One year ago...at this very moment

As I sit here at 7:36 pm on January5, 2010, I cannot help but recall what I was doing at this very moment, last year. I was also typing on our family blog. I finished the blog right at 8:00pm (started it much earlier in the day but couldn't wrap it up due to Reagan's ever-demanding schedule at the time!) just in time to see my ever-anticipated season premier of The Bachelor. Right at 8:00 pm - I was hit with CONTRACTIONS. I didn't know it at the time, but within 2 hours, Ben and I would be heading to the hospital and little Evelyn Maris was due to arrive shortly.

Evie turns one tomorrow. What a year it has been. Ben and I have learned a lot as parents. We have learned that raising kids is not easy work. We have also learned that being parents is incredibly rewarding, regardless of the challenges that we face. Parenting = challenging & rewarding, a packaged deal! We have been reminded that each of these children is a true gift from God and only ours for an undefined, unknown, glimmer of time. We were given the opportunity to be Evie's parents.

Evie was an absolute puzzle for us to figure out from the get-go. I found that a handbook really would have been helpful (why wasn't there one attached to her baby blanket when we left the hospital?). Now, at one year, Evie is thriving. We enjoy her so very much. She is a joy - a true joy in our lives. She has the best gut-busting laugh. She giggles and it is contagious. She gets cranky and lets the world know. But somehow, even when she is cranking, it is now quite cute! She has a serious side too. Most strangers see this side. She stares, inquisitively at anyone new that she meets. Some people even have commented that it appears as if Evie is "sizing them up or maybe knows some secret about them." It is almost as if Evie has a "list" in which you must be on for her to engage in smiles and conversation. Thankfully, Ben, Reagan and I are all on "the list"! :-) We seem to have figured out some food sensitivities that she may have been having which has allowed her to be a much happier and healthier baby. Her skin is so soft and her hair so fine yet thick. Her eyes continue to be a sparkling ice-gray. Truly Beautiful eyes. She is crawling all over the place now but would much rather be walking, holding on to someone's hands. Evie has found the joy in wrestling and tumbling, finding that throwing ones body weight around can have some benefit and can be rewarding! She is a good sleeper, for the most part and she loves, loves, LOVES to talk. Shocking. Evelyn's face lights up the brightest when her big sister Reagan is in the room.
Happy Birthday Little Evelyn Maris. We love you!

Lessons from Christmas 2009!

I have learned a thing or two about Christmas. Christmas isn't always a perfect night followed by a perfect day, with perfect food, perfect attendance or perfectly happy children. Sometimes we don't manage to find the right toy for our child or maybe we don't even feel like Christmas cheer. I still cannot believe it myself but, we can even have a few snafu's and still manage to find the true spirit of Christmas!

It was an "interesting" Christmas for our family. It all started with Christmas Eve day. Evelyn was sick AND teething which led to her not taking her much needed naps. She woke at 5:00am and cried fairly steadily for a good 4 hours. Reagan was a cranky pants because she missed her Daddy and was overly tired from waking up too early, thank you Evie. I didn't realize that Ben was on-call for the entire weekend (Thurs-Sunday) which included Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. You would think, after 5 1/2 years of residency, we could get our communication in check and actually iron out details regarding his work schedule, rather than become surprised each and every day. "On-call" means a host of different things, based on different services at the hospital. I know this...I just continue to forget to ask what "on-call" means. And of course, Ben would never dream of offering up a clue about his days ahead. Ugh. Due to his absence and the difficulty of the girls, I was unable to "set the stage" for Christmas Eve. Mom's know what that means...music playing, candles lit, table set, menu perfected, etc. It just didn't happen. Long story short...the stage was set for a fiasco.

I managed to get the girls all dolled up for church on Christmas Eve. They looked ADORABLE. We were so excited to go in our glitz, even though Daddy wasn't with us. Sure enough, just as I was getting into the driver's seat to head out, Ben pulled into the driveway! He made it - our HERO! Off to church we went. Church was nice. It was the family service at 5:00pm. Reagan met a new friend, we sang Christmas carols and we were able to reinforce the fact that Jesus TRULY is the Reason for the Season! Back into the car and home we go. By the time we reached home, both girls were melting down and fading fast. Screaming, crying, sassing girls...can you feel the Christmas cheer? It was now 6:15, neither of them had had decent naps and they were hungry. We would have loved to provide them with a delicious Christmas dinner except that I completely messed up the roast. As Ben attempted to saw through the Beef Hockey Puck (the veggies were a total loss - dry as the Griswold's turkey), Reagan threw herself onto the ground screaming she wanted only noodles and wouldn't eat "this green stuff" (a Wessman family favorite - Sea Foam). After another 20 plus minutes (noodles to take awhile, especially when you are literally waiting and watching for the water to boil. Meanwhile, my blood seems to be responding in a more swift manner and coming to a boil at a much more respectable rate. Finally, Reagan gets her noodles, I bring crabby Evie up to bed, come back down to have a bite of Beef Hockey Puck and sea foam. Just ridiculous. However, there was still time to salvage the evening...PRESENTS!

While we were bummed that Evie had to go to bed, we were also excited to see Reagan enjoy her Christmas gifts. Evelyn won't have recollection of when she opened her gifts so this would be just fine. Reagan received great gifts from family and friends. We opened and opened and opened. We played and opened some more. She even managed to get to bed at a reasonable hour. She actually put herself to bed - she felt that she needed to get some good sleep before Santa comes!

Ben was off to work when the girls found what Santa brought. I felt bad for him to miss these moments. These are the special moments for kids that are even more special for the parents! The girls were very excited to see that their good behavior paid richly! There is debate whether Reagan should have been on the nice list but Santa is a very forgiving man - much like her parents are! She has been a tough little lady as of late. Boy oh boy, how we love her unconditionally! :-) We spent the remainder of the day opening more gifts, mostly Evie's, in different shifts. This was nice because I could clean up as the day went along. Ben made it home in the afternoon, took a nap and then headed back in to the hospital. Christmas Day was nice, we missed Daddy but that is just part of the residency package.

Saturday day was "our day". Ben did work for the morning but surprised us as he was home all afternoon and evening! We all took naps, played with toys (Ben and Reagan on the puzzles and Evie and Mom playing chase and cars) and even had a nice meal that I didn't ruin! We did a web cam with my family back in Minnesota. We got to see EVERYONE and all of our nephews looked so adorable. We sure missed them this Christmas - but soon enough we will be together all of the time! I had no idea that Saturday would end up being our Christmas Day but it was. It was filled with smiles and hugs - happiness and very few tears. Evie was feeling better, Reagan was delighted and Ben and I were both well rested. Ahhh - Christmas IS magical!

All in all, our Christmas events were GREAT! Even though Christmas Eve was not "smooth" we sure can count our Blessings. Our family is happy, healthy and together. We are safe, fed and sheltered. We have a church home and close friends. We don't need a perfectly cooked roast nor do we need cheery, well-rested, children to make Christmas special. We just need to be together. Ultimately, we finally managed to make that happen on Saturday afternoon. Christmas 2009 was WONDERFUL!

Merry Christmas to all - and to all a Good Night!

Prep and Launch

Christmas Eve is tomorrow! Honestly, I am wiped. From "Thanksgiving Friday" until today, I have been a mad Christmas-crazed tornado of activity. My goal was to have "Christmas" done two weeks ago, so that the remaining weeks could be spent only baking, with the occasional toy to be wrapped and bow to be tied. I was close. VERY close. All in all, my planning for the season was quite stellar. I just wasn't prepared for the preparedness that it takes to be Santa. From the Advent calendar to Minty to potty training and the "nice list", I am just zonked out. And, Christmas isn't even here yet! I just never knew how hard my Mom worked during Christmastime. Just another parenting task, "just goes with the territory" that I need to remember to thank her for. Let my complaints rest because - the joy of the season is abounding and the girls get to have their Christmas, oh so soon!

We have truly been enjoying our busy month. Reagan loves to find "Minty" (our Elf of the Shelf) and discover what day it is, each morning. On her advent calendar, I hang girly ornaments for the girls' toddler-sized Christmas tree that is in the front room/playroom. I have forgotten to move that Elf at least ten times and the advent calendar is consistently a race to see if I can beat her down the stairs and distract her while I position her ornament and special chocolate. Always trying to stay ahead of that little one! We have done lots of baking, constructed our gingerbread house, cleaned, organized, wrapped and wrapped and our most favorite...made tons and tons of bows! Just like me and my mom. Reagan loves it and Ev even tried to get in on the bow-making action. Reagan just woke from her nap and told me that "Baby Reagan is very excited for Christmas" (BABY Reagan is Reagan's Bitty Baby doll from her birthday...our newest member of the family). "What day is it again?" I reply the 23rd of December and she says, "Again!?! When is Santa coming?" Soon...oh, so very soon. And Reagan also knows that Santa isn't the REASON for the season...

Reagan is very into Baby Jesus. She sneaks to take a peak of Baby Jesus in the manger, in our Nativity scene. Of course, we have an all glass scene and Reagan has asked for a Baby Jesus that she can play with. Wow. A mother's dream! Hopefully we are at least doing one thing right with this kid!

Evelyn is enjoying the season. She is more interested in walking with assistants (namely her Mommy) and scooting herself around the floor by way of the army crawl, rather than with ornaments and presents. She has crawled on all fours for a total of 20 paces and I haven't seen it since. She has been busy cutting some teeth so has been kind of cranky - but who wouldn't be? Ev is now eating most foods but I am convinced that she has a lactose intolerance, limiting our food options. She has her yearly doctors visit in a few weeks and of course, I will be loaded with a list of questions. She sure is enjoying her new early-Christmas gifts from Gram and Papa Big Guy!

Pam and Gary were just here for our first Christmas gathering. While they were here, Philly was hit with 23" of gorgeous, fluffy snow! Thank goodness Big Guy was here - he shoveled everything!! We were spoiled to have them here. Big Guy completed our stair project to the basement and Pam helped me with the girls. I had reinforcements and time to myself. Ahhh, so lovely! We were sad to have them go. We dropped them at the airport and then received a call an hour later. Their flight had been cancelled, they were renting a car and driving home to WI. My friend's in-laws were doing the same thing (driving to Buffalo, NY instead)...what a mess! They made it home safely, and picked up their new puppy, Buster Brown. We are excited to meet the little fella. Ben and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary while P&G were here. I ended up organizing and cleaning the basement to celebrate. It was PERFECT. Every mother knows that when she can get several hours to herself to clean uninterrupted - it is a true gift! While cleaning, I stumbled upon tons of old letters and pictures of us, when we were "young". It was a truly wonderful way to spend the day!

So, the final hours before Christmas Eve. I can only think of my dear brother, Joel. Today is his birthday. For him to celebrate his birthday so close to Christmas must have been true torture as a child. Evelyn's 1st birthday is coming up on the 6th of January and I am already feeling bad for her. Poor, poor Joey. Years and years of birthday's overshadowed and overwhelmed by Christmas mayhem.

Merry Christmas to all! I will be certain to update our blog as soon as possible. We will have our Christmas with just the four of us and then my folks arrive on the 29th. It should be a grand time!

Evelyn's Baptism...

Evie was baptised on August 30th and St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Springfield, PA. We had a WONDERFUL celebration with friends and family. Joel and Heidi are Evie's godparents and they traveled here with Kai in tow. While we missed Soren and Marko terribly, we also enjoyed the opportunity to spend quality time with little Kai. He sure is a sweetheart. Grandma, Papa Boo, GramPam were all here. Poor Papa Big Guy couldn't make it...one week prior to the occasion, he was thrown from his horse and ended up with 5 broken ribs and a flurry of other unfortunate medical woes. We missed him so much but were sure to talk to him as much as possible and we are so pleased that he chose to stay at home and heal himself. His recovery was quick, full of pain but only Big Guy could recover as quickly and swiftly as he did. He is amazing! For Ev's baptism weekend, we spent our time together, making a ridiculous trek to the shore, only to be thunderstormed out, swam at the hotel pool, and generally just spent quality time together. Evie LOVED to be the star of the show and she was perfect. The crowd loved her and she loved them! Her party was lovely as we were surrounded by friends and family. Blessings all around! We are so proud of our little Evelyn Maris!

Ooops...too much time has passed!

Once again, I am shamelessly coming back to our family blog - after weeks (months even) away. On the bright side, my failure to "blog" suggests that we have been very busy with much to do. In honesty, yes we have been busy but nothing so demanding that would or should keep me from recording family memories from the past 8 weeks or so. Shameful. Other than waiting patiently to H1N1 to enter our home, we have been up to the same old, same old. What has happened since our last post of Reagan's first day of school?

For starters, Reagan has turned 3! She has become a strong-willed 3 year old and we have been struggling with that ever since. Teasing. While she has provided us with some challenges as of late, we believe it is directly due to her new age and desire for independence AND due to the fact that Evelyn is becoming much more active and interactive. Perhaps the girls are now vying for attention - and so it begins! We also celebrated time with my parents, and my GRANDPARENTS!! That is right, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Johnson traveled out with Grandma Sone and Papa Boo for Reagan's 3rd birthday/Great-Grandma's birthday. It was an awesome time. We were also with Gene and Eileen, went to the Diana exhibit, the orchard and played, played, played. Grandma Wessman was unsuccessful at getting Ev to crawl, but in her own time, she has done it on her own. More on that later.

Halloween has come and gone. Personally, I am hugely opposed to Halloween. It is the most annoying "holiday" on the calendar. It grosses me out on so many levels. However, it is fun for the kids (or is it? Have you ever watched their faces during the "costume parades"? The vast majority have this blank stare - void of any emotion with the exception of clearly portraying this thought "Why in the WORLD are my parents taking my picture along with all my friends dressed up like weirdo's while we should be learning our alphabet?" Watch closely next year. They don't get it (I don't get it either, clearly) and aside from all from all of the candy - they don't love it as much as we have convinced ourselves that they do) Anyway - our girls looked adorable. Reagan's costume was quite confusing for her. She wanted to be an Azure Butterfly (from Fancy Nancy). I couldn't find one that was suitable so we settled on a purple butterfly. When it arrived, Reagan modeled it for Daddy. Daddy's reaction, "Isn't that a fairy costume?" Now why does Daddy know more about fairy's and butterflies than Mommy? So, in the end, we agreed that Reagan was a Purple Butterfly Fairy Princess. On Halloween, everyone kept calling her Tinkerbell. She was truly perplexed and I am convinced that it hampered her enjoyment of trick-or-treating. Evelyn was the ever adorable flamingo. She wasn't a fan of the get-up but wore it for trick-or-treating, through the down pouring rain, watching her sister get all this great candy. Where is the justice in that for the poor little one's? She'll never forgive me. :-)

We now prepare for Thanksgiving. I am hoping we will have friends over, most likely those who have family far away as well. The neat thing about our move out here for Ben's job is that we have lots of friends who are "transplanted" as well. We'll see how the holiday shapes up. Also, Gram Pam is coming in ONE WEEK!!! Whew! We have sure missed her. It is also going to be her birthday while she is here so we are going to do it up BIG!

As I have been spitting out this post in the past 5 minutes, Evie has been moving all over the place! She has learned the army crawl and she is a great squirm. If she wants something bad enough, she'll move for it. She was also just working on pulling herself up on the kiddie table. Watch out world - Ev is on the move! Our carpeted upstairs is her favorite place to navigate. Now that her sister is currently sleeping (Reagan just put herself to bed in the late morning - she hasn't taken a morning nap since she was 9 months old - which tells me she is most certainly getting sick) Ev has full run of the place.

Off to tend to the Great Mover. Daddy is doing well, by the way. He just won a huge award at a conference in Vienna, Austria. We sure are proud of that fella!!!

To School!

For quite a long time, we have felt that Reagan is ready for school. Sending her, leaving her there, was an entirely different story. She was ready, but was I? Ben - well, he is cool with anything. I was excited for Reagan because I knew she was ready but I have heard so many stories about unexpected "drop offs" at preschool. I was convinced that my go-get-'em girl was going to cling to me with sobs and desperation. Not. So. Much. Reagan was ACTUALLY, disappointed when I told her that Evie and I were taking her to school. She wanted to get on the bus. After contemplating the mortifying thought that, yes, her mother would be there, her consolation was, "Mom, you and Evie can come in and watch me play. But, then you have to leave." When we brought her into her classroom, she was excited and immediately started playing with the toys. I kissed her, told her we were leaving, hoped for some sort of indication that she wanted her Mommy, got no indication that she wanted her Mommy, backed away, looked to the teacher with the, "What do I do now?" look, turned around and walked out the door, with Evelyn in my arms. Once the door was closed - the tears came. They were not MAJOR tears - I did know in my mind that Reagan was ready - but they were misting tears, my heart just didn't want to leave her. Thank goodness for my good friend Kam. Her son Luke is in Reagan's class. She has been through this before with her 2 older boys (now 6 and in the big old elementary school!). I believe that she was anticipating this from me. She didn't acknowledge the tears, just agreed with me when I said, "This is soooooo hard!" :-) What a true good friend. We then talked outside the school for a good ten minutes, vowing not to be "that" Mom that would do this every time (both of us were heading straight to the YMCA!). I was just secretly making sure Reagan didn't go dashing out the door for me...and Kam was probably humoring me, knowing this was the plan. Kam is a God send!
Not to forget about sweet, adorable, Beautiful Angel Baby (BABs), Evelyn. She came along for all of the action. Then, once in the car, she gave me the most knowing - I just ditched the Big Sis - smirk in the world. And sure enough, we presume that she will be crawling shortly. She is LOVING her solo Mommy time. And Mommy is quite enjoying it too.

Siblings...but, why?

It has happened. Our girls have had their first interactive playtime together!

Yesterday morning, I set Evie up in her "morning play station". This is a boppy pilllow (in the rare instance that she topples over) and toys galore around her. This is usually in the front room simply because the sun in that room is so wonderful in the early morning hours. Reagan was set up to play in her "play tube"...the play tubes that kids crawl and explore through (tube tents). Reagan and Evie played for a good hour with the play tube and nothing else. It was magical to me as a mother. THIS is what my first memories of Jana and Joel were. Just simply playing together. And to this day, my siblings are two of my strongest supporters. I hope and dream for Reagan and Evie to continue their fun together. Reagan has so much interest in Evie now...just wait until she starts to steal her toys. :-)