Week 63- April 3 – April 9, 2017
We have decided to move to OHIO! I can’t really believe I am saying this, but it’s happening.
The past year has been pretty tough because my business has not been making consistent money. I have put us in a tough situation financially and it has been stressing all of us out for a while. We have been making it work, but it would be nice to have some room to breathe. All I want is for us to be happy as a family and be in the best shape to have a successful for all of us. Owning my own business was not only fun, but a great learning experience. I don’t regret for one second taking a risk and trying to be an entrepreneur. The fact that I was able to work from home and spend quality time with you during your first year of life was worth it all. You had so many amazing milestones during your first year and I was very blessed to be home for those memories. Now I am taking a “real” job to make sure our future is secure and I can provide for you and your mom. It is going to be sad not being around you all day, but I know this is the right thing for our family and our future. Another important factor in this decision was moving closer to family. We will only be a couple hours from Grandma Patti and Grandpa Mark. It’s going to be great!
Week 64- April 10 – April 16, 2017
We have decided to you and mom are going to fly to Ohio and I am going to drive mom’s white car to Ohio. This way we will have a car when we get to Ohio and I can take Riley with me. I’m not really looking forward to the drive, but I know this is the best thing.
Week 65- April 17 – April 23, 2017
The movers packed up our entire house on Tuesday. It was the greatest thing ever! They actually organized and boxed everything in our house. The only thing we had to do was make sure we set aside anything that we didn’t want them to pack. They finished everything in about 6 hours. I can’t imagine how long it would have taken me and your mom if we had to pack everything up ourselves.
The movers came on Wednesday to pick up all of our stuff!
On Thursday, Steve and Jan took you and mom to the airport so I could start driving early.
There drive was long and boring! Also, your mom’s car didn’t have cruise control. I don’t know if that means anything to you by the time you read this, but it was not fun. I did have some books on tape and listened to some podcasts so it wasn’t all that bad. The best part of the trip was when I stopped at Love’s Truck stop and Amarillo, TX and bought a lottery ticket which I won $1,000 on. I’m probably going to use this money to help pay for a vehicle in Ohio.
Week 66- April 24 – April 30, 2017
This is the first week at my new job and the beginning of setting up a great future for our family! I’m a little nervous, but know that I am making the right decision both for our family and for my professional career.
Week 67- May 1 – May 7, 2017
We now shop at Meijer Grocery store. And the reason I mention this is because they have the cheapest entertainment for you. They have a mechanical horse named “Sandy” that only costs a penny! You absolutely love riding Sandy and it makes us so happy to see how excited you get. You also started making horse noises which right now is the my most favorite thing you do!
Week 68- May 8 – May 14, 2017
We visited a park for the first time right down the road from our house. This was the first time you went down a slide by yourself. At first you were a little scared of going down, but after a couple of times you thought it was so exciting!
Week 69- May 15 – May 21, 2017
We went to Sandusky this weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa. This is our first trip there for the weekend since we have moved to Ohio. We walked with Grandma Patti in a heart walk on Saturday morning. It meant so much to her that we were there to walk with her, considering she is a heart attack survivor. Later in the day we went to a children’s festival downtown. You had your very first horse ride! Well, you didn’t actually ride on the horse, but we rode behind the horse in a wagon. You loved it! We also put you in your first bouncy house. You didn’t hate it, but you had no idea what to do. You will get it one day and love it! You did love the big inflatable slide that me and mom took you down. You wanted to keep going again and again! Other than that, it wasn’t a great festival, but it was fun hanging out as a family.
It was very nice to be able to drive up for the weekend, hang out and then have a short trip back home. This is why we moved to Ohio! It makes me so happy to see how happy your mom is and see how happy Grandma is to hang out with you. Side note: Grandpa Mark is happy too, but he doesn’t show it as much as Grandma.
Week 70- May 22 – May 28, 2017
You had your first trip to the zoo! Your mom and I were so excited to take you to the zoo because we knew how much you loved animals. And the zoo didn’t disappoint! You got to see so many animals, but I think your favorite thing was petting the snake and getting to feed the Giraffe. We got some pretty cool pictures!
You learned how to knock and doors. It’s now a fun game that you play where you close the bathroom door and knock. We say “who’s there?” and you answer “Reese” in the cutest little voice I have ever heard. When you close the door again you start giggling in anticipation of me or your mom asking “who’s there?” It’s a fun game!
Week 71- May 29 – June 4, 2017
You and mom went to another story this week, but this time you visited the Powell library. Mom said it had a nice park right next door that you enjoyed playing at. I am so happy that you get to spend these moments with your mom. We are very blessed that mom doesn’t have to work and spend her days with you and helping you develop and grow.
Grandma Patti visited this weekend. You were able to hang out most of the day Saturday with her as me and your mom went to the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin. We missed you while we were away, but it was great that you get to hang out with Grandma and we were able to go spend some time at the golf tournament. We came home around 4 and then spent some time shopping. You are getting super spoiled by Grandma! She keeps saying that she is going to stop buying things, but it’s impossible for her. On Sunday we went to Alum Park North for the first time and had a fun little picnic as well. It was a nice park with a good sized playground. We brought some watermelon and you didn’t need anything else. You were so happy eating the watermelon and making an absolute mess with it all over your clothes. I think mom hates when you get sticky, dirty and messy, but I love it because that’s what kids are supposed to do 🙂
I know I keep saying this, but it makes me so happy to watch your mom and Grandma Patti interacting with you and having such a great time. These are memories that we will cherish forever! I’m so happy with our decision to move her and have loved everyday of it!
Week 72- June 5 – June 11, 2017
This is the week were you started saying the word “no” regularly. Whenever we ask you if you want your diaper changed, you say “no”. If we ask if you want to go bed, you say “no”. It’s the cutest thing ever to hear you say it, but now I wonder how much you are going to say it!
This week you also started jumping. You have been trying to jump for quite a few months now, but this is the first week where you actually jump and get off the ground. You want to jump from the sidewalk onto the grass when we check the mail and you want to jump off the front steps onto the sidewalk. You also started jumping off the couch, which scared us at first because you could really hurt yourself. But then dad had the great idea (at least I think it is,) to put a bunch of pillows and blankets on the floor in front of the couch. Now you can jump all you want from the couch and you have something to cushion your fall. Sometimes you still give us a little scare and try to jump off the couch where there aren’t any pillows. You actually give mom more of a scare than me, but if you could just stick to the pillows that would be great!
On Sunday we made a late evening trip to Graeter’s Ice Cream. Why do I mention this? Because it was a small trip, but such an fun little family outing. We are doing so many more little things like this as a family and it makes me so happy! And you also love ice cream and make a huge mess when you eat it, so that’s fun to see as well.
My favorite things you say right now:
Fork – Well, when you say it, it actually sounds like “fuk”. YOu’ll understand the humor later.
I Love You! – You repeat this every time one of us says it.
Reese – the way you say your name is the cutest
No – This is the first week you started answering some of our questions with “No!”
But our favorite word it probably when you try to say “hold”. It come out as “hoyd” It’s the cutest thing ever!
Week 73- June 12 – June 18, 2017
It’s a busy week for dad at work. We have a big food vendor summit at the Casino tomorrow. This is where all of the companies that provide food/beverage to Big Lots come together for a 1-day meeting. I got called in to help with the planning a few weeks ago when the food department needed some help. They did a great job of inviting the companies and putting the content together, but had no idea how to plan the actual event logistics. So that’s where your dad comes in! This was kind of my first big event because I handled most of the event logistics myself and only went to my boss when I had questions or needed help.
On Friday we have the groundbreaking ceremony for the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This was such an amazing event! Big Lots has pledged to give $50 Million to build the first ever Pavilion dedicated to kids and adolescents with behavioral health issues. I’m just starting out with the company but am very proud to be a small piece of this epic moment. I was also able to tour the Nationwide Children’s Hospital with some of our associates. It was an amazing building that does amazing things for kids, but it was also very emotional. I saw this little boy sleeping in a hospital bed all by himself. His family must have left the room for a little while he slept. It was so sad. I thank God every day that you are healthy. There are so many kids that have issues and have to use that hospital. Count your blessings every day!
Today was the first time I went to one of our “Sample Sales”. It was the best thing ever. I paid a $20 donation for the opportunity to go to the sample sale. They gave us a large yard sized trash bag that we could fill up with samples in the warehouse. It was so overwhelming but I was able to get alot of cool toys for you: Paw Patrol Pop-up Ball tent, Horse stuffed animal, puppies, Minnie Mouse Basket, Vacuum Cleaning Set, Broom Set, Golf Set, Beach Toys, Swim Toys, Inflatable things for the pool, a stroller, bubbles, bracelets, necklaces, and all kinds of other things for mom and dad. It was amazing! I can’t wait until the next one!
Sunday was my second Father’s Day! I am just so blessed to be a father to you and be able to do my part as a father and help raise you properly. You are the perfect child and my heart grows everyday for you. I don’t think I can love you more and then tomorrow comes! This has been the most special Fathers Day so far because you are a little older and I am learning more and more every day about the true meaning of being a father. You and your mom both bring out the best in me and help me become a better person and a father. Mom helped you make me this really cool cup for my desk. You painted it outside and then put it in the oven to set the paint. I put it on my desk at work for everyone to see! Mom also got me a really soft NFL t-shirt from Old Navy and got me and you a pair of matching socks. I can’t wait to wear them!
Week 74- June 19 – June 25, 2017
We go to Aruba this week! Aruba has a special place in our hearts because me and your mom went there on our honeymoon. I had been there a few other times for work and think it’s my favorite place on earth. This time is going to be extra special because we are going with more family.
I knew getting ready for Aruba was going to be an interesting time. We are usually up late packing for trips and this time we had to be at the airport by 3:30 AM! And sure enough your mom finished packing around 1:00 AM and was able to sleep for at least a couple of hours. To her defense, she does have to pack for both herself and you (although she took just as long in the past to pack for herself only!) To make things a little more stressful you somehow got a huge bruise on your leg this same night. And you were crying hysterically when we tried to put you down for sleep. I really thought we might have to take you to the emergency room, but we gave you some Tylenol and you calmed down. We aren’t sure what was wrong, but we were a little more worried than usual because we were headed to a foreign country for the next 5 days. But in the end you woke up just fine the next morning and all was good!
Our flights down there were great. We got lucky and didn’t have anyone sitting next to us on the flights so you were able to have your own seat. You mom also had a big “Mom Win” as she packed you a super cool snack tray for the trip. See some pictures of it below.
We landed a few hours earlier than the rest of the family, which ended up being great because we were able to enjoy the beach just as our little family. We were super happy to do this because Aruba has such a special place in our hearts that it was nice to experience it with just the three of us for a few hours.
Week 75- June 26 – July 2, 2017
Aruba was amazing! It is such a beautiful island and it was extra special to share this experience with all of our my brothers and sisters and your cousins. We don’t get to see them very much, so it was nice to hang out with them at the beach and the pool. You couldn’t get enough of the beach and water! It was a struggle sometimes because you wanted to play all day long, but we had to make sure to keep you in the shade for most of the time because the sun is so intense and we didn’t want you to get sunburn.