(Side note: I wrote this on Friday and I am just getting around to posting it).
Wow..what a week. Where to start, I guess with Sunday. Sunday we got together with Daniel's family for a few hours to take some big family pictures and eat dinner. Daniel's youngest sister and her new husband were in town visiting from Tulsa. That means there were 17 (seven of which are children 4 years old and under). As well as one of Daniel's sister's, in-laws. We had a great time all together. Well in less than 48 hours 14 of us had a violent stomach bug. I have never heard of a bug traveling that quickly (no it wasn't food poisoning). During Lillian's nap on Monday I started feeling a little queasy and while I was talking to my mom I told her that I was praying it wasn't a stomach bug. Back in May I had a violent bug that ended up with me in an urgent care office getting iv's of zofran on my 29th birthday. Well Lillian wakes up and then it all begins. She starts, I follow not too far behind.

Daniel so graciously took care of Lillian while she was sick. He took her down and slept in the basement with her while I battled the bug upstairs. Around 2am I wake up to hearing Daniel in the kitchen and he informs me that he is now sick. We quickly change the sheets in our room so he can sleep up there and I go down to finish the night with Lillian (I was feeling better). I wish I would have taken a picture of all of the laundry that I had to do the next few days. Thankfully Wilson avoided it. Daniel's parents saved him from the chaos and he slept there on Monday night. Although they later became victims of the bug themselves.

As we re-entered the world we heard of LOTs of people who experienced this bug in the same time frame. Crazy little virus. I wonder what Lillian thinks germs are. We keep talking about them and washing our hands and cleaning EVERYTHING! Maybe I need to have her draw a picture of what a germ is so I can get in her head. We spent lots of time at home making sure we were all well and not going to let that little bug get around any more. Thankfully that bug knows he is no longer welcome in our home.


On a totally different note a quick Lillianism:
Yesterday Lillian, Wilson and I were playing. Lillian started to have a little meltdown about who knows what now. I informed her that she was over reacting. She settled down and we continued to play. Before long she starts crying again and I look at her inquisitively trying to figure out why the alligator tears again? She explains to me "Mom, I just want to cry." I respond with, "Okay Lillian, but why are you crying?" To which she answers "I don't know." I just held her and tell her that we have all felt that way before. It won't be the last time that she will just feel like crying and not really know why! Oh to be a girl...

Here are a few new pictures:

Playing with  Zoobs. If you have never played with them they would make a great Christmas gift.

Kind of like legos but they move around and they have no small pieces.

Bath time fun

My sweet girl 

Happy Days

Daniel's been traveling a lot lately. I am glad this is his last trip for awhile. Its hard on both of us. When he returns he is tired from traveling, playing drums and an intense schedule. I am tired from two kids, running a small business (with over 1000 families registered!), a dog, and just all that goes along with all of that. We are so thankful for the opportunities for our family to earn a little extra cash but it does make things a little more challenging. I don't know about you but when Daniel is gone I don't sleep near as well. I take a long time to unwind and then I wake up in the night. Typically its not a scared thing, just an aware thing.

Last night when it was time for bed Wilson was letting me hear about it when I laid him down...upon re-entry into his room and I picked him up Wilson clapped. I am not sure if it was for me or I think the more likely option was that he was clapping for himself for succeeding in his ploy to get out of bed. I think he won that battle. He has never had any problems telling us what he thinks.

Lillian has ballet today. She is one of the youngest in her class (if not the youngest). She has class with her cousin Taylor which is so special to me! My little ballerina.

Here's to Friday and a "normal" weekend ahead of us. We have not had two weekends at home in a row with a "normal" schedule since early May! I am looking forward to playing with my family, watching some football, drinking some chai, and snuggling under my new amazing blanket!

Our Boy is One!

I am trying hard to not give in to the idea that Wilson is already experiencing the life of a second child. I feel bad because he turned one over a month ago and I still have not written anything about what he's doing in this new phase of life! Oh well, I know I just need to take the pressure off :)

Wilson has been such a joy. He is ALL boy! It has been so fun to see him do the boy thing. Here are some things I want to remember about the first year (and even a few I would be fine to forget):

* His favorite toy to play with is a ball or anything he can pretend is a ball (aka an orange, apple, etc). He will throw it and chase after it himself.
*We have a doggy door (see picture below) and Wilson crawls through it daily. No telling what our neighbors must think watching our one year old go in and out like a little pup. We used to try to fight it. Now we just sit back and laugh...that is until he starts eating our dog's food from the bowl. We'll let you decide whether or not you think that has happened a couple of times already.
* He loves music. He loves drums. When he is dancing and he really gets going he puts his hands down behind his back and just bounces up and down.
* He loves to tease. He teases his sister (to which she responds appropriately half the time). He will pretend he is going to take something, throw something, or even hit something until he gets a reaction out of whomever he is teasing.
*He is walking now. He is still a bit wobbly but right around his first birthday he started taking steps.
*When you ask him for a kiss he leans his forehead into your lips so you can give him a kiss.
* If he is having troubles sleeping he still loves to cuddle.
* He adores Lillian and she adores him. I love watching their relationship develop. She is learning how to include him in what she is doing but she is also understanding that he just wants to follow her around.
* He says "Dad" and "ball" pretty well but he still is not too interested in saying much more (at least in a language we can understand. But he likes to talk!).
* He loves to sing songs (and do the motions). Anytime he is fussy I will hear Lillian start to sing him a song, always starting with her ABC's.
* He took a long time to sleep through the night...really not until he was close to a year did it happen consistently. After we set his surgery for tubes and the doctor told me he had basically had fluid in his ears since his first ear infection (at 4 months!), I found some compassion for his lack of sleep.
*Though he doesn't always want to go to sleep, whenever he's really tired he'll just grab his blanket and lay flat on the wood floor. Its seems to be his way of raising the white flag and saying "take me to bed."

We thank God every day for the joy of being Wilson's parents! He is such a delight to us.

Lisa and Daniel

Beginnings and Ends

This last week has been full of firsts and lasts. So often we commemorate the firsts of life but often times we forget to note the lasts. Here are a few first and a few lasts from recent days.

Wilson took his first steps this last week. They were so wobbling and unsure but he was so excited. His sister was sooooo excited for him. She is so proud of her little brother.
He also nursed for the last time. I don't know that he has cared a bit and although I am excited with my new found freedom I am reminded that my little man is growing up.

We spoke our last words to our dear friend Bart Phillips on Tuesday as he passed away Thursday night. Daniel did his funeral service yesterday and it was lovely. It was so honoring and God's presence just rested in that room. Bart left behind his 3 boys (12 and under) and his amazing wife Suzi. We had planned to have dinner with Bart and Suzi on Sunday night. Suzi's strength in the last few days has been so inspiring to me as well as challenging me and my faith in my Lord.

Wilson had surgery this morning to put tubes in his ears. It was a first for Daniel and I to have to hand our child over to a medical team and trust them to take care of our baby. Although the procedure was quick and uncomplicated anytime a person has anesthesia there is a faith that we must put in professionals and ultimately our Lord.

For the first time this week Lillian talked about not wanting to be apart from her brother because she would miss him. I pray that continues all her life. I was getting ready to leave her at The Playroom and I considered taking Wilson with me but she was not having it because she knew that she would miss him if he was not there with her. I love that!

This week has sure been an emotional one. We've ridden the roller coaster of emotions way up high this week and way down low as well. I thank God that He knows my thoughts and my feelings even before I do! He is not surprised by anything.

It really is the small things

 I am looking out my window watching the trees in my backyard bend from the breeze. These large organisms giving way to something bigger than themselves but yet is unseen. Often in the evening after the kids are in bed Daniel and I love to lay in our hammock. Even though we live in the middle of a neighborhood the trees in our backyard sort of shelter us from the neighbors and it kind of feels like we are in our own world. We dream about what is "out there" in the world around us and remind ourselves of how big our God is and yet how much He cares about each one of us!

There are certain times in life that leave us more reflective and this is one of those times. I want to cherish life, drink it up, love my kids, my family, and my friends. I want to talk to people, get to know their story, have conversations, talk to my kids, I mean really talk to my kids, I also want to listen a lot. I want to serve our God with all I have. I am thankful that I serve a big God. One that holds the world in His hands. Life truly is made up of the small moments.

Here are a few of my favorite moments of late:

Lillianisms

Lillian is at it again saying the sweetest and most hilarious things. Wilson continues to prove himself to be a boy by grunting, barking, breaking and sliding down things (like stairs!). I'm the luckiest dad in the world. Here are a couple recent Lillianisms from our three year old that I hope you'll find entertaining:

1. Yesterday Lisa put Lillian to work in the kitchen shucking fresh peas for a salad. As she stood atop her step-stool she wore her pink, sparkling princess dress and high heels. Lillian gave a running commentary about each individual pea. One of them Lillian described as "huge". And then she said, "Mommy, 'huge' is another word for 'big.'" Lisa asked her if she could think of another word for big. Lillian fired off "massive." When asked if she knew yet another synonym for big, she said "gargantuan. Daddy says that word." What Lillian doesn't know is that I didn't know what gargantuan was until I was 18.

2. This morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table with Lillian and Wilson feeding them breakfast. I was thanking God out loud for having a job that I love, and in a time like this, for just having a job. I could tell Lillian was taking it all in, her dad talking out loud to God. She's learning that this is prayer. And so I said, "Lillian, do you know that I love my job?" She nodded and then said as energetically as she could, "Daddy, I love my job, too. I get to stay at home all day and play!" Priceless.

3. We then left the breakfast table and Lillian followed me up to my bathroom to watch me shave. She and her pink stuffed bunny took up their front row seats on the closed toilet lid. As I applied the shaving cream, Lillian asked, "Daddy, why do you use shaving cream?" I told her it keeps my skin from getting irritated. She followed up with an appropriate question: "You use shaving cream because you don't want to cut your face off?"I responded in the affirmative.

That's it for now. Come see us...but only if you want to laugh!

Much love,

Daniel, Lisa, Lillian and Wilson

Chicago, Wedding, Home, Tulsa, Wedding

Well we are home after doing some traveling for weddings! It has been a fun few weeks but I must admit I am glad to be home and getting back in to a "normal" routine!

The morning of July 7th we flew to Chicago. We had the 6am flight out of Denver! We debated on getting a hotel in Denver that night but then I decided that the hour or so of sleep we would save in the morning we would probably loose the night before trying to get the kids to sleep in a different place. So at the last minute we opted to sleep in our own beds for our short night. We got to Chicago and got our rental car without any problems! It went really well. We spent Thursday with my best friend Kristin as well as seeing my dear friend and roommate from college Alissa and her two boys (one of which is a day younger than Wilson). We also got to see one of my WVHS basketball buddies Dani Becker. It was fun to walk around downtown Naperville although it was hot and crowded! :) It meant a lot to me to have friends take time out of their days and get to hang!

We spent the night at the Ostergaards and loved it. The next morning we were able to take a walk to the park Kristin and I grew up playing at and let our kids play! I must admit it was somewhat surreal to have our kids playing there together.

Friday night we headed into the city for my cousin's wedding rehearsal dinner. I so loved being in the city. I really miss Chicago. It was fun because my parents where there as well as my brother Kevin and his family. The remaining nights of our trip we spent at our friends the Beatties. They were our families best friends during our time in Naperville. They were our "family" in Naperville.  Saturday was the first birthday for my niece Chloe! We got to have some cake and then we headed to the city for the wedding.

The wedding was at a lovely church downtown and the reception was at the Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower). That was exciting. We got to stand on the Sky Ledge (Daniel was not happy about that) and enjoy seeing the city. My dad worked at the Sears Tower during our time in the Chicago area so it was fun for him to be there. Sunday Daniel and the kids and I spent our day downtown walking around and ended it with some Chicago Pizza!

Wilson leaning on the glass on the sky deck. Daniel was not happy!

Mom and her siblings and mother

Lillian and Cooper

After arriving back in Denver early on Monday morning the kids and I began to pack for our trip to Tulsa. We left on Friday morning. Daniel's sister Anna was married in Tulsa on July 23rd! It was lovely. We had a great 10 days in Tulsa with my family as well as his family. The kids as well as Daniel and I were  a part of Anna and Stephen's special day. We drove to Tulsa and I must admit it is a little more relaxing to drive with two kids rather than flying with two kids! We can stop and get out whenever we need too.

Unfortunately I hardly got any pictures during the wedding day, but here are a few others from the week.

Bridal Luncheon

The "Grothe" Ladies

Eating cupcakes to celebrate Taylor's birthday 

My boys

It was great to hang with Nana and Pops...and boy did we need their help!

Cousins

Things at home are back in full swing. Church, work, The Children's Playroom, doctors appointments, dentist appointments...welcome back to real life!