Christmas part 1

Saturday we had Christmas at my parents house.  Since we live 3 1/2 hours away from extended family my mom,dad, and brothers have always just celebrated Christmas as a little family of 5, but over the years more and more amazing new members have entered the small family of 5 which now adds up to 17 with another one on the way :) The Maxheimers have lots of littles and there is something special about Christmas when you can be with them, they tend to make everything more magical. It can be alitttle crazy since we take turns opening gifts, but the looks on their faces when they open something they were hoping for is priceless.
My Mom has always been an amazing gift giver. She never ask people what they want she just listens and spends time with people to figure out the perfect gifts that would bring that extra smile. As my niece Anna was looking at all her treasures she said "how does grandma Amy always know what to get"! I saw my sister in-laws shine with excitement over gifts I know my Mom bought months ago.
And then Zach literally jumped with joy over a new bible with his name on it.
With all the joy, excitement, and new toys I couldn't help but notice the best gift that was given on Saturday came from my Mom and Dads amazing example of love and generosity.  My parents have always set an example for my brothers and I that Christmas starts with Jesus. I hope that Mark and I can set an example for Lanie like my parents did for me.  Tomorrow morning before Lanie opens presents Mark and I will read the Christmas story, she might not understand it all, but she will in time understand that the reason we celebrate is all because our savior came to us on that holy night. 

Polar Express

Something is still down with Blogger , which means I currently can't update my blog account, which means I can't add pictures just yet! I promise as soon as it is up and running I will do picture post :)

This weekend was crazy busy and no time to rest because the next several weekends are looking to be about the same.  Friday right after work Lanie and I went to OneLife and got to watch the Big Deal Christmas Theater.  This is meant more for older kids and it's a once a month outreach our church does. Lanie and I decided to go this time though and cheer Daddy on because he was in the production this month as the Angel Gabrielle.  Mark looked great in his all white, members only jacket, wings, and white wig. He was a trooper because he was not feeling well at all, he actually spent the next two days in bed. 

After the show cousin Isabel came over for a slumber party, we had such a good time.  Then Saturday the gals because Mark was still down and out, went to a birthday party for our good friend Libby-Kate who turned 3!!! The party was at the inflatable fun factory and for this pregnant momma chasing and climbing around with Lanie about did me in.  After the party we went home for nap time and a small rest before we were off again to Uncle Zach and Aunt Melissa's for dinner and cookie decorating.  It was so wonderful to watch all the cousins play with each other and even though it's sad that they are all getting a little older on the plus side it means that all the adults get to actually sit and visit with each other. I love my brothers and sister in-laws and cherish my time with them :)

Lastly on Sunday Lanie and I were off to church with Mark still home sick, so I called in my back up , my niece Anna to go to Polar Express with us, not only did she have fun, but she was a huge help with Lanie love.  It was so amazing to see Lanie experience the excitement of all the fun the train adventure brought.  Two of my favorite parts were when were at the French Lick Resort and they have all these cool displays and decorations and Lanie found this elf display.  She thought it was so cool that they were her size and that she could honk their noses she loved her little elf friends.  Then my other favorite was when she saw Santa board the train she let him hold her and she just studied him and then finally gave him one of her hugs which are the best. 

I get asked all the time if we are going to do the Santa thing with Lanie and usually my reply is why not I don't see any harm in it. We will first and foremost teach Lanie that Christmas might have pretty lights, presents, yummy food, and fun games, but it will always be Jesus birthday before all of that.  As independent and strong willed as that little 1 1/2 year old is I can tell she has a good heart and as long as we as parents guide her in what the real meaning of Christmas is I think she will figure out Santa on her own at some point like most kids do.

Gobble Gobble

So it's been awhile since I got a post up on Lanie Weekly, my bad! We have been super busy with kids parties, church, holiday festivities, and etc. Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving and we started it off just how it should be. Tuesday night out life group volunteered at the Evansville Rescue Mission and helped pass out Thanksgiving baskets.  It was really neat because each family (1,700 to be exact) came through with their box and we put the items in their boxes. It gave us a chance to interact and wish each family a Happy Thanksgiving.  Mallory and I had the easiest job, which was to pass out literature to the families.  Other people in our group were lifting potatoes, onions, and turkeys all night.  Overall it was an amazing event and our lifegroup is proud to partner this year with such a great organization next up is gathering gifts for the family we adopted.

Then Thursday we packed up and went up to the Wade Thanksgiving.  We hung out with the whole family, ate some yummy food, and then decided it was time for Lanie to take a nap.  Not going to lie I was little tired myself so Lanie and I went up to her Aunt Gena's to take a snooze.  We had ourselves a nice little nap and then the rest of the family joined us for make your own subs! We do the traditional meal with Mark's extended family and then dinner is just with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents :) We were back on the road late that night to get ready for the Maxheimer Thanksgiving.

This was the first year my Mom asked me to host and I was super excited to.  I got color sheets for the kiddos and activities, had a actual adult table set up and the kids were in the kitchen/ dining room.  Everyone chipped in with sides and my Dad made a yummy Turkey and Ham.  Then Papa and Mimi started a tradition that I hope they continue because I loved it.  They gave each grandkid (yes all 9 soon to be 10) Christmas pj's.  Then each family got a recordable book all about the first Christmas. The best part was they recorded themselves reading it.  So now we hear Mimi and Papa's voice about 20 times a night as Lanie flips through her book.

Then Saturday we put up our Christmas decorations and trees and played in the annual M & M poker tournament. This year Mark walked away with 2nd place and $70, and I got out early, but then played a side game and walked away with $15, so with the cost of us playing and paying the babysitter we still came out $30 on top!

I will add pictures from all these fun events soon, when I tried to add them it said I needed a larger package, but it won't work right now for some reason!

This is Halloween!

What a fun weekend we had with friends at the annual Dierlam Family Halloween party.  Mark did an amazing job making our costumes while I worked on Lanie's to make her super cute.  We decided to be the Ghost Busters this year and Lanie was our ghost that we caught. Mark used his creative skills to make a pretty awesome proton pack that puts the real one to shame. Lanie sported a onesie ghost face with a tutu of black and grey that I actually made.  All the other families had some pretty awesome costumes too, we had Alice in wonderland theme, Artist, Peter Pan, My Little Ponies, Ninja Turtles, Smores, fire fighters, and many more.  We played some fun games with the kids and then the kids just played and the adults had fun playing Mafia.  We love that we have so many great friends with kids all close to the same age because we can do fun stuff like this. We look forward to many more parties and fun times with some really awesome peeps :)



Who ya gonna call???





Halloween morning before we left for work. Lanie has a big Halloween party at daycare today :)



Working Mom :) :(

Being a working Mom has it's pros and cons all wrapped up in one crazy, messy, busy, chaotic schedule.  I was pretty established in my career before I got pregnant with Lanie and I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to step away from my job.  I love teaching students with special needs and even though some day are extremely challenging it's part of who I am and what makes me, me! I knew when I had her and spent 9 weeks straight with her it would be hard to go back to work full time, but I missed my job and teaching.  I am a big supporter in that every mother should do what works best for her and her family.  I don't think you are a better mom if you stay home or if you go to work.  I get to play stay at home Mom in the summers when I am with Lanie, and I will be the first one to admitt that some days in the summer could be much more productive, but instead get spent watching way to much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
It's always a struggle to know that when I drop her off that someone else is watching her for 9 hours.  We are extremly lucky though that we have some amazing people that love on her and give her all the support she needs all day until Mommy and Daddy can get to her.  Some days are harder than others to drop her off, but what makes it better every day is she gives me a big hug and a smile and has never shed a tear when I have to tell her bye bye for the day.

Praying

We always ask Lanie to join in with us when we pray before dinner, but most of the time she is to busy eating or doing something else to concentrate on praying.  I would like her to, but then I also remember that she is 1 1/2 and doesn't really understand all of it yet.  The other night when we were praying I noticed that she started folding her hands and bowing her head and was starting to realize that she might actually be following our actions.  So sometime last week I told Lanie to pray for Papa and Mimi and this had to be the sweetest prayer ever! I am so happy to know that our sweet girl is already talking to God. ( some problems with the video so I will have to hold you over with a picture until I can get the video to work)

Bath Time

The other night we had just wrapped up dinner and Lanie wandered off to her room and comes back to the table with her diaper and pink cowboy boots.  Lanie climbed up in Mommy's chair and was resisting taking a bath.  So Daddy as smart as he is made bath time fun by adding a song.  Lanie is super into imitating people right now so what ever motions Mark did she followed. With the new bath time song I don't see why she will ever whine again when it's time to take a bath again!

Silly girl

This little bug is a funny gal these days.  There is so much she is learning each day and at 19  months EVERYTHING is a teachable moment not only for Lanie, but also for Mommy and Daddy.  Mark, put on his twitter last week that parenting is 99.9% patience and 0.1% yelling ( I know I didn't get his quote exact). It is so true though at least for her season of life right now.  We are not perfect by a long shot and Mark actually follows this percentage more than I do.  That is why he thinks Lanie and I will be fun to watch when she gets older and will just sit back and laugh.  Lanie might look just like her Daddy, but she is very stubborn and strong willed like her Mommy.  So I leave you with a Lanie top 10 list of new and exciting things in her life.
1) Swinging
2) Books
3) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
4) Fruit
5) Being outside every second
6) Helping Mommy & Daddy water flowers
7) Babies
8) Stuffed animals
9) Calculators ( we don't she just has become attached to one recently)
10) Pretending to sleep (look at picture below)

How do you show love?

On Sunday our pastor preached on love, but not just the same old love year hear, but real love that we as Christians should be saying and demonstrating everyday.  He gave us some homework to do and asked us to look at our tight circle of family and friends do they know that we love them like really, truly, deep down love them and do we show them.  Then he challenged us to keep moving that love out to where we are eventually truly showing God's love to every person we come in contact with by telling them and showing them. He talked about the book 5 love languages (below is a description on each). 

The 5 Love Languages^®

What if you could say or do just the right thing guaranteed to make that special someone feel loved? The secret is learning the right love language! Millions of couples have learned the simple way to express their feelings and bring joy back into marriage: The 5 Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman’s New York Times bestseller!

• Words of Affirmation

  Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

• Quality Time

  In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

• Receiving Gifts

  Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

• Acts of Service

  Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

• Physical Touch

  This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

During the sermon I was laughing a little because I never would have thought Mark was a physical touch person when I first meet him, but that is his love language and me not being a physical touch person at all I have to challenge myself because I know that it what his is.  So true to form since the day she was born Lanie so far seems to be a physical touch person as well just like Daddy.  We can be sitting on the couch and every one is happy and she will notice that she is not right next to you. She will start shimming her way down to you until she is physically touching you or almost on your lap, but she usually doesn't want to be right on your lap (she still likes to be independent).  She usually doesn't need anything besides for some part of her to be touching you.  So our Saturday mornings when we can actually be home and relax you can usually find all three of us sitting on the couch with Lanie in the middle watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  My sweet girl is not only looks just like her Daddy she loves just like him too :) 

On a side note Lanie had her 18 month apt today with her doctor.  She still is only 23 lbs (35%)  and 33 inches long (73%). The Dr. said Lanie was doing great with her speech and fine motor skills and we all got a good laugh at her run because she looks a little silly.  Tomorrow she has her apt with her allergist to rule out any food allergies :( not excited about that, but she was excited about hearing that she doesn't have to get anymore shot besides flu shots until she is 5!!! 

AHHHHHHHHHHH

The title says its all because that is how this week feels.  There is about a million exciting things going on between school starting back up, meeting new students, getting excited about new teaching techniques I am trying out, and OneLife West our church launching on Sunday I feel like just letting out a huge scream. This is not an angry scream just a can, I add 10 more hours into my day scream so I can get it all done.

Amongst all this chaos of running around I have to remember to breath and Lanie reminds me of that every day.  I was busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off and million things running through my head for school and the preschool stuff for church.  When I picked Lanie up from daycare I was on the phone getting retirement paper work sent to me for a meeting Mark and I have with a financial planner coming up.  I had already made the mental list of things I needed to start as soon as I got home, because I had a lot to do and very little time to do it in before I lost all my energy.  But even with all the crazy list and things to do God was telling me to stop, breath, and be calm.  Because instead of that mental list getting started my daughter wanted to swing and read a book and how can you say no to that sweet girl with those simple request.  So the laundry didn't get done, the floors didn't get moped, the emails that needed sent finally went out at 11:00 p.m., and dinner was hot dogs, but my time was better spent reading and swinging with Lanie.

First hair cut

Lanie had her first hair cut last week and she was super duper GOOD!  Lanie sat right on the booster seat and sat as still as any 17 month old could.  I was so proud of her and then afterwards I got my hair cut and she was the hit of the salon.  She was going around talking to all the other people and making friends like she pretty much does every single place we go. 

She cracks me up!

This summer has been so fun getting to soak up all the fun times with a toddler.  I never knew I could have so much fun, be so tired, and so frustrated all at the same time.  Lanie is an amazing gal that is constantly discovering, figuring out, and exploring her world around her.  It is really fun to get on her level and see what she is experiencing on a daily basis.  I love it when she gets excited to do the simplest of task that as an adult I find a chore, but to her it's a fun and exciting way to help Mommy.  Recently she is really into watering the flowers outside and gets excited to do it. 

Lanie is also becoming more independent which is fun and sad all at the same time.  I catch her doing this multiple times a day.



She loves to be read to and look through books, and as I teacher I am excited and hope that love for reading sticks with her :)

I have a couple more weeks off with my little bug friend until I go back for the new school year and I intened to soak up every minute of it.  The number one thing I will miss when I have to go back to work is Lanie's hugs I get 100 times a day.  If you are in need of a hug Lanie is your gal to go to, those little arms squeeze around your neck and I promise you even the toughest heart will melt!

4th of July and HOT HOT HOT

Even though July has actually had us in our house its still as crazy as ever.  We seem to be busy all the time, but last night we got to take some much needed time with our friends! Lanie was super excited to have Will and Norah over to play and Mommy and Daddy were super excited to have their friends over to play as well.  We tend to hang out with Mallory and Jeff at least every other weekend, but their summer as well as ours has been jam packed, but we will take what we can get :) Laura even came over for fun times. 

The fourth was spent how we normally spend it.  The Wade family went over to my parents house for lunch and games and then we were off to the hill for the Dierlam annual 4th party. It was hot and hot and hot and a little bit of rain, and more HOT.  We still had a good time, Lanie was not feeling her best a little bit of a summer cold, but she sure looked cute.

Lanie has also become a little bit of a crazy child! She does not understand the meaning of sitting and relaxing she is either running around like a crazy person or sleeping.  Her new favorite thing to do is climb and get herself into some rather dangerous situations.  The other day this sweet girl got a chair climbed into one of the cabinets and got the food processor blade out like it was a toy.  Keep in mind this all happened in about 40 seconds when I ran down stairs to put clothes in the dryer.  She is quick, has no fear, and it hard headed it really is a great combo!

Several weekends ago we did our annual Ramsey Camping trip.  Yes, I know it was the hottest days in history and that is was crazy to even think of going camping, but we did it and had a great time.  The Ramsey crew knows how to make lemonade out of lemons and even though we could have had better weather and not all smelled to high heaven we were together as a family and that is all that really counts. 

Love these crazy people

Maxheimers talent was "Party Rock" dance (look at Mark being a box head running into the building hahhaha)

Sweet Benny

Uncle Rusty Crew's talent- can't think of the song, but it was funny

Uncle Steve's family talent take me out to the ball game

Beach Baby

We got back from Florida a couple weeks ago, but true to our busy lives as soon as we got back we were back on the road again four days later for the Ramsey Camping Trip.  That is a completely different post in itself because of how crazy hot it was, but if you going to be a sweaty mess who better to be it with than family :)

Florida was an amazing vacation. We had such a good time with the whole family and it was great to take Lanie on her first real big vacation.  The normal drive to Destin takes about 10 hours, but I am pretty sure everyone was going that week so it took closer to 14 hours between the traffic and the crazy food places we had to stop and eat at it made for a very long trip down there, but Lanie was a champ.  We had borrowed DVD players from our friends and we just kept the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on nonstop and that made her one happy traveler. 

When we got there Lanie got to experience the Ocean right away because the house we stayed on was right on the beach.  She loved the sand and the very edge, but going in was a different story a little to big and loud for her liking.  The whole week was filled with fun outings, lots of beach and pool time, a ton of reading, and great Wade Family Vacation memories. 

The only damper on the trip was Lanie's eczema started to flair up pretty bad the second day into the trip and just kept getting worse.  Saturday night we were trying to get some sleep because we were leaving bright and early at 4 a.m. to go back home.  Well Lanie was not happy because she was broken out so bad and itching like a crazy woman.  I had already given her allergy meds and she was just clawing at her skin.  The poor baby was just covered in a rash so I took her to the E.R. that just happened to be like 3 miles from our house and Mark slept because he had to drive.  So at midnight Lanie and I were off.  When we got there the check in lady was ruder than rude, but they did get up back super quick and the doctor got into to see her in no time.  I guess when you have a baby they come first on the list of people waiting.  The doctor was shocked at how bad it had gotten and decided to give her a steroid dose and an antibiotic to help with some of the open areas she had scratched.  I had already made an apt with her normal doctor for Monday so he said it should hold her until then.  We got back to the house at 1:30 and I was super tired and thought Lanie would be to ummmmmm was I wrong.  She was ready to go and I couldn't figure out why because she had hardly slept at all.  She finally went to sleep at 3:00 only to get up an hour later to drive back. Lanie slept most of the way home and I got a couple hours in too.  On Monday we saw her normal doctor and she gave her a topical steroid to bring down the flair up and then went on to explain to be that an oral gives a toddler crazy energy and that is why she always goes the topical route (so that explained crazy Lanie at 2:00 a.m.). 

Even with the little E.R. trip the vacation was blast and we can't wait to go back in a couple years with the Wade family.  Until then Lanie will perfect her love for the pool and hopefully not be so scared of the waves :)



Getting ready to eat at Joe's

Cousins

One cool chick

The Whole Group

Lanie loved the pool

Lanie was also a fan of the sand

Just watching some Doc McStuffins

First time feeling the sand

Soo this is the Ocean

Our  Beach Baby

Last days at 306 Boehne Ave!!!

So we are in the process of packing.  Not going to lie it is a little crazy, we have stuff in boxes, stuff at the new house, and about a thousand other things that need packed. I am always amazed at how much stuff we have.  When everything is in its nice little hiding spot it doesn't look that bad, but when you start cleaning out and throwing away stuff you realized well gesh I have a lot of crap.  So far my tally for trash bags of true just junk/trash is up to 4 and we haven't even cleaned out most of Mark's stuff :) Lanie has been a wonderful through out these past two weeks.  Usually summer vacation means only two days a week at daycare and then fun filled days with Mommy, but with painting all last week and then this week consumed with packing we haven't really got to start our summer vacation together yet.  Today I did take a break from the madness and Lanie went to her very first library time.  It is a class at the downtown library for walkers to 24 months.  There was three other little gals just her age with us and we had such a fine time. Lanie sang some songs, did stuff with bean bags, tapped some wooden sticks together, did a couple nursery rhyme, and then sang the goodbye song.  After that she picked out a couple books and a Elmo DVD and we finished up out time at the library.

This Friday we move and we will be several days with out Internet so I might get a post up I might now we will see.  In the craziness of all the moving I also have to get our family ready for our vacation to FL, we leave on June 16th at 5:00 a.m. I have a feeling I am going to crash when I see that beach :)


Here are some fun pictures of Lanie running through the new house on the day we got the keys!