The February Blahs...

January and February are my least favorite months of the year.  The cold weather, the dry skin, the constant slushiness of dirty snow, the monotony of winter.  Valentine's Day is supposed to give the season some sort of excitement, but it is generally short lived, and like any other Hallmark holiday, doesn't really match the hype.  On this tired Monday morning, I found myself really wishing for some warm sunshine and a sandy beach.

Despite my attitude toward the time of the year, there have been some exciting things going on at our house.  No one can understand this like an educator, but Ben has taken some major strides in beginning to read.  He is bringing home books from preschool to add to some we already have at home that he is reading every night, he is progressing quickly with his phonemic awareness skills, his sight word bank is growing, and he has some nice skills decoding words and using context in the books he is reading.  You cannot imagine my excitement and sheer awe at this recent development.  I try to keep it in check so I don't embarrass him or turn him off to the whole situation, but I'm bubbling with excitement inside.  Yay, Ben!  In other news, I heard Ben talking to himself while in bed this evening, and suddenly he came in to my room, smiling from ear to ear, to announce that he had counted all the way to 120 in his bed.  Hooray!

Abby's most recent development is that she has turned into a pure love bug.  She tells us she loves us at the most wonderful times.  It is often unsolicited and a moment of pure innocence.  I want to always remember this.  For example, tonight at supper she simply looked at me and said, "I wuv Mommy."  My heart melted.  Last week while dropping Abby off at the babysitter, Brant told her he loved her.  Abby looked at Brant and said, "Do you know who else wuvs me?  Mommy!"  And, one of my favorites would be the day Brant had Ben and Abby outside playing in the snow.  Abby was suddenly gone and Brant found her sitting the garage, a sad look across her face.  When asked what was wrong, she told him, "I just miss Mommy.  I wuv her."  I know someday I'll need to remember those moments! 

So, despite my weariness of the weather and relatively dull time of year, there have been many bright moments.  Before we know it, spring will be upon us!

Happy New Year!

As we all head back to our normal lives tomorrow of work, preschool, and daycare, I've been thinking about how nice it has been to be home together over the past two weeks.  Our break started two days early with a big blizzard that canceled the last two days before winter break.  I have no complaints!  Our kids seemed to be at a particularly fun age for Christmas this year (although I think I'll probably continue to say that for many more years).  They loved everything about the holiday - the sweets, the relatives, the gifts, the songs, the lights, the Christmas story... just everything.

Our New Year's was extremely low key.  We made New Year's hats, but then didn't wear them because we opted to go out to dinner instead of eat at home... and I think we all agreed the homemade party hats in public would be a bit much.  Ha!  The kids went to bed early and Brant and I watched a movie.  It was much like any other night, but we welcome 2013 and know that many great things lay ahead over the next 12 months.

Here are a few pictures of our holiday break together:

 Look at those pig tails!!

 Oh... and just to clarify that it really was Christmas and not Halloween in our house, Santa brought the kids costumes for our "dress-up" basket.  This explains why Ben is in costume in all of the pictures.  Well, except for the skeleton pajamas.  I can't explain that with Santa - those are the real thing.

 Someone is ready to catch some big fish!  Ice fishing, anyone?

 It was the Christmas of scooters and castles.  We gave Abby a new scooter, and Ben received a new one from Grandma and Papa.  They also both got a castle, although apparently Abby's Little People castle didn't make the cut for pictures.  Oops.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!  2012 has been an exciting year in our household.  As we reflect on the past year and look forward to 2013, here is a brief recap:

Winter:

2012 was the year of shoes and hats for Abby.  We went through several months where Abby would be in other peoples shoes constantly, or have something on her head.  If she was fussy, I would offer to take her to my closet so she could try on my shoes... and it actually worked.  Even at other people's houses, she would end up in someone else's shoes!  She makes us smile and laugh every day - I love it!

Ben turned 4 in March and got a new bike and work bench.  He loves to be outside, so both were perfect gifts.  As a 4 year old, he has developed a very "boy-like" sense of humor with all things potty and underwear related being hysterical.  He loves to play outside, has developed some nice drawing skills, enjoys "science experiments", and loves to rough house with Brant.  Last winter, he and Brant did a "sports class" through the city on Sunday nights.  Ben loved it - and I think Brant did too!

Spring:

An early spring meant it felt like summer starting at about the end of March!  We enjoyed Easter eggs hunts, playing outside, and Brant constructing a new swing set.  The kids helped me plant the garden last spring, and both started to enjoy their spring, summer, and fall affinity for our sandbox.  I trained for a 20K last spring and ran Dam to Dam at the beginning of June.  Ben caught his first fish last spring!  We also welcomed our first cousin to the family in May - the kids love Kiley (and we do too)!

Summer: 

Everyone knows - last summer was just plain hot!  The kids and I had a fantastic summer at home together.  We spent a lot of time playing in pools, playing in the sprinkler, going to swimming lessons or to the library, and doing lots of fun activities I had up my sleeve.  We were also fortunate to take a vacation to the Ozarks with Brant's family, which included more swimming and Ben's first ride on a wave runner.

Fall:

The fall of 2012 started with Brant having eye surgery to repair damage caused by diabetic retinopathy.  It was pretty scary, but with the expertise of doctors in Boston and Iowa City, we found a path that worked for us and he has full vision in the damaged eye.  We are very thankful!

This fall, Ben started preschool at a new daycare center.  We have been so pleased with the experience he is having, the things he is learning, and the new friends he has made.  It is hard to believe that he will start kindergarten in the fall, and making the change to a new preschool this year has made us very confident he'll be more that ready!

Abby turned 2 in October... and she is definitely showing us that she is 2 in every way!  She is the sweetest little girl and her big blue eyes can melt you, but we've found that she can have a stubborn streak as well.  She loves to read books with Brant or I, color, play dress up, or attempt to do my hair.  Although her hair is still thin, she had her first haircut recently, and loves to have me put her hair in pigtails.

This fall, I returned to work in the same role as an instructional coach for two elementary schools in Ankeny.  I trained for the Des Moines Half Marathon, which was on October 21, and was proud of my finish.  I also ran the Living History Farms Race with friends from school in November and decided that was my favorite for the year!

The past few weeks have brought a change of employment for Brant.  Brant has made the transition to self-employment as he launches a new business, Aisle Marketing, that he has been forming and building for the past two years.  This is definitely a new path for us, but one that I think we are both pretty excited about.  He also continues to serve on the board of directors for Camp Hertko Hollow and JDRF.

As we close 2012, we realize how much we have to be thankful for in our lives.  We are so excited for Christmas, not only because of the time we will have with family, but because of the wonder Ben and Abby have shown to everything Christmas - from the lights, to Santa, to Elf on the Shelf, to the story of the birth of Jesus.  Seeing the Christmas season through the innocence of their eyes is what the season is really all about.

We wish you the happiest holiday season and all the best in 2013!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Abby!

It seems hard to believe, but our sweet Abby turned 2 on Friday!  Unfortunately, she had strep throat and a check-up in Iowa City on her birthday, but we certainly made up for it today with her birthday party. If she did not completely understand the whole concept of birthdays up until today, she is definitely a fan now!  She was showered with very girly gifts from family members, feasted on purse cake and ice cream, and enjoyed the spotlight for the day.  Here are a few of the highlights:

Since we've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging over the past few months, here are a few other updates and pictures from the last few months.

We had our house painted over the summer and have a variety of house projects and repairs that have been keeping us busy over the past few months.  Brant and Ben are putting on one of the finishing touches - the shutters!  Choosing the color was quite a fiasco... ugh.  After much time and uncertainty, they look sharp, and are actually the first color we chose.  Go figure!

Ben and Abby have become quite the duo.  We love that they are such good buddies and can entertain each other endlessly!  Giggles coming from the playroom are like music to my ears.

Ben has continued to take swimming lessons.  He really enjoyed swimming this summer and has continued the lessons (indoor, of course) into the fall.

Soccer!  Ben participated in a 6 week soccer team, and Brant was the coach of his team.  He seemed to enjoy it and it was a nice introduction to team sports... very low key!

Brant and I traveled to Boston in August so Brant could get a second opinion on an eye condition (diabetic retinopathy).  While there, we enjoyed a few days together in the city.  He had surgery in Iowa City on September 7 and just found out this week that both eyes now back to 20/20 vision!  We are very thankful!

Halloween time!   With the birthday party this weekend, we celebrated our family Halloween party last weekend.  My friend Pinterest helped me plan a ghostly art project, and a meal full of breadstick bones, apple teeth, hot dog mummies, and ghost-krispie bars.  This is the kind of stuff I love!

Enjoying our abundance of fall leaves.

All three of my loves!  This is a glimpse of everyday silliness.

INSERT HERE: Photo of me finishing my first half marathon last weekend!

Yep, I don't have any pictures of it, but if I did, it would be of a sweaty, tired version of myself.  The highlight for me was seeing Brant, Ben, and Abby as I rounded the corner before the finish.  I certainly needed the pick-me-up, and it propelled me to the end.  I beat my goal time by four minutes, so I was pretty happy... and sore!

As I reflect on the past few months, we've certainly had our ups and downs, but all in all, life is pretty darn good!  Hopefully, it won't be February before I make it back to the blog again!  Here's to hoping...

We Love Summer!

That's right - we love summer!  The kids and I have been home on summer break for almost two weeks and have been having a great time!  As you can see, we've spent some time playing in water and in the sprinkler at home, but we've also been out and about a lot.  Unfortunately, I either forget the camera or don't take any pictures.  Abby  is also at the stage where she wants to look at the screen instead of getting her picture taken, which makes it quite challenging to capture her cutest moments.  Anyway, we've enjoyed story time at the library, the splash park, several parks around town, and even the zoo.  With Ben being 4 years old and Abby being almost 20 months, it has gotten so easy to just get up and go.  Both kids are a delight to take nearly anywhere!

At home, we've enjoyed playing outside.  As you can see from the picture above, Ben really loves to draw what he would term "gigantic" dinosaurs on the driveway with chalk.  He is sitting next to his T-Rex masterpiece above.  While at home, we've also been doing little crafty projects.  We've made paper plate suns, egg cartons bugs, played with "slime" (cornstarch and water), made ice cream in baggies, and done lots of cutting, pasting, coloring, and gluing.  I also found window markers made by Crayola, so one day, we drew all over the porch windows.  It was really fun!  Of course, I also can't resist slipping in some math and literacy activities that I call another "project"... Ben doesn't know the difference and I find it quite exciting - that's the teacher in me!

As you can guess, Ben is still really interested in dinosaurs.  He also likes playing with his Legos and cars.  Brant and I have noticed that Ben's imagination is really running wild lately.  He teeters on the edge of reality and fantasy all the time, to the point that I have to clarify with him whether he is pretending.  Last week he decided he was going back to Florida for vacation, so he and Abby took all the clothes out of his drawers and packed them (ironically, they were all winter clothes) in his Lego bins and backpack and told me he was ready to go.  On other days, we act like animals.  Since I ran Dam to Dam, he tells me he is going to go to his race, but that his race is a car race.  The conversations he has with himself are interesting, and pretty priceless.  The expressions that he uses and the way he converses with us, and sometimes tries to negotiate with us, shows how much he is really growing up.

In the last few weeks, Abby's talking has really started to take off.  We've noticed that sometimes she is hard to understand because she is trying to put a string of words together, but the number of words and phrases she is saying has really increased.  Some of my favorites with her lately is that she has merged words together to create her own.  For example, "Mankie" means "My blankie" and "wa-ink" is "Want a drink."  We are also finding that Abby is going through an "in-charge" stage.  I have managed to curb her from saying "Mine!" to "My turn", but she wants to do everything herself, from brushing her teeth to climbing in her seat to dressing herself.  I know I'll appreciate this independence and determination when she is slightly more coordinated to actually do these things in a timely manner, but right now it has proved to be a bit challenging.

In other news, I finished Dam to Dam last weekend successfully!  The race was a 20K (12.4 miles) and I ran it is 2:02:58, which was slightly under a10 minute mile pace.  I was pretty happy about it, as my goal was to run 10 minute miles, and I didn't feel all that great for a majority of the race.  I was kind of nervous about the whole thing, probably didn't stretch like I should have, and didn't sleep well the night before.  All in all, I was pretty proud of myself.