Brothers

My mom, mother-in-law, and aunt have often advised me that I should write down memories about the kids. They are right. If I don't write about these sweet little stories, I am surprised how things I thought for sure I would remember start to fade.

So, I was looking at this picture of the boys tonight, and I was inspired to write a few random memories of the two of them. (This blog has been an excellent tool to capture memories!)

I remember when Seth was born how happy I was that Henry would have a brother. Henry shared in my excitement. :) When we pulled in the driveway bringing Seth home from the hospital, Henry was outside playing with his Aunt Debby and Great Grandma. I can still picture him running down the sidewalk yelling, "WHERE'S MY BABY SETH?! WHERE'S MY BABY SETH?!"

We brought him inside and Henry was so sweet and gentle checking out all his fingers and toes. He looked at all his bandaids, concerned that he had gotten shots, and then gave him lots of kisses. It was such a tender moment. I remember him looking at Seth, and then looking up at me saying, "I like my baby Seth."

I remember Henry spoon feeding applesauce to Seth, making such a mess, but so pleased and proud to be a big boy. I remember Henry's giggles when Seth kept babbling, "ba ba ba ba ba."

I remember a 3 year old Seth calling after a 5 1/2 year old Henry when Seth felt he rode too far away on his bike from him. "Henny, HENNY!"

I remember letting the boys have a sleepover in Henry's room when they were 6 and 4, and how they decided the next morning that they wanted to share a room. It has been sweet, most of the time :), listening to them talk before they go to bed at night. Oftentimes, they read books together before they go to bed, laughing at some poems in a Shel Silverstein book or poring over a dragon book.

Little moments in time...treasures in my mind...I love my boys!

Seth

I love him. Obviously, right?! But sometimes you can just tangibly feel in you chest just how much you love your children, like your heart might burst. And tonight was one of those times.

I don't know if I could specifically say what it was tonight...It was partly his sweet smile, and happy giggle as he was telling me about a funny story at school. It was partly his excitement and happiness at having made a new friend. It was partly my reflecting on how his responses to my questions may take some time but they are so often deep and spot-on. It was partly watching him come in and give Evan a kiss good night. It was partly just me looking at his sweet face, his greenish-blue eyes, and the curls on his head as I tucked him in to bed tonight.

I love him.

I love this...

When I was a Caroline's age, my best friend was a boy. Tim and I were in to climbing trees, playing in the mud, playing cowboys, spaceship, you name it...we really didn't have much use for dolls. I was definitely a tomboy.

Caroline, on the other hand, is a great mix of tomboy and girly-girl. She loves to get dirty, and wrestling with the boys, and playing superhero with Evan :), but she also loves wearing dresses and playing with dolls.

Caroline had her friend Elyse over today for a playdate, and they set up their own American Girl Cafe, and insisted on having a meal set for their dolls at lunch. They were kind enough to invite me to join in their fun, and I have to admit, I quite enjoyed myself! She has introduced me to a whole new world, and I love it!

Yes, that's our daughter...

...the one with the mustache and the technicolor "chicken pox." She got this fabulous look at a neighborhood block party. We went for a few minutes just as it was closing down after we got back from our American Girl outing yesterday. I'm not sure who created this look, whether it was our sweet daughter, or if it was the 5th grader painting her face. Either way, she was quite happy to show off the results with her kindergarten friend, Meme.

My American Girl Doll

What a day for Caroline! We met my mom and took the train to downtown Chicago to the American Girl doll store.

We had lunch in the cafe. Because we had not purchased her doll yet, they lent us one that she could put in a booster seat to eat right next to her.
Here's my mom and Caroline at our lunch.

All of the food was presented in such a fun way...Caroline's meal was in a picnic style, with a mini hot dog, a mini hamburger, a fruit skewer, and a mini serving of mac and cheese!

Here's Caroline's doll-on-loan eating her dessert.

Here's Caroline after she had decided which doll to get...a "Just Like You" doll that looked just like her!

Grandma and Caroline looking through the catalog to see what to put on her Christmas list!

On the way home, Caroline met some littl e girls who had just been to the American Girl Store. They played non-stop.

That's a happy girl!

Last Pictures at the Lake in Summer 2009

The pier and boat lift are disassembled. The boat is in the garage. The beds are stripped. Summer 2009 at the lake has officially come to an end. :(

However, before we closed things up there, the kids had a final swim and boat ride. Here's some big news: Henry got up on waterskis for the first time!! He was thrilled. I think that we'll be spending a lot of time on the boat next year. :)

My brother-in-law snapped the traditional picture of the kids on the pier on Monday. Its fun to see how much they've grown from year to year.


He also helped Evan adorn his shirt with cicada shells. Evan was quite taken with the idea, and wore them around for a LONG time.

Happy 6th birthday, sweet Caroline!

Pretty cool birthday date this year...9/9/09!

So, here's what happened 6 years ago today!

On 9/9/03, it was Henry's first day of preschool. It was a busy morning. We dropped Seth off at a friend's house, went to the grocery store, and then went to preschool. Parents stayed in the classroom for that first day, and that is actually when my contractions started!

Henry and I left a little early, picked up Seth, and we headed home to make some lunch. The contractions started getting a little stronger, but I can remember thinking that I had to finish lunch and get the kids down for a nap, and then I would call the doctor.

By the time I was done making PB&J's, I was fairly certain that I was in labor. My neighbor came over, and I drove myself to my doctor's office. After my doctor examined me, I half expected her to say that it was false labor, and that I should go home. Instead, she said that I needed to walk right over to the hospital next door and check in. I remember being a little disappointed because I wanted to drive over to the other hospital that offered massages, manicures and pedicures. Apparently there was no time. :)

Things went very quickly after that. While I was checking in, I was in hard labor. I called Dave, my mom and my sister, and was very worried that they wouldn't make it to the hospital in time. Thankfully, Dave and my mom were able to make it, and at 6:04, our little Caroline was born. My sister, Karen, arrived 5 minutes later, and was one of the first people to hold her God daughter.

My mother-in-law came to watch Henry and Seth as soon as she could, and the next day, they all came to the hospital to visit their new baby sister. My father-in-law, my dad, Dave's Grandma and his Aunt Debby also visited. When it was time for the kids to go home, they were very upset that they could not bring their baby home with them right then.

And now I've blinked and my baby girl is 6 years old. Crazy. :)

A Wedding at the Farm

On Sunday, we went to an astoundingly beautiful and charming wedding. The ceremony took place in front of the pond that the groom and his siblings and cousins swam in when they were growing up.


The wedding party was brought to the pond by a horse-drawn hay ride. It was available all afternoon and evening for the wedding guests to ride on the beautiful paths through the groom's parents' Christmas tree farm.
The bride and bridesmaids carried wildflowers from a friend's garden, and they all looked absolutely beautiful.

After the ceremony, the kids had a fabulous time playing with their cousins and friends. There were so many thoughtful and fun activities for them to do, including paddle boating, a bouncy house, dress up, coloring a playhouse, dancing, you name it.

The kids were even were provided with nets so that they could catch frogs...

...which they did!

There was a huge tent where we ate a most delicious meal of pulled pork, chicken, and ribs. Yum!

There was a sweet little gathering area outside of the barn...
and inside the barn, there was more food, live music, and plenty of dancing.
Here's the groom with some of his young fans. He's in a band called the Cash Box Kings, an up and coming blues band that has gotten rave reviews...click here to visit their website.
Congratulations, Joe and Kristina!

Any chance we could book our kids' weddings at the farm someday? :)