Thirty and Thrilling

I have to say, one day into being 30 and isn't bad at all...not that I was anticipating that it would be. I woke up yesterday to donuts in bed from my favorite local bakery, followed by some cute gifts from my kiddos (a miniature metal lunchbox with Disney characters wearing extra large glasses and the catch phrase, "Let's Nerd Out," on it-- that will be sitting on my desk and a Matchbox convertible so they could say they bought me a new car).

After breakfast, Eric dropped me off for a massage. Upon picking me up, it was a gray, rainy day, so Eric went ahead and gave me my birthday present from him so I could "play" with it-- it was a new iPad-- I was beyond excited! Apparently we way overpaid into our escrow account and got a refund check; Eric decided to use it to spoil me, because a massage would've been enough.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing around with it and exploring some apps. As well as trying to convince Cate that it's not her iPad. I'm hoping I can find some good apps I can use at school as well as some fun personal ones. Cate and I painted our fingernails and toenails before we headed out to dinner with my parents and grandmothers. I was expecting a quiet dinner out followed by cake and ice cream at home. Except my husband wasn't done with birthday surprises yet. His step-dad captured my reaction to what awaited me at home after dinner.

So many people that I love so dearly were crowded into our small house to show me some large love. My mom made me wear a "30 and Thrilling" sash.

It was crazy awesome and incredibly humbling to have so many people there to celebrate with me. Family, friends from work, friends from church, friends I've known since college (one who drove from D.C. to be here this weekend). I'm not normally one to really "love" being the center of attention. I found my bridal showers and baby showers to be slightly awkward (I think it's the whole opening gifts in front of other people thing and then trying to "make it around" to everyone). But this was anything but awkward. Friend groups and family meshed well with one another, kids played and kept one another entertained, pink champagne flowed freely, and in all it was a lovely evening.

I awoke only with a small headache this morning. ;-) But a much bigger feeling of being loved. Love that will carry me surely into my next decade and into my next 30.

Thank you to everyone for your well-wishes and for coming to celebrate. I am the luckiest thirty-year-old I know.

~Melody :-)

P.S.  It should be noted that I almost "ruined" the surprise party on a few occasions. Eric was surprised that I was actually surprised as he thought for sure I knew he was at least up to something. Here is how I almost found out:

1. A few weeks ago, when Eric cut his finger and went to the ER, he didn't take his phone. When I left him at the ER to go pick up our kids at our friends' house, I left my phone at the ER with him and I stopped by the house and picked up his phone. When I went to call him, his most recent calls that day were to four of my friends. I asked him what that was all about and he said his phone "butt-dialed" them. I thought that butt-dialing was impossible when you have a keypad lock on an iPhone, but he swore that's what it was and I believed him. It turns out you can't really butt-dial from an iPhone. But just to be sure I believed him, he pretended to butt-dial me later that week.

2. I made a reference to the Friends episode where they all turned 30 and said that I hoped Eric's plan wasn't to send me out drinking with friends only to come home to a surprise party. He thought I knew then, but I really was just referencing the episode.

3. A couple of weeks ago, Eric told me he had made dinner reservations for us to go out for my birthday and asked me if I would call my parents and ask them to babysit. I got pretty ticked off with him because I thought it would be rude to ask my parents to babysit the kids after driving four hours to come visit and said that it would be better if we just all went out to dinner. The original plan was for us to go out to dinner while my parents got everything set up. Luckily my man is a quick thinker and just had his sister come do it instead so that my parents could join us for dinner and I wouldn't suspect anything. Thanks, Kristin! (Sidenote: Kristin even asked people to park down the street so I wouldn't see any recognizable cars-- good thinking)

4. I almost found out about the iPad when Cate told me she had lunch at the mall with Jadyn's daddy but Jadyn wasn't there. Jadyn's daddy is Eric's friend, Tom, who works at the Apple store and hooked Eric up with a discount. Luckily, Eric and Tom get together frequently, with and without the kids, so it didn't seem that unusual.

FOUR!

I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that my sweet girl is four-- that I've been a mom for four years! The four years in high school from freshmen year to senior year seemed to drag at times. And college, well, it went by quickly, but I also graduated in 3.5 years (to avoid an extra semester of student loans, I dropped my Spanish minor and took a couple of semesters of 20 hours to finish up early). But the four years from February 5, 2008 to February 5, 2012? They've FLOWN! You can read the whole birth story by clicking here.

Yesterday, we split the day into two birthday parties for Cate. In the morning, we had brunch with her friends. Busken donuts and blueberry muffins were on the menu. Each kid painted a small tote bag and then picked out a book to take home. Daddy played a mean trick on Cate and got her trick candles. She had a hard time blowing them out. Her friends were so generous-- with gifts of coloring/art books, Tangled toys, a purse, games, and Target gift cards-- our girl is definitely loved by her friends.
I love the picture below of her and her friend, Anna, after the party, totally cracking up over the Talking Tomcat app on my phone. I can already picture similar giggle fits in the future. After everyone left, we took it easy for a few hours before family arrived to celebrate in the evening.
Cate requested a chocolate cake with pink icing, so that's what I made. I was a little bummed to not be able to enjoy it though (more of the same issues-- although I'm having some additional testing done on my gall bladder now-- more on that when I know more). New clothes and a new swimsuit, Playmobil sets, more art stuff, more Tangled toys, and some other princess toys now litter our living room. We were overwhelmed by the amount of love shown to our little girl yesterday.

Today is her actual birthday. She woke up to her presents from Mommy, Daddy, and Brennan. They included...
...a big girl bike (I think the sun came out today just for this because it rained all day yesterday). Of course, there were also some books and a game.
Brennan "gave" Cate the Playmobil music class set to go with the school that she got yesterday.She also got a Barbie in a swimsuit to play with at the pool this summer.
We enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes after opening presents.
I think Cate is a little overwhelmed with so much new stuff. She is certainly a blessed little girl and we feel blessed that she's been a part of our lives for four year.

Happy Birthday, Cate! Let's go get those training wheels rolling!

~Melody :-)

Some Dates

Yesterday was my due date. With Cate. I remember that day coming and going and there being no sign of her arriving anytime soon. I wasn't dilated. I wasn't having contractions. It would be 9 more days before I would finally get to meet the little girl I had already named. The little girl I was already in love with. That little girl got her very own library card this week. She turns four a week from tomorrow. At our library, you can get a card when you can sign your name.
At Cate's age, she is allowed to check out three books at a time and thankfully, doesn't get a fine if they're late.
I love that my girl loves to read. Just like her mama. ;-)
Three months from today, I hit a kind of milestone birthday-- 30. I'm not freaked out about it. It's not sending me into some weird sort of crisis. I've had the advantage of watching quite a few friends pass this milestone before me. Some with quiet celebrations. Some with big parties or nights out on the town. I have no idea how I want to celebrate-- but I have three months to think about it. I'm thinking a pedicure or a massage would be nice. Lunch or dinner out with Eric and the kids. Graeter's Ice Cream for dessert. Maybe shopping for a new outfit-- splurging at a store I normally can't afford. Maybe some gathering of other family and friends. No presents, just their presence. Although I'd be totally okay if Eric got me some photography lessons. Or even one of the few books I want in print instead of on my Kindle.

The end of April is funny here in the Midwest. Some years I have been in shorts or a sundress. Others have been spent sipping hot chocolate and waiting for snow to melt. It will be interesting to see what it brings this year. Given our mild winter so far, I'm holding out for sunshine, but am prepared for a blizzard.

My 30th conveniently falls on a Saturday, so I don't have to worry about work. I'll have the day to mark my movement into another decade. It's weird to think that I traded the latter half of my twenties for toddlers...
...and that I'll be trading the latter half of my thirites for teens.

~Melody :-)

My Sweet, Sweet, Boy

Dear Brennan,
Your presents are wrapped.
Everything is waiting for you to wake up.
I've scheduled this post to publish at 4:13AM, the minute that I met you exactly one year ago.
I never thought another boy would steal my heart. Up until now, your Daddy was it for me. But then you entered the world after 21 hours of labor that resulted in an emergency c-section and you had my heart from your first cry.
You were a perfect early Christmas present. You made Cate a big sister.
You showed Mommy and Daddy just how possible it is to love two kids so much!
Your smile and laugh are infectious!
You are such a smart boy. We've already heard you say "Mama," "Dada," "doggie," "cat," and "fish." You are curious. I'm pretty sure making car noises is a skill you were born with. And man, do you have an arm!
Thanks for being patient with us as we learned to use cloth diapers. And to make your food. And as we figured out that it wasn't a sensitive reflex, but big tonsils that caused you to gag so much.You were a great roommate for the entire year that you bunked in with Mommy and Daddy, not even stirring when we'd giggle to 30 Rock or Modern Family.
You crawl fast and cruise the furniture. You point at everything and want to know what it is. You are pure joy and delight and blessing all rolled into one perfect package. We love you so much! You are my sweet, sweet, boy! I'm excited to see what year 2 brings!

Love,
Mommy

Out of the Slump (and Thankful for It)

We've been in a little bit of a sickness slump. Two weeks ago, I was so proud that I had both kids fed and ready to take Cate to dance class on my own when Brennan decided to puke all over himself and his high chair 5 minutes before we were to walk out the door. He'd been coming down with a cold, but I wasn't sure if this was stomach bug puking or his sensitive gag reflex puking. I erred on the side of caution and we skipped dance class. Cate. Was. Ticked. But she got over it. It ended up being the gag reflex as Brennan didn't puke again until Wednesday morning when he choked on some more snot. I will be so thankful when the kid learns to blow his nose.

His cold progressed from a deep, barking cough, to a wet cough. Couple that with lots of eye gunk (and a little pink eye), diaper rash, and a runny nose that just wouldn't quit, and suffice it to say, my little guy was a hot mess. He graciously passed his cold onto me, just in time for Thanksgiving. But I could take Nyquil (yes, he still nurses, but the benefits of Nyquil far outweighed any small risk to him). Nevertheless, we headed to my parents-- snotty noses and all for the holiday.

Brennan turned 11 months old the day before Thanksgiving.
I can't believe he'll be a year old in less than a month. This year has been the fastest year ever!

Thanksgiving morning we took it easy, watched the marching band from our alma mater march in Santa for the Macy's parade, and snapped a few photos before we headed to my aunt's. I wish Cate would have had the smile from the first picture in the second picture.
And here she is trying to pose Brennan:
We enjoyed great food and even greater company at my mom's sister's house. Brennan took over the remote as his new favorite toy.
After dinner, we had our annual viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I'm not sure we even need to watch the movie as we all have the movie memorized. And no, we're not staring at a black screen-- the flash makes it look that way.
I actually went out with my mom and sister on Black Friday. I helped them pick out a few toys for my kids for Christmas and then my sister wanted a Kindle that was on sale at Target. It was organized chaos. Thankfully, my wonderful husband let me sleep in that morning. I met up with one of my favorite teachers from middle school and high school for coffee in the afternoon. Then we indulged in a White family tradition-- paintbrush cookies!
Friday night we watched The Blind Side. I can't believe I'd never seen that movie before. My mom picked it up for $3.99 on our midnight Target run. I bought The Time Traveler's Wife and a season of 30 Rock. Little man spent a lot of time looking cute.
Saturday was pretty low key. I finally finished Brennan's alpaca wool hat.
Now it's time to start Cate's. Thankfully she at least has a store-bought hat to hold her over until I finish hers-- which may take me all winter at the slow rate I move with knitting projects.

Seeing as how every college kid who lives in NE Ohio and attends college in Columbus or Cincinnati travels down I-71 the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we decided to head home after dinner Saturday night. Plus, the Browns played the Bengals today in Cincinnati, so we didn't want all of that traffic. And it's rainy today. Our drive home was uneventful-- just the way I like it. No stops, no traffic, and both kids fell asleep.

Today we're glad to be home. We caught up on some housework and laundry, decorated the tree a bit more, and relaxed. Brennan's nose isn't quite as snotty, I'm feeling better, and it looks like Eric and Cate are going to be spared. We seem to have pulled out of our sickness slump just in time to start getting ready for little guy's birthday and Christmas! And for that I am very thankful!

~Melody :-)

Wide Open Spaces and Other Ramblings

First things first-- Brennan turned 9 months old on Friday. Nine months?!? I can't believe it. I still feel like he just entered the world as a wrinkly, bald, little guy with skinny chicken legs (which are quite the opposite now).
He's still not crawling, but little man can get to anything he wants with a series of rolls, kicks, scoots, and what not. I'm trying not to rush it. I know once he starts there will be no stopping him. But I'm also trying not to worry about it. A part of me feels like he should be crawling by now. And that is the part of me, that icky fear part, that I surrender to God with each day that he's not crawling. He'll develop at his own pace on his own time. Nothing else about any of his behaviors is concerning, so really, this shouldn't be a big deal. His nine month checkup is this week and I'm praying for words of reassurance from our awesome pediatrician.

Anyway... enough about worry and fear. On Friday, a fabulous friend, who used to watch Cate, invited us up for an overnight on the farm she grew up on about an hour and a half north of Cincinnati. While it's no longer a dairy farm (just soy beans now), it was still fun to get out into some wide open space and just breathe.
Cate took off immediately with her friends in search of the cat that roams the barn and the fields.
Later on in the evening, we had a big ol' bonfire.
The kids headed in to watch a movie around 10. Cate was the only one who was still awake at the end of the move. I don't know that she's ever been up until midnight before. Probably had something to do with the fact that she slept the whole way there (in other words, took a nice 90 minute nap at 5pm). Poor Brennan though. Our newly-turned 9 months old boy was up five times that night between midnight and 6:30 am. We weren't sure if it was being in an unfamiliar place, teething, an ear infection, or what. We had been looking forward to spending most of the day Saturday with our friends, but decided to quit while we were ahead and left at 7am since Cate decided to get up at 6:30 too.

I took Brennan to the pediatrician to rule out an ear infection. Thankfully, his ears looked perfect. Turns out little guy is growing some really big front top choppers. His gums are blistered and swollen. The doctor recommended Advil every 6-8 hours and pretty much just told us to let him cry it out if he woke up at night before he was due for another dose.

We got a bit of a break last night. My fabulous sister-in-law, her boyfriend, and his cute daughter (who is only 6 months younger than Cate) watched the kiddos so that Eric and I could attend my friend, Emily's, benefit that she put on for Hagar. Emily runs the online boutique, Stop Traffick Fashion, so I couldn't resist picking up a little neck candy for a good cause. I love this necklace! We came home to too tired kiddos. After quick baths, they were off to bed. Despite the chaos of being up with Brennan so much Friday night, we somehow managed to stay awake for the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Brennan only woke up once last night. He cried for about a half hour before he was able to have another dose of Advil (after which he went back to sleep and slept until 8 this morning).

Today has been fairly lazy. I think we're all still a little on the sleepy side.

Happy Sunday to you all.

~Melody :-)