We SO enjoyed our second vacay day!! After a similar night to last night (Solly waking up a few times, but the big ones sleeping in nicely) everyone woke up happy and ready for the morning. We had planned a brunch with Brady’s sisters and their families for 9:00am, so we tidied the place up a bit, sliced some strawberries, and got organized. It turns out one of his sister’s families couldn’t make it after all, but right around 9:00, our company arrived and the brunch party began.

It was SO fun! Their three boys played with our kids in the best way. Very much a “making up for lost time” kind of way. It’s been roughly a year and a half since we saw each other, and a LOT has happened in that time! Rowan has surpassed six months of age, we gained Solly, Dekker is in school, Laela talks, etc. We all ate waffles and strawberries, drank chocolate milk and coffee, and visited. Their boys lovingly dove into the kids, and helped them dress their waffles in whipped cream, scoop them berries, and advocate for them if they had a request that we had missed. Once the bulk of the meal was over, the six kids (everyone minus Solly) ran into the kids bedroom to play. They wrestled, played hide and seek, ran laps, and played HARD! It was so wonderful to hear! I was so pleased that our kids weren’t very shy at all, and I’m always so blown away by their cousins, who are SUCH good kids, and invest so much energy and love into their little cousins. They have great radars for when to play and when to leave alone if someone is feeling standoffish. But really, everyone was just ON today, in the best way. It was a fabulous morning. Thank you, again, SO much making this morning happen! We were so happy to see you!!! <3

While the morning was a total blast, our kids were spent afterwards (as expected) so we put the little boys down almost immediately. Dekker and Laela were also tired, but not to the extent that we’d make them nap. Especially not on a vacation. But we got everyone snuggled up on the couches and watched a bit of Netflix. It was a nice rest.

Once the littles woke up, we packed everyone into the van and headed to a nearby Walmart to buy some travel snacks, and some chips for supper. Just a little outing, but it was good to get some fresh air while exposing our children to the scariest Walmart we’d ever been to. It was both enormous and stinky.

Back at the hotel, we attempted another trip to the pool, but it was pretty short lived. Our first one had been a great success. We were the only ones there, so it was a nice way to break the kids in. Today was not so quiet and still, which is obviously fine, and expected. But it was a bit different. I’ve had a hard time through this trip, witnessing lots of kids with zero supervision taking things from my children, or being super inconsiderate in general. I don’t say anything, because I don’t want to be that overprotective parent, but today, frisbees were flying at my children’s unsuspecting faces, other kids were standing at the end of the water slide (actually ON the slide) so no one else could use it, etc. and not one parent even offered a fake “look out for others” comment, or anything like that. I had a hard time with that. That, and just the general loud, echoey, splashy pool setting had our kids pretty overwhelmed. So we left, and that was fine.

We warmed everyone up in fresh jammies, and called in some pizza. Once the food (and dessert) came, we pulled out all of the furniture in the sitting room, plunked down on the floor, and had a pizza party. “Party” as in we ate on the floor, haha! Party time!!! Ok, it sounds lame, but it wasn’t. The kids were thrilled to have pizza and chips, and then chocolate chip cookie pizza for dessert. It went over beautifully. I had expected to put a movie on to make it just that much more special, but they were thrilled with exactly what we had, so there was no need to add a distraction. It was just family time, and I LOVED it!

Everyone is tucked away now, which is PERFECT! After yesterday being such a big, wonderful, but long day, the kids really needed to have some routine back, so they were in bed right at their usual time. Well, its one hour later than usual, with the time difference, I suppose, but nothing crazy. Just Solly is left to finish his bottle and hit the hay. Thats when the real party begins, and Brady and I get to the eat the leftover cookie pizza…

It was a truly lovely day. Tomorrow will be busier again, out of the hotel more. I think it’ll be really fun. But it’ll have to work hard to beat the fun of the last two days! I hope you guys are having as good of a weekend as we are!

Today is our first full day here! I’ve been good at taking more pictures than usual, and using the camera rather than my phone, but of course we forgot the usb to transfer them onto the laptop. Merp. So I guess you can anticipate a photo post once we’re home, but until then, you’ll just have to trust me when I say the kids are super cute.

Our night was what you’d likely expect. Solly was up more than usual, likely thanks to a healthy mix of being overtired, being out of routine, a new place, and teething. But he ate and went back to bed just fine every time, so that always helps a little. Brady and I felt pretty tired in the morning, but the other kids were super happy and had really enjoyed sharing a room! We got ready in the most basic sense, and headed down to the main floor for breakfast. Our confirmation email from Expedia said each room only got breakfast for two guests, but the hotel said it was for everyone checked in, so that was an unexpected win. It was even more of a win that breakfast was yummy! We would never have needed to bring breakfast food, but now we know. There were little omelettes, sausage patties, bagels, muffins, waffles to make fresh, hash browns, fresh fruit, cereal, with milk, coffee, and four different juices. Not to mention, someone who appeared to be the hotel manager was hanging around the tables the entire time, visiting with the guests, grabbing chairs/moving tables around, clearing dishes, etc. It was really relaxed and nice. We were some of the last to arrive but there was still a lot for us to choose from.

After breakfast, we went back to our room to get organized and a bit more ready before heading to the science centre.

The hard part is always getting into where we’re going, because we have small people traipsing through snow, and then trying to get out of their coats all at once, with everything falling onto the dirty floor, and someone crying, someone wandering, and at least two people asking questions. Its fun, and we love our family, but getting in and getting out usually takes about as long as we spend at whatever activity we’re heading into.

We really really enjoyed the science centre. At first, we only saw things that were over our kids heads, but very quickly after that, we began to find our feet and the kids got SO comfortable and excited! Its hard to explain all of the events without the pictures to go along with them, but it was really fun to watch our kids explore. Specifically Dekker. Six months to a year ago, he would NEVER have done some of the things he did today, and suddenly he is so much braver, and inquisitive, and curious. It was really awesome.

Sadly, our outing didn’t last as long as we had hoped, because Rowan was just finished. He is SO chill, but he was completely spent, and crying about absolutely everything. There was no way we could find a snack and keep on trucking. He was just plain old finished. So we left, and grabbed some lunch on the way to the hotel.

Lunch is done, and neither Solly or Rowan are sleeping well at all :/ Our first day of a trip tends to be like this, where everyone is just too wound up, but grossly overtired. Hopefully by tomorrow, they’ll have settled in a little bit better. But for the rest of today, we’re just going to rest here. Watch a movie, maybe (apparently they have some kids dvds in the lobby for guests to borrow) or just play links for a while. We’ll feel it out with the kids 🙂 But really, its been a lovely day! We’re so happy to just be together, just the six of us, and regroup. We really really needed this!!

Yes! We are in fact “there!” It took a tad longer than anticipated, but not too bad. It was a bit new, though, with the kids asking more than usual if we were at the hotel yet? Our kids are seasoned road trippers, but apparently they’re out of practice at the moment! BUT, to their credit, with all of the asking, there was almost no whining!! We had a couple of toys between them, and some music going, and they were satisfied. And the bus made it a WAY more comfortable ride.We made a couple of stops along the way, but not too terribly many. We opted to try to stop at Drumheller on the way back, since it was towards the end of today’s travels, and it’ll be near the beginning of the travel day on our way home. Today, we were just ready to get to Calgary!

We stopped for some groceries before we got to the hotel, and grabbed a few items that we didn’t want to bring from home. Milk, bananas, etc. Then we loaded everyone back into the bus and finally made it to the hotel.

The kids did laps for a solid hour after being holed up in the van. We have a beautiful big suite, and they took full advantage of the space to stretch their legs. We don’t have a very big living space area in our suite, but the bedrooms are really nice and big, and they each have a bathroom, which I didn’t expect. A very pleasant surprise! While I do wish the living area was bigger, I’m still going to say this is a FABULOUS deal that we’re getting. We could easily fit more people in here, if need be. Comfortably. The kids are so happy with it 🙂 Gushing about how much they love the hotel. Its so nice to see them so excited.

All of this being said, Brady and I feel like today was a bit of a marathon. This day of the trip usually is. But WOW, the kids are overtired. No one slept at all this afternoon. Not. Ever. The baby. So they’ve reached the glorious point of fatigue where they can’t seem to shut down, but everyone is on the verge of melting down. Our plans for supper were already trashed, macaroni was made for the kids, and Brady is out finding us some McDonalds to eat ourselves to sleep with. I’m laying in our dark hotel room (at 7:30 here…) while I swear, Solly is learning to crawl in his playpen beside our bed. He is more tired than anyone else in the family, but he won’t sleep. However, he’s not talking or fussing either. Just working out, apparently. So he’ll do that, and I eagerly anticipate my McNuggets, my sleep, and the days ahead!

Hopefully we can have some real fun tomorrow with our kids. We have all just been cooped up far too long, and I’m so happy to be able to offer their sweet little souls a special change of scenery. Must. Make. Memories. Someone remind me tomorrow to take my camera along instead of just my phone. I want to document these times properly!

Sleep well!!

In celebration of our almost full week of health, our little family is headed out for a few days! Its going to be SO wonderful to have a change of scenery, away from normal life, and do some special things just as a family. Heading to Calgary for a few days 🙂

Our plans are pretty loose. We’ll likely skip the zoo, which is too bad, but its also not going to be the best, warmest winter weather while we’re out there. Hopefully we’ll hit the Science Centre, do some shopping, and see where else we end up. We are going to see Brady’s sisters and their families one morning as well, but beyond that, we’re not making any plans in stone. This is our Born family REFRESH trip, and we’re going to do as many special family trip things as possible. We’ll eat at restaurants that are new to us, watch movies in our hotel room, probably shop a bit for the kids (since as I’m packing up, I see that Solly has virtually nothing that fits him, and Rowan needs a new hoodie), and go out to different activities when we want. I truly think the kids are going to love it, and I know Brady and I will too. We need a refresh just as much as our kids do. We found an amazing deal on an amazing hotel room, so we just hope its not too good to be true, because if its awesome, we may have to head to Calgary more often! I’ve never found a hotel room anything like this in all of my hotel hunting in Edmonton!

We are going on this trip as a special reward for us for fighting through so much hard stuff in the last few months. Like I keep saying, a refresh. A refresh for all of us. And a treat.

A treat for Dekker, to skip a day of school and be with all of us, as he so often requests.
A treat for Laela, who has been SO sick for SO long.
A treat for Rowan, who has also been SO sick, but also had to lose his teetee/blankie in the midst of it.
A treat for Solly, for cutting FOUR TEETH in the midst of everyone being so sick.
A treat for Brady and I, for working as hard as we have to maintain our ailing household, while losing our precious Theo.

We could all use a pick me up.

Please do pray for us as we’re gone. Pray that our health stays intact and that the weather cooperates with our travel plans. We are SO EXCITED!!

Every ounce of my being wants to whine about the blustery weather today, and how it screwed up my even plans, but rather, let’s focus on something really really exciting!

As of yesterday, I have officially saved every single blog post from 2017 (and earlier) into book form!!! It was an enormous amount of work, and I’m SO glad I did it!! As I type this, the books are uploading ever so slowly onto the site where I will order them from very, very soon. I had uploaded the first couple as soon as they were finished, but I learned that they can only live unordered for two weeks before they’re removed from the site. But they’re not removed from the program I use to put them together, so its not real loss beyond the time it takes to load them.

So I have four of these on hand already, and I have completed five more!! Whether or not anyone ever reads them in the future, I’m really happy to have this project on my plate! It isn’t over over, as I plan to keep saving them as long as I’m blogging, however long that will be. The end will be pretty significant, I think. At least for me. I never thought I’d still be blogging this far down the road, but I’m so glad I am. It feels like I’ve somehow accomplished a goal I never actually set…

But I DID set a goal to be finished saving 2016, and I have now completed that goal 🙂 So I’ll sit and wait (foreverrrrr!) for the books to upload, order them, and just keep on trucking! Or blogging.

Dekker visits the eye doctor 2-3 times a year, depending on the results. He is not in any “high risk” category or anything, but because he does have a prescription, and isn’t always 100% cooperative, they’ve usually asked to see him every 4-6 months or so. Last time he went to the eye doctor, they booked his next appointment several months ahead, for 8:15am. We are NOT morning people, and we are also procrastinators, so naturally, I forgot to call and rebook the thing, leaving us with a very early appointment.

Brady took him on his own. While we love to do as much as possible as a group, even if we did haul everyone out of bed, get them ready, and manage to make it to the hospital on time, there is no way we could bring the whole crew into the exam room. Its just too small, and WAY too distracting for Dekker. Not a great setting for a bunch of littles who want to explore. So Dekker had a special date with his dad this morning. Once the appointment was over, Brady called and filled me in.

Dekker. Did. Awesome. He was cooperative, and played all of the games. Usually, he tires of the games very quickly, because he’s uncomfortable, but also, as is the nature of the game, it gets harder and harder, until he can’t see the answer. Usually they lose him as soon as it gets a little bit difficult, and then when they push, he’d get upset. Its not a secret that Dekker doesn’t love feeling vulnerable, and the doctors/orthoptists there are always very understanding. They are specifically in the pediatric section. He is not the first kid who hasn’t loved being put in a dark room and put through a series of tests. But this time, he did beautifully. His ophthalmologist is always the same, but the orthoptist who does the first bout of tests always changes. He hasn’t liked that in the past, but he just handled it today, and complied with everything. Brady said he didn’t get bored or tired or argumentative at all. He just tried his very best, until he said “I can’t see them anymore” or something along those lines.

I guess it was pretty clear that he needs a boost in prescription, so they ended up having to do the eye drops, to get the most accurate reading possible. He cried through those pretty good, apparently, but bounced back quickly. He waited the half hour out in the waiting room, playing toys as well as ever. Just turned away from the window a little bit to avoid the light in his enormously dilated eyes.

He did just as well with Dr. Rubab, and because he had done so well during the first part of her appointment, she didn’t have much to double check. She usually redoes a number of tests, since he prefers her over the new orthoptist every time. But instead, she looked behind his eyes, and then just told Brady all of her findings.

So Dekker does need new glasses. I guess that counts as the small downside of the appointment? I don’t really think its a bad thing. Now that he’s in school, we need his vision to be in tip top shape, and I’m glad we’re getting it there 🙂 I’m SO SO PROUD of how well he did at his appointment, though. I know I wasn’t even there, but Brady couldn’t stop raving about how impressed he was. School has done amazing things to Dekker’s confidence, and in his coping skills for when he is uncomfortable. We are not big bribe people (though there is definitely a time and place for it! Lol!) but he got a chocolate donut for doing such an amazing job 🙂 because he EARNED it!!

The next step is glasses shopping, which I’m kind of super excited for, honestly. The glasses he has now are awesome, and were PERFECT when we got them! When literally no other pair fit, we found these, with a Lightening McQueen on the side and everything, and he loved them! I’m curious to see if we’ll have a few more options now, as he’s just that much older. He’s excited about glasses shopping too, which helps 🙂

SO proud of you, Dekker Thomas!! You’re so brave, and grown up, and cooperative with the doctor! I love you so very much!!!

I was going to post pictures of my new hair on yesterday’s post, but I figured that new ring deserved a post all to itself 🙂 Its super beautiful, hey? I kind of love it.

But here we are, on a new day, so I can show you guys my new do!!

It is easily my favorite color we’ve ever added to the mix!! I loved the pink pieces that we put in last time, and I suggested we go purple this time. My hair girl asked me “Pastel again, or should we got a bit punchier?” One doesn’t simply suggest a bold option to me and expect me not to take it, so I quickly agreed “Punchier,” and off we went! And the side shave is something I really anticipate each time as well. So many people who have long hair shave a piece off, and then the struggle to grow it back out is a pain. For me, it all started short, and now I’m kind of unintentionally growing the one side out? I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing, but I’m enjoying it! And somehow, the shaved side is keeping things interesting and I’m not getting too bored. Says the girl with the purple hair and the zebra stripes…

Seriously though, I’m having SO much hair fun! If anyone needs a hair girl, I have the BEST one.

Onto far more important information. Rowan!! I wanted to update you guys on how the last three weeks or so have been since we stole Rowan’s precious teetee/chew blanket from him. If you missed that post, it was in reference to Rowan’s huge mouth, and how I was noticing that Rowan’s mouth never really closed. His teeth were perpetually open in the front. He didn’t have so much an overbite as an open bite. I decided to take his cuddle blanket from him, since he slept with it stuffed in his mouth all night long. It was awful taking it from him. He screamed and cried and begged, and we let him, believing we needed to.

And guys, we were right.

WHEW!!

Before/After

Before/After

Look at that difference!! Can you guys see it?? I hope the pictures are clear enough, because it is SO CLEAR how his entire face shape has changed since we took his blanket away! And his mouth closes!!! He is even better at eating sandwiches, which sounds silly but is entirely true. The other day, eating a burger, only the lettuce pulled out with him not being able to bite through it. It used to be the whole thing, and sandwiches would just get destroyed. He still has something of an overbite, but so does just about everyone. And his head is tilted up in this second “after” picture, so his overbite isn’t even as big as it looks there. Seriously, its made a massive difference!!! That feels like a definite win!! He was gorgeous before, and he’s gorgeous now, but I feel so much more confident in my decision to be “mean” now that I can see the enormous results. And he hasn’t suffered being teetee-less either 😉 His fox, which he refers to as his “focky” (lol!) has been a lovely replacement that he never puts in his mouth. Woot!!

There you have it. A few positive updates for the day 🙂 One mattered a lot more than the other, but they both feel like things I’m thankful for. I hope you guys have a few high points from your weekend as well! Bring on the new week!!!

Do you guys remember my family ring? Brady designed a beautiful ring for me years ago, and we add a strand of gold to it with every child we have. We usually get on it pretty quickly after a baby is born, but after Solly, we just didn’t get there for a good long while. We finally brought it in at the beginning of December, which was a terrible move, considering it was the Christmas season. Because of that, I didn’t have it through all of December. I picked it up in the new year, all fresh, with a new bright white gold strand for Solly.

But then my finger reacted weirdly to it! I don’t know why, but it broke out a bit and I had an open red sore on my finger. It hurt too much, so I stopped wearing it. And then we lost our baby, and that opened up a whole new can of worms. While I don’t plan to confuse the rest of the world and tell them we have one more kid than those they can see, we do. Theo is a member of our family. But in a different way. We wanted to find a way to add him to the family ring, but were unsure how.

Well folks, its finally done 🙂 And I love it!

We added a teeny tiny little diamond along the side in representation of our baby up in heaven. Its exactly how I pictured it 🙂 I’m so so happy with the turnout. It does my heart good to have him on my ring with the rest of our children.

Its a good day. I’m happy to have my ring back. And I have new hair! But I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post 😉 Have a great Saturday!

We’ve been housebound for a really long time, and because of that, we haven’t had many playdates or outings with friends for about that length of time. I was excited earlier this week when a friend who lives really close by texted me and invited the kids and I over for this morning! I knew Dekker would be sad to miss out, since he had school today, so I didn’t tell him about it (ssshhh!) and instead, I got the kids dressed and ready after he left for the day.

I got everyone dressed, jacketed, and out the door around 9:45, and we walked the short walk over. The struggle of Laela and Rowan both wanting to hold my hand was real, since I had Solly in my other arm. But we managed, and the kids happily went into the house and began finding toys.

We visited and played with the kids while all kinds of delicious things baked away in the double oven on the wall. Fresh cookies and milk for all! There was no shortage of chatting, playing, running, serving pretend food, or exploring. It was a really really nice morning for us!! A change of scenery, but also a place where the kids could pull of their socks and play in the pantry, like they do at home. But to be fair, its a WAY nicer, bigger pantry than ours! Haha!

Brady is already on his way home, thanks to a shorter day of work 😀 While the little boys have been napping, I ate leftover pulled pork for lunch. But guys, I found the win! Rather than putting it on a bun (because bread and buns are bad for you right? 😉 ) I scoop it with Doritos. Healthier, right?? 😉 I know, I know, baaaaad. But OH so good!!! You should all try it. Also, I used the “chicken and rib” barbecue sauce when I made it, because it was all I had, and it was a game changer! SO good!

Hubs is home, and he brought coffee, so that’s me signing off! I hope you all have great Friday nights! I’m hoping that Brady and I might actually be a bit productive, maybe stay insulating the basement, and then tomorrow morning I’m getting my hair done! Woot!

Sleep deep!

While I even hesitate to be hesitantly optimistic, I’m thinking that this chapter of illness is over. As in this last bout. I have no idea if we’ll all get sick again tomorrow, but whatever this recent illness was has seemed to make itself scarce. Knock on wood. (knocks so hard on wood that it splinters) Its only been a handful of days without one of our morning “surprises,” but I’m thankful each morning for the lack of…..material? Without being too terribly gross, the last thing that was hanging onto my kids was some sick diapers. Really gross diapers. We haven’t had a sick one in a day or two, and the horrific diaper rash they’ve been leaving behind is starting to clear. Well, in Rowans case, that skin is just starting to peel off, but Laela is healing up and no one cries through diaper changes anymore. So. I’m hopeful. Hesitantly. Hesitantly hesitant.

With this chapter hopefully coming to a close, I keep looking back to our recent life, and how our plans have changed. How sad it is that our chapter on Theo has closed. I bought this beautiful little sleeper at Costco the other day for Solly. He is starting to fit into 18 month clothing, of all things, and I couldn’t fathom that my baby was already so big. Excitedly, I went to grab a 3 month one for our coming baby.

Except we don’t have a coming baby.

Ugh.

Yes, we will have another baby, or at least I hope and pray we will! But its going to be a while, and in that time, I’m sure there will be lots of cute sleepers that I shouldn’t buy but will anyway. So this particular grey and white striped soft one will just be in 18 month size for us. And thats ok. I’ve had a cry, and I’ll probably have another one. And thats ok too.

So many things have happened already this year, and I was SO anticipating an amazing kick off to 2017. Its definitely not begun how I had hoped, but I am so thankful for my life and family. There will still be blessing this year, I have no doubt. There have already been blessings! We are blessed every day that we wake up! God has been good. But my flesh sure fails sometimes.