Holidays – Our Family Adventure

Easter 2015

Easter this year started close to 7 am with Ajax springing from bed and beginning the search for his basket. Noomi woke up closer to 7:30 and couldn’t really understand what Ajax was doing, so she just followed him around. Eventually he found her basket in the hamper. We had to “help” Ajax find his basket which was hanging in the front closet under a coat. Tricky bunny. Ajax was thrilled with his matchbox cars and Noomi loved her fluffy bunny and new fancy dress.

We opted for a quiet Easter dinner at our house with my folks, sister, and her friend Adrian. The kids were very hyped up on sugar. Noomi gave all her chocolate to Ajax and he gave her his Starburst. They had tons of energy and thankfully the weather was beautiful so we were able to be outside. We went for several walks and ran for a long time, mostly in circles. The kids ran so wild that they hit their pillows a little after 7 pm.

Noomi picked out her own Easter dress at the store. It was a bit much, but how could you say no? I had to force Ajax into these semi-dress clothes and finally promised him that after people arrived he could go change. As soon as he was allowed he ran and changed into swishy pants.

Spring is near

Spring is near. It’s warming up and of course raining, but hey at least it’s not snow. I’ll take it. As the weather was still uncooperative on Good Friday, my sister and I took the kids to the mall to play on the indoor playscape. I also let Ajax bring his birthday money to purchase some lace-up running shoes and a few matchbox cars. He’s so excited about his shoes. Now we need to teach him how to lace them up. The kids played very well at the mall, though Noomi was a bit stubborn when it was time to leave. She wanted nothing to do with me and insisted on Aunt Emily carrying her through the mall. As Friday was Ajax’s birthday- the BIG SIX- he asked for sprinkle pancakes for breakfast and chicken nuggets/mac and cheese for dinner (which he asks for every year).

Today was also a relatively quiet day. I did a bit of running around this morning while Dave and the kids did miscellaneous chores outside. When I got home Noomi was napping and Ajax was playing with his Legos. Ajax has been obsessed with his Lego’s lately and him and Dave have been putting together many of the sets he got for his birthday. When Noomi got up we ran to Tractor Supply and got her a shovel and when we got home she and Ajax continued work on the giant hole they are digging in our backyard.

When they came inside they both needed a bath as Dave explained they got into a dirt fight. After bath we colored Easter eggs and then had pizza for dinner. Overall an excellent Saturday.

Family week 2014

This past week we had family in from Washington so that meant a full seven days of fun filled family time. We had a Valentine family reunion for my grandma Flo’s 87th birthday at Wampler’s lake. The family rented a cabin on the lake with a pontoon boat. My cousin, Andre, was in with his two children, Daniel (6) and Anya (3), and the kids all played very well. There was a trip to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and a trip to Impression 5 hands-on museum in Lansing, and of course, lots and lots of swimming and boating and fishing. Ajax caught four fish and Noomi caught her first (a little perch). There were family dinners and relaxing and lots and lots of food. I think Ajax and Daniel would have lived in the water and had great fun building sand castles.

On Friday, the kids and I headed back home to Williamston (Dave unfortunately couldn’t take the whole week off) and we had a very quiet and easy going Labor Day weekend, as Tuesday is Ajax’s first day of Kindergarten. He keeps wavering between being excited and nervous. It helps that on Wednesday night we all went to the school for an open house and saw his classroom and cubby and met his teacher, Mrs. Lewis. I’m feeling pretty anxious, as if I’m heading off for my first day of school tomorrow.

Sorry about all the pictures – but I was worried that I’ve been lack with my posting and if I didn’t add them they would never be seen.

Noomi’s second birthday party!

This year Noomi’s birthday fell on a Saturday, what luck! We tried to teach Noomi to respond, when prompted, that she was two but she didn’t really grasp the concept. Instead she latched onto the word- two- and walked around saying – two, two. Or, if we began counting (in the menacing parent way) – One… she would jump in shouting TWO! So there you go.

We had a very good turnout for her party and were even fortunate enough to have her godparents and cousin up from North Carolina. The weather cooperated so we weren’t trapped inside, and the temperature hung in the high 70s, low 80s. There were lots of little kids for her to play with and also quite a few babies, though she wasn’t as interested in them, which was funny since she’s all about her baby dolls right now.

For her birthday “cake” we did a large slice of watermelon with blueberries, as Noomi just isn’t a fan of sweets and she loved it. Unfortunately, we were outside singing happy birthday so the wind kept blowing out her candles. She didn’t seem to mind and we all clapped at the end of the song, so she thought she blew them out.

When it was time to open presents, Ajax was a little over excited and ended up opening most of her gifts. Noomi didn’t seem to mind and sat perched in her little chair watching the excitement. She received some wonderful gifts, thank you very much friends and family! Since the party we’ve had multiple tea parties and many baby dolls have received bubble baths.

I’ll add more pictures tomorrow as my computer is being difficult 🙂

Memorial weekend 2014

Memorial weekend was marked with wonderful warm weather. I was able to get out of work around 2 pm and went and got the kids early from school. We did some quick grocery shopping before heading home. On Saturday we all worked outside – Dave cut the grass and put up the fence around the garden and Ajax, Noomi and I got all our plants into the garden. Noomi threw a lot of dirt around, but Ajax was a big help. On Sunday we did some housework and then the kids and I headed into Dearborn to visit my grandpa Nader and then attend my cousin Nicole’s wedding shower. The kids had fun visiting (of course) and enjoyed the shower. For some time now Ajax has been asking to attend a shower with me, so now was his chance. It was held over my aunt Lisa’s house, so luckily all the guys were there hanging in the basement, so Ajax thought that was cool (I guess that means he still doesn’t really know what a shower is). Noomi had fun running from the backyard into the house and vice versa. She just seemed to find this hilarious. My aunt’s house also has a long hallway with a full wall mirror that Noomi found fascinating. She kept skipping up and down the hallway watching herself.

On Monday we went to a parade in Williamston. It was quite nice and not very long (only about 20 minutes or so), which was the perfect amount of time small children will watch a parade without tractors. After the parade we walked to the park and played for an hour and then headed home for lunch. While Noomi laid down for a nap Ajax and I went on an expedition for a pool. Somehow I got it into my head that we needed one of those above-ground pools. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was because I want to teach Ajax how to swim this summer, or maybe it was because the neighbors have a pool… whatever it was, I was determined to have a pool. When we returned home, triumphant, with a pool in a box, David and my dad put it up. The kids were so excited they kept running in circles screaming. Noomi had a blast with the hose (note: she would have been happy with a sprinkler) and Ajax could barely contain himself. My mom and grandma Flo also drove up to visit and we all watched the kids play in the water.

After the pool was filled up and sitting in our backyard I had a sense of dread wash over me as it never occurred to me that I was buying a pool. Sure it was a plastic thing to hold water, but when I started realizing all the work, the chemicals, the filters, etc. that the thing would require I started to have second thoughts. There’s no turning back however as Ajax is obsessed with the pool and loves Dave and I about 45% more than he did pre-pool. He was worried last night that deer would get into it and this morning he flipped out of bed to check on the pool. I therefore went to the store tonight with Noomi while Ajax was at T Ball (he did great by the way) and bought almost $100 worth of chemicals to keep our pool blue and hopefully not turn it green.

Mother’s Day 2014

This past weekend was mother’s day and we were lucky enough to have some wonderful weather.

On Saturday Dave put the finishing touches on the planter boxes he made for me. We’re having dirt delivered this weekend and then we’ll be set for a big planting session over Memorial day weekend. I cannot wait to have a garden, it’s been too long! While Dave finished the boxes, I ran Ajax up to the store to get some new tennis shoes and by the time we got home Grandpa Gordy and Nana were down to pick him up. Then they set off for Big Rapids where Grandma Mary was attending a horse show. Apparently Ajax didn’t make it to bed until midnight due to some heavy traffic on the way home and a way overtired nino. Noomi seemed unphased by the lack of her brother and enjoyed her evening home with Dave and I.

On Sunday we had breakfast and then loaded Noomi into the car and headed to Brooklyn. My aunt Liz and her two boys came out and we all helped plant flowers by the barn and around the house. It was a lovely day and topped off with a steak dinner. Ajax and Noomi had a blast playing in the dirt and running around the farm. They also enjoyed chasing the dogs and carrying around the new barn kitten who didn’t seem to mind their little hands. When we got on the road home, both kids passed out within 10 minutes flat.

Easter 2014

Our Easter morning started at 6:19 am with both kids waking up at about the same time. Ajax immediately remembered it was Easter and took off in search of his basket, which was under his desk in the living room. We all had to help Noomi locate her basket which was in a cabinet in the kitchen. The kids got some candy and small toys in their baskets along with playdoh and bathtub colors. They also received these plates and silverware that were in the shapes of construction tractors and garden fairies from their way cool Aunt Theresa and Uncle Tim.

We tried to get some decent photos of the kids before heading to Dearborn, but they were both hyped up on the sugar and then we were demanding they both sit still and smile. It was all around rough. The car drive into town was equally rough due to the aforementioned sugar overload and then being strapped into a car seat for over an hour. When we got to my grandpa Naders the kids forgot they were hyper and clung to Dave and I acting extremely shy. It took them quite a while to warm up. Ajax did ask where great aunt Norm was, but my mom explained she was in heaven and he seemed ok with that. I had been concerned that he would wonder about Aunt Norm so we had discussed her passing a few times leading up to Easter so he wasn’t surprised when we got there.

After running wild for a few hours outside and visiting with family we loaded the kids back into the car and headed home. It was 70 and sunny so when we got home we all ended up playing outside and enjoying the warm weather. Bed time was a bit rough as everyone was way overtired. It took an hour to settle both kids down for the night and I’m hoping Noomi sleeps through the night.

I like this first photo because this is the face Noomi makes when you ask her to smile. I totally remember went through this phase of learning how to smile lol.

Good Friday

Ajax asked why it was good Friday and I told him that every Friday was good 🙂

Although there was an egg hunt at the kids’ school, Ajax asked to stay home with me. I had a ton of running to do and told him he may have more fun at school, but he insisted on accompanying me on errands. We dropped off Noomi in the morning and then headed out. We went to several stores, one of which was Target so that Ajax could exchange one of his birthday gifts. He had $30 to spend, the most he’s ever had, and he was so thoughtful about his choice which ended up being a remote control truck and trailer and some matchbox cars. After our errands we picked up Noomi early from school. As we all got home around 2:30 and Dave still had to work the kids and I played outside with the neighbors until dinner. This neighborhood has so many kids! They’re everywhere and so far very polite. There are two little girls Ajax’s age who live in our end of the subdivision and so far they have played very well together, riding bikes, digging in the dirt, and playing on jungle gyms. When we headed in Dave made dinner and we colored Easter eggs. Unfortunately I didn’t boil them long enough so Noomi kept squashing them in her hand and watching the runny mess drip down her hands. The kids thought it was funny. Ajax ended up dying his hands blue from forgoing the little metal ring used for dipping eggs.

On Saturday we loaded up the kids and went to the town’s Easter egg hunt. They had it divided into age groups so I went with Noomi and Dave took Ajax. The kids had a blast, but it Noomi a while to get the hang of it. She kept stopping and opening each egg and was surprised each time she discovered treats inside. Afterwards we wandered around town a bit more, found an excellent store that sells tall clothing for Dave and then we stopped and ordered Ajax’s Tball uniform. Actually I was quite surprised as it is actually a real uniform (I had to order Ajax an extra small). When I played Tball for the YMCA, we had a little yellow tee shirt, these days kids have the whole fancy uniform and practice twice a week!

When we got home the kids embarked on some serious candy negotiations. Noomi wanted all the jelly beans and m&m’s, while Ajax wanted all the chocolate. I was the mediator and of course took a cut as well. What I did not account for however was just how fast the kids and I were inhaling the candy so that when we headed out for our afternoon errands – the library and bike store to get Dave his bike – I could barely wrangle both children who were bouncing off the walls. I now realize my error. I think everyone in the store was happy to see us go.

To burn off some energy we let the kids run in circles outside when we got home. One of the neighbor kids came over with her father asking if Ajax could play. I said of course and she zipped right through the house to the backyard where they began digging in the dirt under the porch. Good times!

Birthday party!

On Saturday we had Ajax’s birthday party. Due to the move, Dave’s leg, and general hectic-ness of our schedules I’ve decided to implement a new birthday strategy. Since Ajax had a big birthday party last year, we opted for the “family” party this year. As Noomi had the “family” party last year, she’ll get a larger party this year. If we alternate the years, it’ll give me plenty of time between April and July to plan and not feel so burnt out.

Ajax’s party turned out wonderfully and we were lucky enough to get a very warm and sunny day, which meant lots of outside play time. Grandma Dara and Papa drove down in the morning and Grandma Mary and Grandpa Gordy came in around noon with Nana and Aunt Emily. Aunt Liz also came out with my cousin Ryan, Aunt Emily and a few other friends. Ajax had a blast playing with everyone and Noomi was so excited to have a party. He did wonderful this year when everyone sang him happy birthday and did an excellent job blowing out his candles. Thank you everyone for coming and celebrating with us!

Hello 2014

Today everyone slept in till 8 am. It was very nice. It would have been nicer, however, if Noomi hadn’t been up several times last night. I guess that’s our fault really, we were all out late last night and one thing we hardly ever mess with is our night time routine and bed time (which is 8 pm at the very latest). Last night we messed with both those things, but it was New Year’s Eve and both kids did enjoy themselves. We ended up going over to a friend’s house and were there till 10:30. Noomi has never been up that late. Both kids, however, did very well! There were no fights, no hitting, and generally low volumes (for ninos). Ajax was a ham and after Noomi warmed up a bit she kept walking up to everyone and holding up her hands to be picked up. It was too cute. By 10:30 we decided we had to split as we could all see meltdowns coming. Both kids passed out after only 4 minutes in the car. Ajax even got to try some “crackers” which he kept thinking he could eat in the car and once he realized they popped open, he was so excited. The hostess even let him take a few home, which was way nice.

After everyone finally got up and moving today, we met grandpa Rod 1/2 way and he took the kids back home to Mikado so they could babysit tomorrow and Friday, as Dave and I have to work. We met at the Cracker Barrel, which both kids LOVED.