to light it for us all the time when we'd visit, so the smell of this alone is chock full of memories.)

Then, in no time, it's back to the fort.

But, in spite of all the changes, it still is so much fun to watch the game with your family of fans.

Even better if you get to share a cookie or two!

Baylor told Grandpa E it was time for a nap in the fort ... but only one of them was sleeping.

Then it was (cramped) snuggle time.

And, incidentally, we figured out that Baylor can help move the coffee table ... because he can actually lift it!

Mollie, for her part, used Oma as a jungle gym. Who knows, maybe someday she'll be a real MSU cheerleader!

And after a win, there isn't much better than enjoying a homemade eclair!

And some laughter with the ones we love.

There's nothing much more to say except ... GO GREEN!

Christmas 2011: Christmas Day with Everyone

2012-01-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

We met up with my parents and sister at their house, where we all opened stockings that Santa had left for us there (since he knows we are there so often ...).

Once all the stockings were opened, Mom read the kids a story ...

... then we headed to my grandparents' house!

It took a little while for everyone to arrive, but soon the house was filled with warmth and laughter

While people opened gifts, Bryson read a story to the kiddos.

Then it was their turn for the big gifts! Baylor got a nearly-5-foot cardboard house he could play in and color; he was beyond geeked.

Mollie got a ladybug that turns into its own home, complete with a doorbell!

After all the gift opening was done, my dad started to prepare for bingo! Mollie took that opportunity to check out some family photos.

And mosey around the room, of course. It's so weird to see her nonchalantly strolling around the living room this year, when last year she was not yet walking.

Once things were all set up, bingo commenced. Mollie took it upon herself to sit by Katie and "help" her.

My cousin Mindy rocked the over-the-top Christmas sweater this year!

And Baylor was more than happy to help Grandpa E with all the letters and numbers.

Grandma and Grandpa played as usual, and Grandpa even won the grand prize!

With these two coaching him, Baylor will be a bingo star in no time!

Steve was the first winner, I believe ...

(You just never know what you're going to get in one of those oddly-wrapped packages ...)

... and he got some pretty sweet stuff - burger maker, seasoning, and a Subway gift card in case he doesn't feel like cooking.

Baylor and Mollie both won and received special prizes chosen just for them. Mollie got an Olivia t-shirt and was beyond delighted; Baylor got a Baylor University t-shirt with "BAYLOR" written across the chest and was so upset that he burst into tears. I wish I knew what was going to upset him from moment to moment. *sigh*

Oma's sugar cookies calmed him down a bit, and he was able to relax and enjoy watching others win.

Until all of a sudden the kids got their second wind ... ah woo hoo!

We all had a lot of fun (save Baylor's brief emotional outburst) and everybody walked away with at least one prize. Just look at those smiling faces!

We left earlier than usual because the kids just can't be up too late these days, but we still had loads of fun. Mollie is still asking to see "GG" and "Buh-pa" (my grandma and grandpa) almost a month later! Can't get much better than your kids just wanting to spend time with family.

Though this is much belated, I hope you all had a wonderful, warm, enjoyable holiday season!

Christmas 2011: Magical Christmas Morning

2012-01-18T07:02:00.000-05:00

Christmas with little kids like ours makes the holiday seem that much more special. Santa has come, there are presents to be unwrapped and marveled-at, and all of it can be done wearing pajamas! Doesn't get much better than that. This year, Santa brought the kids puzzles ... they seemed to like them enough; as much as they can first thing in the morning, anyways.

Then Bryson got to open the ornaments I helped the kids make for him out of polymer clay and acrylic paints. They took all day to make, but I think they were worth it; he really seemed to like them.

Then we opened stockings. Baylor got beginner chopsticks so he can be just like Daddy when we have Chinese food; ironically, Bryson incorrectly identified them as a tuning fork when he first saw them.

Then it was on to the bigger gifts from Mommy and Daddy; we try to only do a couple gifts for the kids each year, which is often difficult because they are so fun to buy for. However, given that others will also be buying them gifts we find it's important to not overwhelm them with "stuff".

This year, Baylor got the swivel bridge track he had seen in the toy store. He was positively giddy when he opened it.

Mollie got a stroller and diaper bag for her dolls, complete with a little feeding set. She instantly got to work taking care of her baby Sally (named after Charlie Brown's sister), giving her a little breakfast before zooming her around the living room.

I'm not going to lie, Christmas morning not spent at my parents' house is always a little bittersweet for me; I miss my parents and sister intensely and get a little teary-eyed when I think back to Christmases past, but I love, love, love that we're creating new traditions of our own and making these new memories with our kids. Plus, soon after these pictures were taken, we got ready and headed over to my parents' house to start the day's festivities with them. Best of both worlds, right?

Christmas 2011: Offerings for Santa and the Reindeer

2012-01-16T22:16:00.001-05:00

So, of course, being the awesome blogger I am, I didn't take any pictures of our Christmas eve celebration with my in-laws. It was not in any way meant to slight them; I just got so swept up in all I had to do (from making food gifts to baking a dessert for the evening - both of which turned out less awesome than I had anticipated, giving me much to be stressed about in spite of the holiday cheer) that by the time I got to the event I needed to just veg and enjoy the company. So I did. In fact, we enjoyed the evening so much that we got home late, which is just cruel to do to a kid on Christmas eve when they want to help put out treats for Santa. So, I did it for them and took some pictures.

Baylor asked that we give the reindeer some apples, a new holiday treat for them since we usually offer out carrots for Santa's chauffeurs.

Lucky kids that they are, Santa left them a note.

Yeah, I know Santa is busy, running around to every house in the world in one night and all, but he could have at least shut the fireplace door.

But he left some pretty awesome gifts for the kids by the hearth and in their stockings, so I guess we can let that slide.

Our tree looked so beautiful with all the ornaments and lights and gifts. Yes, I realize it's listing to the left a bit, but that's part of its charm. (And yes, we're getting a new angel next year to replace the semi-satanic one we currently have that perpetually leans forward eerily watching over us all through the Christmas season.)

I hope your Christmas was magical too!

My Snow Baby

2012-01-15T22:01:00.001-05:00

It finally snowed just a little tiny bit on Christmas eve day, so Mollie and Bryson took advantage of the wintery weather and went out to enjoy it quickly before it melted. Baylor didn't want to go outside, so I stayed in with him and played Legos. But, I just had to get a snapshot of my little snow baby before she headed out to play in the snow for the first time!

Christmas 2011: Early Celebration with the Maxeys

2012-01-15T15:29:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I started writing this weeks ago and have yet to post it (along with the other billion pictures I took over the holidays). So, in efforts to share the fun in a "timely" - you're already laughing, aren't you? - fashion, I am going to provide only a little commentary and let the pictures do the talking. I hope you enjoy seeing a little of our holiday doings, and I hope yours were as happy and fun as ours were!

We did Christmas a little early with my parents and sister because we weren't going to be able to get together for Christmas day like usual, and we wanted to be able to not have to move at break-neck speeds. The kids appreciated this most of all, I believe, and were really able to enjoy their gifts. Namely ...

... a Speed Race parking garage for Baylor ...

... and a new baby doll for Miss Mollie. (She also got an insanely life-like stuffed dog from my sister and actually squealed with delight upon opening it ... of course, I missed all of that with my camera. No matter, I've no doubt you'll become acquainted with Buddy the Dog very soon.)

Oh, and Legos! How could I possibly forget the Legos?!

We polished a fun day off with a little Christmas movie viewing (though I can't remember which one, it was so long ago!).

It was a wonderful, relaxing start to the holiday festivities! The kids got some great toys, Bryson and I were thankful for all the wonderful gifts we received, and I finally got to give some of the gifts I had been accumulating for nearly a month. Thank you to the Maxeys of Grand Rapids for making the holidays so special, as usual.

Potty Training: At the End of a Rough Day ...

2012-01-12T07:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was tough ... insanely tough. Potty training two kids is possibly one of the toughest, most patience-challenging things I've had to do, and yesterday I started to crack under the pressure. A couple times I just had to tune out the kids and breathe deeply, otherwise I knew I would break. I'll be honest, after they finally went down for naps (an hour after they were supposed to) I broke down and sobbed for a while. Between them just not listening to me, running back and forth between the one on the potty and the one refusing to go, second-guessing myself as to whether Mollie is ready for it or not, them acting out because new skills make kids do that, the house being a complete disaster area because all I've had time to do is deal with pottying, spending all my time in the smallest (and now smelliest) room in our house, and them ganging up on me I needed a good cry to get myself back on track. Then came dinner ... *sigh*.

And after dinner, I sent them off to the living room with their dad to play and I spent some time frantically doing dishes so I could get to bed early to try to fit in my required eight hours of sleep (I have a sleep study today and tomorrow I have to "rest up" for ... it seems asinine to me but whatever). All of a sudden I noticed this happening, and it made everything else about the day, all the stuff that made me cry earlier, disappear. Make sure you have your sound on and wait for the end ... it'll be worth it, I promise you.

Yeah, he told her, "I love you."

After I recorded this, initially doing it just because they were playing together and being cute, I started to cry again. This time, though, it was because all those fears I had when I found out I was pregnant with Mollie finally disappeared. They're becoming friends, and they both know I love them (and I do ... so very much). Sure, our house is almost always in some state of disarray, but my kids are happy and loving people. That's all a mom can ask for, really.

Now on for another day ... I should really have this video playing on repeat so I can stay happy and sane for the marathon that is potty training. Wish me luck!

Potty Training: A New Tactic

2012-01-09T21:55:00.001-05:00

For the past two days we have been enveloped in the ~~hell~~ world of potty training. The first day (Saturday) started off with much promise; we started off having Baylor use the potty every 30 minutes and we had a lot of initial successes. I even noticed him squirming in his seat at lunch time, had him get down and go to the bathroom, and he actually pooped in the potty! I went crazy with excitement, to say the least, and it was awesome to see so much pride in his eyes.

So, when the second day was nothing but resistance and accidents, Bryson and I were pretty broken-hearted. By the end of the day, no matter what bribe we offered or praise we heaped on him, Baylor flat-out refused to use the potty and had a bunch of accidents, none of which he was overly upset about. In fact, he wasn't upset about much of anything; he didn't get one of his beloved stickers because he didn't clean up and he didn't bat an eye, even though he is only one sticker away from a sticker reward. (Long story ... sorry, it's part of the whole Asperger's/autism/etc. thing.)

Anyhow, I knew something had to give. We'd tried rewarding him with peanut M&Ms, Hot Wheels cars, and a promise of a giant tub of Legos once he is finally potty trained. We tried telling him all the awesome things he would get to do once he became a big boy - the true sign of a big boy being that he can use the potty and not have to be constantly reminded every half hour; things like not having to wear a diaper in the pool, getting to have an even bigger bed (which he hopes will have three guard rails), getting to get out of said bed to use the potty when necessary, not have to sit in a booster seat all the time at dinner, drink from a regular (non-lidded) cup, and more! We told him that his sister, who he knows loves him most in all the world, is looking up to him and he needs to set a good example for her. Yadda, yadda, yadda ... nothing worked.

Then I got an idea ... an awesome idea. This mom got a wonderful, awesome idea. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I had to go grocery shopping last night, so while I was at Meijer, I picked up a small Lego set. It was only $5.99 but you could make three different construction vehicles with it. This morning I divided it up, piece by piece, into two ice cube trays (there were a few extra pieces that I'll have to put in later, but most of them fit).

When Baylor woke up this morning, I gave him the instructions and told him that if he wanted any of the pieces he would have to use the potty, or at least try. If I said he needed to use the potty, he sat down, and had nothing, then he still got a piece. If he sat down and peed, he got just one piece; if he pooped in the potty - since this has been a bit of a struggle - he'd get two pieces. But if he told me that he had to use the potty and ended up just sitting there playing, he wouldn't get any pieces.

At first he liked the idea, then quickly he rebelled. But, by the end of the day, he seems to have warmed up to the idea quite nicely. I am cautiously optimistic to say the least.

Oh, and we got another treat today ...

Mollie, after seeing her brother potty train for the last two days, has decided that she no longer wants to wear diapers. So, lucky me, I'm potty training two kids at once. On the bright side, she only requires a little bit of praise to motivate her. Yay!

Best case scenario ... by the end of all this mess (and, dear God, have there been some messes) we'll have two potty trained kiddos and a little extra money each month that won't be thrown away in the diaper pail.

Worst case scenario ... Mommy ends up in the loony bin.

It's a crapshoot, but my money's on the former right now. (Knock on wood!)

Healthy Hint: Chicken with Peas and Quinoa

2012-01-08T07:25:00.001-05:00

image via Campbell's Kitchen

I have signed up for a bunch of e-newsletters that get sent to me almost daily by cooking websites. Most of the time they have at least one or two recipes in them that I think might be worth making and I file it away in my "recipes" folder in my e-mail account ... and never look at them again. Effective, right?

Anyway, I found this recipe in one of said newsletters from Campbell's Kitchen, and after realizing I had all the ingredients at hand, I decided to give it a try. It took me a few days to find a good night to make it but I finally did last night and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I'd never cooked quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") before - save for a microwavable package I got from Costco that lacked a lot of flavor - so things were a little rocky, but my husband stepped in and helped and we finally got it looking a lot like the picture above, which never happens. So here it is!

Chicken with Peas and Quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken tenders (I just cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (I just used regular paprika)
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 jar (24 ounces) Prego Veggie Smart Smooth and Simple Italian Sauce (your favorite red pasta sauce will do)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed (I used an entire 16 ounce package and thought that worked well ... but make sure it is thawed completely!)

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well-browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet, cover, and keep warm.

2. Add the paprika and quinoa to the skillet and stir to coat. Stir in the broth and sauce and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender.* Stir in the peas. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cook until the chicken is cooked through.

* You basically need to keep it simmering/boiling for at least 15 minutes. The quinoa should be transparent when it is "tender" and you should be able to see a little white ring inside it. That is how you'll know it's done.

My husband and I both decided that the paprika gets pretty lost in the tomato sauce, so if you don't have that it's probably not a big deal. Next time I make this, I will probably leave it out, and then highlight some of the Italian seasonings already present in the sauce.

The nutrition facts for this dish are on the recipe's website page, but I will tell you that - as prepared exactly like the above recipe - it is pretty great for you! Lots of fiber and protein, plus the added nutritional benefits of vitamins A and C and iron.

Check it out for yourself! And have a wonderful day!

Healthy Hint: Veggified Tacos

2012-01-06T23:15:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been switching up how I've been making tacos, a staple around our house since they are quick and easy and my husband is a HUGE fan of Mexican food. It all started with the discovery of an awesome homemade seasoning recipe, found here, and continued to evolve when I suddenly ran out of frozen ground beef and had to sub in ground turkey, hoping my husband (a die-hard fan of ground beef) wouldn't notice. To help hide the change, I decided to up the ante and throw in a bunch of extra stuff that he'd for sure notice, hoping that he'd skim right over the meat switcheroo. Did it work, you ask?

Yes, yes. It did.

And, not only was he pleasantly surprised that it tasted so good even though it was just lowly, healthy ground turkey, but we both agreed that it tasted even better the way I changed it. So here it is, my "recipe" - if you can call it that - for veggified tacos.

1 lb. of lean ground turkey
2.3 Tbsp. of the aforementioned seasoning
3/4 cup water
1 green pepper, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz.) of no salt added diced tomatoes, drained

Brown the ground turkey with the onion and the green pepper in a large skillet, then drain off the excess grease and wipe the skillet with a dry paper towel . Add in the seasoning and water, stirring until the turkey, onion, and green pepper are all well-coated. Add in the drained diced tomatoes and simmer over medium heat until the taco meat mixture is the right consistency (it might be a bit liquidy at first so you'll have to cook off some of the excess - plus it'll make it taste that much better to simmer all the ingredients together for a little while).

Serve them in your taco shells/tortillas of choice; we personally like the Chi-Chi's Whole Wheat soft tortillas, but obviously anything else would be fine, too. Bryson even used the leftover meat mixture to make nachos the other day, and let me tell you ... it smelled heavenly.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we have! Happy eating!

More State!

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, Michigan State played in the Outback Bowl this weekend against the University of Georgia. My parents and sister had us over to watch the game, and Amalia decided to become a true Spartan fan, learning how to say "Go State!", "Go green!", "More Sparty!", and "Sparty on!". I actually took some video of a couple of the more dramatic moments of the game.

Yeah, we didn't score on the play in the video above, but we scored on the next snap so all was well!

In the next video, you'll get to witness the awesome and deafening experience of an excited Baylor. Oh, and keep your eye on him after we score ... you'll know exactly when the word "touchdown" appeared on the screen

I didn't film us winning which was probably a good thing; we were all really excited and everyone but Baylor screamed and cheered and it hurt his ears so badly that he ended up sobbing. So it was probably good that I didn't have my camera rolling that time.

But if you want to see an awesome reaction, and a snippet of the winning play, you can watch the video below of the MSU basketball team watching the game!

Go green!

The 2011 Christmas Picture!

2012-01-03T08:25:00.001-05:00

Baylor, for whatever reason, has not been into having his picture taken lately, so getting this year's Christmas picture taken was a bit of a struggle. But, as it turns out, our little man can be plenty motivated if he gets to watch Elf afterwards. I promised him only a few pictures, and I meant it. In fact, I snapped the winner right off the bat!

After that first one, there were a lot of forced smiles ...

... and can-we-get-this-over-with looks.

While they were watching the movie I tried to get a couple more, only to be met with a "Hey, you said we were done!" finger point.

It was all worth it, though. And afterwards we got to snuggle!

Wouldn't Buddy the Elf be proud?

Christmas Cookies with Oma

2012-01-03T08:20:00.001-05:00

Baylor and Mollie got to help Oma make sour cream cut-out cookies this year, and let me tell you ... they were into it!

There wasn't much finesse, but there was a lot of excitement!

And after the cutting-out was done, Mollie helped clean up!

It's so much fun watching the kids enjoy all the things I love about the holiday season!

The Jacques Family Christmas Tree: The 2011 Edition

2012-01-03T08:14:00.001-05:00

Last year I decorated the Christmas tree largely on my own ... not my favorite thing to do. So this year I decided to have the kids help me, particularly with the soft/unbreakable ornaments. I turned on the movie Elf for a little extra entertainment, and as it turns out the kids would rather watch a movie than help decorate a tree. Who knew?!

Baylor mostly stayed on the couch, but Mollie was content to view the movie from many spots in the room.

Okay, so maybe Baylor did switch chairs. But he was still pretty much a television zombie for the whole experience.

My two little "helpers".

In the end, the tree got decorated, the kids loved the movie, and I wasn't alone for the event. Long story short, it was a success!

Maxey Family Christmas Tree: The 2011 Edition

2012-01-03T08:07:00.001-05:00

This year was certainly a year of firsts when it came to the annual Maxey Family Christmas Tree Chopping trip. After last year's difficulties and a little extra scouting, we came to the conclusion that we wouldn't be able to go to the tree farm we have been going to for as long as I can remember; they didn't have any Frasier firs in the height my parents were looking for. So, we went to a new farm that my mom got a coupon for. It was a bit farther away, but the selection was fantastic.

The second "first" of the year was that we had RAIN! And lots of it!

Yeah, as it turns out, freezing cold with rain isn't a whole lot of fun to tromp around in. But we did it and had some smiles along the way.

Here's the tree!

Christine provided cover for the kids while Bryson chopped down the tree.

The new tree farm had farm equipment and horses! Were it not such a rainy day, we probably would have explored a little more, but the weather was miserable so we got out of there as quickly as we could.

The third "first" was that we didn't go to Real Food for our after-tree lunch as per usual; the line was too long there and the kids were too hungry. So we stopped at Brandywine instead and had a little brunch!

A lot of things were the same this year, though ...

Dad still vacuumed up needles after the Christmas tree was finally in position.

Bryson still lounged on the couch for the most part, letting those who enjoy tree decorating really do their thing.

My dad still paused and laughed hysterically at his favorite part of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the movie we have watched during tree decorating for years.

We even got to enjoy the movie a bit before the kiddos got up!

Once the kids got up, we had them put on their ornaments, then they searched the tree for their favorites.

Those favorites mostly being those that make noise ... like the Charlie Brown one seen here!

Then, of course, we read How the Grinch Stole Christmas ... and Mollie snuggled with Santa.

Baylor, having woken up just before the end of Christmas Vacation and seeing the last little bit of it, was eager to watch the movie in its entirety. And as much as I'd like to share the laughter with him, there are a decent number of words and phrases I don't want him learning just yet. Can you imagine a three year-old walking around saying, "The shitter was full!" Yeah, I think not.

It was a great time and the tree was gorgeous all the way through Christmas - unlike last year when all the needles fell off.

A very merry ... VERY belated ... Christmas to you all!

The Little Christmas Town

2011-12-31T08:33:00.001-05:00

My mom has always been one to really welcome whatever season it is into her home. I remember vividly coming home from college for fall break for the first time and seeing that she had "autumnized" the house in my absence; it was a stark realization of what I was missing back at home, and it made me more homesick than I thought I could be.

But I digress.

My mom is an awesome Christmas decorator by nature, and even though there are small children (who could break just about anything) around now, she still welcomes the Christmas season into every nook and cranny of her home. Baylor was particularly fascinated by one such decoration this year; he got to help Mom line up her Cat's Meow village on the dining room window sills. I didn't realize that these little painted blocks of wood could be fun for a child, but that just goes to show you how our imaginations change as we age. Baylor could see endless fun in this tiny town, and he took full advantage of it.

It's amazing how someone so small can change how you see an object you've known almost your whole life.

Like Father, Like Son

2011-12-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Weeks ago, Lego-mania took over our house and since then the boys (Bryson and Baylor) have enjoyed a few sessions of Lego building time. The second session took place upstairs, with Mollie and me present, so I snapped a few pictures of the momentous event.

Mollie, for her part, wanted so badly to join in the fun. Unfortunately, at one-and-a-half years old, she is just too young yet. Instead, she got to go crazy with some washable markers and stickers. While photographing, I got a lot of this ...

... which can be interpreted as, "I have green on my hand, Mom! Please wash it off!"

The boys barely noticed we girls were there.

Yes, that is a pretty intense Lego set you see there. It is actually one of Bryson's from when he was a Lego-loving kid!

Mollie really went to town with the stickers and markers, then distracted herself a bit with a coffee filter she found laying around.

Baylor really started getting the hang of counting out the spaces and figuring out where each piece should go. I'm not sure Bryson could have been more proud or excited.

Without a doubt, these images are likely to be repeated time and time again in the future as Baylor's love of Legos grows and develops. He even got two of his own Lego sets for Christmas, courtesy of Aunt Christine! Now we just need to get Mollie to learn to not break them apart the minute she sees them. *sigh*

All in good time, I suppose.

Dad's Birthday (A Month and Three Days Late)

2011-12-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

Yup, things have been a little busy around the house and in my life lately, and I have neglected my writing space here on this blog. (Oh, and in case you were wondering ... it has taken me a week to get this post up and going, hence the miscalculation of time since my dad's birthday.) Hopefully this post will mark the return to regular blogging ...

Dad's birthday was on November 18th, and we all got together to celebrate it. Baylor helped me wrap Dad's gifts, though I questioned his choice of wrapping paper.

I think he liked it because it had words on it; he's never really heard the word "naughty" before in his life, and I actually had to explain the meaning of it to him. (I have never told him he is "naughty" because I feel like, when you start saying things like that to your child, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And he's not naughty, so why start saying that in the heat of the moment when it isn't true?) Regardless of its meaning, he still wanted to use the paper.

He also "helped" me with the ribbon, unspooling as much of it as he could before I got to him. Thanks, buddy!

We went to Bobarino's in downtown Grand Rapids for dinner. Mollie had just woken up not long before we left, so she still had puffy baby face.

And Baylor still had bed head.

Baylor got to sit next to the birthday boy.

And had every one's attention for most of the meal.

After they were finished with their meals, Baylor and Grandpa E went for a little walk around the BOB. I believe it was during this walk that Baylor fell in love with the place; he has repeatedly asked to return there for dinner since that night.

Mollie decided to be a finicky eater that night, so she got to hang back with the ladies.

Back at my parents' house, Baylor helped Grandpa E open his gifts.

And while everyone was focused on the gift opening, Mollie decided to take advantage of the lack of supervision and get into my parents' DVD cabinet.

Then, after her brother decided to run around pants-less, she went over and practiced her self-dressing skills and put them on.

After all the gifts were opened, we decided it was high time for pie time! (Yup, my dad requested an apple pie in lieu of a traditional birthday cake ... awesome sauce!) Baylor, lucky guy that he is, got his own piece of pie and his own bowl of ice cream.

We're so lucky to live so close to my parents that we're able to celebrate all sorts of milestones with them. Happy (very belated) birthday, Dad! I hope it was a great one and that you have an amazing year to come!

Loves Music, Loves to Dance

2011-12-18T10:23:00.000-05:00

Baylor just started dancing more this week, and it makes my heart sing to see him so happy and free.

Sorry this last one is so blurry, but I had to share it ... it was too cute not to!

Have a wonderful, dancing day!

A Diagnosis

2011-12-11T08:15:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed, I have been a bit absent lately. There are many reasons why this happened, from a brief-yet-efficient obsession with Christmas gift shopping to Mollie getting up way too early every morning to getting behind on photo touch ups and organization and letting that overwhelm me. But another reason is that there is something I have wanted, and needed, to write about but haven't really known how to. Or even whether I should. Having thought about it for a couple weeks now, though, I think that talking about it is better in the long run because it will increase awareness and understanding.

What I am putting off saying is that Baylor was recently diagnosed with an early childhood developmental delay; more specifically, were he having difficulty in a school setting, he would have been diagnosed with either Asperger's Syndrome or Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS). I'm doing all I can, with the time and attention I have, to learn about each of these issues, both a part of the Autism Spectrum, and to figure out what I can do to help him. Since he was diagnosed by people in our school system, they are providing us with assistance according to Baylor's individualized education program (IEP). Still, though, I feel like I need to learn more, do more to help him out. I have had a suspicion that there were issues here for a while, and now that I have an idea of what they might be I both notice them more and feel a sense of urgency in working to help my little man adapt to his surroundings a little better.

Does this diagnosis change how I feel about my son? Hell no! Absolutely not. Is this the end of the world? Not in the least. There are so many people who have much bigger problems than this. But it does give me an awareness of how everyone else might see my son and how his future social interactions may play out. And because of that I feel moved to action.

I hope to write more on this later as I learn about these syndromes/disorders, but I just wanted to share this with you now. You who read this blog, how ever many people that may be, are a part of my life and, as such, I wanted to clue you in on what is going on in my life right now. And to those of you who know and love Baylor, I hope that this provides you with at least a little insight as to his ... quirks, for lack of a better word. Have patience with him, and hopefully after more research I'll be able to share with you how to better interact with the little man.

I hope all is well with you. Happy holidays!

Scrumptious Sunday: Homemade Applesauce

2011-12-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been into making homemade applesauce. It tastes WAY better than anything you can buy in the store, and I like the consistency of MY applesauce better than the jarred stuff; it's thick and creamy, almost like pudding or yogurt.

So what do you do to make homemade applesauce? Well, you take a whole bunch of apples and peel and core them. (This part of the process is made much easier if you have a contraption that peels, cores, and slices all at the same time. Like this one!)

(It's even easier if you have your husband do it.)

Once the apples are peeled, sliced, and cored ...

... make sure the majority of the rest of the peel and core are removed, then slice the apples in half for easier cooking.

Put them in a pot that is big enough to allow you to stir them frequently without having to worry about them spilling over the edge. Add a small amount of unsweetened apple cider (about a cup or so), then start heating it over medium to medium-low heat. It might take a while doing it this way, but you end up running less of a risk of burning the apples at the bottom.

Stir the mixture frequently, chopping up the apples with your spoon as you go.

Once the apples start to get really mushy, much like in the picture below, get out your immersion blender and start pureeing the apples into applesauce.

Mine is typically the consistency of a thinner pudding with very few chunks, but when you make it yourself your applesauce can be just to your liking.

After getting it to your desired consistency (chunkiness, thickness, etc.), cool it down either in its original pot or by pouring it into glass or ceramic bowls. We chose the latter because it helps bring the temperature more quickly.

Once it has cooled to about room temperature, you can either put it into Ziploc freezer bags for freezing, or just cover it and store it in your fridge. If I remember correctly, a bushel of apples made five gallon-sized freezer bags (not entirely filled)

We really enjoy homemade applesauce, much more than Mott's even, and it's awesome to be able to enjoy it all year round! I hope you enjoy it as well!

Scrumptious Saturday: Apple-Molasses Spice Cake

2011-11-19T08:06:00.001-05:00

(image via Real Simple)

I saw this recipe in November's issue of Real Simple magazine, and I knew this was something I had to try. While I was planning on giving it a go for the first time for my husband's family's Thanksgiving festivities, I ended up trying it a little sooner when we needed to bring a dessert to a gathering with friends last weekend. (It doesn't have any dairy products in it, so it was perfect for the occasion since our friend is highly lactose intolerant. Hi, Tim!)

It was relatively easy to make and even though I made it a day ahead of time, it was insanely moist when we ate it. I thought I'd better post this now just in case y'all needed ideas of what to bring over the holidays. Hope you enjoy it!

Apple-Molasses Spice Cake
(from Real Simple magazine)

1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (we used regular salt and it tasted just fine)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (we used 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon dried ground ginger instead - and add to the dried ingredients)
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (we used Jonathans and it was great)
Confectioners' sugar, for serving

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with a parchment circle, oil again, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. (You cannot oil this too much; you want the cake to slide out easily.) Start some water boiling; you'll need a 1/2 cup in the next step.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, molasses, brown sugar, egg, ginger, and 1/2 cup boiling water. Add to the flour mixture and whisk until just combined (do not overmix). Fold in the apples.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Before serving, dust with the confectioners' sugar.

To make ahead: The cake can be made up to 1 day in advance; keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped. Dust with the confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Random Photos from Recent Times

2011-11-18T08:28:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't been good about blogging lately, and it seems I have slacked off a bit on taking pictures regularly as well. So, without further ado, here are some random photos I have taken recently that do not necessarily go together.

My mom bought the kids a foam floor mat/puzzle at Costco recently, and I discovered you can make them into fun cubes. And Baylor discovered he can fit into them.

Mollie has decided that she is old enough to determine what she wants to eat, when she wants to eat it, and will retrieve it from my mom's pantry when she so chooses.

My sister made eclairs recently. Like homemade, honest-to-goodness eclairs. I didn't like eclairs before but said I would try them anyway ... I ate two.

Aunt Christine and the kiddos flexed their muscles.

And smiled with the little man.

I turned thirty on November 7th. This is one of two pictures of me on my birthday; I thought Baylor had gotten jelly on my sweater.

Baylor has taken to pouring over all the toy catalogs my parents have been getting in the mail lately and has fallen in love with a parking ramp race track from Toys to Grow On in the process. Oh boy!

The kids had me build a restaurant for them out of foam blocks and pillows the other day. It was quite adorable.

Baylor got to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the first time ever, and he quickly fell in love with Snoopy and Woodstock's antics. His screeching laughter was quite infectious.

My mom, always a fan of the Christmas season, busted out How the Grinch Stole Christmas the other day, and Baylor got to snuggle with Aunt Christine while she read it.

Baylor's love for ice cream has taken hold of our little family and now, more than ever, we've been enjoying dessert after dinner. Here I am, all done with my ice cream.

There's Baylor, halfway through a bowl of "green" (mint chocolate chip) ice cream.

And there's Mollie, hamming it up for the camera while eating her ice cream finger-lick by finger-lick.

The kids also got to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas on DVD this week (three times, so far, to be exact) and they are both in love with Max, the Grinch's adorable, lovable dog/reindeer.

So there you have it. A weird little mash-up of some of the things we've been up to lately.

Halloween 2011: The Full View

2011-11-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

So here is the full pictorial of what we did this Halloween. I hope you enjoy it!

The day before, we decided it was high time to carve the pumpkins that had been sitting on our front porch for weeks. The kids did their part by inspecting all the votive candles.

And arranging them just so. (Now that I look at the picture below, it kind of looks like Mollie's dolls o.d.'d on giant marshmallows. Too cute!)

I was more than happy to do the dirty work of scooping out the pumpkin innards, but all of a sudden I noticed that the insides didn't look quite right. As it turns out, one of the pumpkins was starting to rot on the bottom. The smell was awful and I politely asked/demanded that my husband take over for me. He obliged but soon understood why I had to bow out.

The kids looked on, unimpressed.

Bless his heart, that stuff was disgusting!

Baylor and Mollie apparently couldn't smell it (or didn't mind the stench) and had fun goofing around at the bar.

We finally got the whole of it scraped out ... yuck. Luckily the second pumpkin was just fine, and both ended up looking really nice all lit up. (Of course, do you think I got a picture of that? *sigh*)

The next day, the kids were in a bit of a funk so I introduced them to Garfield's Halloween Adventure and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

After naps, my parents and sister came over to help hand out candy and enjoy the festivities, a real help to me since it was Bryson's class night. Baylor was quite confused as to why we were going to give other kids any of this giant bowl of candy we had.

Then we had my mom play a game. She closed her eyes and we put two kinds of candy in her hands to see if she could guess what they were. She was surprisingly good at it.

Baylor actually did get a little upset about the candy having to go, but he calmed down soon enough.

Before the trick or treaters started arriving we scarfed down some pizza.

Then the kids got dressed, though neither wanted to. Mollie was Olivia the pig, from the television show.

And Baylor was a cowboy just like he was last year. Seriously, same costume! It actually fit much better this year, so that was a welcome surprise.

Unfortunately, we had to bribe the little man to even get him dressed.

But he ended up really enjoying his first Sour Patch Kids straw, so I guess that was a plus.

Okay, it is kind of a weird holiday, getting your kids dressed up in bizarre clothes so they can go essentially beg for candy at strangers' doors.

But we did it anyway! My dad came with us to help out, while Mom and Christine stayed back to hand out candy and stay warm. We first went to my in-laws' house, then their neighbors' place, then our neighbors' place, and all the while Baylor was begging to go home. I knew these people wanted to at least say hi to him, though, so I kind of forced him to trick or treat against his will. But then, without any cause, he started LOVING it and wanted to go everywhere! So that was awesome. And, as usual, Mollie was game for whatever her brother had in mind.

They even let me snap a cute picture of them with Grandpa E!

When Mollie saw Baylor carrying his own bucket, she insisted she carry her bag all on her own, even though it was probably way too big for her to realistically handle.

She got a little distracted when she noticed that the moon was out, but she really did a great job keeping the bag from dragging on the ground. (Which was important to me, since that was the bag I used to carry when I was a little girl.)

We hit every lit house on the sidewalked area of our neighborhood, then headed back home to warm up. Oma and Aunt Christine were shocked and concerned at how cold Mollie was when we returned, and they promptly bundled her up in a blanket.

Of course, she didn't mind being cold and soon wanted to get down and inspect her candy like her brother was doing.

Sometimes you need to get really close to it to understand what you've got, you know?

Unfortunately, she didn't quite understand that you need to take the wrapper off before you try to consume the candy.

Baylor's favorite treat this year was a mini bag of microwave popcorn one house was handing out, and he was pretty excited to eat it once we got home.

Upset that she didn't get to partake in the popcorn (she's still just a little too young), Mollie decided to suck on Olivia's snout instead.

Once he'd finished his popcorn, Baylor actually helped hand out candy!

He was very precise about it all, counting out each piece for the trick or treaters.

Unfortunately, a group of high school boys dressed as skeletons and monsters scared him, so he ran back to the living room to join the rest of the group. And, of course, to tell stories as animated as he possibly could be.

All in all it was a really fun night! Hopefully the kids will enjoy it even more next year!

The Photo I Chose ...

2011-11-17T08:11:00.001-05:00

Based on all the feedback I got on here and on facebook, I went and ordered a picture!

I hung it over the fireplace, with the kids' help of course.

It is a little small for the location, but it looks fantastic otherwise.

Baylor loved it so much he actually jumped for joy!

Thank you all so much for all your help! You guys have impeccable taste!

Outside with Oma

2011-11-17T07:55:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago the kids and I headed outside to enjoy a little time with Oma. While Baylor was hesitant at first, we ended up having a really good time. At first we walked around and looked at things.

But then my mom offered to bring out the wagon, and the kids were all over that. Baylor decided that, while we were getting the wagon out, he would clean Aunt Christine's car with a wiffle ball bat. She really appreciated this.

After exploring the property, the kids got to ride down the little hill in the backyard.

And Baylor occasionally even helped push his sister up the hill! What a little helper!

We had a great time, but eventually we had to go inside. Since she finally stopped moving, I was able to get a little picture of Mollie in her outdoor garb. She looked a little bit of a hot mess, but overall the effect was adorable!

Hopefully the kids will still want to go outside now that the weather is getting much cooler. Exploring nature can be so much fun!

Mealtime Fun!

2011-11-16T23:59:00.001-05:00

The kids have been challenging lately, but it's moments like these that make it all so worth it.

Baylor always looks so relaxed when he gets lost in his own thoughts.

And Mollie is as silly as ever! (Flexible, too!)

Sadly for her, she has not yet figured out how to take her shirt completely off yet; she usually gets it stuck in a shrug position and lets it go there. Hey, at least her arms stay warm!

Mollie is actually pretty good with a fork and spoon, but for some reason yogurt never quite makes it into her mouth perfectly.

Baylor wanted me to take a picture of his belly, so I did. (And yes, the kids were having "naked breakfast" as we like to call it.)

So sweet!

Much like his mama, Baylor hates having sticky hands.

Stab an apple with a fork, though, and all is right with the world!

Enjoy!

Jelly Bean Music Video!

2011-11-08T07:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this is pretty amazing and I had to share ... yes, I know there have been a few music videos on here lately.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

ASL Music Videos!

2011-11-04T08:10:00.000-04:00

While I am by no means "fluent" or even proficient at American Sign Language, I have always found it fascinating and have used it to help Baylor and Amalia when they weren't able to speak but had lots of ideas to convey. I have a cousin (hi, Laura!) who is awesome at it, and when I found this on Huffington Post I thought she'd want to see it ... in case she already hadn't, of course. Anyhow, I thought these were cool. Enjoy!

The Kids These Days: 19 Months and 3 Years

2011-11-03T08:24:00.001-04:00

Ah, the kids these days! As it turns out, these are two crazy ages, full of discovery, blossoming, and boundary-testing. *sigh*

But the fact remains, I have two amazing children who make every day an adventure.

Let's start with Baylor, shall we? My little man is tall. So tall, in fact, that he barely needs a step stool to wash his hands at the bathroom sink, he can reach all the buttons on the microwave (*sigh*), and he can reach almost everything on the counter just standing on the ground (*double sigh*).

However, though he looks like he could possibly be four, he is still not potty trained. We've made more of a move in that direction in the last week or so (learning how to take clothes on and off, buying more big boy underwear, and spending much more time in said underwear), but I have a feeling we are a long way off from being totally potty trained. I boldly declared when I bought a 100-count box of size 7 diapers for him that this was the last package of diapers I would be purchasing for the little man; I told people about it. And now it looks like I will be eating my words. So that's fun.

Baylor is awesome, though. He has this crazy imagination, and most mornings he wakes up talking to himself and making up all sorts of stories with his stuffed animals and blankets. Quite often, he'll come to me holding out his hands cupped together, telling me he has a baby animal of some sort in his hands, and will I hold it/feed it/kiss it/say hello to it? He puts on this adorable little voice to go along with his "baby", and he always smiles this big smile.

As weird as it is to say this, Baylor can read. Like, full-on read. He is getting really good at sounding out words and has a large list of words that he can sight read (e.g., all the days of the week, months of the year, numbers, colors, lots of animals, lots of foods). It is a little overwhelming at times for me, but I'm super proud of him and try to encourage this interest in reading as much as I can.

He is getting incredibly good at setting up his train tracks, both of his own design and of those provided by Melissa and Doug. Oh, and did I mention he refers to each piece by the letter the instructions assigned them? And that he seems to have memorized at least some of each illustrated design? Yeah, his memory is insane.

In response to Sound of Music mania, I tried to steer the kiddos toward some new music in the car. Enter the Beatles. The Fab Four have been serenading us in the car for the last month or so, and Baylor has certainly developed a liking for them. His favorite song is number 21 on our CD, which happens to be "Hey Jude". He smiles whenever it comes on, though I think he really likes it because of the end when "all the friends sing together". Thing is, for the longest time he thought a guy by the name of Hey Jude sang the song. We've since corrected him (I think ...), but I believe he still thinks Penny Lane sings "Penny Lane". Either way, he loves the Beatles and that's enough for me.

Inside, both the kids have taken a liking to the soundtrack to Bye Bye Birdie. I was the one who introduced it to them - after initially trying the soundtrack to "Chicago", which as it turns out, is not overly kid-friendly - and they both ask for Bye Bye Birdie daily. So we listen to it multiple times a day. Which is probably why, at any given time of day, I have a Bye Bye Birdie song stuck in my head. I love that CD but it might be the end of my sanity. Hopefully we'll find a new favorite soon.

As usual, Baylor still loves clocks and elevators, though his emphasis lately has definitely been on the latter.

The other day, Baylor jumped for the first time ... ever! And this past Saturday, he showed us that he has finally mastered this awesome "trick".

For reasons unknown to us, he is always asking people, both those he knows and those he doesn't, to tell him about their house. He is particularly fascinated with basements, quite likely because he so rarely gets to go in ours. (A fact I'm hoping to change in the very near future ...) He also likes to hear stories he's witnessed or been a part of repeated over and over again. His two favorites are the story of riding elevators on his birthday and the story of the time Mollie was really silly when my sister was babysitting, though the latter is - hands down - his current favorite and makes him giggle with his whole body.

Lately he's been embracing all of his three years and has been challenging what we ask of him; quite often if I tell him to do something, he'll respond, "And what will happen if I don't ________?" Sometimes I tell him why, sometimes I tell him it's a rule, and sometimes I just tell him that he needs to listen to me. *sigh* It makes me wonder what Mollie is going to be like at three.

Hey, speaking of Mollie ...

The little lady of the house is changing rapidly these days. She can say so many more words today than she could just a few weeks ago, and she's really starting to communicate well. Miss Mollie calls Bryson "dada", me "mama", Baylor "boh" (likely for "brother" since she refers to Olivia's brother with the same word), and Oma "uh-mamama". She can kind of say "Aunt Christine" but it more comes out "aut krs-t-t-t" and she never says it unless we ask her to.

Oh and does Mollie love her "boh" or what?! She wants nothing more to be exactly like him, to do exactly what he's doing, and to be wherever he is. Since he has started putting on and taking off his own clothes, she has decided it is high time for her to do this as well; lately the typical day at our house is having at least one if not both kids wandering around in only their diapers. She wants to jump when he jumps, giggle when he giggles, and be all up in his business all the live-long day. This creates a bit of drama between the kids at times, but overall they get along really well. Baylor has even been pretty thoughtful with her. For example, most mornings Mollie wakes up before he does so she is with me when I to go get him up and is very excited to see him. Baylor, much like his dad, is not a morning person and likes to have his space first thing in the a.m., which isn't exactly compatible with Mollie's mission to play in his bed. So, almost every morning this scene occurs, I stall her for a few minutes and then he graciously gets out of bed so she can get in. Then he smiles because she is so happy ... and likely because he gets a little extra snuggle time with me. (Until Mollie sees it and wedges herself in, of course.)

Amalia has taken quite a liking to her doll Adele, a little Corolle doll my mom bought for her soon after she was born. She calls her "baby" and likes to pat her, rock her to sleep, and diaper her. Yes, my little lady will often wander up to me and insist I help her diaper her doll. Unfortunately, the only small diaper I saved was a size 2 so it goes up to Adele's armpits, but Mollie doesn't seem to care. She's gotten so good at diapering that now I only have to get her doll situated and she can fasten it herself. Oh, and she can unfasten it herself, too. And that means she can also unfasten her own diaper herself. Remember in the previous paragraph when I mentioned that both kids like to hang out in only their diapers? Yeah, all this new-found independence is coming together in a really "awesome" way. *sigh*

Though she is generally terrified of animals when she actually has the opportunity to interact with them, Mollie adores seeing animals from afar. She has also gotten really good with animal noises; she can make the noise of a dog ("arf arf"), cat ("yeow yeow yeow"), snake ("hisssssss"), bee ("bzzzzzzzz"), horse ("nay nay"), cow ("moo"), bear/lion/tiger ("grrRRrr"), and sheep ("ba ba ba"), and for a pig she thinks she is making a noise but really she just scrunches up her nose. She also tends to refer to animals by the noises they make. But I tell ya, you bring her or Baylor near a dog, any dog, and they pretty much climbs up the walls to get away from it. In response to this reaction, I have been taking them to our local pet store more frequently to see animals; they mostly have fish, typical small furry pets (mice, rats, hamsters, and the like), and reptiles, but the store has two large, not-for-sale, slow-as-molasses bulldogs, Stella and Bob, who wander around, greet guests, and nap. Stella, in particular, is a real sweetie and lumbers over to say hi whenever we come in ... and, in doing so, she terrifies the kiddos. *sigh*

If I were to describe my daughter in one word (though one word isn't nearly enough), it would most definitely be silly. She is one silly little girl, always goofing around, always doing funny things, making funny faces, imitating adults and her brother in funny ways. She flops down on any pile of pillows or blankets she can find, belly first, of course. She loves to spin around in circles, getting totally dizzy in the process; last night she even upped the ante and spun around while riding an elevator! Mollie's silly, she knows it, and she seems to embrace it. And I love that about her!

I know I am biased, but I have the two most amazing kids ever. I can't wait to see who they become as they grow up!

Happy Halloween from the Sheriff and Olivia!

2011-10-31T22:34:00.001-04:00

I'll post more about this later, but I thought I'd share a little sneak peek of the sheriff and Olivia all decked out before their big trick-or-treat adventure!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

DQ and Mall Love

2011-10-22T07:44:00.001-04:00

The other night after dinner, my mom, dad, sister, and I took the kids to the mall for a little shopping, elevator riding, and ice cream. The last of which was, of course, the favorite.

Baylor opted for a tropical fruit smoothie. I just loved how his little cheeks sucked in while he was drinking.

Mollie shared a vanilla cone with my mom.

It's always such a bummer when all the dessert is gone.

Okay, maybe not always ...

We were starting to get bundled up and all of our things gathered, when Mollie took off toward the center of the mall, arms outstretched all the way.

It turns out that, while my sister and I were finishing up at Gymboree, Mollie had discovered and fallen in love with the giant pillar near the middle of the mall.

I think she would have stayed there all night if I had let her.

But, sadly, it was soon time to go home. As I reassured the kids, though ... I'm sure we'll be back there soon.

Which Photo Would You Choose?

2011-10-18T08:35:00.001-04:00

Alright, I know this might be the cheater's way out of a pickle, but I could really use some help. I bought a Groupon for a canvas print a while back and it's about to expire (22nd). And, for the life of me, I cannot figure out which picture to get printed. The print will be 16"x20" and can go anywhere in our house, but we have a potential spot over our mantel. Here are the options, all taken by either me or one of my family members.

Option 1: The Duomo in Florence, Italy.

Option 2: Covered path in Tuscany.

Option 3: Tree-lined path in Paris, France.

Option 4: Phlox in Charlevoix, Michigan. (vertical)

Option 5: Phlox in Charlevoix, Michigan. (horizontal)

Option 6: Window boxes in Venice, Italy. (horizontal)

Option 7: Window boxes in Venice, Italy. (vertical)

These photos have already been cropped to the correct proportions, so they would be printed as-is. If I was to get one for over our mantle, it would probably have to be horizontal; just something to keep in mind.

So, dear readers, what do you think? Which one do you think I should choose? Help me ... please!!

She Likes to Wink and Drink Pink Ink ...

2011-10-14T08:13:00.001-04:00

Remember that post I wrote a while back (okay, it was about two and a half years ago ...) about wanting a tattoo? Well ...

I got a couple last Sunday. The one on my side reads, "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." It's something Christopher Robin says to Winnie the Pooh, and I love it. (Clearly.) The one on my wrist - seen above with a protective film over it - says "breathe". It's my calming word, and I wanted to have it close by.

I love them both, and I'll be honest ... I plan on getting more. I want to have at least one for the kids, though I have a couple in mind. But for now I have these, chosen because they were meaningful to me and because their location wouldn't impede my current daily activities (like carrying and caring for the kids).

Happy early 30th to me.

An Autumn Walk with Mollie

2011-10-14T07:56:00.001-04:00

The leaves on our big maple tree were starting to turn the other day, but the weather was still pretty warm so Mollie and I headed outside for a little walk.

At first we started out on foot, with Mollie inspecting as many leaves as possible along the way.

But, being so close to lunch and nap time, she soon got tired and we decided to grab a stroller instead.

It was probably the last walk we'll have where we don't have to seriously bundle up, and it was so nice to share it with my spunky little girl.

Rotisserie Chicken: What Passes for Fun These Days

2011-10-14T07:49:00.001-04:00

Our kids, particularly Baylor, love going to Costco. He almost never samples the food, we don't let him walk around much (if at all), and we rarely buy treats there. So why does he like it so much? The savings? The expansive warehouse? Nope. The rotisserie oven. He fell in love with it one trip and has been enamored of it ever since.

Seriously, the kids watch it with the intensity they usually reserve for the small amount of television they watch.

Baylor could seriously watch those chickens spin around and around for hours.

On our last trip, we got an extra special treat; both of the ovens had chickens in them!

The bottom one was clearly close to being done, so when one of the chefs realized we were only standing there to watch the chickens go around and around, he informed us that he'd be taking them out relatively soon. A walk around the store and they should be done, he said.

He was right.

We came back just as they were opening the bottom oven. Then the magic happened.

The kids were mesmerized. It was a trip to Costco to remember.

It's amazing what passes for fun when you have kids. Gotta love the simple things!

Moon!

2011-10-14T07:31:00.000-04:00

Due in no small part to the calendar in Baylor's room, the kids have become very interested in the moon. Baylor has been enjoying watching it change, and we've been trying to teach him about how it waxes and wanes. Mollie is just becoming aware of it and has taken daily joy in seeing it rise in the sky.

The cloudy days, when the moon isn't visible, are definitely tough on Mollie, but it's really fun to watch her get into something so whole-heartedly.

It's amazing how we take things like the moon's comings and goings for granted. Thank goodness for children who help you refocus on the small pleasures.

Their First Sundaes

2011-10-13T07:51:00.001-04:00

It's tough to believe, but before last week my kids had never had an ice cream sundae. Determined to rectify that, my parents, sister, and I set out to help the kids concoct the perfect ice cream treats. We raided their pantry and ended up with some pretty awesome toppings to choose from.

After the kids had made their treats, I made one of my own: vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and Rice Krispies. Oh ... my ... goodness! It was delicious! It was like an awesome frozen Krackle bar! I so wish I had taken a picture of it, not that it was much to look at. So good!

Pumpkin Pickin' 2011

2011-10-13T07:38:00.001-04:00

With the weather being so nice in early October, my mom and I decided to take advantage of it and get the kids out to pick their pumpkins before they had to be all bundled up. Mollie was so little last year that she barely knew what was going on, so it was nice for her to be able to participate this time around.

Under the Pines had a lot more variety of pumpkins to choose from this year, all different colors, shapes, and sizes. But Baylor and Mollie, being kids, started out by focusing on a pumpkin that had not fared so well overnight.

Baylor was a little all over the place, and more than once we had to scoop him up to keep him out of trouble. Here, Mom is demonstrating just how tough that is getting.

The kids picked a total of three pumpkins: a white one, a "pear" one (it is shaped like a pear and still a little green on the top), and a more traditional orange pumpkin. After we got them all loaded into the wagon, the kids got to help Oma push it.

Such helpers!

Back at my parents' house, the kids were still needing a little outdoor time, so we went exploring. On our way around the house, my mom saw that some of her money plants were ready for picking, so she decided to show the kids how that works.

Turns out they're not quite old enough to handle the delicate plants, but they were happy to put them in the mums.

And leave the shells for my dad to pick up.

There's nothing like a beautiful autumn day with the kids!

A Moment I Had to Capture

2011-10-13T07:07:00.001-04:00

You'd want to capture it, too. I had turned on some Sesame Street for the kids to watch since they had both woken up too early and were a little out-of-sorts. I left the room for a second to switch some laundry and when I came back I found this ...

A mom-of-two's dream.

Lately the kids haven't been getting along as well as they had been, so for this moment to occur out of the blue and with no prodding on my part was a little glimmer of hope for me. Hope that, someday, they'll be good friends.

Baylor's Second MSU Football Game

2011-10-12T07:22:00.000-04:00

We took Baylor to his second MSU football game a couple weeks ago. Our beloved Spartans were playing Central Michigan University, a game we won 45 to 7. But who was really watching the game anyway? There was pizza to be eaten, at first with help ...

... then all on his own.

When the cheese slid off the top of the pizza, he didn't quite know what to do so Bryson pulled it out of his mouth and plopped it on the cardboard pizza slice box. Baylor, quite unceremoniously, ate it in its entirety later on. Awesome.

Okay, he did watch some of the game. But he was even more interested in the marching bands.

It was way warmer than I thought it was going to be that day, so when we were down buying a Melting Moments ice cream sandwich we bought him a short-sleeved shirt to wear for the rest of the day. (Oh, and that little temporary tattoo on his arm? Yeah, it's a blow dryer. He got it after his last haircut at Snip Its.)

It was delicious ... the ice cream sandwich, that is.

We went with my parents, while Christine stayed back to watch Mollie. The little mover that she is, Mollie was most certainly not ready to attend a game. Maybe next year ...

We tried to get him as involved in the game as we could ...

... but even stopping for a picture proved a bit distracting.

Eventually I had to break out some of the activities I brought for him. The lace-up construction vehicles were a hit.

As most three year-olds do, Baylor eventually got a little antsy, so he went to sit up with Oma and Grandpa E for a change of pace.

Then ... *shutter* ... he sat down on the floor of the stands. Ugggggghhhhhhh. Thankfully, that didn't last long.

For soon he was on to inspecting the seat numbers.

All that sunshine, friendly competition, marching band music, and curiosity proved to be quite tiring, though, and the little man actually took a nap on the way home. Yay!

Back at Oma's, Mollie and Aunt Christine had a great day together.

All in all, it was a great day!

Go green!

Raspberry Fingers and Fun at Oma's

2011-10-11T07:32:00.001-04:00

Nothing says delicious fun like putting raspberries on your fingers.

And then decisively eating them off, one by one.

That night, Mom made lasagna. Her lasagna. The first I'd had of it in a long time, since she'd run out of her homemade, home-canned tomato sauce months ago. It was delicious!

Mollie is now in love with bread, and she doesn't mind sharing with others.

Baylor got a little distracted by the placemat under his plate.

Mollie got to try Oma's lasagna for the first time and initially ate it with gusto, but she petered out after the first ten-or-so bites (just like she usually does).

She spent the rest of the dinner lounging in her chair.

She'd gotten herself dirty enough to warrant a wardrobe change, though, and Oma and Aunt Christine soon discovered that it often takes two people to clothe the little lady. She is one squirmy worm!

Baylor, meanwhile, got to play with K'NEX in the waning sunlight.

Once she was dressed, Mollie decided that Oma's house was just a bit too messy and set to work to clean things up.

After a bit of cleaning, it was time for a book.

It's tough to not have fun at Oma's!

Baking with Baylor

2011-10-11T07:12:00.001-04:00

Ever since Baylor got a whisk and spatula from Aunt Christine for his birthday he has been itching to bake something. My mom and sister graciously obliged him, and the threesome set out to make some M&M cookies. And yes, it takes three people to make cookies when you are baking with a three year-old.

I mean, who else is going to hold his hands back when the beater is on?

As you can tell by the color of his lips, he sampled some of the M&Ms.

Whisking is a vigorous "sport" when you are a three year-old boy!

My mom and sister mixed up the wet ingredients ahead of time (to save on time and mess), and Baylor was able to tell them exactly what was in the measuring cup. Man, this kid has a memory!

Because he's a big boy now, he got to help plop the cookies on the cookie sheet.

He always has a blast baking with Oma and Aunt Christine. (Which is great because I rarely do much baking.)

Katie's Visit

2011-10-10T08:02:00.001-04:00

In mid-September one of my closest friends came all the way from Virginia to visit us for a weekend. Katie and I met our freshman year of college; we were next-door neighbors in the dorms and our friendship seemed almost instant. We've been in each other's weddings. And though we're now living far apart we've managed to visit each other now and then. That last part, however, is going to get a lot more difficult come January; Katie is pregnant with twins! Which is why I was all the more excited for her to come.

She had never met Mollie before, but once Katie read to her (for quite a while) they became fast friends.

Baylor was more interested in his train set ... and getting some one-on-one attention from Bryson.

We spent most of Saturday watching the MSU football game at my parents house (though Katie and I did take a quick trip to the mall to get her some pregnancy clothes), but we got to spend most of Sunday together as her flight didn't leave until late afternoon. After much consideration, we decided to go to the Gardens with the kids for a little walk. Baylor led the way, and for once we didn't go to the Children's Garden!

We got to see wild turtles ...

... and ducks a-plenty.

Baylor had a little trouble staying with us.

But we kept him in check, and before long we were at the farmhouse. Complete with a working water pump!

After soaking her sleeves, Mollie wandered off to go see the farm animal statues.

And Baylor buddied up to Katie for a little hand-holding.

Then we had to go to the sandbox ... which is always so much fun after the kids have gotten themselves wet.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this other kid who was dressed as a police officer. Way to get the most use out of your Halloween costume, little guy!

After much digging and sweeping ...

... we took the wooden walkway back to the main building. The fall flowers were just gorgeous that day.

Back at home, we enjoyed a little lunch before nap time.

And soon, too soon, it was time for Katie to fly home. While the trip was short, it was so great to see an old friend and to catch up before the birth of her little loves.

Thanks for visiting, Katie!

Mum's the Word

2011-10-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

Jumping Pillow

2011-10-09T08:26:00.000-04:00

We visited Robinette's a few weeks ago and after getting cider and donuts inside, we were making our way to the car when Baylor spotted a sign that read "Jump". It had an arrow next to it, so - being three years old and all - he decided it was best to follow the arrow. After a couple more signs, we came upon a jumping pillow. Basically, a big vinyl tarp filled with air and secured to the ground to make a temporary trampoline.

Who knew such a thing existed?! Baylor still doesn't know how to jump yet, but he certainly enjoyed running on it with a spring in his step.

Of course, he was naturally drawn to the sand ... and insisted on playing with it. *sigh*

Soon enough, though, we got him back to the pillow and got Mollie to join in as well!

There was another little boy on the pillow who was in between Baylor and Mollie in age and was an excellent jumper. But he and Baylor ran up and down the pillow together for a short while and seemed to have fun. (Even though Baylor thought the little boy was actually a girl.)

Mollie got in on the act a little ...

... but she mostly just stood there smiling and trying to keep her balance.

Eventually I got on the pillow to show Mollie and Baylor how to bounce, but I ended up mostly knocking all the kids over. We have a video of it, but it starts out sideways and it looks a little ... jarring. Anyway, we had fun, it was an insane workout for me, and it wore the kids out enough to take a good nap. Yay!

Big Boy Bed!

2011-10-08T08:10:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, Bryson casually mentioned after the kids went to bed that, as much as I didn't want it to happen, Baylor should probably be in a big boy bed. So, the next day, the kids and I made it happen. It was actually quite the ordeal as I had to switch their cribs (Mollie had the only one that could be turned into a toddler bed) which meant disassembling both of them, then reassembling his in her room and turning hers into a toddler bed in his room. Yikes!

After all the commotion, though, the beds were switched and Baylor was excited for his new sleeping arrangements. He napped in his big boy bed without a rail, but he was clearly nervous about not having a fourth side to keep all his blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals in bed with him. So that night we went out and found one. He's much happier with it now.

The best part? Even though he can get out, he doesn't. Just like his crib, he waits for us to come get him. It is AWESOME! Kudos to you, little man!

A Snack and A Show

2011-10-07T08:02:00.001-04:00

Ah, the things we do as parents! I never dreamed I'd be sitting in eager anticipation waiting for a grandfather clock to chime.

Needless to say, it is amazing where life takes you.

Popsicle Love

2011-10-07T07:51:00.001-04:00

What kid doesn't love popsicles, right? Baylor adores them, often choosing to have a popsicle over some other treat, and he eats them with more speed than anything else he eats. It's amazing. Mollie, on the other hand, loves them, but she tends to nurse them a bit ... which results in a lot of messiness and funny faces.

Enjoy!

Morning With Mollie

2011-10-05T22:58:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple videos of Mollie in the morning. She is developing quite the personality! Enjoy!

Under the Table Together

2011-10-03T22:16:00.001-04:00

I don't know what kids love so much about hanging out under a table, but lately this has been a favorite hangout spot for the kiddos. (To be honest, this picture was taken almost two months ago, but I have only recently gotten around to editing it.)

Anyhow, I digress.

They both conspired, one day in August, to put their booster seats under the dining room table and have a little pow-wow of sorts. It was awfully cute!

Of course, Mollie buckled herself in right at the start then got miffed when she couldn't get out and play with her brother. Funny kids.

Kitchen/Dining Room Re-Do

2011-10-03T22:04:00.001-04:00

Wow, I meant to post this a couple months ago. Yikes.

Anyhow, we redid our kitchen and dining room. I'd narrate the whole thing for you, but I think you get it. Here are some scenes from the event ...

Upon looking through this, I realized why I never posted it; I meant to take a picture of the kitchen as a whole but never did. *sigh* Oh well, you get the idea.

Absence

2011-09-28T07:18:00.000-04:00

Hello. How are you? I have been busy. Clearly too busy to write on here, no matter how much I may have wanted to. And boy have I wanted to. But between a bunch of appointments (annuals, semi-annuals, monthly, and maintenance for ADD and a new eye problem), my kids getting up earlier than usual, my husband traveling, our weekends being jam-packed, and everything else, my life has gotten a bit out of hand. I'm so sorry for my absence here and hope to be back at it VERY soon. To my small readership, please don't leave me. I haven't deserted this space. It just had to fall to the back burner for a while. But I will get things figured out and things will get up and running again with pictures and stories here soon.

Until then ...

I hope all is well in your world.

Have a wonderful day!

Negotiation Skills: Option 3

2011-09-14T23:27:00.000-04:00

We had our first real encounter with Baylor's negotiation skills tonight. Here's how the exchange went:

Husband Bryson: Okay, Baylor, you have two options. Option one is that when we get to Oma's house, I will go in, give the cord to Grandpa E, come out, then we'll leave.

Baylor: I pick option two.

Bryson: Buddy, you don't even know what option two is yet. Just listen. (smiles) Option two is that we'll ALL go into Oma's house when we get there, but we will ONLY be staying for fifteen minutes. Do you still want option two?

Baylor: I want option three.

Bryson: Well, there are only two options.

Baylor: I pick option three.

Me: Baylor, what is option three?

Baylor: Option three is that we ALL go into Oma's and stay for a looooooong, loooooooong, long, long, long, loooooooooong, long, long time ... and then we go to Rivertown. (His favorite place to ride elevators.)

Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter in the car during this decision-making session.

B is Three: The Photo Edition

2011-09-14T07:49:00.001-04:00

Baylor is now three, and his birthday this year was filled with Baylor-centric fun. Last year we were able to start tailoring his birthday to his preferences, and this year we were able to do that even more. It's nice to know exactly what makes my boy happy these days.

As an early birthday present, my mother-in-law got him his own MP3 player, which we refer to as his "boom box".

The little dude loves it and carries it with him wherever he goes. It was an excellent start to his weekend-long birthday celebration.

The day of his party, Baylor and I were outside getting things ready - he was supposed to be napping but I think the excitement was too much for him - and I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to draw on the driveway for him. This is what he came up with:

The week before his birthday we still had no idea what he wanted his cake (or cupcakes) to look like, so Aunt Christine whipped out her cupcake cookbook and had me flip through the whole thing with him. At the end, I asked him what he wanted and this is what he asked for:

Yup, "pool balls"! At his party, he of course ate the number 3.

He had a heck of a time not touching them beforehand, though, and we had to put them out of his reach before the party even started.

Before the rest of the guests got there, Baylor spent some special time with the party's dessert chef!

And while Baylor kept her occupied, Mollie stole her purse and Blackberry.

Ah, my three year-old!

The other kids didn't arrive for a while, so Mollie got to enjoy a hair-raising ride in the Cozy Coupe.

Once everyone arrived, we got dinner going (burgers, hot dogs, fruit with yogurt and granola, veggies, and - of course - chips) and everyone enjoyed the meal.

We got things cleaned up as quickly as possible, then the kids gathered-round to watch Baylor open his gifts.

He got some pretty cool gifts, though it was tough to sit still for all that opening. After the gift-opening came dessert, then a lot of the guests had to leave because the next day was the first day of school. I have a feeling this will be a common theme for his birthday parties, but that's not always a bad thing ... it kind of keeps them short and sweet, you know? We'll see how it all pans out in the future.

One part of his party was definitely new this year, though; he requested that we not sing "Happy Birthday" to him. (He doesn't like the noise - or so much attention thrust upon him, I think.) So, since he was the guest of honor, we respected his wishes and just watched as he blew out his three candles. It was a little strange, but he wants what he wants and the last thing I wanted was for my little birthday boy to be unhappy.

Since his party was on Monday but his actual birthday wasn't until Wednesday, he got to enjoy his gifts "early". Along with the boom box, an early favorite has certainly been his Melissa and Doug wooden train set.

The morning of his birthday, I don't know who was more excited, me or him. Regardless, I had to snap a few early-morning pictures of my little man.

He loves to lounge in his crib for a while in the morning, so often times his sister wakes up while he is still "waking up" and that day was no exception. Though they have been at odds a bit lately, they greeted each other warmly enough on his birthday morning.

And, as always, Baylor got a kick out of watching his sister be silly.

And, my, what a silly girl she is!

Those pants might be a little too big for her right now, but she couldn't have cared less!

It's awesome to see how much she looks up to her big brother.

We got ready as quickly as possible, visited with Grandma Paula for a bit, then headed over to my parents' house to drop off Mollie. Baylor's birthday morning was going to be just him and I for the first time and I think both of us were pretty excited at the prospect.

The morning was beautiful and cool, perfect for walking around downtown. After parking Wanda in front of the Calder and putting money in the meter ...

... we crossed the street and plopped down in the grass in front of the courthouse to listen to the clock chime at 11:00.

We sat for a few more minutes then headed down Ottawa to Pearl Street. Our mission, which I thankfully prepared for ahead of time, was to find the Amway Grand Plaza to ride some elevators. On the way, he stopped to inspect a fire hydrant.

After a few minutes of walking, we finally found it! (Thank you to my husband for bringing up a good map for me to look at to get an idea of where we were going. Who knows how long we would have wandered around before we found the hotel had he not found a good map for me.)

Baylor was positively giddy as he pushed the up arrow button for the first time. And, truth be told, so was I.

Going up!

The elevator was a pretty fast-moving one, so each time it jolted to start he grabbed onto my hand and held on tightly. Best part of my day, hands down.

It was so nice to be able to devote all my attention to him and listen to all the amazing things he had to say.

The elevator had a window on the wall opposite the door. From the first and second floor you could see views of the cafe in the lobby. The third floor notably had a view of a lovely black brick wall. Then, from the fourth floor on up you could see wonderful views of downtown Grand Rapids.

After making a stop at each and every floor from one to eleven, we made the quick trip back down to floor one. There, Baylor found the trash can, read the word "trash", and debated whether or not to stick his "trash" in there. He decided against it.

We made our way back up to the eleventh floor where Baylor stopped the action for a squeezy applesauce snack.

We stopped again on the fourth floor and he got to have a mini box of raisins.

Then it was time to move on to the JW Marriott. But first, we had to cross the street.

Once inside, we came upon an elevator with only four floor buttons. Such elevators were substandard for this special occasion, but with unique labeling it made for an appealing attraction.

After we finished with the little elevator, we headed through the lobby to the bank of four elevators and rode one to the 18th floor! From there we got a view of the lobby from above.

Not to mention a gorgeous view of downtown GR.

The elevator actually went up to the 23rd floor, but for floors 19 through 23 you had to have a key to access them. Baylor would not be deterred, of course, and insisted on pushing the buttons to make sure.

The elevators themselves were gorgeous, shiny and new with a sort of leaf pattern on the inside.

He was all sorts of chatty as we skipped from floor to floor.

But eventually we had to leave there too, much to Baylor's dismay. I ended up carrying him back to the clock ...

... and propped him on a ledge so we could listen to it chime at a quarter past noon.

He requested I join him, so I hopped up and gave him another squeezy applesauce to quell his hunger. Then I was able to snag a passer-by to snap a picture of us for posterity.

After listening to more chiming, we made our way to Robinette's for some lunch and cider-making viewing. When we pulled up, I noticed the tree in front of our car was covered in these awesome mushrooms.

So I showed them to Baylor and snapped a picture of them. Too cool!

We ordered lunch while we waited for the cider making to start, and about halfway through lunch Baylor, my dad, and my sister left to watch the action.

It was all sorts of exciting and days later he is still talking about it.

Mollie, meanwhile, was trying to master eating an uncut apple. It was tough going at first, but she eventually got the hang of it and ended up eating exactly half of the apple. (Seriously. She just ate an exact half of the apple. It was bizarre.)

Baylor knew donuts were afoot so it was a struggle to get him to eat much of his lunch. But hey, a birthday only comes around once a year, right?

Victory! Nothing like a pumpkin spice donut to complete a birthday, right?

He didn't like the sticky, gritty feeling of the sugar on his hands, though, so he eventually moved to a no-hands approach. It was quite adorable.

He rested for a while after we got home (I forget now whether he napped or not ...) then he got to play a little more with his trains.

And he put in his two cents about what I should be photographing. The train was obviously picture-worthy.

He wanted me to take a picture of the piece of track he was holding, but I ended up just using it as an excuse to take another picture of my beautiful birthday boy.

Where would you want to go for dinner if you were going to do your third birthday over again? Chuck E. Cheese? Red Robin? Some fine fast food establishment with a play place? Yeah, my kid wanted to go to Carrabbas. He's just that sophisticated. (Or maybe he just likes to watch the fire in the pizza oven and the cooking area of the kitchen. Who knows, really?)

Sadly, I cut up his spaghetti a little too much and he wasn't really able to twirl it effectively. Sorry, little man!

Aunt Christine helped out with Miss Amalia who insisted on having some of her brother's pasta.

I had made arrangements for this table ahead of time, explaining that it was my son's birthday and this was his favorite table (and I'm sure my family mentioned it again to them once they arrived). The awesome people at Carrabbas then took it to an awesome level and gave the little man a free dessert for his birthday. We chose a crostata with ice cream for him (unbelievable!). They were going to serenade him with a rendition of Happy Birthday, but I quickly stopped them and they seemed okay just to let him blow out the candle.

Unfortunately the little man didn't have as much air in him as was needed to extinguish the flame, so Baylor's new best friend, Chef Javier, helped him snuff out the candle with a spoon.

Crostada is yummy!

It was a gorgeous day, just perfect for a special birthday.

He opened gifts from us when he got home.

And a music card that plays the Winnie the Pooh song.

The little man's first watch! He was pretty excited about it, but he doesn't really like wearing it much yet.

And bunches of books ... Harry and the Lady Next Door, A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee, and Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee.

After reading all the new books, we headed upstairs for bed time.

"Here's my belly button, Daddy ...

... and here's yours!"

Happy birthday, little man! I hope it was all you dreamed it would be and more! I love you so much!

B is Three!

2011-09-07T22:53:00.002-04:00

Baylor turned three today, can you believe it?! I took copious amounts of pictures and am just dying to post them, but so many of them need red eye so I'll have to be patient while I wait.

In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a little video of his special trip to some very tall buildings in town. Enjoy!

Our First Preview: Mollie's Teenage Years

2011-09-03T07:47:00.000-04:00

Oh ... my ... gosh. We should up our cell phone plan right now in preparation.

And, honey, I think you need to get a fake shotgun to clean when the boys arrive. After all the telephoning and primping she'll be doing (and how naturally cute she is), I have no doubt the boys will come a-runnin'.

*sigh*

Livin' Large at the Costco Food Court

2011-09-01T08:29:00.000-04:00

The other night, big spenders that we are, we took the kids to Costco for a little dinner and grocery shopping. Mollie was getting hungry, so I left Baylor with Bryson in hopes that the boys could get all three slices of pizza, cups, and silverware to the table for us. Baylor, being the budding big boy he is, got to carry his own slice of pizza! He almost dropped it, seen here, but he eventually made it to the table safely. Whew!

After dinner, Bryson and Mollie went to the car to drop off the stroller and Baylor and I explored the vending machines.

When something says "Push" it is your duty to check it out, right?

For whatever reason, the kids just love going to Costco. I guess there's just so much to explore.

Library Time with Oma

2011-08-31T08:50:00.001-04:00

Last week the kids and I hit the local library with my mom and, of course, there was much fun to be had.

Mollie channeled her inner tech geek and played on the computer a while.

And Baylor introduced me to the big alphabet/numbers rug at the back of the children's section. First we counted up from one.

Then after going through some of the alphabet, we checked out the puppet theatre.

Mollie really got into carrying the puppets around.

Then we headed back to the stacks to find some books to check out ... and play with the toys over there.

We got a ton of books and the kids had a great time. Thanks again, Mom, for joining us!

Mollie's First Carousel Ride

2011-08-31T08:29:00.001-04:00

Mollie has guts. She's the little daredevil of the family and will try just about anything (well, except most foods ... sigh). So it was no surprise that, though her brother yet again was too scared to try the carousel at Rivertown, she was game to give it a go.

Oma was the lucky one to get to ride with her. First, Mollie got strapped to the frog.

Then they posed for a smile before the ride began.

She started out okay, though she wouldn't hold onto the brass pole for support so my mom had to hold her up.

Then it all shifted to fear ...

Mom took it in stride while Mollie held on for dear life.

At least she wasn't screaming or crying.

Just terrified silence and desperate attempts to separate herself from the frog.

Eventually Mom was able to free her and they rode around the last couple times together.

When asked if she wanted to ride it again, Mollie shook her head vigorously. Guess no one will be riding that for a while. Oh well.

Ice Cream and the Ding-Dong Ditch Attempt

2011-08-31T08:14:00.001-04:00

We recently made another trip to Rocky's. The kids enjoyed their ice cream.

Then we went for a walk.

As we passed this closed AT&T shop, Baylor saw the door bell and felt the urge to play a little ding-dong ditch. Aunt Christine tried to talk him out of it.

But when he thought she wasn't looking, he started his funny little creep toward the door.

Aaaaallllmost there!

Ah, thwarted again!

Aunt Christine couldn't help but laugh.

He's a funny one, that little man of mine!

Ms. Messy Face

2011-08-31T08:10:00.001-04:00

Lately Mollie has become queen of the messy face. Part of it is that she is trying new foods, and part of it is that she has developed an "I-can-do-it-myself" attitude about just about everything.

Enjoy!

Pureed green beans:

Orange popsicle:

Chocolate ice cream cone:

(And yes, I got ALL the chocolate out of her adorable little dress! Awesome, huh?)