Big rocks, Gutters, Last time

We've been talking about landscaping now since before Eleanor was born. Well now we don't have the time to do the landscaping of the front and side of the house nor the money. Those kids really take it out of you - both time and money. I decided we needed to get on the same page for what we wanted to do. So we headed out to the farm to scour for some big rocks to help. When we got home, we worked on what we had and got things included in. I'm happy how it turned out.
**Spoiler alert: by the time this got blogged about the Clematis already croaked because we thought the sprinkler's covered the path of it. Well we know now it doesn't.

As the suns been out and the weather continues to stay hot and beautiful, we've been taking a lot of wagon walks with the kids. E INSISTS/DEMANDS on pulling Grady. This is fine because it wears her out and down but the walking is sooo slow. The speed is only further impeded by her turning around every couple paces to tell him to sit down. Which half the time he is, because the wagon is not moving fast enough, and half the time he isn't because he was just yelled at to sit down. It takes 45 minutes to go around the loop. There is no working up or breaking a sweat.

The other major accomplishment of the weekend was that I got on the roof and got the gutters cleaned out. Matt has never been a fan of heights and it needed to get done so I drug the hose up and over and around and we worked to get them cleared. I'm hoping we are good for another 5 years but he told me that we aren't.

EER with bucket of gutter remains
ALR: That's sludge
EER: Sludge?
ALR: Yes, sludge. Pick up your bucket, bring it along, we have more to pick up.
EER grunts
EER: uhhh, sludge heavy! 

We probably wouldn't have had me on the roof if we'd have known what we'd find out later that week. We are expecting! The last baby will come in late February next year. We are a little nervous, a little excited, a little scared, and a lot shellshocked when we think of the three littles all at once. But it'll be good and we look forward to keeping them all close together in age.

We'll let thing percolate a bit more before we starting too far down the rabbit hole with logistics and cribs and whatnot. I'll admit I'm nervous about telling people, not sure how the responses will go down.

Baptism, Family, Friends

We had Grady's baptism this past week and it's amazing to think of the people that showed up to support him and us. The biggest displays of love came from Grady's godparents. Kevie - Matt's cousin came from Vegas and stayed a few days with us. Grady's been pretty shy lately, so it was a beautiful thing when he took to Kevie so quickly on Thursday. I think she felt pretty special by his attention and trust too. His other godparents are John and Allison Pinkerton, who flew in from the cities and stayed from Friday night through Sunday. We were both honored that the took the miles and the time to be with us and their commitment to Grady is exactly why we chose them.

Matt was able to take Kevie on an experience he had been looking forward to. He got seats for him and her to go up in the Ford Tri-motor, which he has memories with specific to his Grandpa Bob. They did flights over and around Bismarck. That night we had ND's voted best pizza (A & B, specifically their house special) for Kevie to take part in.

The day of the baptism had beautiful weather. We had Great Grandma Dar, both sets of Grandparents (Moser and Remynse), all three Godparents, my sister and her boyfriend - Adam, and Oliver! We started off with a breakfast buffet with egg bakes, muffins, breakfast breads, rolls, fruit, and juice. Matt and I both love breakfast and brunch so it was fun to have something different. Afterwards, the minister who baptized Eleanor joined us for the ceremony. Matt and I loved how private and true to ourselves and our views on religion are for Eleanor's ceremony, so replicated it to a certain degree with Grady's. Pastor Wolfgram gave a message before the baptism and then afterwards we took a few pictures and went in for cake. I'll admit, I even made the same cake! It was a beautiful day for our family. I hate to say, I remember more of Eleanor's service but only because I didn't have an Eleanor that wouldn't hold still to distract from what was happening. She's getting older but her attention span hasn't lengthened too drastically and her listening/comprehension is still growing. Grady was in a great mood though. He looked so handsome in his outfit and I was so glad it turned out as I had struggled over what he should wear. He napped immediately after the ceremony so he did not open his own gifts. He received some very thoughtful items including cufflinks, his first tie, and a silver bank. It was a very nice day.

That night was pretty lowkey with supper for everyone that was able to make it. Watching John and Matt play with all three kids and their interactions made my heart smile. The next day was just spent with the godparents. Matt and John went golfing, I took Kevie to the airport and the kids played all afternoon until Eleanor's crabbiness overcame her and we insisted she take a nap. It was the perfect way to end a very nice weekend. Family and friends.

On the phone a week before the event.
Kevie: How's the weather there?
ALR: Oh, it's not too bad. Cooler here prob than there.
Kevie: I'm not worried about the temp. How's the humidity.
ALR: Oh, it's not bad at all.
Kevie: okay, because we are a dry heat.
ALR: It will all be good.

Kevie arrives at airport
ALR looks at Kevie: I'm sorry.
Kevie: I was going to say, seriously, this isn't bad?!
ALR: I know.. it's like the most humid day all summer.
Kevie stares at ALR
ALR: I'm sorry, I'm a liar.
Kevie: I can taste the air. jeeze.

Grilled Pizza, Father's Day, Bunny Screams

The weeks are a blur - work is crazy dumb busy.

I look forward to the weekends and the normalcy that is/isn't there.
We started Friday off in a beautiful way... pizzas on the grill - we didn't do the dough we prefer BUT the essence was still there. I'll admit it's hard with the kids to do this but we made it work. Grady is starting to eat more and more table food which is great because we are buying less and less babyfood but we haftah make sure he has items to eat that cooked to appropriate softness and cut to the appropriate size. He's a fullfist eater that blends the grab and stash with a mashed hand directly into his face - there's a certain style that is all his when it comes to feeding himself. Makes me laugh. His independence is beginning - which is great because that means we are starting to eat as a family versus crazy shifts.

Sunday was Father's Day so we spent Saturday with my Dad. We had them over for dinner and child entertainment. Sunday was Matt's day - we started with gift - socks and a tie. Daycare had helped them make a gift and that went over a bit rough as E was convinced that it was her gift - afterall gift giving is a hard thing to learn. She was excited to color Dad's wrapping paper and Grandpas' cards. After a large breakfast, we headed off to the zoo - the weather was beautiful and the animals were out.

After a trip to Lowe's to fill out the rest of our garden needs, we ended the night with grilled chicken, cucumber salad, and scotch eggs.

 Matt has TV on during the kids' naps in the afternoon - only because it's Father's Day.
Golf is playing.
Stupid high pitched noise begins
ALR: Geeze, golf spectators are sure getting irritating. 
noise continues
MJR: That's not on the TV
Lola stands at door with bunny in mouth.
Bunny is screaming.

Cleveland, Aasta, Chill

So, Matt spent a month in Cleveland... okay so it wasn't a month - a week, okay so it wasn't a week but 4 long days with those people feels like a very long time. Don't get me wrong I love my children - with all my might. But the opposite of that love is mealtime with them. That is a painful agony especially with Eleanor. Who is working on utensil usage, optimal chew, the gag reflex, and testing my patience. I often have to hold milk hostage for bites of vegetables and it's always a crapshoot on the efforts of eating... some times served meal will go over AMAZING... it's gobbled up and more is requested. The next day or the next week, we can have that same meal and she will tell me she doesn't like it and that it's ucky. The line cook is never impressed with the critics take. If my daughter ever reads this down the road - when someone cooks you a meal - eat the damn meal. If you don't like it, make the damn meal yourself. These nights I didn't even eat the damn meal because I was juggling between both kids - after they went to bed I ate cereal because cereal never fails a person.

Then Matt would call and want to talk about his beer flights or restaurant food or time alone in his hotel and I silently hated his guts and thought about calling in a 3:00am wake up call. Or calling when Grady was waking up to have his bottle.

 

We ended the week with a friend's wedding. Aasta and Quinn had previously got married but they were having their reception and after the rif, it was the first time I knew I'd see a lot of people that were impacted. The couple has a great relationship and I've watched Aasta bloom into a beautiful boy stepmom and she wears the role well so I was excited to go. I'll admit, it would have been easier to not take the kids but Eleanor made Aasta's night. I was a little shocked to turn around and witness the enjoyment of the cupcake but how could I really be too upset.

The weekend was pretty lowkey after the whirlwind of the past month. We pulled out the pools and water plays - they played to their heart's content. We also flipped Eleanor's seat from rear facing to forward facing. She wasn't too sure but we did sell it that she was getting a new chair so we could give her old chair to Grady. It's weird to have her looking that way, she seems so grown up.

Her words are starting to take off and her expressions and personality are not in short supply either.

After Aasta's wedding, sitting on the patio with the kids in bed.
MJR laying on the grass: it feels good to be home.
ALR: It feels good to have you home.

Fargo, Falls, and a Wedding

After another week of trying to catch up at work... we took off, all together this time, to Sioux Falls/Madison for my cousin, Coley's wedding. It wasn't like it used to be when we picked up to go traveling. Throw stuff in a bag and ship off... no now, it's planning and organizing and packing. Here's what it looked like. a pack and play, a cot, a bag of blankets for pack and play and cot, a bag of toys, a Grady bag, an Eleanor bag, a cooler of Grady food (with milk), a snack bag with other essentials for E, and a bag of diaper items - Oh, and Matt and I's one bag - that we split. Seriously it was a 4 day trip and when you add a double stroller it's a good thing that we had a large SUV.

We broke the trip up into legs to help the sanity of the situation. On Thursday, after work, we fed the kids and then took off to Fargo to stay at Janie's house for the first night. The kids actually did pretty well there. Janie's house isn't kid proof but E and her get along famously so it's totally worth it. We did bring out our toys to keep her entertained. They were impressed with how much Grady had changed in such a short time.

The next morning, after breakfast, we got on the road and headed to Sioux Falls. We did take a stop in the middle at Brookings for a bite and to get the kids legs stretched a bit. They needed the movement but I'll admit, they handled the car ride famously. I think I sat in the backseat for only a short time. E thought it was fun as we still have her rear facing.

When we got to Sioux Falls, we checked into the hotel and headed to the Butterfly house/Aquarium. E had been there just about a year ago and her interaction with it all showed us just how much she has developed. She was much more interested in the ocean scene this go around than the butterfly - opposite of last year. She loved the stingray and the fish and the touching opportunities. There was a lot of "look at that." Makes me smile watching her mind interact and learn with her surrounding. Grady took it all in but may not have appreciated it like she did. He hung out with me mostly. The hard part about the butterfly part was that the room was so hot. He hadn't been feeling well for the past couple days, which adding hotter temps didn't make it much better.

After a trip to World Market (which is essential in Sioux Falls), we headed back to the hotel to play in the pool. We've reached the part of parenting where we now choose locations because of their aquatic facility accommodations. This hotel offered up a water slide, pirate ship, kiddie pool, and larger pool - sold. E had a blast. Grady didn't seem too interested either way! They slept pretty well that night!

 

The next morning was the day of the wedding. Pictures were scheduled during nap time so we were careful in planning our morning, we were there waiting for the pool to open. Played until we hoped they wore out a little and then headed to Minerva's for breakfast - another spot we've had good luck with. We then got on the road and waited for the nap time to settle in. The drive there gave them some time to sleep and when we got to town, we perused the area to scout out locations and whatnot.

MJR: What are we looking for?
ALR: The hotel, the church, the reception.
Pop over the hill
ALR: There's the hotel... so that's one.
MJR: What street is the church on?
ALR: Garfield.
MJR: Well that doesn't help us does it.
ALR: Well, we are on Washington, so I assume we've got to be close.. it's all president streets.
MJR: How can you assume that?
ALR: The next street over is ... (looking) Lincoln. So I would bet Adams may be around here too.
They go two streets over.. Garfield.
ALR: Huh, how about that.
MJR: Okay smarty pants, where is the golf course where the recpetion is then?
ALR: Don't you have a sense for those things like airports?
MJR: Not funny.
ALR: You are right, it isn't funny.

We got into the church in time to change kid clothes and give a bottle before taking family pics. It does amaze me how big the family has gotten with all the grandkids having kids. So many are so close in age... Grady met Maeve who is a month older than him... he also pulled her hair and made her cry. E couldn't exactly keep up with Kate's girls so she played in her own world and showed Grandma all the sights at the reception. It was a cold outdoor reception and it took until the sun went down for the wind to break. By that time, we all had extra layers added on.

The next morning, we met to celebrate Grandpa's 90th birthday. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short because Matt had to be taken to the airport in Sioux Falls to head off to jump start. I took him, mom took the kids, and I met up with them in Watertown where we had lunch. We also broke up the trip by stopping at Janie's giving Eleanor some time to run around a bit and we got Grady crawling across the room. While they didn't really sleep in North Dakota, they did sleep most of the way from Fargo home... which made things so much easier. We got home in time for them to have supper and play a bit. My father was amazed at how much stuff we had packed to which I told him to just unpack it and shush. It was a good trip but it was even better to be home.

One thing that E had really started doing on the trip is calling Grady, Grady Boy. We don't really know how she picked up on that but it made us smile none the less.