Four Years

Sweet Harper,

You turned 4 last week! FOUR! 4. I cannot get over the fact that you're this old. We had such a fun time celebrating this year. They've all been fun, but this year you got it. For real. We planned and planned for this party. A cowboy theme. I came home from a work trip a couple of months ago and told you I'd reserved the ponies. You were excited and you asked me how many would be coming to your party. I told you there would be 3 ponies for you and your friends and you promptly told me that was not sufficient...you would need EIGHT ponies! You also advised me not to forget the balloons and cake. I think birthday party fever has officially been passed on to you. You take it just as seriously as I do!

And then the week of your party arrived and the weather got crazy hot and those ponies couldn't even come. Instead we got stuck with Kevo the Cowboy Klown. Who, let's be honest, was a bit cheesy. But you know what? You didn't even think to ask me that day where the ponies were. You just rolled with it and played non-stop. When you were ready for us to sing happy birthday and blow out your candles you had the biggest smile on your face and you said to me "Mama, THIS is the best birthday ever!"

That spark you have, the wonderful, fun personality is one of the million things I love about you. I swear you literally light up a room when you walk into it. Your happiness is infectious. Sometimes I wonder how I ever lived without it in my life because you honestly make every day better. And your kindness! Goodness, I don't know how we got so lucky! You are so sweet to everyone, especially younger kiddos. You love babies and seem to have quite a way with them. I know you're going to make such a great big brother someday!

Your 4th year was really fun! You became so much more independent. Not only are you potty trained, but you take yourself to the bathroom whenever you need to. Now if only you could figure out how to get re-dressed correctly! Oh well! I know someday I'll miss the times you walked out of the bathroom with both legs through one hole of your underwear and your pants on backward. You admitted to having your first girlfriend this year, Aubrey from next door. You even insisted on taking her flowers on Valentine's Day. I can tell already that some day you are going to going to make some woman very happy. We went to Disney World! Our first ride was the Snow White ride and you were terrified of the Wicked Witch. From there on out you asked before you would get on any ride if there were going to be scary witches. You played soccer and t-ball this year. Both started off a little rocky, but you're catching on! It's been so fun to watch you gain confidence as the seasons progress. We tried swimming lessons as well, but those were a disaster. You were so terrified that we finally just stopped. You would ask your swim teacher if she was sure you were going to make it when she'd ask you to put your face in the water. It was so cute and pitiful at the same time:)

You are a total mama's boy. I have created this, I know. I don't even make any excuses about it. We adore each other and while you love your daddy very much, you and I have something pretty special. My favorite part of the day is when we snuggle before you fall asleep. You tell me the best and worst parts of your day, give me about a hundred kisses and eventually coax me into giving you tickles. You remind me that tickles help you fall asleep, and if I stop, you'll wake up. So I give you tickles and we say our prayers, The Lords Prayer (you know every word,) Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, and prayers for Avery and a new brother or sister. Eventually when I hear the deep, steady breaths I know you're falling asleep and silently thank God over and over again that we have you in our life, and then when I know it's safe, I sneak out of your room.

This fall you're starting pre-school at the Montessori school. I can't wait to see how much you're going to learn and grow. Part of me wishes there was a pause button on life so I could stop time and enjoy you just like this forever but most of me is so excited to watch you grow and get to know the person you're going to become. We are so very proud of you, Harp. You are the love of our lives, the center of our universe. We are so very blessed to be your parents.

Love,
Mommy

2011

It's really 2011. It's so hard to believe. This past year has gone so incredibly fast. It's been the best year and the worst all at the same time. Harper has been amazing. Being his mom is so much fun. In the last 6 months he's hit some pretty big milestones. He's speaking in full sentences and his sense of humor is hysterical. He makes me laugh all the time. He has moved out of his crib and his nursery into his new room with a big boy bed. Of course, he did this with zero hiccups. Which may or may not mean that I waited until he was beyond ready. Or maybe I did it at just the right time. Who knows. Either way, he loves his big boy bed and the only tears that were shed were by me. It makes me sad that we no longer have nursery in our home. Guess that means we'll have to make having another baby in 2011 a top priority! Harper is also doing a great job with potty training. Of course there have been some frustrating moments and no one prepares parents that the process of potty training will mean spending A LOT of time in the bathroom. It will be so worth it, though, when he's 100% trained. He's also really started to use his imagination. It's coming out in his playtime and it's just so cute. Last week he made me "dinner" and set the table with his little plates and fake chicken and we "ate" together. THESE are the moments that we parents live for. Now we just need to focus on breaking him of the binkie habit. I know, I know. He's 2 1/2 and still has a binkie. There is no excuse for it other than I haven't wanted to take it away. It's the last little shred of baby I have left.
This year has been rough because I've watched my dear friends and their little girl fight the fight of their lives this year. It's been heartbreaking, depressing, inspiring and thrilling all at the same time. It's really been a roller coaster. Terrible news, wonderful news, greats news, devastating news, and we're beginning 2011 on a hopeful note. I believe in miracles and I believe that Avery is going to get her miracle. I just feel it in my heart. And we'll keep praying for it and believing in it and waiting for it to come.
So come on 2011...bring it on. I know it's going to be great. And if it's not, I've learned that we can handle pretty much anything.

Thankful

This has been a rough month. In spite of the heartbreak I'm feeling for the Christiansen's, though, I'm feeling incredibly thankful. We hosted 2 benefits for Team Avery in November and both were very well attended and we raised over $10,000! It was so humbling to see people who had never even met Jeremy, Jenn or Avery come out to support them both figuratively and financially. So many people helped make both events so successful. It just left me in awe of how lucky we are. This circle of friends, family, and co-workers I have is pretty amazing.
This year for Thanksgiving we celebrated with friends rather than family. We went to the Kruger's for dinner and had a great meal with Devin, Lori, Dayton, Eric and Julianna. We were pretty impressed that we were able to pull off a full, traditional holiday meal without the assistance of "real adults," aka our parents.
Friday night I had a girls night out with Jenn and her mom, Kristie, Jen Curtis and her mom and sister, Brenda and Ashley, and my mom. We had a great dinner on the Plaza. I forgot how crazy the Plaza is at Christmas time. Wow. It took 20 minutes to get from the west side of the plaza to the east side. But, the Plaza is beautiful at this time of year, the dinner was great and the company was excellent so it was all worthwhile!
Saturday we went to Lincoln to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Eginoire side of the family. It was great to see everyone...especially the newest member of the family: Baby Zoe! She's beautiful and perfect and we're all in love. Especially Harper. He's been talking about her all day today.
We put up the Christmas decorations today, so it's officially Christmas at the Pealer household. Harper took a really long nap this afternoon. When he went down we hadn't done much decorating, but when he woke up the garland and lights were up. He stepped out of his room to see the decorated banister and said "woooo! That's beautiful, Mommy!" That reaction and excitement is EXACTLY what is going to make Christmas so fun this year. And I'm going to soak up every second of his awe over the season. He is the most amazing gift we've ever been given and I plan to enjoy him to the fullest.

Ugh...

So this past week has been a rough one. Avery had her scans last week and they found that her cancer has returned and we don't have much time left with her. It's heartbreaking. And infuriating. And sickening. And scary. And horrific. And I could go on and go. This is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy and instead I'm having to watch it happen to my best friend. The girl I would do anything for, I suddenly CAN'T do anything for. There is nothing I can do to make this better or take the pain away and it's killing me. I want to have the answers. I want to know what to say. But I don't. And I'm not going to. So, I'm just going to fumble my way through this one and try to be the best friend I can be. Try to support her and her husband and their families. I'm going to love on that little girl as much as I can. And I'm going to pray and I'm going ask everyone I know to pray. That's all I know for sure how to do.
The bright spot in this past week was our trip to Iowa for the weekend. We went to my parents' house to celebrate my mom's birthday. It had been far too long since we'd spent a weekend up there and it was good for my soul. I swear, no matter how old you get, when life gets hard, your mommy always has a way of making it better. We had dinner as a family on Friday night at a Japanese steak house and I've decided that's the way to go with a 2 year old. He was thoroughly entertained the entire time and behaved like a perfect little angel. And he ate more zucchini than I've ever seen anyone eat. What more can a mom ask for? Saturday I had a girls day with my mom and sister-in-law and we had a great time! Lunch, shopping, and pedicures...3 of my favorite things!
Well...I suppose it's bedtime. And I have a lot of praying to do before I go to sleep so I best get going.

Fall Is In Full Swing

First a forewarning...this is going to be long. It has to be because I've slacked off and haven't written in a long time, but we've been doing so much fun stuff over the past month that I don't want to miss documenting!


It's definitely fall and we've been so busy, but it's been great! We've done so many fun things... a couple of which involved Iowa State football! Well I guess if we're going to get technical 1 of those events also included Iowa football, which is only relevant because my sweet husband is unfortunately an Iowa fan and he feels pretty strongly about our son also growing up to be an Iowa fan. We'll see about that. Although, after the way Iowa State played this year, I don't know if I could blame him if he grew up to be a Hawk fan. He would at least probably lead to a life with far less hearbreak than we Cyclone fans are accostomed to. Anyway, my point was we watched the Iowa State vs. Iowa game with a great group of fun Iowa people. We also went to the Iowa State/K-State game at Arrowhead. It didn't turn out like we clones fans would have liked, (yes, more heartbreak,)but it was still so great to spend time with great friends cheering on our team, and even better that I got to do it 10 minutes from our home! If only all ISU games were played in KC!







We celebrated Thad's 32nd Birthday on the 22nd of September. We had dinner with Harper at Carabba's and then came home for ice cream cake with our neighbors. Thad even let us sing Happy Birthday, which is very non-Thad-like. He said it was for the kids, but I don't know...he may have even enjoyed it a bit himself. Although, you'll notice by the lack of pictures that he didn't enjoy it enough to allow me to catch it on film. We went out the weekend after his birthday with good friends. We had a great dinner and a fun night listening to live music at a cute little spot in downtown Lee's Summit. I love to find great little locally owned spots! Again...no pictures to prove it, but I promise we had fun!

We have also enjoyed another one of our favorite fall traditions...the pumpkin patch! We love it so much, we've actually been twice. Once with the Christiansen's and then again with the Kruger's and Dooley's. We go to this great pumpkin patch that also has a bunch of farm animals and activities for the kiddos. We could really probably take Harper there every weekend and he'd never get tired of it!





Fall brings one other very important event...Thad and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary this past week. 3 years. It's gone so fast, but it also seems like we've been together forever. I can't remember what my life was like without him. I do know this much...everything has been so much better with him by my side. I'm a lucky, lucky girl. We celebrated by having a great dinner at one of our favorite restaurants last weekend and even going out for a couple drinks afterward. It was so nice! We don't do date nights nearly often enough.

So, the fall decorations are out. The yummy smelling candles are burning. Up next: Halloween! We can't wait! I'm already buying candy since we have like a million trick or treaters in this neighborhood...it's so fun!

September Already??

I cannot believe it’s already September. I know I say this every year, but really, where did the summer go?!? I love summer…I’m not ready for it to be coming to an end. Luckily we have pretty warm weather through most of September, so we’ll have to soak in these last precious opportunities to eat on patios, go for walks, and play on the swing set. Thad just asked me the other day what we’re going to do this winter when it’s snowing and freezing cold and Harper still wants to play outside every night. Hmm…sounds like a great opportunity for father-son bonding time, if you ask me!
I had my ladies dinner club last night and it was fabulous! We had wonderful Mexican food, delicious sangria, great conversation and “sprinkled” Tiffany with fun little girl gifts and passed her new baby, Brently, around the table. She dozed contentedly through the whole thing. Dinner club is apparently a bore to her! Holding a new baby and seeing all the darling baby girl clothes and accessories has officially given me a bad case of baby fever! Yikes!
Tonight Harper and I get hang out with baby Dayton…Harper refers to him as “my Dayton” and I just think it’s so cute. Those boys are going to be the best of friends I bet, which will just make their daddies so proud.

Home...For Now

We got home on Wednesday! The trip was amazing and I'm so thankful that we made the decision to go. Africa was never on my top 10 list, actually probably wouldn't have even made the top 20, but it was wonderful. Totally a trip that everyone should try to take at least once. I don't really consider myself someone who gets excited about seeing animals, but there is something so cool about seeing all those animals in their natural habitat. Plus, it's absolutely beautiful there.
It was also the first time that Thad and I had gone away together and left Harper for more than a weekend. It was good for us. We need to make a concious effort to go somewhere at least once a year. I had lots of anxiety over how I was going to do without him. I had no concerns on how he'd do without us. I knew he would be happy as a clam with his grandparents. I actually did really good, though. Sure, I missed him, but I was really fine. We kept so busy for most of the trip that I really didn't have much time to think about how much I was missing him. Our last 2 days allowed for a lot more free time and so that paired with the fact that it had been a LONG time since I'd seen him made me really start missing him. I was definitely ready to get on that plane and come home. I was giddy with excitement as we were landing in KC. He was a little mad at us, but quickly warmed up and forgave us. I took the day off on Thursday to spend snuggling and loving on him and it was exactly what we both needed.
Now I have to leave again tomorrow for a work trip to Indianapolis. I'll be back early Sunday night, so it's a quick trip. I still hate that I'm leaving him again so soon, though. Oh well, such is life I guess.
On another note, Harper has realized his deep passion for the show Yo Gabba Gabba. One might say he is obsessed. He is asking us to turn it on all the time. Yesterday we had to leave a friend's house because she didn't have Yo Gabba available On Demand and he wouldn't let it drop. Oh my. Let's hope this is a phase and it passes quickly. I never thought I'd be watching this crap.