Mormor's most important fight

Mormor is one of the most important persons in out lives, specially my boys. They adore her. No wonder... she loves them so much. She hugs them, kisses them, calls them cute names, plays with them, reads to them, sings to them, snuggles with them, smiles with them, teaches them new things, takes them to trips, has them over for sleepovers, takes them to the play ground, cooks their favorite food, bakes them cakes and cookies, comforts them when they cry, gives them marshmallows, chocolate, jelly beans, ice cream, buys them most of their favorite toys... among many other amazing things, and of course there is the occasional "time out" so they know she is the one that rules.
When Karl spends the weekend with her and comes home he tells me constantly to do things "like mormor". Say, if I am driving, I have to turn my signal like mormors, if I am reading him a book, it has to be the way she does it. It is like she is his superhero. He also comes home saying new things: "upsy daisy" is one of my favorites. And I love it! He loves spending time with her and waits by the window every time she is coming to pick him up. Grabs his backpack and is always so anxious to leave with her that he says bye bye a thousand times. And when she leaves without him, there are always big tears. Kaden is all about smiles when he sees her. And hugs and kisses, and tells her the cutest "I loooove you sooo muuutch" there is.

For me she means so much. She is an example to follow. And a hard one. She raised the most kind, generous, smart, successful, loving children. And I hope my kids turn out like hers. She is here for me when I need her. If I feel sick or tired she always helps me with the kids. If I need her opinion about something she always talks to me with the truth.
I will never forget the time she kept my new born baby Kaden for almost 2 weeks when I had to go to my father's funeral. Sleepless nights as we know, feeding him when he rejected the bottle. There was no one who could have taken care of him like she did. And I went to Mexico with no worries.

She is one of a kind. I am so grateful to have her in my life. I trust her so much.

Now this wonderful woman is facing one of the most important challenges in her life. She is fighting cancer. I am sure she is going to win this fight. She has shown us many times her determination and her strength.

Just remember... she is my little boy hero, so she is just going to show him how strong she is.

A year ago

Exactly a year ago was my last post. I cannot believe time goes by that fast. Today it is our 5th wedding anniversary and I forgot. If it was not for Erik's mom suggesting keeping the kids so Erik and I could do something, I would have not remembered. When Erik said she was keeping the kids, I said: well, what is the occasion? Good think she remembered, we are going out tonight!
The boys are growing like weeds. Kaden is almost walking and is cutting his second tooth! He is 16 months and still my baby (and he will always be). I was just thinking that when Karl was 17 months I had Kaden! And at that point Karl became a big kid. I cannot believe I treated him like an older child just because I had the baby. Now that I see Kaden I think that Karl was still a baby when he became a brother.
Karl is going to be three soon and he really does not make a lot of sense when he speaks. I have heard other kids his age speaking in full sentences, but Karl has a little way to go. He is completely bilingual though. He fully understands when Erik speaks in English and when I do in Spanish. He says more things in English, but when he talks to me he says more things in Spanish. It is amazing how his brain works! Kaden is saying more words than Karl said at that age, both English and Spanish.
I love when the kids play together. Karl is Kaden's best buddy. He just follows him and repeats everything he does. Karl is very good driving his riding toys, and an expert in his balance bike by now. He can balance all the way from the garage door to the end of the street, without touching the ground. It is amazing! Kaden, even though he cannot walk, he can ride his car so fast, that I have to run after him! He learned that from his big brother. It is so cute when Karl is trying to show Kaden how to drive. Kaden uses his riding car to go everywhere, he found out it is more efficient than crawling. The other day while Karl was sleeping I found Kaden trying to ride the bike! And yes, he can reach, in no time he will be running in the bike. I had to help him and he was giggling while I was pushing.
Both my boys have very different personalities, Karl is my independent outgoing child and Kaden is just laid back, and sometimes shy. Karl is at that stage where he wants to do everything without help, so you only hear: "I do it Karl", "I try" all the time! he even wants to drive the real car!
I will try to write more often now that I seem to have more time. And I will keep you updated on how the little guys are doing.

Wedding anniversary

Today 4 years ago Erik and I got married. It has been great, I love my life! We have two amazing children, everything is nice, really nice.
Today Karl came back from visiting his grandparents in Rogers. It seems he had a great time since he cried nonstop after mormor drooped him off. The only thing that finally calmed him down was Erik's computer, we let him play in the office for a little while.
We had a power outrage today in the afternoon and decided to take a walk with the boys. It was a very nice sunny day, a lot of our neighbors were outside mowing or taking walks. On the way back we saw the Callaways, Ron was mowing the lawn and took Karl for a ride in his riding mower, he even let him stir it. Karl was thrilled!
It is the first time I see so many of our neighbors out, I am getting ready for the summer and start to socialize a little more. During the cold months we usually stay indoors and really don't see many people. But the summer is different, the days are longer, and we can just sit out or go to the pool. I just wish I had more friends in town to just hang out, most of the people I met when we moved to Fayetteville are gone.

Here I am again

It has been very hard to come back and write in my Blog for many reasons. I want to tell you all about the boys and my parents coming to visit, but it brings back many memories and feelings I want to remember and forget at the same time. Having my parents here was really a blessing, but I am going to leave it there until I am more ready to tell you specific events of those weeks, it is just hard right now.
Right now I can tell you that the boys are growing fast, too fast... Karl is starting to talk more and more. The blabbing is becoming more clear, and now he can tell me simple things that I can actually understand. I have also noticed that he is clearly bilingual. When asked to say water he always answers agua (among other words). Sometimes I think he knows more words than he actually can say and gets a little frustrated trying to express himself. And I cannot forget to tell you that he loves to dance!
Little Kaden is so easygoing. He smiles a lot... and he has an amazing smile, I just love it. Many people think the boys look alike, but I am still convinced Kaden looks like Erik, we will see. He just has those eyes that are just like Erik's (I am talking about shape, no colour). I can also tell Kaden has a fascination for his older brother, he just follows him with his eyes. And Karl likes his little brother, within his roughness he has a tender side for little Kaden. And sometimes he wants to be helpful, too helpful. Kaden doesn't really like pacifiers, whereas Karl is addicted to them. When the baby is crying Karl tries to stick his pacifier in his mouth to soothe him and Kaden always spits it out. I can just see Karl's face wondering why he wouldn't take it.
Today Karl went to visit Mormor and grandpa. I miss him, but it is nice to have some time for myself. Erik went to work at his friends office so it was me and Kaden. I had plans to organize Karl's closet and just put aside all the outgrown clothes. While doing it I realize how fast he is growing! My baby is a toddler and my other baby doesn't fit in those cute little outfits anymore! After finishing organizing I called my mom and asked her when did she realized I was no longer a child. She answered around 10, when my brother Klaus (11 then) told her that she had her friends, he had his friends and Kurt and I had our friends, and it was time for her to respect our privacy and to give us time to enjoy other people. I was left thinking that after this summer when Karl turns 2 I will have "only" 8 years left to enjoy their childhood. But I hope for more, after all they are always going to be my children and my babies.
So as I was saying, I had planned to enjoy my "spare" time, maybe grab a magazine and lay down in the couch... but no, it didn't happen... I don't know where the time went, now it is midnight and I am off to bed.

Welcome baby Kaden Patrik

As many of you know baby Kaden Patrik was born December 30th at 11:43 am. He weighted 7lb 9 oz and measured 21 inches. We all are doing good. Kaden likes to sleep and he is a pretty good eater. I am very lucky to have my parents in town to help me with both babies. I am grateful to live close to Erik's parents as well, they help us a lot too. When Kaden was born Brynn and Erik's mom took care of Karl. Talking about Karl... I think he likes baby brother. He seems to ignore him most of the time, but when Kaden cries he wants to know what is going on. I think he is going to be just fine. Karl still likes to be the center of attention and likes to show off, and I am looking forward to the day they both will play together and be good buddies.

Starting the countdown

Today I have a little time to write something in my blog. This is thanks to Erik's mom because she sent some domestic help on Tuesday, Gail was here! Also because Karl has been great, he is taking a nap now and I don't expect him to be up until around 4.
So far I have been taking this holiday season easy. I am excited my parents are coming for Christmas and staying a while to help with the baby. Which by the way I have started my countdown. In less than a month we will have another member in the family! I think I am ready to have the baby any time now. I feel big, heavy and every day I am slower. Karl is very easy going, but sometimes he demands to be picked up and I don't know if I want to do that anymore (he is 28 lb!). He also gets a little bored at home so I need to figure out what to do in the afternoons.
In general I am feeling pretty good, just some little pains here and there that are annoying. Like the leg cramps at night or the back pain, but other than that I am fine.
I have been debating whether to decorate the house or not. I am not very motivated, but after seeing Erik's parents house I changed my mind. It looks beautiful and sets you in the Christmas spirit. So I decided to take some decorations out and maybe getting a tree. I hope Karl appreciates the effort, if not just having company over is an excuse to decorate. And is not about the work involved, is about setting the spirit. Besides it is Karl's first real Christmas, probably he will not have any recollection of this, but I will make sure to take plenty of pictures. He will probably play with every single ornament in the tree and try to pull the lights, but it really doesn't matter.
A last note: we took the boys to see Santa, and Karl hated it. He didn't cry, just didn't want to be held by the big red guy. Maybe the beard scared him... who knows... we will see what happens next year. Henry seemed to be happy though.

Great time in Mexico

Karl and I went to Mexico for 3 weeks to visit Oma and Opa. We had a wonderful time. We were very spoiled. I could sleep longer and my parents helped a lot caring for Karl.
The first week we went to Acapulco, Karl enjoyed playing in the pool and the beach. He specially liked the sand and the ocean, he even took his first steps there. We also spent a lot of time with the cousins, uncles and aunts. Karl loves his cousins, specially Markus who is only one month younger. They loved playing together and sharing toys. Michel, who is 2 years older, loved pushing the stroller and always wanted to help when Karl needed his pacifier or sippy cup.
The weather was wonderful, and the food awesome. Needless to say, we enjoyed our stay in Mexico.
When we got back to the US it was also back to reality. Back to taking care of Karl by myself, cleaning and cooking. But it is really not that bad since Erik helps me a lot. I move slower this days so chores get accomplished at a very slow pace. But things get done... There are only 50 days to the due date and I don't know what to think. On one side I am very excited to meet the little guy and on the other side I just think on how to take care of two little children. I already have my hands full with little Karl. But I guess I will figure it out, I am not the first mom with two children. I wish though, I had the help that Mexican mothers have. I wish I had a nanny or somebody to help me around the house a couple of hours a day... but in Mexico labor is more affordable... Another concern I have is how Karl is going to react to the new family member. So far the world spins around him, so hopefully the transitions will be easy. A piece of good news is that my parents are coming to visit, that means I will have a lot of help. I am very happy about that, when Karl was born I really appreciated my moms help, I wouldn't have made it without her. She taught me a lot. This last year Erik's mom has also been a great support, taking Karl over for sleepovers, taking care of him when we were out of town, and helping me calm down when he had his first fever (just a week ago). So I know I am not alone and there is help if I need it.
This holiday season I will just take it easy... Erik hopes the baby will be born this year (his due date is the 1.5.2009) so we get a tax deduction. If so, he promised I will get my IPod touch. We will see what happens, one thing is for sure... I am not in a rush, the baby will come when we both are ready.