Durham with the Lawlers

I almost jumped out of my skin when Fabio told me he was going to North Carolina for work. The was no question--the boys and I simply had to go with him and hang with some of our favorite people. The Lawlers are part of our Singapore family, in Durham for Nate's MBA, and you can't not visit family, you know.

So when April finally came, it brought us a botanical garden full of spring blossoms,

Ring-around-the-Rosie after farm fresh ice cream on rocking chairs,

If arranged marriages were still a thing...

afternoons full of book reading,

and bike- and scooter-riding good times!

Sage: "Jon, be careful and slow down. You don't want to fall in the street!"

Maybe he'll listen to her.

We explored Durham's old industrial now-hip-restaurant-y area, and naturally played in the chilly fountains.

Look at that fun mom!

It was so fun to see Sage and Jon reunited. They were little baby best friends in Singapore--mistaken for twins because they were the same age and white--and it didn't take them long at all to pick up where they left off!

I simply adore that little girl!

And I couldn't wait to finally meet and get to know this little beauty...

Sweet, sweet Nora is just the cutest--no surprise

Sage and Nora gave us a first-rate education on all things girly: Frozen, Barbies, baby doll etiquette, and holding hands.

And I'm afraid we gave them a crash course in the rough-and-tumble world of boys!

Between delicious food, day and night playmates, round after round of "Willaby Wallaby Woo," children's museums, snow cones, "Mother May I?," bikes, and scooters, the boys were super sad to leave.

And those post-bedtime Mommy talks into the morning hours made it awfully hard for me to pry myself away, too. I always get some of my best parenting/life ideas and insights from this amazing mom and great friend. She is the best!

We really do love these people like family... guess we'll just have to find a way to visit them in Cali, now!

The Gaertners Go To Washington

We tagged along to another one of Fabio's work trips, this time to DC. 

It was cold, but we still hit the town.

But first, we checked into the hotel.

Jonathan was crushed when he learned there wasn't a pool.

Fabio went to work, I started to unpack and get settled, and then I hear, 

"Hello? I'd like to know what food you have for big boys--

like, trail mix or peanut butter sandwiches.

And you should build a pool. Please."

I turned around to this:

Stripped down to undies and socks, on the phone with room service.

I love to imagine what the other side of the line must have thought... 

if only they could have had a visual, too.

Air and Space Museum, in other words, Jonathan's happiest place on earth...

DC-3, one of Jon's personal fav's

And the original Wright Flyer... which Jon will tell you was 

built by the Wright Brothers and the first flight was 1903.

All with a private tour guide, Mr. Tom, who actually 

works at the museum and designs exhibits.

Our good friend, Rachel, got us the hook-up, 

and Jonathan could not ask him enough questions.

How a jet engine works,

what is the name of that drone,

what is that button in the cockpit,

and so on... and he knew ALL the answers.

And this little love was happy and mellow the whole time.

We stayed several nights with the Broughs. 

Rachel's been a friend since we were roommates in college

and she's know Fabio and I as long as we've known each other.

Her husband, Regan, is awesome and their little boy Ethan

and his trumpet are adorable.

Our time with them was relaxing, comfortable, fun, and stimulating:

Pentagon tours, heated political debates at midnight, delicious homemade food,

a lot of toy "battles," chutes and ladders games, and spiritual discussions.

It was a perfect week. It was so hard to leave, and we'll have to do it again.

Really soon. I just love this family!

February

Blizzards canceling church,

then LDS missionaries shoveling us out 

and Jonathan getting geared up to help them.

Two bottom teeth,

Crawling with his tummy off the floor,

smiles, smiles, smiles.

Celebrating Valentine's at the circus trip:

popcorn, blue slushies in light-up cups, and lots of clowns.

True. Love.

Pink eye. Flu. Colds. Stomach bugs.

Haunted house in Jefferson on a date night drive.

Matching clothes. Because we can.

Cold Stone ice-cream because Jonathan read

his scriptures every day for a month...

So proud of my little man.

One month older, happier, wiser, and here's hoping healthier!

6 years of marital bliss...

We celebrated the year at a cabin in Wisconsin's majestic North Woods

We set yearly goals for Katie, hot-tubbed in -10F for Fabio, ate frozen pizza, drank sparkling apple juice, and mostly talked about how much we loved our boys.

We are both so imperfect, and we've definitely "had our first fight;" but there is no one in the world I'd rather wake up at 3am with a sick baby with, no one's underwear I'd rather wash, no one I'd rather have tell me an idea is bad. We are perfect for each other and I simply adore my handsome, funny, generous sweetheart.

Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Christmas

Christmas 2014 was such a sweet holiday full of fun memories, cute boys, and a whole lot of love.

It was a Christmas miracle that Christmas was fun at all, since Jon came down with the flu right before (not the stomach flu, the flu-flu, which is infinitely more awful; and I know that is really saying something). The doctor said that maybe, if he was really lucky, he would start to feel better Christmas Day. I was prepared for a Christmas of cartoons and popsicles, and present opening postponed until everyone was better; since the six days before had looked like this:

But Christmas Eve at around 4:30, Jon got off the couch and started playing with his toys... when he hadn't done either in days! By bedtime he fell asleep in his own bed and was actually asking about Christmas. So Christmas was saved, and it was a really beautiful day.

Nay Nay provided the matching Christmas jammies. Daddy read the Christmas story while we acted out the nativity with our nativity set (still no costumes in this house, unless Joseph and Mary were firefighters).

In the morning, we had french toast for breakfast. And in keeping with my great Christmas culinary tradition, I burned  something (this year the Pannetone bread that takes twenty. four. hours. to rise).

Jonathan handmade his gifts for everyone, and his little giving heart was so full of excitement that he forgot he also got presents on Christmas... well, until he opened the first one and then he was pretty sure every present that wasn't from him was for him. He wore his fighter-pilot helmet and carried around his nerf gun (he doesn't know they have darts, just enjoys the satisfying "click") around for days. I absolutely love three-year-olds.

Jon played airplane with the cockpit panel 

Dap and I made him, and read all of his books with Nay Nay.

Jon had made a serving spoon for Vovo (hot glued purple beads on the handle),
freezer cookie dough for Dap,
a clay handprint bowl for Nay Nay,
thumbprint cufflinks for Daddy,
an orange clay "snowplow with a jet engine" for Danelle, who he is pretty sure is his big sister,
a rice hot pad (airplane fabric, of course) for Mommy,
and a taggie for Ben (more airplane fabric and super colorful tags)

And while most of these were my ideas (except Danelle's snowplow), he did a lot of the work. I would even say most of it. He loved the idea of giving so much that he made clay things for all of his friends in his church class--which were random and hilarious. A train for Ca, a "curling machine to curl things on the tracks" for Cl, a "June holding a toy" for Ju, and a "bulldozer" for T.

Ben had a perfectly sweet first Christmas. His favorite gift by far was his taggie from Jon, followed by his awesome Hankie Frankie (moms of babies, this toy is amazing--look it up on Amazon). He is so smiley and sweet, and Christmas Day was no exception. He is simply a joy.

The boys continue to teach me to focus on what is most important about Christmas. It really makes no difference that I forgot to take any "present opening" pictures or that I burned the Pannetone. What matters most is honoring Christ by doing what he did and continues to do: give.

Oh yeah--and Christmas afternoon naps. They matter a lot, too.

Raffles Day

On December 19, 2011 I walked out of Raffles Hospital in Singapore completely against the odds. It was a turning point in our family's gratitude for life. The hospital happened to have a little coffee shop with pretty good hot chocolate. A year later we decided to go back to the hospital as a symbolic gesture and found ourselves at the coffee shop drinking hot chocolate and talking about all the amazing experiences and memories we were able to share and remember briefly just how close I came to missing it all: Jon's first words, his first steps, sleeping on the beach in Thailand, petting a koala.

So we declared December 19 Raffles Day, and made it a family tradition. We go to a coffee shop for hot cocoa and talk about all the things in the last year we loved, enjoyed, or were glad to be around for. I write them down. And then that night in family prayer we give thanks that our family has been able to spend a little more time on earth together. When the boys are bigger, I hope to tell them how Raffles Day came about, and all the tiny miracles that summed up to me walking out those hospital doors; but this year Jon ate a cake pop at Starbucks and kept insisting we add "fighting bad guys" to the list--again. And that was perfectly alright.

And so without further ado, the Raffles Day 2014 List:

Ben being born!

Visiting Vovo in Florida

Meeting Winnie the Pooh

Visiting the Stices

Going to Oshkosh

Christmas trees telling Jon to think about Jesus

Custard at Culver's 

Getting a paper published

Getting first paper into print

Fighting the bad guys

Vovo visited

Chyz family visited

Buffalo Phil's for Jon's birthday

Speaking at primary children's baptisms

Swinging in the backyard

Naynay playing

Thanksgiving in Chicago--gingerbread!!

Danelle visiting

Fighting bad guys

Mommy's roomba

Jon kissing ben on the head

Peppermint cake pop

Katie catching a goat

Family racing at Boondocks

Ben's belly laugh--and his smiles

Ben's kisses

Family workouts

Jon learning how to read

Family scripture study

Fighting bad guys

Driving to see the tractors

Eating at Villa dolce

Morning snuggles

Planes 2

Jon shoveling snow for daddy on Valentine's Day 

Walks in Pheasant Branch

Jet room breakfasts

Vovo's pasteis

Buying a bed

Fighting bad guys 

Paying off the Amex 

Selling our newly wed stock

Sports class withJonathan 

Discovering Peg+Cat

Jon yelling in sacrament about Jesus being resurrected

Fighting so many bad guys

NayNay getting out of her wheelchair and walking again!

Watching the World Cup as a family and Jon knowing who Neymar is

Katie discovering Instagram and deleting Facebook from her phone

Leaves in Wisconsin in the Fall

Happy Belated Raffles Day to one and all! We are so grateful for the grace of God that has given us a little more time in this sweet, rich, amazing life!

Vovo and "B'Donalds"

After Thanksgiving, Jonathan decided he needed to go to "B'Donalds with Vovo for ice-cream and french fries." He asked again, and again.

Of course, as soon as Vovo heard about this urgent need she booked a ticket to come and do just that. And why wouldn't she? Just look at that face of complete satisfaction.

Ahh, the McDonalds's fudge sundae

And because she's amazing, she also filled our home with delicious Brazilian goodness. There was the night of pasteis, kibi, and rice...

the stroganoff, the crema de milio,

the Brazilian savory "pancake"...

And then the "brigaderos," which are little Brazilian chocolates, brownies, and Brazilian frosting.

I even got to help watch and taste a little while Fabio rolled the boys around on the floor. I quickly learned one of her secret ingredients: a stick of butter!

What? You packed on the pounds during Thanksgiving? Oh, no--we gained our holiday weight the next week. And it was so worth it.

These four funsters can't hold still... 

I don't have a single picture with all four of them in focus!

We're always so happy when this beautiful woman comes to feed us, cuddle us, tell us stories about Fabio, shower us with noisy toys, and buy us ice cream sundaes at B'Donalds!