Mr. One

If you mustache, I'm turning one!

Grant is ONE today! He's such a little man now. We're having a small birthday party for Grant on Sunday with just the Grandparents like we did with Miles and the theme is Mustache Bash. I can't wait to see him devour a chocolate cake!

Here's a few quick takes of what Grant has been up to lately:

Grant has been walking since early January and since he's mastered that he's moved onto running. It's funny because sometimes his body can't keep up with his legs.

Grant is getting his one year molars and has been a bit clingy. I can't wait until he's done getting teeth!

His personality is really starting to show now. He's a super big momma's boy. I think he has my humor because he laughs at the same things I do. He gets frustrated easily and will let you know by screaming at an ultrasonic pitch.

I'm so excited to see him grow and to learn more about his personality. He and Miles get along really well and I even catch Miles trying to give him hugs. Grant pushes him away though because he thinks Miles is trying to push him down.

Here's a little progression of Grant's growth:

3 Months

5 Months

6 Months

8 Months

(I'm still looking for more of these changing table photos so stay tuned for more!)

Happy birthday my little growing man! You are so bright and such a ray of sunshine to our day. I can't wait to see what new things you learn this year and to see you and Miles become even better friends. We love you so very much!

Getaway

Last Thursday Patrick and I had the opportunity to getaway for a couple days. We won some cash to spend at Ocean Crest Resort in Moclips, Wa. This was a much needed vacation for us since the last time we went on a trip for just the two of us was our honeymoon over three years ago! I know. I can't believe it either.

Patrick's mom came down and watched the boys. What a blessing it is to have family near by to help! What made our mini-vacation much more relaxing was knowing the boys were in good hands. I didn't worry for a second.

We left early Thursday morning so we could take advantage of being alone to test drive a few vehicles. I'll spare you the boring details but in a nutshell we're looking at suburbans and vans.

We arrived at Ocean Crest Resort, checked in to a room with the most beautiful view, and then relaxed for a few hours. Soaking in some quiet time, watching a movie, surfing the net without interruptions was amazing to say the least. It was weird to say "let's go ____" and then get up and walk out the door without a ton of prepping kids and buckling seat belts over wiggly bodies.

View from our Room

We did so much in two days. We checked out the little towns surrounding Moclips. I fell in love with Seabrook, a cute little neighborhood where every house was decorated like a beach house with friendly neighbors, cute shops, and a great restaurant called Mill 109.

Kiteloop

Something IPA (can't remember the name)

Home in Seabrook

A walk on the beach left us chilled but refreshed for our night out at Quinault Casino in Ocean Shores. The ocean is gorgeous and loud.

HA!

I don't think we'll go this long before our next vacation with just the two of us. It was fabulous. I was excited to see the boys, though, and give them some big hugs and kisses. I sure missed them! Almost everything we did or saw we mentioned how much Miles and Grant would like it. It makes me excited for our family vacations this summer.

February Daybook

I love this idea of the Daybook. I got it from Mike and Kristine's Blog and have adapted it a bit. I like how it's a snapshot of what's going on in our little world. So, here's my first daybook entry:

Outside my window... darkness. The boys are in bed and we're catching up on new episodes and relaxing after a great weekend.

I am thankful for... SO many things! I start every prayer with thanksgiving to God for everything he has blessed me with. I try to include the simple things like a warm home, vehicles, financial stability, healthy food, and healthy bodies, basically the things that make life easier. Then there are the big things that come up that I am thankful for like today.

All week I've had the calling to go to Mass at St. Martins Abbey this Sunday. My main motive was to "run into" our dear priest-friend Fr. Qui-Thac, now Fr. Marian who is discerning becoming a Monk. Well, I've got to say that it couldn't have been more clear that answering that call with a "yes" was the best answer.

As we walked up to the Abbey the church bells started ringing. Not just the basic gong, gong, gong, but chimes of different notes. As we walked under the bell tower the chimes echoed in my bones, bouncing around my body (they were crazy loud). Just beautiful. It's hard to describe how just how beautiful they were but looking back it felt as if it was God's way of greeting us and thanking us for being there. That sounds super cheesy but at the moment it really did sound and feel that beautiful.

And the next couple hours were right in line with those bells. Inside was peacefully quiet (and so were the boys!!!) The Abbey is simple and beautiful. Then we saw our good friends Tuan and Sara walk in. What a wonderful surprise! As mass started we watched the monks proceed in with Fr. Marian at the end in his Mass robes. That's right, he was celebrating mass today! And gave a wonderful homily that we could actually listen to because Miles and Grant were being super good.

After mass we, along with Tuan, Sara and Xavier, got to have lunch with Fr. Marian and Fr. Paul. Fr. Paul also celebrates mass over at St. Michaels, our home parish. I am so thankful for being able to go to mass and hear Fr. Marian's homily once again and then to have had lunch and sit and talk/chase the boys around. It was truly an joyous occasion. We're always praying for his discernment. We miss being able to pop in to Sacred Heart to say hi but know that he is doing God's will and we love supporting him in any way possible.

I am thinking about... getting on track with eating healthier and getting into an exercise routine. Not only do I miss that great feeling after a workout but summer is getting closer and I'm not about to buy new shorts because the old ones don't fit!

From the kitchen... full bellies. Tonight the boys ate their favorite meal, spaghetti. They always lick their plates when we have that for dinner.

We are learning... colors. Miles is getting into this a little so I'm running with it. Since this I've started wondering how other parents work with their color blind children?

I'm reading... The Essential Catechism, a guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. So far, I've learned a lot and it's already on my list to reread it.

I'm praying for... our confirmandi. We have an amazing small group and they're always in my prayers.

I'm looking forward to... our first trip together, without kids, since our honeymoon! Yeah, it's been that long since Patrick and I have been away together and I just can't wait!! Long story short, I won $300 from Star 101.5 to Ocean Crest Resort in Moclips, Wa. I don't even care that the weather might be crappy and the rooms are super dated, I am so happy to be able to spend three days and two nights with only Patrick and on our own schedule.

High... Grant sleeps completely through the night now. It's been wonderful for me too to sleep through the night for the first time in almost a year. He's walking everywhere and always happy. I love how much fun he and Miles have together. They'll just start laughing at each other for reasons that only brothers know.

Low... there are times when I wish we lived closer to family so the boys can visit their grandparents more often or Patrick and I can have an impromptu date night and know that grandma and grandpa can help with the boys. Some days are rough and having that support, other than the wonderful endless support from Patrick (best husband EVERRRR), would be a fantastic load off my shoulders. I'm am thankful that we live close enough to see them on weekends for special occasions or just for fun.

Extra time is spent... sewing, crocheting, and dinking around on pinterest to find more cute things to sew and crochet. Patrick got me a new sewing machine for Christmas so I've been searching for more and more sewing creations. Lately they've consisted of baby blankets for gifts but who knows, maybe I'll get to that circle skirt I pinned a year ago. I finally crocheted my first hat. Well, two actually, for Miles and Grant. I frogged each once about 10 times trying to get the right fit for their little heads but I finally got it right.

I'm loving... how much Miles talks now! He strings together quite a few words, enough to get across what he wants. My favorite thing is when he accidently runs into me or Grant and he'll say "sorry, momma" or "sorry, Grant." He has a hard time with R's and L's so you can imagine how some words sound pretty funny. for instance Grant is Gant and lap is yap. Super cute though. I'm also loving not nursing anymore! I've been pregnant or breast feeding for 3 years straight. I forgot how nice it is to not plan around hungry babies whether pregnant or BF'ing.

Around the house... I'm finally hanging pictures on our walls! I've only decorated the living room and kitchen and everything else has been rather bare. It feels much more like home with family pictures on the walls.

A picture to share... well, two.

Chocolate pudding

Happy New Year!

Happy new year! What a year 2012 was! With all the Christmas festivities and colds running through the family I hadn't given one thought to the new year. It wasn't until posts on Facebook turned from the normal ho-hum updates to reminiscent sayings, accomplishments, and resolutions. So, finally, I look back on the year with the ever repeating saying 'I can't believe how different things are since last year!'

A look back in my memory on the major events will surface things like birthdays and anniversaries. Grant was born a week late after an induction on march 8. What a joyful day. Our family was forever changed. Miles received the best gift one could possibly receive, a sibling. By grants birth we learned that love is not divided among one another but multiplied. It only grows wih exponential power. And I thought I wouldn't use math past high school pre-calc!

Grant, born at 2:24pm, 9lbs 2oz. See his birth story.

Miles turned 2 on Thanksgiving this year. I like to look back on what it was like only a year earlier... Miles had just learned to walk, I was about 6 months pregnant, miles had his very first piece of cake (his birthday cake). So weird to think hat a year later it's grants turn, learning to walk and miles is now talking!

Patrick and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! With every year that we go deeper into marriage I see more and more the reasons why God created marriage and us for one another. It's so clear especially after having children. It's difficult to fully explain and one would know the clarity of such a feeling and knowingness if they're married but its one that you can feel overflowing out of your heart. Patrick is beyond loving and caring. He communicates, he taps into my emotions, reads them and responds to them, he loves our boys and says words like "cute" and "snuggle" about them. He loves me and the boys in all the love languages. There is no better husband for me. In my eyes, because God has said so too, he's perfect for me. I will forever look forward to being an old woman if I get to be sitting next to old man Patrick. 

Aside from those major events I'll remenisce about some smaller ones such as vacations and weekends spent in the sun.

This summer we spend a long weekend with my family camping at lake Pearrygin. It's my family's pastime camping spot and we've resurrected it and it will soon become a pastime of our boys.

Summer projects! We were just talking the other day about how we have the itch to get outside and start some more projects. Next in line is a hallway bench from a bed frame.

Schilter Farm pony ride and pumpkin patch.

Miles going 90 miles per hour. SO thankful for how long our summer lasted this year!

Weekend trip to see Tuan and Sara meant a fun and memorable time at Alpenrose Dairy Farm.

I wonder what I'll be writing this time next year. One thing I know will be true, that "things are so different from this time last year!"

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May God bless you all this year with love, great memories, and health!

P.S. Check out our Youtube channel mendelpd to keep up on some fun videos of us.

Christmas

What a wonderful week we had with our families during Christmas! Before our trip north we opened gifts and enjoyed a little family time. Here's a little week in pictures post.

Miles got a tool belt with tools, suspenders, gloves, goggles, and a hat. This is probably one of my favorite pictures of him.

Grant is trying to open his book. He enjoyed the toy he got but I think Miles likes it more than Grant!

We decorated gingerbread houses.

Miles was supposed to help me but ended up eating the candy instead. Go figure.

It had been a while since we'd been out to grandma and grandpa's house and since we had time we were able to go out and spend a couple hours with them.

Once the boys remembered how much they love grandma and grandpa they had fun playing with toys, checking out the house and walking Chico.

The old barn saw it last days earlier in the year and Uncle Dale (I think) had this replica of the barn bird house made out of the barn wood. I love it!

We also went ice skating. What a fun time!!

We spent about an hour and a half there and by the end Issac and Aidan were pretty much skating on their own!

Miles got to go around about twice and then had fun watching everyone. Hopefully he'll be a little better next year.

Christmas Eve morning.

Nutcracker baby!

Other Nutcracker baby!

The boys awaiting their gifts from Santa.

Matching Jammies!!

GGma