A Super Halloween

The cold could not keep us away (either the temperature or the virus that each of our boys currently have).  It may have kept our trick-or-treating to a minimum, but we are brave folk after all.  We are superheroes intent on having a Super Halloween!  So bring on the costumes and candy.  We love dressing up and we love eating sugar.  So Halloween is a fun time in our house :)

Caleb is in a superhero phase.  He loves to "run so fast" like they do, and he talks about how they're "gonna get 'em!" (i.e. the bad guys) and then makes a funny sound that's supposed to be the superhero using an amazing power to save the day.  He also loves wearing capes.  We read superhero books on a daily basis that cover both the Marvel and DC Comics universes.  We are in the know when it comes to superheroes.  And Caleb's affection only deepens every day.

So it was easy to pick costumes for Halloween.  We chose Batman because the boys already had outfits.  Eli dug up an old Robin costume and I opted to transform my Catwoman costume into a Batgirl costume.  And voila!  Here we are!

Eli and I were happy to be the sidekicks.  We're not foolish enough to think we run the show around here.  Those two little boys call the shots most days :)  We're proud to be their sidekicks!

Caleb was captivated by our masks and he felt the need to wear mine most of the night :)

Even though we only went down one block and back, it was totally worth it to see this kid trick-or-treating.  After the first house, he quickly realized what this was all about and literally ran down the sidewalk to the next house.  He kept saying, "Trick-or-treating, Daddy!  Trick-or-treating!"  Once I heard him say to another kid, "Dressed up superheroes!"  Clearly, he understands the fun of Halloween :)

Kai was less impressed with the trick-or-treating experience, but was a trouper overall.  He took turns snuggling with me and Eli and made many a person smile :)

If I had to name one of Caleb's superpowers, it would be infectious joy.  We recognized it in him early on and we continue to see him use it to spread joy to others.  It's a worthy superpower and one we're proud to see him use!  

Kai's superpower is contentedness.  That boy rolls with the punches in a way that is rare and encouraging.  He uses snuggles to lure you in, then blasts you with a wave of contentment as he leans his head on your shoulder.  An amazing superpower indeed!

Eli's superpower is the ability to sleep through any and all noise at all odd hours of the night.  I have to wake him up whenever it's his turn to deal with a kid overnight (which is every night because, for the past three months, neither kid has slept through the night).  But Eli doesn't mind when I sock him to wake him up.  I envy his sleeping superpower!

And me?  My superpower is finding every lost toy around the house.  That, and consuming an incredible amount of chocolate without getting sick.  My tolerance for an inordinate amount of chocolate is truly amazing!

With these superpowers in hand, we bid you a Happy Halloween!

Birthday Party

We traveled to the Cities this past weekend in order to celebrate Kai's birthday with the Horns.  Before the party, Kai played in a leaf pile for the first time and loved it!

Then it was party time.  Since there's no better way than to party over football and pizza, that's exactly what we did :)  People gathered at Eli's brother's house to watch the Vikings game, and apparently Kai's birthday magic was working because our team actually won the game!  Afterward everyone headed over to Pizza Ranch for all-you-can-eat pizza and cupcakes.  Nothing fancy - just food and family and fun!

This particular Pizza Ranch had a basketball court.  Needless to say, the cousins had a pretty good time :)

Even though we stuffed ourselves, most of us saved room for a cupcake.  They were chocolate, of course, because everything else is less superior.  And I found these Viking cupcake rings to top them!

Kai had never eaten a cupcake before.  He was quite fascinated with the candle, and thought the cupcake was pretty good too :)

"Oooh!  Fire!"

"This is pretty good."

"Dare I say, really good?"

"Oh my gosh, I can't get it in fast enough!"

Kai was tired after all the excitement and started to hit his wall for the night, but we still had presents to open.  Thankfully he lasted just long enough to enjoy that part.

Then it was time to hit the road and head back to Duluth.  We got the kids in their jammies and they both fell asleep in the car sooner than later.  It was a great way to celebrate the milestone of our sweet boy turning one!

One Year

This boy turned one today.  He is a joyful, content, curious kid who delights us every day!

We had a low-key celebration with pizza and presents, and Kai was happy.  He spent a lot of time with Eli today (since I was under the weather) and that also made him happy :)

Every year seems to go faster than the last, and that was certainly true of this year.  We can scarcely believe it was a year ago already that we welcomed this beautiful boy into our family.  It took a lot of coaxing for him to come, but when this moose baby finally came our hearts expanded all over again.  We love how content he is, how snuggly he is, how playful and how smoochable!  He pulls our heartstrings every day.

Happy Birthday, Hezekiah.  We love you with a fierce love!

Victory Point: The Kindness of Strangers

Yesterday I was that mom.  I was the mom that everyone glanced at furtively with sympathy and compassion.  I was the mom that no other mom wanted to be.  I was the mom that stood in the midst of strangers, crying and panicking and frantically darting my eyes in every direction because...

...I was the mom that lost my toddler in Kohl's...right after my baby puked all over himself and the cart and the floor.

I was that mom.

It was a last-minute trip.  I wanted to get out of the house to conserve my sanity and to provide some quiet for Eli who was sleeping after a 24-hour shift.  I had a coupon, and Caleb needed new jammies anyway, so I put the kids in the car and drove to Kohl's for a quick shopping trip.  Nothing fancy.  Nothing lengthy.  Just a quick, harmless jaunt through the store.

But within five minutes of walking through the doors, my Mama Nightmare began.  Kai, who had been cheery and normal and healthful all morning, suddenly started shrieking in the cart.  I was just around the clothing rack from him, keeping an eye on Caleb who had found some superhero toys to gawk at, and quickly realized that Kai not only had no reason to be shrieking but also was not letting up.  I turned to find him flailing in the cart because he was covered in puke that was coming out of his mouth and nose.

I quickly learned this equation:
puke everywhere + panicking and flailing baby = even more puke everywhere

This was my first Kid Puke Experience.  Caleb has never thrown up.  But apparently it was Kai's time, and apparently it was destined to happen in public.

I frantically started cleaning him up while trying to comfort him at the same time.  I reached in my bag for the travel pack of wipes I always have on hand and then realized I had a total of three wipes left.  I cursed myself for failing to put a new pack in my bag when I had thought of it a couple days prior.  I used all three wipes and barely made a dent in the volume of vomit.  It was now on the floor and spreading with every flail from Kai.

My heart was aching for my crying son while also panicking about how to clean up the mess and get out of the store quickly and decently.  Suddenly I realized I should have Caleb nearby so I could easily grab both kids once I got Kai out of his pukey clothes.  I left Kai and found Caleb by the superhero toys and said he needed to come with me.  This bit of news did not please him.  He said "No!" quite emphatically and refused to come with me.  So I picked him up and he began wailing as I carried him back toward Kai who was still screeching in the cart.  I put Caleb down and turned my back on him to take care of Kai.

Therein was my mistake.  I turned my back on a child who was not keen on staying near me!

I carefully pulled the screaming baby out of the cart and began removing his jacket and pants.  Thankfully his onesie was spared, but he needed a pair of pants to wear home in the cold weather so I grabbed a random pair from a shelf.  In the midst of all this I was repeatedly saying, "It's okay, baby.  Mama's here.  It's okay, it's okay."  My mantra was overheard by another shopper who was there with her own kid, and she asked if I needed help.  I said I needed a new cart and she gladly offered to get me one.  She took off and I felt a bit better as I pulled a new pair of pants on a still-crying Kai.  Then, I suddenly realized that Caleb wasn't wailing right behind me anymore.  I stood up and called for him.  I couldn't see him so I returned to the superhero display.  He wasn't there and in that instant I just knew in that gut-instinct kind of way that my son had taken off and was lost.  He could be anywhere.  Anywhere!

I started frantically searching through the entire infant/toddler section and calling his name.  He was nowhere to be seen or heard.  I darted toward the front of the store, thinking he'd found another toy section, and was met by the helpful woman bringing me another cart.  I blurted out, "I can't find my other son!"  The woman didn't skip a beat: "I'll start looking" and she took off in the direction I'd just come from to do another search.

I kept looking and kept failing to find my son and I really started to panic.  A store employee passed me as I called Caleb's name and moved about wildly.  She instantly discerned what was happening and asked, "What's he wearing?"  I blurted, "A green John Deere hat and a brown jacket!  His name's Caleb.  This one threw up and I was trying--and I can't find him--and I was cleaning him up--and he likes to hide--and I don't know where he is!"  I wasn't speaking coherently, spouting out information at random.  The woman spoke into her walkie-talkie: "Code Yellow in infants and toddlers.  Code Yellow."

Suddenly a flurry of Kohl's employees descended on the infant/toddler section.  Everyone could see that I was the mom.  I was crying by then, carrying Kai in my arms who still had puke coming out his nose, and calling Caleb's name loudly.  I was walking through the clothing racks again and a kind customer caught my attention to say he was looking for my son too.  Several employees affirmed, "We'll find him."  Minutes that seemed like hours had already passed and I felt the weight of my child's lostness.  One employee admitted that she'd seen him a few minutes before in a different section, "but he was so fast!" she exclaimed.  I repeated that he sometimes likes to hide, hoping that someone would stumble upon him even if he had found a niche to crouch in.  At that point another employee asked me to stay put.  "We need to know where the mom is when we find him.  And we'll find him!  He's here somewhere!"  Someone else tried to encourage me by saying that this has happened to everyone before, but all I could think in that moment was, "You want me to stay put???  I need to find my child!!!"  I paced and the employee repeated that I should stay there with her.  Of course it was reasonable but I was fraught with panic.  I'd never truly lost my child before!

About ten seconds later someone called, "We found him!"  And then a woman was carrying Caleb around the corner and he saw me and shouted, "Mom!  Found balls!"  And I raced to him and scooped him in my other arm and held him close and kept crying and said, "You found balls?  Okay, okay.  Mama's here."

I couldn't be angry or disciplinary or anything else along those lines.  My lost son had been found!  I can't explain the relief and joy I felt in that moment.

Everyone started dispersing and I carried both my sons back to the site of the puke.  The kind employee who'd called the Code Yellow came with me and asked what I needed.  I asked for a bag to put the pukey clothes in and another bag for the wipes and tissues I'd used to clean up the mess.  She obliged and took care of the pukey shopping cart for me too.  The man who'd also been searching for Caleb came over to check on us.  Caleb looked at him and said, "Found superheroes!"  The man smiled and said, "Yeah?  Well, even superheroes need to stay with their moms."  And then, entirely on his own, Caleb climbed into the clean cart and sat down and said, "Stay this seat.  Right here."  And I affirmed him in that: "Yes, you stay in that seat, right there!"

We somehow made our way to the front and bought the new pair of pants and got out to the car in one piece.  And then the trauma hit me all over again and I just shook in the car.  Since Eli was sleeping I decided to call my best friend because I needed to process my Mama Nightmare with someone.

Recently, my best friend and I had a conversation about how to pray for and strive for and claim our victory in Christ because Satan is always working to pull us down through the craziness of life.  But Christ is our foundation and Christ is the victor and in all things HE is to be glorified.  So we decided to start encouraging each other by sharing the victories we experience.  And yesterday, because of my Mama Nightmare at Kohl's, this was my Victory Point: the kindness of strangers.  I was desperate and despairing and simply freaking out, and numerous strangers came to my aid to help find my lost son and clean up my pukey baby.  Praise Jesus for these people!

Then, on the way home Kai threw up again.  I swear the puke was multiplying as it came out.  There was so much vomit.  So I called my husband and woke him up and said, "You have to meet me at the door."

So another Victory Point: a loving husband who may be sleep-deprived but who meets me at the door and carries our pukey kid inside and lets him puke a third time in his arms.  To God be the glory!

(Kai wore pajamas the rest of the day while Caleb was blissfully ignorant of his earlier exploits.)

Birthday Bliss

Sunday was sunny and 60 in the Twin Cities, which is where we were for Eli's birthday.  I discovered a few months ago that the Vikings would be playing the Lions on Eli's actual birthday and I instantly knew how we were going to celebrate.  Game on!

Eli is a football fanatic.  Dare I say, football nerd?  Even though football is a manly sport and doesn't necessarily lend itself to nerdism, I'm pretty sure that anyone can become nerdy about anything if enough thought and devotion is put into it and if you can regurgitate those thoughts with youthful enthusiasm and charisma.  Check, check.  Eli is a wholehearted football nerd.  He follows the Vikings rather religiously and regularly reads blogs and articles about his beloved (although fairly unsuccessful) team.  Then he asks excitedly if he can tell me about the current offensive strategy or why he admires a certain rookie based upon his college-to-pro transition or how the coach's stance on this and that should be considered when blah blah blah...

In other words, Eli loves football.  Particularly the Vikings.

But he also really likes the Lions, not least of which because I'm a Michigander and they're the team we route for when the Vikings stink (which is most of the time).  So Sunday's game was the perfect game for us because we could cheer for both teams.  And it was sunny and 60 at TCF Stadium, the outdoor stadium at U of M where the Vikings currently play while the Metrodome is being redone.

It was great fun and we ate classic football food like cheese curds and hot dogs as we watched Eli's dear Vikings get defeated by the Lions.  Throughout the game my husband informed me of the recent changes in Detroit's defense, the status on Teddy Bridgewater's ankle injury, exactly how many field goals the Lion's kicker has missed already this year (and how many other kickers have been sacked because of their lack of aim), and why Anthony Barr is a fan favorite as a first-round draft pick.  Great fun indeed!

So Happy Birthday to my football nerd of a husband :)

The Haircuts

At the beginning of summer, we attempted to get Caleb's hair cut.  Long story short, it didn't happen.  We definitely tried.  We prepared as best we could by explaining what was happening and by bringing snacks and books and movies with us to Great Clips, but none of our preparation could prepare our boy for a strange experience in a strange place among strange people.

We walked in the door and the panic set in.  By the time he was sitting in the chair with me, he was screaming and flailing and reaching for Eli to whisk him away from that awful place.  It was not a temper tantrum.  It was a true panic attack and it broke our hearts.  So we opted not to cut his hair, at least not in that environment where he was obviously confused and terrified.  We didn't want a simple haircut to be a traumatic experience so we left and decided that, somehow, we'd have to cut his hair at home.

But since we've always loved Caleb's long hair, we didn't push the agenda.  I kept it trimmed in the back and let the summer go by.  We did agree to cut his hair sometime, though, and finally it was time.  We chose a night when he wasn't overly active and wiggly, gave him a bath so his hair was wet, turned on the TV and let him sit in my lap.  Then I took the scissors to his beautiful, silky blonde hair.

I cried after the first snip.  I couldn't help it.  I was holding a precious lock of hair in my hand and realized it was really happening: Caleb's first haircut, and it was going to be drastic.  But I kept cutting, and Eli kept assuring me that it looked good.  Tears kept escaping from my eyes but I just wiped them away and kept cutting.  It helped that Caleb didn't seem to notice or care what I was doing.  When all was said and done, I continued holding him in my lap and kissed his head over and over and over again, telling him how beautiful he was.  Because he is.  He's a beautiful boy who'll grow into a handsome man no matter what his hair looks like.

BEFORE

AFTER

Even though his haircut looked great in the end, my Mama heart was tugging.  I turned to Eli and said, "I have to cut my hair now."  Here's the thing: I'd already been thinking about chopping my hair for awhile.  It was beyond time for a trim, and it's been getting in the way for months.  Kai is past the phase when he would deliberately grab my hair, but whenever I hold him he reaches for any and all things and often gets my hair on accident.  Plus I wouldn't mind having shorter hair as I swim laps at the gym this winter.  (Trying to get all my hair into a swim cap has proven rather annoying in the past.)  All that to say, I'd been considering a haircut for awhile and then committed to it after cutting Caleb's hair.

So I went the next day and had it chopped.  The stylist took off 12 inches and I donated it, which I've done twice in the past.  And although I'm still getting used to it, I like it!  Caleb paused and stared at me when I walked in the door, noting the change, but then went about his business as usual.  My hair feels funny and freeing at the same time, and I wonder if that's how Caleb felt after his hair disappeared too.  Either way, it's a fun change for us both!

BEFORE AND AFTER

New haircuts for a new season.  We're literally in a new season as autumn has blown her way into Duluth this week, but also in a new season of life.  Eli's new job begins on Monday and we're moving forward with preparations for missions.  Changes all around!