Trace is 16 Months Old

Everyday it seems that Trace is learning to do something new. This past month he learned how to say "uh" (up) while reaching his little hands up in the air indicating he wants to be picked up. He also learned how to say "cuh" (cup) and I swear I heard him say "grandpa" pretty clear several times while on vacation. Trace is becoming a little smarty pants. He also learned how to throw things away in the garbage when asked. However, his greatest accomplishment of the month has to be learning how to go downstairs on his belly. He is quite proud of himself when he gets to the bottom and likes giving high fives. Trace is beginning to broaden his fruit horizons, as he is beginning to enjoy strawberries and pears. Yea! I was hoping I would win the fruit war...

People are constantly saying what a happy little guy he is, as he seems to always have a smile on his face. He loves to laugh and be tickled. On vacation in Branson, MO Trace went swimming several times and enjoyed having Daddy dip his hair backwards in the water. He came up with a huge smile on his face. Trace went to his first theme park, Silver Dollar City, and road his first rides. He did great at the park and was super good. However, he was scared of the rides and cried during both of them. I guess the leaping frogs were a bit much for him...

As mobile as Trace is, he continues to dislike being restrained, especially in his car seat. This intense dislike for being confined made the 13 hour drive to Branson somewhat noisy. We continue to be amazed at the power of his Praise Baby DVD. He can be crying and stop immediately upon seeing his video come on. It is amazing! Unfortunately, this power only lasts so long because really with three kids you can only watch the same movie so many times before someone complains.

Trace still loves balls and cars. He learned how to throw a ball this past month. He really enjoys dragging things around the house. It doesn't really matter what it is. At home he likes to walk around with his plastic golf clubs in his hands. On vacation, he found a small curtain rod which he carried all over the house. He recently discovered the ball popper and likes popping that as he walks around. He also really enjoys climbing, whether it be upstairs, up the ottoman, or up the couch. Once he reaches the top of the couch he is quite proud of himself and enjoys sitting up there like a big boy. We love our little guy. It will be fun to see what new things he learns this next month.

Trip to Iowa

We decided that nine weeks without our furniture was long enough, so we headed back to Iowa to pack up the rest of our stuff and visit with our friends and family. We had such a great time back home. While back home, we were able to celebrate our niece Aliyah's 7th birthday with both a family party at my sister's house and a friend party at The Playstation. We also were able to watch our nephew, Matthew, play soccer for his high school team which was undefeated. I must admit, it is having to miss the soccer games and birthday parties, that make living away from family tough. Those events were somewhat taken for granted before we moved and are now coveted times together.

We also enjoyed a night out with our friends from our small group and their kids. The girls had fun playing with their friends again. Unfortunately, I lost my voice while back home and came down with a nasty cold. So in between all of the people to see and places to go I was napping instead of packing. I started and finished strong though! Poor Trace ended up with a fever and bad cold that went straight to his chest. We had to take him to the doctor as soon as we got back to Michigan. He ended up having bronchialitis and had to have a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. The x-ray was negative and the albuterol he was given helped almost immediately thankfully. It seems our lives are complicated these days and that nothing goes quite like we plan...

Anyway, we had fun visiting with Trevor's family and my dad and Sue as well while back home. Grandma Becki took the girls to watch the movie "How to Train a Dragon", which they enjoyed. Aunt Sam took each of the kids individually for some special time and activities. The girls had fun making May Day baskets with her and Trace had fun playing next to Bryker.

Despite all the fun we had in Iowa, we were also there to work. Packing was a huge job, as most of the stuff that remained was breakable and needed to be wrapped carefully. My grandma, Mom, Sue, Dad, and Bob all came over at various times to help us with this daunting task. We also had to neutralize the girls' bedroom which had hot pink and lime green walls. It took 3 coats of paint to cover up those walls with a nice beige color. Sue came over and helped me paint their room, which was a tremendous help. Trevor tackled outdoor work including the removal of weeds and Christmas lights. It was February when we left and still very cold outside, so the Christmas lights had to wait.

The movers came and loaded us up and we met them in Michigan the following day. We had a great time in Iowa. It was hard to leave again. On our way back to Michigan we stopped to spend some time with our good friends, Sally and Ryan and their two girls. We had a fun night playing games and visiting with them.

Now that we are back in Michigan, we are excited to have all of our furniture, yet overwhelmed by all the boxes. We are in a mad dash to get through our boxes as we leave for vacation May 14th through May 23rd to spend a week in Branson, Missouri with Trevor's family. Then the weekend after we get back we have some friends coming to stay with us for. I guess we just need to take one box at a time and as we do our house will slowly transform into more of a home. Oh and as a fun side note on how things don't always go as we plan. Upon returning to Michigan and going through the mail. We received a letter with two pictures of the back of my minivan driving down the interstate in Cedar Rapids, as well as, a close up of my license plate. Apparently, while driving across town to pick up my grandma I was going 71 mph in a 55 mph zone and was rewarded with a $70 speeding ticket. I didn't even know they gave tickets that way. I guess it was my lucky day...

Four Corners

Before:If you have heard us talk about our new house, you have probably heard us mention "the four corners". When standing in the kitchen you can literally see four different types of flooring merge to form "the four corners". The kitchen has wood laminate, which meets up with the carpeted dining room, which is next to the black flagstone tile, which meets up with the hardwood floor in the den. Of the four floors the only one we like is the hardwood floor. We decided it would be best to get the flooring redone prior to getting all of our furniture delivered, so we have been busy preparing to have tile and carpet installed. Trevor ripped out the black flagstone tile with a friend of ours, which was a big job. He also had to rip out the carpet in the dining room and the wood laminate in the kitchen. In addition, he had to disassemble all of the appliances. The hard work was worth it though when we saw the finished product. Take a peak...

After:

Trace is 15 Months Old!!!

Trace is definitely transforming into a little boy versus the baby he has been. He has started talking and can say: "mama or mum, dada or da, bah (ball), sah (sock), ta da (peek-a-boo), nana (Kianna), and Kayee (Kaylee)". He still refuses to use sign language but manages to get his point across. He has begun pointing and grunting to indicate what he wants. For example, if he wants a drink he goes up to the refrigerator or if he wants a snack he goes up to the pantry door. I would prefer he use the signs I have worked to teach him, but since he refuses I guess his method works too. It is funny seeing how different kids are despite raising them the same.

Trace is comprehending quite a few words. He understands upstairs, bath, cup, ball, and night night (bedtime) to name a few. He loves taking baths. As soon as I say the word "bath" Trace will go up to the bathtub and begin banging on it until I put him inside. It is fun watching him comprehend things. I love watching him learn. Trace has a cute little voice he uses when "singing" to his Praise Baby DVD. His faces just lights up when his movie comes on. It is so precious!

Trace loves sucking his thumb and it doesn't matter which thumb it is, they both work. As gross as it is, the only thing that makes sucking his thumb even better is having a fist full of his sister's hair in his hand while sucking it. Gross I know! He also LOVES to walk. He isn't the best follower, as he often takes his own route, but he loves to wander. This also means he does not enjoy being restrained. Trace loves to go up stairs but has not learned how to go down stairs yet. He knows that stairs are dangerous and so stays away from them. He prefers to be carried down the stairs rather than crawling down them himself. I have got him to practice going down them himself only a hand full of times. I guess he has a mind of his own, imagine that!

Trace loves balls and still enjoys playing fetch. We throw it and he retrieves it. Trace has recently learned how to climb on and off of his little car and thinks that is pretty fun. Trace also enjoys dumping things out of their containers (making messes). He enjoys putting his shapes into the shape sorter, although he still needs some help with this. He enjoys knocking over towers and is beginning to enjoy throwing things (i.e. balls, blocks, legos, etc.,). Trace is also starting to hit. He hits in a very innocent way. He doesn't know it hurts anyone, he just gets excited and begins hitting. He also enjoys banging on things and making loud noises.

Trace is a great eater and will eat most anything except for fruit. The only fruits I can get him to eat are bananas, prunes, and applesauce otherwise they end up on the floor. I don't think he likes the tartness of fruit, because he definitely has a sweet tooth like the rest of us otherwise. Trace is such a precious little guy. He loves to smile and often has a smile for anyone looking his way. He loves it when Daddy tickles him and he really likes playing peek-a-boo and hide-n-seek. Trace has a really silly smile that he does. He scrunches up his nose and gives a really toothy grin. It is super cute. He has such a great personality! We love you Buddy.

The Wenzel's Visit

We had a fun weekend with our good friends, Sally and Ryan and their two girls. We gave them a tour of The Center and LCS. We tried to convince Sally to apply for the High School Biology teacher job opening. Unfortunately, I don't think we succeeded. On Saturday, Sally and I had a good time visiting our friend, Jodi and attending her baby shower. Jodi's hometown is about an hour north of Adrian. It was so good getting some girl time and catching up with friends. The guys were troopers and watched the kids while we were away. They even took the girls swimming, which was a hit as usual. Saturday evening the guys got a little crazy and began hacking away at the entryway tile we decided to replace. Ryan is really handy and was a HUGE help to Trevor. He also saved us a lot of money. Yea! Trevor got a little crazy after they left and began ripping up the carpet in our dining room. He has been the energizer bunny these days. He still has to rip up the wood laminate in the kitchen and then we are ready for the tile to be installed next week. Yea!!! It is exciting adding a little of our own style to the house. Thanks for the help Ryan and for the fun visit!

Projects

Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom Now- I think the before picture might actually look better. I'll have to take a new picture once we get the rest of our furniture on May 5th (whoo hoo)
Multi-Grain Cheerio Box Entertainment Center (tough competition I know)
New Entertainment Center minus one drawer
Trevor was a crazy man trying to get things done before our friends visited for the weekend. On his to do list were painting the master bedroom, putting together our new entertainment center, and doing some yard work. That list doesn't sound too grueling, but our painting projects are complicated. Just like Kianna's room the previous owners painted the trim, doors, and baseboards the same color as the rest of the room, which in this case were all yellow. Our room has three doors (bathroom, closet, and the main door). Can I tell you what a pain it was to paint them all, plus the rest of the trim? It took us 6 days to complete our bedroom. Actually it isn't 100% done, but it is close. Trevor still needs to do some ragging on one wall, but that shouldn't take too long. He just ran out of time. The almost finished product looks great though. It is fun making some progress on our house.

The entertainment center is another welcomed addition to our house. In it's place previously sat an entertainment center composed of multigrain cheerio boxes. I'd say this is quite the improvement even though it isn't 100% complete either. Trevor has one more set of drawers to put together, but again he ran out of time before our company arrived. I guess we know what Trevor will be doing next weekend...

Sick Girl

Kaylee woke up with a 102.5 degree fever the morning we were supposed to be driving back to Iowa for Easter Break. After a trip to the doctor and with antibiotics in hand, I loaded the kids up and began driving to Iowa. We made it an hour and twenty minutes when a bathroom break was requested. It was at this point that I made the decision to turn around and drive back to Michigan. Poor Kaylee looked horrible. She wasn't even able to keep up with us while walking from the car to the bathroom. It was a good thing we turned around because Kaylee's high fever lasted for 3 days and didn't go away completely for 6 days. It ended up being a really bizarre virus. She had an upset tummy and fever blisters. Her mouth was so sore. She had 5 blisters on her lip and 3 on her tongue. It was very strange and sad.

Despite Kaylee's illness we had a nice Easter together as a family. We attended a Good Friday performance of The Last Supper in which the disciples voiced their insecurities about whether or not they would be the one who would betray Jesus. They each ended their monologue with a rhetorical question of "Is It I, Is It I"? Of course the sanctuary was silent, when Kianna decided to answer their question out loud and said "NO". She got quite a few giggles from the congregation and definitely lightened the mood.

We also had a good time decorating Easter eggs and looking outside for the 106 eggs Trevor hid for the kids. The girls had a blast looking for the eggs and Trace had fun too. He was so cute picking up the eggs and putting them into his basket. He is getting to be such a big boy! We made some fun memories that weekend.