Monday, October 31, 2011

My Baby is 1!

Wow. One year. This year has definitely flown by, but I can hardly remember when Micah was a newborn. I have learned so much this past year. I don't think I really knew what I was in for when Micah was born. I thought I did, but you can't truly know until you've had a baby.

I had no idea how full of love I could feel. I've loved my parents, my siblings, my friends, my husband, but the love I have for Micah is so different. I have given up things for him that I never thought I'd be okay giving up. I spend more time in my house because I know how important it is that he get his naps. I stay home rather than go out with my friends because I want to spend my time with him. I find fulfillment in him. He makes me complete.

He has taught me so much about Christ's love for us, too. I used to think I understood it, but I've experienced it in a whole new way now. I want nothing more than for Micah to know God and grow in his love. I know that I am his number one example. He has to see Jesus in me. That means I have to live a life of integrity. Always. What I want to see in Micah I have to live out myself. Every day I pray that Micah would just come to know God at an early age and that he would have a deep love for His Word. That means I need to read Bible stories to him, I need to memorize Scripture with him.

I have learned so much from my baby boy. I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue learning from him. I look forward to many more birthdays. And in closing, can you believe how much my little man has grown?!

12 Months


I can hardly believe my baby is 1 year old! I've been thinking about this day for a long time. Thinking about how I would feel, what I would do, even what I would blog. First, I think I'll do my usual re-cap of the month. I actually have some time to catch up on since I never blogged about Micah turning 11 months. So, here goes:

*Micah got his second tooth. He doesn't quite understand that when he puts Mommy or Daddy's finger in his mouth and bites down it now hurts them!

*He had his first sleepover. He stayed the night at Grammie's house so that Brad and I could spend the night away to celebrate our birthdays. I was really worried at first about being away from him over night for the first time, but we all did very well. It was nice to get away and spend time just me and Brad. It was very refreshing to not have to get up in the middle of the night and to wake up when we were ready in the morning!

*Micah started taking his first steps. He is now officially a walker. He's still slightly unstable but he chooses to walk places rather than crawl and he's getting around quite quickly!

*We went to the Museum of Science and Industry and Micah loved touching all of the exhibits.

*Micah has learned several more signs including "eat," "water," and "dog." He also plays "So big."

*We went to Grand Rapids overnight and Micah got to meet his new friend, Sofia.

*While in Grand Rapids we also went to Art Prize. It was really cool to walk around and see all of the exhibits. It was a beautiful day and Micah enjoyed Daddy wearing him on his back so that he could see everything.

*Micah has officially said his first word: "Dog." He says it and signs it all the time. One of his favorite things to do is look out the window and watch the dogs in our neighborhood going for walks. Whenever he hears a dog bark anywhere he says and signs it. Sometimes he'll even "woof." It's so cute!

*Micah got his first pair of real shoes.

*We spent the night at Uncle Doug and Aunt Carrie's house in Milwaukee. He had a great time walking around the lakefront and showing them what's in store for them (they're also expecting a baby--a month before us!).

*He went apple picking for the first time with our good friends.

*We went to Fall Fest in Manhattan. Micah had a lot of fun riding the ponies, going down the slide, and going on the hay ride.

*We also went to a pumpkin patch for the first time. It was so much fun playing in the hay and the corn pit.

*Micah had his first birthday party. It was a Western themed party because we call him "Dude." He did great at the party and loved opening the presents.

*We went to Boo at the Zoo with Grammie, Boompa, Auntie Brittany, and his cousin Kylie. He rode in the wagon we got him for his birthday and loved being able to see everything.

*Today we took him to see the school's costume parade. Then, we went trick-or-treating on our street. Our street is made up of mostly older people and they love seeing Micah when we're outside walking. He was a total ham and smiled at all of the grandmas as they were "oohing" and "aahing" over him. He knows how to pull their strings!

*We also went out for dinner tonight. My favorite food is Aurelio's pizza and we decided early on that Micah would get to try pizza for the first time on his birthday and it had to be from Aurelio's. So, that's where we went for dinner tonight. I think it's safe to say Micah loves pizza, too. :)

Here's some pictures of everything we did this month (only October pictures are included):



I think in order to not make this post super long I'll post tomorrow about some reflections on Micah's first birthday.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Apple Picking

One of my favorite fall traditions is apple picking. One year while Brad and I were still in college we decided to go apple picking. We asked our good friends, the Lows, if they wanted to join us. By my mom's recommendation we went to Country Line Orchard in Hobart, IN. And we loved it! The place was so nice with lots of apple trees and even a nice pumpkin patch. And their apple donuts are to die for! That year we picked way too many apples and we each got our own pumpkin. After picking apples we headed to Brad's mom's house to bake some apple pie and carve our pumpkins. And *wah-lah* a tradition was born.

This year marked the fifth annual apple picking trip for the Kolars and Lows. We love going with the Lows and it's so fun to see how our families are growing. What started as four adults is now four adults, three children, and a bun in the oven. Of course, our activities have changed a bit. We spend a lot less time picking apples and a lot more time going through the children's zoo or riding the tractor (did I mention the three kids are all boys--they love that tractor ride!). But we always have so much fun. And this year we decided to forgo the pumpkin carving because it was just too much for the kids who were starting to get cranky and overtired. But we still baked some apple crisp and enjoyed it together (my favorite part of the whole day!).

We've had all kinds of weather on our trips: from almost freezing temperatures where we were dying for hot chocolate to literally hot weather where we needed to get inside for some air conditioning. We've also learned a thing or two along the way: each family does not actually need 4 bags of apples to take home, honeycrisps are everyone's favorite (everyone! They're always gone off the trees), and Amanda is the only one that prefers green apples to red (although we did find out this year that Issac prefers green, too--go Isaac!). We always enjoy our time together, and honestly, it's not about the apples. It's about a fun family tradition that we have with another family. A family that we really connect with. A family that encourages Brad and I in so many ways. A family that we aspire to be like: people who put Christ first in everything that they do, who truly live out his love to the people around them. We are always so encouraged when we spend time with them. I want my children to grow up around their children because I know that those boys will grow up to be caring, loving, Goldy men. And I want my children to be surrounded by people like them. That's why I love our tradition of apple picking every fall. And I'm so excited to continue it even as our children get older and start complaining about having to go apple picking. ;)





Wednesday, October 19, 2011

We're Still Here

I know it's been a really long time since I last blogged. To say we've been busy would be a complete understatement. September is always busy for us because it's both Brad and my birthdays. Plus, we're trying to get in all of the time that we can outside before the weather turns cold again. Then, to add to it, we found out that I'm pregnant. So far things have been going great. I was just really tired the first 8 weeks or so. Pretty much whenever I put Micah down for a nap I took one, too, or sat on the couch and read. I was not motivated to do anything. I'm 12 weeks now and slowly starting to get my energy back. I still like to take naps, but I don't need one every day anymore. The house is starting to get clean again, and I promise I will be blogging more again. For now, though, I'm going to leave it at that. I'll post more later this week about what we've been up to.