What a difference a year makes

It's funny how in the day to day living of life, you just don't notice all the changes that are taking place. Kind of like, when you are growing your hair out. From one day to the next, it doesn't look any different. But suddenly you see a photo of yourself from 6 months ago and you can't believe how much it's grown. Or when you are losing weight. You don't see the change as you are dropping one pound at a time, then you wake up one morning and your pants won't stay up. I spend every single day with Avery and Norah and while I love watching them grow and learn new things, I was still somewhat shocked when I looked back through our photos and videos from the past year at how much they both have changed.

Avery in March of 2011...

And in January of 2012

And seriously, reminiscing about our journey through the last year with Norah just amazes me. She went from a prayer in our hearts to a baby in our arms, all in the same calendar year.

Seeing Norah for the first time in March 2011... just a little blob.

Meeting her face to face on October 18, 2011

January 2012 - Forget what a difference a year makes, how about what a difference 3 months makes?

I love being mom to these two beauties, but I'll admit there are times when a day goes by soooo sloooowww. On the days when Avery is being cranky and Norah won't nap and I finish washing my hands after changing one poopy diaper only to realize that the other one needs changed now too. On the days that I find myself glancing at the clock because surely bedtime must be near, just to discover that it's only been 5 minutes since I last looked at the time. On the hard days there is some comfort in reminding myself that this stage won't last forever. But I'll still try to cherish every moment, even the hard ones, because it's true... this stage won't last forever. And I don't want to miss it.

Christmas, Part 3

After a fun Christmas morning at home, we packed up and headed down to Marysville to celebrate with our Kelley family. The first stop was to visit great Grandma and Grandpa Staley (and many aunts, uncles, and cousins) at the farm. After a wonderful visit with them we headed back to my parents house for dinner and gifts with Uncle Paul and Aunt Kristen, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Travis, and all of Avery and Norah's cousins. It was a blast! What a fun, crazy, chaotic time with all those kids (and adults) ripping into mounds of presents. Grandma and Grandpa were very generous in their gift giving (as always) and the presents were all wonderful, but the real treasure of the evening was fun spent together as a family. In a rare event, we actually got to spend time with everyone two nights in a row! Considering it's only a few times a year that we all get to be under the same roof together, it was a treat to get so much time together with my parents and siblings in one weekend. Shannon and Travis hosted us all for a special dinner at their house. There are 8 grandchildren in the family and Spencer, the oldest, is 10. That means it's been roughly 10 years since the adults have spent time together having normal adult conversation without the background noise and countless interruptions of kids in the house. Now don't get me wrong, we all love our kids to pieces and every family gathering is only made more joyous as more and more little ones enter the picture. But when Shannon had the idea to hire a couple of babysitters to entertain the kids in their finished basement while the grown ups enjoyed a peaceful sit-down dinner upstairs in the dining room we were all for it! What a special time it was for all of us to have a couple of hours to sit, connect, and relax together. The highlight of the evening was listening to mom and dad recount stories and memories from their childhood Christmases. (And the kids all had a grand time together, of course!) Before we knew it, it was time to pack up the car one last time and head back to Perrysburg. We had a great time!

Grandma Staley made this beautiful cross stitch for me to hang in our house every winter. The horse drawn carriage has much significance for me since Erich proposed to me in one.

Grandma with Avery and Norah (and Jessie, who never left Avery's side)

Karly admiring sweet baby Norah

Crazy Erich playing with Spencer's nerf gun and Oliver's riding bull. Always a kid at heart!

Avery was thrilled to receive a Woody doll from Grandma and Grandpa to go with her Jessie doll. She was a happy happy girl!

The best shot we could get of all the grandkids together at Shannon and Travis' house. This was at the end of the evening right before everyone headed home and all the kids were exhausted from playing. Next time we need to remember to snap a photo at the start of the night when they are all still fresh and energized!

Avery learned how to ride a big kid bike (with training wheels) in Grandma and Grandpa's basement, in her Rapunzel dress of course. She was quite proud!

Truth be told, this Christmas season evoked a wide range of emotions for Erich and I. In the midst of cherishing little moments and making memories with our two(!) girls, celebrating the birth of Jesus, opening gifts, and having fun, we also endured the scary and stressful moments of Evan's illness and hospitalization. On top of that, Erich dealt with an extremely tense and terrifying situation at work earlier that same week that left him (and me) shaken for quite some time. Although we aren't afraid to admit that Christmas 2011 will go down in history as one with a mix of "the good, the bad, and the ugly", the common thread that kept us focused and centered on the positive was FAMILY. We are thankful for each and every moment we spent with our loved ones this season, even when we were more in "survival mode" than a spirit of celebration. It was still time spent together with the ones our hearts cherish and THAT was a gift.

Christmas, Part 2

For the first time in our marriage, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home this year. We love the time we get to spend in Marysville and Stow and nothing makes us happier than time spent with family at the holidays, but we decided long ago that once our kids were old enough to really get the whole Christmas thing, we would make every effort to wake up in our own home Christmas morning. Avery is definitely old enough to "get it" this year and we wanted to soak up that time with her and Norah. What a special morning! Erich had to work a 12 hour shift on Christmas Eve (Hug a healthcare worker next time you see one - they sacrifice a lot to take care of your loved ones!), so Avery, Norah, and I spent a quiet day at home watching Christmas movies, preparing some food for a special Christmas morning breakfast, baking cookies, and writing a letter to Santa. It was a fun day, although Daddy was missed. That night after he got home from work and the girls were sleeping, Erich and I sat next to the fire, sipped on eggnog, and exchanged our gifts by the light of the tree. We've made that special time an annual tradition and it's a welcome chance for us to sit, talk, and connect in the midst of a busy holiday traveling schedule. I cherish that quiet break with my husband! Christmas morning we woke up bright and early to the sound of Avery saying "Merry Christmas!" over the baby monitor. She must have been excited because it was 6:30, at least an hour before she usually wakes up. Enjoy some pictures of our family Christmas... pajamas, bed head, and all...

Running downstairs to check it out

Honest to goodness, Avery didn't even seem to notice the enormous lump covered with a sheet. Wonder what could be in there?

First things first... before touching any presents, we sat and read the story of Jesus' birth. Someday we will read this straight out of the Bible, but for now a board book is a little more realistic.

Examining the evidence. Santa was here!

Avery and Norah's stockings have a pocket on the front to leave a letter for Santa. We left a letter for him on Christmas Eve and he wrote one back! What fun!

The one and only thing Avery asked for was a Jessie Doll from Toy Story. Santa came through.

So that's what was under the sheet! A play kitchen for Avery (and Norah when she's big enough). Avery spent the whole morning serving us cup after cup of coffee from her kitchen. She knows what Daddy needs at 6:30am!

Next it was Norah's turn! Such a happy girl, even though she had no clue what was going on.

A ladybug bath towel (to match the girls' new ladybug bathroom) and bath toys.

Our favorite present :-)

We are so happy to have this little angel in our family!

We finished off the morning with an egg casserole breakfast, then we packed back up and hit the road to go spend a couple of days in Marysville with our Kelley side of the family. It was just a short stop home between travels, but it was so special for us to be together with our little family and build memories with the girls. It was a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas, Part 1

We were looking forward to spending a couple of days in Stow the week before Christmas to celebrate with our Piland family. We were especially excited because Uncle Evan, Aunt Passa, and cousins Cara and Jacob were coming into town from Texas. We only get to see them a couple of times a year and we cherish time with them. Unfortunately, the day before our visit we got a call that Evan had been hospitalized with a bad virus that was causing some pretty scary muscular and neurological problems. Our fun Christmas visit suddenly turned into a family emergency visit! It was a chaotic and stressful 48 hours in Stow, but we still managed to squeeze in a few laughs, smiles, and photos along the way. Erich spent most of his time at the hospital with Evan and Passa trying to carefully balance between his identity as Erich: Evan's brother, and Erich: the neuroICU nurse. He did a great job and I know the entire family felt more at ease knowing that he was there. I spent my time back at Nana and Papa's house trying to help Nana and Aunt Nikki with the kids. It was so fun to watch Avery and Cara play together. They are two peas in a pod... they both love all things pink, princess, dress up, and tutu! We hadn't seen Jacob since he was just a couple months old. He's getting so big and was full of smiles. And sweet little Norah just went along for the ride. As long as she got to eat every 3 hours she was a happy camper (the girl is easy to please!). Thankfully Evan is recovering well and all is fine now. This will be a Christmas Evan and Passa will never forget (although maybe they would like to!). We were thankful for our time with family, even if it didn't turn out as planned. Erich said this was the most time he's been able to spend with his brother in years... too bad it required one of them to be laying in a hospital bed! We walked away from that visit with a greater appreciation for family and the reminder that we should take nothing for granted. We're hugging each other a little tighter these days. Perspective is a beautiful thing. Here are a few snapshots of our time together amidst the craziness:

Nana with her four grandchildren. My, how the family has grown!

Uncle Erich and Jacob

Aunt Nikki with the babies

Aunt Passa, Avery, and Jacob

Avery and Cara exchanging their Christmas gifts. We had to include this photo, as it's the only one with Uncle Evan in it! He was discharged from the hospital, only to have to return a few hours later when complications arose. This photo was taken during the short window of time he got to be home.

Cara and Avery got dress up costumes for Christmas complete with tiaras, dangly earrings, and high heels. What a hoot! Believe it or not, this photo was taken first thing in the morning and that was Avery's "bed head"... not primped or even combed. I'm envious of her curls!

They loved parading around like beauty queens and we all got a good chuckle at our own little "toddlers in tiaras".

Parading around in their tutus, the girls made up a game that required running around the house into the kitchen to hug Papa's legs. I think he liked that game.

Cara, Jacob, Avery, and Norah... we love all these kids. They brought much needed joy and fun to the house. What sweeties.