Tag Archives: lily

December 24-31, 2019 ~ Christmas and New Years Eve

Well, it seems appropriate that as I sit here writing about the Christmas and New Years Even holidays it is blistery and snowing outside! Perhaps even more wintry than it was during Christmastime.

Dad, Amy, Greta and I did our traditional Christmas Eve Shopping trip this year a day early on the 23rd so on Christmas Eve we hung out around the house and had a lazy morning. It was a nice and warm day, quite unseasonable actually, so when I  headed out with Brutus we went on a nice and long 2 mile walk. The kids played hockey in the driveway along with Amy and Andy. Then later in the afternoon we packed up to head to Powell for Christmas Eve at NPC. We got home in time to drop off and feed the dogs, do a quick change out, and pack back into the car to head to church all in about 10 minutes. Whew. We didn’t really plan ahead for dinner but we lucked out and were able to enjoy a tasty spread at Koble in Powell on our way home. Yummers! Once we got home we put out cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa and then put the boys to bed. After a short bit we were off to bed ourselves as we knew we were likely in for an early morning.

The boys got up about 6:20 and once we were all downstairs we jumped right in to their stockings and gifts from Santa that were on the hearth. They were both excited for many of their gifts and moved right along through everything. Some of the top hits: Pokemon cards, Pokemon Go balls that crack open and have mini characters, and a PS4. Reid loved his kids karaoke machine and Griffin got some new winter boots.

Check out this picture from two years ago – Griffin is wearing the same sweater that Reid wore this year! These boys are getting big!

After a light breakfast at home we packed up into the van and headed to Mansfield for Christmas with Mom, Dad, Amy, Andy, Graham, Rowan, and Greta. We made it there by about 10, I think, and began with a nice tasty breakfast before digging in to more prezzies. After a restful afternoon we enjoyed a deluxe prime rib dinner and figgy pudding for dessert! Mom and Dad always go to great lengths to feed our combined army’s while we are there and we love it!

We hung out for the next couple of days which usually began with pretty early mornings for me and the doggles. I often got my cup of coffee at least started before I heard the pitter patter of the kiddos coming down for the day anywhere between 6:30-7 am. The kids played together outside, Rowan and Griffin played a lot of Pokemon cards, Greta used her pottery wheel, Reid and Greta (and Finn, a little) decorated a gingerbread house. Graham played his rubix cube and could often be found reading.

Kevin worked in the basement with Dad on the basement demolition tearing down the wall paneling, pulling down individual ceiling tiles and subsequent ceiling staples. Kevin also helped Dad move the internet and telephone from the basement to the upstairs den and in doing so needed the assistance of a helper in the form of a smaller body to climb into the confined crawl space. Enter Griffin! He was a great helper to get the wires through to where they needed to go. He was a bit apprehensive at first to go into a small, dark space but he worked through his nerves and did great!

After Dad’s office was relocated up to the dining room Kevin found Griffin sitting next to Dad talking football.  Now, this was well past his bed time, but this kid has a heart and passion for sports and it was really sweet to see and hear him having a conversation with Dad about the game they were watching :).  Oh…..and then they moved on to Poker!

These aren’t the greatest pictures, but the document our trip to the waste management facility to drop off a truckload of paneling and ceiling tiles from the basement. From the time I called to see what time they closed until we were leaving with an empty truck was about an hour. We busted booty to get it done and we made it!

And once we returned home I was anxious to get our dying tree taken down! It was hard and bristly and losing needles and I couldn’t wait to get it to the curb! The boys were happy to climb up the ladder yet again. Reid has NO fear, he just zips right up there. Griffin is a little more reserved but once he feels confident he loves helping and going up and down. Lots of play happened over the next few days.

I knew the day was coming when we were going to remove the front of Reid’s crib and turn it in to a big boy bed so I snapped some photos of him sleeping in his crib. Those big cheeks still get me. It’s always such a milestone and a happy yet sad one. He had been climbing out numerous times each night;it was pretty much a fun game for him and he had a really good system in place! While I was at work one day Kevin took the front off while he was home with the boys. Reid was SO excited to have a big boy bed. Ironically, I checked in on the video monitor while I was at work and I saw it all happening. His reaction was cute and the video below is when it all went down, lol.

 

This next series I describe as the “many faces of Reid”. this boy just has so many expressions. I mean all day long whether he is happy, sad, mad, silly, whatever it is he has an expression for his emotion and it cracks me up. It is one of the many super cute personality traits of our feisty little man.  I love it when he looks at me, squints his eyes and smiles and says “I miss you mommy”.

 

For New Year’s Even we had a few neighbors over to our house for a low-key hangout. George, Ella, Dewey, Griffin, and Reid all played together for quite some time. We had pizza, lots of finger foods, drinks, and party favors. Carlene, Matthew, and Jade joined us a little later and even Brutus and Lily got to come downstairs before the ball dropped. We were sitting down just talking and turned on the ball drop and believe it or not we completely forgot to pop the champagne and get our drinks ready for the countdown! We scurried at the last minute and made it just in time.

April 1-15, 2019

Though the weather doesn’t always seem like it, Spring Season at Millcreek has arrived and longer days at work are in full motion. While I don’t like being away from the boys as much as I am, I do love getting updates from Haya throughout the day, including pictures and videos. They are having lots of fun! The collage of Reid was put together by Google and I thought it was a good one to share. It captures his many faces and moods. 

I’ve been home at good times here and there and on this particular night it was nice enough to go on an adventure through the neighborhood. Griffin really wanted to drive his car, so I traveled behind while he drove himself and Reid on a large loop down the street and back. 

While Griffin seems to have moved on from his interest in arts and crafts, Haya has tried to do some fun crafts from time to time. They made a model of the solar system out of foam balls on sticks and they drew the solar system on paper. We seem to have legos everywhere these days. Griffin sometimes puts the kits together but then takes the creation and eventually makes his own. He currently has an army of his own creations. It’s fun to see how he uses the parts he has and his imagination to build different vehicles. And then to hear him play with his vehicles in his room is fun too!

I’ve taken both Lily and Brutus to Millcreek this spring on my Saturday’s so far. It’s been fairly “quiet” and Lily is a piece of cake and happily greets everyone. I’m working on getting Brutus used to strange and new situations. He was so funny when he walked from the car across the parking lot to the shipping warehouse. He hovered close to the ground and smelled everything! When we walked in to the office he didn’t make a noise at anyone, but as new people would enter he was more skeptical. Still trying to persuade him to happily welcome people!!

Griffin is enjoying flag football (when the weather has permitted the games to be played). I basically spend 50 minutes chasing Reid and trying to keep him off the field. He’s a little pistol and when he decides to take off – he’s gone in a flash and there I go after him on to the playing field.  Griffin loves gardening with me and working in the yard. He’s also been in to climbing trees and cutting flowers. He loves to go greet Reid in the morning and one particular morning I watched the video of him going in and talking to Reid. Reid wanted out and it was kind of cute to see Griffin get him, lol. Gonna have to watch these two together!

We went to Powell’s Village Green Park for the Easter Egg hunt again this year. We met up with neighbors and friends and the older boys had a blast. Reid had his own kind of blast, by getting to his first egg, opening it, and eating the chocolate. Then he’d move on to the next. He didn’t have a care in the world about getting many eggs, just the one before him with the treat was good enough for him. After the egg hunt I went to work, Reid was home with a sitter, and Kevin and Finn headed to the OSU Football Spring Game. It was a nice day!

Later that evening we headed to the Bethune’s to celebrate Greta’s 6th birthday! I don’t have many photos from our time together but the kids had fun and Reid enjoyed the dessert, lol. 

On Palm Sunday at church Griffin joined the processional of kids waving palm branches and standing up on the stage for the first song of the service. We love this tradition at church. 

Griffin definitely has a love for animals. He’s told me he wishes we could have a cat. Sorry buddy, that one’s not gonna happen! But this week Haya took the boys to the pet store where he got to play with several animals, including holding hamsters. As it turns out, about a week or two later Haya got a hamster for herself and her hubby (a compromise from a puppy) and has since brought it to our house for fun. Griffin loves holding them, Reid isn’t quite sure yet. 

We are loving having new windows that open! I love it when the weather is perfect to open up the house and enjoy the breeze and all the sounds of nature. This week Kevin installed window clings in our garage windows. They have a “blinds” pattern and really look nice from the street. No more dirty yucky garage blinds anymore and no new ones that will need to be cleaned!

New windows are now mounted in the porch, just one to go and then the framing of them, etc. There’s still lots of finishing details, lighting, and painting to do on the inside. We’re excited to be able to use it at some point this summer….

I love this throw back of Reid. I remember this picture at Kingwood Center when Reid was a baby. He was so smiley! Maybe it’s the orange that ties the pictures together. I’m struggling with the fact that this sweet little boy is about to turn 2!

And here is some video of the week, including Finn scoring a touchdown!

February 14-28, 2019

We had our first ever kid-free vacation! Kevin was in San Francisco for the week for work, speaking at the IBM Think! Conference. He flew out super early Monday morning and I flew out on Thursday (Valentine’s Day) to join him for a long weekend sans the kids. Jim and Pat were gracious to watch the boys for us for those five (!) days. We are really grateful and the boys had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa!

This was the first time I’d flown alone is a super long time. I had a short flight to St. Louis, a short layover there before heading on to San Francisco. Southwest served free drinks for Valentine’s Day so I enjoyed a mimosa while I chatted with my seatmate, a lovely lady who was traveling to San Francisco with her husband for a conference (not the one Kevin was at though, lol). She lived in Nashville and this was the first time they’d left their kids in about 5 years so we had some things in common to chat about. It was an easy flight, thank goodness! Once I landed I took an Uber to the swanky Stanford Court Hotel in the Nob Hill area of downtown San Francisco where Kevin greeted me in the lobby. We exchanged valentine’s gifts (the heart bracelet, below and super good cookies 🙂 I think I received the nicer gift) and then we headed out to meet up with two of Kevin’s coworkers and friends. We spent the next Friday and part of Saturday doing all the tourist things exploring San Francisco. We had a delicious breakfast at Taylor Street Tavern and then walked all the way out to the Ferry Building, stopping to browse here and there along the way. We rode the metro electric street cars up to Pier 39 and enjoyed drinks and appetizers while taking in the view of Alcatraz and the bay. We walked by the seals (oh my, I forgot how t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e they smell!) on our way to Ghiradelli Square. We stopped at the San Francisco Brewing Company and then onward via cable car back to our hotel.

Before we headed out of town towards Healdsburg, we drove down Lombard Street. It’s not nearly as pretty in February as it is in the summer when all the plants are flowering! It was a cloudy and from time to time rainy drive up to Healdsburg, a fun little town in Sonoma County. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on our way. Once we arrived, we parked and just wondered around the downtown area where there are restaurants, bars, tasting rooms, and shops. We had a fun afternoon going from one place to the next. 

Sunday morning we ventured to a few wineries for tastings. Our first stop: Mill Creek Winery, a cute little family run winery with a small tasting room. Yvonne was great at explaining all of the wines as she poured each sample. We really enjoyed our visit there and left with a few bottles and a wine club membership, ha!

Our next stop was Geyser Peak Winery. We had another great experience there with a bubbly lady who really loved talking about each wine and the various “notes” they have. 

Our quick trip came to an end and when we arrived at the airport and got to our gate, Kevin was A1 for boarding on both legs of our flights home. What are the chances, lol? So I captured his picture which he didn’t love, but Finn enjoyed the photo as we were at gate 28, his bus number.

Grandma and Grandpa sent us this picture of the boys at bath time having so much fun! Our flight back was delayed a few hours departing St. Louis so we arrived home at 1 am, rather than 9 pm. We were super happy when we got back and I couldn’t wait to check on the kids. 

The rest of the month just seemed to fly by. I’ve been trying to take pictures that capture the boys personalities, rather than always taking posed pictures. And I’ve posted some videos too that aren’t really anything fancy to watch, just everyday things I want to remember! I wish I could figure out why and how Reid ever learned to have such crazy table manners. I often sit him in his high chair while I make dinner. The result is that he stays put while I’m making dinner, but as soon as we sit down to eat he’s ready to get up! And he just says “done” and “down” over and over, pushes his plate away (or dumps it) and often launches his silverware across the counter or room. No joke. It is entirely frustrating and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. But, I guess that’s what life is like at less than two years old?

Sir Reid is also quite the climber. He’s climbed out of his crib a few times with me in the room (my back was turned so I didn’t even know he was doing it until I heard chuckling) and once with a sitter! We’ve gotten the door covers that go over the knobs (as he can also open the round door knobs and escape from any room) but he’s already figured out how to get them off the door. This boy is gonna be trouble. 

The boys have been enjoying outside play time with Cole, Cooper, and Abbie lately. One day I arrived home to a front yard game of football with Griffin, Georgia, Ella, and Abbie. 

After church on Sunday, Griffin and I went on a lunch date (we’d gone to church solo) to First Watch. He tore in to his plate of chocolate chip pancakes and we had a nice time together. Daddy and Reid were home napping and catching up on sleep. Reid continues to explore in the pantry and currently loves to stack coffee k-cups. Griffin completed his blue sight word book and received his certificate that included free custard at Culvers. Great job, Finn! 

Millcreek is getting busier with production as we prepare for the spring shipping season. On one of my ventures out of the office this week I snapped some pictures of plug trays that are about ready to be transplanted. It’s like walking through a green tropical rain forest in the conservatory this time of year. 

While we were in San Francisco both Lily and Brutus vomited a time or two. Lily seemed to also really be struggling with her walking, so I made an appointment and Kevin took her in to get looked at. Dr. Mansfield says it is just arthritis, even though it seems her back left leg is the most hobbly. She ran a full CBC of bloodwork, the results of which showed increased levels of the pancreas enzyme as well as a liver enzyme. That along with her decreased appetite, Dr. Mansfield recommended an ultrasound of her abdomen to look at the liver and pancreas. On Thursday the traveling vet from OSU performed the ultrasound and Dr. Mansfield called me with the results. They saw some “very concerning” changes in the thickness and lining of Lily’s stomach. She mentioned the “very concerning” at least three times. It is likely one of two things: severe gastritis (ulceration and irritation of the stomach) or stomach cancer. The only way to know for sure is to do a biopsy, either by endoscopy or surgical procedure. Given Lily’s current health status with her struggling to get around well, lack of appetite, she’s lost 7 or 8 pounds, and he vomiting I wasn’t sure a big medical procedure was the best thing for now. So we’re treating it as severe gastritis and she’s on a myriad of medications (12 pills a day) for the next couple of weeks to see if her appetite improves and she maintains her weight. The also ran a full set of x-rays, which revealed that her arthritis is “significantly” worse than it was just 2 years ago. My sweet Lily girl, I was heartbroken when Dr. Mansfield listed the possibilities of what’s wrong with her. She’s had a tough adult life – tooth extractions, torn ccl surgery, terrible arthritis. It seems Reid was able to tell she’s not feeling well as he’s been all about Lily (yih yee) lately. He sits right up next to her, hugs her, lays next to her and she just takes it all in.  o