Did you put that in the blog??

Our summer has been tons of fun and as a result I haven't been very active on the family blog. When Tim and I swap stories at night and I tell him about all of the hilarious things our kids did all day he always asks me, "Aww, did you put that in the blog?" I really wish I could say yes but the unfortunate truth is I haven't really updated since May. Our original intent with this blog was to have a place to record some of the events of our family (since we lived far away when the blog started) and to have a place to record all of the funny and sweet things our kids do in baby/toddlerhood. So my new goal is to post at least once a week to share and record some of the events in our family.

Sofia is almost 3.5 years old now and is a full blown little girl. She is sweet, polite, charming, inquisitive, sensitive, and loves her brothers fiercely. She refers to them as "my boys". She generally wakes up/gets up (doesn't nap much these days) from her "rest time" and asks when we can go get her boys.  Sofia loves to dance, read, create art projects, help cook, run, participate in gymnastics, swim, bike, sing and garden. Yes, you read that correctly, she gardens. Sometimes we joke that Sofia has an old soul. She pulls out a knee pad and will sit and garden (pick off dead flowers, harvest ripe vegetables from the garden). Tim and I have noticed that she is also becoming very social with other kids. She is less interested in playing with us at the playground if there are other kids her age there.

The boys are at such a fun stage. They are into anything and everything and have shown me how different raising boys can be from raising girls. Many people called me crazy for taking my kids out alone with me as much as I did in their first two years of life but boy has my risk paid off. I can now take everyone out by myself confidently. Of course we still have a melt down from one child every now and then but for the most part, it always goes really well because I know when my "windows of opportunity" are and when I need to pack it up. 

Everett is all boy all the time but is also a sweet and sensitive guy. He loves tractors, trains, trucks, balls, and jumping off of anything that is elevated. We can't go anywhere without Ev finding something to jump from. He definitely falls, but he doesn't cry much. He dusts himself off and gets ready to try again. Everett loves to experiment around the house with rolling cars off of various things. Above all, he loves trains. He spends a good hour every day setting up different sets of train tracks or categorizing his trains and cars by color and shape. Everett sings all day long and has a knack for memorizing songs rather quickly. He prefers to sing by himself though so any attempt to videotape him is usually busted when he sees us watching him. Everett isn't a huge talker but he's getting more confident every day.

Sullivan is definitely the comedian of the family. He is also the biggest talker. He talks all day long and asks me, "Mama, what's that?" at least 60 times per day, no joke. Sully is also a very affectionate little guy. He spends a lot of time hugging and kissing his siblings and Tim and I. Whenever someone leaves he always says goodbye and loves to say "Love you, Miss me!" when he means to say "Miss you". Sully can frequently be found in yoga positions or doing push ups or pull ups. Sullivan also repeats things a lot and can easily repeat new words after only hearing them once. He calls his brother Everett, Evie, Evie J, or when he's mad he says, "Everett James!"

And just for Tim, here's a story he wanted to include. Last night Sully and Sofia were under the weather so after quite a few wake ups from both children I ended up sleeping with Sully in our bedroom and Tim snuggled Sofia while Everett slept through the whole thing. When Sully woke up this morning I said good morning to him and gave him some snuggles and kisses. He said a quick "Hi" and snapped up and said "Where's Evie?". Then he quickly hopped off the bed and ran into his bedroom to check on his brother. Raising twins is definitely a lot of work but moments like these are so awesome to see. The bond these guys have at age 2 is just incredible. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have someone in your life who has been with you since conception and you've never been apart for more than an hour or two. It's amazing to watch them grow up.

Mix of emotions

As a family, four out of five of us are in a really good place right now. We absolutely adore the town we are in, our friendships with other people and families in the community are growing, I'm really enjoying my part time job, and Sofia is all set for next year (she won a lottery spot for a place in the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center preschool 2 days a week, I have wanted Sofia to attend this preschool since I first heard about it years ago). Last fall Tim took a new job due to stress with his old one, mainly from working every Saturday. This new job was supposed to relieve some of that by giving Tim every third Saturday off but after 8 months of the new job we both feel like we are even more drained than before. The Saturday thing hasn't worked out as well as we hoped and Tim has to work until 7 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening. Tim is also seeing a ton more patients than he used to and rarely gets to eat lunch. This optometry practice is also further away (30 minutes each way, one hour a day wasted in the car) which means he isn't home until 7:30 but realistically more like 7:40 most nights. Our kids used to go to bed at 7:30 but I let them stay up because they ask about him all day long and I like going through the bedtime routine as a family. But starting the bedtime routine so late (as well as the house cleaning that happens after bedtime) has led to Tim and I not able to sit down and breathe until 9 or 9:30 at night. During the week I honestly feel like a single parent. I attend all activities by myself with the kids, which can be challenging with three under three. And, I'm training for a half ironman and most of the group workouts happen around 5:30 or 6pm. I know this sounds insignificant, but working out is my stress relief and my social hour. If I have free time I'd much rather go on a run or bike ride with one of my friends than go out for a drink. I think it's really important to keep myself physically healthy. We don't have any family close enough to help out so lately I just feel really alone during the week. I'd like to spend quality time with my husband during the week but with him working so late we are both just exhausted by the time we're done with bedtime and clean up. And I get up at 5 most mornings to swim/work out and I work at 7 so I really need to go to bed at a reasonable hour whereas Tim doesn't work until 10am. All in all, I predict some kind of change on the horizon. This makes Tim and I both sad because we both realize that 4/5 of us are doing well, but we as a family really want and need Tim around more. Time will tell what God's plan is for our family.

Sorry for the boring complaint post, I just needed to vent.

Quick update

I didn't mean to neglect my blog. Here's my attempt at a quick update. Almost every day when one of the kids says something cute Tim asks me if I put it in the blog, to which my response is usually "No, but I will!"

Since I've last updated here are some of the major events of our family....

-Sofia turned 3! I simply cannot believe she is 3, the time flew by and she is such an amazing little girl. Three does come with some challenges as she is increasingly independent and sometimes a bit stubborn (no idea where that comes from ;)). Overall though, I'm just in awe of this little human in our lives. She is so well spoken and has such a kind and generous heart. She loves to take care of everyone. Her other interests include reading, riding her new bike, swimming, art projects, baking with Mom or one of her Grandmas, gardening, and singing. She is an excellent reader and we frequently find her reading on her own or reading a book out loud to her brothers or stuffed animals. Sofia loves her preschool program and she will be sad to see it end in a few weeks. Sofia also broke her arm this month. It happened at a local playground when she was riding a spinning circle (that's the best description I can give). I was actually on it with her but I wasn't holding her. Tim came over and spun it a little too fast, she got scared and tried to get off but landed awkwardly on her arm. Sofia was such a trooper with her x-rays and cast and hopefully will be back to normal in about 3-4 weeks.

The six layer cake that Sofia and I baked together.

-We drove (23 hours each way) to Florida with the kids for a spring break trip. We stopped in Tennessee on the way down and way back to give the kids a break and visit with old friends in Knoxville and Nashville. The trip was just awesome, the kids did so well during the drive and they just loved the beach.

Sofia got a special day trip with Tim and I to a wildlife park while the boys spent the day with Uncle Russ & Aunt Peg.

Sofia the kite master!

Sullivan refuses to ever be a part of a sibling picture.

The kids even got to hang out with second cousins Ryker and Slade.

-Everett & Sully are two months away from their 2nd birthday! Their lives seem to be going by twice as fast as Sofia's. They are at such a fun yet challenging age. They are really starting to develop some strong interests and personalities. The main thing that is challenging about their age isn't really their age but the fact that there are two of them. They aren't interested in riding in the stroller unless we are running. And I can't run with them and leave Sofia alone on her bike. So I hunted around for weeks on Craigslist and found an amazing double bike for the boys that I can strap them into (so they can't run into the street) so we can bike to the parks in our area.

Sofia before her first soccer practice.

At the Kalahari in the Dells.

Sully bear!

Evie!

An attempt at a group picture.

Wave pool!

Shaving cream cars (a desperate attempt for entertainment on a cold winter/spring day)

The boys favorite part, the car wash.

Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Sullivan shopping at the Sendiks inside the museum

Sofia in action at soccer practice.

Small yet memorable moments
-Reading books three or four times in a row to my Everett who seems to love reading as much as his big sister.
-Listening to Sofia sing all three verses of our "Our Father" song that we sing to the kids every night at bedtime. We usually sing it while Tim and I rub the boys' backs. Sofia stands in the middle of us and sneaks her arm through the crib and rubs one of her brothers' backs and sings. The love she has for her family and brothers is so pure, innocent and beautiful.
-Watching the boys race back and forth down the board walk in Florida.
-Sullivan is starting to talk a lot more now. His voice is simply adorable and he is very curious about body parts. He spends a lot of time pointing at various things saying, "What's that?"
-Dance parties with the kids. Our kids are exposed to a lot of different types of music, we definitely play a lot of children's music but we also throw in a strong dose of dance music, classic rock, oldies, indie etc. It is so much fun to dance with the kids.
-The boys are so adventurous and daring, they literally jump off of everything. Thankfully they give us a bit of a warning so we can catch them but they jump off of steps, curbs, couches, chairs without a thought.
-Sullivan's night time "talk down". He's at the phase where he repeats things he's heard during the day before he goes to sleep. I'm usually rocking Everett when he does this. The other night he said "Night night" to everyone in our family and then he started saying the most bizarre things. He said, "Hi Dada, Dada no!". Then he started growling like a lion for 20 seconds before laughing hysterically. Then I looked up and he was staring at me from his crib standing and sliding back and forth chewing on the crib rail like it was corn on the cob. I tried not to laugh but he heard me and then started jumping up in down. Out of nowhere he stopped, laid down and was silent. He seriously does some version of this every night. Everett usually sleeps through it or I'm rocking him.

Sullivan Jeffrey 18 months

Sully is the best eater out of our three kids so it's amazing how much different he is than Sofia and Everett with his physical traits and growth chart stats.

Sully's stats- Height: 32.5" (40th percentile) Weight: 24lbs 3oz (44th percentile)

Sullivan is still my sweet little Sully Bear. He still looks so much like a baby even though he's definitely becoming a little boy. He is a fun loving little guy with an infectious laugh and personality. He definitely has his favorite people and if you are one of them, look out, it's hard to put him down. One of the best ways to describe him is with one of his unforgettable stories. This past week I was cleaning and Tim was in the kitchen with the kids and during the 30 seconds that Tim had his back turned Sully climbed out of his chair, onto the table and stood in the center with his hands above his head and danced in a circle while laughing hysterically. Sofia and Everett were also at the table, but in their chairs, and cheered on his little jig. The next day I took the kids to the library and Sofia and Everett were content to play with the train table and the lego table or read books but I spent all of my time chasing Sullivan around who was climbing the computer tables, scaling along the window sill on the wall of windows, or trying to escape the library all together by pushing the handicap door buttons.

Sully is a great eater, sometimes a little too good of an eater. He will hide snacks in odd places around the house and return to it days later to eat it. And yes, we do clean but my house definitely is not as clean as I would like. Tim and I can spend hours cleaning after the kids go to bed and within 25 minutes of the kids being awake, it looks like a hurricane has gone through the house. I've given up worrying about the judgements people make about me.

Sullivan is one fun little guy who just loves to entertain and push the limits, which can be a good and bad thing. It's so nice to sit back and watch the kids play together and watch their relationships with one another grow. Tim and I are SO incredibly happy that we have our three beautiful children, and it is such a blessing to have them so close in age.

Here are some pictures of Sully:

Everett James 18 months old

The boys finally went in for their 18 month well child exams, we delayed it by a couple of weeks so we could include Sofia on the appointment for her 3 year old well child exam.

Here are Ev's stats: Height- 34.5" (92nd percentile) Weight 25 lbs 12 oz (63rd percentile)

It's hard to believe that Everett is as tall as he is considering he is one of our pickiest eaters. The poor guy has gotten so tall lately that most of his pants look like capris. And Wisconsin stores are crazy enough to put away the pants and sell shorts during the coldest month of the year.

At 18 months (today 20 months!) Everett looks more and more like a little boy. He is a very sweet and sensitive guy who is definitely the most easy going in our bunch. Even when he has a cold or tired, he's able to adapt and be happy almost all of the time. He is a very picky eater but loves fruit smoothies, fresh baked goods, and milk. Everett loves following his big sister around and observing everything she does. He also has an intense love for trains, cars, bikes, and construction equipment. He wants to know how everything works. Ev is a fearless little guy who simply cannot wait until the end of our song in swim lessons that is supposed to signal "jump in"! He simply looks at me, does the spin and touches his toes and jumps into the pool and my awaiting arms. Everett is also a bit of a heartbreaker, he will frequently go around to hug or kiss his siblings and friends and he always makes sure to blow kisses to the most loved people in his life.

If the world were full of 2 year olds....

I feel like I'm constantly saying and thinking, I love this age! But two year olds are truly a delight. Sofia only naps 2-3 days out of the week but she always takes "rest time". After about an hour and a half I heard her talking to her imaginary friend Rosa. The conversation was absolutely hilarious. Eventually I heard Sofia saying that Rosa needed some help so I went in her room and was greeted with a huge smile, hug and kiss. Our after nap routine is to turn off her air purifier (white noise) and open the shades and sit for a cuddle and story. Sofia opened her window and proclaimed (amidst the February weather), "Momma, it's a beautiful day!". Then she turned to me and said, "Momma, are you having a wonderful day?". Then she remembered her balloon that I gave her this morning for Valentine's Day and said, "Oh Momma, I just love my balloon, thank you thank you thank you!". I seriously am not making this up. My daughter is just unbelievably sweet. Tim and I are treasuring these last few weeks of her as a two year old. 

Here's a great picture of my sweet Sofia... She made this project at her "Kids Club" class she takes at the YMCA.

My bike!

I love keeping a blog, I think it will serve as a nice record for my kids when they are older and it helps keep some of our family up to date. However, my bike is one of the other things that is keeping me from blogging much lately. Last fall a friend and I tossed around the idea of signing up for a Ialf Ironman race together. One of my biking buddies did the race last year and I was so excited for her. My friend Jen and I signed up together for the race during the first week of January. Within two more weeks we got twenty some people from our triathlon club to sign up and the race sold out! So, I'm excited to announce that I will be competing in the Door County Half Ironman this July!! The race is in one of my favorite spots in Wisconsin and it consists of a 1.2 mile swim in Lake Michigan, 56 mile bike ride, and a half marathon to finish. I will be competing in a few events before the "big race" to get ready. The list includes the South Shore Half Marathon, Elkhart Lake triathlon and possibly the High Cliff triathlon. It should be a great summer!

So far my training has been going very well. Although I must say I'm not a fan of my 4:50am wake up time for my swim days. I have to swim in the morning at least twice per week, I bike with the club 2-3 times per week with amazing rides set up by our club president, and I try to fit a couple decent runs in per week. I'm definitely lacking in the running area so far because I absolutely despise running on treadmill. I love to run outside, even in winter. Everything is so peaceful, I get to see what's going on around town, check out the lake and just breathe.

It sounds silly, but I am so happy when I'm on my bike. Throughout my life some of my best and most memorable moments have come on the seat of a bike. I love taking in the scenery or a sunrise/sunset from the seat of my bike. I fondly remember childhood vacations biking around the state, my first date with my husband Tim (mountain biking on the TNT trail in the bluffs of LaCrosse), and a couple years later being proposed to after a bike ride that led to a picnic overlooking our college town. The kids seem to really like biking too. I hook up a trailer and toddler seat to my mountain bike in the summer and we bike all over town.

The training has been a big commitment but I just love it. It's such a great release or start to my day. I love being in shape and it helps that I have a fabulous group of people to work out with who are willing to meet me at the pool at 5:15am. Our club has grown a ton since I joined two years ago. It's so nice to be with a group of people from all different backgrounds who are all eager to cheer each other on. I'm also very grateful for my hubby who has been so supportive of me and my training.