Life Together: January 2016

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Baby Smiles and 20/20 Vision

Little excitements are the theme at our house this month. Clara learned she could giggle and roll over all in the same week! That's big stuff for such a little peanut. Lydia has been sporting pig tails lately now that her hair is (sort of) long enough. Also, we have somewhat successfully transferred Lydia to her big girl bed! She is slowly realizing the new freedom she has and has been enjoying getting out of bed by her big-girl self to read books and try on shoes when she wakes up. Dan has also learned something new about little-girl-wardrobes: tights have feet in them and leggings do not (requiring socks). And both require a dress or long shirt. It will be interesting to see what else he learns about what "little" girls wear over the years. Stay tuned.

On January 5 we celebrated our third wedding anniversary. The only thing better than dropping the girls off at Opa and Oma's house and going on a date is having Opa and Oma come along and treat us to dinner. Having the girls behave like little angels during our meal was another plus. Fun memories were made.

On January 21 Dan had Lasik eye surgery in Des Moines. What an amazing procedure! In a matter of moments he received perfect vision and no longer has to wear glasses or contacts. We traveled to DSM on Thursday for the procedure and Friday for a check-up, so it was very nice to have my mom come and stay with the girls for a couple days. It was like going on a date two days in a row. Kind of. Except Dan was wearing eye patches, and special sunglasses, and was on Valium part of the time. Very romantic.

Grandma VW continues to impress us with her great progress after having knee replacement in December. She is getting around easily with no cane, and she is able to drive again too! Prayers have been answered. It is fun to watch her holding Lydia again. Lydia is always on the hunt for her Oma after each church service for a snack, and she usually finds Opa too for a hug.

Clara's four month stats:
26 inches long: 96th percentile
13 lbs 11 oz: 51st percentile
At this age Lydia was a 1/2 inch shorter and 2 lbs heavier. Clara is a content baby, even though she has me up a lot more at night than Lydia ever did. I'm seeing now that Lydia was an exceptional sleeper; at only 6 weeks old she was sleeping through the night. But Clara gets bonus points for taking better naps :)

Beauty. The kind that makes the heart swell with thanks to our Creator.

Lydia longing to go out and play.

Tucker longing to come in and play.

"Where are your toes?"


Pig tails. Wear 'em proud girl.

She brings such joy to our home.

Her smiles. They can brighten the gloomiest of days.

Saturday snuggles.

This was her request. And I'm not going to complain. It's a good way to keep track of her.


Already?!

(Having fun with my camera.) Letting this truth sink in is balm for the weary heart.

Friday, January 1, 2016

December Reflections

With December comes a season of celebration, and the annual time of gathering with family near and far. This is a sweet time. A time that is cherished. A time to be fought for. For some, Christmas is the only time in the whole year they see their loved ones. So we hold on to these moments tightly because so much can happen in a year. Will we all be here next year? Will we all be in such good health? Will certain relationships grow deeper or grow strained over the coming year? Only time will tell. For this reason, the yearly gathering of family around the holidays is to be treasured.

Here are some memories we are cherishing after our time with family this December:

-Seeing Tom, Karlene, Alivia, Grant, and Jenna from WA state. What a sweet time of reconnecting and making new memories with this delightful family!

-Annual baking day with friends.

-Watching our parents bond even more with our daughters.

-Making the grueling 6-7 hour drive to Edgerton with our sleepy 3 month old and our crabby-crying-I'm-only-going-to-sleep-20-minutes 18 month old. I've never been happier to drive onto my parent's gravel road.

-Having prayers answered as Grandma VW's knee replacement surgery went smoothly, and having her recovery go well so far!

-Watching Dan and John play ping-pong...then sting-pong.

-Tucker! No, he won't be on our Christmas card next year.

-Lydia learning to say "Amen" ("May-men"). Actually, the best part is getting her to say "Amen" without a torrent of tears and screaming.

-Annual big-sister little-sister coffee date with Abby :)

-Watching my nephew Landan get a Hawkeye jersey for Christmas. I can't remember seeing a kid as excited as he was. The funny part is that it was the second one he got this Christmas! Would've loved to see him open the first one.

-Toffee Delights...need I say more? No Christmas goodie compares to this one. Not even oreo balls.

-Watching Lydia sit on the floor at home surrounded by all her fun, colorful Christmas toys trying to put on her boots for 10+ minutes. These are the same boots that she kicks off her feet in the car before I can even back the car out of the garage.