7 years

7 years ago today I went on my first date with the Officer. It was the Fall semester, which meant I was playing soccer nonstop, and the smartypants Officer was always busy working and taking classes, so I remember that we had a hard time trying to schedule our first date. We had been getting to know each other at CCM events, and we had hung out at Monday night rosary for a few weeks, so I knew I wanted to go on a date with him. We planned our first date for a Friday morning before I left for a soccer road trip. We met at his apartment on campus where he made me a yummy eggs and waffles breakfast (still 7 years later he always makes our family breakfast). Then we went down to the river and hiked the paths and I'm sure I talked and talked and talked....

Not our first date, but the same river where we went on our first date

I have no clue what we talked about, and the date was a bit rushed because I had to meet the team for our game, but I was absolutely sure it would not be our last date. We talked on the phone while I was away that weekend, and he said he had told his family all about me. I was glad he was excited about me, even though I was super weird and afraid of commitment at the time. After that we just went on date after date after date for the rest of our lives :)

CCM winter ball a few months after we started dating. This was the first time the Officer told me he loved me, and surprisingly I didn't run for the hills when he said it :)

A few nights ago the Officer and I stayed up late talking, and he asked what made me decide to seriously date him. He was a great guy when I met him, but he was nothing compared to the incredible man he is today. So what did I see? How did I know he was going to become a perfect husband and super Dad? I have no idea. Mostly, it was probably just the grace of God that led me to him. Of course there were lots of surface things that attracted me to him- like he is a hunk ;), and he's athletic and fun. More importantly, it was his honesty and the fact that he is always striving to become better and holier that made me know that I wanted to marry him.  I'm so glad he took me on that first date 7 years ago, and I'm grateful for every date since then.

2 1/2 years after we started dating he took me on another hike to a waterfall and asked me to marry him. We look like babies here- who on earth thought we were old enough to get married?!

Baptism

I never posted about Third little girl's Baptism that occurred a month ago. Life is so busy, but I definitely don't want to forget her special day. Her Baptism was absolutely beautiful, and we got to share it with so many wonderful friends and family. We had a joint Baptism with one of our friends from Church, whose adorable baby boy is just 2 weeks younger than our lady.

We asked our dear friends Lauren and Patrick to be the Godparents of our Third little girl. The Officer and I were in CCM with them in College, and Lauren and I were roommates for a few wonderful years. I still remember very fondly the first double date that we went on with this amazing couple. Their marriage is beautiful, and they are incredible parents to two young boys, so we knew they would be perfect Godparents. I know they will be praying fiercely for our little lady as she grows, and be great Catholic role models- plus it means they are forced to remain friends with us for the rest of their lives- and now I can give Lauren a guilt trip any time she doesn't answer her phone ;)

We did the Baptism in the Old Rite, which was beautiful and means the Godparents hold the baby the entire time. I don't think they minded....

After the Baptism we had a fun reception full of so many family and friends. Our little girls are very loved, and I hope they always know that.

My Mom of course was there for yet another Baptism- she has been to so many Sacraments over the years for her 29 grandchildren. She and my Dad are awesome Grandparents. My sister D came just one week after moving back home from across country, and we are so happy to have her and her family nearby now!

It was such a joyful day to welcome another little girl into the Catholic Church, and I hope she grows to appreciate this incredible faith.

I hope we can help get these 3 little souls to Heaven some day. Thank goodness we also have so many friends and family praying for them!

My baby essentials

One of my dear friends is expecting her first baby, and I'm so excited for her! She mentioned that she might want some baby registry ideas, and I decided to run with it and bombard her with my lengthy "must haves" list. I love seeing what other people find useful for their kids and getting new ideas. Our house is really small, so I always try not to have too many things and definitely nothing big. Disclaimer: these are obviously just my preferences, and every baby is different and likes different things. So here are my top 15 baby items (and lots of baby pictures):

1. Swaddle. An absolute must-have for Mik newborns. All 3 of my babies have been excellent sleepers (like sleep through the night at one week old excellent sleepers), and I give all credit to this amazing product (and good sleeping genes from their Mommy who loves sleep). SwaddleMe. Go buy one immediately.

It might look like a straight jacket, but she loves it (and is already getting too big for it)

2. Pacifiers. I know this is one of those heated topics of parenting these days- did I tell you about the time the Officer and I got shamed and had to be "trained" by a nurse because we wanted to give Third little girl a pacifier when she was only 3 days old?!?!- Yea, well we gave her that pacifier and haven't looked back since. I know some parents don't want to use them, and some babies don't want them, but all 3 of my girls have loved them for sleeping (And my older girls dropped them very easily before they were 2- the thumb has not been so easy to drop for Bug). There are all kinds of pacifiers and kids all like different things, but these are the ones that all 3 of my girls have liked the most (and keep in the easiest as babies!).... Nuk pacifiers. My babies don't leave home without them.

Belle loved sleeping with her pacifier and Puppy

3. Clip to attach pacifier to car seat, because yes, pacifiers are that important to my life. Must. never. lose. pacifier.

4. Nursing pillow and nursing cover. So I am a high-maintenence breastfeeding Mama. This is the pillow that I have and love. I always like to be covered when breastfeeding in front of people..... again with the heated parenting topics. That just makes me more comfortable, and I have a very curious 3-year-old who likes to ask "why" to EVERYTHING, so it helps keep her questions about breastfeeding to a minimum age 3 appropriate level.

Bug preferred her arms to be out of the swaddle

6. This seahorse. For no important reason, other than the fact that my girls like it.

Belle and Bug have always been best buds

7. Diaper sprayer. Because we use cloth diapers (love BumGenius!), and for me that is the most important accessory if you are going to cloth diaper. (added bonus: it's great for cleaning out toddler potties which are just the worst things ever).

9. Bouncy seat (or reclining highchair, bumbo, or jumperoo when they get a little older), because babies like to see what's going on around the house.... especially when there are wild toddlers they can watch all day. I don't know if I can really call ours a bouncy seat, because mean old Mommy Mik doesn't believe in ever replacing batteries, so ours has not turned on for years, and I'm totally content with that.

Bug rocking the umbrella stroller

10. Strollers. Plural because I have a stroller problem. Different situations need different strollers. Last week I was at Lowes buying a vanity, and the employee was helping put it in my car.... he could not fit it in the back of my van because I had literally 4 strollers in the back. FOUR. I have 3 children, and I was driving around town with 4 strollers. Yes, I have a problem. I promised the Officer I would be giving one of them away, but here are my 3 that I will always keep. A nice, cheap umbrella stroller. Never underestimate the small, light, cheap umbrella stroller. Ours came free when we bought our carseat. This is the double stroller I have after a recommendation from my sister, and I love it. It's a very reasonable price for a double jogging stroller, and I have zero complaints about it. Then of course my little snap n go stroller, that I can easily put the carseat in for quick in and out of the car trips- it is perfect for babies (and I just learned worked well for flying with an infant when you want to carry on a carseat).

This stroller is perfect for carrying children and pumpkins

11. Changing table. The Officer REFUSES to change a diaper sitting on the ground, and I want him to be happy while he's changing all the diapers ;) It's also nice because the diapers are very easily accessible for the toddlers when I ask them to grab me a diaper for the baby 35 times a day. Any will do just fine, and I love ours all the more because it was another excellent hand-me-down from my generous sister Michaela (just like almost every baby item I own).

12. Forehead thermometer. Here is the one I have. I thought this was unnecessary before I was a Mom, but fortunately one of my sisters bought it for me. Just trust me on this- buy it.

13. Baby carrier. I always think that I will use these more often than I ever do, but they are nice to have sometimes (and some babies want to be in them always).  My babies always love them, but again lazy Mommy Mik never feels like putting them on, and my babies are usually pretty happy sitting in a seat. I haven't found the perfect one yet, so maybe fellow Moms can recommend their favorites to me.

14. Don't forget all the other basics, which I have no specific recommendations for- crib, pack n play, carseat, 7 million baby wipes....

15. A camera- that takes video- Babies grow SO SO SO quickly, so please take 90000 pictures and videos a day and don't be ashamed of it.

Any must-haves that I have forgotten or not learned about yet???

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday to my favorite guy ever! The girls were so excited to celebrate that they came running in our room at 7:15am yelling, "can we put sprinklers on Daddy's cake now!?!?" The girls helped me make him brownies, and we sang Happy Birthday right after breakfast, because the Officer had to leave for work for the next 14 hours. He is working another long day on his birthday, and he never complained once (though I complain plenty for both of us). The Officer is the hardest worker I know, and I'm so grateful that he works so hard to take care of our family.

Happy birthday Officer! I hope that one day soon you get to enjoy a relaxing day off. You are so adored by all 4 of your ladies!!

Back to School

This is the first year since I was in Kindergarten that I haven't gone back to school as a student or a teacher. I definitely have some mixed emotions about it, but overall it's been a very enjoyable "back to school" season in the Mik house. I have loved seeing all of the first day of school pictures people are posting of their kids, and almost everyone captions the pictures with "where has the time gone?" I am aware of how fast these years will fly by, so today I relished the fact that I didn't have to send any children off to a first day of school yet. Instead we stayed home and made a cardboard house and baked cookies.... of course there were many moments of whining that made me think maybe sending them to school in a few years won't be all that bad ;)

No, the baby didn't get any of the cookies. Those cheeks are just because she has been neglecting exercise

I loved teaching, and I miss parts of it, but sleeping in a little later is nice and spending more time with the girls is priceless. Of course I couldn't resist all the adorable teaching preschool ideas on pinterest, so this happened in our house yesterday....

Just a little alphabet parking lot for their cars

Good thing my skills as a teacher can be put to good use as a SAHM.... too bad I don't have such expertise in other necessary areas for my SAHM career (you know like cooking, budgeting, grocery shopping, organizing, cleaning, and the other million things Moms do every day).  Happy new school year!