The Princess

While David was away, we spent over a week up in Iowa visiting my family. I enjoyed the extra help chasing Henry, and Adele enjoyed the extra attention.

Henry's routine was:
to go from pulling the blinds in the kitchen (a BIG no-no)...
to pulling out the dirt in the plants in the next room...
to trying to stick his fingers in the outlets when crossing the hallway...
to pulling at the cords on my mom's computer in her office...
to climbing the stairs...
to "loving" on their dog Sophie by pulling her hair and eyes...
to sticking his fingers in the DVD player
...and then back to the blinds in the kitchen.

He is one busy boy. Someone had to constantly be watching him. I mean constantly.

Don't let his innocent sweet look fool you...

Adele and my mom enjoyed their almost daily occurrence of "morning movie" together. Adele is now a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Annie, and The Wizard of Oz. Cinderella was her favorite (oddly enough, the old 1965 TV movie version), and she simply insisted that she dance with someone to every song. Even Henry got a turn!

Because this girl loves to dance so much, she started wearing her "dancing skirt" every day, whether or not it actually matched. Then it turned into every night. Over her pajamas. Apparently, if a little girl feels so moved to dance, she needs to be ready with her dancing skirt at all hours.

Finally, Aunt Katie completed her look with the tiara Aunt Rachel wore for her bachelorette party.

Obviously ready for bed!

Here are some other pictures from our time in Iowa:

Adele and James, reunited. These two adore each other.

 Henry taking a turn driving

Snuggle time with Grandpa. Yes, Adele is wearing my socks. 

And another "dancing" skirt. Both over her pajamas.

 Henry loves the game "Where's Henry?"

At Monkey Joes with Aunt Rachel

Henry also enjoyed Monkey Joes

 Hugs from Aunt Katie

Sleep, adventures, and coffee

Sleep: (v.) 

1. To take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.
2. To be dormant or inactive.

I had to look up this word because I kinda forgot what it means.

David left for Nicaragua 4 weeks ago to continue in his adventures and research studies and the kids and I were left behind. (Adventures: n. period of time where David travels around the country of Nicaragua while counting parrots, avoids poisonous snakes, sleeps in hammocks, explores mangroves, views beautiful volcanoes, dodges bullet ants, and speaks a lot of Spanish.)

I have no idea how single parents survive. Or even if survival is attained, I have no idea how they keep their sanity.

We kept ourselves quite busy. Birthday parties, many trips to the library for storytime and entertainment, get-togethers with friends who were looking out for us (me), and church - where Adele has started "school" (classes, rather than nursery, on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings). At home we had movie nights, entertained friends who came to visit, did countless puzzles, read many books, and played outside with sidewalk chalk when the weather permitted.

After 2 1/2 weeks of that daily busyness, my parents came to visit and I found myself no longer the sole entertainer or meal provider or house cleaner. (Whew.)

Since the discipline and care of the kids has fallen into my hands during this time, I recognize the fact that I need to be caught up on sleep in order to consistently respond to my kids patiently. While I was by myself, I had a hard time turning out all of the lights and falling asleep at night simply because the reality of being "alone" would sink in. (Kids don't provide a feeling of mental safety, even though I enjoy their company.)

Henry was sleeping with me, and though I entertained the idea of allowing Adele sleep with me right away as well, I also knew that it would be important to be consistent with her and keep our routines with her in her own bed as long as possible. She did, however, catch on to the fact that in the middle of the night if she woke up, she could come crawl in bed with me. (I didn't mind being woken up by a kiss on the cheek and my little girl snuggling up to me as she went back to sleep!)

And then there's a night like last night - Henry appears to be teething, so even though he's not very fussy, he was tossing and turning a lot last night. In the middle of the night I was trying to remember the last time I slept for a solid 6 hours of sleep straight without being woken up. I'm sure it was before Henry was born.

And what it REALLY comes down to is balance. I'm still trying to figure out a balance of enjoying the time when both kids are asleep at night AND getting a good night's sleep. Because the logical response to a night like last night (or most nights, when my sleep is interrupted multiple times often by both kids) is to go to bed early tonight.

Instead, I've become even more acquainted with a different word that is just as key to my survival as sleep is:

Coffee (n.) [kaw-fee]: a beverage consisting of a decoction or infusion of the roasted ground or crushed seeds of the two-seeded fruit of certain coffee trees.

A Henry post

Oh Henry.

This little (read : big) ball of energy is so much fun. At 10 months, Henry is now a walking maniac. He took his first steps right before he turned 9 months, and over the last couple of weeks he has perfected the "Frankenstein" walk. He walks about 95% of the time, seeing as he can now get up on his own two feet without any support.

Henry loves to be chased, loves to be tickled, loves to follow his sister around, and pretty much loves life.

He continues to crash into walls, trip over toys, and bump into all furniture - almost always without crying for more than 10 seconds regardless of the size of the bruise to follow.

Henry still eats more than Adele at pretty much every meal (while still nursing in between meals), causing him to weigh almost as much as her.

Henry is also FUNNY. It's hard to describe his humor, but he definitely has his own sense of humor. He thinks things are so funny, and he does things to BE funny. He loves to be the center of attention, and will work hard to get attention from everyone in the room.

He is also a troublemaker, even at only 10 months. We never had to invest in any childproof supplies for cupboard doors with Adele, but Henry thinks it's perfectly acceptable to get into everything he possibly can. If I leave a bathroom door open, he rushes in and unrolls the toilet paper, or sticks his hand in the toilet, or leans over the bathtub hoping to fall in. If I am in the kitchen he is opening every door and pulling out plates and kitchen utensils or emptying the dishwasher. He has shut his fingers in doors more times in one day than Adele has her whole life!

Love you, Henry! Thanks for all the laughs. :)

My heart...with legs

My dear friend Theresa once told me that having a kid was like watching your heart out in the open, walking around with little legs on it.

That mental image has stuck with me ever since she said that.

I picture my real heart, exposed and obviously headless, walking around. (It's actually sort of a weird gruesome image in my head.)

Being a parent is tough stuff. It's also extremely rewarding. I love the impromptu hugs, kisses, snuggles, etc. I really don't like the scrapes, bruises, bonks, and crashes - like when Henry fell into the side of a door last night and ended up with a big knot and gash on his head, or when Adele fell off her kitchen set today and ended up with a big knot and bruise on her leg.

So where's the balance between letting the kids be kids and still keeping them from getting hurt too badly? (That's a rhetorical question - I know the best parenting move, obviously, is to wrap my kids in bubble wrap and never let them leave the house EVER.)

I'm sure parenting will get easier the older they get........

A pinteresting Christmas indeed

The more presents I buy for Christmases and birthdays, the more crafty I desire to become.

Perhaps it's a way to save money, or maybe it's because I believe in personal gifts...or maybe because I love finding things on pinterest so much and I realize I can't make everything for myself or I would have a cluttered house full of crafts (and I already have the cluttered part down).

Here were some of the gifts I made this year:

A canvas for my sister-in-law with the words
created from the lyrics of one of her favorite songs

 Pictures for the grandparents of Henry's handprints
(created while he was sleeping!)

And Adele's handprint (and fingerprint for the bubbles!)

Headbands for the girls

My cute model

From the side

And another look...she's busy focused on play-doh here

Ahh there we go!

A canvas for the couple getting married
(not a Christmas gift, but I made it)

And an alphabet book for Adele
(I also made one for a couple of my nephews)

"I'm The Bride!"

My youngest sister Rachel got married on December 29th.

It was a busy, crazy, fun-filled week of Christmas celebrations, bachelorette parties, pedicures, lots of good food, family time, and laughter.

At one point when we were out doing some last-minute shopping, it occurred to me. Rachel should be using the phrase "I'm the bride" as much as possible. Just like I love saying "Tis the season" for every situation from Thanksgiving through Christmas, those rules somehow seemed to fit for the bride leading up to her wedding.

Stuck in traffic? Wave a fist and yell "move, I'm the bride!"

In line at a store? Smile at everyone and say "I'm the bride".

Arriving at a party (that's probably for the bride anyway!)? exclaim "I'm the bride!

Got a busy, full calendar? Shrug shoulders and sigh "I'm the bride."

Listening to another love song on the radio? Wipe away tears and sniffle "I'm the bride!"

See some great sales and spending too much money? Justify it by saying "I'm the bride!"

Tired from not enough sleep? Make a cup of coffee and say "I'm the bride".

House a mess and fiance starting to get nervous (and hope it's different when you live together after the wedding)? Smile sweetly and tell him "I'm the bride!"

Rachel's too nice to want any added attention to herself, but oh if only I were a bride again...I would totally do this!

And major props to my sister, who rarely got the credit she deserved for being responsible or even capable of most things without help growing up (she was, of course, the baby), she pulled off a beautiful wedding. And looked just like we knew she would - the most gorgeous and stunning bride, who made the rest of us completely and utterly jealous. :)

Here are some pictures of the big day:

Wedding day coffee with the girls! (big sis Emily, me, youngest sis Rachel, younger sis Katie, Adele, and Mom)

Getting my hair did

Pre-wedding dancing practice

The beautiful bride!

Sisters! And Henry, who can't take his eyes off his beautiful Aunt Rachel.

Three good looking men! David with ringbearer Ash and the adorable Henry

Cue "Can't you feeeeeel the looove toniiiiiight"

Mr. and Mrs. Robison!

Adele with her sucker after being an excellent flower girl

Daddy-daughter dance (all together now "awww")

Reception dancing (good thing they practiced!)

Traditions

Ahh blogging. Life has gotten a little busy lately and blogging has taken a backseat for a while. I've hardly had time with the traveling we've done, plus the normal routines of reading books, cooking meals, cleaning the house, playing with play-doh, and constant picking up all the time.

Well enough is enough. I've got my priorities figured out now. Who needs a clean house anyway?

So I've got a few blogs I've been storing up that I'll hopefully post throughout this next week.

I'm backing up all the way to Christmas now.

I love Christmas. We were all about traditions growing up. Christmas Eve service, singing "Silent Night" by candlelight, stopping by McDonald's on the way to my Grandma Darlene's house for Christmas with my mom's side, watching old Christmas movies, sleeping in the same room as my sisters, early morning Christmas presents followed by morning naps, and Christmas Day in Pella with my dad's side.

Our traditions have evolved and changed over the years.

My Grandma Darlene passed away a number of years ago, so we now get together with my mom's side of the family for an evening sometime during the week of Christmas. Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Gosselinks doesn't even always fall on Dec. 24th and 25th anymore since some of us are married and have another family to split Christmases with. McDonald's is no longer part of the tradition.  (Christmas Day naps usually still are.) Instead of a family of 6 of us Gosselinks, our family has grown into 14 of us celebrating this year.

Traditions have changed. Next year will probably be even more different than this year. But the essence of Christmas remains the same. You know, the reason for the season. And family time. Lots of family time.

My sister Katie wrote a blog you should check out. It's beautifully written all about family, and rather than attempting to write one similar in nature, I will direct you to hers instead.

http://msriddikulus.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-love-this-family.html