My Grandfather

Last week, my last living grandparent, Virgil Falkner, passed away. He was 2 months shy of his 90th birthday, and had lived an amazingly full life. I'm not going to list his many accomplishments, military awards, experiences, or talents...just the character traits that made him the best grandpa in the world.

He was kind and beyond generous. I will never forget the check I received from him in the mail after Calder was born. My grandpa knew that we had good insurance, but he also knew that extra medical expenses can be taxing on a family...how selfless of him to be concerned about us.

He was funny. I personally think that he saved some of his special stories and jokes just for me, because he knew that I'd laugh, even if no one else would. ;) I'm glad to have gotten some of that sense of humor.

He was gentle. I remember as a child, him "painting" our faces with a small, dry paint brush. It would nearly put us to sleep.

He was opinionated and stubborn. He was an "if it's not broke, don't fix it" kind of guy...had many strong ideas, and was never afraid to share them. I loved that about him, even if we disagreed.

He was smart. He knew just about everything and knew how to fix just about anything.

He was caring. Number one in his life was his family, ALWAYS. Spread across the country, he seldom forgot a birthday or special event...for his 11 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren (holy smokes!) and he loved and spoke often of each and every one of them.

He was humble. He never expected anything for a favor, and was more often than not, embarrassed by any attention he received. Everyone should be so lucky to have that kind of generous, yet humble spirit.

He was proud. His gallery of photos, and binders of pictures and documents displayed his pride in all he did. He walked me down the aisle at my wedding (along with my dad), with his quiet and humble pride...it was an unforgettable moment.

He was one special man, and I'm so grateful to call him my grandpa. I'm so happy that I got 35 years of time with him, and I will never forget.

I love you and already miss you Grandpa!

Let the SUMMER begin!

Summer is here, I can't believe it...this year has really just flown by! This last week was full of big events for us:

• Caydree had her last day at Ms. Linda's, her loving daycare provider, whom she has been with since she was 6 1/2 weeks old! We will miss her dearly and know that Caydree has truly had the best experiences there. She will be ready for Kinder in August, whether they are ready for her or not!
  
• Calder learned how to go on the slide all by himself (videos to follow) and now enjoys falling onto the bean bags off of the couch...the kid is FEARLESS. He also got a "big boy" haircut, and looks pretty darn cute!
  
• Shane has been working on his motorcycle. He got brave and decided that he wanted to get some things done on it, and was going to do it himself! He is pretty much dominating the garage right now, but is making progress. :) We also made our annual trip to the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival...FUN!
  
• I finished my 1st year teaching 5th grade, and survived the entire thing! HA HA! This included a softball game in which I hit a triple, a fun "shop 'til you drop" event that gave me tattoos and blue hair, a promotion ceremony with parade, a teacher dance to "Footloose" and a luau. Did I mention it was a busy week?

Summer plans? Well, a mommy and daddy trip to Vegas, Caydree's 1st dance recital, my parents' big move back to Tucson (yay for being closer!!!) and a probable visit, beginning speech therapy for Mr. Man, and hopefully lots of swimming, lots of fun with friends, and lots of patience for mommy! ;) Those who know me well, know why I am a working mom.

Calder's big boy haircut. Yes, that is spiked with "product"...

Our fun evening at the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival...

What a cutie, posing for mommy in the backyard!

Little Man found some new, fun games to play...only gave mommy
a heart attack the first couple of times. :)

Lots to Share...

I seem to be getting worse and worse at this, but I will keep plugging along. I'll be happy if I can get once a month in!

We are all doing well, but it's been busy around here! The kids and I spent the first week of my Spring Break in Maryland, visiting Grandma and Grandpa...we had a great time!! The long plane rides I could have done without, but the vacation part was awesome. ;) We went to a fun place called Kid's Village, the National Zoo, a park with a train and a carousel, and a nature preserve with a funky name, just to name a few...Grandma was an excellent event planner! She also has a lot more pictures than I do, so my selection may be limited!

Picnic with Grandma at the Nature Preserve...

Hanging out with Uncle Allen at the zoo...

Pretty girl making some pretty eggs...

Grandma and Calder at the park

Sister on the carousel and lovin' it!

Mommy and Calder riding the train!

While we were in Maryland, we had the amazing opportunity to meet some friends we've made through our "cleft" journey. Connecting on the internet, talking and sharing our journeys together...Nick and Calder are only about 3 weeks apart in age. It truly was a special blessing to make the connection in person! The boys were funny, Calder gave lots of hugs, and they ended up even having the same jackets on that day! It was really awesome, and I thank Michael and Susan for having enough trust in me--the crazy, facebook, cleft mommy friend to actually meet up with us! We hope that our paths continue to run as parallel as they have, and that they cross again in the future. Here are a couple pics from our meeting!

COULD THESE TWO BE ANY CUTER?? :) Love them...

We returned to CA after a fun week, just in time for some friend time here, Easter, then back to our normal routines.

We spent Easter at Mamma and Pappa's house for an early dinner, after a quiet breakfast here at home. Rain kept us from hunting for eggs until later in the afternoon, but the baskets of goodies kept us very entertained!

Checking out the loot in our baskets!

Mommy and Daddy hanging out--picture by Caydree. ;)

Happy egg hunting...

Always fun to celebrate with colored eggs, chocolate bunnies, and jellybeans, but best to remember why we celebrate. Caydree still talks about a Vacation Bible School activity we did last summer--Jesus was a marshmallow. :) Maybe a bit more explanation would be helpful??
We put oils and spices on his body (melted butter and cinnamon) and then wrapped him in cloth (crescent rolls). After burying him (in the oven) we were surprised to see that Jesus had "disappeared" (risen). I know that she may not really "get it" yet...but the fact that she remembers the process and story from our activity shows me that she is trying to understand, and she's still thinking about it.

So, we hope that your Easter was filled with sweet treats, colorful reminders,
friends, family, and lots of LOVE!

My two Easter cuties...is this love, or what?!

Almost 1 year...

So, about this time last year, I was really sick. Physically--with a terrible sinus cold, and mentally--preparing myself for Calder's first cleft repair surgery. Thankfully, this year I am just physically sick again...this time with strep throat. :( Much better mentally--no pending surgery, no extra stress, no sleepless nights of worrying if it will all be ok. It is a mommy's job to worry. If we don't, who will, right? But, I wish that I knew then, what I know now...that it would be hard, but we could handle it...that Calder would heal quickly, and without any complications...that life would be sweeter, and we'd be stronger for having "been there; done that".

I remember being so sad, even scared in thinking about how Calder was going to "change"--I didn't want him to be any different. I didn't want him to have a new smile, and I certainly didn't want him to remember anything he'd been through. He is not different, still the fearless BOY he has always been. His smile changes constantly...I think I see a new one every day, as he learns new things and discovers life. There are times when I desperately miss those wide smiles from our monkey. But I am so grateful for the 5 1/2 months of wide smiles we had, and if thousands of pictures aren't enough, then my memories will have to do. If HE remembers anything about his experience, he doesn't hold it against us...Calder is truly the most "happy-go-lucky" little guy I've ever met, and that is part of who he is, that is what I hope never changes.

So, in this, one of my many "crystal ball moments" I feel very blessed. Our journey isn't over, and Calder's road will have its bumps. We have learned, we have grown...and met some truly amazing people along the way. So much can happen in a year, and we will take it as it comes, one moment at a time.

Here's to you, little man...we LOVE you more than you'll ever know!!

overdue

I'm not even sure where to begin. I thought that I'd be posting a lot, but life has sort of gotten in the way. I spend my days at school, chasing some really awesome 5th graders around and eating bon-bons (that's code for working my TAIL off, not getting a second to even sit down, and still having hours of work ahead of me at home). Then I pick up my own adorable kiddos, take them home and chase them around my dirty house until daddy gets home from work, or it's their bedtime...whichever comes first. On days when I'm particularly fried, I rely on the computer, not Calgon, to take me away. Shane calls me "gamer". I'm addicted to games on fb--I especially love Fluffy--it's kind of my escape. Line up and match colorful, cartoon birds...build goofy rooms in a birdhouse...repeat. Mindless, just what I am craving.

School has been a bit overwhelming to say the least. Like I said, I have an awesome class, and I love my school, but I'm still learning the new grade level. Thank goodness I get to work with my BFF...truly don't know what I'd do without her. :) I LOVE YOU NIKKI!!

My own kids are great, I'm the one who can't keep up! Calder is now 16 mo. old and unloading the dishwasher, opening the refrigerator, and climbing up on our counter-height stools are his 3 favorite things at the moment. Caydree would rather be playing outside with the neighborhood kids, than hanging with us in here. This just makes little bro jealous, so then we go outside too, and he is a train wreck because he wants to be just like the big kids. :( Poor baby...

No real big news health wise. Everyone bringing home, getting over, or spreading around some sort of cold/flu/bug at all times, but we are managing to stay pretty "well" all things considered! Calder hasn't really had any major injuries lately (KNOCKING ON SOME VERY HARD WOOD RIGHT NOW)...but I'll always keep you posted. He is one tough kid. I got a letter from Kaiser in the mail telling us that his pediatrician won't be working for them after this month. That was very sad news to us--we love her. So now we get to start over with someone else, or maybe just go with our amazing cleft team ped in San Diego. Farther to drive, but already knows our story. Don't know what we will do.

Calder is not really doing much talking. He can say a few things, but as soon as I tell someone he can say something, he never says it again. I personally think he is doing it to drive me crazy. I'm biased, but he is beyond smart and has the funniest personality, if we aren't staring in baffled amazement, we are cracking up. Tonight, Caydree sneezed and Calder just grabbed a tissue and took it too her. No prompting, no questions or comments, he just noticed. Mind you, this was in the middle of his favorite TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba...so the fact that he even heard her sneeze was pretty miraculous, so the tissue delivery just set me over the edge. ;) He is doing quite a bit of sign language, but everyone asks him so many questions that we eventually guess what he wants so he doesn't really need to rely on it for communication yet. It's saved a lot of frustration, but it's causing some too! I keep thinking that one day soon, he will just open his cute little mouth and entire sentences will pour out...a mother can hope...

He is actually pretty vocal, but I can't wait for summer when I can take him for some speech therapy sessions in SD. I will also be able to really spend some quality time with him really learning his speech patterns, etc. This part of being a working mom is hard. Who really knows what he's "saying" all day? I don't really think we are behind, but I just want to stay on track.

I will see if there are any new pictures on here to post...but no promises. I have a camera full that I need to download.

Caydree and "Fuzzy Heart" at the movies watching "Tangled"

Calder on his new "quad"

Here is a short clip of some of the basic signs that we use daily. He knows quite a few more, but these are his most frequent.

Christmas #1

This will probably be the first of a couple of holiday posts...I've not uploaded any of my other Christmas pictures yet, though I need to!

Little Man in his "fake tie" shirt! ;)

Love this pic, just captures the curiosity and mischief in him...

Grandma and Grandpa came on the 23rd, we couldn't wait, and it's been fun and busy since they've been here!

They do more than I could ever ask, and make life so much more fun for the kids, and easier for me...words can't really express how much we love them, and how sad we will be to see them go later this week. I will try to get more pictures up and spend a little more time writing later on, but I'm going to bed before midnight for once this week!

Making a list...

Or not, is it really almost Christmas? Am I already out of school? Do I still really have shopping to do? I desperately need to make a list! It's time to prioritize...

Big news first:
~Calder's hand healed up perfectly from the 2nd degree burns, hardly even any noticeable scars...SO grateful that he is beyond that injury!

~Since then, he has fallen down the stairs and bumped his head a few times...this kid never quits?! I'll be the one in the hospital, he will probably give me heart failure one of these times.

~Had a great Thanksgiving

~Managed to decorate most of the house...now if we could just get the rest of it cleaned up? :)

~Somewhat successfully visited Santa (pictures to follow)

~Getting ready for our favorite out of town visitors to come for Christmas: Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Aaron, Stephanie and Caleb!

I hate that I haven't been on here as often as I'd like. My goal was to post once a week...maybe that can still happen. For now, some new pictures to enjoy!

Calder showing Wally the love...and sharing Sophie the Giraffe!

Thanksgiving at Mamma and Pappa's house.

Looking for trouble...

How could this little cutie be naughty? ;)
Grandma sent these pajamas, they pretty much say it all!

FINALLY, the Santa pictures:
Calder didn't really enjoy this, but it made for a few keepsake photos!

Good...

Better...

BEST!

I don't know who I feel worse for...Santa, or Calder?! My poor little monkey, hopefully these pictures will be his only memory! Before we went up to Santa, he was a total ham...waving, laughing, arching to get down and get closer...GO FIGURE!

If I don't get on here before this weekend,
Merry Christmas!
Remember the real reason we celebrate...God's blessings to all!!