Harper and the Hippo.

WUT?! 12 months!?!?

Real talk: I've been in denial about it. All of these "firsts" with Harper are also "lasts" for me as a Mom, so that's been super mega weird to deal with. But we're not here for my therapy session, are we? We're here for this little lady:

Oh my. I know for 12 months all we've talked about is how happy she is - and I must repeat myself for the 12th glorious time: she's just filled to the brim with joy. That's not to say she doesn't have her own, very strong personality--because she does. This girl is fierce, she is strong, she is dramatic and she is determined. But she wears the cape and crown well and uses her powers mostly for good.

But to use an Alex-ism, there are times when she's "just not that into it." Exhibit A:

Patience is not her virtue.

In terms of other milestones, she has taken a few steps here and there, but we have yet to capture any of them on camera. Secretly I think she's waiting for a full-on YouYube contract and her 10% off the top. She's still rocking her two bottom teeth with no others in sight but will eat anything you put in front of her with reckless abandon. Current favorites are green grapes, blueberries, cheese and avocado.

Happy birthday my sweet, baby girl. The day you were born is the day our family became complete. Your Daddy, Alex and I love you a million billion and back again. You are my heart, and I am yours. xo.

Happy birthday, Uncle Kyle!

Happiest of days to my baby brother who's a not-so-baby 29 years old today!

And, of course, a serenade from the cutest soprano on the block:

Happy birthday, Samuel!

Two exciting points of note in this post...

First, my sweet Samuel turns THREE today and I'm wishing the happiest of birthdays to my best blonde boy. I'm so proud to be your Aunt--you are sweet, smart, funny and such a good cousin to Alex and Harper.

...and one more thing I know to be true as evidenced by the last picture of you with Harper is that you will be an amazing BIG BROTHER! Yes, that's right folks. BOTH of my sisters are pregnant! *squee* I will be an Aunt again in June (Kyle & Jill's baby) and in August (Kelli and David's baby). My cup runneth over!

Happy birthday, Nana!

A very, very happy birthday to Joey's Momma and Alex's Nana!  We hope your day is AWESOME!

^^ I cannot with how little he is in this picture.

Happy birthday, Jill!

April is a very active month for our family with birthdays for Kyle, Alex AND Jill. Happy, happy, happy birthday to my FAVORITE sister-in-law, Jill!!!!!!!

Obviously I picked this photo because we are both extremely delicious babes in it and I am an unapologetic, narcissistic blogger. And, I was 6 months post-partum when this was taken so I needed the reminder that this current and enormous version of myself isn't going to be around forever.

Four. My oh my, FOUR.

This is typically the one post a year that Mommy bloggers get all sentimental and "wah wah wah it goes so fast." Guess what? Not me!

Every single minute of this kid's life has been so awesome. Especially the giggles, and even the time outs. Because when those are over, I get a hug and a kiss and an, "I'm sorry, Mom. I love you, Mom."

Alex, next to your Dad, you are my very best friend in all the world. I love hanging out with you and I love when you teach me things, like why everything is better dunked in ranch and which "constructions" are best for which job. To steal a quote from a friend of mine, you are the best parts of me and your Dad, but in a mini version.

I love when I see little sparks of him in you, like when something must be done in such a certain way and with such precision. I'm so proud of you when you accomplish things. And I love when I see little sparks of me in you, like this morning when we woke you up with a birthday song and you pulled the covers back over your head declaring you wanted "Five more minutes of sleeping because it's so soft in here." That's me, and it makes my heart so happy.

And then, amidst the sparks of your Dad and me, you are totally, 100% your own little person. You are getting so good at trying new and adventurous things--like the big balance beam at gymnastics or conquering the biggest slides at the park. You love to watch "The Machine Show" ("How It's Made" on the Discovery Channel) and probably because of that love of how things work, you also love to build Legos and play with trains and cars and trucks. Pretty much anything that moves.

You LOVE to sing, and you are so good at it. Right now, our favorite song to jam to in the car is Francesca Battistelli's "This is the Stuff." You call it "The Key Song" and I love that. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I love to roll down the windows and sing loudly and dance so silly with you in the car. Other people look at us like we're crazy and we just laugh and wave.

Your laugh...oh, your laugh. I swear your laugh could end all the world's problems. It comes right from your toes and sometimes you stop breathing just for a second because it's so big. You get this twinkle in your eye and the tiniest little dimple on your left cheek. I kiss that dimple a lot.

Alex, I have loved every minute of being your Mom. Because you know what? YOU made me a Mom and that's such a cool thing. I can't wait to watch you turn 5 and  6 and 7 and 8 and see what you do and learn along the way. You're going to do great things, kid!

All my love and then a little more,
Mom

Happy birthday, baby brother!

Today is my baby brother's *cough* 28th *cough* birthday. That's not even real.

Anyway, in honor of his awesome self, he's our guest blogger today! I hope you enjoy his words below and take them to heart by squeezing your little babes a little tighter tonight and being thankful for all your blessings. Being a teacher is hard, yo.

________________________________

I like to give my sister a hard time when there's a lapse in posting on “le blog,” as it is a little piece of joy I get to share in daily. I have loved having the honor to watch Alex grow a little more with each blog post, picture and smile. All of my family has a special place in my heart. Why? Bcause that is how my Mom and Dad raised us. They raised us to love God and each other and to respect the people in our lives.

Daily, I have the unique opportunity to try to instill some of those values in the lives of 25 4th grade students. It is my hope and prayer that each kid that walks through my doors (and most in the halls) leave me more than just a better student. They need love, to be told that they are worth something, to be put up on a pedestal. Too often, they come to me with so much hurt, pain, and fear. For the short span that I have them, I hope that I can shoulder some of that fear, give a little grace, and show them a love that is deeper than the one they have here on Earth. Not that I can “preach” to them, but as Mom and Dad would say, “actions speak louder than words.”

Recently, we have been writing autobiographies in my class. Here are some of the responses I got:

• “Three years ago I got a phone call. I was like, 'Who is this?' And my Grandpapa said, 'Your Dad.' After I hung up the phone I asked my Papa why I never lived with him, and he said it is because he never really wanted me.”
• “When I was 6 my parents got a divorce. It was because my mom asked my dad for $30 and all of the sudden my dad was mad. He smashed the computer and they were arguing. My mom called the police and the police said that they needed to get a divorce. After that we were all really scared and had to live with my aunt.”
• “My mom had to quit college to take care of me, or at least that was what I was told. I think she quit because I was stressing her out and she could not keep up.”

I don’t write all of this so that you feel sorry for me as an educator. As a matter of fact, I love my job. Daily, I get to make a difference. I also do not write so that you think I have it bad. I don’t. Again, I love what I do.

Instead, I write this as a little reminder to keep the innocence of children. I can also say that most said they love my class. They like me as a teacher--they hated school before me & have learned so much. Again, I don’t say that to beat my own drum. I say that because I am not perfect…I just try daily. And I make mistakes doing it! They need love, respect, and grace. They do not need to be involved with adult problems.

My challenge to you tonight: turn off the TV. No cell phones, iPads, iPods, leapsters, DS, PSP, PS3, or XBOX. Have a dinner with your family--the ones you love in your heart but sometimes hurt. Tell them that you love them, you respect them, you appreciate them. Then after dinner play games and read books. Enjoy your family. Love them and love on them!

Happy birthday, Poppi!

Note: this was scheduled to post on March 13, but blogger done screwed it up. So, it's nearly a week late, but happy FIFTY NINTH birthday, Poppi!

Happy birthday, Grammi!

Grammi is celebrating her birthday in style this year from the beaches of St. Lucia. I know, so jeally.

However, when we called her this morning, Alex said (without prompting), "Grams, you're on the beach relaxing and eating grapes." He gets it. This kid really gets it.

I'm 30. Now what?

I took the week of my birthday off, which legitimately might be a new tradition. I spent the week with friends, shopping, sleeping in, eating at fun places and most importantly, spending lots of time with Joey. He pampered me all week and quite frankly, it was bliss.

So, were did we leave off with BDBC? I believe it was Day 5.

Day 5
I got a sheet of mustache stickers because Joey is "stuck on me."

Day 6
A one hour massage. Bliss.

The actual day. Day 7.
Joey and I spent the day adventuring around town and I took this with me everywhere we went and filled it with deliciousness.

I'm pretty sure there's no real way to ease into or introduce the awesomeness that was my actual present. Therefore, I give you:

Yeap. That's what a girl gets for asking for "nothing big...let's keep it low key this year." I literally squealed like Justin Beiber when I opened them. Joey was very clever in his wrapping...it was a box in a box in a box and he weighted it down so I would be totally clueless. So tricksy, that Joey.

29 was not the greatest year for me if I'm honest. We had a lot to celebrate and were blessed in many, many wonderful ways that I will not overlook. But we also experienced our fair share of heartache and loss...so it's rather easy to click my heels and jump into 30 with a heart full of joy and excitement.

Thank you to everyone who made my day week so special. And especially to my very best, Joey, who always makes me feel special and loved...but especially in the last week of my 20s.

Here's to 30!

Happy birthday to...Zoo!

Since I'm a big, big fan of hosting parties outside my home where others do all the prepping, decorating, cooking and aftermath clean up, we hosted Alex's 3rd birthday at the Detroit Zoo.

What a super fun day! When we walked into the room we were overwhelmed at how cool it was. I mean, seriously...what kid wouldn't want to party here?

Our party hostess, Miss Danielle, played super fun games with Alex and his friends.We danced and sang and hokey-pokeyed until we had no pokey left.

The cake was a personal favorite. Although provided by the Zoo, we brought along a special guest who just HAD to be on the cake. Alex was thrilled.

And cake? Better if eaten naked.

He had such a special day with all his friends and family. And after the "official" party was over we took some time to walk around the zoo and see the animals. The day was honestly perfect--one of those moments you want to bottle up and lock away in your heart for those rare days when your patience has reached a limit and you possibly can't count to three one more time. He was an angel.

If you'd like to peek at all the pictures from Sunday, click here!

Happy birthday, Poppi!

Today my Dad is approximately 8 trillion years old. Or something like that.

I'd like to think that I keep him young, but judging from his own wedding picture to mine, I'd say I've contributed to exactly the opposite..

1976

2007

In other news, aren't his chops the BOMB? And how about that white suit, eh? Hot to trot, that's what I say! Also? I look exactly like my mother, and I love that.

And for the obligatory birthday song, sung by a very sleepy almost 3-year-old at about 7 this morning (And yes, that's Joey brushing his toofers in the background. We multitask at our house.):



Happy birthday, Dad! I love you!

Happy Birthday, Samuel!

My goodness, I can't believe it's been a YEAR since I frenetically got on a plane to Connecticut to meet my sweet nephew, Samuel, for the first time. My, how time flies.

Happy birthday, sweet boy! I cannot believe you are ONE!

Just another Thursday.

Birthday bootcamp is officially over...but what a week it was!

Let's recap Day 7, shall we? In a backwards twist, Joey actually took yesterday off work. He did all sorts of things that needed doing (groceries, car washes, etc.) and surprised me by putting up the Christmas lights at our house.

And sometime around 3 pm, he texted me this:

EEEEEE! I literally could not get my work done fast enough. I hightailed it home (but first went to the dentist because apparently I am a masochist and go to the dentist on my brithday) to tear that paper off!

And before I can tell you what was in the box, you need a little backstory.

About 3 months ago, I found a chair at HomeGoods that I absolutely ADORED. And we all know that when you find something at HomeGoods you MUST buy it right then and there for fear it might not be there upon return. I took a picture and texted it to Joey, who was hesitant because we don't have a ton of room to store things (I was in a buying mood for the new house - more on that later). However, I used my ninja skillz on him and he eventually gave in and I bought it.

I just adore it. (And also? Please note that it totally matches my Lill bag I made last time I was in Chicago. Who buys a chair to match a purse? --> thisgirl <--)

Fast forward to about a month ago, when I was in Connecticut. Imagine my delight, shock and awe when I waltzed into Pier 1 (of all places) and laid my eyes on this puppy:

GASP! A matching chair! But different enough style-wise to look totally awesome with my OTHER one! Obviously, I couldn't get it home from CT, but I could surely buy it once I got to Michigan, right? Wrong. The thought of buying and storing another chair for a house we won't move into until June (again, more on that later) sent my dear, sweet Joey into a tailspin. Men just don't get it.

Joey, on the other hand....did get it...eventually. And I'm guessing you can totally guess what was in the box, right? THE CHAIR FROM PIER 1! And the even better news is that he scoured the earth to find one still in the box so we can store it easily until June. Woooooooo!!!

In another twist, you should all know that when I texted my Mom last night in excitement re: the chair (since she was with me when I saw it in CT), her reply was, "Oh, how awesome! Do you have room for 2 of them?" Apparently, she got me one for Christmas. I love that my family gets me. A girl and her chairs...

Obviously.

29 is the new 21. Embrace it.

Birthday Boocamp update.

I suppose we left off at Day 2. So here's what we've been up to for 3-6.

Day 3: We were at my Mom's house for the weekend, so Alex delivered my spreesprises to me after breakfast. I got 2 fun size Pay Days and a cute pack of snowflake tealight holders. They go perfectly with my PartyLite Nativity scene!

Day 4: My favorite gift so far--he got me a pack of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail stickers. The coolest part is that he totally found them on his own! These things are SO cool--I didn't even know they existed. They are thin little "stickers" of REAL nailpolish in fun, cool designs like zebra, plaid, houndstooth and sparkles. He got me the pink ones, natch. They might be my new favorite thing - super durable and WAY easy to apply. And no waiting for real polish to dry...comes in handy with a toddler. They have fun holiday ones like snowflakes and candy cane stripes that I'm going to pick up tonight to use when this one wears off. And I guess you can just remove it like normal nailpolish - we shall see!

Day 5: Another delivery from Alex (he even drew/colored in all my cards!) - three yummy new chapsticks and 2 more Pay Days.

Day 6: This morning, my sweet boys delivered me 2 more Pay Days, a card, tons of smooches (my fave!) and a yummy candle.

I think everyone should celebrate Birthday Bootcamp. Maybe I could trademark it and make trillions? In the meantime, I will keep it all to myself.

Tomorrow I will be TWENTY NINE. OMG.

Have your cake and eat it, too.

Hiya, peeps! It's Alex today...blogging on behalf of Mommy. I wanted to tell you all about my SUPER cool birthday!

It started when Mommy and Daddy brought me and all my daycare friends Happy Meals at lunch to celebrate.

When they picked me up, I got to go get my haircut from a real barber (just like Daddy). He made my hair spiky and gave me gold hairspray!

The next day I celebrated with my family at the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum.

Then I got to eat caaaaake and open very fun presents!



At the end of the day, I was pooped! Being two is HARD WORK!

Happy birthday, my love.

Today we celebrate the birthday of one Joseph A. Van Wormer.

I love you because...

Our life is adventurous.

Our life is silly.

Our life is...well, weird.

Our life is family and tradition.

_______________________________

But mostly I love you for three very simple reasons.

You asked me to marry you.

You actually married me.

You gave me the most incredible family.

I love you today, tomorrow and always. Thank you for being a man of character, strength, faith, passion, love, honor, humor, compassion and integrity--someone I am proud to have our son look up to and emulate. Even if you do fart in your sleep sometimes. Happy birthday, my love.

A Day That Will Live In Infamy.

A poor historical reference, no?

Anyway, Happy Birthday to myself. Joey hit the grand slam today with a Vera makeup bag in the new Baroque pattern. J'Adore. My "signature" pattern is Peacock, but it has sadly been retired.

No epic plans for tonight...a quiet night at home my boys, pizza and a movie is all I need. However, on my list is the burning desire to try Rojo, a new Mexican restaurant in Rochester. Chips and salsa, I will meet you soon. And margaritas, natch.

With a hint of sadness, I bid BDBC 2010 and year 27 adieu. Onto 28 and 2011!!

BDBC - Day 5.

Gotta make it quick today - I'm in Okemos for the *So Sarah* designs party. Next week I'll have a post  dedicated to Sarah and her wares, but here's a sneak peek at my current 2 faves - the cupcake half apron with ruffles and the Mommy & Me designs.

I know...so cute, right? More details and how to order next week. And yes, she does custom orders!

BDBC Day 5 is going smashingly well. Tonight's plans include a Mexi-fab dinner with the girls @ the party followed by a stint in Becki's hot tub. Could life BE any better?

And my treat from Joey? Another perfect card and a king size box of Milk Duds...my fave!