Welcome to our year-end family update! I had been in the habit of writing a monthly update, but that sort of fell by the wayside when our family grew to one of four in January. Please forgive any grammatical errors or run-on sentences as I am writing this in pieces while the boys give me a minute here and there. :-) As I write this, I can not believe how drastically our lives have changed, and yet, how much things feel like they are how they always should have been. Here are some highlights from this year.
SAM:
The biggest change and joy of the year has obviously been the addition of Samuel Robert on January 10th. I was able to bring him into the world in classic, middle of the night, getting to the hospital just in time, fashion. He has been a hilarious, snuggly, and at times, high-maintenance baby. It's been so fun to watch the relationship between him and his big brother evolve as he's become more and more interactive. He has ALWAYS been interested in Eric and I have some belief that the reason he has met many milestones was simply in order to try to keep up with him. Eric, meanwhile will go to all ends to make him laugh with prat falls and goofiness, and (of his own accord) will sing "You Are My Sunshine" (aka "Sam's Song") when Sam cries. Samuel has been different from his brother in many ways, and it's been enjoyable to see how he developed a different personality. He has not, until recently been the best sleeper, but has always been an amazing eater. Insisting food not be spooned into his mouth, but still wanting real food, he decided to skip the baby food step and go straight into teeeeeny tiny pieces of real food that he unceremoniously shoves into his own mouth by the fistful. My Pampered Chef slap chopper has gotten more of a workout than anyone's ever has. There is little he won't eat, and it's been really convenient this time around to not have to puree a bunch of baby food every week. He has an independent, stubborn streak (no idea where THAT came from), but still loves to know where his family is at all times. Once I discovered that when he was upset, he often just wanted space, (anyone met his father?), or to go outside (anyone met his mother?) we really figured each other out better!
He can do all kinds of things. He's the world's fastest crawler; he'll get into, verily, ("verily" just came out as I was typing...I never use it in everyday speech, but there it is. I'm leaving it.) everything he's not supposed to in the amount of time it takes you to blink an eye. He cruises along furniture, has been trying to stand all alone, and walks forward really well when holding on with just one hand. He doesn't quite trust himself to walk alone yet, but he tends to meet milestones with the flip of a switch. He will sign for "milk", "more", and "all done", and waves bye-bye and points at things like a champ. His first word was (I'm not kidding) "Eric", though he also says, "Mama", "Daddy", and, randomly, "light". He loves the dog and often lets him lick his fingers from the highchair, as Bosley waits patiently for any and all bits that drop (or fly) from the tray. He JUST started sleeping through the night, so I feel like a whole new person, as up until recently, he was still waking every couple of hours. He still protests going to sleep in the first place, but is, within minutes, sound asleep and down for the count! He's actually been in much better moods during the day, too! Win-win-win-win-win!
His favorite toys and activities are: watching Eric fall and run all over the place; playing tackle with Eric and Daddy; making a game of going to the exact places he's not supposed to; playing with balls; playing with trains and train tracks; putting everything in his mouth; building towers with blocks; watching the dog; and begging for Mama to hold him while she does everything. Oh, and EATING. He really likes to eat...like, a lot...did I mention that? I can't wait for him to really start talking, as his current communication is both hilarious and fascinating, though I think, at times, frustrating for him. It's easy to see that he WANTS to do and communicate more and gets frustrated with his inability to currently do so.
ERIC:
Oh man, my little man. Here's a little something I wrote about him on his birthday, December 7th. "He's the first to tell you, "I'm not a silly guy! I'm a kid!!" He loves trains, coloring, and matchbox cars. He kisses and hugs his brother without being prompted. He also very slowly and gradually knocks him down if he's trying to take a toy. He loves helping me bake and singing. He thinks Louis Armstrong is hilarious, often tears up when Peter has to go to work in the morning, and NEVER fails to run to the door screaming, "DAAAADDDDYYYY!!!" when he comes home. He still doesn't love going potty on the toilet, but he does it to make me happy and proud. He regularly asks to call his grandparents and will tell perfect strangers, "my name is Eric! I'm fwee years old! I live in Sioux City on planet Earf." He gives amazing hugs and still really likes to cuddle. The songs he asks for before he'll go to sleep when I put him to bed are "I'll fly away", "keep on the sunny side", you are my sunshine","angel band" and "sentimental journey". He always impresses people with his speech, both in his vocabulary and clarity. My life is good because he and his brother exist and even when it's difficult, I can't be too upset. His dimples just melt my heart."
That kind of sums up this kid who's surprising and changing every day. I could go on and on, but I am so proud of him. He's smart and sensitive, but assertive, too. He's social and kind, and loves his whole family so much.
Highlights of Eric's year include getting to ride on Thomas The Tank Engine at the Boone train museum with his best friend Evan, going to the Sioux City Train Museum, having his birthday party at the Sioux City Train Museum (did I mention he likes trains?), working on baseball skills with Daddy throughout the year, going to the library, starting to learn how to write and color in the lines, going to the Iowa State Fair with just Mama and Daddy, (Sam stayed with Babi and Deda), learning how to work in the garden with Deda, playing games and watching train videos with Grandma and Grandpa, and playing with his brother every day.
As we near Sam's first birthday, I can not believe how fast this year with them together has gone. I LOVE having two boys and watching them together. It's twice the work, but so much fun, too. I just can't wait to see what comes next for these two wonderful boys.
PETER & ELIZABETH:
Peter's job is going well and he's kept extremely busy with it. This summer, he helped coach an American Legion baseball team and had a BLAST with it. I know he felt really great, being back on a baseball field. He was gone quite a bit, which was a challenge at times, and I know he missed the kids and me, but it was very good for his soul. :-)
In March, I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. It's an extremely painful condition that can make it feel as though you are being shocked with high voltage electricity all along one side of your face. Untreated, it can be brought on by normal things like talking, eating, brushing your teeth, washing your face, kissing your kids, and any number of things. At its worst, I was having severe pain when doing nothing at all. The nerve was just misfiring all over the place. Fortunately, there's an extremely effective medication for it, and after about a week, the pain was relatively under control. I'm SO grateful for our family doctor and that there is no underlying, more serious condition causing the pain. Peter and my kids kept me sane throughout the worst of it. I was very lucky to have them to remind me of all the fortune I really have. I've also made more of an effort to get out and make some friends this year, and through that effort, have met and connected with some really great women. We try to get out sans kids at least once a month, and often get together WITH our kids. It's been great to have Eric's (and Sam's) group of friends expanding, too.
In August, we made the decision sell our Des Moines home with a realtor. We spent every weekend from August through October in Des Moines, and are EXTREMELY grateful for all the help our parents, other family, and friends gave us in getting it in the best shape it's probably ever been in. We were able to get and accept an offer on the house within a week of listing it and will close at the end of January, assuming everything goes smoothly in the process!
We had a great time over the 4th of July holiday, during which we rented a wonderful huge cabin in Guthrie Center with our good friends the Olsons and the Baileys and their kids. Fun was had by all and we hope to do it again in the future. We were also able to take a couple of trips to Cedar Rapids to visit our family there. As I write this, we're gearing up to take the boys' first plane ride to go to Colorado for Christmas to be with the Simon side of the family. The boys don't get to see their Colorado grandparents and Aunt Sophie (she's 7 years old this year!), Uncle Axel from Boston, or St. Louis aunt, uncle, and cousins very much; plus my grandparents will be there, so it should be a lot of crazy fun. I'm nervous about flying with the kids during the busiest days of the year for flying, but I'm sure it'll be worth it!
Finally, this year we were so happy to learn that Peter's sister, Catherine and her husband Heath will be welcoming a baby girl around Valentines Day. Eric loves to talk about his baby cousin that's "in Aunt Catherine's tummy and is going to come out to play". It will be endless fun to have a baby girl in the family!
So much happens in the span of one year, but I think I touched on many of the important bits. I would add more pictures, but the dog (who's doing great, by the way) ate through the external hard drive cord, and that has all my pictures on it, and we're waiting for a new cord to come in the mail. Silly dog.
We hope you're all well. Know that even if we don't see or talk to you often, you're in our thoughts, and we'd love to hear from you. If you're ever our way, please let us know! We're right on the way to Mount Rushmore if any of you are going that direction! :-)
Stay well and happy holidays!!
Love,
Elizabeth, Peter, Eric, Samuel, and Bosley Leo
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