8 Months

This was a very busy month for Micah. Not because we went a lot of places (which we did), but because Micah learned so much this month! He's like a different kid now. A mobile kid. We joke that we left for OBX with one child and came home with a completely different child because ever since we've been home he's just been surprising us with all that he can do. Even though he's much more mobile now and loves to be busy, he's still our cuddly little boy. He loves to give kisses and will generally let you cuddle with him for at least a little while. He always smiles, too. He can be in the middle of throwing a fit (another new thing he's learned) and still crack a smile. I just love that about him! Well, here's Micah's eighth month:

*He went to Brookfield Zoo with Daddy, Mommy, and Grammy. Any time he gets to spend outside he's happy!

*He went to the Cavalcade of Planes at Clow Airport. It was really hot and he had no idea that we were supposed to be looking at airplanes, but he still had a good time people watching.

*Micah had his first experience at a splash pad and loved it. Doesn't surprise me, this boy is seriously part fish!

*He got his first cold this month. For a little over a week he had a runny nose and was just very clingy. We were hoping it meant his teeth were finally popping through, but they didn't. Seriously, this kid is going to graduate college with a gummy smile!

*Micah made a new friend at our LaLeche meeting and we went to Lake Katherine together. She also met us at Hibernia Park for another playdate.

*Micah is no longer the youngest Kolar grandchild. His baby cousin, Joey, was born on June 15th. Micah got to meet Joey for the first time this past weekend. He seriously couldn't have cared less, even when Joey peed on his head.

*Micah learned how to drink from a cup. We've been giving him a cup with all of his solid meals, but one day he just tilted his head back and actually started drinking.

*Micah spent his first Father's Day with Mommy and Daddy at Navy Pier and walked along the lakefront. It was a beautiful day spent with our little family.

*We took a road trip to Grand Rapids to spend some time with Mommy's college roommates. Micah was very good on the car ride to and from GR. He also had a really fun time playing with his little friend, Noah. He especially loved going to the beach and splashing in the water. Of course.

*Micah learned how to pull himself up. He's been using me and Brad to assist him for a while, but one day I walked into his room and he was standing up in his bed. Time to lower the crib!

*At the beginning of the month, Micah started rolling all over the place! You would put him down, walk away for 10 seconds, and find him in a completely different spot. He would roll halfway across the room. It's like one day it just clicked.

*He has also started crawling. It started with him just getting up on all fours, then moved to him rocking back and forth, then he started pulling himself forward with his hands, and now he has started to use his feet to push himself. He'll give us one or two crawls and then he falls onto his belly. Any day now he will be zooming all over the house! Good thing Brad baby-proofed while we were in GR!

*We went to another splash pad and park/zoo with some very good friends of ours. Micah had a great time splashing in the water with Daddy!

I think that's it for this month. He has been quite the busy little guy! That's pretty obvious even by the pictures we took of him for this month. It was nearly impossible to get him to sit still so that I could take his picture this afternoon. This kid is really going to keep us on our toes!

Crazy Love

I started reading this book back in March. I bought it for my Kindle and kind of forgot about it. But I picked it up again earlier this month and finished it in about a week. I think the timing of it was perfect. I don't know it I would have been ready for it a couple of months ago, but I'm in the perfect place for this book to have made a difference right now.

This book was about what Christianity should really look like, something that always gets me thinking. The author, Francis Chan, talks about loving other people and how our actions demonstrate that love. Truth is, Jesus' message was love. Plain and simple. He was not about judgment or condemnation. That doesn't mean that God isn't saddened by our sin or that there aren't consequences when we sin. But it means that God desires that all of his creation would love and worship him. And the best way that we can do that is by loving those around us, specifically those who are difficult to love. I was truly challenged to live out my faith more. I don't know exactly what that is supposed to look like in my life, but I do know that I'm more open and willing to whatever God has in store for me.

I desire to give my whole heart to God and to let him be in control of every aspect of my life, which means giving over my finances and stepping out of my comfort zone. Chan continually mentions how privileged we are just to live in the US. Simply living in this country makes us richer than most of the world. He challenged my thinking on how we spend our money. Yes, Brad and I give faithfully to our church and we try to donate to other charities/causes when we have the money, but I know that we could do more. It's not that I felt guilty after reading this book. I hate it when books do that to you. I felt inspired, challenged. Like God has blessed me with so much, why shouldn't I want to use that to turn around and bless other people?

I'm honestly not sure what impact this book will have on my life or how things will change. I'm still waiting to see what happens. But I do know that I highly recommend this book to anyone who knows that there's more to their faith than how they've been living.

I'm a June Cleaver Wannabe

It's true. I think I was born in the wrong decade. I so should have been a mom of the 50's. All I've ever really wanted to be is a mom. I've always had images of me standing in my immaculate kitchen with an apron on baking cookies, serving a hot meal every night with my five kids playing nicely in the other room.

I know that just isn't reality. After nearly 8 months of being a mom I already know that we're lucky if dinner is room temperature. And store bought cookies are just as good as homemade. But I still love the image of June Cleaver. The perfect housewife. It's not that I think every woman should have a clean house, cook a hot meal every night of the week, and have perfectly behaved children. I know that's just not what everyone wants. But it's what I want. I honestly don't mind doing most of the cooking and cleaning. I feel like it's part of my job as a stay at home mom. A part that I usually enjoy very much. In my short time as a housewife I've picked up several tips to help me get closer to achieving my June Cleaver goal. This weekend I was with some friends and I made a comment about my cleaning schedule. After talking with them about it, I thought I'd share some of my tips. These won't work for everyone. You may not even like them, but they're what work for us. So, take what you want and ignore the rest.

For housecleaning I have a little schedule. I like to divide up the chores and do 1-2 things a day so that I'm not overwhelmed with housecleaning every day. Here's my schedule:
Monday--change and wash the sheets, cut coupons/grocery shopping
Tuesday--dust upstairs and downstairs, vacuum upstairs (on the first Tuesday of the month I also vacuum the furniture)
Wednesday--clean bathrooms, do my and Brad's laundry
Thursday--clean kitchen (wash floor, clean out microwave, wipe down appliances, wash towels, washcloths, and rugs, etc.), wash entry floors (on the first Thursday of the month I wash all of the floors in the house...this will probably increase soon as Micah is just about ready to crawl)
Friday--catch up
Saturday--change and wash bathroom towels

Every day I unload and load the dishwasher as needed. I also sweep or Swiffer the floors in the whole house and wipe down the kitchen counters. I also wash Micah's diapers and clothes as needed (diapers are usually every 2-3 days and his clothes are probably twice a week).

I have this schedule written down on a pad of paper on the refrigerator so that Brad knows what I want to accomplish every day. On his days off he always tries to help me get the cleaning done.

I typically try to get my housework done during Micah's first nap. Sometimes I'll go in my room and do my devotions right away, but then I'll go to my cleaning. I don't usually allow myself to read or go on the computer until I've done at least one bit of cleaning.

I'm a person that thrives on order and scheduling so this really works for me. I love knowing what to expect and having the same routine. However, this schedule does allow for some flexibility. Not only do I have Friday built in as a make up and Sunday as a day of rest, but I also have a wonderful husband who is willing to help me with everything. There are several other things that I schedule and do now that I'm a stay at home mom (meal planning, Micah's schedule, budgeting, etc.), but I will save those for another post. What are some things that help you keep your house in order?

I'm a Thief

In college I took a lot of education course. Haha. I sure hope I did since I wanted to be a teacher! No, but really, in my first education course I learned a very valuable lesson.

All good teachers are excellent thieves.

Yep, it's true. A good teacher doesn't make up her own projects, design her own worksheets, create her own lesson plans. Nope. She steals them. And modifies them. As a teacher, I never started from scratch. I had websites that I scoured, looking for ideas for each lesson that I would be teaching. I would find something I liked and say, "That's good, but this part won't work with my students." So, I would change it. I used what would work and changed what wouldn't. Often the finished product looked nothing like what I was copying from, but the original helped to get me started. And I know that other teachers took things from me and changed them to fit their students. That's how it works when you're a teacher. We're always collaborating, always sharing.

I take the same approach in pretty much every area of my life. People think I'm creative. They are so wrong! I don't think I have a creative bone in my body. But I do know how to copy! You like my Christmas cards? Oh, well, thank you, I saw them on Shutterfly and tweaked it to something that is more "us." You think my shower gift was so cute? Thanks, I read about someone doing something similar for a different occasion and I thought I could do it for you. I'm a really good thief. I trick people into thinking I'm creative. Heh, heh, heh.

Just like this Father's Day card I made for Brad this year:




My mom sent me to this blog for some other ideas and I saw this card on there. I knew I had to make it for Brad. It's so fitting. I'm actually hesitant to tell you about this blog because there are several other ideas that I plan on stealing in the near future. Now you will know my secret. And not think I am so original. Or creative. But, oh well. Maybe you will forget.

Father's Day Part 2

I couldn't honestly let Father's Day go by without posting something about Micah's daddy. But I had to give him his day yesterday and allow him to blog. So, this is Father's Day Part 2.

Micah is truly blessed to have such a loving, caring dad. When Brad and I were dating I knew that he would be good kids. He just didn't know it yet. Kids kind of come with the territory if you marry me. Brad was there when each of my three nieces were born and he loved them right away as if they were his nieces. He has always held them, fed them, played with them. He's not ashamed to get down on the floor with them and play Barbies or bake cupcakes. Then, I was hired as the preschool director for children's ministry at our church. I jokingly told the interview committee that if they hired me they'd actually be getting two employees for the price of one. They thought I was kidding. I wasn't. From day one, Brad was there not only to help me set up on Sunday mornings, but he jumped right in and took care of the three, four, and five-year-olds. He says that at first his goal was just to keep everyone alive, then it changed to making sure everyone had a good time, then it changed to making sure they were learning something. Those kids really did learn something from "Mr. Brad." They still come up to him at church and high five him or tryy to tell him stories. It's because they know that he cares. He listens to them and makes them feel important. My favorite is this one little boy who was very shy. He would not talk to anyone. He would never cry when his parents dropped him off, but it was obvious that he wanted to stay with Mom and Dad. Brad quickly took him under his wing. Each Sunday he would be there, waiting for him at the door, ready with a bouncy ball. Sometimes he would spend the better part of an hour just rolling the ball back and forth with the little boy. Some days he could get him to play trucks. But the best was one Sunday morning when the little boy looked at Brad, put his little hand in his, and said something to Brad. I don't remember what it was, but I know it meant a lot to Brad because he was just beaming the rest of the day.

By time we found out I was pregnant Brad was like an old pro with kids. I knew he would be an amazing dad. And I was so right. When Micah was born, Brad was just bawling. He couldn't contain himself because he was so full of love for his little boy. The little boy that he read stories to every night while I was pregnant. The little boy who he prayed for every day. I don't think Brad put Micah down for the first two weeks, unless it was to pass him on to someone else or to give him to me. He just couldn't stop staring at Micah. Sometimes I would wake up and find Brad holding Micah, just looking at him. It was the sweetest thing. Brad has always been more than willing to take the night shift with Micah. He says sometimes it's the only time he gets with him. He can't stand to hear him cry, either. He wants to do whatever he can to make sure Micah is always happy. And boy does Brad know how to make him happy! It's like they have their own language sometimes. Micah is constantly cracking up at something Brad is doing or a funny voice he's making. Micah's face just lights up when Brad walks into the room because he knows that Daddy is there and Daddy will play with him. Brad showers Micah with kisses and is constantly telling him that he loves him. Every morning he brings Micah to me to feed him and kisses him on the forehead and says, "Good morning, handsome."

But even more than that is Brad's love for Micah. I know that Brad prays for Micah every day. And he prays with him. Brad is determined to teach Micah how to be a gentleman. And how to be a man that chases after God and serves him with his whole heart. He still opens the door for me and tells Micah that's what gentlemen do. He reads the Bible to Micah every night before bed. He leads by his example. I love watching Brad with Micah, it's like a little piece of Heaven that God has allowed me to witness here on Earth. Micah is so blessed to have such an amazing Daddy, and I am blessed to have such an amazing husband.

Happy 1st Father's Day, Brad. Micah and I love you!

My First Father's Day

Prepare yourself! Dad posting here.

I just wanted to pop in and say a few words, being that it is my first Father's Day. The day itself was quite perfect. Having seen both father and father-in-law previously in the week (and our plans for a trip derailed), it allowed our small family of 3 a day to do whatever I chose. We headed downtown for a day on the town, well not the whole town, just Navy Pier. It was the perfect day just walking around and being downtown and on the lake. Perfect weather. It was wonderful.

Now, being a father is not just about today, but it's about everyday. I enjoy the every-days that I get to spend with Micah. Here are a couple of my favorites of the past 7 odd months.

- Putting Micah to sleep, him falling asleep in my arms or on my shoulder.

- Watching him explore the world, being focused on each new thing with determination that shuts out the rest of the world.

- The smiles that he gives me when I make silly noises.

- Recently, he mimics the sounds I make, so we can have a conversation of "oohs, aahs and AAAHs"

Those are just a few highlights, but like I said, it's not just today, but it's everyday that I get to enjoy life with my son. Life is good.

Joseph Richard

On Wednesday, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Craig and Jamie, had their first baby, a boy. My new nephew is named Joseph Richard. He was 6lbs. 9oz. (exactly 1 pound less than Micah) and 20 inches. We went to see him Wednesday night. He's just so tiny and cute!

I am so excited to have a nephew. I've had nieces for 8 years, and I love it, but I'm so glad that Micah has another little boy in the family to play with. And they're only 7 months apart so they'll get to grow up together. I look forward to shared memories and good times together.

But for now I will leave you with a picture of my precious new nephew.

Cheesecake Bars

I love to bake. It's kind of a new found love. Growing up my mom always baked us cookies or cupcakes. I would be so upset because while everyone else was bringing Oreos or Chips A Hoy I had homemade chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar cookies. I begged my mom to buy us store brand treats. But she never would.

Now that I'm an adult I've discovered that I, too, love to bake. I especially love finding new recipes and trying them out. For Christmas a couple years ago I asked for a cake mix cookbook. I had heard about these cookbooks. It gave all kinds of recipes of things you could make using a cake mix. From a family grab bag, I received 101 Things to do With a Cake Mix. I love this cookbook. I have tried so many recipes from it. Pretty much every family party now I bring out the cookbook and find a new recipe. All of the recipes are so easy and require very few ingredients. Now, when people make fun of my cabinet (which may or may not have about 10 cake mixes in it) I remind them of all the wonderful treats I've made with my cake mixes. That usually shuts them up!

Here's one of my go-to favorites. It's very easy to make and tastes so good!

Cheesecake Bars

Bottom Layer:
1 yellow cake mix
1 stick margarine, melted and cooled
1 egg, beaten

Top Layer:
1 pound powdered sugar
2 eggs, beaten
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.
Add cake mix and beaten egg to melted margarine. Spread mixture into bottom of a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.

In a separate bowl, mix together powdered sugar, eggs, softened cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Spread mixture over bottom layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

The pictures are here!

We finally got the picture CD from our photo shoot with MckMama. There are over 100 photos so I'm not going to post them all, but I will post some of my favorite!

MckMama

About a year ago I found out about this blogger, MckMama. She's a stay at home mom to five children, ages 5 and under. She's a Christian woman and homeschools her children. I quickly fell in love with her blog because she shares so many of the same values that I do, and she does so many wonderful things with her children. She also takes beautiful pictures. In April she and her family went on an RV trip. They were going to make several stops along the way so that she could take pictures. One of her stops was Chicago! I quickly signed up to have her take our pictures. I'm still eagerly waiting for the arrival of our picture CD, but she shared a picture of Micah on her website yesterday. So adorable! I can't wait to get the CD and see the other pictures. Head on over here and see for yourself just what a cutie he is!

My Outside Boy

Micah loves being outside. It's so obvious, even though he's only 7 months old. He never cries when we're outside. He's always looking around at everything and laughing. He's happy to be an observer, he doesn't need to be involved in whatever is going on, watching is just fine for him (he gets that from his dad because his mom wants to be part of everything!).

When I was little I always wanted an older brother. I dreamed of having someone to look out for me. Someone who would protect me and stand up for me. Since I never had that I always said that I wanted to have a little boy first so that my little girl(s) could have what I didn't. However, once we fount out I was pregnant I wanted a girl. I had three nieces and I knew girls. Girls were fun. They were girly. I could play Barbies with a girl. Or put little flowers and big headbands in her hair. I could dress a little girl up in cute skirts. I had visions of baking cookies with my little girl, like I do with my nieces. There are so many "things" for little girls. I just didn't want to miss out on any of that.

When we found out I was pregnant with a boy we were shocked. It actually took me a little while to get over it. I had to change my thinking. Instead of hairbows and headbands my life would be filled with bow ties and hats. Instead of Barbies I'd have to play with fire engines and trucks. Instead of baking cookies, I'd be baking mudpies. Nice, relaxing bubble baths? Forget it, he'd be splashing all over the place! I knew that my life had suddenly turned way more active.

Now that Micah is here, I'm so glad to have my little boy. The one that future girls will look up to to protect them and guide them. And, I was right, he is a very active boy. Seriously, just this week his activity level has probably tripled...and he's not even crawling yet! I can see already that he is going to be an outside boy. My summers are going to be spent outside in the backyard, digging in the dirt, splashing in the pool, riding bikes, playing "Tag," and searching for bugs. And I'm okay with that because I wouldn't trade those moments for anything. I look forward to getting dirt in my fingernails because of the time I will spend playing with my son. And someday, hopefully, I will also get the chance to play Barbies again (I hope so because I miss Barbie!) and do makeovers, but for now I'm perfectly happy with trips to an airport just so that my 7 month old can be outside.

These pictures were taken today at the Cavalcade of Planes at Clow International Airport. Awesome event. I'm sure Micah is going to love going there when he's a bit older!





And these were taken at Brookfield Zoo, where we went on Wednesday with Grammy. It was a beautiful day and Micah loved seeing all the animals. But he enjoyed people watching even more!

OBX

Well, obviously, we just recently got back from our vacation to the Outer Banks, NC. Let me just say it was amazing! Seriously, a much needed break from everything. My family started going to the Outer Banks 9 years ago. My whole extended family went one year for Easter. We stayed in two houses for a week. My family loved it so much that we decided to go back two years later. And we've been going every two years since (well, there was a three year span once). When Brad and I were dating in college he came with once. He just fell in love, too. So, when we started talking about going this year he was all for it.

My parents wanted to drive with us so we rented a mini van and made the 18 hour drive there. I was a little worried about how Micah would do in the car because he doesn't always enjoy car rides, but he did great. He didn't cry at all and was able to find lots of ways to amuse himself (with his feet, the mirror attached to his seat, my mom's pillow, Boompa, whatever).

We stay on the southern part of the island, in Avon. The house that we rented was gorgeous. It had five bedrooms and five bathrooms. We also had our own pool (a must since the ocean is still too cold to really enjoy it). Micah loved being on vacation! He is such a little fish, just like his Mommy (and his Daddy, from what I hear). He would just splash and splash in the pool. He sat in his little float, kicking his feet, and laughing at his cousins. It was obvious that he was having a good time. He also enjoyed the ocean. I was worried that he would be afraid of the noise of the ocean (all of my nieces were when they were younger),but he didn't care. He wanted to keep watching the waves, and he didn't mind when they came up to him and got his feet wet. He also didn't mind playing in the sand.

I think his favorite part of the trip was the ferry ride to Ocracoke Island, thought. He just laughed and laughed as he felt the wind blowing on his face. Seriously, he was blowing raspberries the whole time, which is a sure sign that he's excited! We also rented a bike with a child seat so that Micah could go on bike rides with us. We love riding our bikes around town and looking at the houses. It's such a small town and they have a lot of little tourist shops, plus it's nice to ride by the ocean. Micah wasn't too fond of his helmet (we bought him one at home before we went, but we also were able to get one with the bike rental), but once we got moving he really enjoyed the rides. In fact, we're hoping to get a bike seat for Micah this summer so that we can enjoy more family bike rides together.

I wish I could tell you more about what we did on our vacation, but we honestly didn't do much. We went to the pool every day and walked at the beach every evening. We went to Ocracoke one day. I went to the outlet mall with my mom and sister one day. We went for bike rides. We visited a lighthouse. But mostly we just relaxed. it was so nice. We didn't have any time restraints. Nowhere to be. Just time spent outside, together. It was so perfect. Wish we were still there.

May 31, 2000

I know I'm a couple days late, but better late than never, right? May 31st is an important date to Brad and me. It's the day we first started dating.

Brad and I met in high school. We were in the same sophomore chemistry class. Yes, my corny husband loves that we met in chemistry...afterall we have a little "chemistry" between us. Haha... Interestingly enough neither one of us was interested in the other initially. In fact, the only thing Brad was interested in was seeing my homework. And the only thing I was interested in was playing Tetris on his calculator. We had a very laid-back teacher. Sometimes I wonder how we managed to learn anything in that class. But, anyway. Really it all started because we went to a dance together. See, I really wanted to go to the dance but none of my friends were going and he wanted to go because all of his friends were going, but he didn't have a date. So, we decided to go together.

After the dance we had a friend serve as our intermediary. She basically told Brad I liked him and told me Brad liked me. Sneaky girl! We spent the next several weeks (months?) exchanging notes, e-mails, and phone calls. Every night at 9:00 we talked on the phone and I could count on a note in my locker every day. Finally, we decided to hang out one day after our finals. So, we went to Brad's house and hung out on his patio. We played on his trampoline and when it started to rain we went inside to watch "Big Daddy" (a cruel joke because I told him that when I first saw the movie I cried like a baby). When Brad took me home he asked me to be his girlfriend while we were sitting in his car in my driveway.

And that's the beginning of our story. :)

The oldest picture of us I could find on my computer:

7 months

I'm a day late with this post, but that's because we're still recovering from our vacation to the Outer Banks, NC. More about our trip soon. This post is about Micah. And how my baby is 7 months old! I can hardly believe it! I know I say this all the time, but this was such a fun month for Micah. He's really started to be more mobile and he's becoming more and more independent (gone are the days of just sitting on the couch and holding him). He's still a very "lovey" baby, though, and will shower you with kisses and smiles. He's such a flirt, too. Wherever we go, he's always smiling at the people, especially other kids. He loves to watch big kids playing, I can't wait for him to be able to play with them! Here's what's happened in Micah's 7th month:

*He weighs 17lbs. 15 oz. and is 28.5 in. (50th percentile for weight and 92nd percentile for height!)

*He took his first trip to the zoo. Technically it wasn't his fist time to the zoo, but it was the first going to see the animals. He loved it!

*We had our last day of MOPS for the year. Micah and I love going to MOPS and can't wait to start back in the fall.

*We celebrated our first Mother's Day. Brad helped Micah make me a little stone with his handprint and footprint. It is so cute...and I can't believe how much bigger his footprint is than when he was just born!

*Micah had his first non-family baby sitter--Miss Jenna. Brad and I are both attending Bible studies at our church on Tuesday nights. Every other week Brad's mom baby sits and on the off weeks Jenna baby sits. Jenna goes to our church and just graduated high school. She does so great with him and Micah loves playing with her!

*Micah and I joined a playgroup and we attended our first playdate. We just played at one of the mom's houses, but we're really looking forward to doing more activities.

*Micah went on his first vacation to the Outer Banks. We went with my mom and my sister and her family. We all rented a house in Avon for a week. It was so much fun! The ride was 18 hours and Micah did great!

*He had his first time in a pool and loved it! He's definitely part fish!

*Micah went to the ocean for the first time. He could not take his eyes off of the waves!

*First trip on a car ferry. He loved the wind blowing on his face--he squealed the entire time.

*Went for his first bike ride. We rented a bike with a child seat and Daddy and Micah went for a bike ride almost every day we were on vacation. Brad can't wait to get a seat for his new bike so that he can take Micah for bike rides all the time.

*He's eating more solid food including graham crackers, cinnamon french toast, squash, lemon, and yogurt.

*We're working on clapping our hands. He loves when we clap his hands and say "Yay!" but he won't do it himself yet.

*He's starting to pull himself up to sit. He pulls on Mom and Dad's hands all the time and pulls up but he doesn't understand that he can use other objects, too.

*He is so much more mobile now! He's rolling all the time and just so wiggly! He's not crawling yet, but I suspect it will happen this month.

*Those darn teeth are still not in! However, they've been giving him a real hard time the past couple days and his gums are really swollen so maybe this month (I know I say that all the time, so really I'm giving up on predicting when it will happen...in fact, I'm convinced he'll graduate college with a gummy smile and no teeth!).

And, of course, I will leave you with a ton of pictures of our little cutie!