This and That

It has taken us a while to truly believe that Oliver is saying his first word.  Maybe I shouldn't say believe but actually realize.  I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was thinking more along the lines of a well pronounced "dog" or "ball" or "Lola stop eating the baby's food".  Instead it was "that".  He's been saying it for about a month but we just took it for his usual babbling. Corey and I are constantly asking him, "what's that?" and then answering so I guess it makes sense.  Oh, but a wicked little game it has created.  Everything now is "that?" and then sometimes he'll look at us for the answer, sometimes he'll just point at something else and say "that" and then something else and so on and so forth.  I know that his little developing baby brain probably doesn't realize that he is asking "what's that?", "that" probably means "ball" or "dog" or "mom I'd like a snack" but as a human adult we are engineered that when asked a question we answer.  So when he points and says "that" 8 million times a day I am so inclined to answer. Quite exhausting really.  I thought we wouldn't hit this stage until he was about 2 and half or 3 but that is parenting...having an expectation and being completely blindsided by a very different answer or result.

In less that three weeks Oliver will turn one and it seems like just yesterday I was walking up and down the blocks of our neighborhood trying to bring on labor.  It was all in vain, an eviction notice had to be delivered and I was induced and after 14 hours of labor came this life changing little person and here we are 12 months later.  He is now using walking as his mode of transportation about 80% of the time. Crawling is saved for really crucial matters that require getting someplace at warp speed, like the stairs or Lola's dog bowls. He gives kisses on demand, big open mouthed kisses.  The really special ones are the kisses he doesn't have to be asked to give, those I want to wrap up in a tiny brown package with twine and put them in a time capsule to be opened 17 years from now. He still just has two teeth, the top ones have been working their way in for weeks but to no avail.

With the big birthday coming up I've been planning his birthday party.  Nothing over the top, just some family and friends and of course cake.  I've also been working on some special crafties for the day.  I'll share those after his party.

We've gotten one more room finished at Casa de Rekers.  The laundry room has now been painted.  I want to put in some cupboards and a shelf eventually but here is the before and after.  The paint color is Tranquility, it's from Lowes, it's a Valspar color I think.

Laundry room before

Laundry room after

Well we have places to go and people to see.  Namely the Children's Museum in Indianapolis.  We're going on this little adventure with Greta and her mom Carrie.  Thank goodness for the distraction too because those aforementioned top teeth are giving us heck and that makes for one clingy baby.  This adventure could be a success or it could be a total snot dripping, leg clinging, screaming from the back seat failure.  Let's keep our fingers crosses for success!

10 Months

We are actually well past Oliver's 10 month birthday but we had a couple of kinks to deal with.

Kink #1: His first ear infection.  We have been very lucky to make it this far without one but as most of you know, ear infections are no time to be doing photo shoots.

Kink #2: As you can see our trusty friend the lion, Rasputin, is not pictured.  Rasputin went missing during the move.  We filed a missing persons report (after 24 hours of course) and I am happy to say Rasputin has been located.  However, we were not able to track his cell phone records in time to locate him for this photo shoot so Bennett the Giraffe had to sit in.

We have made a complete turnaround from this:

We call this our Gary Busey look

I am happy to report that all of us at House of Rekers are now feeling much better and looking more like this:

Oliver has had a lot going on this month.  He has been seeing a lot of his friend Greta lately which has been great.  This is Greta:

Look at how stylish she is in her mixed prints!

Both Greta and her mom are fabulous.  We have been so blessed to find a group of friends that we get together with on a regular basis and bring some sanity to our days that are normally filled with dirty diapers, making messes and finding sharp objects that haven't been properly baby-proofed.  Greta and Oliver have been teaching each other a lot. Oliver is trying to teach Greta how to crawl and Greta is teaching Oliver how to make pterodactyl noises. I'm not going to say that they are an exclusive couple but they have been seen hobnobbing around town together.  The paparazzi snapped these pictures of them at Fair Oaks Dairy Farm a couple of weeks ago on their trip back from Chicago.  Fortunately they didn't capture on film the Clampett style unloading of the car when it was decided to make an impromptu stop at the farm.  The wind was wildly blowing, random toys were falling out of the car, strollers were caught on seatbelt straps, a binky was almost left in the parking lot and there may or may not have been some curse words spewed out.  All in all we'll still call it a successful trip.  We did get to see a baby cow being born after all!

Oliver has also been spotted going to Greta's house and they were seen together at the Edinburgh Outlet Mall shopping for swim attire for their trips to the pool this summer.

The adventures continue this week, we are preparing for Oliver's first airplane ride.  On Thursday we are flying to Minneapolis to visit Desi and Kiley.  I am driving to Chicago and flying from there so that Edie can help out with what is sure to be a chaotic adventure.  I'm hoping that we make it through TSA smoothly and that we timed our flight appropriately, at Oliver's bedtime. I'm sure we will have many stories to tell when we get back so stay tuned for those. For now here are some more pictures of our growing little man for you to enjoy. Happy Tuesday!

Nueve (Nine)

Hi, I'm 9 months old.

Friday Oliver turned nine months old.  I carried him for nine months and with all the anticipation that comes with carrying a baby it seemed to drag on and on.  This last nine months has gone by in a flash. From the first smiles, to rolling, to crawling, to pulling up to standing and everything in between, what a roller coaster it has been.  I've said it before and I'll say it again this kid amazes the crap out of me.  Once again here is Oliver in a nutshell. Some things remain the same, other things are new. Regardless these are the things that I hope I can burn into some back portion of my brain, never to be forgotten.

-He has a little dimple in his nose that only shows up when he's smiling really big.
-Loves to pull Kleenexes from the box and then tear said Kleenexes into tiny bits. I'm certain when he can talk he'll blame it on the dog.
-Likes to throw balls, and anything that resembles a ball, like last nights peas.
-Has figured out how to feed the dog. (See above pea throwing)
-Favorite foods are pears, bananas, sweet potatoes and black beans. I season the beans with my southwest seasoning and the kid can throw back some black beans, he obviously has his mom's more spicy palate and not his dad's wimpy  mild palate.
-Loves teasing the dog with a sock. I'm fairly certain they can communicate with each other because they had a pretty rowdy game going the other day and Lola, who is notorious for taking it to the next level when playing stayed miraculously cautious.
-Loves digging in purses, diaper bags and anything else that could possess worldly treasures like pens and shiny objects.
-Dances like nobody's business, especially to the Spanish version of the ABC's and 123's on his Leap Frog table.
-Is so proud to stand unassisted for a few seconds at a time.
-Rather enjoys being the loudest thing in the room. This involves competing with the dog barking, the vacuum cleaner and the hair dryer among other things.

Happy Birthday baby! We love you!

We had a little reign of terror this evening.  I fear this is a sign of things to come. It started with a five minute nap in the car on the way home from the hardware store. Here is the progression, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

Needless to say I embraced bedtime this evening.  So now that our little monkey is resting safely in his bed it's time for this momma to deflate.  Good night all!

Right now...

Now that the holidays have come and gone and I'm slowly deflating back into normal life I'm feeling less than crafty.  I also need to be in a swimsuit in T minus 10 weeks so the inspirational recipes and crafts on Pinterest are having to go on a temporary hiatus. So this week I'm taking a prompt from one of my favorite bloggers, Kelle Hampton, and I'm sharing some of what I love.  What I love right this minute, what I love this week and what I love in general.

Discovering shadows.

Each day I am just filled with the wonder and the amazement that is this little guy. 

Tea. 

I've been enjoying a hot cup of tea in the mornings lately instead of my normal cup of coffee.  It started with a sore throat that called for tea with a bit of honey and has temporarily shelved its cousin Joe. With each cup I feel like I'm channeling the spirit of my mom, she was a tea drinker through and through. Lipton Black with just a bit of sugar. Lately the days of remembering my mom and feeling happy to have been blessed to be on this earth with her for 29 and half years are outweighing the sad days when I feel so let down that I don't get to spend another 40 years with her.

Snuggles after afternoon naps that sometimes turn into longer afternoon naps in the warmth of momma's lap.

An impromptu text from a friend triggered by the gorgeous weather that says "playing outside at 4:15ish, meet us there if your kiddos need to burn off some steam".

Finding new tickle spots that make my baby giggle. (Right under the chin and above the collar bone.)

What are you loving lately?

Too Big for our Britches

In case you haven't been made aware, 2012 is the year of the wriggling baby. Somewhere between Santa dropping some presents down the chimney and 2011 fading into 2012, Oliver has become this whirling, twirling mass of life bouncing from one dangerous thing to the next. My days now are spent mostly following behind him cleaning up messes, pausing to fill his belly with bananas or sweet potatoes or squash, and then back to trying my best to prevent him from climbing the DVD cabinet or pulling lamps down on top of himself.

Today was no exception, as a matter of fact it could have been one of the more challenging days of parenthood thus far. It should be noted that these are the things that we are now too cool for:

1. Diaper changes. What once was an enjoyable time to chatter to my baby has morphed into a session of baby wrangling that involves one arm trying to pin him down while trying to maneuver his tooshie into a diaper with the other arm.

2. Sitting in the bathtub.  Once again a session of baby wrangling.  While he goes from sitting to standing to laying I'm trying to wash avocado out from behind his ears as quickly as possible.  I do have to laugh though as he sprouts up, peeks over the side of the tub at me and squeals with delight.  At the end of bath time I sit sprawled out on the bathroom floor, shirt sleeves soaked to the elbow, harried and wild eyed trying to catch my breath but loving the feeling of his little body wrapped in his hooded towel.

3. Sleeping at 4 am.  I've read that there is a sleep regression phase that happens somewhere between 8 months and 9 months and good Lord have we hit regression.  Apparently 2012 has switched some circadian rhythm in this child's body and at 4 am on the dot he is wide awake and ready to party.  He'll cry to jolt me from my peaceful slumber and once I'm there he's all "hey mom, how's it going, wanna hang out?" Not cool buddy, not cool.  He'll finally nod off again at about 5 or 5:30 and then we're ready to tackle the day at 7. We can't go on like this much longer. Mom is cranky, dad is cranky and let's just say patience is running thin through this place.  As a note to the only other adult in the house, the next time you put an empty cereal box back on the shelf you better sleep with one eye open, the good news is you'll most likely won't be sleeping because the baby is awake. 

As I rocked Oliver to sleep tonight I let the soft ticking of the clock and the gentle sounds of rain from the sound machine bring me back to center.  I wouldn't change this day for anything. It wasn't long ago I was wondering if I would ever get the chance to be a mom and I'm thankful each day that my prayers were answered.  It may have been a challenging day but I can only hope that tomorrow will be better.  I'll pray for more patience and make myself go to bed earlier because I know that at 4 am I have a date with one handsome little man.

Eight Months

Eight months. Wow.  I really wanted to try and avoid the cliche phrase of "where has all the time gone?", but really it's impossible not to say.  I have watched my little bubzy transform from this helpless little creature into a little man that every day is learning something new.  He is seizing his days, discovering and testing,  falling and standing.  Each day he gets a little braver and each day I think he can't get any more awesome and then he does. It truly is amazing the way that the days melt into the next and before you realize it your child has changed in front of your very own eyes. A little over eight months ago I was lying in a hospital bed anxiously awaiting the arrival of the little being that I had been dreaming about.  Wondering if his nose would look the way I pictured it in my head (it does, by the way) and hoping that I could be the mother that I had set out to be.  I'm constantly in awe of the way that he barrels through life.

He learned how to climb up the stairs this week.  I hovered behind him, making sure to not let him fall but wanting to let him do this on his own. I watched as he climbed up one step then the next.  When he got to the top he turned and looked down, not quite surprised that he had made it but proud of himself.  While he was climbing he didn't once look back and didn't look too far forward, but instead focused purely on the step he was on.

Each month I have meant to mark the occasion of his birthday by making a list of his accomplishments but eight months have come and gone and I haven't done it yet. So today is the day.  Here is Oliver, month eight.

Accomplishments:
~Climbed the stairs.
~Babbles.  He has said both mama and dada but I know he hasn't quite put it together what the words mean, soon I think.
~Crawling...everywhere.
~Standing alone for a few seconds at a time.
~Playing pattycake and peek-a-boo.

Likes:
~Pears.
~Sweet Potato Chunks.
~Bath time. Favorite toy in the bath? A measuring spoon.
~Feeding Lola.
~When daddy blows bubbles on his belly.
~Using mom, dad and Lola as his personal jungle gym. (Coincidentally NOT one of Lola's likes.)
~Shutting doors.
~Dumping things.
~Anything shiny, Lola's dog bowls top the list.
~Looking out windows.

Dislikes:
~Peas.
~Diaper changes.
~Getting his nose wiped by Kleenexes.

He loves life and I am so blessed to have a baby that has so many items in his "likes" column and so few in the "dislikes.

Tomorrow marks the end of yet another year.  2011 was pretty rough, we lost two grandparents and my mom. But we gained an amazing member of our family.  Here's to much more celebration than grief in 2012. Cheers!

Getting there...

First off, my apologies for the hiatus in posting.  The plague descended upon our household a week and a half ago and has not relented even after antibiotics were flowing like honey through the promise land.  It started with Oliver, or how we shall now refer to him, the petri dish. Runny nose, check. Cough, check. Whiny, clingy, stuffy hot mess. Check, check, check. Then it jumped to me and turned to full on strep throat. Let me tell you having to take care of yourself is one thing but having to care for someone else when you feel like death is a whole different level.  We are making it through though.  Oliver is almost completely recovered and I'm getting there. I'm also afraid to say that this plague like illness has also swept all inspiration from my body. I have sat down and tried to put words to screen so many times over the last week and I've gotten nothing.  You would think that this time of year inspiration would be pouring from the rafters, lights, presents, music, Oliver's first Christmas but alas, still nothing.

I might have mentioned I'm having some trouble getting into the Christmas mood this year.  I'm still not quite there yet but getting closer. Today I started baking cookies for a couple of cookie exchanges I have this week.  I didn't feel quite Christmas-y enough just mixing, rolling and baking so I decided to take it to the next level.  By next level I mean big hair, big voice, and big, ahem, eyes? Yes, the vocal stylings of Miss Dolly Parton.  It's as my sister Edie put it, if her Christmas album doesn't get you in the spirit nothing will.  So I pressed play and before I knew it I was singing "Go Tell It On the Mountain" at the top of my lungs, playing my imaginary tambourine and tapping my leg like a Tennessee hilljack.  Christmas spirit?  It has arrived.

So due to the illnesses that we have been recovering from I really don't have much else to talk about.  My house is a mess and presents need to be wrapped so I'm going to leave you with a few pictures of the cutest dang baby in the world and we'll leave it at that.  I'll be back next week with an extra cheery post that smells like candy canes and has twinkly lights hanging from it.  Fair enough?

(these were all taken with the camera on my phone so please forgive the slight blur)

Ghosties, Penguins, and Cops (Oh my!)

The pumpkins have been picked and the candy has been bought (twice if you must know) and Halloween is here!!  The fact that candy is one of my favorite things on the planet (see above comment) Halloween ranks right up there among my favorite holidays. I don't know if I just remember it differently 20 years later or if things really are different now. My Halloween memories consist of being pigeon-holed into a warm costume because it was always either raining, snowing or bitterly cold (all three if you were really lucky) and it was always pitch black out raising the spooky factor a good 50 percent.  Today trick or treating starts at 5:30 and ends at 8:00 so you really only get 30 to 45 minutes of spooky ambiance and the temperature is forecasted to be about 45 degrees with no rain, maybe those people talking about global warming are on to something?  Regardless of rain or shine it is still Oliver's first Halloween and that's pretty exciting. We had to pick out two costumes because when all the good stuff was in the store it was still about a month and a half away from Halloween and any one that has ever had a baby knows that a whole lot can change on the size front in a month and a half.  So we have the penguin (look at his cute little tail)...

and the policeman...

The mustache paci I saw on Pinterest and followed the link to an Etsy website where they were selling them for $15!!! I thought hogwash, I can make that, so with a bit of felt and my hot glue gun I did!  We'll see which costume fits tonight, either way pretty darn cute if you ask me.

I missed a post last week, sorry about that, we were really busy around here.  Grandpa and Grandma Rekers came for a visit.

We had all sorts of exciting things happening.  We had a Halloween party at the neighbor's house.  I made cake balls that looked like pumpkins and Nutter Butter Ghosties.

I've been making cake balls for several years but only since the cake pop revolution have I started putting them on sticks.  I'll give you my recipe for cake balls at the end of this post.  They can be time consuming but can be the perfect treat for any party from bridal showers to Christmas parties.  Make sure you eat a few after you make them because you more than likely won't get any at your party because they go really fast!

We're on hands and knees now people!

We haven't quite figured out how to put wheels in motion and move forward, but soon I think, very soon.  And then look out world and good-bye knick knacks on bottom shelves for you shall be packed away only to be re-introduced someday when danger has passed.

We're headed to Chicago again this weekend.  Daddy gets to come this time and all the aunties will be there with the exception of Karley.  We initially planned the trip so that we could run the Hot Chocolate 5K Run and it turned into a perfect weekend to reunite with friends and family.  We'll also be lucky enough to meet up with some of our dear friends that we met in Minnesota who now live north of Chicago so it looks like it's going to be a great weekend.  Oh wait, maybe not as great as planned, did I mention that I've run twice since I signed up for this race two months ago? In case you are wondering, no, I am not the type of runner than can pick up where I left off and run when I haven't run a race in months over a year. So if you need me this weekend I'll be laying in the middle of Grant Park trying to recuperate from the heart attack I am sure to have at about mile 1.


Cake Balls:
1 store bought cake mix
1/2 can store bought frosting (coordinating flavor, chocolate with chocolate cake mix, vanilla with vanilla etc.)
1 bag colored Wilton Candy Melts (you can find these at Michaels, Hobby Lobby and sometimes Wal-Mart)

Bake the cake according to directions on box and allow to partially cool.  When still warm break cake into about 6 pieces and put in large mixing bowl. Add half can of frosting.  Mix until all incorporated and sticky. This works best if you just use your hands, the heat from your hands and the warm cake melt the frosting.  Once it's the correct consistency (no cake crumblys left) roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Place a lollipop stick (you can also find these at Michaels, Hobby Lobby etc) in each ball but not all the way through.  Place in freezer for about an hour. Once the balls have been frozen for an hour melt your Candy Melts according to directions on the bag.  Dip each ball in the melted goodness and lightly tap against bowl to shake off excess coating. Place back on wax paper or if you want perfectly shaped balls  stick the stick into a piece of Styrofoam and let coating harden.  These also freeze well so you can make them ahead of time and they only take about an hour to thaw.  Enjoy!!

Birthdays

My grandma turned 90 last week and we went back to Iowa for her birthday shindig. This was kind of a big deal.  Grandma has been talking about turning 90 since the day she turned 89.  In each conversation she would have she would manage to slip in an "I'm going to be 90 you know" no less than three times.  I'm pretty sure she was even bragging it up that she was going to turn 90 to all of her friends and family at her brother's 99th birthday party...yes I said 99th, I don't think grandma quite had the grasp of the irony of that. So to Iowa we went. Before we went to Grandma's party we took a trip to Carroll's Pumpkin Farm with my aunts, cousins and their kids. Growing up we went to the pumpkin farm every year and it was so fun to bring Ollie there for the first time.

 Big boy is sitting up on his own now.

So Saturday was the birthday party.  It was wonderful to catch up with family that we haven't seen in a while.  When we were kids we would go to my grandma and grandpa's house every Sunday for dinner.  Dinner being lunch, not supper. All of the grandkids would play outside while grandma and the aunts would finish up the roast or whatever was being prepared that day.  We would gather at the table and say the Lord's Prayer and then eat.  After the meal was cleaned up and the dishes were done we would move to the living room where the adults would sit while the kids passed around the crystal candy dishes that grandma had filled especially for this day.  My sisters and I would always fight about who got to pass around the candy dishes, there were two dishes and four of us. I hope that someday we can live closer to family so that my kids can see their cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents every week.

We finally got a picture with all of us girls together.  For those of you that don't know my sister Karley (second from the left) she is Kiley's twin and has special needs.  She lives in a home with three other ladies in Adel, IA and is doing so great.  It had been about three months since I had seen her and even longer since she had seen some of my other sisters so she was ecstatic to see all of us, made quite evident by her shrieks of laughter upon seeing us.  She did the same when she saw Grandma, pretty sure that made Grandma's day.

Now it's always hard going back home and being with family because it is so piercingly evident that my mom is gone.  When I'm at home in Indiana I can go about my life, I still think of her everyday and I still want to pick up the phone and call her but I'm not reminded of her at every moment.  At home in Iowa is a constant reminder of her; going to the grocery store, visiting our favorite ice cream spot, seeing so much of her in the faces of her sisters.  Each trip home it gets a little bit easier but just when you think it's getting to be bearable the holidays are right around the corner.  The first Thanksgiving without her, the first Christmas morning waking up without her in the kitchen, making baked french toast and listening to Mannheim Steamroller. I want Oliver to have those memories with her and perhaps that is what makes me the saddest of all.  I know that my mom would have been such an awesome grandma and made such great memories with him.  She would be the grandma that would catch frogs with him, go on nature walks with him,  read books to him, bake him cookies, and teach him to skip rocks.  Ollie still has a couple awesome grandmas, Grandma Rosie and Grandma Stacey. They will have their own things that they will do with him and they will be so special.   There is also my aunt Fonda, who is already an awesome grandma and already treats Ollie like one of her own grandkids and for that I am so very grateful.

During Grandma's party an impromptu leaf fight broke out.  The woody scent of crispy leaves transported me back 17 years to our own giant leaf pile.  But alas there was no tire swing to jump off of into the pile so they had to make their own leaf magic.

Grandma wasn't the only one that had a birthday this week.

Who else had a birthday you ask?

Aunt Edie that's who! She turned 26.

Ollie and I tacked on a trip to Chicago to visit Edie at the beginning and end of our trip to Iowa.  We saw her new apartment with this great view...

We went to the park...

We played a little...

We ate cupcakes and pizza, drank Autumn Blend coffee, we walked everywhere, it was lovely.

And this wouldn't be a blog post without a little craftiness sprinkled in so here is the wreath I made for my grandma's birthday. A styrofoam ring from the craft store, some yarn, a sprig of berries and some felt rosettes.

I hope she loves it.

So now rainy day activities beckon, coffee and a little cleaning.  Who am I kidding? Replace the cleaning with a whole lot of playing on the floor and reading books.  Happy Thursday all!