New Couch and Slipcovers

So after 12 years of marriage,  Dan and I bought our first new piece of furniture (other than Ikea bookshelves!). We have always had hand-me-downs and second-hand furniture, but are the proud owners of a new grey velour tufted sofa.  Perhaps this new couch leans strongly toward my taste,  but what can I say?  I fell in love. And it folds down into a bed... bonus!

For the rest of the furniture, we ordered custom slipcovers from a shop in Oak Park. They are removable and washable and with two small kids and a giant dog,  I think that feature will come in handy. I am really impressed with the workmanship (he spent the better part of a day here custom cutting each piece) and would definitely recommend Slipcovers Plus if you're in the market.

Now to train the dog to stay of the furniture!

To Caleb For Your Sixth Birthday

Dear Caleb,

It's been  nearly two weeks now since you turned 6 and so far it suits you just fine.  Me on the other hand?   I'm not so sure.  I'd be perfectly content to keep you 5 forever, but that wouldn't really be fair, would it?  In my heart I'm happy that we've had another year for which to be thankful, and what a year it has been! 

You started and finished kindergarten while you were five and you didn't mess around.  You got right in there and learned to read like it was no big deal.  And math...you're great at that, too.  You made lots of great friends, especially Andrew, your very best bud. 

You still love basketball and play lots in the backyard, but you've taken a liking to baseball lately, too, and have been asking to take classes.  With your birthday money, you wanted to get (and got) a baseball helmet, baseball socks, baseball belt and baseball underpants! 

You also still love all things Mario, which explains our party theme this year, and you love to play Mario Kart with Daddy.  This summer, you are doing a great job of reading books to earn video game time (and that makes mommy feel a little better!).

Kisses are still wiped off immediately, but even though you don't like hugs and kisses, you are still a cuddle bug.  You still love Mommy and Daddy to snuggle with you at bedtime, and you still keep "day day" close. 

I love you so much, Cay Cay.  My life would not be the same without you.  You are genuine and joyful and persistent and smart and handsome.  I love watching you grow and seeing you become more and more "you" each day.  I'm so blessed to be your mommy. 

As I sit in your bed now and you've fallen asleep, so peaceful and perfect,  I'm excited and hopeful to think what this next year will have in store for you.  I pray that you will continue to grow and learn and do all the  things that six-year olds are supposed to do.  And I will watch and be thankful as each day goes by.

I love you.

Mommy

Caleb Lost His First Tooth!

 

Caleb lost his first tooth today!  It's been loose for a while and he's been very nervous about it coming out.  It was super wiggly today and he wouldn't eat anything because he was afraid, so after 3 hours of coaxing, he let Dan pull it out.  :-)  Looks like someone's getting a visit from the tooth fairy tonight (which he clearly stated he already knows is me because Gabe told him :-/).

 

 

 

 

Easter 2013

It's been a while and I'm behind on blogging, namely for the following reasons:

1.) Our desktop is extremely slow and running out of memory.
2.) The laptop has been hijacked by an unnamed person completing the 3rd sememster of his MBA studies.
3.) My phone uploads pictures sideways, and I have yet to figure out how to fix that problem.
4.) I am lazy / tired.
5.) I have been watching too much Mad Men, New Girl, Nashville, The Mindy Project, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation and assorted movies via Amazon instant streaming.
6.) I am much too busy reading other people's blogs.


I could go on, but I'll leave it at that, and will also leave you with this snapshot of our Easter.  These craz yboys keep me on my toes (an still refuse to cooperate for pictues!). 

Happy 8th Birthday, Gabie Baby!

Gabe,

It's that time of year again; you're about to turn another year older and as in the past, I'm sitting at the computer on the night before your birthday thinking about how quickly time is passing.  I read in a book recently that the days are long, but the years are short.  Never was a statement more true. 

Tomorrow you'll be 8 years old, and, as Bapa Hogan mentioned to you on the phone, that's halfway to driving age - yikes!  You are growing and becoming more mature.  You are still an excellent student and your teacher tells us you have a determination that helps you stick with things until you figure them out.  You are helfpul to others and well behaved.

You LOVE basketball and want to be an NBA player when you grow up. We've been watching the Bulls closely this season; you've been checking your Bulls calendar and alerting us whenever a game will be on television.  And now we are watching the NCAA tournament and even completed brackets.  I love that each morning you check the iPad to see the conference standing for the Bulls and now the results of the NCAA games.  It's fun to see this passion develop in you as you learn about the game.  You've been taking basketball classes at Columbus Park and even made a basket in your first game (with a pass from your brother!).

You are still my cuddlebug.  You love to snuggle up with mommy or sit on my lap.  You might not know it, but each day I make a point of picking you up.  You have to jump a bit to help me out, but I know one day sometime soon it will be the last time I'm able to pick you up and hold you while you wrap your arms around me.  When I think of things like that, I want you to stay young and small, though nothing makes me happier to see you grow and thrive.

I love you very much, Gabie.  Usually when I say, "I love you," you reply, "ok."  But last week when you were leaving for school, I said it a couple of times until you finally replied, "I love you too, mama." And then you flashed me a smile that told me you really meant it.  I closed the door and my eyes welled up with tears.  It's hard to explain the love I have for you and how much you mean to me, and while I know you love me, to hear you say it means more than you know.

I look forward to all this year will bring and pray God's continued blessings on you for health, peace and joy.  I believe in you and believe you can do whatever you set your mind and heart to do. Sometimes you get frustsrated easily, but I know it's because you want to be the very best and don't want to settle for less.  And Daddy and I want only the best for you, too.

Happy birthday, my Gabiedoll.  Tommorow we'll celebrate and look forward to what the year ahead will hold; may it be even better than the one before.

I love you.

Mommy

Happy {Belated} St. Patty's Day

While I don't usually make a big deal of St.  Patrick's Day (give me a shamrock shake and I'm happy), this year found us with a visit from Bapa Tyo and Oma and a pre-cooked corned beef in the fridge just begging to be warmed up.  Add some potatoes,  cabbage and carrots (and a shamrock plant for good measure) and voila. .. impromptu Irish dinner!

 

And Oma managed to snap this rare photo of the boys with actual smiles on their faces. Maybe there is hope!  :-)

First Basketball Game

The boys have been participating in a park district basketball class for the past few weeks.  Today was their first game against one of the other parks.  Technically, the class is for 6-12 year olds; the coach was kind enough to let Caleb participate as well.  He's on the younger side, but there are other kids the same size / skill level so it has been fine and I think he enjoys it more than the smaller class we had him in for 4-5 year olds.

Anyway, today the opposing team looked like they were ALL 12 year olds.  We were pretty sure Gabe and Caleb would be riding the bench, along with most of the other kids.  The coach did  a great job of getting everyone in the game, though - first Gabe, who did great on defense and on hustling down the court and trying to get open on offense.  Then he sat for a while and both of them came back in together.  It was so fun seeing them play together for the first time - even if the opponents seemed like giants!

You can imagine our pride and surprise when the ball was passed to Caleb who then passed it down to Gabe for two!  It was such a magical moment - maybe the other team was going easy on them, but I prefer to think these brothers have the 1-2 punch.  :-)

In the end, our team was crushed (something like 60 to 14), but it was good experience for the boys to play a game and they were great sports.  I'm a big fan of team sports (even though they were not my strong suit!).  We'll never force the boys to play a sport they don't enjoy, but I do want to encourage them to try things and learn from healthy competition.

Here's a little clip of the action.....