hello from the heinz family

This little guy turned 6 months old this week.  I know that all parents say this, but oh my gosh, have these past six months just cruised by!  Blake and I were talking the other night before bed about Milestones and how with each one of Willow’s we were there, ready with a camera, making a huge deal, and telling EVERYONE we knew just how amazing our child was.  Well, I feel as though we are doing Noah an injustice.  The little things are celebrated but we don’t throw giant parties for him rolling over.  Sorry, Noah.  We love you just as much and think the fact that you can roll over and are just days away from crawling are pretty much amazing.  You are almost sitting up on your own, and I think as soon as you do, you will be able to play even harder!  We love love love it when you giggle and show us your dimples and we love watching you interact with your sister.  The fact that you are already eating us out of house and home at 6 months is pretty amazing too, and even though we still get up with you every 3 hours during the night for a feeding, being able to spend extra time with you is pretty much awesome too.

Wow!  Four years have come and gone….and Blake is done!  This morning marked a mini celebration of my last morning with kiddos at daycare and Blake’s last morning heading off across town to work without getting paid!  Wahoo!  This morning we had an impromptu photo shoot…just like our first day of school photos, except the opposite!  Willow and I enjoyed ourselves this afternoon by making a few surprises for daddy:  a room full of balloons and a pan full of brownies.  We couldn’t wait for him to get home and ended up having a bedtime snack and balloon party without him!  On a side note:  I do have two children.  One just chooses to sleep through some of our “camera worthy” moments.

Our time in KC is dwindling, and we are taking advantage of all of the rainy and non rainy days to do some of the things that we have on our checklist to do before we move.  I can’t believe that in one short month, we will be loading up a UHaul and heading north.  It is bittersweet…we are so excited to go, but still sad and overwhelmed at the fact that we are leaving.  Yesterday, Willow, Noah, and I headed WAY out to the Overland Park Arboretum and even though we got rained in, we had a fun time walking the trails and playing in the children’s garden.  Then we stopped and visited Blake on one of his very last shifts as a medical student.  The next time we visit him at his hospital, he will be Dr. Heinz!

Oh, and I officially started packing today:  one van full went to Goodwill and I consolidated the bins in the basement.  Next job:  those kitchen cupboards that I never use and maybe…just maybe packing up the craft closet.

Noah likes to eat. A lot.  Which is totally fine, because to be honest with you, I really do too.  He will try anything I give him and so far our baby food experience has been pleasant.  We have been trying a combination of blending our own foods and using jars and pouches of organics (which is easier to take to the babysitters.)  He doesn’t discriminate; Noah will eat them all.  He even cries when we don’t shovel it in fast enough!  With Willow, well, let’s just say she still doesn’t eat anything I put in front of her.  It is kind of depressing…especially when I make something fun…when she doesn’t eat!  I have a feeling Noah and I are going to be best buds in the kitchen.

Oh, and did I mention we bought a house?  Yup, and when I say we, I pretty much mean Blake.  He went up to the cities again last weekend, and together with our realtor scoured the listings.  Finally, something a little promising came up, and Blake fell in love.  Let’s just say that I have only seen it through pictures.  So far, it’s a gem…but it needs a little “cosmetic” work.  I am looking forward to painting and making it our own.  You can’t beat lots of wide open space and a beautiful, fenced in yard.  I will share more on the house later, but I think I want to look at it myself first!

We started this am with grumpy babies.  It was a little chilly outside so we spent most of the morning making messes and being silly.  Willow pretended to take naps with her babies while Noah played sullenly alongside.

During Noah’s nap time, Willow and I worked on a project…a diy lampshade that I saw on pinterest.  It turned out okay and will look pretty cute in the kids’ playroom.

After naps we took a walk and enjoyed the fresh air….and had some (lots) of tummy time.  Noah is starting to get pretty mobile.

Willow learned how to use the camera….

Finally, while I was putting Noah down for bedtime, I came back out to the playroom to find this on the couch.  She wasn’t pretending this time.

Today I made a mental realization that I have been focused way too much on life in the future.  It has been so stressful waiting to find out where Blake matched, and then as soon as we did, we have had to focus on finding a home for our family to live.  We aren’t living in the present and have all of our energy on the future.  Granted we do need to find a home….and we need to find one quick, but I need to remember that my children aren’t going to be little forever.

I surprised Willow this afternoon with a trip to Build a Bear workshop.  Her teddy bear needed a makeover and so we took Lulu to be pampered.  Willow had a blast and so did I.  For a few minutes I forgot all about the load on our shoulders and had a blast.  Then, we headed home for spaghetti and after dinner Willow hopped on the bike for a ride with Daddy.  Noah and I waited, stress free, on the front step for the duo to come home.  Now, we are spending our evening scouring several websites for a new list of homes to visit.  Ugh, the pain!

Welp, it is already the ninth, and I have officially missed Noah’s five month post.  Can you believe that five months has come and gone?  Well this sixteen pounder is already do different from his sister….he eats!  We started him on rice cereal and he is already plowing his way through a variety of foods.  We are feeding him a mixture of pureed foods from home as well as jars of organic baby foods….and he is loving them all!  He is spending more time on his tummy now than anything else and we can foresee crawling in our near future.  He can sit up (tripod) with a little help and enjoys being able to participate in Willow’s many activities from a higher vantage point.  He is starting to be such an easy baby; we literally put him in his crib with a binkie and he falls asleep.  Now, if only he would stay sleeping!

After sleeping in this morning (until 8 am yikes!) we discovered that we were indeed visited by the Easter bunny last night.  Willow enjoyed finding all of her eggs and collecting them in her paper bag sent by Great Grandma Ket and she loved her presents…including her new favorites, Max and Ruby!  We let her enjoy a smattering of chocolate before breakfast and then got dolled up for church.

Church was such a pleasant experience today.  We were actually able to sit back, somewhat relax, and really listen to both the music and the message of the homily.  The kids were perfect and it made our Easter so much more enjoyable to be able to worship.  One thing that we have not mastered is attended church services with two kids, but if they acted this way every Sunday, we would not have a problem going.  Maybe it was the chocolate that Willow ate before hand…..

Here are my little bunnies hopping around the yard.  Happy Easter!

Today (and yesterday) we celebrated Blake’s birthday.  We started with a Friday night trip to Dairy Queen for Blizzards and then to the park for a trip on the swings.  It ended up being frigid out and we hurried home.  This morning, instead of balloons in his bed, Blake woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had come a day early for him.  Instead of candy, the bunny had left “memories” hidden inside 28 eggs.

Willow and Noah gave Blake his gift of an owl print that we created from an idea I found on pinterest.  Willow’s hands and Noah’s feet form the wings of an owl.

Then after a breakfast of french toast and Starbucks, we dyed our hard boiled eggs and Willow and I made sure we saved the last egg for the birthday boy.  

After afternoon naps, impromptu photos shoots and trips to the gym, we rounded out the day with dinner with our friend Mike.   Willow helped Blake blow out the candles on the cake, and Noah pretty much slept through it all!

And because I am sure he is feeling a little left out: