This blog may have been neglected, but for good cause! Our family has been incredibly busy living life to the absolute fullest these past two months (September and October). Blogging has been put on the back burner while I have struggled to keep up with the demands of taking care of 3 kids, a house, Captain Awesome, projects (I built a table!), exploring New England in the Fall, and starting up a photography business. Just reading all this makes me tired, but so happy to know my life is blessed with busy but worthwhile endeavors.
September began with a trip out to see my "sisters." I say that in quotation marks because in all reality I went for a sister's weekend and just got to spend time with most of my family. I packed a bag and a baby and flew off for a much needed almost-kid-free weekend. Grant endured his first plane trip like the champ he is and I was able to spend some time reading and relaxing on the plane. Jenessa was instrumental in bringing us all together and it made me so happy that she and Kristen would want to fly me out and spend time with me.
I was lucky enough that my BIL Bryce came down along with my nephew William (ALL TRAINS!) and I got to see my brother, Jonathan's, new house. Janilee and him have made it so lovely. There may have been many, many twinges of jealousy, but in all reality I love their beautiful life they have built together with their little family.
While we were there an event so rare happened that I think we were all equally giddy with excitement and shock. All five siblings together at Lagoon with our Mom. It was hilarious how much it brought out the kid in each of us. We were running around, going on all the craziest rides, and I may have gotten a nose bleed from laughing too hard. It was perfect and one of my most favorite days I have had in a long time. I'm putting that little gem in the back pocket of my memory so I can always access it when needed.
As if I couldn't be filled with enough love from my trip, I also was really touched when my Grandpa Olsen and Aunt Jan took the time and energy, to drive 3 hours to spend a half hour or so with me and meet Grant. I ADORE both of my grandpas and love to see them whenever I get the chance. We also gave my Grandpa Miles the great honor of christening his floors with Grant's baby spit up. Yummy orange carrots on his new floors. I'm lucky that they love me as much as I love them!
When I returned from my weekend away we found out that Keith's grandfather had passed away. After a few quick conversations we decided that Keith, Lily, and Sawyer would go to the funeral and spend some much needed time with the Kahmann clan. The kids have been talking nonstop about their sweet little cousins, Grandparents, and Uncle Dave. I hear about Uncle Dave at least once a day. He is our family rockstar.
When Keith returned home he carried with him a picture of his grandfather and I finally put my finger on who Sawyer takes after. He is the spitting image of his great-grandfather. I only wish that we had been able to take a picture of them together while he was alive.
There is just so much to catch up on, that I thought I would do a quick recap on each family member, just for my own piddly brain's sake.
Keith:
The force of Captain Awesome is hard to reckon with. Beating swim records? Check. Working overtime to make sure we can stay out of debt? Check? Running his personal best? Check. Beating the whole office at ping-pong? Check. Solving engineering problems day and night? Check. Becoming a soccer diva? Check. Using his only day off to work on the backyard every week? Check. Extra daddy duty while mama is off taking pictures? Check. Giving this mama much needed breaks? Checkity check check.
I told you: Awesome.
Cherie:
Photography. Photography. Photography. I am starting to go cross-eyed, just thinking about taking another picture. I have been learning so much these past two months, about my equipment, why it can suck sometimes, how to work around it, and how to take better pictures. I have come to a few conclusions. One, I need to limit my opportunities so I don't impede on my sleep, two I need to get it right at the shoot so I don't have to edit much, and three, this might not be a viable business with three kids. It is fun, I give it that! I love working with people, I love taking pictures, and I love learning something that doesn't have to do with diapers, boogies, timeouts, and sleepless babies. In a nutshell? It's been nice to use my brain for something creative.
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| This WAS as fun as it looks. No trees in my yard and 9 bags of leaves. What? |
I've also taken on some new house projects. I built myself a table (that my friend gave me for free) while Keith and the kids were in California. I also refinished a roadside find (free!), picked up another roadside find (free!) that I am planning on selling, and found me yet another roadside find ($25, but you can't beat that for a kitchen island!). Um, I also may have dug 3 things out of the dump. They were in perfectly good condition and some silly threw them away.
These are my dumpster diving confessions.
I may or may not have been watching a lot of Nicole from Rehab Addict who really enjoys dumpster diving and roadside finds. I may or may not be looking around my living and dining room area and realizing that most of my furniture was either free or under $30. And I may or may not feel a little bit proud of that. Call it trash or call it my treasures, you pick. You can find all kinds of cool things if you just open your eyes to the possibilities!
Lilster:
Started the First Grade. She was thrilled to get back to school, and while I was sad, I seem to have handled it a little better. We went through quite a transition now that her teacher doesn't resemble Glinda the good fairy and doesn't seem to have magical powers like her kindergarten teacher. She does have a great teacher, and she has been really fun to work with so far. I am thrilled that she is super organized. It makes my brain happy.
Lily started dance this September. We signed her up for ballet, jazz, and tumbling with one of her BFF's, Alice. It always shocks me to see how much taller she is than the girls around her, but it seems to work well with her naturally talent for leadership. The kids look to her and she loves that.
Soyboy:
My little man! I love hanging around this dude. He is always such a joy and so mellow most of the time. After quite a rough patch this summer I feel like he is back to himself.
One of the things I love most is homeschooling him. He drags his heels a little just getting to the table, but once there he quickly gets excited. He LOVES reading, and I often find him perusing books on the couch, looking at the pictures. He has started realizing he can read "real" words and takes a lot of pride in that. He also loves learning how to add and subtract, but does not get a kick out of crafts. We have been going to Science at the library during the week too, and next month I get to teach! When it comes to crafts, there is always this sense of "Do I have to?" as I get out the glue and scissors. Unless we are making a monster, he has no interest and would rather go back to his cars and trucks.
Sawyer and I decided to continue on with gymnastics this Fall. He has a couple little boys in his class and loves learning how to somersault, climb ropes, and cartwheel. I often wake up to the sounds of thumping upstairs and know they are jumping off the bed, practicing cartwheels, and somersaults. I admit that I kind of ignore that. Nothing has broke yet!
Grantman:
I could not have ordered a more mellow baby. This guy takes the cake for being super chill. He reminds me so much of his Daddy in his composure and the way he just takes everything in.
We work REALLY hard in this house to make Grant laugh. He demands that it be absolutely hilarious before he will even give you a smirk. Often he just stares at our antics and raises his eyebrows. Tickling? Nope. Goofy faces? You might get a smile. Peek a boo? No way. Slapstick? Yes! If you let him kick you or hit you and you overreact he will give you a genuine giggle. I am grateful that it isn't hard to get genuine smiles out of him, you just have to work for those giggles.
Grant has managed to gain quite a little crowd of friends at church. Sawyer has his "girlfriends" and Grant has his little posse. We are grateful that our boys are so pleasant to be around and give off such happy vibes!
Grant has hit the 10 month mark this week and we are starting to see a lot of army crawling (9 months), cruising on whatever he can find, and toy investigating. He also has called me mama quite a few times, and absolutely refuses to sign. If I even try he stares at my hands then looks at the food and does a quick calculation. He kicks like a banshee without screaming when I bring out the food, but won't bust out the scream until I start asking him to sign. Strong personality, this one.
