Leland Turns Nine

Dear Leland,

Happy Birthday! Today, you are nine years old, and I may be biased, but you’re the coolest nine year old I know. 

It’s been a weird, hard, exciting, heartbreaking year. It’s hard to know where to begin, so I guess I’ll start with the sad. 

Back in May, your beloved Grandpa Duck passed away. You took the news hard, but your faith in God was comforting to you and has helped carry you through your grief. You understand that Grandpa is in the one place he always wanted to be, and even though you miss him, you’re happy he’s with Jesus. We still talk about him a lot, and we remember the great times with him. 

Now, onto some more fun memories. Last winter, you learned to ski. You and Alden took lessons through our school ski program and LOVED it. I learned how as well and we all really enjoyed going together. You’re excited to do the program again this year. You also tried wrestling last winter, but didn’t love it. I am so glad that you’re open to trying new things, and you’re honest with yourself about whether or not they’re a good fit. 

Last spring, schools closed due to Covid-19, so we spent the last quarter (plus a few weeks) of the year learning at home. You did well with it, but really missed your friends at school. We went on a lot of hikes and spent as much time outside as we could during that time at home. 

Over the summer, we had plenty of adventures: beaches, picnics, hikes, fishing, bike rides, and you saw your cousins a lot more than usual while everyone was working at Grandpa’s next door. Despite all kinds of restrictions due to Covid, we found a lot of fun. We visited the UP for the first time. You enjoyed biking around Mackinac Island and visiting several waterfalls. We stayed at a friend’s cabin and you had a blast exploring outside and staying up late to roast marshmallows around the campfire. 

This fall, you ran cross country again and really enjoyed it. And you’re doing great in third grade with Ms. Pfeuffer. Your best buddy, Garrett, is in your class again, and the two of you are inseparable. I love your friendship. 

You are such a fun and interesting kid. You love to read nonfiction and learn new things. While you’re still interested in the Titanic, you have found a new passion: Alcatraz. You have read several books and watched a few documentaries about it. But one thing I know about you is that when you find a new interest, you go big. Not only do you want to learn about Alcatraz, you want to visit in real life (I do, too, so don’t worry - we’ll make it there). You requested an Alcatraz birthday cake, you tell people all about it, you write about it at school, and you want a model of it (LEGO or otherwise).

We recently started reading Harry Potter and you are super into it. You now want some of the Lego sets and can't wait to finish the second book so that we can watch the movie.

You are incredibly creative. You love to draw, build, and design new things. I love to see all the things you come up with.

You have a big heart and love to serve others. You often shovel our driveway without us asking, just to be helpful. And you have helped shovel the neighbor's driveway and walkway as well. 

Leland, you make me so proud every single day. Although I miss you being my wee little preemie baby who fit so snuggly in my arms, I am thoroughly enjoying watching you grow up. You are fun to be around, super smart, funny, caring, and still an excellent snuggler. It's pretty fun to be your mom, and I know the fun is just beginning. 

I love you bunches, my sweet boy. Happy Birthday, buddy!

Love, Mom

Olivia Turns Four

 Dear Olivia,

You are four years old! Age three was full of all kinds of sass, mixed in with a bunch of sweetness. The last couple of months, I've noticed you inching toward more sweet and slightly less sass, which is a welcome change.

You started preschool this year. You're in Miss Victoria's class at my school and you absolutely love it. Though you don't like me to know that you have fun or that you have any friends. It's a secret, apparently. Sometimes your teacher sends me photos of you playing with your friends or I might catch a peek during the day. But when I ask you about it, you tell me you don't have friends and they were just playing next to you. It's really pretty hilarious.

Walking with your friend in the hallway

Your classmates and teachers love you. Miss Victoria told me one day that one of your friends said your name is Sunshine. When Miss Victoria asked why she thought your name was Sunshine, the girl said because you're so happy. A few teachers and classmates call you Chicken Wing. There's a story about that, but I don't remember it. You have this whole different life in preschool that I only catch little glimpses of, but I am thankful for the small glimpses I get because you won't tell me anything about it.

Playing in my classroom

Last spring, schools closed due to Covid-19, and so you stayed home with me and the boys while we finished up our school year. And then, obviously, you were home with me all summer. During that time, when so many things were closed, we all discovered new interests that we might not have found otherwise. One interest you discovered is puzzles. You LOVE to do puzzles, and you're really good at them! You have a basket with several puzzles (24-50 pieces) and you do a few of them every day. When we went on our trip to the U.P., you did them in the car a lot.

Puzzles in the car

During our time at home, you also discovered Paw Patrol. You had never really seen it before because we weren't home during the day when it was on TV. But while we were home for a few months, you had more opportunities for TV (plenty of screen time for you while mom and boys were doing school). Chase is your favorite and you dressed up as him for Halloween. When someone told you that you should be a girl character, you scoffed because that makes no sense. I love that about you - you know what you like and you don't care what other people think. But you're still shy around new people and quiet in new situations.

Chase is the on the case!

With your Paw Patrol birthday cake

One more discovery during our time at home: you don't care to wear clothes. In March/April, you started just wearing underwear to bed. And that sometimes continues after you wake up. You like to just walk around in your underwear. It's hilarious and strange - I don't get it, but it makes you YOU!

Hiking is another thing we did a lot of during the spring and summer.

As I said earlier, we took a trip to the U.P. this summer. Nature is about the only thing that wasn't cancelled. We spent one night on Mackinac Island, which I think was your favorite part. We biked around the island; you rode in a Wee-Hoo that was attached to my bike and everyone we passed, you said, "Hi! I'm pedaling!" You had the time of your life! The rest of our trip, we did some hiking and saw lots of waterfalls.

Biking around the island

Hiking to a waterfall

Standing underneath Tanner Falls

This past summer, you learned to ride a bike without training wheels. You can go around the whole neighborhood, but you don't feel super confident, so you like when I walk next to you. Which is totally you. You learn to do things fairly early compared to other kids your age, but you want me there with you. You may remember that you potty trained yourself at 23 months, but you wanted (still want) me to hold your hand when you poop.

I love your enthusiasm for just about everything. You often say "That's the best ________ ever!" Your costume, a dessert we made, your new bed (Leland's old one), your Grinch sweater, our Christmas tree - they're all the "best ever." You tell me every day that I'm the best mom ever, and I really appreciate it, especially when it's moments after you tell me that you don't like me.

Your pumpkin character. You wanted to make the pig that went home (from This Little Piggy), and you said it was the best pumpkin ever!

These days, you love potty talk and experimenting with language in general. You recently started calling people "Hippo." First, it was Big Hippo, then Baby Hippo, and now it seems to be Hippo Head. Chicken Head is also a favorite. You also refer to yourself in the third person a lot! You'll say "Olivia wants to go outside." Or when I ask a question, like if anyone wants more food, you'll say, "I do! Olivia does." Yesterday, you said, "Dad, your daughter is playing with her new toys."

You love to color and you're beginning to write your name. Usually, if you're writing it by yourself, you get all the letters, but they're not always in order. You do pretty well writing it if you can see your name though. You also really enjoy helping in the kitchen. With our small space, it's kind of hard to have a helper, but we make it work.

Helping make meatloaf

Livvy Jo, you bring us all so much joy. Also, not gonna lie, a lot of frustration, but mostly joy. We are so thankful for you. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store you, my fierce, sweet, sassy, and unstoppable girl. Happy #4!

Love, Mom

A Covid Halloween

Covid may have cancelled a lot of things this year, but we were not about to let it ruin Halloween. We knew trick-or-treating would probably be a no-go. So we planned to have some friends over (one family from school who is already in our "bubble") for our own Halloween fun.

We made slime, had Halloween-themed snacks and treats, and had a candy hunt in the backyard. 

It was SO fun! We may have to continue this in the years to come (but obviously still go trick-or-treating).

Halloween 2020

For the last few years, my kids have chosen their Halloween costumes over the summer. They make a decision and they don't waver. It makes it easy on me to make their costumes, because it gives me PLENTY of time.

This year, however, they changed their minds a few times, and didn't officially decide until around the time school started. Which meant I had less time to make their costumes, which was okay, because they chose fairly easy things.

Every year, I wonder if my years of themed costumes are over. This year, I thought for sure they were, but I did get to halfway have a family theme.

The boys both wanted to be Minecraft characters: Leland wanted to be Steve and Alden wanted to Herobrine. I know nothing about them, but Google is my friend. Also, the boys told me that they're pretty much the same except eye color? So, basically, they wore the exact same costume.

Olivia wanted to be Chase from Paw Patrol. So I decided to go as Skye. 

Tutorials and templates were very helpful in creating all of our costumes this year.

The kids have already started talking about costumes for next year. They have a few ideas - some themed, some not. So we'll just have to wait to see what they decide.