Author: Stephanie

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Walter-Two Years

Weight: 29 pounds.

Health: We had to go to Urgent Care a couple weeks ago because he just couldn’t get rid of a cough. He is cutting his molars, but we also suspected that he had RSV since Daphne was diagnosed at the same visit with it. He also had ear infections at the same time.

Diet: His appetite is almost non-existent. He eats fish, chicken nuggets, and meatballs. He hates pasta and pizza. He will eat peas, broccoli, and any fruit you put in front of him. His favorites this month are his breakfast bars, Gogurts, crackers, blueberries, and grapes. He also knows how to get into the pantry and pull the step-ladder over to get his favorite snacks. His favorite treat is chocolate covered pretzels like his mama.

Clothes: He is in size 2T clothes, size 7 in diapers, and size 8 shoes.

Sleeping:  For the most part he is doing an ok job sleeping. Sometimes he can be a bear to get down. He has started talking in his sleep, or rather singing in his sleep. He does still have a nap during the day, but only if he is in his crib. He fell asleep on me for the first time in a really long time over our vacation because he fought a nap so hard at Silver Dollar City. His bedtime is 8pm, and he usually gets up between 8-9am. He DOES NOT like to be woken up. He also has started sleeping with a little mini lovey handkerchief sized thing. I am still too scared to give him a full blanket.

Likes:  He loves magnatiles, Legos, and dinosaurs. His favorite shows are Bluey, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Super Monsters, and Dinosaur Train. He is constantly reading, and has many of our books memorized. He loves running water, and he can reach the handles now with a step stool, so that has been fun to pull him away from. He loves to run and jump into furniture, like launching himself with no abandon at full speed. His favorite phrases are “No” and “I don’t want it.”

Dislikes:  Sitting at the dinner table. Being told what to do.

Nicknames: Walt, Waltie, Wally, Wally Bear, Wallington Bear, Waller, Wallace, Wallaby, Butters, Sweet Bean, Wallerbean, Stinkerdoodle, and Waltie baby..

Milestones: He has so many words. I feel like there are new ones every day, and he has 4-5 word sentences now. He can count to 15, and spell his name.

Quirks:  The way he says “Okay” is by far the cutest thing he does. When he roars like a dinosaur, he does it with his whole face. If you say “I love you forever and ever,” he will respond with “and always.” He calls donuts, “doodats.” Since he watches Bluey all the time, occasionally he will call me “Mum.” When you ask him where is eyes are he closes them instead of pointing them.

We parents are:  in a whirlwind, and honestly it is survival mode over here. A month ago, Tom had an unknown stroke in the bottom half of his body, which made for some very painful days. After consulting the urologist, we learned that he had a mass in one of his testicles, and the stroke had basically made that one die which was the pain he was feeling. Fast forward to this week after a month off work and barely being able to walk, he had an orchiectomy and a vasectomy. In basic terms, he had a testicle removed this week and is an unbearable amount of pain. There is a thought that the mass could be testicular cancer, so as crazy as it sounds, we are fortunate that he had the stroke because that mass was not there over the summer which means it could have gone undetected and passed on to other organs. Taking it out this week removes any chance that a cancerous mass could spread now, but we are still waiting to hear if it was actually cancer. So needless to say our life has been chaos. It is chaos on a normal month, but this month has been extra hard. I am really glad that we have each other to lean on.

Big kids are:  doing great. They got glowing reports from school, and I am so proud of all that they are learning and how they are showing kindness to others. Both received a month award in the first two months, which makes me a little weepy! Walter is obsessed with his big siblings. He follows the big kids around, and tries to imitate them all the time. Tonight George said to me after hanging out with Wally, “I am trying to spend as much time with him because I just love him, and I know he won’t be this little forever.” When Daph is home, these two are stuck at the hip. They love each other so much. Their favorite thing to do together is play with puzzles and this plastic flower set. However, they are going to have to watch out because Wally has no limits. He tackles them all the time with full force. He has not learned that diving head first is not the preferred method of hugging. He is the honey badger of the family.

Daisy is: just living her best life. Wally loves to boss her around. He tries to get on her back. And one of his favorite things is getting food for her.

In case you are curious, here is George at two years and Daphne at two years.

There is something different about each of his milestones. I know Walter is my last baby. So I feel like I am cherishing the moments more than I ever did with the other two because I know this is the last time for us to experience all that this is.

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Walter-22 Months

Weight:  He is 28.4 pounds. He seems so tall!

Health: He has had cold this last week, but in general he is a happy healthy kiddo.

Diet: His palette is pretty small now. Honestly his food choices mirrors Daphne’s in a lot of ways. He only eats fish, chicken nuggets, and meatballs. He hates pasta. He will eat peas, broccoli, and any fruit you put in front of him. His favorite this month are his breakfast bars, applesauce (which he calls “sauce”), and grapes. He also knows how to get into the panty and pull the step-ladder over to get his favorite snacks. Cool cool cool…

Clothes: He is in size 18-24 month clothes, size 6 in diapers, and size 8 shoes. I really need to push him up to 2T clothes, I just haven’t had the heart to do that work yet.

Sleeping:  Today is not a great day to ask about his sleep. Last night he refused to go to sleep until after midnight. Where as the others we could do some co-sleeping, Wally ain’t about that life. So when he has a bad night it’s lots of standing rocking with Bluey episodes mixed in there. For the most part he does really well sleeping. He goes to bed around 7:30-8, and then wakes up usually around 8am. He has one nap mid-day. I still won’t allow anything in his bed, but he did just outgrow the Zipadeezip. So we’ll see how we transition to the next phase.

Likes:  He loves any dancing show and music in general. He is obsessed with reading, and he has a routine of asking all the adults to read the same book in round robin fashion. We got out the wooden trains this last month, and he loves them! He loves to jump on our bed. He climbs on the chair next to our bed and then throws himself on the bed. He is also into cars, making animal noises, and saying no to everything.

Dislikes:  He hates the Halo sleepsack which we have tried transitioning to since he can’t fit in the Zipadeezip. I may just have to be ok with real blankets…He hates being woken up early.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wallington Bear, Wally Olly, Waller, Wallace, Wallaby, Butters, Sweet Bean, Stinkerdoodle, Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter.

Milestones: My favorite new word is “dindeesaur” for dinosaur. He has so many words. I feel like there are new ones every day, and he is starting to piece words together for phrases. He can hop, and in a forward motion too. He can open doors with the long handles, and almost has round knobs down.

Quirks: When I turn out the lights to sing him his lullabies at bedtime, he growls “lights” at me so we can do a fun five minute game of turning the lights on and off while growling “lights” to each other. When he snuggles, it is like he tries to crawl up to settle in your neck. He does not want to sit in his booster seat at the dinner table and insists on being a big chair. He will race himself. He starts at one end of our living room, and waits until someone tells him go and then he starts running across the room.

We parents are:  surviving. Getting back into the school year has been a lot to say the least. We really hit the ground running!

Big kids are:  doing pretty good. They started school this last month, an they are both doing really well. Daphne was made for school. She skips into school every day. Yesterday she got the monthly character award. I am so proud of her for how nice she is to her classmates. George is so excited all of his activities are back. Wally definitely misses them when they are at school. When he has to go to drop off, Wally cries when they get out of the car. He follows the big kids around, and tries to imitate them all the time. George has figured out the walkie talkie feature on the baby monitor, and he says, “Goodnight, Waltie” and then sings him a lullaby before Wally falls asleep. It is so sweet! Daphne likes to drag Wally around just as much as Wally loves to be her shadow.

Daisy is: doing great. Wally is smitten with her, but he has started bossing her around. He hugs her and pets her all the time. And he loves to feed her off his plate. He tries to ride her sometimes too.

In case you are curious, here is George at twenty months and Daphne at twenty months.

I look at him, and I just want to squeeze him. Always my baby he will be.

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George Turns Eight

We are going blindly into each new phase, just hoping that we are creating good core memories and raising a good human being. Most days I go to bed thinking how I could have done better, been more present, shown more patience, etc, etc, etc.

George, however, had a big year regardless of my over-worrying. Being our first born, he continues to show me the way.

We really turned a corner in school this year. This last year came with many learning moments, advocating for his needs, and trying different approaches to his education. He has been a little wild since the day he was born, and we definitely saw him mature over the last year to settle in at school. He has learned so much, and now he is a reading machine. Tom and I cannot spell things out in code anymore because he catches on faster than I can get the letters out. He also continues to challenge me to not project my definition of success on to him. Every day, I am also learning from him to be patient and lean into alternatives to be intentional with him. As he is learning about the world, he continues to open my eyes right along with him. I am so excited to see how he continues to grow this next year.

He is starting to hone in on his interests. He is really loving soccer, and with each season, you can see his determination grow. While I am sure we will continue to see his signature helicopter move for a few seasons to come, he has started to show some real promise and skill. He joined Cub Scouts this year, and from the first meeting, I knew that we had found his thing. He has loved every activity and moment as a scout. He cannot contain his excitement at each event, and it is so fun to watch the joy he has. It’s definitely a core memory watching him place at his first Pinewood Derby contest. He also dialed in on Star Wars, Pokemon, and Minecraft this year in a way I was not prepared for. So many times this year, he has shocked me with his understanding of the complexities of these universes.

The dynamics of relationships this year made a switch. It was very evident that we had entered the big kid phase. We are now in the stage that not everyone is automatically his best friend, and friend groups are being made. You can see little pieces of his innocence falling off as we have to step up our game in the types of conversations we had. We talked through how he navigates relationships with kids who are being unkind and how to remain true to who you are even when the crowd is going in a different direction. You never want to see your kid go through these challenges of peer pressure, but we have had to have hard conversations about our actions and what they say to others. There have been moments that we watched him struggle and as much as I want to shield him forever, I cannot. At the end of the day, I am so proud that George walks confidently in who he is mostly unabashed about what others think of him. I wish I had even an ounce of his confidence and carefreeness, because he either thinks everyone loves him or he does not seem to be bothered when they don’t. We received many comments from teachers about how kind he is and how he would tell classmates no when difficult situation arose. He is also extremely loyal to his people. If he has imprinted on you, you now have a hype squad for life. It was so fun to watch him create those connections this year.

Ultimately, this kid is too cool for me. He is so smart and follows his dad in quick wit. He tugs at my heartstrings. He is hilarious and creative. He is passionate and strong-willed. He can deliver the best stories and the strongest hugs. He finds the silver lining in everything and finds the meaning to things that others may have cast away. He is always a little wild from the way his hair constantly stands straight up or the way he brings his energy into every room he enters. Nothing is simple with this kid except that he has my heart forever.

Having him changed me forever, in the best and messiest kind of ways.

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Walter-20 Months

Weight:  He weighs 26 pounds. He seems heavier every time that I pick him up.

Health: He has had cold this last week. There was also a random night where he threw up on me about every 30 minutes for 3 hour span and would only sleep if I sat in a chair holding him. It’s nights like that that make you very thankful for your full night’s sleep routine.

Diet: George and Daph started being picky right after they turned two, but Wally is starting his refusal for foods now. I don’t know if it has been because he has been a little under the weather lately, but he has hardly wanted to eat anything. Eating at our house is an adventure with everyone’s special pallets. He loves all fruits and yogurt. One of his new favorite past-times is pounding his tray hard enough that everything flies off or he just flat out likes to dump it on the floor and then say uh-oh.

Clothes: He is in size 18-24 month clothes, size 6 in diapers, and size 8 shoes. He is starting to wear some 2T stuff. We have definitely moved beyond the onsie phase.

Sleeping:  For the most part he does really well sleeping. He goes to bed around 7:30-8, and then wakes up usually around 8am. He has one nap mid-day. I still won’t allow anything in his bed, and he wont sleep without a zipadee zip. He seems to be doing better when he wakes up in the middle of the night. For the most part he has been self-soothing himself back. Through our vacation and then having him in our room while we had guests during the 4th, we have found that he does not like other people to sleep in the same room as him. He would do fine in the pack and play if he was in a separate room. But if he could see your bed, no sleep for him (or you).

Likes:  He loves watching So You Think You Can Dance, and he tries to dance along. He loves his dancing Elmo, and hearing him say “Elmo” is so cute. He is obsessed with the water table, and he would stay out there all day pouring water all over himself. But interestingly enough he does not seem as fond of the pool. He likes the show Bluey, and I mean who doesn’t? He really loves when everyone comes home and will greet us all with smiles and hugs. He loves his siblings, and they can get the biggest laughs out of him. He loves drinking out of any water bottle he can find. He loved the zoo, and making all the animal noises.

Dislikes:  He is not a fan of being woken up in the morning. Same dude, same.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wallington Bear, Wally Olly, Waller, Wallace, Wallaby, Butters, Sweet Bean, Stinkerdoodle, Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter.

Milestones: His language has really taken off. I have lost track of all the words, and I feel like he has a new one every day. My favorite new one is “George.” He can open the fridge on his own. He got his first haircut, and he did so amazing at the barber. He can sing “Twinkle Little Star,” “Skidamarink,” and the ABCs. He is really good at putting things away including putting dishes in the sink.

Quirks: If he is not holding something, he has to be feeling fabric between his fingers. He immediately will pinch your clothes if you pick him up. You cannot go into the pantry without him being your shadow, and he will try to snag a snack while he is in there. George has started doing a nasal spray every morning to help with allergies, and Wally tries to mimic him by putting a pretend baby bottle in his nostrils.

We parents are:  in a really good place. We had the best vacation this year in Colorado Springs, and it was so fun to explore and just be with each other. Then we got to celebrate the 4th of July, which is a favorite at our house. There is nothing like it. We are both doing really great at work. There are some big things coming up at work, and I am excited to see where things end up. I am starting my 9th year at CC, and it will be my 7th year teaching there. How crazy is that?

Big kids are:  doing pretty good. They just ended summer school last week, so we are back on summer mode here. I still can’t believe that we have a 2nd grader and a kindergartner! George did so amazing in class, but on the first day he said “2nd grade is way more strict than 1st.” He just really clicked with things this last month, so hopefully that is indicative of how the next year will go. His teacher is a CC alum, so that was fun to connect with her in that way. We did go through a full allergy test this past month, and we learned that he is mostly affected by the barometric pressure than what you presume to be allergic reactions. So that was really informative, and hopefully with this new regimen, we will be able to keep him from getting sick as often. George loves hard, and we have had to work with him lately on being gently even though it seems like Wally can handle more horseplay. George often takes it a little too far energy wise. But Wally is in awe of George, so he usually doesn’t mind. He loves to cuddle with George when they watch TV together. Daphne is obsessed with Wally. Wally had a hard time when she was in school for the full day. He would try looking for her during the day. They love playing together, and Wally is always be in her space. He is definitely trying more and more to be one of the big kids.

Daisy is: doing great. Wally is smitten with her. He hugs her and pets her all the time. And he loves to feed her off his plate.

In case you are curious, here is George at twenty months and Daphne at twenty months.

I knew I loved you before I met you little dude.

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Year 11

Today, Tom and I celebrate eleven years married.

As we reflected on this year we really couldn’t think of anything gigantic happening.

But then we started thinking about all the small moments we had this year.

George is really blossoming and figuring out his way at school. He is learning to read at lightning speed, and he joined Boy Scouts this year. Watching him become someone outside of our unit is such a bittersweet thing!

Daphne started and finished pre-K, and we really are starting to see her come out of her shell. She is a beautiful soul, and I cannot wait to see her in kindergarten.

And Wally. We are starting our last firsts. He is our last baby, and so with that comes all the firsts for the last time. He is the last to learn to walk in this house. He is the last for us to hear talk for the first time. We are trying to embrace all these little moments with him.

And with that, on the plus side, I am out of the breastfeeding fog. This is always a freeing moment. While I love being able to provide that experience for my babies, it really does change our life when I am not tied to that time table of feeding any more.

We also both experienced a lot through work.

Tom is now certified as a combat firearms instructor and a law enforcement jiu-jitsu instructor. He is very passionate about training officers, and these both were significant steps in his career to learn more about his field.

This last year seems like a blur to me work wise. I had so many growing moments with “other duties as assigned” and had to pivot many times in my leadership role. I took on supervising two other departments temporarily while other things at the institution shifted into place. Both of these areas where new and made me stretch in ways I could never have imagined. I led campus wide initiatives to impact culture changes, which can be hard but also fun and inspiring to navigate through the challenge. Fortunately, I am surrounded by phenomenal colleagues who help me learn each day, and I am grateful to be where I am. I am extremely proud in the work that I do, and this year, while hard, made me realize that even more.

We didn’t last long as a no-dog home, and we brought Daisy into our lives. I honestly don’t know how we could have found a better dog after Grace and Crosby. She is seriously the most docile and sweet thing who we have had to do zero training with. She just is a happy go-with-the-flow kind of dog, which perfectly fits into our crazy little family.

Being together this long is no easy feat.

It is not as simple as “just don’t give up.” Every day is its own small thing. There is always something to solve together. It could be paying down debt, who is taking Daphne to gymnastics, what new show are we going to commit to binging, or how do we advocate for our kids’ needs at school.

Marriage is fixing and deciding these things together. You pick someone that you want to do the hard stuff with, and then the good stuff is the bonus part. These decisions become more impactful when you choose someone to share them with.

We have learned that everything happens one step at a time. We didn’t just all of a sudden become married over a decade. It was a lot of little commitments to each other over the years to get here.

We still have the ability to surprise each other. Both of us are still striving every day to be better than we were the day before. So in a sense, we have never gotten truly comfortable and said this is good enough. We are still learning about each other and ourselves. We have both gone to counseling, and we are constantly looking for opportunities for growth. We make an effort with each other every day to connect in some way. And for us that is the only way that this has been successful.

15 years ago, many people considered our success a long shot (or a no shot). Just a summer romance that would sizzle out. But here we are coming off of a vacation with three kids happier than ever. Eleven years married and many more ahead!