I'm An Auntie Again!

He's here, he's here! 

We just returned from Chicago, where we celebrated the arrival and baptism of Nathaniel Augustine, our newest nephew. What a little peanut! He has some of the biggest, most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a newborn, and his facial expressions are to die for. The minute we walked in the door, Audrey suddenly looked monstrous in comparison to her less-than-one-month-old cousin. She though he was pretty interesting for awhile, but soon she had many other things to think about. Thankfully there were lots of arms to hold her so I could spend some quality time holding Baby Nathaniel!

The boys stayed with my parents in MN for the weekend so that we could insure a quieter visit to the brand-new family of three. While I nearly broke Grandma's heart when she found out they wouldn't be there, I think it worked out for the best. 

The Baptism was officiated by a dear, sweet, long-winded, retired Irish priest. He didn't just follow the Baptismal rite, he took it upon himself to catechize the lot of us on Christian theology and salvation history. And through it all, Nathaniel made not a peep! Future theologian do we have?

Other than the baptism itself, the womenfolk rarely left the house. We had so much to talk about (and so many hungry babies...) that we spent most of the weekend at the dining room table catching up. Glenn led the men on a tour of parts of downtown Chicago, and they also managed to smoke cigars on the beach... cold as it was. While they were gone, we did make a trip to a tasty cake shop down the street from their house, Nathaniel in the Moby and Audrey in a borrowed stroller. If you live in the Chicago area, check it out! It was delicious.

Monica looked absolutely amazing for having just had a baby three weeks ago, even though she was soldiering through some tough sleepless nights. Glenn has taken to fatherhood like a fish to water, even volunteering to change diapers!! (I know, what???) That little boy himself is as cute as a button, and gosh are we excited to finally have cousins on both sides of the family!

Opinionated

Lucian is a kid who knows what he wants.

Actually, the only thing he really knows he wants is an opinion. As in, "I want the blue plate. I don't like green." on Monday and "Green is my favorite color, I want the green spoon" on Tuesday. And these are not just opinions, these are hardcore opinions. These are meltdown opinions. These are "scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs-until-Mom-throws-me-in-my-room-and-then-scream-some-more" opinions. Who knew stirring the grape nuts into his yogurt instead of leaving them on top was cause for total implosion? Not I ... until about 1.3 seconds too late.

The thing I can't figure out is that, even though it never works, he still goes bat-crazy on me every morning. I pour his milk into the "wrong" cup and suddenly the world collapses around him. I have perfected a wrestling hold to keep his limbs from flailing at my face on the way up the stairs.

Right about now, most of you are saying to yourselves, "Lucian?? Is that the Lucian I know? But he's so sweet/quiet/compliant/fill-in-the-blank!" Ha! His plot is working. He's got you all wrapped around his finger. But I know the truth. Right around 7:08 every morning, I am living through the truth of a kid who wants what he wants, when he wants it, how he wants it.

But I get it. He has so little control over what happens in his life, as most 3-year-olds can attest. If we need to leave the house, we leave the house whether he wants to or not. If it's bedtime, it's bedtime. No matter how many choices I try to give him when I can, I think he just likes to lay it on thick when he thinks he can control the situation. Poor guy, he's kind of a slow learner. Every morning he thinks, "This is the day I'll get exactly what I want!" and every day his dreams are crushed by mean old Mom. How do I sleep at night?

Yeah, Mom, how do you sleep at night?

Mix It Up

My little scientist came up with his own experiment last week. We were sitting on the couch, having just finished reading a book when he told me he wanted to mix some colors. He needed glasses with water and dye, so I provided. I helped him choose the colors to start with and gave him a quick little crash course in the scientific method.

First we chose two colors to mix together, then we made a hypothesis about what the result would be. We poured both into one glass, stirred them up and evaluated the result. Max is a little bit too much like me- he hates being wrong. If he tries to spell a word and writes the wrong letter, he will decide to write another word rather than admit he spelled it wrong! I try so hard to provide an environment in which it is OK to guess and OK to be wrong sometimes, but apparently my genes are pretty strong.

It turns out that this experiment was great practice for Max in being wrong! I made him guess the color that each combination of dyed water would make, and then I wrote it down. No backing out, mister! But I explained that the greatest scientists are wrong a lot! What matters is that they are discovering new things.

So we picked yellow and red. Max guessed that the resulting color would be brown, but when he mixed them together they made orange. And you know what? He was fine! He simply reminded me that we were making discoveries, and then he moved on to the next combination.

After mixing every possible combination, we decided to dump all of the water together into one big bowl. His hypothesis this time was the same as his first: the water will be brown. And time his hypothesis was correct! He was very proud of himself and asked if we could do the whole experiment again some time. I'm sure we will.

Bluegrass Birthday

I love parties. My kids love parties. When the opportunity arises to plan a party for my kids, I'm all about it! For Lucian's third birthday party, we had only one option for a theme: The Okee Dokee Brothers! It is the only thing that Louie is passionate about, and boy is he passionate! He acts out concerts and scenes from their DVD, he knows almost every word to every song, and he doesn't leave you alone until you join in.

We based his party theme around the Okee Dokee Brothers' latest CD, "Can You Canoe?" (If you don't own it, you should). The songs are all about camping and canoeing and everything that goes with it, so it made for some fun possibilities for a party! We set the scene with a paper campfire and tree-stump seats, with a "canoe" (sled) and "paddles" (kitchen spoons) parked nearby. The kids got to play in a tent, eat off of tin plates and "roast" marshmallows after lunch. 

But the highlight of the day was the singalong! Grandpa brought his guitar and a stack of Okee Dokee songs that he had been practicing, and we all joined the birthday boy in singing and rocking out to the music. All of the kids added their own musical talents along the way; we had Lucian on guitar, Augustine on drums, and Anna on ukulele. It was priceless.

After the jam session, we broke out the banjo cake. I am pretty proud of this creation.

Here's another picture of it:

Oh, ok, I'll throw in one more for good measure. 

The time and stress it took to make (Paul will tell you- he had to remind me to breathe while I was frosting) was totally worth it to see the look on Lucian's face when he first laid eyes on it!

We enjoyed our cake, although I may have cried a little as it got sliced into pieces, then Lucian opened presents (in the canoe of course). It was such a fun day. Now we have a short break before the next celebration... time to sit back, relax and listen to some bluegrass!

Lucian is Three!

My sweet little boy, you are three years old already! It's funny to think that we imagined you to be our shy, quiet child who would hide behind my legs as both of your parents did when they were kids. Maybe you've taken cues from your fearless big brother, but I think you've always had a spark that just took a little longer to flare up.

You are a born entertainer. Hand you a guitar (or tennis racket or stick) and you will turn any surface into a stage to perform your favorite songs. You leave us in stitches because your performances are spot-on, but you still have a sweet baby voice. You love to sing about "Roskeeta Bug Bug" (Rosita the Bug), "Blurass a Buppist" (Bluegrass for Breakfast), and "Boakin Dance" (The Boatman's Dance) by your idols, Justin and Joe from the Okee Dokee Brothers.

As I have been dreaming since the moment I found out I was having a second baby, you and Max have become the best of friends! Most days you disappear into your room to play Moon Landing, turn the dining room into a railroad train, or take up your swords to hunt down the "scary stuff" that lurks in the corners of the house. You and your brother have your differences, but it amazes me how much you love each other.

And speaking of love, you have taken on your role of big brother with joy and determination! You love to feed your little sister, you throw away diapers for me, you even make faces at her just to see her smile.

I have loved seeing your personality blossom over the last year. You have made your mark on our family, and I know you'll make your mark on the world. I am so proud to be your mommy!

Knights and Castles

Having a child born on Christmas always presents a challenge: how and when and how often do we celebrate the day? It's something we juggle every year, and generally Max ends up getting at least two separate birthday celebrations. This year, we celebrated with his friends on the anniversary of his baptism, January 19. And wonder of wonders, there was not a pirate to be found! Max chose a knights and castles theme for his party, and I can't tell you how excited I was to buy crepe paper that wasn't black.

His friends showed up and were given a glow sword and a cardboard shield, which they decorated until the pizza arrived. Everyone filled up on pizza to prepare for the quest ahead of them: they had to complete three tasks in order to earn the title of Knight.

First, they crossed the swamp, making sure to touch only the "rocks".

Then they threw a ball to knock over a troll and cross his bridge.

Finally, they had to sneak up on a sleeping dragon (Uncle Liam) and steal one of his scales without stepping on the tissue paper that surrounded him or making any other noise.

When the tasks were successfully completed, the knight-hopefuls gathered in the throne room to be knighted by King Paul the Second and awarded with a certificate of knighthood by Queen Taryn. The Knighting ceremony was followed by a celebration with cake and ice cream in honor of Prince Maximilian!

I know I say this each year, but five sure seems like a big milestone. It was five whole years ago that we all gathered at Blessed Sacrament Church to welcome a tiny new baby into God's family, and look at how he has grown since then! He's ready to take on the world, slaying any dragons that come his way. God bless you, my Maximilian!

Cousins

Oh what to say? Four of my very favorite people just flew across the ocean away from us again. The boys and Catherine were here for a month, and I was getting pretty darn used to seeing them whenever I wanted. The last week of their visit, after Tony had joined them and we returned from South Dakota, we spent pretty much every day at Grandma and Grandpa's so the cousins could get to know each other. This was the first time they had seen each other in a year and a half, and it was certainly the first time they have actually played together. 

Max and Alexander had some important chats over their coloring book, and it was such a joy to hear them really talking to each other!  Zander is verbal beyond his years, so he kept right up with Max in conversational ability.

Alexander and Lucian are only six months apart in age, and they share a love of all things music, especially the Okee Dokee Brothers, guitars and banjos. We were serenaded time and again by the dynamic duo; my dad is hopeful that he has the makings of a band to rival the Radecki Family Band from my childhood. (Yes, back in the day, yours truly played some high-profile gigs at church auctions, YMCA events, and fundraisers. If you want my autograph, just ask). I think the boys will be ready to go on the road as soon as they can strum a real chord!

The four boys were in heaven playing games with Grandma, and I don't think she minded too much. My parents take this grandparent thing to a whole new level... they'll do anything for their grandkids! I think by the end of the visit they may have been ready for a little break (having five kids five-and-under in the house nearly full-time might do that) but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. They were going strong til the last.

We took the kids to the train museum in St. Paul with Great Grandpa, and everyone was enthralled with the exhibits. After watching the trains for awhile, we went to the Como Park Pavilion for a snack and a little exploring. Funny how it takes visitors from Austria to get us out into our own neighborhood! Lucian and Isaac had some nice moments together throughout the trip; they are both a little more laid-back than their older brothers, so even though there is quite an age difference, I think they really enjoyed each other.

Alexander fell head-over-heels for Audrey and just couldn't get enough of her! Every time he saw her, he wanted to shower her with affection. That girl... for now, she's the center of all sorts of positive attention. But just wait, little one. With four boys above you, there are all sorts of shenanigans to come!

Tony and Catherine, thank you for sharing so much of your time with us. I know that traveling is not easy, and being away from home for so long wreaks havoc on little bodies. A seven hour time change is hard enough on the most seasoned travelers, I can only imagine what it does to kids! But you did a beautiful job and you are wonderful parents. We miss you terribly, and we hope that someday we will meet you at the airport for a homecoming rather than just a visit. Until then, Max, Lucian and Audrey will try to wait patiently for the next chance to play with their cousins!