A Letter on B&H's 18-month Birthday

Dear Ben & Hannah,

Did I tell you today that I love you? I'm sure I did. I do every day. And if the words don't come out of my mouth, I hope the actions that I do show you how much I love you. You both are the lights of my life! I always knew I wanted to be a Mom.  I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be YOUR mom. What a privilege. I am so VERY lucky!

You amaze me! Today you are one and a half years old. I can't believe it for one second that you're growing up this fast. I wish I knew how to slow down time. It just isn't fair how fast the time is going and how much you are learning and growing and becoming such great people. Daddy and I were talking this weekend and we think this past month you both stopped looking like babies and started looking like kids. It's exciting, but also bittersweet. My little cherubs are gone and they are replaced with rambunctious little balls of energy that some days I can't keep up with! (You wear your Momma out!)

A couple of Newborns

A couple of 6-month-olds

A couple of one-year-olds

A couple of one-and-a-half-year-olds

This past month, your language has exploded! You add a new word every day or so, and many times with only a little bit of teaching. Just this week you added color (it comes out "cah-ger"), cookie, and "May-Me" (our neighbor Mary). Some days I think Ben knows more words and some days I think Hannah knows more words, but I think you're about even. Ben might say them more, but Hannah definitely knows them.

Ben, you continue to be my cuddler, my snuggler, my Momma's boy. Lately you give me kisses. Real ones, on the lips. I love it! You also will hug me for minutes at a time. Sometimes I have to sit down because you get too heavy when I'm standing and you're not done hugging me yet! You are also so busy. You recently learned to jump and kick and you're just about running. You love to climb! I think we're in for a busy summer, dude!

Hannah, you are Miss Independent! You're a thinker and a watcher. You observe the world around you and learn things so quickly. Of course, you continue to love your buckles (or as you say, "bug-oh") and you recently starting doing shape sorters and puzzles. Both will occupy your time for hours it seems! You're a girl who loves her Daddy, but there's a soft spot in your heart for Momma, too. I can see it from time to time. I like how you always know where I am and keep your eyes on me. Don't worry, I won't ever let you go too far. I'm always watching you back, too.

Do you know how lucky you are? Not all toddlers have cohort right there, a sidekick, a partner in crime, a compadre, a best friend built right in. You both LOVE to play together and it warms my heart. Some mornings I clean up the kitchen after lunch and you are out in the living room playing. All of a sudden I hear a loud giggle and giggle and giggle. It makes my day to hear you guys having fun together. I hope it always stays that way and you always know how luck you are!

I'm so proud of the things you can do and the new skills you are learning every day. You are such bright, thoughtful, loving kids. You will go far in life, I know it. I can't wait to watch you succeed and say with pride "That's my son!" and "That's my daughter!"

You are loved. Every day. All day. I hope you always know and feel that.

As I say to you every night before you go to sleep: "Love you so much. Love you so much. Love you so much. Not even a little. Just always a lot!"

With all my heart,
Your Momma

Cousin Surprise!

How lucky were we last week when B&H's cousins C and E stopped by for a surprise visit!!

Four cousins + sidewalk chalk = FUN!

B and E love!

The girls go cruisin.

The whole lot!

What a nice surprise and so fun to see all 4 cousins play together! Hope next time C and E's little sister M can come over, too!

GREAT grandparents

The fall of 2004 and the spring of 2005 were very tough times for my family.

In September of 2004, my beloved Grandpa Cal Simmons (my mom's dad) lost his battle with liver cancer and passed away. It was devastating for me. He was the BEST grandpa. He always made me feel like his #1 girl and greeted me with big hugs and kisses. Whether together we watched the Twins or Vikings on TV or he retreated to his den to take a nap (and, I might add, snore so loud we could hear him on the other side of the house), being in his presence made me feel great. I still miss him and think of him often. I especially wish he could see B&H and make them as special as he made me feel.

Grandpa Cal, taking pride in his gorgeous yard!

That spring, when I'd about learned how to deal with the grief of losing my grandpa, my Grandma Verna (Vernie) Ust (my dad's mom) fell ill. She had suffered a stroke in 2002 and had been living in a nursing home since. She had made a "sort of" recovery. She couldn't speak or walk, but she could communicate. Somehow all of our family knew what she was saying with her eyes and she understood our words, of course. As hard as it was to visit her in the home (prior to her stroke, she was the most vibrant, active, happy grandma around!), I made a point to do it. My grandma was very, very, very special to me. She was the matriarch of our family. Always happy to have her children & grandchildren around her. Always cooking fantastic meals for us to eat and teaching us everything from baking to cooking to crafting. She, like my Grandpa Cal, always made me feel like the most special person on earth. In the spring of 2005, she got sick and was admitted in the hospital. She eventually passed away in early April 2005 and our entire family was crushed. A very special angel made her way to heaven, but we were at a loss without our Grandma. I also especially wish she could have seen B&H. I can only imagine her happiness knowing I have twins. I think that would have made her so very proud. I *know* she would have told all her friends about B&H and would have talked about them with that little sparkle of love in her eye. She was so special. It's hard to explain, but those of us lucky enough to call her our mom, grandma, great-grandma, aunt, sister, friend, whatever know what what so special about her, even if we can't put it into words. She was just "grandma."

Grandma Vernie and a certain toddler,
circa 1981

For the first time, we spent Memorial Day in Brookings, SD (where both my mom's family and dad's family are from). We traveled there for my cousin Katie's graduation, but I found it so lucky that we were there on such a special day to remember our ancestors. We spent Sunday of Memorial Day weekend visiting the cemeteries and graves of my grandparents and planting flowers. I sort of felt like the trips to the cemeteries served as an introduction of B&H to my grandma and to my grandpa. It was a very special day to me, and I'm so thankful I got to spend it with my children, husband, and family!

B&H visit Grandpa's gravesite.

Hannie reads Grandpa's name. Both babies
loved touching the headstones & tracing
the letters etched in stone.

Ben reads Ust. (Maybe he's thinking "where's
the rest of the letters??"

B&H with my wonderful aunts Donna, Dee & Jean
planting flowers at their sister Dorothy's grave. (Dorothy
died in 1948 when she was 4 years old. She had polio).

Hannie helping dig up the ground to plant flowers at Jules Ust's
grave. He was my grandpa's cousin. He died in WWII at the age
of just 21.

Ben digs up the dirt at Grandma Vernie's grave.

Now, if you hadn't noticed, I thought my grandparents were GREAT. And now B&H can call them their great-grandparents, too.

B&H are very lucky, though. While we were in Brookings, they got to visit with their Great Granny! My Grandma Dorothy Simmons is about to turn 80! She lives in Brookings and is just as funny and loving as ever - despite living with macular degeneration. She LOVED having the babies around for a few hours one morning!

Squirmy Hannie escapes from Great Granny

Ben though playing at Great Granny's was FUN!

I love my family. I miss my grandparents who've passed away and enjoy spending time with Grandma Dorothy. I am so happy the babies got to spend time with their Great-Granny Dorothy last weekend. I love they got to learn a bit about their ancestors - and honor their Great-Grandpa Cal and Great-Grandma Vernie!

Perfect Picnic Day

I have a Momma Confession: my kids are MESSY eaters. They spill food all the time (on purpose and not on purpose, but every time is followed by "uh oh!"). I also confess: I have NO idea how to teach them not to throw, spill, or drop food on the floor. It's the biggest chore of my day. First I make food, then I serve food, then I spend more time cleaning it up than I did the first two combined. Ugh!!

Today, though, I had a brilliant idea: Eat outside! That sure solved all the messy kitchen problems. I foresee this becoming a regular routine as the weather stays nice outside. Yay!

Mmmm!

Someone didn't want to stay put at the table.
Go figure.

He says "I love eating outside!"

Zoo-tastic 50th Post!

This is the 50th post I've made to the blog! WOW! Not too shabby for just about 6 months of operation. I hope B&H enjoy this blog someday in lieu of a baby book. Those just didn't get done.

Anyway, as you'll recall, we spent Memorial Day weekend in SoDak. After a first rough night with Hannie, we got up and out the door and hit the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls. No strangers to the zoo, B&H seemed excited to run in and see the animals. However, this was no Minnesota Zoo, for good and bad. It was CHEAP (all 5 of us, B, H, Aaron, my mom, and myself) got in for just $11! Can't beat it! It was small, so we got to see a lot of the zoo, but there weren't a ton of animals to see. The ones we did see though, were awesome! The Great Plains Zoo is certainly a spot to go when in Sioux Falls.

We saw (and later got chased by) some very beautiful and tame peacocks,

visited a cute little petting zoo,

said Hi to the monkeys and penguins before we had to stop for a snack.

And that's where it all fell to pot.

Ben - new to running, and wearing new (slightly too big) shoes - chased Daddy to the garbage can and SPLAT! fell flat on his face. Literally. Kid has a nice scrape on his nose now. (For some reason, I didn't follow my Mom of the Year protocol and take a photo of it though...). After about a 20 minute crying session, we did eventually hit the road again and saw some Rhinos (very cool) and tigers and other animals before taking a much needed rest on our very own train ride! (We were the only ones aboard the 10:30 a.m. departure). B&H LOVED the train and it calmed the still-upset Ben down quite nicely.

In true Riekenberg fashion, we left the zoo just as the massive crowds were coming in. But we were ALL ready to go home and take a nice long afternoon nap (which we all got!)

A Little Sweeping, Fred Smoot, Some Duct Tape and the Girl Who Wouldn't Sleep

It's become an annual rite of summer. We pack up the car to the gills & head to SoDak to see relatives. (Though, I might say, I'm either getting better at packing or we are requiring less stuff to go. We could actually see out the back window this time around!) In some ways, traveling with toddlers is easier than with babies. They don't need formula, bottles, Bumpo seats, strollers, etc. They don't wake up at night. They take only 1 nap a day. BUT - they don't sleep the entire way on the car. They are wiggly. They are getting too big for Pack and Plays. So, I guess it's not easier. Perhaps it's just different.

And so we spent Memorial Day 2012 in SoDak. We traveled that weekend to attend my cousin Katie's high school graduation (more on that in a different post), but it worked out well to visit all the SoDak family! We started with a trip to Papa & Gaga's house.

When we arrived on Thursday, B&H hadn't slept much in the car on the way and were antsy. They snacked, then ran around Papa & Gaga's house. We went outside for a bit to play. Who knew brooms would be such a hit with these two?

Sweeping Gaga off her feet.

The beginning of a meltdown...

No nap = cranky Hannie.

This kid could sweep all day long.

It was chilly (and, of course, WINDY) in SoDak, so we didn't stay outside too long (Um, someone's Momma didn't pack warm enough clothes for them to be outside.... guess she thought it was summertime or something!)

The biggest hit inside was a small plumber statue my parents have by the front door. They call him Fred Smoot and Ben LOVED him. I think he thought Fred was another toddler to play with. Wherever the fascination was coming from, Ben wouldn't leave Fred alone! He loved pointing out Fred's facial features.

And of course, Ben is a lover so he had to give Fred some kisses.

 

Hannah wasn't too impressed with Fred, but she did love to climb in and out of the little rocking chair in the living room. So proud of herself!

Now, recall from my intro to this post that A) they didn't sleep in the car and B) they are a bit too big for pack and plays now. Those two things combined with a strange bedroom that wasn't quite dark enough resulted in this:

Trying to be comforted by Gaga
(after crying/screaming for 30 minutes)

Not havin' it.

Not even Daddy has the magic touch.

She did eventually go to sleep, but not without a fight. Sigh.

And Ben, silly Ben. He went right to sleep even though this happened to him:

Broken zipper on the only sleep sack =
duct tape solution!

We woke up the next day and went to the zoo and had a lovely day, complete with good naps and babies who fell right to sleep. Hooray!!

Insta-Splash!

Mother's Day yesterday blessed us with the PERFECT spring weather! I swear, it was that one day a year when it's not hot, not windy, not humid, just perfect. I loved it. Thanks for the gift, Mother Nature!

Since it was so nice, Aaron & I decided to fill up the splash table for the first time and let the kids go crazy. They loved it, even though we didn't put the water in until just a few hours before using it, so the water was a little cold! Our neighbors were outside at the same time and thought B&H were hilarious splashing and squealing.

I have a feeling we'll be doing this a lot this summer!

I'm not sure.... You always say not to splash, Momma!

Oh wait, this is fun!

Uh oh! This is cold!

I don't care! I love to splash!

Yay! Daddy brought the bath toys!