Hotel Fields

Let's forget for a moment that I have only blogged once in 3 months, I've been sick for 5 days and have 3 kids, age 4 and under. I really should be sleeping since I have absolutely no free time these days, but here I sit about to blog about a random thing that has been floating around in my head the last 24 hours.

Last night, Levi set up an elaborate "hotel" for all of our stuffed animals. If there is one thing our kids are obsessed with, it is stuffed animals. I'm sure we have well over 100, but I've never counted. His sleeping bag is in the middle, because we let him sleep in the "hotel" as well last night.This is the "bunkhouse" portion of the hotel:
Dora and "Happy Turtles" were lucky enough to score the penthouse suite. When Levi & Kara passed out breakfast the next morning, they got a lot of the food."Flopsey" on the other hand was all alone and did not get any breakfast :(.

The reason he set up the "hotel" was because we had been talking about the hotel for our upcoming trip to Disney. I honestly believe he is just as excited about staying in the hotel as he is about going to Disney. For what it is worth, he comes by it honestly - I LOVE hotels. So much so, that I have been known to get a hotel in the very city I live in because everything is just better away from your house (at least in short spurts).

Side note: We recently stayed at a hotel for the first time with 3 kids. Did you know that not all hotels can accommodate 5 people (even when one is a baby?!?). We had to settle for our third choice after the first two didn't work out!

Anyway, I got to thinking...what are some of my favorite hotels and why. Here are a few I came up with:

1. The first hotel I thought of was Henderson's Wharf Hotel in the Fells Point area of Baltimore, MD. My brother had recently moved to College Park and after a visit with him, we drove up to Baltimore to celebrate our 5th Anniversary (and it was a babymoon as Levi was only 2 months from birth). I remember we paid around $200 for the room and I nearly fell over when we checked in. I like a nice place, but I'm also a cheapskate. :) But this place was beautiful - absolutely gorgeous. It was also the first time I had stayed somewhere that provided robes. It was a delightful experience.
2. The second one I thought of was not necessarily a hotel, but an overnight "experience". When G and I went to Europe in 2004, we decided we wanted to stay at every type of hotel possible from a nice place to a serious dump, to a B&B, a hostel to places in between and finally, on a train! We took an overnight train from Paris to Berlin in a four person sleeping car. We shared a room with a single guy (I think he was a college student) and I slept much better than expected.
3. The Opryland Hotel at Christmas. Since Garet's sister lives in Nashville, we have gone to the Opryland Hotel several times at Christmas - gorgeous! Well, in 2008, I was having a particularly stressful time (I believe Garet had been on travel several weeks) and I just wanted to get away. We decided I needed a hotel stay, so we packed the kids up and went to Opryland for the weekend. What a difference staying in the hotel made the experience!
4. The Summerhouse at Litchfield Beach, SC. This is actually where we stayed for part of our honeymoon, but a few years ago, they completely redid it and added a lazy river and crazy water area for kids. We took the kids in 2008 and it could not have been a more perfect place to stay. We loved it - the kids loved it - and Levi still talks about it. We can't wait to go back someday.
5. Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, HI. While I'm not a fan of Honolulu itself, we had a great time at this hotel. Thanks to Garet's Hilton Points (read: free), we stayed here a couple of nights before heading to Kauai. Just a couple of days ago, Levi was talking about the penguins there. Part of the reason I really liked this hotel was that it was low season and they upgraded us to a HUGE corner room, so that helped, but the area was so beautiful and relaxing...until you walked outside to Honolulu :).
6. The West Winds Lodge in Rudioso, NM. I had to include this place, because it was where I spent my absolute favorite vacation of all times. There was nothing amazing about this place - it didn't even have a TV I don't think. It was very simple and it was a great place to lay my head after a great day of skiing. Sometimes simple is the best.

I have a couple of Honorable Mentions: Chad's beach house in FL (great college memories!), Anywhere G and I have camped in our own tent, a house we rented in Asheville, NC in the mountains with my family, our hotel overlooking the St. Louis Arch, and all the houses we have stayed in with our Life Group at the beach.

I am sure there are more that I am forgetting, but those are the ones I can think of for today. On another side note, I also like to collect pens from every hotel I go to. Anyone who has ever been in one of our Life Groups can attest to the ridiculous amount of pens (memories) I own.

Christmas Letter 2009

Merry Christmas!! I just reread our Christmas Letter for 2008 and had to laugh a little at this line I wrote: "we are thankful to be out of the baby stage and looking forward to a (hopefully) less dramatic year in 2009". Wow, little did I know...

In case this is the first you have heard from us since last year, we got the surprise of a lifetime in January - we were pregnant! And let me tell you, we still have no idea how. I'll be honest, at the time, it was very difficult. When we announced it in February, I blogged about some of those feelings here.

Fast forward to 9/16, and we welcomed Garison John into our family and can I tell you that I just love him to pieces! He is exactly what our family needed. I probably baby him way too much and the sheer fact that I have so enjoyed this baby phase with him is a testament to God's grace. He is a BIG boy - he's the first of my three with rolls on the legs and it is so cute!! He couldn't be a better baby and at 3 months now is flashing the cutest smiles around. He takes his brother & sister's rough housing in stride and I can't wait to see the three of them together this next year. I wrote to him on his birth-day and also was able to document the details of that day.

Kara turned two in October and, I know I'm biased, is one beautiful little girl. She is the life of a party (which she refers to as "Happy Turtles"???) and will no doubt be a leader in some capacity. However, Garison's arrival has been a tough one on her and we've had to work through some issues. Garet has always said that she was "born a middle child", so please pray for us as we help her reach her full potential. She is also talking up a storm now and loves, loves, loves Dora and school. (related: Kara at two)

Levi turned four in October and I about had a mid-life crisis when I realized just how big he is getting. The toddler years are long gone and he is a full blown "kid". Sometimes it is hard to believe that though when we have discussions that could easily be between two adults. He is a very smart little guy and has been a huge help to us during this family transition time. His current passions are the Wii and Legos. (related: Levi at four)

We like to lump all major changes in our family into as short a time period as possible, and so in September (one week before Garison was born), Garet said good-bye to his job of 9 years at TSI and went over to work for his former boss at Troy7. Troy7 is a small company and Garet has really enjoyed his new work environment. The biggest perk? Little to no travel! This was the primary reason for the switch - with a third child on the way, Garet decided that he was just gone to much. His travel schedule for the first half of the year was brutal and since September, we have had him home every single night :). I thought I would miss the travel perks, but having Garet home has been just compensation. He still does much of the same things (I think) and it was a seamless transition. We have been very blessed. Garet still enjoys riding his bike(s) and his latest hobby has been model rocketry.
As if a baby and a job change for Garet wasn't enough, I stepped down from my job in September too! Realistically, I knew that working with 3 kids was going to be an extreme challenge for me and I just didn't need to go there. After 3 months as a stay at home mom, I can officially say that it has been one of the best decisions of my life. Working in ministry with two kids was much more difficult than just focusing on three kids at home. My mind is in one place now and I've been surprisingly relaxed. I honestly don't have time for much these days, but I have gotten really into couponing - who knew it could be so much fun! It feeds my desire to stay organized, work with budgets and money and shop! I am also now back at the gym and am hoping to hit some fitness goals next year since I am hopefully done being pregnant!

My pregnancy with Garison went really well (I was worried after my nightmare pregnancy with Kara) except for a little drama in the end. It was tiring with a 1 and 3 year old, but we have some wonderful friends and family that helped out. Because I felt good, we were able to go on a couple of trips this year. Kara and I flew up to Maryland to see my brother and his wife in February and we headed south to the beach in May with Garet's parents. Garet and I also got a weekend away to celebrate our friend Carmen's birthday at the lake. I've long said that vacations are my love language and I feel so full when I travel. Every year, we try to go one place that we have never been to as a family. This year, we headed to Santa Claus, IN and St. Louis, MO (arch, zoo & city museum) in August and had a fabulous time - there is so much to see in this amazing world!

If there is one thing I have learned this year, it is that God will provide - not always how we expect or the way we wish, but he is faithful. Through every surprising and major step we took this year, God provided. As we enter this Christmas season, we are reminded of the provision God gave so many years ago in the form of a baby.

"For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord"

Love,
Alison, Garet, Levi, Kara & Garison

Dear Kara,

{Note: I actually wrote this on Kara's birthday, I just never posted it because I hadn't included pictures - sorry for the delay!}

Today you are two, baby girl - happy birthday! When you were first born, I didn't really know what to do with you. For two years I had lived and breathed "boy" and suddenly I had the most beautiful little girl in my arms. In addition to soccer games, cars, trucks and bloody knees, I was now going to get to go to dance recitals, fix your hair, buy pretty dresses and paint your finger nails - you gave me the best of both worlds!

Your beauty makes me smile on a daily basis. Rarely a day goes by when someone doesn't comment on your big bright blue eyes. The way you cut them to the side and grin just steals your daddy and I's heart. You make getting on to you very difficult sometimes.

You are a very passionate child (read: dramatic :). When you are happy, you are the happiest person in the world, but when you are mad, well, it's not pleasant. You absolutely live life to the fullest and I know that you are going to teach me a lot about embracing each phase of your life.

Tall and thin has been a constant in your life. You stand 34 inches tall and weigh 26 pounds. Unless we are serving macaroni & cheese, rice, popsicles, fruit snacks, peaches or nilla wafers, you just aren't interested in eating. Until last week, you only drank milk and water - you have now decided you will drink apple juice.

Speaking of, your "security blanket" is a sippy cup. I'm not really sure where this came from, but you have to have one in bed with you to go to sleep. It doesn't have to have anything in it, you just need it. However, you still wake up once in the night at least 6 days a week. I don't know what it is, but you just walk into our room and we walk you back to your room. You've been in a "big girl" bed for about 6 months sharing a bunk bed with your brother. Naps are still in the crib since you are a light sleeper, but that will have to change very soon as Garison (and mommy) has his eye on that crib!

Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora....we hear you say "Gora" about 500 times a day. You love the show and anything that has that girls picture on it. Your daddy said you need an intervention - I'm afraid he may be right. At least your Spanish is coming along. Books are another favorite as well as cars, kitchen, babies and the work bench.

You go to school five days a week and you love it more than anything. Unlike Levi, you crave attention and school provides that for you since you are now the middle sister flanked by two boys. As a little sister, you enjoy keeping up with your brother and his friends - you don't realize that you are younger one bit. As a big sister, you like to "hold my baby". While you love Garison to pieces, sometimes I'm afraid you are going to drop him into pieces. I've got to keep an eye on you with him at all times - especially since you like to gouge his eye out and say "eye".

We love to travel as a family and this past year you added Hawaii, Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri to your list which means you have 16 states marked on your map. You like new adventures and we look forward to having many more with you in the future.

Unfortunately you have had some jealousy issues with Garison being in the house and you are testing your limits on a daily basis, but we know these days will soon be gone and we thank God for making you uniquely you.

Love you!
Mommy

Related: Kara at One

Dear Levi,

Four years ago today, your daddy and I had no idea what our future looked like. We were just a young married couple trying to live life to the fullest. Little did we know then how much you would change our lives. As our first born, you have reaped the benefits and failures of first time parents in every stage of your short life. Thank you for hanging in there with us.
I honestly feel like I have blinked these past few years and here we are. I am amazed at how "grown up" you are now. You have met every milestone with flying colors and have generally been a very easy preschooler.

You are still a little guy at 35 lbs and 39 inches tall, but I have a feeling you will catch up eventually. What you lack in size, you make up in personality. Your quick wit and matter-of-fact commentaries keep us laughing. Although you are still a little shy whenever you enter a new situation, you quickly let your true self come through.

Your favorite toys are still Cars cars, but you have also added Transformers, Board Games and Lego's to the mix this year. You love to play Mario Kart on the Wii and play outside on the playground. I love to listen to you when you are in your room playing - your imagination amazes me! On the TV, you like to watch Clifford, Curious George, & Transformers. Besides "Cars", you also like the movies Kung Fu Panda & "Animal"gascar. Listening to music has become a new favorite and we are loaded up on kid's CDs these days - you like to have "dinner music" playing while we eat.

You are currently in school five days a week and absolutely love it. I think the structure is really good for you and you have some great friends there (Aaron is still your best buddy). You recognize your letters and numbers and have just recently started to figure out the letters that make up words. You can also write your name. At church, you are now a "Cubbie" in Awana and I love that you are learning new stories in the Bible and memorizing scripture - such a precious thing to hear!

Eating continues to be a battle with you, although you are getting a little better. Your favorite places to eat are McDonalds and Chick-fil-a. It is amazing how those are the two places with playgrounds :). Favorite foods are rice, "handaburgers", chicken nuggets, hot dogs, potatoes, yogurt, popsicles, mac&cheese and you would drink only lemonade if we let you. Dessert is often an incentive for you to eat - you rarely pass chocolate up.

I can't leave out your travels for the year. As a 3-year-old, you added Hawaii, Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri to your list bringing your total to 25 states. I hope that your love to go on vacations never goes away - you share your mommy's excitement whenever we go somewhere new. You have a million questions, but your curiosity is refreshing.

As a big brother, you are the best! This past year, you and Kara ("Koko") have really developed a bond as siblings and it makes my heart happy to watch you all play together. At the same time, you both know how to push each other's buttons. Garison is your "little guy" and you are thrilled that he is here. You have helped mommy tremendously with the new baby and I honestly don't know what I would do without you!

I would be remiss to not mention that the last 2-3 months have been the hardest months that we have had with you. I think that you picked up on the stress we had both before and after Garison was born. We have expected a lot out of you on many occasions - more than a 3-year old should probably be expected to do and I think that has caused you to get frustrated and break-down a little more easily. We are trying to be more purposeful about spending time with you here lately and letting you just be a kid. You are such an important part of our family.

I love you so much and can't wait to see how you will grow this next year!
Mommy

Related: Levi at Three

The first two days with Garison

I'll be honest, Garet and I were kinda looking forward to our hospital stay this go round. We knew what to expect, so the anxiety wasn't there. Levi & Kara were with grandparents and if we needed a break from Garison, the nursery was waiting. I didn't have to worry about meals or cleaning and you have fewer visitors the third time around. I had a book, was looking forward to watching The Office on Thursday night and I actually had time to blog (there is a reason you have only seen one blog post post-hospital :). We enjoyed catching up on sleep and just spending time together meeting Garison.

It didn't take us long to get him in some Orange & Blue - War Eagle!


I'm including a picture of my toes here. The lady at the nail place put a design on them...I wasn't crazy about it, but I thought it would be a good focal point. Due to the short duration of labor, I didn't look at my toes then, but I had plenty of opportunities during those first few feeding sessions :) - not my favorite thing in the world.
I think this was about the first time Garison decided to open his eyes, so we tried to get some pictures. You forget how "puffy" they are those first few days until you look back at the pictures. Levi & Kara both have blue, blue eyes, so we are assuming Garison will follow suit, but you never know.
This was too funny not to include:
Here's his "old man" shot. Poor kid - I'm picking on him already!
These are two of my all-time favorite pictures below. All the people I love the most in one picture!
"What's up, fam - Little-G here"
An attempt at a family photo...notice that not one of us is looking at the camera. I have a feeling this will become a trend.
A little better...
Getting ready to take our handsome little man home:

I'm including this picture because our nurse forgot to cut off Garison's security tag when we left and we set the alarm off. We had to wait until security came and verified everything was OK.
Hanging out in the hallway:
Headed home to see big brother and big sister! The fun is just beginning!

Build-A-Monkey

We wanted to do something special with the kids this past Tuesday Night since we knew that we weren't going to get to hang out with them for a few days. I had read an article in a magazine about doing a Build-A-Bear for the new baby, so away we went. Levi had wanted to do a monkey for Garison and thankfully they had one when we got to the store.
After they filled the monkey with stuffing, they have the kids do a little routine to get the heart ready. Garison's monkey is extra-special because it has two hearts in it - one from Levi and one from Kara.
I think Levi's heart was a little more ready than Kara's:

Stuffing the hearts in the monkey:
Giving the monkey a bath:
Levi scrubbed him down good:
while Kara provided her assistance from a distance:
The finished product! Levi chose a "Happy Birthday" shirt since they were going to give it to Garison on his BIRTHday.
They named the monkey "Ooh Ooh, Aah, Aah" (like the sound a monkey makes). You never know with those two:
The kids were a little hyped up, but it was nice to do one last thing as a family of four. You can see where the kids gave him the monkey here.

Garison's Birth Story

Before I forget it, I wanted to write down the events of yesterday - I so wish I would have written things down for Levi & Kara, but that is life. Thanks to social networking, I was able to Twitter the entire day:3:30 AM: Wake up to get ready to go to the hospital

4:20 AM: Mom arrives to watch kids (yes, her day started early too!)

4:40 AM: Head to the hospital (past the doughnut shop where I see the employees getting ready for the day)

5:07 AM: Arrive at the hospital for our 5 AM appointment (yes, we are always late)

5:45 AM: Called back to LDR16 (yes, hospitals are always late too)

Getting ready for the induction - I was 38 weeks, 6 days:
6:00 AM: The IV drama begins...after 4 nurses and several tries, a nurse finally gets my IV in. I've never had problems with nurses finding my veins, but the comment of the day was, "You have very thin skin and "valvey" veins". Unfortunately the IV was put in the vein that I had my IV in for the version which must have been inflamed. The IV plagues me the entire day and was literally the only uncomfortable thing for me to deal with.

6:30 AM: I finally find out via an ultrasound that Garison is head down - I was so nervous all morning and it took forever (or so it seemed) for them to bring the u/s machine in.

7:15 AM: Dr. Callison comes in to break my water, but is unsuccessful. The pitocin is started to move baby down.

8:15 AM: Dr. Callison comes back and successfully breaks my water. I'm 4 cm and Garison has moved down.

10:30 AM: Contractions are coming about every 3 minutes, but I don't feel a thing. The nurse is pretty surprised, while I keep reading my book. Despite the lack of pain, I go ahead and get the epidural so that I don't miss the anesthesiologist on his lunch break. I literally almost have words with the anesthesiologist. While he is working on me, he is quizzing the nursing student on all these medical things. I feel everything, scream in pain, but he keeps talking the entire time...never stopping to ask if I'm OK - only to tell me not to move. It is ridiculously unprofessional and I will be commenting on it for my exit survey.

10:45 AM: Take a good 2 hour nap after only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before. It was wonderful!!

1:15 PM: I'm at 7 cm and feeling great - I heart epidurals!
1:40 PM: Progress to 10 cm after just a few minutes. Ready to push, but my doctor is in surgery - Could I wait?? Pitocin turned off and my legs stay shut :)

1:57 PM: My doctor runs in and I start pushing immediately. Garison is face up, but they are able to turn him face down. This slows me down a few minutes.

2:02 PM: Garison is born!
My guesstimate weight was 8 lbs, 8 oz and Garet guessed 8 lbs, 4 oz. He is only 8 lbs, 2 oz which is fine with me!
2:15 PM: I get to hold Garison, but have a difficult time due to my inflamed IV arm

First photo with parents:
2:30 PM: My dad gets to come in and meet Garison (John) - his namesake. He has to leave at 3:00 for a business trip, so Garison made it just in time! Three generations:
Meeting Nana & Granddaddy - Fuzzy #8!
Aunt Kelly came down to welcome Garison in to the world - we were so thankful she made the trip!
3:15 PM: Garison & Garet head to the nursery for the first bath. I'm left in the LDR all alone for 30 minutes - It was very weird after everything that had just happened. I watch an "Everybody Loves Raymond" rerun.
5:30 PM: After spending 12 hours in a LDR, I move upstairs. They were at capacity and didn't have a room for us immediately.

6:30 PM: Levi & Kara get to meet Garison for the first time. It is about the greatest thing I see all day - they are fascinated by their new little brother.
Getting gifts from the baby :). Amazingly, Garison had time to get them gifts in his short life ;):
Kara loved her baby doll and Dora "big sister" book, but is attached to my water cup all night:
7:15 PM: Grandma finally gets to hold Garison after keeping Levi & Kara all day (thanks mom!). The kids give Garison the build-a-bear they made him (more on that later).

9:00 PM: Head to bed after a long, but full day. I experienced hardly any pain and was quite comfortable (a benefit, my doctor tells me, of having more and more children :). I think I'll stop here.