Belated birthday posts

Here is a snapshot of the wonderful pictures Jon took during Jake's party. THANK YOU Jon. You captured some great moments! I had to change the header at the top because no matter who you are...this HAS to make you smile! This smile is a capsule of what we all feel like right now. We may be tired or consumed with the hecticness of life at times...but inside...this is a great representation of what life is about. Thank you Jake and Kate for always making us smile!

It's official...our big girl is all grown up! Much to Ryan's dismay, Kate has her mama's movie watchin' attention span. I grew up watching less than 1 hour of TV per week and I don't have any memories of watching TV except watching Golden Girls on the very occasional Friday night that I stayed with Doc and Corky or watching a sporting event with my parents. It is not that I wasn't allowed or didn't want to...I just didn't have the attention span to sit for 2 hours to watch something that I didn't "have" to. The other truth is that from the time I can remember I was active every waking moment of every waking day, which meant that when I finally rested for longer than 5 minutes, I was fast asleep. Just ask Ryan the number of movies that I have fallen asleep during our 20 year relationship. Better yet, ask him the number I actually stayed awake...likely single digits. 6 years of marriage later and I am finally starting to enjoy the downtime of watching a movie and I can finally stay awake, mostly. So for the past 2 years of so we have tried to get Kate to stop moving for longer than 20 minutes to watch a movie. We have had a little luck at the theater, often lasting for ~45 minutes, than off to other things. We have also tried road trips, which again the interest lasts for an hour, max. Well, on Saturday night, our world changed. I know that is a drastic statement but it really did just change. The crappy weather earlier in the day led us to the YMCA pool (which was a blast for all 4 of us, expecially Jake) and then for a quick dinner out. Kate requested that we rent Tangled to watch after Jake went to bed. She requested some popcorn and some milk and her daddy did not disappoint. As soon as Jake went down the 3 of us piled onto the couch in the basement and Kate sat quietly and enjoyed her 1st movie from start to finish. I mean a full 90+ minute movie. We turned a corner in that she actually liked the experience too. This is big for our family as Ryan loves nothing more than relaxing and enjoying a great movie. So to say that Ryan's heart melted a little last night might just be an understatement...even if it means watching nothing but Disney movies for the next 20 years. As for Jake, we have no doubt that once he is old enough to stay up past 7, he will enjoy his fair share of movies...he just seems a little like that already.

Jake's 1st birthday party continued...

Since I have been having a little trouble with my last 2 postings, I thought I would share a quick summary of the "playtime" at the party! So much fun.

The milestones of turning 1

The past several weeks have been filled with multiple doctors appointments for Jake, trying to figure out why he can't seem to clear his cold, virus, cough, etc. Jake has been plagued with croup 3 times this winter, 2 of which required a trip to the ER (thanks for taking one for the team, Ryan). After trying multiple different things, we finally got him well last week after a round of oral steroids, or as Ryan calls it, "his 'roids". After being off of the steroids and having the cough creep back into his lungs, we are starting a new round of steroids through his breathing treatments. Hopefully this prevention type of therapy will help him long term. The doctors have termed it as "Reactive Airway Disease", which is a pre-asthma type of diagnosis. The odds are GREAT that his asthma type of symptoms will likely go away after a few years as there is little history of asthma in his immediate family. Good news. Now we just have to get him use to the breathing treatments!

Mixed in these doctors visits was his 1-year well baby check! Dr. Scheuster and I laughed at the fact that he yet again failed most of his milestones like walking and saying 2 words besides mama and dada. I am pretty proud that he is at least now crawling and he did say his official 1st word on the morning of his 1st birthday party: he looked back at Ryan and "dada"...at least that is what Ryan claims. No worries, I have been making a special effort to get in as much "mama" talk as possible!

His stats were:

Length: 31" (75-90%ile)

Weight: 24 lbs 12 oz (75%ile) - I will note that 5 days earlier at the doctor he was 26 lbs 2 oz, which explains his recent jump to 18-24 months clothes

Head: 47 1/2" (75-90%ile)

Despite the lingering illnesses, he remains one of the happiest little kids I have ever been around. He definitely has his daddy's laid back personality and is content doing just about anything. His favorite thing in life is still his big sister, which makes him laugh on an hourly basis. He is starting to pull to a stand, which is a huge step for the little man and now loves to swing and ride in the wagon every afternoon. I officially weaned him over the past several weeks and he is off the bottle at school. Next...the pacificier which will start to happen this month. Wow, my little baby is starting to grow up. And to think Kate will be in Kindergarden in less than 5 months...

Cupcakes, Candy...and Chaos!

Cupcakes, candy and chaos about sums it up!!!

On Saturday, March 26th, our dearest friends and family were invited to help us celebrate Jake's 1st year of life! Good times were had by all, even Jake who has been a little under the weather the past several weeks. I went with a theme of cupcakes, which then tied to candy, and when you add 18 kids with lots of sugar...well, chaos ensues!!

This past week I reflected on all that his party represented. The love that filled our house was more than we could ever dream of. To have nearly all of our family and many of our closest friends there was tremendous. We are thankful for all the love and support we receive on a daily basis and could not get through this thing call life without our support system!!

One of the most exhilirating parts of the party was just sitting back and witnessing the choas. Most of you know that I much prefer calmness and order in my life; however, there is something to be said about relishing in times of chaos. I know Jake and Kate's fondest memories of their childhood will most likely be the times of most chaos. Even though it is the calmness, order, routine, etc that gets us through each day, I also know that memories are most often made from the "out of the ordinary" type of activites. Speaking from experience, I never appreciated all that my parents did on a daily basis to get us through our childhood. It was not until I had a family myself that I truly appreciated the hot meal my mom cooked each night, Corky carpooling me each day from school to gymnastics until I was old enough to drive myself, or my mom sitting with me every night as I ate dinner 3 hours after the rest of my family! That foundation is what I now remember as my childhood even though for the 1st 20 years or so, I remembered the fun stuff like swiming every afternoon from May to August, traveling the country for gymnastics meets, and my own birthday parties, which again, often included a lot of swimming!!!

I am comforted to know that Ryan and I are trying the best we can to provide a balance of routine and chaos. We will always work hard to provide our kids the memories of pure happiness...like one's own birthday party...yet balance that with a foundation of stability, love, and family!

We were able to manage a few pictures from our own camera but look forward to the ones Jon took (which I am sure will be far better)! The anticipation of eating our 1st round of sugar. The 2nd round was provided for the car ride home, which included their choice of a sucker that was the size of their heads (I know, I know, paybacks are a...):

Jake having no idea what to do when all the attention was on him during the singing of "Happy Birthday to You":

Jake enjoying his cupcake:

And an extra sweet visit and morning after breakfast with Jessica & Harper: