Buuuuuuurrrlizzard of 2012

Dear Hen, 

Wow!  Just after Christmas our area of the Midwest was waiting on a blizzard!  It was a one day event so I think I'd more refer to it as a big snow but no matter, we suited up and headed outside to roll, throw, fall, binocular spy and build in the snow.  The great part is the temperature wasn't as frosty as all that snow would have one think.  We were comfortable building our snow person.  I have so much fun with you, my boy.  You're silly.  You stopped in the middle of putting eyes on our snowman to tell me that you had to pee, with a grin.  

I asked if you wanted to pee in the snow, and you did, but needed help getting your snowsuit open and stuff.  I gave you a little hand and turned around.  You were quite proud of the bright lemon snow you created.  

You are crazy accurate!

Then later you were laying on your belly licking the snow you stopped, looked startled up at me and said, "Hey, this isn't where I peed is it?"  

I said, "No! It was over there, but that is still gross!"  You shrugged and sighed with relief and before returning to licking said, "Don't eat the yellow snow."  ...and with that my love grew a little more.  I guess you come by your grossness honestly.

Love, Mama 

Time Together

Dear Hazel, 
For Christmas this year we decided to meet WW and the McKeons.  It was fun getting all together.  WW new boyfriend came too.  It was nice to meet him, he was kind and gentle, just like WW.  You are so little you just let WW snuggle on you in your red velvet dress.  We shared a wonderful Italian meal together while Henry and Nick, Hazel's half birth sibling, played under the table together.  WW has also just moved into her new house!  This is exciting because we will have a nice place to visit with her. We hope to go see her just after the new year and check it out.  I always say this but I am so grateful for the relationships we have with our children's birth mom's.  We are so grateful.  It has been harder trying to get with JoJo this year and Christmas has passed, but we plan to get pizza with her soon.  

We are so in shock!  Here we are with two wonderful, crazy smart kids.  The turbulence getting here sucked but in hindsight I wouldn't want it any other way.
Love, Mama  

Cereal!

Dear Hey-Zel, 
You are hungry all...of...the...time.  Each feeding you're eating at least 7 to 8 oz of formula and many times after about an half of an hour of finishing you want more.  It takes you about 30 minutes to get down one bottle this size, you do about 5 or 6 a day.  That is at least 2.5 hours a day I am spending just snugglin' and feelin' ya.  That's all nice but mama doesn't want you hungry so we added in cereal a couple of days ago.  

You are a great little eater!  Many babies have a hard time suppressing their tongue's urge to thrust forward and push the food out.  Not you!  You hardly barely do this once I put the food in, rather you swallow it away easily and seem to enjoy it.  So welcome to the food world sweet pea!  You've just passed one of your first milestones.
Love, Mama

Vintage Hazel

Dear Hazel, You are the most irresistible in this little vintage dress.  I had to post a picture.  

Just hanging out on Daddy

Henry took one look at his sweet sister and said, "CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!"  He is right, you are.  Love, Mama

You're No Buddy Until You've Got A Snow Buddy

Dear Henny, 
Yeah for snow and time with Sylvie!  You guys made the best snow angels I've ever witnessed.  You had a decent little snow fight and mutually decided it is so cold, we need to go in.  Can't get better than this. 

 Love, Mama 

Artsie Fartsie

Dear Peep and Zell, 
A few weeks ago we had a fun Friday night checking out some art!  In general you both seem to enjoy a good night out on the town, especially with the Christmas lights all about.  As we drove throught the downtown square Hen likes to cream, "It's a light city!  It's a Christmas City!"  It is always exciting for you to go on campus.  We arrived at the Grunwald Gallery of Art on IU campus.  It was all a buzz there with undergrad students displaying their work down stars but we were there to check out our long time friend, David's graduate work in the Grunwald Gallery.  You got pretty excited and Hazel's head swiveled around quick and excited as lights, things, and people created an exciting scene.  We went back in a corner room for David's interactive tech display.  

You enjoyed making the objects move and spotting the lights.  True to you though, the display you enjoyed allowed you to draw all over it and participate in a drawing app on a tablet by Juila Rickles.  Hazel continued to enjoy the lights and making faces at me.  Then you drew on the gallery wall and we decided it was time to high tail it out of there.  

Being an arty evening we dropped in at new little studio downtown where Megan was displaying some of her photos, we got to visit, eat great brownies and you got to bump into and run with DEVO.  

It was a fun evening and we escaped before any major melt down on either of you sweeties parts.  So there ya go, Mom and Pop are trying to teach you to be cultured.
Love, Mama  

Enjoying Family and Meeting New Family

Dear Henny and Hazel, 
We had a spectacular Saturday!  We utilized every minute, after our late morning start we planned an impromptu trip to The Children's Museum in Indianapolis then we would go to see your new second cousin, Willem.

You were extremely excited that Daddy would be with us on this trip to the Children's Museum.  You helped plan what you wanted to do on the way up.  We decided on the Dinosaur, Hot Wheels, Holiday Room, and the modern Egypt exhibit.  We love having a pass because if we miss something on a visit it isn't stressful, we can return whenever.  So, we arrived and to the Dinosaurs first.  You dug and dug and we had to convince you that maybe we should move on to the hot wheels.  You and Daddy raced cars down ramps, discussed the ones you like and and we watched you climb all over the life size beetle bug type car you can decorate.   

Then it was on to the modern Egypt town.  We had so much fun here.  We sat in the little coffee shop and watched you and an assortment of other kids take on the part of the workers in the shop.  You all served us, worked together well and we so cute Daddy and I were misty.  To watch kids of different ages all jump in and play so nicely together was a lot of fun.  We did have a super great time having Daddy along, and despite being so close to the holidays and a Saturday it wasn't terribly crowded.  I hope that we can all go again sometime after the holidays.

After that we went to the hospital to meet Willem and check in on Nellie and Ryan.  Willem had just been released from the nursery where he was on some support for various small issues he was experiencing and he is perfect!  You were passed out in your stroller.  We visited for a while then cousin Kyra and two of her boys Nash and Kolsen came in.  Nash wanted to hold him so badly so he washed up his hands and crawled up next to Nellie to get a hug in.  We are so happy for them! and that there is another little dude to play with the whole crew.  

We left the hospital and ventured down to the circle to see the lights and to return to Rocket Fizz, as you put it, the most beautiful candy store ever.  It was BUSY!  But we hunted around for some sweets and enjoyed the lights a bit.  After a slice of pizza we went on home a tired little bunch.  

What a wonderful impromptu way to spend a Saturday together.  I love our little family.
Love, Mama  
 

Lazer Baby, Robber Daddy, Spidey Son

Dear Henry and Hazel, 
Tonight you, Henry decided to play robber lazer baby with your sister, Hazel and Daddy.  This usually means you're trying to be Spiderman, Daddy is a robber and Hazel can shoot lazers and you try to save the house from them all.  Daddy was in the office.  I was in the kitchen cooking.  Hazel was rockin' in her swing.  In a couple of minutes I heard Daddy doing one of those somewhat frantic yelling from the office to come quick, like right now voices!  I run down the hall screaming, "What, What,What?"  I enter and you tell me you got robber baby.  I can't process, I can't make sense of the immediacy of your Daddy's voice.  Then, A connects to B and I see that you have gotten your sister out of the swing, carried her across the stone floor, down the hall into the office because she is NOW HANGING FROM YOUR ARMS, facing outwards you have your arms clamped underneath her arm pits.  She can't stop smiling.  My wide eyes take you in and she smile at me proudly and day, "She is heavy!"  I slowly take smiling Hazel and put her on Daddy's lap.  We calmly remind you to let us know if you are going to try and pick up lazer sister because it can be dangerous.  You agree and then you and Daddy and Hazel go back to playing lazer baby/robber Daddy.  Oh boy!
Love, Mama  

Thanksgiving and Christmas Tree Time

Dear Henry and Hazel, 
This is a little over due.  Thanksgiving this year we were stuck at home due to a contagious stomach bug daddy caught.  We were feeling really sad.  It was our first Thanksgiving without visiting to family, our first Thanksgiving without GG.  This made spending our first Thanksgiving with you so bitter sweet.  Mommy did pull it off though.  For the first tie I fixed a Thanksgiving-esque meal; baked whole chicken, from scratch dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls.  Our good friends Heather and her sister Lise felt sorry for us so they dropped off a pie with homemade whipped cream and yummy cranberry sauce.  Amazing!  You ate some of everything as long as you didn't have to look at it.  

We played the eating game and you would close your eyes eat it and hide your eyes to then guess what you just ate.  You ate a man's share.  

It turned into a cozy cuddly weekend.  A few days after we couldn't keep from getting a Christmas Tree.  Daddy's funky bug had cleared up and you have been so excited about the approach of Christmas it couldn't come early enough.  We went to Twin H farms to pick a local tree.  You love their shaker and spinner that wraps the tree up.  You ran through the tree barn and ducked in and out of the trees. 

Once we picked one, which was actually very quickly done you guarded it with mean gnashed teeth an menacing hands on your hips.  

As they shook the tree you shook around on Daddy's lap while Hazel winced at the loud noise snuggled inside the baby carrier on my chest.  I did convince you to allow me to take a couple of pictures with Hazel before we left and before your melt down escalated.  At home you helped me roll the tree off the roof of the van and set it up inside. 

It was easy.  We wrapped it in lights and decorated until you were about to drop. 

Henry's "collection" of ornaments.  They fell off last night and he yelled at me when I dispersed them through out the tree.

I am glad that we are all healthy and happy this year.  We are full of gratitude this year; for you both, your birth moms, our family, and the gift of life in general.  I love that you love Christmas and the feeling of the season too.  I love that I can hange Santa Claus over your head from time to time to change your behavior. :)
Love, Mama