Author: haileyborn

How Cute is Solly?!

I’ve had some cute pictures of Solly to share for a couple of days, and this morning seems like the right time. He’s been so sweet and fun to be around, and I want to remember little mornings like these 🙂

About an hour ago, I was settling down in the living room, when I slammed my elbow on a side table. I must’ve let out a sound, and I leaned over and closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to stop. I heard Solly’s signature flat-footed elephant stomp as he made his way over to me.

Are you ok, mommy?
Yes, I’m ok. Thank you, Solly.
You’re serious, mommy?

Haha! This is one of the things I’ve been saying more often recently. Solly will flip through our books and speculate how the characters are feeling by looking at their expressions. Any character that isn’t smiling, he figures is mad. I often tell him I think they’re just serious. Apparently he’s listening.

I reassured him that I was truly ok, and sat back up and got myself together. But the look of concern didn’t leave his face.

Need a hug, mommy? A squeeze?
I would love that, Solly.
Ok. And a smooch? A kiss?
Definitely yes!
Ok mommy!

I got my hugs and kisses and he took off to do his own thing once again.

He is SO funny these days. This pictures is taken after Brady found him licking rocks out of the gutter 🤦‍♀️😂 Note the mud all down his hoodie, and his wind-swept hair under his helmet. Who doesn’t need a helmet for rock hunting? Or maybe its for his own pinwheel safety. 😉 His shoes are on the wrong feet, too. And he’s happy as a clam! There aren’t too many sweeter than this kid.

I’ve seen the little ages and stages a few times, and they’ve been different for each kid. I can’t speak for whats coming, but he has been the most charming two year old!!! Always pleasant and friendly. I can’t wait to see him grow and change as age three approaches! May isn’t all that far away…

Easter Sunday 2019

We did not end up going to church this Sunday. We love Easter Sunday but it just didn’t pan out. Our kids were struggling hard yesterday. Baths weren’t happening, and good attitudes were nowhere to be found. We had to make the decision between rest and church, and we chose rest. It helped that we had gone on Good Friday, at least.

Our nights haven’t been gentle, with Wavy teething hard and Rowan feeling the need to inform us every time he has the urge to pee. I was up for at least an hour in the middle of the night, and then Wavy had us up at 6:00am. That is SO early for our house! Oy!

We did the morning all together, coloring, reading, playing, and putting away yesterday’s laundry. Kids got baths and took naps. Then we headed to spend the rest of the day at my moms with my brother and his family. It was lovely and rowdy and fun to bring everyone together again. We ate really simple, delicious food that the kids didn’t fight, and hunted for Easter bunnies. FaceTimed with those who couldn’t be with us. It was a good day!

Tomorrow should be a day off, but Brady is off to work for a HUGE week. That tends to be how it goes for him, though. I think its three years now that the weeks the kids are off are Brady’s busiest weeks. Merp. No day trip to the lake for us this week, I suppose! I’m sure we’ll get there eventually 🙂

Happy Easter, my friends. I hope you truly felt the love of God in your home. His grace has saved us!

Biking and Crocus Hunting

Yesterday morning was church! The kids did SO well! There was no childrens church, but the kids were entertained and happy through the entire service. Wavy missed the whole thing 😴

Yesterday afternoon was spent with more playing and biking outside!

And our evening was spent hunting for crocuses with my mom! I have a strong loyalty to my mom. Anyone who knows me knows this. But even if I didn’t know her personally, I would tell you she takes the best crocus pictures I’ve ever seen. She is passionate about them! The season for crocuses is so small, and she hasn’t gotten to see them as much as she normally tries to. We gave it one last go yesterday, and I’m glad we did. While the crocuses were pretty much “done,” it was still a lovely time spent together.

I’m no photographer with my phone, lol, but here are a few pretty bundles I liked.

My fave

All in all, yesterday was fun and relaxed and a solid day all together. Today holds grocery shopping, errand running, and laundry. Also good, but not quite as much fun 😉 Lucky for me, our kids love errand days!

Exciting Milestones for Laela!

We spent our morning at church, leading our two local churches in worship for Good Friday. It was a good service, but the drive home had all of us excited for the afternoon. The weather was beautiful, and everyone is just itching to play outside.

Yesterday afternoon, I opted to walk to pick the kids up from school, just to get my butt outside. I texted Brady while we walked home and told him it was gorgeous out, and maybe we should all get outside for a bit. He responded with “I’m getting the little boys dressed right now.”

I won’t make you wait and guess. Laela learned to ride her two-wheeler yesterday!!!

You’ll have to forgive the poor picture. I have video after video of her working her way up to riding. Of us cheering for her. Of Dekker whooping “You’re doing great, Laela!” Of her shrieking and off-roading. But no pictures of her on her little bike. I’ll put one on Instagram tho 🙂

She began on a balance bike, and remembered how it felt. It seems like, in the very beginning, if she would actually balance, she would forget to steer. Like it had to be one or the other.

But with just a little practice, she was doing it ALL on her own!! Getting herself going, biking, turning around, and stopping with her brakes. It was AMAZING! We were SO proud of her, and she was squealing with delight, very proud of herself as well. As she should be.

The others were all in it, as well. Dekker on his bike, Rowan on his balance bike, and Solly mostly just sitting on his trike. Wavy joined us once she woke up from her nap, and happily watched from the stroller. The kids popped in to visit her regularly.

We had a few kids from down the street come join us, but I won’t post pictures of them, obviously. It was very cute, though. One of them was even from Laela’s kindergarten class.

I know Dekker isn’t in any of these pictures :/ He was WAY too fast and couldn’t be bothered to stop for pictures. He’s in the videos, but for the most part, he had carried over the Earth Day vibes from school, and spent much of his biking time in the lots beside our house, picking up garbage.

I really hope we can get the kids back out biking today! The more we can foster that, the better! Rowan is great on his balance bike, so I wonder how far away a two wheeler is for him. Meanwhile, Dekker needs to move up in bikes! His is too small for him, and while it doesn’t both him at all, I know he’d feel way better biking on something that he wasn’t so scrunched on. Hopefully garage sale day helps us out with that!!

Yesterday felt so good. It was awesome to see Laela so confident and to see her succeed. She took only one spill, and she was giggling within seconds, as I held her and Brady biked away on her teeny tiny Frozen bike. I only wish I had a picture of that! But it was less than a minute before she wiggled out of my grasp and chased her dad down the street. She is in it. When did she become a teenager?? I do not remember okaying that.

I am SO PROUD of you, Laela!!

The Last Day Before…

Easter break!!

Tomorrow begins the kids break from school! The kids are off in time for Good Friday, all next week, and go back the following Monday. Thats a LOVELY long stretch to have them home! I hope we get in tons of playing outside, walks, and that we kick this lazy cold sooner than later! Would be such a bummer to be sick the entire break.

Brady, Carrie, and I are leading music tomorrow at our local church’s morning service. (Still looking for an hour or so of childcare in the morning during practice, if anyone is available!) But after church, I’m hoping to go for a drive and take some pictures with my mom and see where we end up from there!

Thus begins a week off! Not for Brady, though. He’s back at work in a BIG way. I doubt we’ll see much of him at all. I know we’ll all miss him a lot.

That all being said, we have a double batch of our rocket fuel iced coffee in the fridge, and our awesome playground is just a couple blocks away! I hope we meet lots of you there over next week!

Next week, our little worship band has a real gig at a coffee house in Martensville! Its on Thursday! Who wants to come?? 🤗 We’re SO excited!!

A Frustrating Eye Appointment

Dekker saw his eye doctor a few months ago, and they said they were unsure if his glasses accommodated for his current prescription. That didn’t make a ton of sense to us, but they wouldn’t really expand on it. Rather, they said they’d want to double check his eyes sooner than they might usually. And that was today.

Brady took him in, and they went to orthoptics first, as usual, to do the bulk of the exercises/tests. Same as last time, they said something wasn’t quite right. He might need a new prescription. It was less about his glasses this time and more than maybe his prescription wasn’t accommodating for his astigmatism. So they put drops in and said to wait a half hour or so. So as has become their custom, Brady took Dekker down to the cafeteria for a treat.

They arrived back up at the eye care centre as Dekker’s name was being called. He cooperated well through his everything and wouldn’t you know it…

His eye doctor said she’d like to see him without the drops in, without his pupils dilated.

*rolls eyes*

Sooooo now we have to make another appointment in a couple weeks! Gah! Its looking like Dekker will need a new prescription, but we’ll know for sure within a month or so. Hey, at least we didn’t pay out the nose for the last glasses :/ Small victories!

The Three I Have, and What They’re Up To

With Dekker and Laela off to school, I have just the three younger ones on hand this morning. I figured I’d do a shorty update on them 🙂

Rowan all of a sudden can puzzle!! We had puzzles out a while ago and no one was really into them. They were rediscovered recently and Dekker and Laela crush them! The one that used to be “hard” is now complete within five minutes. Turns out we need to be on the hunt for puzzles! Dekker walked Rowan through one of the harder puzzles once, and now he can do it, too! And he’s so proud of himself. He loves it.

Solly is way more social these days, initiating games and conversation. His language has been fine for a long time now, yet it continues to grow and change. He contributes more than yes or no answers, and participates without us always having to ask him to join. He makes real jokes, too. He’s SO fun!

Waverly is busier these days! She backs herself into a corner (literally) multiple times a day, but she’s pretty cute about it. Eventually she’ll learn how to crawl forward, right? Lol! Until then, I’ll continue to rescue her from corners or from under the tv stand.

These two are closer friends every day. I wonder if he’ll like her less when she can actually move and come for him, but he’s smitten with her for now, so I’ll take what I can get!

We spent a lovely morning with a friend, but now, its nap time! Gotta get rid of these runny noses! Spring is NOT the time to be down and out with a cold!

Dekker’s 5th Tooth

Spoiler alert! Dekker lost another tooth!

Information about me. I hated losing teeth. Part of it was just the general discomfort and pain that came with it. Part of it was the interim where it would wiggle and make gross crackly sounds. Part of it was that my mouth was too small for my face, resulting in me having to go have teeth pulled a couple of times growing up. I still remember how it felt when the dentist grabbed a molar are *shiver* loosened it. SO gross. I was NOT into the whole “losing teeth” thing. Not at all.

Dekker has lost four already, so I’m not new to it, but I’ve never participated in the extraction part. One Brady pulled, one came out in a cinnamon bun, and I think he pulled the others. And you’d better believe, every time, I give him a solid attaboy and examine the lone tooth, and the hole it left behind, as if I’ve never seen such an amazing thing before! But I’m not going near the part with the pulling.

Dekker noticed a loose tooth a couple of days ago. He showed me how far it could wiggle with great enthusiasm. I exclaimed along with him, how close it was to falling out and how great that would be. I promised him I wouldn’t send him an apple to school. That was really it. 

Last Thursday, Jerilee was over for the evening. We were hanging out in the kitchen, waiting for our supper to finish up, when Dekker emerged from his bedroom. Now we’ve been having some annoying issues recently with our kids getting up after bedtime way more than is reasonable. But its never Dekker. I greeted him and asked what he needed. 

He went on to tell me his tooth was really bothering him and seemed like it might come out. He looked at me for help. I stared back at that face, not willing to help him, haha! Ok ok, I was willing, but not excited. I asked him if he wanted me to pull it. He hesitated. Perfect. I asked him if he wanted to try and pull it himself, and he said he’d try. I gave him a Kleenex, and he just went for it, yanking that tooth forward and back, over and over, no holding back. Jerilee and I watched him, both fully nervous and a smidge grossed out, haha! After a minute, he checked his Kleenex, and there was some blood on it. To my surprise, he didn’t get upset, but commented that it looked like something was happening.

It was around that time that supper finished up, so after checking that Jerilee was game, I invited Dekker to hang out with us while we ate, and he could work on his tooth. He accepted, and sat on the ottoman in the living room, wiggling that tooth. He only sat with us for a few minutes before he gave up. He grabbed an extra Kleenex, just in case, and headed to bed. I know for a fact he was asleep within minutes, haha! So it was TIME!

Aaaaanyway, that brings us to Saturday, when it finally came out! Brady was brushing everyone’s teeth before bed. Dekker and Laela brush their own teeth usually, but we do them once in a while to make sure they’re being thorough. While Dekker was having his teeth brushed, he emitted a little “ouch!” Brady asked if he was ok, and he was, so he continued. Towards the end, Brady asked Dekker to smile big so he could give the fronts of his teeth one final scrub, and Dekker stuck his tongue through his teeth and spat out the tooth!!!!

He was AMPED!

I know it seems like a small thing, but my little Dekker Thomas has spent a lot of time being afraid, or at least cautious. I love how strangely brave he is with teeth! I thought teeth falling out would leave him feeling like his world was ending, and he has pleasantly surprised me by being excited about it! I think it leaves him feeling really mature 🙂

Way to be brave, Dekker! You’re a tougher cookie than your mom!

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

*deeeeep breath*

*deeeeep sigh*

Its raining today. I have waited for the rain. I LOVE the rain. It smells amazing, feels amazing, and brings a cleansing refresh to everything it touches. I’m SO happy the rain is back. And April showers bring May flowers, right? My little front step planter is looking pretty naked.

We got the kids to church this morning in the beautiful grey misty weather. Its Palm Sunday today. All the kids opened the service by walking into the sanctuary waving palm branches while the worship team played music. It was a really wonderful opening. I didn’t catch a whole lot beyond that, with my twitchy little baby girl. She woke up just that much too early this morning, and was pretty over church the moment it started. But we rolled with it. I held her off by sitting on the floor with her and letting her play, then carrying her around, then back to the floor, etc etc etc. We made it through, and the moment church was done, Waverly was whisked away by the eager hands of some of the youth. Boom! Off she went!

Everyone was loaded into the van when I finally tore Wavy away from her group of admirers. As I carried her out to the van, her bare shoulders tasted the rain. She startled, and gasped, and giggled. Yesssss! PLEASE love the rain as much as I do, sweet baby!

As tends to happen, everyone disintegrated upon arriving home, and nap time happened very quickly after lunch. Now that everyone is up and at ’em, we have the rest of the day to play together 🙂 Our only job is to go through some tubs of clothing for Wavy. I had to dig into tubs this morning to find things that fit her, so its time for yet another size swap! She keeps growing!!

Thus begins a week of Brady being home! Sadly, he is swamped and will be working late all through our Easter break the following week :/ But hey, we’ll take what we can get! This week is already filling beautifully 🙂 Lots to look forward to!

Solly’s Hair

Some of you have been noticing Solly’s hair has been in a ponytail recently! Its so long and shaggy, and we’ve started tying it up when he eats. He grumbled about it the first two times, maybe, and that was it. Now he cooperates just fine, and forgets about it after meal time. He only asks to take it out when someone draws attention to it and he realizes its still there.

I’ve asked him a couple of times about haircuts, and he flip flops. Sometimes he says he wants one and sometimes he just playfully shouts “No! No! No!” until I leave the topic alone. So I tend to just let it be.

This morning, I couldn’t resist sharing some pictures of the messy mop that is Solomon’s bedhead hair, post-pony!

I know not everyone is fond of our boys having long hair, and thats totally their business! No love lost! Just please keep the negative opinions to yourselves 😉 We LOVE their hair!! Be reassured that, when our kids want haircuts, they can have them. For instance, Dekker doesn’t like having long hair! So he doesn’t! Its simple. Its just hair.

Goodness this kid is SO cute! Extra “rough and tumble” today!