Me.

We got a piano a couple of months ago. It was free on Craigslist and was meant to be played by Carter and Brynn. It sat a little dusty for a few weeks until it was tuned. I finally printed some easy sheet music and decided to give it a try even though I hadn't played in 15 years. It was surprising how it all came back to me after a little practice. But even more surprising is the change this has been for me. I'd forgotten how much I loved learning new music, challenging myself to play a song from start to finish without a mistake, and feeling that sense of accomplishment. I'd forgotten how therapeutic it is to play. And I'd forgotten how much I identified myself with music and piano as a child and teenager. Playing makes me happy and relaxed and I now like to play every evening. I love it when my kids want to listen and try to play as well. Now that this is back in my daily life, I feel like I found a piece of me that I hadn't seen in a very long time. So if you want to hear a banged-up easy-piano version of Coldplay, Adele or Ingrid Michaelson, I'm your girl. 

While the creative juices have been flowing, I decided to replicate a beautiful bracelet I had seen. I mean, I could buy one for $30 or make one from Hobby Lobby sale beads for much less. One bracelet led to 18...yes, 18 bracelets made during one naptime. It might be a new addiction...or you might be getting one as a gift from me very soon. 

My Christmas presents may not be beautifully and creatively wrapped, but we've got music and beads going on around here. And that makes ME very happy.

Happy 5th Birthday, Brynn!

My first girl.  When I was pregnant with Brynn, I remember asking God, if this wasn't a girl, please make my heart okay with only having boys.  I loved my sweet little Carter to pieces.  Like truly, I couldn't love anything any more than I loved him.  And I was so excited for us to raise him up to be a kind, smart and gentle boy.  But my heart wanted a girl so badly too.  At our ultrasound I remember being surprised to find out that I, in fact, was going to have the little girl that I'd dreamed of.  I was in such disbelief that we paid for an extra 4D ultrasound to prove that she was actually a baby girl.  And when she was born, I felt that overwhelming joy that I felt when Carter was born.  I now had 2 little creatures to love with my whole heart.  They both fit into our family like perfect little puzzle pieces. My kind boy and my sassy girl.  And that was 5 whole years ago. 

Over the last 5 years, we've had lots of different phases with Brynn.  Carter's had phases too, but his mostly went like this:  cars, trains, planes, boats, Titanic, Legos, etc.  Brynn's phases were different. She was a sweet baby.  Then she was a busy and biting 1 year-old, and then a determined and tantrum-throwing 2 year-old.  And she was a whiney 3 and 4 year-old.  Of course she had her sweet side too...the way she loved to snuggle her mom, wear dress-up clothes, and play with her babies.  But her younger years were not always easy.  She was drama and she knew what she wanted when she wanted it.  And it was exhausting. 

But now she's different.  Brynn has grown into this consistently sweet and helpful 5 year-old.  She's responsible....she makes her bed without being asked and wipes down the kitchen counters just to make us happy.  She gets Lia her breakfast if I'm in the shower and remembers all of the items that I forget from my grocery list.  She helps in the kitchen and carries in groceries.  She plays quietly in her room....usually school or house.  She walks around in her dress-up high heels (or my actual high heels) and leads her classroom of pretend students to "church."  She likes to wear dresses and tights and skirts and boots.  She likes to have her hair braided...two braids if we have time.  She thanks us for her food and asks to say the prayer at dinner.  She tells me I look pretty and notices if I am wearing something new.  Her teachers say she's quiet and obedient, but a good friend to all of her classmates.  She's learning new things every day and can color so beautifully in the lines.  She pretends to read books but actually is so close to being able to sound out words.  She's a helper and a lover and pink and purple mixed together.  This little girl has grown into the most wonderful big girl.  I love her so much and am thankful every day that I get to be her mom.   

To celebrate our wonderfully sweet Brynn's 5th birthday, we threw a Halloween-themed party.  We invited our families and our neighbors and it was really so much fun.  This was one of the bigger parties that we've hosted and so I put quite a bit of time and thought into it.  

The week before, Brynn and I made centerpieces by glittering pumpkins.  Such a fun and easy thing to do with high impact!  

We had invitations made and corralled as may halloween decorations as we could find.  Most borrowed from my friend Karri.  We planned all finger food: ham and cheese sliders, veggies and dip, apples and hot caramel, snack mix, a popcorn bar, and {spiked} apple cider.  

We had crafts for the kids who were all dressed in their costumes.

We sang "happy birthday" and Brynn smiled ear-to-ear.

She snuggled her her Grandma...Brynn is her "mini-me."

And we trick-or-treated with the whole Coppola gang.

The party continued even after trick-or-treating with presents, the movie Hotel Transylvania on the garage TV, and cocktails for the adults.  It was a great night!!

The Priestley's had trick-or-treating in Guthrie so we celebrated with them the following weekend.  I have not one photo from that night because Lia kept us all running around the Pizza Ranch for 45 minutes straight.  A restaurant with a 1-year-old is not easy. (Do I have another baby Brynn on my hands?!?!?)  But Brynn was spoiled by the rest of her family that night as well.

And on her actual birthday, her daddy brought her pink roses and a breakfast sandwich.

Happy Birthday to my favorite 5 year-old!  We love you to pieces!

October!

Well here it is, November 30th, and I'm finally getting around to blogging about the month of October.  Carter finished up soccer, we started thinking about Halloween, we hung out with our neighbors, spent some time with family, helped Joe and Holly with their new house, and just enjoyed the unusually warm and sunny October weather.  Here are some photos from my phone's camera roll....

Night out with the Lee's and Anderson's

Center Grove Orchard

Our kids and their pumpkins

Playing in the leaves.

 And finally...our baby thinks she's a big girl now and likes to sit in a real chair at the counter.  No serious falls yet! :)

September Weekends

 We're transitioning right into fall and have had some fun weekends!

We checked out the World Food Festival downtown with the Lee family.  Good food and a fun night with good friends playing along the Des Moines river.

Soccer is now in full swing and Carter is really liking it.  He scored two goals in his first game and is doing a great job hustling and staying in the game.

Lia loves the soccer ball too.  Her favorite past-time is kicking it down the sidewalk.

 And Lia likes hitching a ride with the neighbor kids too!

Carter started taking piano lessons a few weeks ago and really has enjoyed them.  St. Augustin offers lessons during the school day so it works out so nicely.  We found a piano for free on Craigslist and, although it needs tuned, it's been nice to have it in the house.  Carter likes to practice and already knows the names of all of the keys.  He even taught himself to play "Happy Birthday" just by sound the other day.  Brynn loves trying to play too.  Lessons may be in her future as well.

This past weekend, Holly and I took Saylor, Brynn and Lia to Decorah while the boys stayed home to work on Holly and Joe's new house.  In Decorah, we watched Davis, Bennett and Nina while their parents were out of town.  It was such a fun weekend with the 6 kids.  We stayed busy with trips to the park, playing outside, watching Davis's soccer game, making beaded necklaces, watching "Paddington," jumping on the trampoline, playing Lego Batman on xBox, and eating lots of great food.  So glad to have had that time with our Decorah niece and nephews!!!

Looking forward to another weekend right around the corner!

Fall is in the Air

The temperatures are slowing dropping and football has started, so fall must be right around the corner.  We had a really great summer.  It was busy with all sorts of daily things...camps, play dates, trips to the park, afternoons at the pool, naps and bike rides through the neighborhood.  But as August came to an end, it felt like time to get back into a routine.  Carter was not looking forward to school at all and Brynn couldn't wait for it to start.  I wonder if that's how it will be every year.  For now we're in the swing of things.  We're back to packing lunches and laying out clothes the night before.  Afternoons are filled with homework and spelling lists and crock pot dinners.  I like it and dislike it at the same time.

Here's a recap of our last month through pictures...

Cary and I went to the State Fair one Friday night.  We had a great time eating our way down the street and stopped to listen to a free concert...a local lady that was pretty amazing.

We spent one Sunday afternoon exploring a couple of new places in Des Moines.  We started at Union Park.  Surprisingly, we had never been there before and it was so fun!  The kids loved the rocket slide and the carousel.  Fifty cents for a ride...can't beat that!

Then we ventured to downtown Des Moines to visit the Sculpture Garden and Western Gateway Park....two other places we'd yet to visit.  The kids' favorite part was putting leaves in the stream and watching them make their way to the other side.  We spent over an hour just sitting and enjoying our pretty city.

On the day before school, I took the kids to the Ashley Okland park on the south side of Des Moines.  It was quite a drive from our house but was a really cool park.  The kids loved playing somewhere new and Lia liked practicing walking from one thing to the next.  Brynn also loved taking selfies that day which turned out so cute.

As much as Carter wanted to pretend it wasn't happening, school started.  And now that we're a few weeks in, he's enjoying it way more than he thought he would.  His biggest concern was that we weren't going to let him play the iPad during the school week, which was the case last year.  But we made a deal with him...if he can finish his homework after school, write all of his spelling words without missing one,  and does something active for 30 minutes, he gets the iPad for a little while.  He has been diligent about crossing those things off his list (and has been doing very well in spelling)  :) so the plan is working out nicely.

It was my first day of school too and I'm glad to be back.  I love being home but I also love being at school.  Part time is just perfect for me.

We went to the Downtown Farmer's Market the last Saturday in August.  We'd been several other times this year, but with the cooler weather, it was a great morning.  We found this neat graffiti wall by the Des Moines Social Club and it ended up being the cutest background for some photos.

Brynn seriously could not wait to go to school.  That extra week when Carter was in school and she was not seemed to drag on forever.  She's ready to be in school full-time but just isn't old enough.  So this year she is in St. Augustin's Optional Kindergarten program.  She goes to school every day from 12:30 - 3:00 and really loves every minute.  Surprisingly, she's very quiet at school and is a great little listener.  Knowing Brynn, I'd think she'd be a little more ornery, but apparently she's an angel.  :)  We'll see how long that lasts...

During the first week of September, Cary and I flew to Salt Lake City for the Michigan vs. Utah game.  It was a quick trip (Wednesday through Friday) but it was so much fun.  We loved touring the city on Thursday during the day.  The football game was so much fun on Thursday night.  Obviously it would have been more fun if Michigan would have won, but it was still a great time.  Our seats were first row behind the Michigan bench on the 40 yard line.  Amazing.  Cary loved every single minute (except for the minutes when Utah scored).  :)  Friday morning we ate at a cute place called Ruth's and then walked around in the foothills.  So pretty and relaxing.  A few days away was just what we needed.

We came back from Utah on Friday night, picked up Carter and Brynn from Joe and Holly's, and drove straight to my parents' house.  We couldn't wait to get our hands on Lia, but it was also the weekend of the Guthrie County Fair, the parade, and my 15th class reunion.  My class had a float in the parade so that was fun.  The kids and Cary watched the parade with my parents, Andy and his girls.  Then we spent the day at Mom and Dad's having lunch and watching the kids play.  Mom and I did take the big kids down to the fair for some rides but it was soooo hot and sticky and I didn't take one picture.

That night Cary and I went to Panora for a gathering with a few of my classmates.  The real reunion had been the night before (which I missed) so it was nice to catch up with a few of my old friends.

The next week went on pretty uneventfully.  Just a regular week of school during the day and evenings outside.  Saturday morning Cary took Carter and Lia on a walk while I started making food for the Michigan football game later that day.  Carter had just started going down the sidewalk on his bike when he hit an uneven patch in the concrete and took a pretty bad fall.  Cary was right behind him, pushing Lia in the stroller.  He ended up taking him to the ER and I came shortly after, leaving the girls with our sweet neighbors.  Carter was pretty banged up and really upset when I got to the hospital.  He ended up needing stitches in two places on his face.  He had road rash on his cheek, chin and wrist, and his face was completely bruised and swollen.  The whole ordeal was not fun and he was scared through the whole process.  But he's been a trooper and hasn't complained at all.  I just hope we'll get him back on his bike eventually.

I can't forget a few pictures of our sweet Lia.  She's walking everywhere and has really developed a cute personality.  She's kind of aggressive and a bit high maintenance (she wants to be held most of the time and she gets very jealous if we are snuggling anyone other than her).  But she is just the sweetest little thing and we love her to pieces.

Here's to another month of fun times with family...and hopefully no trips to the ER...