Leaf Mountain

Since my return we've been awfully busy raking leaves. For those of you who haven't seen our yard, it is smothered and covered with leaves. The whole family became involved and the result...Leaf Mountain!

Brian got some air time on this one. Impressive!

Kate not too thrilled with Leaf Mountain

Visit with Renee

Last week I took a leap of faith and left my family for six days to attend a conference in Colorado. After the conference ended I headed to Fort Collins to visit with my good friend Renee. I must say it was an amazing conference and an even better visit. I arrived home to find my children were happy and healthy (For the most part, Kate had suspected pink eye).

Here are some great pics of the visit.

Bat Girl Birthday party

Holy smokes, I have really been off the blogger for too long! I started this draft over a month ago and never finished. Here it is... finally!

Mya enjoyed her 5th birthday with all of her friends at Bounce U. We had a Batgirl themed party to include capes for the kiddos, lots of bouncing, cake and presents.

Now that the excitement has died down Mya continues to list all the things she will be doing now that she is five. Shoe tying, basketball, jump roping, riding bike without training wheels and reading have made the list.

On this day five years ago...

August 3, 2007, Mya graced us with her presence. She entered this world kicking and screaming and didn't stop until she was 16 weeks old. That day changed me forever.

A friend of mine asked me today how children changed me. It's hard to actually verbalize how much Mya means to me and what changed on that day but I will try my best to describe.

I remember feeling a sense of power I've never felt before. It was like I was transported into a "bad ass" mom. I became more assertive, confident, more protective and proud. At that point I knew I was capable of anything and didn't feel as much doubt in myself as I did before. Now someone else depended on me. It made me realize that I could be the mother I always wanted to be. This doesn't mean that I was this perfect supermom or anything. It just meant that "Yes, I could do this although it was going to be hard as hell sometimes." I recall feeling like I was initiated into a new club.

On the other hand, I have never worried so much about anyone before. I sometimes worried and still worry about the silliest things. I used to "just go with the flow" as they say, but now I couldn't really do anything stupid like binge drink or go out all night because Mya would be up at 5:30am and a hangover just wasn't worth it. My desire to sky dive was no longer present. My sleeping patterns changed. I swear I could hear her breathe in the other room. The slightest noise sent me on full alert and still does. (I do blame some of that hyper-arousal on colic,trauma induced).

Anxiety and sleepless nights made for a crabby Caroline at times. Pregnancy also caused me to be hypoglycemic. Now I eat constantly all day long to avoid any sugar lows or meltdowns. Ask Brian  what that is like. I'm sure he can describe in detail.

I recall staring at my baby for hours in awe of the miracle before me. Mya made me think about life, god, creation, nature, the universe and all that stuff.

There were days and nights I wanted the moment to last forever and of course there were other days I couldn't wait to experience the next stage of development.

Parenthood has also made me more emotional. I seem to get teary eyed more than ever before. For example, I cry when watching the Olympics. I cried today thinking of the past five years and all the memories. I've cried with my clients.

I remember Mya's first smile, her first tooth, her first steps, first words, her first everything. Just to bear witness was an honor.

I remember the huge adjustment Brian and I had to make as a couple (which was not easy).

I fill with pride when talking about my child and am so proud of her. I wonder what this little person will be when she grows up.

Mya taught me patience and more importantly how to deeply love another person. My heart melts just thinking about her.

That day five years ago changed me forever. I am beyond grateful to have been chosen to parent our little monkey. I am the luckiest!

Summer fun

Nothing new to report these days. Just hanging with the family and trying to keep cool. We are experiencing a major heat wave in the Midwest. 

Mya is loving Tee ball and is continues to enjoy her new found freedom of swimming all by herself (videos to come). Kate is climbing, talking and becoming her own little person. She said "bye-bye" for the first time a few days ago. Kate is very active and keeps us on our toes. She gets into everything and tries to keep up with her big sister. With Mya we never had to child proof much. With Kate, we are finding the need to childproof everything. She's our daredevil.  

 Kate's first solo slide ride

Mya and Zoe digging for bugs and worms 

 Uncle Mark taking a turn

 Daddy and his girls

 Kate thinking up a plan to climb Mya's bunk bed ladder. 

She was successful!

 At the pool with Aunt Sarah

Mya meets Justin Bieber at the Mall.

Tee Ball adventures

Mya showed an interest in playing Tee Ball this summer. We signed her up through the YMCA. The director asked for volunteers to coach. I offered. Then one afternoon I got the call. They wanted me. I was pumped. I was a Tee Ball coach to be. I picked Mya up from school to share the news with her only to hear cries of disappointment. She did not want me to coach. Mya wanted Daddy to coach. When I asked for an explanation she simply said, "Boys coach Tball, girls don't." I did my best to handle the rejection with pride and told her we would have to ask Daddy when he got home.  

Brian came home from work and to his surprise Mya jumped into his arms and yelled, "Daddy, you're going to be my Tee ball coach." She gazed into his eyes with expressions of joy and pure sweetness as she anxiously awaited a response. Brian had no choice but to accept (as if he had a choice). 

Brian is officially a coach! The first game was Saturday, the day before Father's Day. Mya presented him with an early Father's day gift for him to wear at the game. She got him a Cardinals shirt with 'Dad 1' printed on the backside. I swear Brian shed a tear. He could not have been more proud to wear that shirt and Mya was just as proud to have her Daddy to be the coach of her team. They both came out of this as winners if you ask me. 

Oh yeah, I am not at a total loss. After Mya's game she came up to me and said, "Mom, you can coach my basketball team one day." So for now, I will just take a back seat and enjoy the ride. 

Ballet recital and other news

The other week we attended Mya's second annual ballet recital. It was amusing to say the least. I can't believe how much she's learned and improved within a year's time. We are very proud parents.

Recently, Mya and I took a trip to Bloomington, IL to see my cousin Kayla graduate from High School. It was a lot of fun to have a "big girls'" trip. At the end of the day Mya was so pooped she actually asked to go to bed. I tucked her in as she requested I sing her the song I sang her when she was a baby. We said our prayers, talked about our favorite part of the day, and read a story. Then I caressed my fingers through her hair, singly softly as my sweet baby drifted off to sleep. It was a tender moment as I realized that one day my baby will be graduating high school and starting her own separate life.

 Our Prima Ballerina

My Clone

 Mya, Kennedy, and Gabby. These are very best buddies

 Digging in the dirt. Mya's favorite pastime.

 Daddy's girls! Kate still loves this baby carrier. She brings it to us periodically throughout the day.

 Wild child!

 Playtime with Daddy

 Playtime!

 Mya and Great Aunt Mary

 Great Grandma

 The proud graduate!

 Kayla and Eric

 I love this picture!

 Kayla and Brady

Our future Graduate!