Our Mr. Hockey

This past weekend, the kids and I made a trip down to Madison to see my brother-in-law Tyler play in the Wisconsin State Hockey Tournament. They played their first game at state on thursday night and won and then played again on friday night and won. (We were planning on them winning all along so that we'd be able to see them play in their last game on Saturday night.) The championship game was Saturday afternoon in Madison, so we left Saturday morning. (Matt wasn't able to go b/c he was on-call, but he did get to watch it on TV.)



Wyatt was so excited that he woke up by 6am on Saturday to go see Uncle Ty at state. (He also prayed for "Uncle Ty, Cody, Brad, JD and all the Edgewood guys" when we said prayers right before bed on Friday night.) He wanted to wear his hockey jersey and was so proud of Ty. His eyes were just huge as we walked into the arena and he saw all the people that were there to see Uncle Ty play--as he put it. Of course Wyatt wanted to get as close to the ice as possible, so I walked down into the student section with him and all the students were asking if he was a cousin of Ty's (notice the name on the back of Wyatt's jersey). Wyatt proudly told them Ty was his uncle. And everytime Ty skated by, Wyatt yelled "Go Ty!" A few funny things to note: Wyatt has gone to several of Tyler's games and has come to learn the names of several of the players. For awhile, he was saying "Bread, the goalie" and couldn't understand that it was Brad. He also keeps saying that the reindeer in one of his books from Christmas looks like JD (not sure what the connection is). And he calls Cody "Cody Strange". It just cracks us up.
Unfortunately, Ty's team didn't win, but we were so proud of what a great season they had and how it ended in the state championship game. My Dad went down near the glass with Wyatt at the end of the game and Wyatt just hung on and watched as each player on both teams was given their state medals. We couldn't pull him off the glass, even after both teams had shaken hands and left the ice. But we had to leave and we had to go say congrats to Ty. When Ty came out of the locker room, Wyatt was so bothered by the fact that Ty and the other guys were sad. He kept saying, "Why is Ty sad, Mommy?" He didn't really get it. In fact, that night when we said prayers before bed, he prayed that Ty wouldn't be sad anymore and thanked God for all the Edgewood guys.
We had so much fun seeing Tyler captain his team and lead them to the state championship game. Tyler had a great season and was even a finalist for Mr. Hockey Wisconsin. No matter what the outcome of the game, Ty is always Mr. Hockey in our house and everything Wyatt does in hockey is "just like Uncle Ty."

Back to Reality

Our flight was supposed to get into Madison on Monday evening at 5:30pm and then we were going to pick with kids up and drive back to La Crosse (a 2 hour drive). As usual, we were delayed at O-Hare. First is was by 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 3 HOURS! When they announced this, you could hear the gasp at our gate. But we finally made it to Madison around 9pm--only to realize that they hadn't put ANY luggage on our flight. No one on our flight had any of their bags. That was Monday.

It's now Wednesday evening and we still don't have any of our luggage. No makeup, blow dryer, clothes, running shoes, jewelry--you name it. As of yesterday morning, our luggage was all scanned in to the airport in Madison and waiting for a courier to pick it up and bring it to us. I spent a good amount of yesterday on the phone with people trying to figure out when it might get here. This morning, I got a call around 10am from the courier that he was en route with our luggage---and then his car broke down! Are you kidding me? What are the chances? And whenever I call the number they have given us, I talk to someone who has no clue what is going on and tells me that our luggage is en route. (Do they notice that their computer says it's been en route for about 12 hours now?)

And to top it off, both kids are sick. My mom took Sadie in to the dr. this weekend and she had an ear infection. Thankfully, due to some antibiotics, she's on the mend. But Wyatt has been pretty cranky and was up all last night (I really miss the sleepfilled nights in CA) and I took him in today to find out that he has an ear infection as well. As we sat at dinner tonight (a bit earlier than usual b/c Matt didn't have running shoes to go run in), both kids ended up on my lap crying and holding on to me for dear life. When it rains, it pours!

Cali

I seem to keep having excuses for the my lack of posts on the blog, but this week, the excuse is a great one! Matt and I were in California for a conference he had and a much-needed week of R & R for myself. Everything went well as we dropped the kids off in Madison with Grammy and Papa and were on our way. (I was so anxious to make the most of my time without kids that I finished an entire book on the flight out there!) We spent our first day there driving around Beverly Hills and checking out Rodeo Drive. (You'll have to excuse the lack of people in the pictures....that's what happens when you're on vacation with just your husband!)
Neither Matt nor I had ever been to Southern California, so we were a bit awestruck.

driving through Beverly Hills---the palm trees were beautiful

I had to take this picture--reminded me of 90210

I took this picture of Rodeo Drive while we were shopping--notice the Ferrari (yellow) on the right. We couldn't get over how many nice cars we saw out there---and even parked along the street! Who parks a $150,000 car on the street? We saw more Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and Ferraris than we had ever seen in our lives---and to top it off, we saw a Lotus on our way to our car. Last time I saw a Lotus was in Pretty Woman!

They seem to find my husband no matter where we are!! As if they don't have enough money in Beverly Hills, now they need ours? We weren't even 5 minutes over on our meter!

Beverly Hills Hotel

The Beverly Wilshire (on Wilshire Blvd.) from Pretty Woman!!!!

Our second day there, we drove down the coast to Laguna Beach. Although it was pretty foggy early in the day, it did clear up. And we loved Laguna! The coast is beautiful, the homes are gorgeous, and the shopping and restaurants were great. We would love to go back and spend an entire week there. It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but the homes are just one on top of another all along the coast.

This picture was taken in the hills of Laguna Beach, looking towards the ocean from some of the homes. The pictures just don't do this justice.

Another view from some of the homes on the coast in Laguna--at some points, it was hard to see over the hood of the car on the way up as the roads were super steep.

There was a beautiful upscale spa in Laguna Beach called the Montage. Earlier in the day, we walked around on the public walkways that they have that extend out to the coast. In the afternoon, Matt thought it would be fun to see if we could ask to see one of their rooms and act as if we might be interested in staying at some point in the future. (And we are definitely interested, it just won't be in the near future!) They gave us a complete tour and it was AMAZING!!! They let us wander around the grounds and check the place out, so we took this picture by the pool as it overlooks the ocean. Matt is still talking about this place and trying to plan when we'll be able to return as guests!

Gorgeous! (The sunset and the man!)

On friday night, Matt had dinner plans with some guys from the Ohio State fellowship, so I was on my own. But it turned out to be a great night for it, because the U2-3D movie was coming out nationwide on friday. I'm a huge U2 fan and was bummed I might not be able to see it, but I found a theatre in Long Beach that had the movie. I thought I would end up going alone, but a good friend of mine Jen came with. (Her and her husband Drew went to undergrad with Matt and Drew and Matt were in podiatry school together in Iowa.) Her husband Drew was at the same conference as Matt and she came along with their two kids , Kael (2 1/2 yrs) and Ellison (10 mos.) I was able to spend time hanging out with her and the kids while the guys were at their conference, but it was great for us to be able to spend some time without kids in the evening! And Jen was so sweet to come--especially since she's not a big U2 fan! As we sat down at the beginning of the movie, Jen said, "This isn't like a concert the entire time, is it? They must have some interviews with the band too, right?" Poor Jen! I loved that it was a 3-D concert the entire time, but I think she just endured it.

But we did look pretty hot, don't you think? You've got to love the 3D glasses!

Matt and I had such a great time in California and although I was ready to see the kids, I could have stayed for another week or two. We are so thankful that we have such great families both willing to watch our kids for us and allow us some time to spend with each other. It was much needed and much appreciated!!

one more i forgot to add to the last post

Mighty to Save

I've been trying to get Wyatt on video singing for about 6 months and everytime I bring out the video camera, he just freezes! But last week, while Matt was sick in bed, I finally succeeded and I just had to share this with everyone. The song "Mighty to Save" is by Hillsong, a church in Australia. My sister spent last summer with Campus Crusade for Christ in New Zealand and brought back a mix CD that we listen to in the car all the time. I never realized that Wyatt was actually listening to the words, until one day when i heard him singing along in the back seat. It brought tears to my eyes and still does when I hear him singing and he doesn't realize I'm listening. He learned the song when he was about 2 1/2 yrs old, but I finally got it on tape to prove it. And as you can tell, he loves music and all the instruments that go with it. My dad plays drums in church and loves to play the drums with at Pops' house. I hope this is a sign that he'll be a music lover like I am!!!

Aren't you just like Donna Reed?

I'd like to think that this is what happens in my house on a daily basis, but I'd be fooling not only myself but anyone who reads this! I am exhausted and in much need of relief! I'm just hoping I don't lose my patience with my kids before Matt comes home. Matt has been gone to a conference in Park City, UT since Tuesday and I am SO ready for him to come home. He went for a conference, but has also been able to ski everyday for almost the entire day (one of those conferences with meetings in the morning and then the evening so they can ski). Throughout the week, I've had several thoughts about all this:

1. We weren't able to afford a ski trip this year, so I'm happy that Matt was able to go (courtesy of the hospital).

2. We have always wanted to ski in Utah, and now Matt gets to.

3. Matt works so hard and deserves a nice break away from the hospital to learn and play.

and then the thoughts take a bit of a different direction:

4. When does my job afford me perks like this?

5. Where is my ski trip? When do I get to ski in Utah?

6. Why is it that mothers seem to never really get much of a break? And if we do, it seems like the amount of work it takes to prepare for it and the work we come home to may not be worth the payoff!

I hesitated putting all this on the blog as I'd like for everyone to think that I am such a great wife and mother that I never think these things, but who would I be kidding? Whether we say it or not, don't we all think these things? Isn't it human nature to do so? And obviously none of this negates the fact that I am very happy for Matt and I'm glad he's having so much fun skiing and eating out and socializing with adults while I am at home with 2 little ones changing diapers, doing laundry, cleaning, playing games, etc. You get the picture!

I suppose I shouldn't complain too much as I am going with him to a conference in CA in a few weeks without the kids, but these are my thoughts at the present moment. Yes, life is not fair and there are many things that Matt has to deal with in his job that I don't, but right now thinking of those things doesn't seem to provide much comfort. I'm just praying that I'll make it until Sunday without losing my mind!

Happy Birthday Wyatt!!

Today is Wyatt's 3rd birthday! I thought I'd take this opportunity to do a "picture recap" of his life thus far and share a little about Wyatt! It's hard for me to really comprehend that my baby boy is 3 years old---I know everyone says this all the time, but I really don't know where the time has gone. Sure, there have been days--weeks even--where I couldn't wait for him to grow out of whatever stage he was in, but I didn't realize it would happen so fast. He has grown into such an intelligent, inquisitive and joyful little guy and he definitely keeps us laughing!

He is a natural leader and loves to tell other kids what to do (something we'll need to work on!)

His love languages are definitely quality time and words of affirmation. It takes Wyatt awhile to warm up to people, but if people are patient and show an interest in what he's doing, they can become his closest friend! And he's so loyal that he'll keep asking where they are and what they are doing.

He is great at saying "thank you" and just the other night, we were eating dinner and he said, "Mom, thank you for the food. You are a great maker!"

He always wants to make sure that everyone is included and won't let Matt pray for dinner until I'm sitting down at the table.

He has become quite protective of Sadie and wants to be the first to walk into her room in the morning and say "good morning Sades!".

He knows all his letters and can spell his name, mom, dad, and we're working on Sadie.

He loves to play pretend, but will quickly tell me that he's just pretending. For example, he loves to call Buzz and Woody (from Toy Story) and Lightning McQueen and Mader (from CARS) and Bob and Larry (from Veggie Tales) and invite them over for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I'll pretend to call them, we'll answer the door, set a plate for them, etc. And then after we've been talking to them for awhile, he'll say, "Mom, we're just pretending. They aren't really here."

He watches sports more intensely than most adults.

He is so into the details of everything. He will fold his hands the same way Matt does when we pray, he'll hold his hockey stick just like Uncle Ty, etc.

He talks like an adult---" Wyatt, could you pick up those cars for Mommy?" "Absolutely" (I'm thinking, did Wyatt just say 'absolutely'?)

He doesn't like to try new things unless he watches someone else do it for awhile and then he still requires a bit of nudging from us.

He wants another baby--preferrably a brother, he says.

He LOVES to read books--any book!

He is definitely all-boy and loves to wrestle and push anyone who will allow him to do so.

He does everything with 110%--he sleeps hard, plays hard, concentrates hard, etc.

He wants to do everything by himself--no sippy cups, wanted to use utensils at like 15 months, wanted to sit at the big table around 15 months, opens his own car door, wants to get his own food, poor his own milk, push Sadie in the cart,etc. (however, the potty training part didn't seem to fit into this category!) He even asks the people at Target when we are checking out if he can scan his own item--which they usually let him do.

We still don't know if he's left-handed or right-handed. He writes with both, eats with both, etc. Who knows when we'll know for sure, but no one in either of our families is a lefty, so we'll be pretty surprised if he is.

He knows all the words to the Hillsong "Mighty to Save"--I never noticed that he was paying attention in the car until one day he started to sing all the words and it just brought tears to my eyes when he sang the chorus in his sweet little voice, "Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save...." (makes me extra careful about what music he listens to--and me for that matter!)

His smile can light up a room! Here are a few pics of him from his first 3 years of life! I can't believe it went so quickly and I'm hoping to enjoy the last 2 years I have with him before he heads off to school :(!!

What a blessing he is to us and we are so thankful to be his parents!!!!

Happy Birthday Bud!

We love visitors!!!!

This past weekend, our friends Ryan and Jen and their daughter Elle came to visit us. It has been a trip we've been trying to coordinate ever since we moved to La Crosse, so Jen and I figured they better make the trip before we are gone! Jen and I worked together in Des Moines, IA and were also in Bible Study together--and it just seemed like we did everything together. Matt and I even lived with them right before Wyatt was born since our lease was up on our apt. and we were going to move right after Wyatt was born. Thankfully we have stayed very close, despite the distance between us. Jen and Ryan were blessed with the much anticipated birth of their first child, Isabelle (Elle), in May and we were excited for them to all come visit.

Saturday morning in jammies....Don't these girls look alike? Jen and I have always thought so, but even when we were out for dinner on Saturday people asked us if the girls were cousins!

I think Wyatt was feeling a bit left out with all the picswe were taking of the girls, so he decided to be a part of the action.

Smiley girls!

I had to put this picture on because over the weekend, I noticed that I am definitely a mother of a boy learning to be a mother of a girl. Jen would brush Elle's hair every morning and several times a day, put cute bows in her hair, and even called her diapers "panties". Poor Sadie is just looking at me in this picture, brush in hand, like "Mom, couldn't you just take a few seconds to brush my hair? Elle's mommy does it?"

I think Elle was a bit worn out from all the action in our household--Sadie keeps up by drinking Starbucks! What else would you expect from my daughter?!

To quote Jen, "Sadie, what time is our pedicure...I'm so relaxed from our spa bath I may need to take a nap first."

So pretty!! Notice Sadie's bow...I'm workin' on it!

Once again, Wyatt felt left out with all the pics of the girlsbeing taken, so he wanted in on it....he looks so grown up in this picture! I can just see this face when he's about 17yrs. old getting prom pictures taken!

Again to quote Jen, "Elle, you have a little too much blush on your cheek; let me help you out"

The girls!!!

It was so much fun to have Ryan, Jen, and Elle and we can't wait to get back to Des Moines to visit them again--and Wyatt is looking forward to seeing Cheerio as well!

The "Party"

This post may be TMI for some of you, so proceed cautiously. But as I mentioned in my previous post, we started potty training last week and it was not received with a warm welcome. Wyatt wanted nothing to do with the potty and refused to even sit on it. If I did get him to sit on it, it wasn't without crying and kicking and anything else you can imagine. This went on for several days and I was so frustrated! It brought me to tears a couple of times as I hadn't left the house and envisioned the rest of my life inside the house with the kids, watching Wyatt like a hawk trying to get him to just sit on the potty (rational thinking had obviously gone out the window by this point). But any of you who have endured potty training know how difficult it can be--or maybe you are just one of those lucky parents whose kids essentially did it on their own (if you are, I don't want to hear about it). Anyways, we finally got Wyatt to sit on the potty and were doing pretty good with #1. However, #2 was a whole different story. He would just hold it in for days--his tummy would hurt, he wouldn't eat much, and he just wanted to lay in bed with his blankie. Then, when he couldn't hold it any longer, he'd have an accident and just go in his pants. He was terrified of going #2 on the potty. And I didn't know what to do.

I talked to several friends of mine looking for ideas and one of my friends told me that her son was the same way and they told him about the "poopy party". Yes, the "poopy party". So we tried it with Wyatt. We told him that down in the potty, there is a poopy party. And if we go poopy in the potty, the poopies can go to the poopy party. But if we don't, they don't get to go to the party and they'll be sad. Well, with Wyatt's imagination and love for playing 'pretend', the "poopy party" stories got REALLY interesting.

We were sitting on the potty one night trying to make the poopies happy and the conversation when something like this:

Wyatt: How will the poopies get to the party?

Me: We'll flush them down and then they'll go.

Wyatt: I think they want to drive a car there.

Me: Sure, they can drive a car there.

Wyatt: Which car will they take?

Me: They can take our Jeep.

Wyatt: I think they want to take Ryan and Jen's car. (these were friends of our that were visiting)

Me: Sure.

Wyatt: Mommy, go ask Ryan and Jen if the poopies can borrow their car.

Me (leave bathroom to go ask): Yep, they said the poopies can borrow their car.

Wyatt: OK

yet after all that, NOTHING! Then the next day as we were trying:

Wyatt: The poopies are still sad.

Me: I know they are. How 'bout you make them happy and send them to the party.

Wyatt: They aren't ready to go yet.

Me: Why not?

Wyatt: Because they are eating mac 'n cheese first.

Me: OK

STILL NOTHING! This continued for quite a while. And then it happened!

Wyatt: Mommy! Mommy! The poopies are happy! Come see them!

Me: Wyatt, I am so proud of you (tears welling up in my eyes--out of pride and relief!). Great job!

Wyatt: Daddy, come see the happy poopies! They are all ready to go to the party. Come see.

(You can imagine how excited Matt was to look at the poopies! Need I say more.)

Wyatt (as we are flushing the toilet): Bye-bye poopies! Have fun at the party!

I'm sure there are some things about the poopies that I have already forgotten, but it seems they have become members of our family. I suppose we will have to address that at some time, but the success of the poopies going to the party far outweighs anything else we have to deal with. And you should all know that many of you have been mentioned in our house in reassurance that all big people use the potty. We have listed all our relatives, many friends, hockey players (even some specifically by name from Uncle Ty's team), and anyone else we can think of. So know that you have all been a part of this arduous process. I'm hoping it'll be easier with Sadie!

Sadie's random tricks

I know it seems like I've been posting about Sadie a lot, but it seems like she just keeps learning new things. Almost everyday, I read her this little book about babies learning to eat (Wyatt's favorite when he was her age) and now she will grab the book and bring it to me to read to her. If I'm not able to read it to her, she'll turn the pages on her own and point to her nose and chin, just like I do when we are reading it. It cracks me up.

She has also learned to "talk on the phone". See below.

And here, she seems to have missed her ear!

She loves playing under the kitchen table. However, if she sits up under the chairs, she hits her head and cries like crazy! Hopefully she'll learn soon.I had to put this picture on because Sadie's hair is now long enough to but a barrette (sp?) in it---notice the little green barrette on the left!

This post is all about Sadie, but the last few weeks of my life have been all about Wyatt. We have been in the throws of potty training (hence the lack of pictures) and I'm hating it! So frustrating. But Wyatt is doing pretty well now and each success is a huge accomplishment. I have to say that I haven't felt so much pride as a mother until the first time he went in the potty.....who knew that the highlight of my life right now would be peeing and pooping in the potty! But it certainly is.