Thank You Paw Paw

As I watched you take your last breath, I could not help but think of my boys. I thought about how much they loved you and how much you loved them. I thought about how happy they were to see you and play with you. You were always so full of life and energy, what kid wouldn't want to play with you? I thought about how Ivan would run full force towards you and plant a giant hug on you. I remembered good times and bad times and was so thankful that we ended with the good times. Things have not always been easy between us, but as far as I am concerned things ended pretty good for us.

In the last blog entry, I was very concerned that we would not get to see your smile again. Little did I know, I would be greeted with a smile just a few days later and then again when I visited you in the hospital. I was very pleasantly surprised to see you open your eyes and greet me with a smile as though you were happy to see me. Maybe you were happy to see me, but I sure did not expect it. Thank you for this. This is only one of the things I am thankful for as I reflect back on the years we spent together.

Thank you for taking such good care of mom while she was sick. You by far exceeded any and all expectations I had. You loved her and made sure she was always taken care of during this time.

Thank you for loving Kelly and teaching her how to be the wonderful person that she has become. You and mom have always been there for her and have taught her the right way in life.

Thank you for waiting at the hospital while I was in labor with both boys so that you could see them and hold them while they were "fresh and new" I will never forget how much love you had for my boys from day one.

Thank you for teaching me the value of hard work and for always ensuring your family was well taken care of. You taught me the meaning of hard work and instilled this value in me.

Thank you for fighting until the very end and for not giving up until you could no longer fight. When most people would have thrown in the towel, you continued to fight a good fight. We are all very thankful for every exta minute you gave us.

Thank your for hanging on long enough for everyone to say their good byes.

Thank you for loving me like your "real" daughter over the last several years. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to realize that I also loved you like a "real" dad.

Thank you for loving your family and for always being there when we needed you.

Thank you for being an amazing Pa Paw, father, husband, brother, son and friend. You touched so many people's lives and so many people loved you.

Thank your for entering our lives. Now it is time for you to be at peace and be that happy person that we all remember and love. We may all shed many tears over the next few days, weeks and years, but we know you are in a better place now. We will all miss your happy face, your funny jokes and your great hugs, but I know we will see all of these things again soon.

Paw Paw

We are all thinking of Pa Paw right now-wishing and praying that he would get better so that we can see this smile again. As hard as we pray, we know this will not happen. We are all incredibly sad right now, but will charish every moment that we have left with him.

I honestly cannot express how I dread sharing this with Ivan. Ivan loves Pa Paw so very much and is always so excited to see him!

Pa Paw, we all love you so very much! We wish that we could take away your pain and spend many more years together!

Our Little Mover

Well, as much as we don't want to admit it, Everett has discovered that he can move his little body across the room all by himself! Shortly after he turned 5 months, Everett followed in his big brother's foot steps and began to army crawl. I saw him doing this in our bedroom one day and was in complete denial. I really thought I was crazy. I didn't think Everett would start crawling the exact same way that Ivan did and I didn't think he would do it even earlier than Ivan. Granted, it was only about a week sooner than Ivan, but it was still way too early for me. I was convinced that Everett would be our calm child that would be a "baby" longer than Ivan was and I was really hoping for it! I LOVE the baby phase and have a hard time with them growing up.

I have many friends that stress about their kids not reaching the milestones quick enough, but I am the opposite. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of my kids and love to watch them grow and learn, but I get kind of sad when I watch them grow up too.

Everett is now moving across the room so quickly! As soon as Ivan gets a toy out, he is on the move to go get that toy. I really cannot believe how quick and strong he is already!

Trick or Treat with a special friend

Ivan and Zach

On Halloween, Ivan had a very special visitor-his former sitter, Amy and her family stopped by to surprise him. When Ivan opened the door, he had an instant smile on his face that never faded. He could not have been happier to see Zach and Amy.

After visiting for a bit, we all headed out to Trick or Treat with grandma and then ended the night with some hot chocolate. Ivan loved every second of Trick or Treating and would let me know exactly how many pieces of candy he was allowed to have as well as how many houses we had left when he was ready to go home. "Just 3 more houses, and no more!"

After saying our goodbyes to Amy and Zach, Mike headed upstairs to put Ivan to bed. As Ivan was getting ready for bed, he looked at Mike and said, "They will come back?" It did break our hearts a little as we both knew he was sad to see them go and we are pretty sure he woke up a little sad the next morning.

Pumpkin Patch

A few weeks ago, we headed to the pumpkin patch for Mason's birthday. Ivan had so much fun petting the animals, picking a (small) pumpkin and going down a huge slide. Thinking Ivan might be a little scared to go up the large amount of steps by himself, I followed him up.
I then asked if he would like me to go down the slide with him and he answered "yes" As I headed towards the slide, Ivan quickly headed down the slide without me. At this point, I was not sure what to do. Do I go back down the steps or down the slide? I decided to go down the slide and I do not recommend that to anyone! It was a very bumpy ride that really hurt my behind with a very slippery platform at the end that I nearly slid right off of! Ivan, on the other hand, LOVED the slide. He would go down over and over and would make the strangest noises with his mouth the whole way down. We were cracking up the whole time!

We were both very surprised at how much he loved the animals. He used to be quite afraid of animals, but he was reaching into pet and feed every animal he could find. Well, until the chickens got a little aggressive. He did not seem to enjoy the chickens "biting" his finger!

Jump Your Jiggles Out

Love his little hands in this picture!

Hungry?

Ivan needed a little attention too!

When Ivan was a baby, he absolutely LOVED his jumper and we could sit and watch him in it for hours! Ivan would stare at us and wait for us to yell "jump!" Then he would jump in a complete circle and wait for us to yell it again. We would have so much fun with this game. So, we thought we had to try Everett in it as well.

Now, this is a time when we really miss our old house. We used to have trim in ever room and around every doorway. We also had a huge doorway between the Dining Room and Living Room that was just perfect for the jumper. He had so much room that we never had to worry about him hitting the side of the doorway when he got a little crazy. The only space we really have to use in this house is the laundry room. It is very convenient because it is actually in the Kitchen, but I do worry about him pinching his hands between the jumper and the wall. For now, he is fine, but I am sure he will become a little more like his brother soon and need the extra space!

There's Something About Ivan.....

I am pretty sure Ivan enjoyed playing with shaving cream, unfortunately Daddy did not enjoy watching Ivan play with shaving cream. I, however could not stop laughing!