So much life

How has it been 4 months since I wrote last?  So much has happened.  I have a 3 year old.  So many friends have had babies.  I have had a baby.  We walked through the first stages of buying a house.  (We're only waiting for closing now.)  We traveled via car, plane, and ferry to a wedding with a baby and a 5 year old.  We celebrated 12 years of marriage!  What an amazing ride this is!  Here are some highlights...

Connor Turns 3

Way back at the end of March, this handsome guy turned 3 years old.  It was the birthday of turtles.  I think just about every gift he received had some sort of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle included.  The big thing was he moved up from a toddler bed to his big boy bed, a twin size - you guessed it - TMNT themed bed!  He drug every one of his birthday party guests upstairs to his room to show them his new bed.

If you don't know Connor, let me tell you just a bit about him.  He's the second born, so he follows the lead of his older sister.  He is a thinker.  He likes order and cleanliness.  He also likes to get dirty and make a disaster!  He likes to do things technically correct - meaning sometimes he won't try new things until he's 100% positive that he can accomplish them to his standard.

He starts many of his stories with, "Remember a long time 'go when..." Even if it happened only yesterday.  He is meticulous in his writing - he can trace any dotted line you can draw - and he is excellent at puzzles.  He's coming into his own in terms of expressing his emotion, and he's learning (at least he's trying to learn) how to regulate it and express his emotion in a way that's appropriate.

He's adorable, and he's mine!

Park Playdates

We had an unseasonably warm spring... or at least we had unseasonably warm days throughout late winter and early spring.  So we spent as many as we could at the local parks at playdates with friends.  It helped pass the time and wear the kids out for me and my mom friends.  Many of us were nearing the end of pregnancy in this season, and I think we were all so grateful for the great parks we have around!

Nolan William Arrives!

On May 11, 2017 at 3:40am, Nolan William joined our family - our 4th child!  (You can read the details of his birth story here - Introducing Nolan William Francl!)  He weighed in at 9lbs even, and was 21 1/4 inches long.

He was my biggest baby at birth, and remains my biggest as he has grown over the past 2 months.  He is a chill baby who sleeps at night and eats a lot during the day.  He is loved to pieces by his siblings and is a blessing all around.  Looking at the pictures below, I have no idea how he was in my stomach only moments before they were taken!

Spencer was very concerned any time Nolan's pacifier wasn't
in his mouth.  Here, you see the green paci that Spencer is
giving to Chase for Nolan.  And notice that Spencer has his
own orange paci in his mouth.

Going home.

First outing with all 4 - to church on Sunday morning.
Also, cars eats.  So many car seats.

Graduating to Kindergarten

The week after Nolan was born, Lily went to her last day of preschool.  It was a cold day that felt more like March than May.  It was especially bittersweet because Lily's teacher will be moving away this summer and we will miss her and her family very much.  :(

Lily and Mrs. Leonard.

Lily and her class.
Mrs. Leonard
Lily, Lucy, Brynlee, Mable, Tyla
Gabriel, Jonah, Ryan

Winging Our Way to a Wedding on Mackinac Island

Back in the fall of 2016 I got a call from my roommate from college.  "I'm engaged!"  I squealed with delight and we talked about the proposal, the engagement, and the wedding.  She asked if I'd stand with her as a bridesmaid.  "Of course! ...Except I'm due May 10.  I'll make it work if I can."  She also asked if Lily would be a flower girl.

So when I received a call a few weeks later asking if I could make a June 10 wedding work, I agreed.  Of course.  For Cara, absolutely.

The wedding was on Mackinac Island, a small vacation spot between the southern and northern parts of Michigan.  You get to the island by ferry, and no cars are allowed on the island - only horses and bikes.

A month after I delivered Nolan, Chase, Lily, Nolan, and I packed up and got on a plane headed for Michigan.  Connor and Spencer stayed with grandparents back home and enjoyed some extra special time in Nebraska.

Lily's first plane ride.

Everyone traveled incredibly well.  We had a 2 hour drive to the airport, followed by a 2 hour flight, followed by a 4 hour drive to where we stayed the first night.  I really couldn't have asked for more cooperative kids!

The evening we got to Mackinac Island.  That is the resort
in the background.

And this is was the view when the resort is behind you.

Taking pictures the morning of the wedding.

Lily danced from the second she could until
we left the reception 4 hours later.  The other
flower girl and the flower girl's brother were
her dance partners and I think they all had
the best sleep of their lives that night.

It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful location for a
beautiful couple.  We were so glad to be part of it!

Daddy/daughter dancing.

On our way back to the airport, we spent a night with these
dear friends from college.  It was so fun to have even just 24
hours with Adam, Gina, and their kids.  They're the
soul-reviving kind of friends everyone should have.

Nolan is 1 Month Old

In just a few days I'll have to do a blog post with Nolan at 2 months old, but for now, I'll put just put this here.  At 6 weeks old, he was in the 99th percentile for height and 90th or above for everything else.  He only ever wore 1 newborn outfit (the one he wore home from the hospital), and he lasted about a month in 0-3 month clothes!

Sick

When we got home from the wedding in Michigan, Spencer got sick.  Really sick.  The highest temperature I got from him was 105.4, which was a little scary.  But it came down with Tylenol, and it turned out that he had roseola.  I'm just glad that he waited to get sick until I got home, and that he got sick before we moved.

Almost Homeowners

Speaking of moving, we're within a couple of weeks of closing on this house!  It is our "first house" we're buying, though we lived in 7 other apartments or houses throughout our 12 years of marriage.

It has 5 bedrooms, 1 3/4 baths, all kinds of space and a huge, wonderful backyard that will see lots of use.  It's on a quiet side street (a definite improvement from living on the highway like we do now), and it's just a block down from Connor's best friend.  We are going to love living here!

Of course, all this means that I will move my family for the second time within a 9 months.  BUT this is the last time we'll move for a looooooong time.  At least I hope so!  And this time I'm not pregnant.  I can't even believe how much of a difference that makes.

We're less than 3 weeks from moving and the packing has started.  Paint for a few rooms inside has been purchased, and all we have to do now is keep plugging away at packing (and painting as soon as we close).

In my mind, this move marks the end of one of the most packed years of life I've ever lived - one of the most packed years of life I ever want to live.  I know life will be busy moving forward, but I hope it's less busy with the hard, the life changing, the overwhelming to mentally process.

From May 2016 till now has felt like the sprint that never ended.  Just as I was within steps of the finish line and thought I could slow down, the finish line would move out into the distance again and I'd brace for just that much longer.  And that happened again and again.

But now we're close.  So close.  After this move, Lily will start kindergarten and we'll settle into that routine.  And if we're lucky, we'll get to just live life for a bit.  Process all that's happened.  Enjoy the little moments.  And keep walking this road we call life.