love

penelope.

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I’m way behind, I know.  I just haven’t felt too motivated to blog for the last week or so.  Last weekend we went to Tennessee to visit my now almost 3 week old baby niece, Penelope Quinn.  She’s doing great.  My heart could bust with love for this newest member of our family.  I spent as much time as I could with her in my arms, just staring at her and memorizing her face, knowing that the next time I see her she will look completely different and much more like a smiley infant than a squishy newborn.  I also felt my heart grow ten times it’s own size watching her big brother and big sister with her.  It’s obvious that there will be no shortage of love in this baby girl’s life.  I’m only sad that I won’t be around as much as I’d like because of the distance between us.  It was definitely tough to leave.

What is it about those newborn yawns that are so irresistible?
I had obsessed about this baby out loud so much at work that everyone there has asked me about her.  Yes, she’s amazing!  Everyone seems curious to know if this makes me want another baby, now that my sister has three kids and as I return from holding this tiny babe dressed in pink.  I sure miss that babe.  I sure miss my boys being tiny babes.  But no, we’re still holding steady at two and through!  
xo,
~C~

what Mommy in the Midwest is thankful for (2012)

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I just read my post from this time last year about what I’m thankful for. Currently, I’m sick with a cold.  Ryan was sick this time last year.  I wrote last year that Theo had been coughing for three weeks.  Theo just stopped coughing (after about four weeks).  Allergies maybe?  Why is this a sick time of year for us??

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what I’m thankful for over the past couple of weeks.  I’m thankful for everything wonderful in my life.  I’m thankful for the things I have because I’m lucky and I’m thankful for the things I have because I’m determined to make my own good luck.  I’m thankful for all the changes in my life this year.

And it’s been a crazy year.  When I wrote this post 12 months ago, I didn’t know what all my family and my relationship would endure this year.  My grandfather died.  My sister got pregnant after trying for over a year and is due with a baby girl in a few weeks. I got a new job that I love.  In the midst of all that, Ryan and I argued more this summer and fall than we ever have because of all the stress we were dealing with over this house.  This home of ours.  The six months since Dexter’s 1st birthday in May have been a blur.  Shortly after his birthday, we moved out of our house and in with Ryan’s parents.  We certainly didn’t plan on living there for five months, but that’s what happened.

We kept searching for a home and when we found the one we ended up buying, we weren’t happy.  We felt like we got suckered.  A total fixer upper.  So we’ve spent countless hours over the past months working on the house and sacrificing time with our family.  Now we have been in our house (that is far from done) for about a month.  Was it a big transition?  Not at all.  Seamless.  Ryan and I went back to the couple that loves spending time together.  We went back to being the parents that feed their kids dinner and put them to bed every night.  We went back to plain old boring us.  Which is all I ever wanted.

After all of this, I’m thankful for our house.  One day it will be everything we want it to be.  We will have provided our kids with room to grow and play and enough space to have their friends sleep over.  We want to be the parents that have the house where the boys hang out with their friends.  Open door policy.  I’m thankful that we were able to purchase a home.

I’m eternally thankful to my in-laws.  My in-laws who let us live with them for 5 months.  My mother-in-law who watched the boys night after night, weekend after weekend, while we worked on the house.  My mother-in-law, who cooked us dinner and cleaned up after us, and gave the boys hugs and kisses while we were gone.  My father-in-law, who has spent more of his own time and energy on our house than we have.  My father-in-law, who could build a house by himself, and has spent countless days working by himself on our house while we were at work.  My father-in-law, who always has an idea of how to fix something. How to fit something. How to make things work.  My father-in-law, who is teaching my husband everything he knows about being handy so that one day, Ryan can teach Theo and Dexter.

I literally don’t know where we’d be without them.  Maybe we wouldn’t have had the nerve to buy this crazy house if it weren’t for them.  Maybe we’d live in an apartment for a year while we were fixing it up.  I. Don’t. Know.  But what I do know is that they’re there for us, through thick and thin, and we could never repay them.  They’re my second set of parents.  I’m thankful to have amazing in-laws and a wonderful relationship with them.

xo,
~C~

Dear Dexter (18 month letter)

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Littlest Dexy,

Here we are in the middle of November and halfway to your 2nd birthday already.  On 11/13/12 at 7:05 a.m., you will be 1 and a 1/2 years old!  You are so happy, easy going, and such a joy to be around.  You’re also a mischievous little guy who likes to flash a sly grin when you’re doing something you know you’re not supposed to do.

You’re FINALLY getting some more teeth.  You’d had the same 7 since you were about 10 months old but now you’re getting the fourth on the bottom and your incisors on the top.  You’ve been a little wild and crazy and sometimes grumpy lately, which I attribute to these mean teeth coming through, but overall you’re handling it like a champ.

You love to eat. Period.  You like your milk. We still give you milk in the mornings and before bed because you love it.  You gulp it down and sometimes, if we’re lucky, you’ll go back to sleep in the morning afterwards.  Sleep – that’s what we need to talk about.  You still wake up EARLY!  Not 5am early like you used to every day, but sometimes 6.  Here recently, you’ve started occasionally sleeping til 7 and maybe that will become the norm over the next few months. Please and thank you. 

You started sharing a room with your brother over the past couple of weeks and so far I’m really pleased!  You guys get along and play together better than ever and we haven’t had much trouble getting you guys to go to sleep at night.  Usually we put you to bed a few minutes before Theo or else… you’ll be up yelling and wanting to play for 45 minutes!  I can hear Theo through the monitor telling you “Dexter! It’s bedtime!  Go to sleep!”  He’s one to talk, isn’t he? 

You’re talking more and more and saying things I’ve never heard you say before.  You say “I want” followed by the thing that you want all the time.  Whether it’s “to eat,” “a bath,” “to play,” “down,” “up,” “to read,” “Neee” (our cat Niko), “potty” (you don’t really do that…you just watch your brother sometimes), etc.  The list goes on and on.  You will repeat anything and everything that we say (or at least try).

Boy, you want to be JUST like Theo.  Wherever he is, there you are.  If you’re not there, if I wait long enough, you’ll show up.  You want to play what he’s playing. Read what he’s reading. Watch what he’s watching. Sit where he’s sitting.  You two are too cute.  Watching you guys together makes mama a happy gal.

You like our new house. You’ve got lots of toys and lots of room to run around.  Your favorite thing is probably playing on the slide in the library.  Yes, the big plastic slide is in the library until we finish the basement or find some other place for it.  You are brave and like to stand at the top of the slide and take off running down it.  This does not always end well.  You should stop doing that, or at least learn something from it.

You’re so brave. You know no danger.  You know no stranger.  I was just telling your dad the other day that I don’t think I’ve ever seen you bleed.  Your brother was only about 9 months old the first time he busted his lip…and he’s done this several times since then. He’s had various other boo boos.  But I can’t think of a single time you’ve had a cut or busted lip.  I hope I didn’t just jinx you!  I guess you’re somewhat cautious in your adventures…you haven’t led us to the ER yet.

I still love that you have blonde hair and blue eyes. We call you Blondie a lot.  And Dex. Dexy. Deezy.  Deezy von Weezy.  My sweet.  And again…the list goes on.  You’re wearing mostly 18-24 months clothes.  Still in a crib. You’ve never climbed out (yet).  You still like 2+ hr naps in the afternoon.  You still have the biggest smile and brighest eyes of any little blondie I’ve ever known. 

I’m really looking forward to the next six months to see how you change and how your vocabulary grows. How your independence and relationship with Theo grows.  I’m looking forward to watching you develop your own interests and talents even more and fostering those things for you.  I’m looking forward to holidays and lazy Saturday mornings with cartoons on the couch.  I’m looking forward to being with you and just being your mama for the rest of my life. 

You’re my sweet.  You’re my baby and you always will be. 

xo,
mama