Skate With the Hawks

For Christmas, I gave Daddy two Miami hockey tickets so he could take Mr. Mister to his first ever hockey game.  They went last Saturday and had so much fun that they came home asking for tickets again next Christmas.



Because it was the last game of the regular season, they had "Skate with the Hawks" after the game.  The players came back out onto the ice to skate with all of the fans.

Mr. Mister was pretty excited to have "single skates" as he calls them. The skates we bought him are double runners to help with balance, so he felt like a pro with regular skates on.

The college guys loved him.  But he was more excited to skate with his daddy than with a future professional.
(#16 above  has already signed with the NHL)

The Miami student section does a chant every time the Redhawks score a goal.  Here is a video of Mr. Mister doing the chant that they did after Miami's third goal of the night...

In case you didn't catch all those words, it goes:

One, two, three

We want more goals!

Sieve, sieve, sieve.*

It's all your fault! It's all your fault! It's all your fault!**

*If you don't know what sieve means, look it up here.

**The "it's all your fault" chant is yelled directly at the other team's goalie.

If you want to see the chant in action, check out this video live from the MU student section.  It's pretty intense.

Telling Stories

This kid can tell some stories.

There are the common ones like, "I used to be a ______" ... fill in the blank with whatever we happen to be reading about, talking about, or seeing on the side of the road. Fireman, construction worker, pilot, etc.

There are the ones that part of me wants to discourage, but I think are just part of being a boy. They usually involve some kind of weapon or fighting or body part being sliced off. I mostly redirect without overreacting. I think it's pretty amazing how boys just know these things and think they are cool. I have to laugh at how Mr. Mister's favorite character in the David and Goliath story is Goliath.

I try to tell him that's not the point of the story. We're supposed to see how God delivers His people from a great enemy by the hands of an unsuspected hero. That He can use anyone and that we can do great things when we trust Him and are willing to step out in faith. But no, Mr. Mister thinks being a giant soldier is really cool. And really, that doesn't concern me much right now. He's a 3 year old boy with a grand imagination.

And then there are the stories he makes up. Like the other day when I started telling him a story about making sand castles on the beach and whatever we made came to life (I'm not that creative...I got it from this great children's book called Chalk). He took over with the rest of the story...

"Then we made a sand castle that looked like a car seat. And it came alive and became a boat that I sailed out into the ocean. And I found a baby dolphin who had lost his mommy. So I helped him find his mommy and she said, 'Thank you for helping me find my baby.' Then I sailed back to the beach and everyone there cheered for me. I was a hero. And I wore a crown. And they said, 'Mr. Mister, you're the coolest!' "

I just loved this story. I love his imagination. Every common thing we see instantly turns into something adventurous. This is such a fun stage and I try so hard to encourage his creativity so that he never gives up on imagining.

A New Man

Mr. Newton emerged from his week long sickness as a new baby.
Or should I say big boy.

He has a huge appetite.  He continually outlasts the rest of us at meals and does not stop eating on his own.  We just have to stop feeding him. (that is exactly how Mr. Mister used to be!)  The other night he ate chili, broccoli, cheese, bread, apples, and avacado before I made him be finished.

Pureed baby food?  No thank you.  Just what everyone else is eating.  I've heard that this happens with second children and is definitely the case with him.  He wants to feed himself and he only wants to eat what we are eating.

And the best change of all....he sleeps all night long.  As soon as he was healthy, it clicked, as if he's been doing it his whole life. He sleeps til 7:30 or 8 now without waking up.  That makes this mama very happy.

He also learned how to climb the steps. When he crawls over to them, his eyes become so happy and excited, like he is ready for adventure.  I'm sure he'll have many adventures to come in this family!

9 Months

I missed Mr. Newton's 9 month birthday post.  But I'm sure no one was on the edge of their seat waiting for it.  Last week was crazy here as he experienced his first real sickness.  (not counting the 3 month long cough that has thankfully not resurfaced over the last month).

He came down with a fever the day after we got home from the water park. We ended up at the doctor after two days of a fever, with a peak of 104.  It was some kind of virus that we just had to wait out with some good doses of ibuprofen.  Today, a week later, he is finally back to himself.  A week with no smiles was rough!

It was also a rough week because on Wednesday, he stopped nursing, completely out of the blue.  On Tuesday he ate five times and on Wednesday, zero.  He would just arch his back and cry whenever I attempted to feed him, as if I was trying to cut off his toes. And that was that.  He has not nursed since.  

The whole experience has been pretty emotional for me, one that probably only nursing moms can really understand.  He never took a bottle and rarely took it from a sippy cup, so for the last nine months, it's just been me feeding him. And I was planning on continuing that at least til he turned 1.  So the abrupt end was really difficult.  I don't like change to begin with and wasn't at all prepared for this.  I felt rejected, frustrated, sad, shocked, etc.  I thought he may start again after he felt better, but I have accepted the fact that he is done. 

In addition to the emotional side was the logistical frustrations of pumping, heating milk, washing sippy cups, etc.  Heating milk in the kitchen at 4am is miserable. It was so easy to just nurse him and then go right back to sleep.  But hopefully there will be no more 4am wake ups anymore...the pediatrician said we can push him to sleep twelve hours now, which he should be able to do.  

I guess the silver lining is that with it there is some new freedom.  Some good friends watched our kids Saturday night and sent us out on a much needed date.  It was nice to not have to worry about getting home to feed Mr. Newton before bed.  But, I'd still rather be breastfeeding.  

Another friend reminded me that in 20 years I probably won't even remember this and if I do, I sure won't be upset about it anymore.  That's good wisdom.  

So, that has been our week.  I have no cute 9 month picture to post.  Maybe now that he's happy again I will take some new pictures!

Another Way to Beat the Winter Blues

A trip to the waterpark in January. 

This weekend was our third year of meeting the PA fam at an indoor waterpark a little ways north of here.  It was fun time with family and so nice to be warm!  But I don't have any pictures.  My sister-in-law had a really cool waterproof camera that took still shots and video, so we left the picture taking up to her.  Maybe I'll get some of hers and post them later.

• Mr. Mister was Mr. Confident on the kids slides.  He was a little too short for some of the bigger ones, but he was perfectly content going down the smaller ones a hundred times in a row.  Tonight after we got home, he kept saying, "I'm just a little sad. I miss the waterpark."  

• Mr. Newton loved splashing in the water. He was super flexible with his nap schedule which allowed us time to all be together in the water.

• Last year, I was pregnant so I didn't get to go down the slides.  This year I got to play a lot, thanks to the wonderful help of Grandma, Papa, Aunt J and Uncle C who help us so much with our kids!

Back to life here.  It's always hard to come home after a fun weekend!

Beating the Winter Blues

It was so refreshing to see the sun today and to see some snow melting. Although with the melting snow comes a melting ice rink, much to the dismay of a certain 3 year old. I'm not sure how much longer we'll maintain it, but it certainly has been fun.

Besides the ice rink and the occasional trip outside to go sledding, we find ourselves inside for much of these cold winter days. So here are some of the things we've done recently to make life inside a little more eventful.


A picnic inside! The boys loved it and it added a little fun to our same old lunch. Peanut butter and jelly tastes better on a blanket.

Trips to Costco provide some new scenery and some yummy free samples. And I love the cart for two!

This is our superhero who came to save his damsel in distress Mommy from bad man Daddy while riding his faithful black steed.

Here's his partner who did more drooling than rescuing but still looked cute in his red cape.

It's Here!

The long awaited ice rink is official!  It is sure to provide many fun times this winter (and to provide some challenge in getting out our back door).  Mr. Mister already loves it and wants to skate all the time.  I'm so proud of my husband for sticking with it.  This video was his inspiration.
Maybe that will be us someday!

Here are some pictures of the action.
We have open skate all day if anyone wants to stop by!

This is the water waiting to freeze.

This is my favorite.  Good looking slapshot!

Even tough skaters still need their mamas.
Mr. Mister took a hard spill and needed some cuddle time to feel better.