Life’s Little Moments

I feel like it’s been forever since I posted a personal update. My wife’s surgery, her recovery, the daily features, and this week’s Share Your Nostalgia, I’ve been a bit busy. So let me bring you up to date.

My wife is recovering nicely. She will be heading in for another post op check up next week. Her hope is that they clear her to go back to work. She had made it no secret that she is bored and hates laying around. She’s already been her stubborn self and doing things that the doctor told her not to do. That’s how I know she is ready to go back!

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Our photographer, Beth, at Enjoy The View hosted a Spring Mini session recently. We love taking our kids here. The session is 15 minutes long, which is about how long they will behave. Beth had a dog that the kids loved named Roxie. They asked her where Roxie was when they walked in. Beth whispered to us that Roxie had passed away a few days before. Ella heard her and after the session, she told us she had to get a card for “Miss Beth” because “she has to be really sad.”

When the session started, they were ok. However 5 minutes in, they started to get crazy. They were moving SO much. I cannot even believe the great shots she got of them. Sam and I looked at each other when we saw the photos and asked, “Were we at the same session? I could swear they never stood still!”

Here is one of my favorites:

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My brother came up for a visit over the weekend. The kids have been cooped up and wanted to get out of the house. We decided to take them to the Sloan Museum, which has a lot of fun for kids. They have this huge water area for them to play.

They also have a cool treehouse that they can climb in.

When we pulled in, we could see just how busy they were, but we ventured in anyway. It was packed. We had the two kids and four adults and it was a challenge for us to keep them in our sight. They love playing with the other kids, but for us, it was wall to wall people and I was afraid we’d lose sight of them. In the end, they had fun and I was glad to be out of there!

We all went to dinner afterward at our favorite steakhouse – Lucky’s. My brother had never been there before, and we have never taken the kids there. Andrew was a hoot.

They brought out a salad and he was eating it when he found a leaf of spinach. “What?! A leaf?!? Who puts leaves in a salad?!”

There was a bottle of wine on the table and they asked if they could have some. We said that it was not for kids and it was alcohol. Andrew says, “Alcohol?!? People die from that on Dr. G!”

(Dr. G Medical Examiner is a show that follows this doctor doing Autopsies!)

Despite the 30 minute wait, the food was excellent. My brother and his partner decided they would go back to the hotel because it was close to bedtime. Sam and I walked in the door and we were ready for bed.

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My brother has read just about everything on Anne Frank. Sam knows that I read a lot of World War II books. She had asked if we’d ever been to the Holocaust museum here in Michigan. I had no idea that there was one. We looked and they were open on Sunday, so we met there about 1pm. We took the kids to Nana’s.

When we walked in, the first thing I saw was a train car. As many know, German soldiers loaded many Jewish people on these cars and took them to the gas chambers. I had read about these cars, which many books describe in detail. I felt it was smaller than I pictured.

This museum not only looks at the events of WWII and the Holocaust, but it takes it a step further and features the stories of survivors who moved to the US and to Michigan. I was disappointed when we found out that one of those survivors was there doing a talk an hour before we arrived. Her name was Irene Miller.

She has written a book about her experience and they had copies in the museum shop. My brother and I both bought copies. When I got home, I noticed she had autographed them. I cannot wait to read this.

It took us about 90 minutes to go through, but I can see where it might take longer. There are many of those codes you can scan with your phone and it takes you to videos with more information. As you get to the end of your trip, there is a hallway with Michigan survivors.

It truly was a very moving experience. I am so glad that we all decided to go. I hope to go back again soon and revisit some of the things we didn’t do.

One of the most sobering facts was that there were over 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust. A quote on the museum website from a Midland High School student makes a good point:

“The Zekelman Holocaust Center shows how much of an impact the Holocaust had on the world. Looking at the number six million in history class doesn’t show much, but seeing the impact here does.”

On the outside of the building are six peaks. They represent those 6 million lives.

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My brother’s visits are never long enough, but I am always glad to see him. We’re hoping to make the trip down to see him over the summer, if possible.

Spring’s ETA – 6 Days!

Today was one of those days I wish I could have stayed home with the kids! It was such a beautiful day. Spring is straight ahead and today was a small tease for us.

This morning, we got up and had some errands to do before I had to head to work. The kids saw the neighbor girls out last week on their bikes and roller skates. Neither of the kids has a bike, and they asked about them. While we were out, we picked them each up one with training wheels.

Before work, I grabbed the tools and began putting them together. Andrew got a cool Paw Patrol one that I have to add a couple pieces to.

It didn’t take him long to figure out the pedals. I think he’s going to be doing a whole lot of riding this spring and summer.

Ella got a Frozen bike. I felt bad because I got the whole thing together and there were two “left” pedals in the box instead of a left and right. So I called the store and asked about just swapping out one of the pedals, but I’ll have to return the entire bike and get an entire new one and rebuild it. Of course, she still had to see if she liked it.

I’ll head back to the store in the morning and get hers all set!

With the nice weather, Sam and I were already talking about things that need to be done in the yard. I have to re-do the stone walkway to our front door because the construction fools did a shoddy job putting them back in place. Sam wants to do something with the flower beds in the front yard, so I may have to look into some sort of barriers for that. She’s also wanting a garden – she will find out how NOT green my thumb is!

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If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know my son Andrew is all about tools. He’s always right there with something to help me and my father-in-law when we work on a project. He still carries around one of my cordless drills (with out the bit, of course).

He has a few “tool boxes” but my father-in-law has a tool bag. I guess He was trying to put the cordless drill in his boxes and it won’t fit. So he asked his Pa about a tool bag. You can only imagine his excitement when Sam’s folks dropped by the house the other night with a nice new tool bag for Andrew’s drill and other tools!

We had quite a few people at the house this week to look at his education plan. We’re hoping that he will be ready for preschool (and they are ready for him) soon. We were going over speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy goals and how to best get what is best for him.

Our Ella turned four last month and we were a week or so late in getting her four year old pictures. We once again took her to see our photographer friend, Beth, at Enjoy the View Photography. This time I did not go with them when the session happened. So they were a surprise to me when I finally got to see them.

This session truly showed her personality. There were pictures of her making silly faces, laughing out loud, and even sticking her tongue out. I joked that we paid for her to make silly faces, but I love that we have them. It is really what she is like right now – silly and sassy. At the end of her session, they had her sit on a swing. There were some fantastic photos there. This one is one of my favorites:

I am such a blessed man!

After a Long Week – The Weekend

The weekend is finally here! It has been a crazy week.

Monday, I took the kids to get their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes. Our photographer, Beth, once again got some great shots in our 15 minute mini-session. Ella is going as Rapunzel this year.

Andrew is going out as Spiderman.

The pictures came out so good.

Tuesday, Ella woke up with a fever. It was crazy high. She slept most of the day and eventually, Sam took her to urgent care. Strep Throat and tonsil stones. She was miserable.

My brother came up Tuesday night and Wednesday they were going to stop by our house, but I told them it was better if I came to him. So Sam stayed with Ella and Andrew came with me. They were staying at an Air B&B near us. It was a brief visit because I had to work that day.

On Thursday, Ella was feeling a little better, but not 100%. Sam had to take Andrew to Occupational Therapy, so Ella and I stayed home. I was trying to fold laundry and get stuff done, but she called to me and asked me to snuggle with her on the couch.

You don’t say “no” to snuggles! She is so funny though. At one point, she faced me and put her arms around me. As she hugged me, she said, “I just love you, daddy!” She held me for like 5 minutes. I was thinking about just how amazing this was. She made me feel so special. It was amazing. Then, suddenly, she let go and said, “Ok, that’s enough hugging for one day, dad!” Hilarious!!

We got a Halloween Tonie for their Tonie Box and it plays all kinds of Halloween songs. They have been watching Halloween episodes of Miss Rachel, Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, and such. The Ghostbusters theme song is on that Tonie (and in the Miss Rachel show). I did a spit take with my coffee when out of the blue from the couch, she says, “Dad. Who you gonna call?” Immediately followed by her screaming, “Ghostbusters!”

She was actually making up lyrics to it in her room the other day “There’s a tree outside. Outside my house. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! It was complete nonsense and I loved every minute of it.

Daisy, our new puppy, is slowly but surely getting better about going to the bathroom outside. I’m not looking forward to standing outside in the rain and snow with her this winter waiting for her to go! On a funny note, I think she thinks she is going trick or treating with the kids this year….

The kids did a Trunk or Treat this evening and got a bunch of candy. They have the list of candies that fall under the “daddy tax” rule.

Tomorrow, we are heading out for a Halloween Train Ride with my friend Margaret and her family. I am SO looking forward to it. It should be a blast.

Have a great weekend!!

Two-riffic Day!

I had the day off yesterday for my son’s birthday. It was such a great day with the family.

He is all about tools and the construction vehicles that have been outside, so that was the “theme” for his birthday.

My dad sent him a tool box earlier this week. It had some cool tools in it and he was loving it! Without seeing one Three Stooges movie, he’s already showing me he’s going to love them.

When I came home Tuesday, I put together his birthday present so he could get it first thing in the morning. It’s a cool Mickey Mouse Tool Bench.

He also got some “power tools” that we got from Sam’s Club. They really look like Bosch tools and they all make noises. The drill actually lets you drive a screw in and reverses to get them out. He figured that out on his own. He is loving this!

Sam’s coworkers told her about a cool place north of us. It’s like a big McDonald’s Play Place. Slides, zip lines, and more. He was in his glory going through the tunnels.

They even had a rock wall for him to climb.

We played long into the afternoon and then made our way home. Sam’s mom picked up Andrew’s birthday cake. We were going to go pick it up and bring it home, but then Sam’s sister said she had a gift for Andrew and she’d meet us at their mom’s. We wound up eating cake and ice cream there before finally calling it a night.

We don’t often get days together as a family, so Andrew’s birthday was extra special. It was a really great day.

In my blog yesterday, I posted on of the photos from his 2nd birthday shoot. Our photographer captured this amazing candid that I cannot wait to hang on the wall. This very well can be one pose that I have them do every year ….

I am thankful that the Lord blessed me with my wonderful children. I am so happy to be their dad.

Steak, Paint & Bunnies

Our wedding anniversary was this past Sunday. Five years! Sam had to work Sunday, and we had both taken a day off to celebrate. She took Monday off and I took yesterday. Originally, the plan was to take a little overnight trip somewhere. However, after much talk, we decided that there were things we could do around the house that we have put off for a long time. Having the kids and Nana and Papa’s was going to make it a lot easier!

When I first moved in with Sam, she had a couple racks on the wall where she hung her clothes. There is no closet in the bedroom. As I recall, we were sleeping one night and one rack pulled out of the wall and fell to the floor. We pulled the other rack off, too, and it left a few holes in the wall. I patched them – years ago – with the intention of sanding and repainting. That never happened – until this week.

On Monday afternoon, Sam dropped the kids off and I pulled all the furniture out of the bedroom. Our intention was to paint it with a color we had intended for the kitchen (and never used), but Sam and I decided it might be a bit too dark. So when she got back, we went to dinner and then ran to Menard’s for paint.

We decided on dinner at our favorite steak house. Both of us ordered Filet Mignon and enjoyed actually having some face time together. It was so nice to have kid free conversation with each other. It felt like forever since we have been out to eat together.

Menard’s is right down the road from Lucky’s, so we stopped there and looked at paint swatches. The bedroom was a bright yellow color and we debated painting with the tan we had planned for the kitchen. We both knew that we wanted to stay with a light color because the room is already small. Sam found a yellow that is almost a cream color that we both liked. We bought the paint and went home.

Once we arrived at home, we donned our “paint” clothes and got to work. We both agreed before starting that we hate taping the room! What a tedious task! We also both stated our concerns about the color. You know how you see a swatch and think, “Oh, I like that” and then hate it when you see it on the wall?! The good news is, it looks good and we both like it!

Our hope was that we’d only need one coat of paint. It really dried quickly and only one wall needed a second coat. The only reason it did was that I had marked off some things on the wall to hang pictures and it bled through the paint. Once I put the second coat on, it looked great.

We had pulled the mattress off the bed and dragged it into the living room, which is where we slept. We left it out there and when the kids came home they thought it was a hoot to have the bed on the floor. We spent a lot of Tuesday all curled up on our bed watching TV and being silly. PRICELESS family time!

Sharing a Room

One big change for all of us was that we moved Andrew’s crib out of our room. He and Ella are now sharing a room. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. We’re working through this right now. Andrew will get up off and on through the night, and there is the fear that he will wake up Ella if he cries. Believe me, the last thing we need is both of them up in the middle of the night. Fingers crossed.

We’re already pretty sure that Andrew is a genius. Earlier today, I walked to their room and couldn’t believe what I saw. Andrew had pushed Ella’s bed close to his crib and was actually standing on the railing and was trying to climb into his crib. How he knew to do that, I just don’t know. The incident is one that assures us that there will be more ER visits in the near future.

Bunnies!

We took the kids to get Spring pictures done on Friday. We got the pictures back on Monday and they came out SO good. Kudo’s again to Beth at Enjoy the View Photography for capturing precious moments with our kids.

The photo above is probably my favorite one of the two of them. Perfect smiles and I love that Ella is holding Andrew’s arm. They were both excited to take pictures with real bunnies!

They did so well with them. The bunnies were a bit skittish when they were taken out of the basket, but we still got some good shots. I love that Andrew loves to hug animals. He does it with our cat all the time. Beth caught him hugging the bunny –

What a wonderful picture! I just love how Ella is looking at Andrew here!

The past few days have been filled with plenty of amazing moments. I am so glad to have been able to share them with my beautiful wife and my kids.

She’s a “Threenager”

Yesterday, Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday. It was a pretty busy day!

She woke up and had a breakfast picnic. Her choice of breakfast food? A grilled cheese sandwich!

After I got home from a dentist appointment (that I should have cancelled), we piled in the car and we took a trip up to the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw. We have a membership there and the kids always have a blast!

They have a water area like the Sloan Museum, but its a bit smaller. The kids still love to play there. They also have slides, a fake doctor and dentist office, a barn, lots of fake cars, and other neat science-type stuff.

The thing behind Ella is a wall of marbles. Both kids love it.

Not sure Andrew knew what this mirror was all about.

One of many cars the kids can play on. One of them sits next to a bank drive thru teller!

These floating balls are always fun to watch.

We went home and Ella got to pick what she wanted for lunch. We got dinosaur chicken nuggets and French fries and again, had a picnic before nap time. I think she was too excited about her birthday to nap, so her and I played out in the living room.

She is all about Disney Princesses, so we decorated in that theme.

She even had a princess cake!

Big brother Dante’ came over to have dinner (Pizza) and cake with us. Dimitri was not feeling well, so he stayed home. We all sang “Happy Birthday” and she made her wish and blew out the candles.

One of her presents was nail polish. Each bottle had a different Disney princess on it. The color of the polish matched the dress color of the princess. Well, we just HAD to have a spa day …

Mommy got her nails painted all one color. Daddy, on the other hand, got a different color for each nail!!

Dante’ left before he had to sit in the chair!

It was certainly a fun day for her and for us!

You may recall that we had some 3rd birthday pictures done. They came out so good! Beth, our photographer, always seems to catch the best pictures, even when the subject (Ella) won’t sit still!

This is the dress that Ella picked out for her pictures. This is one of my favorites!

She wanted a picture in her “Belle” dress, which is the dress that she wore for Halloween when her and Andrew went out as Beauty and the Beast. She also had to have her Tiana stuffy that my brother sent her in the picture.

She LOVES these rain boots, and they really do go well with this dress. I love the look on her face in this picture. Probably our favorite picture from the session is just amazing. Beth asked Ella to jump up and down like she was splashing in puddles with her boots ….

This is PURE Ella! What a capture!!

While I still cannot believe she is three years old, I am glad to have a platform like this blog to write things down so that she can look back at them and read them in the future. She has provided us with three years of amazing memories!!

Happy Birthday, Ella!!!

2022 Holiday Photo Shoot

We were supposed to get some quick holiday photos last week. The day before our appointment, the kids were still under the weather. I made the call to our photographer and asked if we could either reschedule the session or put the money toward our future appointment for Ella’s birthday pictures. She graciously said that we could move the session to this week if that worked.

I wasn’t sure if this was a possibility because these were what she called “mini sessions.” Basically, it is an abbreviated session of about 15 minutes. For one fee, you get the session and all of the digital photos from the session. It was a really sweet deal and I am glad that she was able to move our appointment.

We’ve been to her studio more than once. When I walked in for our session, I was very impressed with what they did. They literally created an entire room right there. It was the perfect backdrop and the photos were just beautiful.

When we did Andrew’s first birthday pictures in October, Beth’s (our photographer) dog was in the studio. Roxie. Ella remembered her name! When we walked in this week, Ella was on the look out for Roxie. She asked, “Where’s Roxie?!” Beth was so impressed that Ella remembered the dog’s name and told her that she was upstairs sleeping (which seemed to be an acceptable answer).

Our plan was to just get pictures of the kids. Sam and I knew that there was always the possibility of Beth getting us in photos, too. So we both wore sweaters and were prepared to jump in. I’m glad we were ready, as she took family photos right from the get go.

There were so many great photos that were taken. The best of them will go on the Christmas card (if we have time to get them done).

Beth is SO fast! I swear, Ella just doesn’t like to sit still for pictures anymore. She is always on the go. The fact that she was still able to get pictures where it looks like she is sitting still just amazes me! She wasn’t on the couch for long.

You might be able to tell that she isn’t sitting still in the above picture. I was really trying to hold her in one spot for this and a couple other shots in the pose.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this pose, but I really do. I may or may not have needed help getting back up after this pose.

Beth made sure to grab a few solo pictures of each kid. Ella loved the wagon.

Andrew in this little sled is SO cute!!

I think Beth took about 20 pictures of the two of them in the wagon. Most of them probably looked like Ella was choking Andrew, but there were a couple that really came out cute.

The thing that I was very happy about was that Beth got a photo of just Sam and I together. In all the time we have been together, we never really had a “professional” photo taken of us. We had a friend take some engagement photos of us to announce to friends and family that we were getting married. That friend takes photos for fun and she doesn’t own a studio or anything. They came out great and we loved them, but that was almost 5 years ago.

Beth was able to snap a couple of us before the kids were hanging around at our feet. I am sure she had to crop the kids out of the bottom of the photo, but I just love this picture.

Thank you to Beth at Enjoy the View Photography for once again capturing some wonderful photos!

The holidays have always been special to me. I am so very lucky to have such an amazing family to share them with. What do I want for Christmas? Nothing. I already have the greatest gift in the world – my family!

Pictures Perfect

I’m not sure I’d ever have what it takes to be a photographer. Oh sure, many people comment on the pictures I take with my phone and post on Facebook, but they are far from professional.

There is a local photographer close by that has never disappointed us with her photos. She took Ella’s First Birthday pictures, Andrew’s helmet pictures, and recently Andrew’s First Birthday pictures. Her name is Beth and she owns Enjoy the View Photography.

I am always amazed when I look at the pictures she gets. I know the chaos that was happening when the pictures are being taken, yet she is able to grab that perfect split second in time that makes it frame worthy.

For Andrew’s session, she set aside some time for us to get a few of both kids and the family. The autumn colors were not at peak, but the outdoor photos still look fantastic!

She got pictures of the whole family sitting, standing, with Ella on my shoulders, and more. It is hard to pick a favorite and which ones to put on canvas.

Then there were photos of the two of them together. Some truly amazing shots of them sitting, but the one that both Sam and I love is them running from the camera.

There is one of Ella grabbing Andrew and hugging him that makes me laugh …

…and one that makes me tear up….

Beth got a couple solo shots of them, which wasn’t easy with Ella. She was way past being done, however, there is one that just came out perfect…

…my favorite solo picture of Andrew captures him in all his sweetness…

We headed inside to get birthday and cake pictures. Again, Beth was able to get these split second moments perfectly. Andrew was not really about sitting still, but you’d never know it by these pictures.

As far as a cake “smash,” we didn’t really get that for pictures. We got some at home on his birthday, but he was just to careful during the photo session. It was almost like he was saying, “I’d rather not make a mess…”

My kudos again to Beth and Enjoy the View Photography for these wonderful pictures which we will look back and enjoy for years!