The Seever Side of Life

It's About Time

2010-12-21T11:30:00.001-08:00

I won't even try to make excuses for the fact that it has been well over a year since I have posted. At this point, I don't even know where to begin with an update or how I want to update you, or even myself. I have spent a lot of time reading other's blogs. My favorite of which is written by a woman I've never met. Every entry is a letter to her child or children. There isn't an entry that doesn't bring a tear (or three or a million) to my eyes. However, I haven't spent enough time documenting my own experiences and the joy that Kendrick has brought to me and to us for almost 2 years.

There are so many fantastic things about Kendrick that I want to document... well, really that I want to put in a bottle and take out at any point in the next 60 years. He has the most contagious laugh and it's best instigated with a couple of fingers on his neck. He's recently took a liking to dancing and does the best scissor dance with his arms (and insists that Greg and I follow suit). He's insistent on where I should be when he wants to play catch. He's learning (by watching) the commands to make the dogs sit. Last night, he was patting on his chest in an effort to have Kirby dance with him. He loves pickles and olives. He loves it when I run with him in the grocery cart. He's a huge fan of "This Old Man" and does a mean "Wheels on the Bus" routine. He loves Elmo, cheers for footbHis vocabulary has soared. He now communicates what he would and would not like to eat for breakfast, dinner, lunch, snack. He's becoming a little more independent every day...which sometimes morphs itself into what some may call a "tantrum". :)

Escaping to Tantrumville for a brief minute (or 5)

Typical meal time set up

This year is the first year that we took Kendrick to see Santa. On Sunday morning, we headed to the mall at opening time in hopes of beating the crowd. Luckily, we only had to wait 45 minutes to see Santa and he was well worth the wait! Kendrick is absolutely fascinated with Santa Claus. He enjoyed sitting on his lap, took a great picture, and now spends his evenings pushing his picture of he and Santa on his bike around the house.

I am so excited to see his face on Christmas morning, to see how he opens the presents, to stay in his pajamas all day if he wants, to eat cookies and pie and ham, and to spend the day and the week with so many people (and animals) that love him so dearly.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

One Year Ago Today

2010-04-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

David Gray

2010-04-28T17:34:00.001-07:00

I bought tickets for Greg and I to see David Gray on April 10th. Although Greg doesn't know much (any) of his music, I have been a fan for quite some time. He is an amazing artist and he was incredible to see live. Our very good friends, Trevor, Amber and their daughter Maylee, came over to babysit for us so that we could enjoy the night. Kendrick had a wonderful time with the three of them. Here are a couple pictures from their time together.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Grandma Sharon came to visit Kendrick and us the few days before Easter and left on Easter Sunday. Kendrick had a wonderful time spending some one-on-one time with her and Greg and I were able to enjoy a dinner out of the house after 7:00. On Easter Sunday, we joined our neighbors at one of our neighbor's house for great grilled food and an Easter egg hunt. Kendrick had a great time running around with the other kids. However, he wasn't very interested in hunting for eggs; sticks, rocks, and dirt were much more to his liking.

The happiest kid I know...He is never without a smile.

Long Overdue

2010-04-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

For the longest time, I kept telling myself that I needed to put together a new blog post, especially after the Griesert Girls came to visit. Better late than never, right?

At the end of March, my sister, Heather, and my two nieces, Myranda (5 1/2) and Sloane (now 2) came to visit Greg, Kendrick, and me. We had such a wonderful time together. On Thursday night, Myranda and Greg made homemade pizzas together. She is fantastic at putting on the cheese! The rest of the weekend was spent at the park playground, at the grocery store, and playing games at home. We (specifically me..) were so, so sad to see them leave and cannot wait to see them again in July.

At Chastain Park

I think we went to the grocery store every day.

My favorite picture of two of my most favorite people

Greg and the kiddos

Give you one guess who the rule breaker will be...

Sloane had had enough.

My Baby is 1 Today!

2010-02-14T05:17:00.000-08:00

Some may say it's hard to believe but I believe it. Kendrick turned one. In some ways, it feels like I should say he "finally" turned one. The three of us have had so much change over the past 12 months (both exciting and scary) that, sometimes, it feels like this year has lasted too long. That doesn't change the fact that I did tear up at 10:00 last night, remembering the moment when I saw his face for the very first time. And we've loved him more and more as every day goes on. To say that he's the best thing we've ever done is an understatement.

We had a small party yesterday with a few of our close friends and neighbors. Kendrick had a wonderful time playing with his friends, showing them his toys, and eating goldfish off of everyone's plates. Cake eating was quite successful. After he initially appeared scared of the cake and scared to eat it, he dug right in and made the mess he was born to make.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Enjoy!

Bub-Bye, Mullet.

2010-01-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

After much hesitation from my husband, I took Kendrick to Pigtails and Crewcuts today for his first haircut. Please don't misunderstand... Kendrick desperately needed a hair cut. Some might say that Kendrick was sporting a mullet, if you will. His hair was just too long, too scragley, and I had had more than enough. However, Greg was attached to Kendrick's baby hair and was having a hard time saying good-bye. So, I took Kendrick early this morning while Greg waited, broken-hearted, at home. ;-)

Kendrick did so well during his first cut. The salon is absolutely adorable. He sat in an airplane, equipped with its own steering wheel. Kendrick was so focused on the other kids and the other stylists in the salon that he didn't even notice that his mullet was being cut off. To say the very least, he looks incredibly handsome and more like a little boy. I will admit that I got a little choked up watching her cut off his hair, especially the really long strands that have been attached since the day he was born. Luckily, I have a little plastic bag with one of the first strands and, of course, a piece of the mullet.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-28T16:39:00.001-08:00

It sounds so cliche, but we have so much to be thankful for this year. We are all healthy, we are both working, and the insurance company finally approved the repairs to our roof. ;) Greg and I have always enjoyed our Thanksgiving weekend, typically spending Thanksgiving Day with friends and the weekend at home together.

Every year for Thanksgiving, Greg and I have spent the day with my good friend Meghan and her family. This year, we spent the day with our very good friends, Amber and Trevor, their 11-day-old daughter, Maylee Joy, along with Trevor's parents, Trevor's grandmother (who plays a mean piano!!) and Trevor and Amber's neighbors, John and Diana, at Amber's parents house. Portia, Amber's mom, cooked up an amazing dinner, complete with brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, and sweet potatoes. I needed my maternity pants after we finished eating. ;)

Kendrick, enjoying his sippy cup and Thanksgiving dinner. He had turkey, stuffing, and corn.

Being silly together on the floor. I took this picture... Amazing how well our self-portraits turn out.

Meeting Maylee Joy Hosch for the first time.

In his Thanksgiving gear. Thanks, Grandma Peggy!!

After dinner, we headed to Meghan's parents house to say hello. Kendrick was anxious to show as many people as would watch his nearly learned skill of crawling (he just started last weekend). Check out these videos I shot of him crawling anywhere that Kirby went.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays!!

K's First Halloween!

2009-10-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!! Kendrick and I are hanging solo this weekend while Greg (aka Daddy) is in Wisconsin for the Packers/Vikings game. We spent most of the day inside, as it was raining here yet again.

We headed out around 5 to meet our neighbors for the neighborhood Halloween party.

Alex was a dragon while Chris and Melissa were a knight and a renaissance woman. It was a lot of fun to be with them!

My little turtle. He was such a good sport. No cries, no fussing. He seemed to enjoy meeting all of our neighbors and parading through the streets in his turtle costume.

Kirby even participated in Halloween, wearing his old "My Name is Dog" costume. They had fun handing out candy and seeing the other kids in costume.

MN Trip September 2009

2009-10-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Greg, Kendrick and I flew to Minnesota for what was to be the Minnesota Twins' last game in the Metrodome (Go Twins!) Prior to the game on Sunday, we were able to spend some time with some of our immediate family.

On Friday, we spent time with Grandpa and Grandma Seever. Kendrick showed them how well he can roll over now by rolling over and over and over in their living room. From what I hear, it was enough to make a bystander dizzy.

Kendrick thought the pictures that Grandma Sharon had of him on the wall were pretty darn funny. He would look at the picture, start kicking his legs, and giggle. Apparently, he's already developing quite the ego.

On Saturday, we headed down to Waseca and Waldorf, MN to see my Uncle Jerry (my dad's brother) and my Aunt Kathy. The farm where Jerry and Kathy and my cousin Todd and his family live is on the same lot where my Grandpa and Grandma Stencel raised their family. They own over 900 acres of land which is rich with apple trees, flowers, a pond, corn fields, bean fields, barns, a chicken coop, and plenty of machinery. This was Greg's first trip to the farm so Todd took us out on the four wheeler and showed us some of the equipment they use for farming corn and soybeans. Greg was completely mesmorized by the large, technologically-advanced machines that Todd and Jerry use to farm. Kathy made an amazing lunch for us and Kendrick had his first taste of Jello and homemade applesauce.

After lunch, we headed to my sister Michelle's house. Kendrick was able to meet Michelle, Andy (aka Digger), my niece Cassie, and my sister Joette. Kendrick was definitely lacking sleep but you would have never known. He enjoyed every minute of spending time with them, almost as much as they enjoyed him. And Jello and homemade applesauce were not Kendrick's only firsts for the day. Cassie spoiled him with plenty of small bites of ice cream which Kendrick absolutely loved!

Finally, on Sunday, we went to the Twins game. While Greg and I enjoyed the game with Greg's good friend Chris, his wife Mel, their son Brayden, and Greg's good friend Justin, Kendrick enjoyed the day with his cousins Myranda and Sloane, Aunt Heather, and Grandma Peggy at the Como Zoo. It was a great day for all. The weather was cooler (some may even say cold...) but the rain stopped and the sun came out. Inside the Metrodome, the Twins crushed the Royals, 13-4 and headed to a tie-breaker with the Detroit Tigers.

We owe most of our sanity from the whirlwind weekend to Melissa and Dan Smith. They let us invade their house Friday night through Sunday night, giving us a place to unload and relax every night, hosted us and 3 friends on Friday night, made us dinner, and entertained Kendrick (though I think he entertained them more.) Melissa is due with their first baby, a girl, at the end of January. Watch out, Smith's... your little girl may have her first boyfriend already.

We had such an amazing weekend and were able to spend time with (almost) everyone that is important to us and who will be important to Kendrick. We're hoping that we'll be able to spend a week in MN next summer, allowing us a couple of days with everyone versus a couple of hours. To say the least, we were all tuckered out by the time we got on our plane to come back to Atlanta. However, only one of us was able to get some zzz's...

Destin 2009

2009-09-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day weekend was spent in Destin, FL with eight friends. We started the tradition last year when just eight of us spent the weekend. This year, two more friends joined. Next year, we hope there will be more.... and there will definitely be more little ones running around!

We drove the 6 hour drive on Wednesday afternoon. This was Kendrick's first long car ride and he did pretty well... until the last 45 minutes of the trip. Who could blame him? I wanted out of the car, too, and I wasn't looking backwards!

We spent the weekend at the beach, at the pool, eating (a lot), drinking adult beverages, and having many laughs (i.e. the wine glass incident, Lisa...). The only "outings" consisted of the grocery store, the guys spending Friday golfing while we ladies spent Saturday at the outlet mall in Destin (I'm pretty sure the guys planned it that way since Saturday was the start of college football.)

Kendrick seemed to really enjoy the water. While hanging in his floatie in the pool, we saw his little legs moving beneath him. It literally looked like he was swimming. Although the handle on the floatie was meant for his hands to balance, he seemed to enjoy it much more in his mouth. I'm pretty sure teeth will be appearing soon.

We ladies headed to the beach Thursday afternoon and Kendrick loved his first adventure in the ocean. We walked up and down the beach and he stared as the waves crashed against the shore. I put him down so he could feel the water on his feet and as I brought him back up to me, he would kick his little legs in excitement.

I took Kendrick for a walk every morning, both around our "neighborhood" and on the beach. On Sunday morning, I brought the camera with me and captured my favorite picture of the two of us. Hard to believe it's a self-portrait.

We had an amazing time and look forward to spending Memorial Day 2010 in the same amazing place!!

20 plus 10

2009-08-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

What a busy and fantastic last couple of weeks!! On August 14, my best friend, Melissa, flew in from Minneapolis to spend the weekend with Kendrick, Greg, and me. Kendrick wasn't too sure of Melissa at first but they quickly bonded when Melissa taught him how to buzz his lips. It's pretty darn cute...until there are carrots in his mouth. Melissa and her husband are expecting their first baby at the end of January and I can't wait to teach Baby Smith the same trick!

That Saturday night, we went out with a group of people to celebrate Erin's, Brianna's, Melissa's, and my 30th birthdays. Prior to dinner, we stopped at our very good friend's house for a pre-dinner celebration and conversation. Trevor and Amber are expecting their first baby, a girl, at the end of November so, while the guys caught up on sports, we ladies talked babies!! We had a great dinner that night at a Greek restaurant, Taverna Plaka. As it turns out, the craziness of my 20's has quickly faded as I had no desire to dance on the tables or, essentially, act as foolish as I may have, say, a year ago. ;-)

I definitely felt the love from MN, too, for my birthday. When Greg returned home on the 16th from running errands and getting us lunch, he had a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for me that was from he and my mom. Ever since I can remember, I've always had a DQ cake for my birthday; it's the best part of my year.

On my actual 20 plus 10 birthday (thank you to Shannon for reminding me that I'm not 30 but rather 20 plus 10), Kendrick had his 6 month appointment. He is a healthy, growing boy, weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces, and 26 3/4 inches long. He's perfectly proportionate and growing at a great rate. He and I spent the rest of the day together, he mostly recovering from his vaccinations, and me enjoying a day at home with him. Greg had to leave for NC on my birthday so my good friends all rallied and joined me for dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant close to home. Amber even made me my own birthday cake!!

This past weekend, Grandpa and Grandma Seever came to visit. Kendrick stayed home with them on Thursday and spent good, quality time with them reading books and playing. Unfortunately, on Friday, Kendrick was back at the pediatrician's office and was diagnosed with another ear infection. His fever rose to over 103 and he was completely miserable on Friday. But, by Saturday evening, he was almost back to himself. It amazes and delights me how quicly he gets over an illness; it's like the ear infections never happened.

Labor Day weekend will be spent in Destin, FL and we cannot wait!! We are going with 8 other people and have rented a house on the beach with a private pool. I can't wait to see Kendrick in his little swim trunks in the pool splashing around!

6 Months Old

2009-08-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Call it what you will, blame it on what you want, but I am feeling a bit nostalgic today. Maybe it's the fact that Kendrick is now 6 months old (point 5, if you will... thank you, Anna...), maybe it's the fact that I'm going to be 30 years old on Monday, maybe it's a combination of the two and other outside factors. No matter what, I'm so happy--and so sad--about the time that has quickly passed before my eyes.

As I have been doing every 13th of the month since March 13th, I took Kendrick's picture tonight on the recliner in our living room. I remember the first time I adopted Amy's fabulous idea of monthly pictures: I propped a burp cloth behind Kendrick's head and hoped he would keep his eyes open long enough for me to take his picture.

Tonight, not only was there a sunshine-filled expression on his face (how else would you describe it??), he also held himself up and reached across the chair for the paper. I feel like I blinked and he's on his way to becoming a boy. His independence is starting to become more evident, his personality is developing so quickly, he's showing signs of being incredibly ticklish like his daddy, and his laugh truly is contagious. He really is an absolute joy to be around (I think he gets that from me ;-).)

Before bath time tonight, I was showing Kendrick Mama and Daddy's wedding pictures, pointing out the two of us and Grandma Sharon, Grandpa, Grandma Peggy, Uncle Todd, Auntie Heather, and Myranda. It really seemed as if he was studying the pictures and taking in what I was telling him. He was so interested. He followed my fingers as I pointed to the pictures, looked at me as I was talking. I have no idea when his brain reached the point of being able to digest and retain the information I'm giving him in such a non-baby manner. It's bizarre.

As I've said in other posts and will most likely say in future posts, I can't get over how quickly he's growing. It's hard to fathom how much he's grown, learned, and developed in just 6 short months. I think my nostalgia this evening is just this overwhelming joy I have of being his mama. As much as I miss him being the tiny baby that curls up on my belly to nap, I am so excited to watch him grow.

Mmmm... sweet potatoes!!

2009-08-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Kendrick was diagnosed with two ear infections and herpeangina, we fed him pears for the very first time. His reaction to this new taste was actually quite boring; his face didn't scrunch or react, really, at all. Because of the blisters on his throat from the herpeangina, we held off on feeding him solid foods for the week. This past Monday, we went back at it and this time, sweet potatoes were on the menu. Much to my surprise, Kendrick absolutely loved the sweet potatoes!! He finshed half of the package on Monday, the other half Tuesday, and then easily polished off an entire container last night. He was so excited about eating them and even went so far as to give me a little attitude if I wasn't feeding him fast enough.

While feeding him bananas tonight (which he also loved!), I noticed that he seems to be learning to pull my hand towards his mouth as I'm feeding him. I'm not sure that he's doing it on purpose necessarily but I can see his eyes watching what he's doing and what reaction it creates. It's becoming apparent every day that he's learning something new or acting out some behavior that he's been trying to master for the last few weeks. He's now standing in his Exersaucer as he plays, he grabs toys with both hands, he seems to recognize certain toys and is beginning to recognize the camera, and has developed quite the affection for dancing and singing, especially when both are done by Daddy. If you ever want to hear Kendrick laugh (and laugh and laugh), come over while Greg and he are dancing to ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man". It's classic.

What a Week and Weekend!

2009-08-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, I received the call that every parent dreads. Daycare called and Kendrick was running a fever and had thrown up his bottle. I rushed to pick him up and got him into the pediatrician that afternoon. Poor pumpkin had 2 ear infections. ;( For good measure, he also had a virus called "herpeangina", a virus that causes blisters on the back of his throat. The two are totally unrelated but of course he had to get them at the same time. However, the best part of him being sick was that he was super snuggly and only wanted to sleep on my shoulder. It has been a long time since he's fallen asleep on me and I loved every minute of it.

By Friday, Kendrick was feeling good again and was headed back to daycare. That same day, Greg flew to MN for a quick trip to see family and celebrate his mom's birthday (it's today... Happy Birthday, Sharon!) On Friday night, Greg, Greg's friend Justin, and Greg's parents went to the Twins game at the Metrodome. Before he left Atlanta, I had to be sure to dress Kendrick for the upcoming game (thanks for the outfit Grandpa and Grandma Seever!) Kendrick and Daddy looked so good together that morning!

While Greg was in MN, I definitely kept myself busy. Kendrick and I hung out together all day, taking Kirby for a couple of walks and running errands. While Kendrick napped that afternoon and then after he went to bed that night, I painted the bathroom.

Here's the bathroom before...

And after...

This coming weekend, as my birthday gift, Greg and I are painting the living room. I know Greg is thrilled to help with painting but I think the results will be worth it. I think one project at a time for the next 30 years will get us to where we want to be with the house. ;-)

He Found His Voice

2009-07-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

Greg traveled to Memphis this week for work and got home late Thursday night therefore didn't see Kendrick until Friday. Greg comments that it seems that Kendrick grows and changes every time he leaves and comes home. This time, Kendrick surprised us both. On Friday night, while hanging in his swing in the kitchen while we cooked dinner, Kendrick started talking... and talking and talking... and he hasn't stopped since. We finally got a video of it today (he's also starting to stare at the camera when either of us tries to take a picture or video making it difficult to capture a moment.) As you can see--and hear--Kendrick has definitely found his voice. Greg said that he kind of sounds like a cat in agony as Kendrick naws on his tongue which creates quite the sound.

For those that don't know, Greg is quite the talker... which makes his job in sales a perfect fit. When Greg's mom was here a few weeks ago, she told us that she used to tell Greg that it was nap time and even if he wasn't tired, he needed to rest his mouth. I'm interested to see if Kendrick is going to be like his dad; he certainly has a lot to say already.

Best Friends

2009-07-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

One Saturday morning in March of 2008, I made a trip to PetSmart to pick up a bag of cat food. When I left the store, I had fallen in love with a 6 month old beagle mix puppy. I spent the next week talking with the rescue foundation, filling out their application, and, most importantly, convincing Greg that it was time for us to get a dog. It took some hard work on my part but I won Greg over the moment I suggested the dog's name should be Kirby, after his all time favorite baseball player, Kirby Puckett.

Kirby has been a wonderful addition to our family, full of so much energy and love. While I was pregnant, we would tell Kirby that I was carrying his best friend. And since the day Kendrick was born, he has been just that. Kirby is so concerned when Kendrick cries, kisses him like crazy, and loves to sit down to play with him on the weekends. Kendrick loves it when I carry him while chasing Kirby through the house, smiling like crazy and watching to see where "his puppy" is going next.

Kendrick's night time best friend is his glowing sea horse. My good friend Amy (a.k.a. my go-to-person for all questions and suggestions related to baby) highly recommended this seahorse as a sleep aid. The seahorse lights up and plays lullaby's for five minutes. During the five minutes, Kendrick attempts to get the entire seahorse in his mouth. Eventually, the lullaby's get him and he falls asleep... with the sea horse always asleep at his head.

I'll Do My Best

2009-07-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

I'll do my best. Those four little words seem to the most frequently used words in my vocabulary these days. Those and "I love you". Now, I add all of you to my list of people to whom I will do my best. I have witnessed four of my friends begin and update blogs to keep those far away up-to-date on the happenings of their growing families. So, I figured I would do my best in keeping you all up-to-date on the Seever Side of Life.

Last Monday, Kendrick turned 5 months old. Although it seems near impossible that 5 months have passed so quickly, it seems like over a year ago that he was born. I remember coming home from the hospital, sleeping on the recliner in the living room with Kendrick in the Pack n Play, and setting my phone for every 2 1/2 hours to wake Kendrick to eat. Now, I look forward to Saturday mornings when he wakes me with the best "cooing" sound I've ever heard.

Kendrick started with rice cereal 2 weeks ago. Every first bite of cereal results in the same look: complete and utter confusion and partial disgust. It's priceless. After he realizes that he's tasted this bland concoction before, he willingly opens his mouth for another bite. Overall, he's doing really well with learning to eat from a spoon.Soon, he'll be taking his first tastes of bananas and sweet potatoes. I'm sure there will be pictures for those first bites.

Kendrick also started at the most amazing daycare facility I've ever seen, Oxford Babies, about 2 weeks ago. All of the women who work there are incredibly caring, knowledgeable, and, most importantly, are so in love with Kendrick. When I arrived on Friday to pick him up, I walked into the infant room only to find it empty. One of the teachers advised that he must be on a buggy ride. "A buggy ride?" I asked (*definition of Oxford's buggy: a large, plastic, car-shaped wagon with 4 or 6 seats. One teacher pulls the buggy like a wagon. All of the kids have seat belts and are secured in other various ways.) I knew that the older kids were sometimes taken on a "tour" of the facility on the buggy but I didn't think that it was feasible for my baby to be sitting on a buggy. Man... was I wrong. As she walked me through the hallway, I slowly began to see the buggy sitting in the hallway, "picking up" more kids for a ride. The front seats of the buggy were hosting 2 toddlers and in the back seat were 2 very happy little boys, one of which was Kendrick. He was having so much fun with his 4-month-old friend; his face was absolutely electric with his smile. I think that I would consider that the best part of mother/parenthood: watching him learn, do, and see things for the very first time. His innocence is contagious.

In the coming/looming weeks, I will be turning the big 3-0. Although I am sad to say good-bye to my 20's, I couldn't be happier with where my life is and where it's headed. Not to mention, I'm incredibly grateful for all of the wonderful people I get to share it with. I hope you all enjoy seeing Kendrick grow through this blog and I hope that you all have a chance to meet him and spend some time with the coolest boy I know.