Growing pains

Today is a day of change.  A big step.  An exciting day.  A day to be a little sad and wonder where the time has gone.  A day to reflect on my little baby boy.

As of today, Eli will no longer be nursing. It is time to be a big boy and drink out of a sippy cup.   He is not very happy about it and a little grouchy but, I know that it is time to move onward and upward.  Time to start new things.

Life is about change.  We are always changing, always growing no matter what age we are. You just notice the changes so much more when you have little ones to watch. The hard part is being torn between the past and the present.  I can't ever go back to when Eli depended on me for everything including his nourishment. You see, when I close my eyes and remember him and I rocking, cuddling, and nursing, I feel a pain of sadness.  I will long for a time when I was the world to him and he would look up at me with those big brown eyes and smile between his little swallows.  And yet, there is so much to look forward to. I can't wait to watch him grow into a little boy. I look forward to spending everyday with him, learning, exploring, and growing.  So, today, when Eli falls down because he is learning to walk, I will pick him up and cuddle him while he cries.  And, when I look into those big eyes and he smiles I will know that I still mean the world to him just in a different way.  And, I will embrace the present moment and move past my sadness.

Two haircuts

When we got home for Christmas it was time to start the new year with some haircuts. So, we ventured out to the haircut establishment and successfully rearranged their inventory, crawled on their floors, and were louder then appropriate.  Here is the results.

It's really, really hard to get a picture of all three boys.  Everyone has to smile and look at the camera.  In order to get the above shot, I agreed to take a silly picture.  Here is our silly picture.  Gabe, how do you get your eyes to do that?

Ice fishing gadgets

Fishing.  It's our favorite thing to do.  My husband could spend all his days on a river trying to catch "the big one" or the little one for that matter.  Since we've had kids he has shared his passion with the boys.  Instead of taking his fly fishing gear and going out by himself he gathers up the kids, worms, and finds a place the boys can fish.

 

But what do you do in the dead of winter?  Ice fish, of course.  Last year, Bryan started taking the boys ice fishing and they loved it.  So, we have started to accumulate the proper gear.  Ice house, check.  Ice fishing poles, check. Manuel ice auger, check.  5 gallon buckets, check.

Gabe and Daddy have informed me that they are still in need of a few items.  Here is how the story goes.  Bryan and Gramps are seen pulling an ice house, manual ice auger, and two boys across the lake.  A nice gentleman sees this and takes pity on them.  He comes over to where they are with his brand new high powered ice auger and other cool gadgets.  This nice man drills four holes in a moments time.  Of course, drilling four holes with that slow manual ice auger would have taken a really, really long time.  Next, he brings out the coolest thing ever.  A camera that you put down the hole and watch the fish on a small TV screen.  The boys loved it.  They could watch the fish swimming around and biting their hook.  Gabe asked, "Does Santa make high powered ice augers and cameras for ice fishing?  Good question, we'll have to see about that.

Gabe sticking his head out of the ice hut.  It's so warm inside, they aren't wearing coats.

Owen catching fish in the ice hut.

Got one, dad!!

Grammy, Eli, and I decided to come out and visit the boys on their ice fishing adventure.  Eli loved the snow an it was nice to get outside for a little while.

Christmas 2010

Christmas always starts out at Heath and Jennifer's cabin.  It's a family tradition.  We start our holiday out with family, good friends, and a few Pendeltons.  After our party, we head to Grandma and Pop's to open presents and eat dinner.  The problem the past few years has been leaving the first party and going to the second.  It's all part of our family tradition.

Heath and Jen enjoying Christmas

Grandma and Pop

Opening presents at Grandma's and Pop's is always fun and exhausting at the same time.  They kids have the best time.  You can see the excitement in their eyes as they are handing out presents.  That is what Christmas is all about.  The excitement we see on our kids faces as they get just the perfect gift.

 

Opening presents at Grandmas soon ends and we hustle the kids to bed so Santa can arrive.  This year, Santa came to Auntie Megan's house and brought some pretty cool gifts.  Gabe asked for a hunting blind (hunting tent).  Owen asked for a dragon (from How to Train your Dragon) and a light up sword.  Santa did a pretty good job with everything except the light up sword.  Owen looked at the swords and simply said "that is not what I asked for".  Santa must have ran out of the sword that Owen wanted and he tried to improvise.  Owen didn't want a light saber, he wanted a light up sword.  It's turned out to be one of his favorite toys but on Christmas morning he wasn't pleased with Santa.

But wait, Christmas doesn't end here for the Dahl family.  On Christmas day, we head to Grammy and Gramps.  It's a special day spent in Buffalo with family.  Grammy fixed an amazing Christmas dinner and Grandma and Pop joined us. 

What a wonderful Christmas we had.  We spent time with family and friends, ate good food, and were spoiled.  When it was all said and done....I was exhausted.  Since Grammy and Gramps spent time with the boys....I took a nice long nap!  The best Christmas gift of all.

Growing up together

Precious babies.  Babies that will grow up together.  Babies that will play together.  Babies that will fight with each other.  Babies that will be part of each others life forever.  These two have a lifetime together.  I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

Eli Paul and Adaline Lois

 

Quiddich

Quiddich, you know the game that Harry Potter plays with the broom sticks and the golden snitch.  Gabriel is currently obsessed with Harry Potter, so we play a lot of Quiddich at my house.  The boys get on their broomsticks and start making laps around the house, chasing each other and "the golden snitch".  They use spiderman toys and put them on pencils (for brooms) and play quiddich this way.  Or they go upstairs to the gaming table and play with their lego Quiddich toys.  They can play this game for hours.

One afternoon, Owen decided to go outside with his broomstick and play Quiddich.  As he was running around playing his game he met some really nice older people who were taking a walk.  After talking with them a little bit he kept riding his broomstick and playing his game.  I decided to go outside to see how he was doing and the older couple came over to me laughing.  I introduced myself to them and they told me that I had the cutest little boy in the world.  The lady said she had asked Owen "Is that your horse that your riding"?  Owen looked at her like she was crazy and said "No, this is my broomstick" and kept right on riding. Owen thought, come on lady, can't you see that I'm riding a broomstick, not a horse.  She laughed and laughed.  After I thought about it, I realized that most little boys would be pretending they were riding a horse, not playing Quiddich on a real broomstick.

Eli has also decided he wants to play Quiddich.  They boys go upstairs to play their game and Eli wants to go with them.  I usually don't allow him to play because the lego pieces are to small and I'm afraid he will eat them.  This little man is determined not to be left out.  So, I pulled a chair over for him and allowed him get up at the table with his brothers.  You should have seen the smile on his face.  He was so proud of himself and so happy to be part of the game.

The witching hour

My kids always seem to go crazy in the late afternoons.  You know the time right before dinner when everyone is STARVING and we are all waiting for daddy to get home.  My mom always called this the "witching hour".

On this particular afternoon while waiting for daddy, Gabe and Owen decided to take some silly pictures.  They ran around the kitchen for over an hour taking pictures of each other.  Here are my silly kids, being really, really crazy.

snacks

This morning I started working on a project.  Laundry.  Laundry is a big project around here.   An ongoing, never ending project.  I was in the bedroom folding and putting away clothing.

Eli and the boys were out in the living room playing, or so I thought.  Thinking that Eli was rather quiet, I headed into the living room to look for him.  No Eli in the living room?   Where did that little guy go?  Imagine my surprise when I realized that he helped himself to a snack. When your hungry and your mom is busy....head to the kitchen and help yourself.

Speaking of snacks.  The Dahls have thoroughly enjoyed the pomegranates this year.  When I first brought them home, Gabe and Owen weren't to sure about them.  They each got a section and worked on getting the seeds out.  After our fingers and faces were bright red and our bellies full we decided we love pomegranates.  Even little Eli loves them!  What a messy, delicious snack

My priorities

One of the huge blessings in my life is that I have my priorities straight.  I wake up every morning knowing what my purpose is and what I need to do for the day.  My job is to love and care for my family.  Nothing more and nothing less.

These pictures remind me of my priorities.  When I let the little things irritate me, I just need to look at these faces and remember what it is that I'm doing.  I'm nurturing a family.  A family who will grow up and change the world.