Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 1-15, 2019

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I just love this picture that Haya took of the boys at the zoo while they were riding the train. It shows them both in true character. They had a full adventure at the zoo that day complete with a picnic lunch and exploring the petting zoo, riding the pony’s (Reid’s first time!), the camel, and checking out the aquarium.

When I get home from work the kids are often outside playing. Almost every time Reid just wants to get in my car and play in Griffin’s car seat. He buckles him self and then wants help unbuckling (thankfully he HASN’T learned that yet!). He also loves to flop from the back seat into the back cargo area.
After taking a hiatus from the garden last year we’re getting back in our groove. We planted our little seedlings this week so we will see how we do! I included the picture of Reid helping himself to water at the sink as I just think it’s a good picture of his personality. A climber, risk-taker, explorer, problem-solver – he is a funny little man.

I got each of the boys a new back pack for school (ahead of the game as the current year isn’t even over!) and Griffin was excited to try his on. Though lately he’s told me he doesn’t want to give up his back pack and wants to save this one for second grade!

Griffin truly loves animals. He’s happy to spend hours in the pet store just holding little pups. See the video below too. Haya told me he easily sat with the puppy in the video for a half hour!
The school year is rapidly winding down. Griffin took flowers to his teacher on a wet and rainy morning. He completed his “timeline” project and took that to school also. We were all so happy with it and surely can’t believe how fast the years are moving.

Even though spring season is busy at Millcreek, I have been able to flex my hours and go in at 9:30 on Friday’s, after I get Griffin on the bus. This Friday I surprised him at school to help the kids with a book binding project. As it turns out the book was about Plants! I got to help him bind his book and then he brought it home a few days later.

Griffin continues to love sports and is constantly busy playing outside whenever possible. When Cole and Cooper are home they are usually all playing together and even Kevin and Brian get out there and play. Griffin really enjoyed Flag Football this spring (once the weather cooperated enough to be able to play!). He got to play quarterback a few times in different games and was able to complete a pass that resulted in a touchdown. Woohoo!  I watch the games as best I can but a large portion of time I’m basically chasing Reid around and snatching him off the field. He also gets creative and pretends to sleep in the chair “bed” that he makes.

Mom, Dad, and the Bethunes came over for an early Mother’s Day celebration as Mom and Dad were then headed to Scotland for a couple of weeks. As always it was a fun time 🙂  The first posts were set and construction began on the new Shipping and Growing facility at Millcreek on May 1st. The concrete trucks arrived and before long all of the posts were set.  The building is going up quite fast – I’m really glad we are having it constructed! Our new (second) pump house is nearly completed also. Crazy big pipes and valves in a nice new building. The new pump house will allow us to now do twice the amount of watering simultaneously as to what we’re able to do currently. It’s going to be great.

And here are a few videos for the memory bank, including Kevin’s interviews from his trip to California in February for the IBM THINK 2019! Conference.

 

February 1-13, 2019

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Here I am at the end of March, trying to find time to post about life back in early February! I guess that’s what pictures are good for, eh? Stirring up the memories. We had gotten a good amount of snow and school was cancelled on the day of bookfair setup at Tyler Run. I was off that day from Millcreek and Jim and Pat had stayed the night previous so thankfully I was able to leave Reid at home with them while Griffin and I headed in to school to do some setup. As always, he was a great helper setting up the room. We also enjoyed some warmer weather where Griffin and Cole were coloring on the driveway in the sunshine 🙂 Early February started out with our window replacement for the whole house – but I’m going to make that a separate post!

This one. He is so, so curious and observant. So stubborn and independent. And a risk taker. He’s cute and sassy. He looks at you with a smile when he knows he’s doing something he shouldn’t, and then he gives a little shriek or giggle of joy. 

Our childcare situation has been challenging since the first of the year. We have signed up with College Nannies and Tutors for now to get help finding someone. We interviewed a girl who was to start on Monday of this week, and on Sunday night at 10 pm I got a call that she wasn’t going to be able to be here. He car was repossessed (despite her having called me herself at 7 pm to say she was excited to begin the next day, I guess this happened after that). I was scheduled to be off Monday and Tuesday anyhow to be home and get her started, so I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and just enjoy the day. I took the boys to the zoo and they had a great time exploring. Reid jumped in all the puddles and came home soaked (after a huge 5 minute fit, where he wouldn’t let me buckle him into his seat in the car – joy!). Griffin loved running all around and expending his energy. When we arrived home, the window guys were popping his window frame out of his room on the outside and we were able to watch it all happen from the stop sign (but you’ll have to read the window post for that).

I signed up with my friend Claire to help chair the PTO Book Fair, which is a week each February at the school. I was able to see Griffin with his class, making their Gingerbread houses in the the main hallway one morning so that was a sweet surprise. He continues to do well at school and is mastering his sight words. I must say, I’m not very good at the nightly review (or even a couple times a week review). Seems by the time I get home from work and we do dinner, it’s then time for bed and it’s totally slipped my mind. But this kid gets them down in a short bit of time – thankfully!

Here are some scenes from the bookfair. This years theme was dinosaurs. A mom from the school makes all of the decorations and she does a great job! I didn’t get one of the hallway, which was really neat. 

Before I left for San Francisco I left work early and attended Griffin’s Kindergarten Valentine concert one afternoon. The kids sang various songs and demonstrated how they use their voices when playing different games. It was really cute. Then, to my surprise, they called three kids up to read why they love someone – and one of them was Griffin! It’s in the video below. Afterwards we went to Graeter’s with the Dennie’s and then I got in a quick run to the store before I went home.

We were able to find a different nanny within a day or two and she began with us later that week. Her name is Haya and so far things are going well. She is working 4 days a week and a girl from church is working one day a week (all to avoid overtime which is outrageous!). 

One Friday night Cole was over and he and Griffin were playing together. At one point they were painting, they also wrote some comics, and then they were playing in the basement. All of a sudden around 5 pm I hear screaming and crying and the kids run up the stairs as I was running to the basement and Griffin’s mouth is covered in blood. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, I figured he’d banged his mouth and lost a tooth – but after some looking around and cleaning out his mouth it turns out he poked the roof of his mouth (thankfully the hard palate) with a green building stick – when he landed on the floor after jumping off the 4th step. He was crying terribly and bleeding a lot but luckily the bleeding stopped fairly soon. It could have been so much worse…..and he now understands not to put things in his mouth, nor jump off the stairs!

I took Brutus to the vet for his regular shots and to get more medicine for his allergies. We’ve been doing daily pills rather than shots for now and since his vet is out of town for the next month we’re gonna stick with that. He was a really good boy this time – eventhough he gets very unsure and nervous there – no muzzle this time and not a bark or growl the whole time. Progress!

I was leaving for San Francisco the next day so on this night we had a silly time at bedtime. We were being all goofy and giggly and it was a lot of fun. Griffin took the picture of Reid and me 🙂 The next morning was Valentine’s Day, the day I was leaving, so I had the kitchen all setup for when the boys woke up. Thankfully they each woke up before I headed out so I got some good snuggles. Haya brought cookies for them to bake and decorate and by the time I landed in San Francisco I had a video and some pictures from here.  They were having a good time 🙂

We’ve gone around about what kind of stained glass Dad could make to have in Reid’s room, and we finally chose a cute fox. Dad whipped that thing up in no time and we were super excited to see it! We’re waiting to put it up until the new windows are done – but it is the perfect fox and the colors are great! Thanks Dad!

Kevin needed some new profile pics for work purposes so at out monthly dinner (this time lunch) with the Bethune’s Amy took Kevin’s photos. They turned out super great. 

And check out this throwback to Griffin, when he was a little older than Reid is now. Lily and Cammie are so young. And his crazy long hair!

January 2019

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We rang in 2019 next door with our neighbors with a low-key pizza party. Everyone, even the kids other than Reid (who was home sleeping) made it to midnight and beyond. We had champagne, hats, glasses, and party horns.

We’ve been making some updates around the house including our loft. While we really love our year-old couch downstairs in the family room it sure is easier to hang out with (and contain) the kids playing in the loft. Plus, the carpet makes it a nicer play area and I feel a bit better about any potential falls on the softer surface. Kevin had been hunting for sofas and narrowed it down to one particular one he liked at Macys. Then, however, he went to Costco and stumbled upon a nice sectional with recliners and decided with a much cheaper price tag we would go for it. Four trips to Costco and back in the van, he and Griffin picked it up. It should have been 3 trips, but Costco gave them 2 of the same box (!!) so we didn’t have all the correct pieces. Once we had them all home Kevin and I hauled them up the stairs together. We aren’t quite done yet with the arrangement, but for now it’s functional and Kevin and Griffin installed the new TV. We’re excited to have a cozy and contained family play space!

On New Year’s Day we headed to the Bethune’s home for our annual New Years Day pork dinner. The Buckeyes also played in the Rose Bowl so we were all suited up to cheer on the team. 

Later that week we hosted the Bethune’s for our monthly family dinner. Graham likely enjoyed dinner of lasagne, salad, and breadsticks the best as he relayed to me that “Iggy, dinner is delicious!”. 

Reid is always on the go and especially wanting to have what everyone else does. Here he is walking around in Griffin’s shoes. He regularly tries on mine too which is a sight to see.

I’ve been trying to be better about meal planning and eating at home. Life is such that eating out is “easier” but I’m wanting to eat “better” and be home more for the kids to get to bed earlier. Griffin has been demonstrating pretty sassy behavior over the last few months and I’m reaching my end point. Hoping that more sleep will be a good starting place for a more pleasant attitude. I asked Amy for good recipes of chicken/soup that I could make to take George dinner after Lynda’s passing. I went with Chicken Taco Soup which turned out delish. I’ve already made it twice since – it’s easy and tasty!

Hannah’s last day with us was Friday, January 4th. It’s been a real challenge to find someone new and it’s taking a toll on my mental state. I’ve found this time to be more challenging than ever to find qualified people who have experience and the right personality. Thankfully, Jim and Pat have come to our rescue yet again and have been up several times to watch the kids. We did hire a girl who came for one day, but it just didn’t feel right so I let her go on the second morning. So our search continues……

Kevin and I were able to go out for a late date night one evening during Jim and Pat’s stay. Kevin was sweet and gave me a card and flowers when I came home to pick him up :). 

My new phone has an awesome Portrait mode which takes really nice photos. While I sometimes look at our pictures and think they are crappy quality, I am thankful to have the pictures to capture the memories! Life on the move doesn’t always make for sharp and perfect pictures.

Reid REALLY does not enjoy getting his teeth brushed. He’s better when he brushes them himself, but he typically does it for about 8 seconds and then says “dah” for done. So I then try to brush his teeth for real and a scream fest ensues. The hygienist recommended I bring Reid along to Griffin’s visits in advance of when it is his time so he can observe and get adjusted to them playing in his mouth. Reid went this week for Finn’s (perfect) check up and was quite curious the entire time. Dr. Bob was great and playfully checked our Reid’s teeth while he was in the extra chair. He got a good couple of chuckles out of him. I decided since Griffin had no cavities, what better way to celebrate than to go get ice cream at Kilwin’s in Dublin.  Griffin continues to make good progress on his sign words and fluency phrases. He’s gotten sticker number 2!

Griffin has been loving playing with Grandpa while they’ve been caring for Griffin and Reid. Lots of soccer and outdoor play time when the weather permits. Finn loves going out and shoveling or even playing by himself in the cold and snow. We ordered new undies for Griffin and Reid (both Paw Patrol) and when I unpacked them all Reid wanted to do was try them on. Below he has Griffin’s undies on over his pjs. He was pretty proud, even if two legs were in one hole!

To get ready for our new nanny (who didn’t work out) I went on a major house cleaning and tidying spree. I dusted every room including all the boys dresser shelves – that is lots of work as it involves moving all kinds of things. In the end, I put all of Griffin’s current lego creations on his dresser. He has quite a collection of his own creative cars and structures.

We finally got one good snowfall so Kevin and Griffin headed outside and shoveled our driveway. Toward the end I took Reid out, all suited up in his snow gear for the first time, and Kevin pulled them around in the sled. After a couple minutes Reid changed out his snow hat for Griffin’s bike helmut, which, honestly was a better choice given the slippery condition of the driveway. 

Can you spot the cardinal – we regularly have a few cardinal visitors in our backyard trees. 

This picture is my most favorite recent photo of Finn. He had been outside playing and wanted to have hot cocoa when he came in (and it’s one of the only ways to get him to drink milk). He chose a chocolate chip cookie to go along with it and quickly showed me how the professionals rest their cookie on their cup. 

The construction continues at Millcreek as the cold has finally hit. They needed some more earth, so they moved their original piles and the related topsoil to be able to get to the clay beneath. They also flattened and rearranged the 41 year old compost area – it has a whole new look! As we’ve been looking for a new caregiver for the boys we’ve been enlisting the help of Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong and also Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein for the last few weeks. We’re super thankful they are able to come and care the for kids and the boys really have fun while they’re here.  It’s so fun to watch Reid’s personality continue to grow and to watch him change before our eyes. He is babbling and talking up a storm – almost always repeating what you say or just babbling jibberish from time to time like he is telling us something – we just aren’t sure what it is. Around 18 months he was saying about 5 words and I was beginning to get concerned. Once he started talking so much I began documenting the words and here is just a sampling – as now he is basically repeating any word you say!  Up, down (dah), done (duh), Dada (also DAH!), Mama (also MAH!), Bar (for snack bar), snack, more, uh uh (for no), no, light (ight), on, off, in, out (aught), doggy (dagah), ball, apple, book, all done (ah duh), choo choo (when he hears the train in our house), buckle (boble), cracker (cacka), wawa (water), milk, snow, cold, hot, warm, car, dog food, paci (he says it the same every time but I don’t know how to document it!), mine (as he hugs something, lol),

The last few days of January have had exceedingly low temperatures with nighttime lows in the negatives (-7) and daytime highs of 0. Yikes! With that, school was cancelled on Wednesday 1/30, Thursday 1/31, and Friday 2/1 (due to lots of snow and cold on Friday). Griffin was scheduled for school Wednesday of this week and they were to make their gingerbread houses (and I was to be the Mystery reader!) so all of that got moved to Friday – and school was cancelled again. Boo! But as it turned out, I got a bad cold that arrived on Wednesday and felt pretty terrible Thursday and Friday. With no school on Friday and with the help of Jim and Pat staying home with Reid, Griffin and I were able to head to Tyler Run to setup for the upcoming book fair this week. It was awesome, we arrived at school and were the second people in the parking lot which hadn’t been plowed! There was about 6″ of snow – which made it lots of fun to drive in!

These boys have been really goofy together lately and it’s a lot of fun to watch them play and be silly together. They love playing in the loft and bath time has been lots of fun!

Griffin has now brought home a few narrative pieces from school. I love seeing his creativity and drawing. I sometimes have difficulty making out his sentences (!) but love the story once he reads it to me!

In this story:  We go to school.  We are at the hotel.  We are going to the pool at the hotel.  In this story he was referencing our recent trip to Tennessee.  Griffin’s class celebrated the 100th day of school on January 30th. Each kid was asked to fill a water bottle with 100 of anything of their choosing – the only parameter was that it was 100 of one item. Griffin chose Q-tips!

And here is one from the archives – this pic showed up in my memories – it is of Finn when he was about Reid’s age now. Kevin and I both remember this day, he was laying on our bed watching Sesame Street. He has longer hair, similar to Reid’s, and look at his chubby cheeks! He’s been so lean for so long now it’s hard to recall his chubbiness!