Mommy Monday

It has been a while since I have had the time to sit down and write a post. I am hoping this weekend I can "catch up", but for now here is a recent photo that I love of my little man.

Three Ring Circus

Last weekend my mother-in-law called and asked if we would be interested in taking the kids to the circus. So, I of course I said "Why not?" and we purchased tickets. It has been YEARS since I went to the circus, but I was looking forward to sharing this experience for the first time with my own little ones.

On Saturday (7/3/10) we headed off to the TCC to watch the greatest show on earth. Katie was the most excited about the event. When we arrived she was all smiles. At intermission, she asked if it was time to go home yet. During the 2nd half of the show, she took a nice little nap. Despite her exhaustion, she enjoyed the show and has decided that some day she's going to be in the circus.

Andy didn't care much for the circus. He found the stairs to be very stimulating...

Bobby watched the show from beginning to end. He enjoyed the pirate act the best and was disappointed that I would not purchase a $20 plastic sword for him.

I enjoyed going back to the days of my childhood. Not much has changed about the circus; there are the tight-rope walkers, the strong man, the trapeze artists, and numerous other acts. I was impressed by the caged motorcycle act...I don't remember seeing that one before. The tickets were very reasonably priced. The novelties and refreshments were highway robbery! Bobby ordered a cotton candy before Robby could intervene. That's $12 we'll never get back...the upside is it came with a free paper hat! We left with Bobby asking if we could go again soon...and us promising to take him back next year!

Katie and Nini pre-show

The Boys

Katie and Nana enjoying the $12 cotton candy hat!

Step by Step

My husband and I have been wondering when our youngest would take the leap and walk on his own. Our oldest son, Bobby, started walking on the day of his first birthday party. Our daughter, Katie, started walking a few days before her first birthday. Our youngest son, Andy, has shown no sign of wanting to walk. While we would keep him little forever if we could, we couldn't help but wonder when he would start walking. He answered that question for us in his own time...

Andy did it! Today he let go of his safety net and took his first steps! At the ripe old age of 13 months and 24 days, Andy is officially walking. Once he figured out how to do it, there was no stopping him. He would go to his starting line, pull himself up, let go and walk as far as he could. After he fell down, he'd crawl right back to his starting line and do it again. A good hour was spent cheering him on and encouraging him to do it just one more time. By the end of our "training session", Andy could walk across the living room on his own and even tried to turn around once or twice before falling. He was so happy with himself at the end of the day that he joined the cheering section! :)

"So first I have to stand up..."

"Then I just let go. Boy, this is hard work!"

(Notice the tongue out, focused look on his adorable face.)

"Hey, this is fun!!!"

"Yeah Andy!!!"

I love being able to be home for all of these special moments. Andy has had a keen sense of when he should show off his skills and reach another milestone; he has always waited for me to get home from work or be on vacation before mastering any of the major milestones.

Dearest Andy: Thank you, little man...I wouldn't miss these events for the world. Thank you for knowing that I needed to be there for each of these milestones. You are already wise beyond your year and I am so glad that I am your mommy. I can't wait to share your next adventure with you. Love, Mommy

Hand Me Downs

I am the youngest of the 3 girls in my family, so growing up I used to have lots of hand me downs. There is something so great about taking things that are "old" and passing them on to someone who thinks that they are new and exciting.

My husband grew up in Chicago and LOVES sports. He has always been a lifelong fan of the Bears, Cubs, Bulls, and Blackhawks. Since the day our first son was born, Robby has been carrying on the family tradition of passing on a die-hard addiction for our Chicago teams. Bobby has enjoyed occasionally sitting on the couch with Robby or Boppa cheering on our team. However, the addiction really didn't sink in until the Hawks entered the playoffs this year.

Robby would turn on the television each game to tune it to his Hawks and Bobby would sit for extended periods of time next to him asking questions and getting to know the game/players. As the Hawks advanced to the next level, Bobby's enthusiasm grew. He could frequently be found in the living room re-creating a Hawks game using his Little Tikes hockey sticks and puck. I would hear him saying "Housa passes the puck to Byfuglien. Byfuglien passes it to Kane. Kane shoots and he scores!!! Blackhawks win and defeat the _______ (insert the team they were currently playing against)!" After each win, he'd have a thousand more questions for Robby. Robby would patiently answer each one and play countless games of pretend hockey with Bobby. Bobby would end each session by saying "I hope the Blackhawks win the World Stanley Cup."

Nana visited Chicago a few weeks ago and came home with a Patrick Kane t-shirt for Bobby. He asks almost every day if he can wear it. Today, Bobby will wear his shirt in celebration of the Hawks winning the Stanley Cup last night! He stayed up late to watch the Blackhawks take possession of the trophy. He watched the tradition of each player hoisting and kissing the trophy. As I write this, Bobby has started playing another hockey game. I just heard "Kane shoots it and scores!"

I am thankful to my husband for this hand me down. It has been fun to watch my boys bond; their excitement has filled our house for the past few weeks. It's a tradition that I hope continues in the Lofgren family for generations to come.

Happy Birthday, Bobby!

Dear Little Prince,

Happy 6th Birthday!!! It's hard to believe we've celebrated 6 birthdays with you already. It has been such a joy to watch your grow and I am so proud of the young man that you are. I love you!!!

Your 1st Birthday (Hmm...does this picture remind you of someone?)

2nd Birthday @ Nana's House

Sesame Street Theme

3rd Birthday @ Paint Yourself Silly

Thomas the Train Theme

4th Birthday @ Camino Seco Bowl

Curious George Theme

5th Birthday @ Purple Heart Park

Star Wars Theme

6th Birthday @ Purple Heart Park

Toy Story Theme

I hope you had the best birthday ever!!!

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Dearest Katie,

Happy Birthday, Little Miss! Today you turn 4. Where have the last 4 years gone??? How do I put into words what an amazing little girl you are? You are truly a middle child. You enjoy playing with your brothers when it suits you, but you are are just as content playing all by yourself. You want to do things on your own and are not afraid to tell others what you want. You are a great at sharing, but love our special alone time at night. You are all these things and so much more.

I hope you enjoyed your 4th birthday party. It was your first year for inviting friends from school and it looked like you had a great time. Your "boyfriend" came and you played together until he had to leave. He left professing his love for you. Although it was absolutely adorable, I don't think I'm ready for you to like boys yet. I love watching you leave school...Michael chasing you on the other side of the fence, trying to catch your hand. You pretending to run away from him, giggling with pure joy.

As I look back over the last four years, attempting to write my first birthday blog letter to my daughter, these are the things I recall. Some memories are more vivid than others. Thankfully, I like to take ALOT of pictures as my dear friend Charlotte recently pointed out to me.

So here goes...I didn't put on much baby weight with you. I only craved salad and the smell of cooking meat made my stomach queasy. I was scheduled for an induction on the morning of May 27th, but when we arrived at the hospital they did not have a birthing room available for me. I had to undergo a stress test in which they confirmed I was NOT having contractions. (The lack of contractions being the reason I was being induced for the second time.) We were asked to wait until noon for a room, much to my disappointment.

Since we had a few hours to burn and were in the process of looking for a bigger vehicle, your daddy and I decided to go and check out the two mini-vans we had decided on. Our first stop was Jim Click Mazda. The sales man asked us what we were looking for and then showed us to a previous year model that met our requirements. We test drove it...and the rest is history. We were in the process of signing the paperwork when NWMC called to let us know that my bed was ready. The sales man asked when I was due, to which I replied "Sometime today!" We returned to the hospital to begin the induction and the waiting process. As with your brothers, we did not know if we would be welcoming Andrew Scott or Katherine Grace at the end of the day.

You were such a peanut when you arrived. I was so excited to hear the words, "It's a girl!" Your big brother didn't quite know what to make of you. It didn't take you long to start packing on the pounds and before we knew it you were our little rolie-polie.

Your first year, according to the record books, was uneventful. You were so different from your brother. You were little miss independent. You wanted to hold your own bottle from an early age. You had no use for a pacifier, unlike your older brother Bobby who would hoard his on the side of his bed. You were never afraid to go after what you wanted. You climbed furniture with the best of them and had no fear. You reached all of your milestones at the appropriate times and turned into a toddler before we knew what hit us.

Your second year brought some changes our way. Your nana was diagnosed with a rare cancer. She underwent an intense surgery, followed up by chemotherapy. She was a trooper! While she was working on getting better, you attended day care for the first time. Miss Tracy took good care of you for 8 months, but it wasn't long before you were once again spending your days with Nana.

Your third year included such milestones as beginning pre-school at Cottonwood, learning how to spell your name, and making new friends. You have been an amazing big sister! You love Andy unconditionally and love mimicking mommy. Andy is very fortunate to have you for his big sister. I know that you will be there to watch over him and assist him in making some of his earliest mistakes. You participated in a team sport for the first time and had a blast. Little league soccer will never be the same again! You went to Disneyland for the first time and met every single princess. You discovered that it is okay to be beautiful AND smart!

Unfortunately, this year you also said good-bye to your Auntie Missa. We will continue to build your memories of her through pictures and stories. She will always be with us and I know that she is watching over us from up above.

You are, and always will be, our princess. You have such a unique and distinct personality. Your father and I are left to wonder sometimes..."Where did she learn that?" One of my favorite memories of this year is you singing the song Let Me Be Good To You from The Great Mouse Detective. You have no idea what the song is really about, but you have memorized most of the words and are singing your heart out. You are too cute for words at times.

(Insert video here...I can't get it to load, I'll try again later.)

You are an enchantress. You captivate those around you with your sweet words, kind heart and mothering ways. I look forward to being caught in your spell daily. My favorite memory from this year: Your sweet voice saying "Mommy! Mommy!" and when I look at you to see what you want, you declare "I LOVE YOU!" With a smile, I answer "I love you too, princess".

Forever and always...I love you too, princess.

Love,

Mommy

And on that farm he had an Andy...

Andy's first birthday has come and gone. We went to dinner with the family on his birthday. We had fun spending the evening together. After dinner, we went to Target to pick out presents for his birthday.

"Good morning, Mommy!"

Celebrating at Claim Jumpers

We celebrated his first birthday at the local park with friends and family. The theme for his birthday party was Old MacDonald's Farm. Guests at the party made farm photo frames and decorated balloons with farm animal faces. Andy had a great time celebrating with his friends. Here are just a few photos from the big day:

The birthday boy getting ready for his big day

Andy is checking to make sure Colton is awake :)

Dawn and Ethan ("This little piggy sure tastes good!")

Mary and Colton ("Yummy! Who knew that foam paper could taste so good?")

Andy and the Bunchkins

When it came time to eat cake, Andy decided to eat like one of the farm animals. He went for the hands free method, which was quite fun to watch! (Honestly, he's never done this before!!!) Here is a short video of Andy digging into the cake.

Andy loves all of his new things! He is strolling around the house in his new pj's pushing himself on his fabulous walker. Thank you to everyone who helped make his birthday so special!!!