Blaise's First Year Blazes By

Oh my poor fifth born! It's November and I haven't yet posted about your FIRST BIRTHDAY!! 

I promise you, my dear Blaiser, that you are loved just as much as your siblings! We dote on you, we adore you... I just have less time to write about it is all. Please don't be mad. 

On September 6, 2017, Blaise Lawrence Yantes turned one year old! He was the first of my children to walk before their first birthday, and he hasn't stopped moving since. He is a sports lover; he was throwing and bouncing balls before he took his first step. He pushes a hockey stick around in front of him wherever he goes, and he is learning to kick a soccer ball. There's not a sport in existence he won't try. 

The other main love of his life is fruit! So instead of opting for a store-bought, thickly frosted, artificially dyed sugar bomb like I did for Edith's first birthday, I went the way of fruit and cream on angel food... mmmmm, his tastes are much more similar to mine. Blaise devoured the fruit, but it took him awhile to discover how amazing the cake was. Once he did, there was no stopping him!

Then it was time to open presents. Realizing this was Blaise's first gift opening experience, his siblings graciously offered to help him with his wrapping paper. It took him awhile to get beyond the fun, brightly colored, crinkly paper, but he was pleasantly surprised to discover what the bags held! He got a couple of puzzles, a book (appropriately titled "Ball"), and... his very favorite...

A brand new playground bouncy ball! 

 

I have a feeling we may start finding this ball in his bed one of these days. Who needs stuffed animals when you have a green alien bouncy ball?

Blaise, my little man, I hope you know how much you are loved! Every morning you have four siblings (and two parents) who just can't wait to see you! You are a joy to be around, you keep us in stitches with your antics. You aren't about to let yourself be forgotten; you have discovered your vocal chords and you intend to use them. But even though you're a bit loud, and a bit of a bruiser, often your big siblings would rather be beat up on by you than hugged by me. You are their little treasure, and mine too. I love watching you grow, I love your mischievous grin, I love your independent spirit, and I love your snuggles. Thanks for being YOU, Mr. Blaise!

My Summer Birthday Girls

 My two girls have birthdays just over a month apart, and in our busyness this summer I forgot to post about either one! Today I will finally remedy that oversight.

Audrey turned FIVE on June 17! She celebrated a ballerina-themed party with a bunch of her friends and family. It was so adorable to watch them all play freeze-dance, "Don't let the balloon touch the ground" and all kinds of games of their own creation. Audrey, of course, spent the day in full ballerina get-up, complete with ballet shoes... for one day only they were allowed outside, lucky girl.

While it was exciting to watch Audrey turn five, I didn't get the feeling that she's growing up too fast. She has a maturity (and an attitude...) beyond her years. If anything, five still seems too young for her! But I won't for an instant try to rush this time. I will cherish the fact that a teddy bear with its own wardrobe of clothing was the best gift she could possibly imagine. I will relish the memory of her opening a pink frilly nightgown and jumping with excitement. Sometimes in the midst of parenting my strong-willed little girl, I forget how young she is. I love the sweetness in these photos; they remind me that sweet and strong can (and do) coexist in my dear Audrey.

A month later, on July 27, Edith turned three! We celebrated with a "Snack Dinner" (Edith's choice), presents and cake. She received a Wild beach towel and fleece blanket, a new swimsuit, and a stuffed triceratops from her Uncle Ben that she promptly named "Jellycat" (Last year's gift from Ben was a stuffed cow that received the name "Puppycow"... so there's that).

I assumed Edith would choose a hockey-themed cake for her birthday, but she surprised me and requested a Thomas the Train cake! This was doubly sweet because her sister's third birthday cake was also Thomas-themed. Sometimes I notice more about my girls' differences than their similarities, but at the end of the day, they are best friends.

It is so fun to see how excited the other kids get when one of their siblings is celebrating. They love making the day special and going out of their way to show love to the birthday kid!

Happy belated birthday, girls! I love you lots and lots!

The Sun is Out, The Son is Risen!

I sit and write this on a gloomy, cloudy, rainy day, but when we celebrated Easter a couple of weeks ago the weather was perfect! It was sunny but not hot, ideal for sitting on my parents' patio sipping drinks and watching the kids hunt for Easter Eggs.

We took the family to Mass first thing in the morning and sang all of the Alleluias! The church was beautiful, with flowers and silks piled on every surface. Everyone wore their very best attire, and Audrey was especially proud of her twirly dress with pink flowers. She insisted on keeping it on until we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house so everyone could see her in all her beauty.

After Mass we returned home to grab a change of clothes and the kids found their Easter baskets waiting for them on the couch! As a family we gave up all sweets for Lent, so they literally couldn't contain their excitement when they saw Pez and Cadbury eggs and jelly beans, all for them! We let them choose a few treats to sample before leaving, and I'm pretty sure Edith ate an entire plastic egg's worth of jelly beans in one gulp.

We were sad to miss Tony and Catherine and the kids who were home with a stomach bug, but we did get to celebrate with THREE sets of grandparents and Uncle Ben! Whenever I tell people that my kids have all of their grandparents and six great grandparents to dote on them, I am reminded what a blessing that is! I love that for every family gathering we have to answer over and over the question, "So, which grandmas and grandpas are going to be there?"

It was a beautiful day of joy and celebration!

Happy Easter!

Halfway Done

A friend pointed out a terrifying thought to me; as of December 25, Max is halfway done with his childhood! In another nine years, he will be a legal adult, able to vote... and drive... and... leave. Oh dear, my mommy heart is not ready for that, not at all.

He has been maturing at a breakneck pace; each day he surprises me with new insights and new behaviors. Recently, after trying to come to an agreement with his brother about what game to play, he came to me and informed me, "Mom, sometimes when you really want to do one thing and someone else really wants to do something else, it's better to come up with a third thing to do. That way, you both don't get to do your first choice, but you get to do something together!" We had a good chat about compromise and cooperation, and while he's still working on a full understanding of those concepts, he seems wiser every day.

As he grows, his powers of observation have matured as well. In the past, he hasn't had much time to stop and notice how his behavior affects others. His brain and body just moved so fast that he was a bit oblivious to surrounding circumstances. Recently his ability to empathize has sprung up seemingly out of nowhere! When all the other kids are yelling at me for one reason or another, Max can sense when I'm about to boil over and often will begin trying to call off his siblings. If I have to remove myself from the room so I don't lose it, he's the first to come find me and snuggle next to me to apologize, even if he was not the reason for my frustration.

He has always been terribly affectionate; I know that the quickest way to his heart is to snuggle with him on the couch under a soft blanket. No matter what has happened between us, no matter what I've made him do (or not let him do), he will simply melt into my arms. I am so thankful that this has yet to show any signs of waning. I don't know what I would do if someday Max didn't want to be hugged. I wouldn't recognize him!

And thankfully, he still has that joie de vivre and unbounded curiosity that make him who he is. I have often thought that I'm thankful it's Max who has a Christmas birthday. He doesn't feel overshadowed by the holiday, in his mind it's the more the merrier! More celebrating, more food, more presents for everyone, more decorations, more chaos, more attention, more excitement! As you can see, he insisted on dressing up like an elf for the day.

This little man has been such a blessing to me. I hope to take time and sit back to soak in his last year of single digits! His first decade will be done before I know it!

 

The Yantes Inn is Open for Business

For the weekend of Blaise's baptism, we had a house chock full of family! Paul, Maureen and Liam made the trip from Rapid, Monica and Glenn's family came from Wisconsin, and even Patrick and Anne came down from North Dakota! I was reminded what a blessing our new home is as we found places for everyone to sleep and still felt that we had room to spare! (Next time we'll have to squeeze in Megan and the Wards too... hint, hint)

Glenn and Monica arrived first on Friday, bringing with them a huge container of Glenn's delicious smoked meat to serve at the Baptism reception. The cousins settled in and began to play together while we relaxed and caught up. Everyone else arrived later that night after the kids were asleep. The boys were thrilled to wake up to Patrick sleeping in their room and Liam on the couch downstairs! It took every ounce of self-control they had not to jump on them and wake them up the moment they saw them.

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we decided to hike Dodge Nature Center, the beautiful nature area near our house. The kids had a great time exploring the woods, the farm, and a boardwalk through the swamp. They even got a closeup look at some turkeys! Speaking of edible birds... Paul batter fried chicken and french fries for dinner, which was deee-licious.

Most of us went to Mass Sunday morning, but those who had gone the night before stayed home with the smallest of the children. When we got home, the house was spotless! My amazing mother-in-law and brother-in-law had whipped the house into shape while watching three little children! How come I can't do that? Then Monica, with her cake decorating mad skillz, turned a plain white sheet cake into this beauty:

We spent the day watching football and making last minute preparations, and then in the evening got ourselves over to the church for the big moment! The baptism was beautiful, the reception was a blast, and everyone stayed up around the bonfire late into the night... except me. I was totally beat. Blaise chose this weekend to become quite needy, and after a day of rocking and bouncing him, I was ready to crash when he was.

Monday morning most everyone headed home, but we got one more day with Monica and Glenn. It was another gorgeous day, so we spent it outside in the backyard watching the kids play... and doing some playing ourselves. I made it two whole steps on the slackline! Lucian was very proud of me. (Monica maybe might have made it even farther than I did but who's counting anyways...) Then we enjoyed Chin Chins Chinese for dinner, because apparently where Monica and Glenn live is a black hole for good Chinese food. And Chin Chin's is probably the best in the nation, so there's that.

Tuesday morning was a snap back into reality as I hustled the kids out the door for Catechesis as the last of our visitors hit the road. It feels like we haven't stopped going since then, but it sure was great to have a long weekend break to enjoy time with family!

They caught a woolly bear caterpillar on our hike

Buddies! 

No babies were harmed in the making of this photo

Up From the Waters

You know one thing I love about being Catholic? We have so many opportunities to celebrate! On October 9 at 5:00 pm, Blaise Lawrence was welcomed into the church through baptism, surrounded by friends and family. We don't ever want to wait long after our babies are born to have them baptized, so we picked a date that worked for us, the priest, and the Godparents and then hoped that others could make it too. We were so excited when we found out that Paul, Maureen and Liam, Monica and Glenn and their family, and Patrick and Anne could all make the trip and stay for the weekend! My Grandma and Grandpa (after whom Blaise Lawrence was named) drove up from Marshall, and close to fifty other family members, friends, and their children came to witness Blaise's important day!

Fr. Kyle performed a beautiful ceremony while making sure to explain what was happening in a way that all of the kids in attendance (upwards of 20!) could understand. Blaise's wonderful Godparents Angela and Luke stood by us and promised to pray for him. And as the water was poured over Blaise's head, every child in the room leaned forward in anticipation and excitment. It was an incredible moment.

The photos make it look idealistic, but actually Blaise was crying inconsolably throughout much of the ceremony. Everyone tells me that it wasn't that bad, but even Fr. Kyle took a moment to remind everyone, "Don't worry, this is his death day" in reference to his earlier homily referring to Baptism as a death to sin. I guess dying to sin can be painful!

After the ceremony, everyone came back to our house for a celebration. Paul and I both love to host gatherings, but we are not good planners. So it's great that every couple of years we are forced to get our act together and throw a party in honor of our children's sacraments! By the time we run out of baptisms and first communions, the older kids will be moving on to confirmation, and then... marriage? Holy Orders? Only time will tell! Like I said, it's good to be Catholic.