Month 'o Birthdays Part 2: Zachary's First Birthday!

Our little Zachers turned ONE on June14!!  I can't believe how this year has flown by! I wish I could re-live it and take things a bit more slowly. I really feel like I was robbed of my infant. It all went so fast. I wish time would slow down. Hopefully this next year won't be so fast-paced (no major sleep deprivation, no house-hunting, no moves ... life's bound to be less stressful, right?!). 

With our move set for just two days after Z's big day, I made a point of taking time to enjoy Zachary and not fuss too much over everything that needed to get done.  I had a wonderful day soaking up my sweet one-year-old and his super-charming, all boy personality! We tried to do Zach's favorite things to celebrate his day: went for a walk, read books, ate yummy food.  We wanted to squeeze in a trip to the pool, but naps got off and the day got away from us ... another day!  Here are only SOME of the many sweet pictures I caught of my Flag Day baby!

 Zach's patriotic birthday makes the U.S. flag extra special to us!

 

 Happy brothers off for a birthday walk!

 In a crunch, butcher paper and markers made for festive wrapping paper!

 Eliot showing off the row of balloons he drew for his brother! He was so proud!

 Cheesy smiles = a sign of a happy birthday boy!

Unwrapping gifts from Nanny and Peppy (McEuen) and Grandma and Grandpa Dickinson ...

Gifts this year included a Fisher Price A-Z alphabet zoo from Mommy and Daddy, preppy Sunday outfits and a special book from Nanny and Peppy, a stuffed alligator, toy helicopter, and sand toys from Grandma and Grandpa.

Stripped down and ready for that first taste of ... CAKE!

Mm, mm!!  He loved the frosting, at least!

Eliot insisted on a carrot-applesauce cake for Zach, since that's what Whyatt makes for his baby sister's birthday on an episode of Superwhy.  I found a recipe online, and it tasted even better than it looked! That recipe's a keeper! (I may have to share in a later post ... it seriously was so moist and delicious!)

Snuggling my "Gator" toy with Grandma ("Gator" is her nickname for me).

We kept things pretty simple for Z's first birthday, but it was a happy, easygoing day, which I think matches his little personality perfectly. As I have been reflecting over the past year and my little Zachary, I would describe Zach as being a rascal, mischievous, sweet, fun, funny, energetic, good-natured, obsessed with his big bro, 100% boy, adorable, and determined. I love this little boy. He completely has me wrapped around his little finger. So many times he does something naughty, and I find myself struggling not to laugh because he is so darn cute, even when he frustrates me and pushes me to my absolute limits! He has brought such life and energy to our home. I especially love the amazing relationship between Zach and Eliot. They are absolutely best buddies and partners in crime, which surprised me because of the age gap between them.  

We love you, our Rascal Ree!

Month o' Birthdays, Part 1: Grant's

I never realized it before, but within about a one-month time frame, from May 23-June 25, we celebrate three of the four birthdays in our household!  I think I noticed it this year because within that same time frame we had to get packed up and moved into our new house ... it was a very busy but very exciting month for us!

Grant's birthday was pretty low-key this year.  One of Grant's favorite dinners at home: steak and sweet potato fries, and of course cake and ice cream.  Since he had a mid-week birthday this year, I also surprised him with a dessert night with friends later that weekend.  Gifts were also pretty simple this year: a grill basket and kitchen gadgets from me, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD from the boys.  Guess who's reaping the benefit of that one?!  Eliot was SO excited to give it to Grant (TMNT was Grant's very favorite cartoon as a kid).

 

 

We sure love Grant and always appreciate the opportunity to celebrate him and all that he means to us!  He makes our world a happy place.  Happy 32 to our hero!

Eliot's Preschool Graduation

Eliot graduated from Mrs. Konni's Discovery Preschool on May 22.  His teacher, Konni Youd, was so fabulous. The programs she puts on with the kids are always adorable and so impressive! I can't believe what she can get those squirrely little kids to do! And 18 of them, no less! There was singing with actions and props, even a couple dancing numbers. Way too fun! Here are some of my favorite pictures and videos from Eliot's first graduation exercises.

Our proud graduate!


The graduation march! 

Class picture

During the Octopus's garden number.

My very favorite song Eliot learned all year, "Way Up High in the Apple Tree." He would sing it randomly in the car or at the table, and always sang it with such expression. I definitely learned some fun new songs through E's preschool experience.

Proud little brother waving and yelling "Eh-yut!"

This little song and dance just melted my heart. Eliot and his darling partner Ashley could not have been cuter together.

Eliot's award: "Mr. Personality." Does his teacher know him or what?  My favorite thing she said when presenting his award was the Eliot is the reason she does preschool. She loved his enthusiasm for EVERYTHING.  It really is true that it doesn't take much to get Eliot excited!

We love you, Mrs. Konni! Thanks for being such an amazing lady and for loving Eliot so much! We will definitely miss her!

Family photo after the graduation.

Grant's Mom and some of his sisters were nice enough to come and support Eliot.

Ice cream at Baskin Robbins afterward served as a dual-purpose celebration -- for Eliot's graduation, of course, and for Grant's birthday, which was the following day.

Life ...

This post will probably end up sounding as haphazard as our life has been over the last month or so.  May 30 we closed on our house, and it has been full speed ahead since then!  Normally, I would guess when people close on their house, they get the keys and excitedly have some sort of celebratory picnic on their new bare floors, or at least start moving in right away.  Not us ... we knew when we ended up closing at the end of May that our move would be gradual.  June is just a crazy month for us to begin with!  So we closed on a Wednesday, Grant had a conference Thursday and Friday in Midway, so the boys and I picked up the keys and toured our new home together Thursday, then I met Grant on Friday for a much-needed getaway weekend.  We came home and commenced the packing that had been put off by marathon training and hospital stays.  I ran my half marathon on June 9, recovered while packing up our house the following week, celebrated baby Zach's first birthday (yes, seriously ... where, oh where, did this year go?!), moved the next Saturday, and we've been in our house since the 16th of June.  Now we're back and forth between the two houses, cleaning the old one and unpacking the new one.  Life is a little chaotic right now, I'm not going to lie.  In the middle of all of that, the boys have both picked up terrible colds, bad enough that I started fearing another hospital stay for Zach, we've had car problems, unexpected additional employment opportunities come our way ... in short, our bodies are aching and our minds are reeling.  The boys are definitely suffering from the effects of stressed out parents and their little world changing all around them. We've all been quite a bit crankier than usual. :)  BUT, despite all the madness, life is good.  Several times a day I express either aloud or to myself how much I LOVE this house.  I love it.  I've always been a bit of a home body.  My home is my haven.  It's my refuge and place of peace.  And this house could not be more perfect.  My boys could spend hours in the sandbox if I let them.  The inside is light and bright and airy.  It's not overdone or overwhelming.  But it is lovely, and comfortable, and pretty.  There are of course things here and there I wish I could change (just ask Grant who hears me mutter something about my "stupid kitchen cupboards ..." on a daily basis!).  It's not perfect, but close to.  I had fresh-picked raspberries from our backyard on my waffles this morning.  There are peaches growing on my peach tree.  The bees are busy pollinating my blackberry vines in the corner, and I smile when I see them, thinking that this house has blessed me with a little piece of Oregon.  The birds love all the trees in our yard, and I love hearing the train whistle in the evenings.  Our neighborhood is hopping with activity all day long and into the warm summer nights.  Kids riding bikes and scooters, neighbors fussing over their lawns with lawn mowers, families out for walks ... it's the perfect neighborhood for this stage of life.  Neighbors have brought us cobbler and stopped by to chat while we're out trying to figure out how to take care of a yard, and I have this glimmer of hope that all this change and chaos is going to amount to a change that is much-needed and full of promise and opportunity.  I hate change (have I mentioned that before?!), but this was the time for this move.  This house if perfect for me and my family.  I'm not sure why Lehi, but I'm excited to find out.  In the meantime, we're busy trying to find coloring books in all the boxes, trying to figure out which Wal-Mart is closest and most convenient, and trying to squeeze in normal-life activities in the midst of moving madness.  I will try to get pictures posted once we're settled.  Settled.  Can't wait for that!

Squares and Prayers for Max

Our little friend Max Kelly had open heart surgery last week. He's not even 3 1/2 years old, and this is his third surgery!  We think he's pretty awesome, and his family are some of our dearest friends we met while living in Oregon.  They mean a lot to our family, so Max's surgery has been a big concern for us.  Eliot has been asking a lot of questions about Max and his surgery, and we've done our best to answer in a way that a 4-year-old can understand.  Eliot's pretty sharp and has picked up on things and has been very concerned for Max.  As a result, he has been praying for Max daily, that he would be brave for his operation and that the doctors will "fix his broken heart and put him back together again."

We were honored to be asked to do some special things for Max.  We got to make a quilt square for a special quick Max's mommy Mary made for him for his hospital stay.  If you know me, you know that sewing is a daunting undertaking for me, and I am definitely not a quilter, so I fretted over this project!  But one night I thought of this idea -- to make a "Corduroy" quilt square.  Max's favorite color is green, and Corduroy is one of our favorite children's books at our house.  The phrase from the book when the little girl tells Corduroy that she likes him just he way he is, but that she would be more comfortable (when she fixed his strap) seemed like the perfect idea for our quilt square for Max.  It was a pretty rough job, since I sewed it by hand, but it was so much fun putting it together.  We love Max and are so happy to be able to support him and his family in little ways during this major event in their lives.

 

Just like when Max had his open-heart surgery as a newborn, Max's parents called upon friends and family to send paper hearts to decorate Max's hospital room.  Here are the Dickinson family contributions:

A Spiderman heart from Eliot telling Max that he's Eliot's "super hero," a Cars heart wishing Max a "speedy" recovery from our family/me & Grant, and a heart with Zachy's hands telling Max his loves him "this much!"  We're excited to see pictures of Max's decked out hospital room to see if we can spot our hearts in the hundreds that will no doubt be there.

In Training

I'm just three weeks away from my half marathon.  This one is the Utah Valley Half, which starts around the turnoff to Sundance up Provo Canyon and ends near Center Street and University Avenue in downtown Provo.  I'm feeling pretty good about my training so far.  No injuries, keeping up fairly well with my schedule thanks to Eliot's preschool and Zach's nap schedules.  I'm not as quick as I was training for my last half, but considering I had a baby less than a year ago, that's probably to be expected!  I chose a training schedule that would have me runner longer distance runs than I did last time (last time the longest run I had before my race was a 9-miler, and I did not feel prepared enough).  I've already run my 10-miler, and 11 miles is on the docket for this weekend.  I have had to do a lot of my training for this race on my treadmill, which is convenient, but not my favorite.  I prefer running outdoors, especially for long runs.  But I'm mostly just grateful to be running again.  It feels good to be pushing myself.  I never would have believed running would end up being one of my passions (I used to HATE the required runs in junior high!), but I think there is nothing better than how I feel when I'm cooling down from a good, hard run.

My only comments on the photos: Loving my Brooks running shoes -- they're so light!  And yes, I seriously use a paper schedule (I do love putting a checkmark next to a completed task!), mostly just because I have yet to find an app I really like. I tried the half marathon one on Run Coach Pro and didn't really care for it. I've liked Strava, which tracks distance/time, but what I'm really hoping for is an app that streamlines customized schedules, tracking distance and time, music playing/streaming Pandora, and a running log all into one. Please send me suggestions if you know of a good one!


The biggest difficulty so far with training for this race has been fatigue.  With our move coming up and lots of stuff weighing on my mind, I have been suffering from pretty bad insomnia.  It's not unusual for me to toss and turn until 2 or 3 a.m. and then have to drag myself out of bed a few hours later.  Not the best conditions for pushing your body to its limit with intense training!  Somehow, my running is actually invigorating me, but the closer I get to my race, the more I'm noticing how worn out my body feels.  Here's hoping I can hang in there over this next month and get this race and our move out of the way so I can finally rest!

Mother's Day 2012

I loved celebrating Mother's Day this year with my two little boys together.  They are rascally, crazy kids, but I love being their mom!

Oh, they melt my heart!

Eliot is in the funniest, goofy stage right now.

This is the essence of Zach. Getting that child dressed/diapered makes me completely insane.  I love these little outfits, but it is torture for us as parents (it seriously takes both Grant and me) and for Zach to get it on and off. I love this child, but I greatly fear what the future holds for us two hard heads!

Eliot insisted on getting a head shot of me, and I gladly accepted.  He always makes me look good ... maybe because he can always draw out my best smile!

And of course we needed one of him in a silly pose.  Love this kiddo.

...

Eliot's preschool teacher did an awesome Mother's Day program for all the moms.  Grant's mom kindly took time off work to attend with me.  It was such a cute program!

 My cheeser before the program started.

 "I love you a bushel and a peck.  A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."

Eliot's first time dancing with a girl!  His partner Ashley has been the topic of many of our lunchtime talks ... and now I understand why!  It was so darling to see him spinning her and dancing with her!

It was a wonderful few days of celebrating being a mom.  This is what I've always wanted to do with my life.  It's harder than I ever imagined and better than I could have dreamed.  My boys took great care of me, and I appreciated the Belgian waffle breakfast, the flowers, cards, handmade gifts, bike tuneup and new running watch ... thanks to all my sweethearts.  I couldn't love you more!

For All You Moms ...

This commercial made me cry the other night while I was watching TV.  It just sums it up so well, especially for the phase of life I'm in right now with Mr. Zachary.  Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there (present and future).  You're doin' okay.

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival, 2012

 

 

 

In summary: beautiful sunny day . not quite like Oregon's (not bad, just different) . wrestling boys in the grass . 4-year-old happiest playing in the stream and sandbox @ the children's garden . blueberry Italian ice was awesome . yep, Zach still hates strollers and being strapped in (ended up pushing our stuff in the stroller and carrying Zach ... isn't that how it always seems to go?) . got us excited to live in Lehi . will definitely come back next year . perfect photo for Mother's Day cards (first ones turned out best, went downhill from there ...) . wonderful spring day with my boys!

Poor Little Zachers ...

Our little Ree had to be hospitalized last week for Bronchiolitis (an illness from a nasty virus like RSV, though Zach didn't have the RSV virus).  What started out as a mild cold caught from big brother turned nasty in a matter of hours, and his wheezing and whistling took us to the pediatrician's office Tuesday afternoon. When we couldn't bring up his oxygen levels through treatments in her office, it was determined he would have to go to the hospital, and since he had to be on oxygen, we had to be transported by ambulence.  Zach was in pretty bad shape through the early morning hours, fighting for each breath and struggling to get comfortable enough for some much-needed rest. But somehow he made a miraculous turn-around and improved enough that the doctors sent us home around noon the next day. I fully attribute Zach's quick recovery to the priesthood blessing he received from Grant and his grandpa Dickinson just before being whisked away in the ambulence. I'm so grateful to have immediate access to that healing power in moments of need like this!

The EMT getting Zach all hooked up in the ambulence. The two firefighters who assisted us were so wonderful and sweet with Zach.  I didn't know this, and you can't necessarily tell from the picture, but when a baby rides in the ambulence, he rides in his car seat strapped to a gurney.

 

Z with his oxygen tube "stickers," which, I have to say, did not hold that tube on well enough!  This determined babe ripped it off with ease.  The oxygen tube was the most uncomfortable and frustrating part of our stay.

 

Sweet baby, looking and feeling so much better the next morning.

Our little miniature hospital patient behind bars.  I think hospital cribs ("cages" is more like it!) are the saddest invention ever!  But the little jammy bottoms they put him in were so sweet!  

 

I finally let him out of his pen to crawl around.  And when I did, he went straight to the door and banged on the glass, as if to say "get me outta here!"  Because he had a serious virus, we were in confinement, which meant Zach couldn't leave, and all the doctors and nurses who came to check on him wore masks and paper coverings.

What a difference a day makes!  This is Zach about 15 hours after he was admitted.  A little rest, suctioning, oxygen, bottles, and a bath made such a difference! 

Our sweet Ree handled his hospital stay like a champ.  We love him and are so glad he's recovering!