Happy 3rd Birthday, Kolbe!

Happy Birthday (3+ months late) Kolbe Christopher!  

We are beyond blessed to have you in our lives.  You were a scary surprise, one that rocked our world in all the ways.  We felt completely out of control, and we were.  But God brought you to us in that chaos, and you are the proof that God's plans are a thousand times better than ours.  You are the proof that joy springs forth even while we're still working through the fears and doubts that stunned us.  You are the gift that we didn't know we needed, but Jesus knew how much we would need your love, joy, and goofy grins and faces.  You are so loved and so, so precious to us.  

 

Your huge smile that makes your eyes disappear is my favorite.  Your love of cars and trucks and trains and planes and all things that move and make noise warms my heart.  My boy.  You even take your trucks to bed with you sometimes- all lined up.  

Your patron Saint, Maximilian Kolbe, is a wondeful inspiration to us all.  His sacrifice and true love is so, so beautiful.  We finally put up the beautiful print that my friend, Denise, got for us years ago when you were born.  I also put up the St. Maximilian Kolbe quote, " A single act of love makes the soul return to life,"  from my friend Megan (bought from beaheart.com).   

Aren't they wonderful?

Isn't he wonderful?             

Kolbe's last sleep as a two year old.  

He moved to a big boy bed just a few months before his birthday.  We really stretched out his stay in the crib and I am always a fan of that, especially for this guy who has no one following him kicking him out of the crib.  

 

Silly, sweet selfies with Kolbe.  

Kolbe, you are so snuggly and sweet.  You are constantly coming and asking, "Hold me, Mommy?"  and I adore it.  I am known to drop many a task to get all the hugs.  At night when I tuck you in, you ask, "Mommy, will you lay with me?".  And I often comply for a few minutes.  You snuggle close with your face so close to mine that I just can't resist a few kisses on your nose and cheeks. And your arm flops over my neck and pulls me just a tiny closer so we're cheek to cheek.  I wouldn't miss these moments for anything, son.  

This picture is from when you were 2 3/4 and you used to want to sleep in my bed with me if you woke in the night or when you woke up just a little early in the morning.  I love the way you love your mama.  You always reach out to hold me in some way.  Your hand on my face or my neck or my arm.  I am a security blanket and I'm just fine with that.  

 

On your birthday, you and I and Sophie headed to the library for library time.  You enjoyed the songs, dances, and rhymes, but your favorite was the bubble machine at the end.  

            

Your actual birthday fell on a Monday this year which is a crazy day in our household because 3 of your big sisters have dance.  We opted for a simple cookie with a scoop of ice cream and your three candles on top for that day since it was a mad rush. 

          

You received a fire truck for your birthday from Grammy and Granddad and you LOVE it.  When I ask you what you want to be when you grow up your answer is always, "A fireman."

You are often found poring over books especially if they are about trucks or cars or anything that moves and makes noise.  I'm happy that we have 5 monkeys who love, love, love to read. 

You may seem quiet and subdued in that picture (because you are when you're reading), but the majority of the time you are running, hopping, bouncing, and stomping around the house yelling, making truck noises, and laughing loudly. 

You love food, especially snacks. If we can't locate you, we generally check the cupboards and pantries first because you are usually there pilfering something to curb your appetite until the next meal. You climb up the fridge, you climb up our counters.  If you still can't reach you pull out a chair.  Nothing, and I mean, nothing in our house is safe from you. 

Multiple times a month (and often multiple times a week), you dump out a bag of flour, a box of baking soda, or a spice container.  You love to make messes and you love to play in them.  Most of the time when you make a mess with some smooth, powdery substance you are found with your cars and trucks rolling over and through the mess.  I guess everything looks like a construction site to you.  

A few days after your birthday we had Uncle Nick over and we had a S'more's making contest in celebration of YOU.  Here was the spread. 

You and your sisters each chose a few items from above to make the "perfect" s'more. 

You kind of loved this idea and so did the rest of us.  

 

The winner was chosen by a panel consisting of Nick and Daddy.  

           

           

Because of your love of fire trucks and firemen, 

your third birthday celebration had a fire truck cake.  

We invited over a neighbor family to celebrate with us and you were delighted.

       

You absolutely love to be delighted in, and you are.  You are doted on by all your sisters and practically the entire neighborhood.  Priests love you, all our friends think you are just the most goofy, silly kid.  You are wonderful. 

And for your 4th and last birthday celebration, we had a picnic on my friend Megan's front lawn.  You adore her and her sister Micaela.  They had a gluten free chocolate cake.  I brought licorice sticks.  And you were showered with love and gifts- all right up your alley.  A dump truck and airplane that her son passed down to you as well as a new duplo lego set of an airport.  

 

Thank you, Megan, for your love and friendship.  Thank you for making this celebration so special and getting ME flowers on top of it.  Thank you for taking all these lovely pictures to capture the day and so many beautiful little moments in it.  

        

Your sisters spent most of the picnic eating licorice sticks in Megan's amazing front yard tree.  

 

            

Kolbe, you are loved beyond measure.  

We are so grateful for your life and for your presence in our lives.  You are rambunctious and crazy.  You are sweet and snuggly.  You are a total ham making so many different faces that crack us all up.  You are smart and chatty.  You are imaginative and concentrated.  You are wonderful and WE ARE BLESSED.  

New cars

Very recently we made some big changes in the vehicle department. We have been considering a bigger car for quite awhile now, years in fact. We've researched, compared, and researched some more to see what might be a good option for us. We both liked the Traverse best, so Chris began keeping an eye out for one's with low mileage that were a decent price.

Last week he found one at Carmax and they moved it over from Las Vegas so we could take a look. And shortly after we were selling the Escape (good-bye, old friend. You have been very good to us and we will, without a doubt, miss you very much.) and buying a 2012 Chevy Traverse with something like 21,000 miles on it.

Here it is!

I love the extra space. Right now we are still just using the middle seat for the girls and we have the additional three seats in back folded down to give us extra large trunk space. The double stroller fits in easily and with room left over for groceries etc.

Our original plan was actually to keep the Escape for Chris (so he could upgrade from his Honda Accord with only one working window and the sun roof and no working air conditioner). But financially that isn't possible. We needed to sell the Escape to help us purchase the newer and larger Traverse, but we still wanted to give Chris at least some kind of upgrade (a car with a working air conditioning system for instance). So we also looked at various options for a cheap, older car that would fit his current needs a bit better. The Honda is still in pretty good shape; it's a Honda after all, but it's old enough that we don't want to sink more money into it since it's well over 200K miles and could be on it's last leg. Or it could still run for a long time for someone who actually wants to invest in a few repairs or someone who can do repairs himself.

Right after we bought the Traverse, we went up north a few hours to look at a Ford Focus Wagon

this isn't our actual car- just a pic I pulled from the internet, but it's white like this so it pretty much looks the same

Yep, we bought the wagon for Chris. He's pretty excited to have a car that has air conditioning again and right before our heat wave last week when the weather popped up to 100+ degrees for a good part of the work week.

Last night we sold our Honda for $100 more than we paid for it to begin with. Nearly 5 1/2 years ago, we purchased the Honda from some acquaintances at a VERY good price. We wondered if it was that great a deal since the car was in the shop for like the first 2 months we owned it, but after a few repairs, it has been well worth every penny we spent on it. and that is even more true, now, 5 years later, when we were able to sell it for more than we paid for it. Hondas hold their value and are great cars. We aren't at a place where we want to invest any more money in repairs ourselves, but I'm sure the new owners can still get a lot of use out of that car with a few little updates and adjustments. The Honda was the very first car we bought together so I was sad to see it go, especially since I'd just said good-bye to our faithful Escape not even a week before. I didn't realize I'd be so emotional about purchasing and selling some vehicles, but we have a lot of memories with them, so it's a little strange to think they are gone and we won't be driving them anymore.

But I guess it's time to focus on making new memories in the newer cars we've purchased. Can't wait for that, too!