Thursday, August 8, 2013

Where is Pinky?

My grandpa passed away unexpectedly at the age of 88 last week.  I say unexpectedly, because just the day before Mom and Dad had been over to his house, brought him a couple prepared meals, filled his pill jar and said, "See you soon, Dad", to which he replied, his standard "I love you, doll".  That afternoon he went to his favorite hang out, the 86th Street Pub with his buddies.  But the next morning, when his friends were calling to go pick him up to go to the Antelope Club, he didn't answer.  It looks like he went pretty quick and in his own home, exactly like he wanted and we're all so happy he can finally be with his beloved Carolyn again...she never did like leaving him.

A wonderful picture of Grandpa at our wedding just 4 years ago...he looked great.  Dad used this picture as the signature photo at the funeral, as if he's saying goodbye to us.
 
We were pleasantly surprised at the viewing to find a horse patrol officer standing guard outside the funeral home.  Grandpa was one of the original founders of the Indianapolis Horse Patrol.

Lillian seemed to understand the emotion of the situation.  She walked hand-in-hand with Grammie at the cemetery and sat on her lap during the service, bringing Grammie lots of comfort and strength.  At the viewing, I took Lillian to the bathroom and she began singing "Where is Pinky?, Where is Pinky? like the nursery rhyme says, I had never heard her sing that song before, she must have overheard people talking about Grandpa, most of his friends knew him as "Pinky".

We had several out-of-state visitors; including Mom's best friends Linda & Darrell Smith, mom's cousins Gary & Pat Lerch, their son Gary Lerch, Dad's friends Gary Newan and Alan Freeman and my Uncle John Hanou.  It was really nice of them to make the trip...Grandpa would have appreciated it.

Jak, wanting constantly to be "on the move", found grandpa's coffin to be the perfect climbing gym. 

Dad worked so hard to make sure Grandpa's service was just perfect, creating a great slide show of pictures, writing obituaries for the local newspapers, notifying all family and friends and adding special touches to the service like a Bud Light Toast in honor of Pinky.  Everything went really, really smooth.

After the burial we ate at Zaharako's Restaurant, in business since 1900 this "soda" shop in like walking back in time.  Oma used to love to bring us here as kids.  Lillian and Jak loved the old organ music playing.

We were trying to take a picture of Grandpa's newest great-grand daughters when Lillian snuck in beside them.  Carolyn is 3 1/2 months and Keira is 5 months here. 

A little post - wake party - Lerch Style!!!  Euchre till 2:30 in the morning....I crashed at 1:30!

Jak taking the obligatory kitchen bath at Grammies house!

Lillian trying on Opa's glasses....

Uncle Severin helping the kids get in a little kid time at St. Mary's Catholic Church playground behind Mom and Dad's house.
 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Jak at 11 Months


Don't you want to blow raspberries on that belly?  So cute!  Jak has 8 teeth now - 4 of which poked through while we were in Indiana/Michigan - poor guy!  Jak was pretty darn cranky while we were there....and now we know why!  Four teeth in one week...whew!  But he is starting to feed himself Cheerios and small bites of crackers finally.  For a kid who loves to eat, he sure doesn't work to hard at doing it himself!  He prefers to have a toy in each hand and let you shovel it in.  If he doesn't have something in his hands, he won't open his mouth!
Jak is busy!  In no time he can move from one room to the next.  If you have the back door open he BEE-lines straight out to the deck, if you turn your back, he dumps out the dogs water bowl.  The other day, I caught him eating Droste's food....so gross!  I had to pry a piece out of his mouth...and he was not happy about it!  We still have very little furniture in this big ol' house so he has plenty of room to crawl & explore, he's even attempting to climb up the stairs.  We're in trouble!
He's stating to really be attached to his family.  When he sees Lillian on the playground he screams and cries so much that the teachers finally started opening the gates and letting Jak play with Lillian's class.  They have this adorable way of communicating.  Lillian speaks gibberish to him and they both giggle.  The teachers take pictures with their phones cause they love watching it so much.  Jak also recognizes my car.  When he sees me pull up to daycare he gets so excited just like his big sister.  But now that he's so eager to see me, I have to really hurry to grab 'em and hug 'em both as quick as possible or some really BIG tears start flowing!  It's the highlight of my day for sure!


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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Midwest Summer Vacation!

Jak is free from sin!  We just returned from a 10 day trip to Indiana and Michigan.  We visited Great Grandpa, soaked up some good time on White Lake, visited with so much extended family, saw lots and lots of fireworks and finally baptized Jak.  Travelling with two babies is about as easy as moving with two babies.  The actual travel part was great.  Both kids love running (or crawling) around the airport, smiling and talking to strangers and both managed to nap on the plane.  The big challenge is sleeping in multiple houses and moving around a bunch.  We spent one night in Indiana, 5 nights in Whitehall, 2 nights in E. Lansing then back to Indiana for a night.....by the end of the week I didn't know where I was when I woke up!  Every time Jak or Lillian woke up, Mike and I jumped to our feet, doing ANYTHING to keep them quiet and get them back to sleep.....praying they hadn't awoken the whole household!  I was so tired when we came back to Denver, I actually couldn't wait to go back to work...I needed a vacation from our vacation!
Jak & Grammy at Great Grandpa's House

Visiting with Great Grandpa!

Lillian loved her blow up bed from Grammy & Opa, it travelled with us all over Michigan!

Lillian and Layla found it very funny to switch Aunt Cathy and Daddy's hats. We couldn't get Mike's U of M hat off Layla all week (and we haven't seen it since!)

Lazy pajama mornings at the Lake :) waiting for the sun to come out.
 
Getting our toes ready....just in case the sun comes out.
Playing with Grandpa - still waiting for the sunshine!

A little iPad fun...you guessed it...while we waited for sunshine!

Finally...we took a trip to an indoor bounce house....so much fun!
Finally we got to show off our "beach" bodies!
God Bless the USA and the Coopers - for hosting 39 people for dinner on the 4th of July! What a great time!

Faster Daddy Faster!  Layla would say, "Faster!" and Lillian would turn to her and say, "You want to go faster, ok" and she'd rev the boat throttle.  Lillian LOVED the control!
Pool time!
Jak's Baptism at St. John's in East Lansing

We were so honored to have Mike's cousin, Jeffrey perform Jak's baptism. Jeffrey spoke about joy throughout the ceremony and Jak heard the message loud & clear.  He could NOT have been happier!
Back in Indianapolis, Grammy took Lillian past the firehouse, she got a souvenir hat and a great memory to go along with it!
 

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Moving Again!

It's moving day again in the Kerschen household!  2424 Osceola Street is ready to go on the market.  I've grown to love this house over the last 4-5 months.  Maybe it's the blood, sweat and tears we put into it or maybe it's the big changes both kids have made since we moved in, but either way, we have made some truly great memories here.  But we are so anxious to "unbox" all of our belongings that have been stored away since Christmas and start making our "20 year house" into a home.
We have 4 bedrooms, and an unfinished basement (but knowing my husband it won't be unfinished for long).  Plenty of space for out of town visitors (In town guests are welcome as well if they want to sleep over!).  We hope to spend the summer catching up on our friends lives, enjoying our kids & our new neighborhood and hopefully, (dare I say it?) relaxing!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Jak at 10 Months

I know I sound like a broken record, but it is really difficult to get this boy to sit still!  He wants to be on the move at all times.  Just this week, Jak has discovered that he can sit up from a crawling position.  He crawls for a few seconds, then stops, sits up, looks around to see where he's "gotten to" and then crawls some more.  When we go down to get him in the morning or from his naps, he's sitting up in his crib waiting for us.  He has also, just recently, discovered he can let go of furniture and attempts to stand on his own...unsuccessfully stand on his own but still a valiant first attempt!  He lets go of the coffee table and turns to grab onto whatever he can reach.  If there's nothing available for him to reach, then he tumbles to the floor.  Then he gets right back up and tries again!  
Jak is moving up to the Infants 2 room at daycare in a week.  I remember when Lillian made this same transition it was so hard for Mike and I, "was she really ready?", "what will her new teachers be like?", "will they make her be on a schedule that she isn't ready for?'.  Now those questions all seem so silly, Lillian and Jak both benefit from being with older children.  They both seem to want to learn and grow faster when surrounded by kids in the next stage.  Our little man will be walking in no time...
At his 9 month check up, Jak weighed 20 lbs 6 oz.  He measured 29.5 inches tall and yes, his head circumference is quite large (only a cm smaller than Lillians!).  They're no longer comparing him on the preemie scale.   He eats like crazy, finally!  But he hasn't figured out how to feed himself.  We put puffs and crackers in his hands and he just opens his mouth and demands we fill it....and fast!  We think it's funny that he puts all sorts of other things in his mouth to chew on, but when it comes to food, Jak just wants to be served.  
Lillian's 2 year check up was very positive as well.  Her language skills are off the chart. She impressed the doctor with her full sentences, and knocked her socks off when I said she's potty trained.  The doctor said, "Does she wear pull ups at night?", I said nope. Lillian has refused pull ups and diapers of any sort for about a month now. Some nights she makes it through and doesn't wake up till morning, most nights she calls for me and I take her to the potty, but she NEVER has potty accidents!  What a champ!
Lillian measured 35.5 inches tall.  The doctor said at 2 years old, you can take their height and multiply that by 2 = equaling about what their height will be when they're full grown.  That would make Lillian 5'9" - 6'!  But when we got home that night, Mike said she isn't 3 feet tall and took out the handy tape measurer he wears more regularly than his wedding ring and measured her....34 inches.  5"8' is a much more manageable height for her short mama! 


Sunday, June 9, 2013

Look at me boys, I ready!

Yes and Yes, those are the answers to the first questions that popped in your head.  My 2 year old daughter did utter these words to me this weekend, and I will explain.  At daycare, the kids play outside everyday after naptime.  The teachers struggle to get all the kids lathered up in sunscreen.  Most kids avoid this necessary task and hope they somehow slip under the radar and don't have to sit still long enough to get covered from head to toe.  But not Lillian, she loves lotion. always has.  She runs to be the first one to get "Ice Cream" as she calls it.  Then, with a little encouragement from her teachers, she announces to the boys (Levi and Ernest are her two closest friends these days) that she's ready.  
Last weekend, Lillian and I were waiting for Jak to wake up from his morning nap so we could head to the pool.  We decided to get our suits and sunscreen on while we waited.  She stuck her hand on her hips, just like the above picture and announces to the empty room, "Look at me boys, I ready".  I about choked to death.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Where I Go Momma?

What we used to call Peek-a-boo, is now a new game in the Kerschen household, "Where I go, Momma?"  We hide all sorts of things around here, mostly just Lillian's head goes missing, but sometimes it's her toes, her hand, her sippy cup of milk or her brother.  She'll ask "Where my milk go?", "Where my hand go?" or "Where Jak go?" over and over until you play along.  Then she unveils the hidden object with wide eyes, as if she's a true magician.  It never gets old...