Grandpa Marlan

My Grandpa Marlan had a heart attack on the night of the 15th and for the next week leading up to Christmas was running every single second.  He is ok, but it was a significant heart attack.  He won't be as physically healthy as he has been in the past, but we are just so thankful that he is ok and still with us.  My Grandma had to go to the nursing home and is still there.  He gets out on Friday and goes home, which makes us all feel a little nervous.  My uncle Jeff stayed with us from New York and my Mom was in and out too.  I'd visit him every day after school and before I picked up the kids.  Dan was great and visited him once as well along with picking up the kids on many of the days so that I could stay at the hospital longer.  I love my Grandpa so much.  He's always been such an important part of my life.  When he was transferred to Mayville hospital Svea came with me to visit on Christmas Day while Dan stayed home with a napping Kieran.  She gave him a nice hug and then when we visited my Grandma in the home she sang her Christmas songs. It was so cute.  Grandma would mouth the words to "Away in a Manger" and Svea would sing another one.  It is a nice memory that this post will hopefully help me remember.

I will post again on Svea's Christmas program, Christmas, our trip out to Wisconsin, and a hearing update on Kieran soon!

This and That

I don't have a ton to update.  It's a busy time with church, work, and the kids.  Svea went with Dan today to the older kids' Christmas pageant.  Svea's will be next week.  I'm hoping she will go up there and sing.  If she does it'll be her first time.  I've wrote down just a few things that I want to remember about these two at this age.  I just wish I could freeze time.  Every day we are exhausted at the end of the day, but each day can be so magical with these two!

Kieran-loves to be tickled in his neck with kisses before bed.  He giggles like crazy.  Is starting to get more afraid at night.  You used to say good night and he'd roll over and be done, but now he cries a bit after you leave. He is speaking more in sentences and very rarely just says one or two words.  He continues to get better as far as understanding him goes.  More and more strangers are picking up on his words.

 I was trying to get one of those pretty Christmas lights shots, but it didn't go so well...he's in his diaper:)

 Svea is pretending to be Izzy from her favorite cartoon.  Kieran was running around chasing her.

 There they go!

This is Svea saying, "Stop Mommy...no more pictures".  Ha!

Svea-loves playing Jake and the Neverland pirates.  She wants mom and dad to play Captain Hook and chase her around the house.  She is way into her little bible these days.  She will want us to read multiple stories from it and mostly wants the ones with Jesus in it.  She still gets scared very easily.  We tried How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but it was hard to get through.  My guess is she won't want that one until maybe next Christmas. 

Thanksgiving and Getting Ready for Christmas

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Jamestown with Gaga and Grandpa Ron.  We haven't spent a holiday away from our own house (with my cooking) in over six years.  It was AWESOME!  Ron wanted to make chili on Friday and we said no because we wanted the leftovers.  They were so good:

 The best part was just being able to spend time at Grandma and Grandpa's house with them! On Friday night we went to the Blizzle, Dizzle, Holiday Dazzle Lights Parade.  Ok, it's not called that, but that is what I was calling it all weekend.  Grandpa Ron parked his truck on the street about an hour before and then we drove up and sat there for the event.  It was really fun.  Svea and Kieran were really into and stuck their heads out the window and took in the Christmas lights! 

 We also attempted our Christmas picture.  We did accomplish this in getting a decent one (that is all you can expect with two little ones) and here is a tiny bit of chaos we experienced on the way. Dan and I snuck away on Saturday night and went out with my good friend Amber and her husband Ben.  We had a great time and met some interesting Jamestown people!  Dan was a hit with the locals! Ha! 

 Svea and Grandpa Ron playing hide and seek!

 Found you!  Thank you Gaga and Grandpa Ron for having us on Thanksgiving!  It was a wonderful and memorable one! I forgot, it was my birthday too and it was one of the best birthdays that I can remember.

 Saturday afternoon we started decorating for Christmas.  We rearranged the living room so that the tree could go in the window.  We like the lay-out much better and will probably keep it this way after the holiday season. 

 I was walking down the steps and this was my view.  Two sweet babies playing with their toys in our new house with our Christmas tree.  It was so peaceful and I wanted to take a picture. 

 I caught him sitting still for .07 seconds:)

 Having a snack on a break!

 Later that night we were watching a cartoon and these two snuggled up together on the couch. 

How sweet is that!  These two are loving Jake and the Neverland Pirates lately as you can somewhat see on the tv.  We have SO much to be thankful for!

Kieran-isms and other Funny Things He Does

Here a collection of random  things Kieran does and says lately.  They are fun ones that we don't want to forget.

"No, I don't like that" he will say to almost anything you ask him to do lately.  It came out of nowhere.  He is also watching his sister very carefully and imitating her tantrums a little too well.

"Turn the light on please" when he wants to go into a room to play and the room is dark

He loves to run around in a circle around or living room/kitchen.  Svea and him will play chase.  He'll stop and wait for her to catch up behind him and then continue to run again and laugh/giggle

We play a funny face game where we act happy and then mad and then we repeat it and he thinks it is SO funny

He likes to play the "smell my feet" game where we smell his feet and pretend to faint because it stinks so bad

"Tank U" after someone gives him something without being prompted to

He calls all dinosaurs "dinosaur train" after his favorite cartoon show

He likes to play peek a boo by climbing into one of the kitchen cabinets or the downstairs bathroom cabinet. The lower ones are big and have nothing in them so it's a perfect spot.

He gets a certain smiley look when he is about to do something that he knows he should not be doing.  We think he is saying, "I know I'm too cute for you to be mad at me".  He always gets stopped, but not without kisses and a stern lecture:)

He loves to line up his cars in one long line.  He does this at daycare, church, and home.  He is apparently a little possessive of the cars at daycare. He loves to play with trains and load his dinosaurs on top.

If Svea is anywhere remotely close to the floor he goes and tackles/wrestlers her until we pull him off

He is super snuggly in the mornings when he wakes up and it's heavenly:)

He wears his hearing aides every moment he is awake except for baths.  He waits for us to put them on and sits still. 

As soon as he hurts his sister he will 9 out of 10 times say sorry and hug her on his own.  The other 1/10th he giggles and laughs and runs away.  Stinker!

Larry and Darcy Come to Visit

Larry and Darcy Alstead came to visit us this past weekend.  We hadn't seen them since we left Paynesville on that emotional week in July.  It felt SO good to have them here and talk and catch up, play, and have them see where we live.

 Kieran and Darcy playing puzzles.  I can't believe Kieran's attention span for puzzles, but he does well with them.

 We saw some type of animal alongside the wall of the dike in our backyard.  Larry got out his binoculars so that we could take a peak and he helped Svea look too.  It was a cat in case you wondered:)

 Here they are playing with a battery operated car that Kieran was sending back and forth down to Darcy.

 We had the best time!  We had dinner  and German chocolate cake for desert (Larry's favorite) and hung out on Friday night.  We played and sat/talked around the house on Saturday and then took them on a tour of the church and drove them by Rita's house.  Then we went to dinner at Speakeasy and it was so good and fun.  We haven't taken Kieran to a restaurant type place since he's had his hearing aides and we were very pleased with how well he did.  Before I don't think he could have handled something like that.  Remember this past summer when we first got to Moorhead and he was CRAZY and climbing the walls whenever we went somewhere? Ya, I do:)

Yeah for Larry and Darcy! On Sunday morning they came to church with us and got to see what that is like.  It was a great worship and Kieran even was able to sit with us for awhile.  They got extra snuggles from Svea and then it was time to say good-bye:(  We miss a lot of things about Paynesville, but hands down Larry and Darcy are at the top.  It was hard to say good-bye and see them go.  We're so used to seeing them so often.  We hope we can do this whenever we miss each other too much:) Thank you for coming you guys!  We looked forward to that for so long and appreciated you coming so much.  More than you know:)  Love you guys!

p.s. thanks again for the Christmas Jammies and clothes!  Meeko likes his new toy too:) 

Halloween 2014

Halloween was super fun this year!  It was the first year that Svea was really into it.  Last year even she was too cold and wasn't interested in going to a lot of houses.  This year we thought Kieran wouldn't be either, but we were wrong. 

Svea was a Strawberry Shortcake Princess.  She got her costume from Mom and Dad for her birthday.

Kieran is in love with dinosaurs lately and I found his costume at Once Upon a Child.  He warmed up to it and finally by Halloween he let Dad put it on him.

Ready to go!  Papa, Lynn, and Gaga were with us too.  Sadly, the next day was my Aunt Jane's funeral and my mom had come to watch the kids for us.  One positive is they all got to see the kids trick or treating.

We ran into the neighbor kids before we could even leave the driveway.  This is Hayley the little girl who lives two doors down and also goes to our daycare.  These two love each other!

The crew...including Ryder who will be 2 soon.  The boys should be in the same grade, but the girls will be one grade apart.  Hayley is also 4, but turned back in March I think.

We first stopped at our new neighbors Bruce and Deb, the ones who are neighbors with my Aunt Jane and Duane up in Park Rapids. Then from there the kids were rockstars.  It was colder, but they hung in there and halfway through we warmed up at Sharon and Denny's house.  Kieran was saying "trick r treat, Happy Halloween, and Thank you". 

Hanging out with Papa after the adventure. 

Such a fun Halloween.  It may have been even more fun when we got home and the kids passed out candy to the big kids that came to the door.  Svea would yell, "they're here, get the door".  Kieran played with the candy by the door, Svea ran around, and Mom ate candy like it was her job.  For the record I went on a detox the next day. 

Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa D!

I have been meaning to do this post for a couple of weeks, but then we had a family funeral and then blogger wouldn't work one night, and finally we all got he flu!  It's been a crazy couple of weeks:)

We had a nice visit from Grandma and Grandpa D on Svea's birthday party weekend.  They got to come to Moorhead for their first visit, celebrate, and see our new house/church.  We went on a short walk to look at the Halloween House in our neighborhood.  We had a big Strawberry Shortcake party.  We played with all of the toys and on the swing set and went to church. 

We love having Grandma and Grandpa D come and can't wait to go to Wisconsin for Christmas!  Svea has been talking about Grandma and Grandpa since you left.  She is super excited! Next summer we are pretty positive we will not be moving so we'll be able to come out then too! Thank you for coming to celebrate with us!

Rest in Peace Aunt Jane

Our hearts are heavy.  Earlier this week my Aunt Jane died.  I was able to sneak away on Sunday afternoon to visit Jane when Dean and Kathy were here and I'm so glad I did.  She wasn't in any pain and was just starting some of the labored breathing.  We were still able to talk though and it was such a special time.  I had offered for my uncle to be able to get out of the house and he took me up on it.  I feel good about it.  I was able to tell her how I felt...that I loved her and I would miss her a lot.  That I would see her again even if it wasn't as soon as I'd like.  I know she is safe and at peace.  I just wish it wasn't so. It's really strange and it doesn't feel real yet.  Dan is doing her funeral today in Park Rapids.  My Mom is staying with the kids (thank you!).  She will be dearly missed.  We will never forget her and keep her memory living on with all of our great stories about her.  Love you Aunt Jane!

JANE ELIZABETH BREVIK
December 31, 1948 – October 28, 2014

Jane Elizabeth (Carter) Brevik, age 65, of Park Rapids, MN (formerly of Moorhead, MN), passed away on Tuesday, October 28, 2014, at her home in Park Rapids, MN with her husband, Duane, at her side.

Jane Brevik, the daughter of Fredric and Marion Carter, was born December 31, 1948 in Fargo, ND. She attended and graduated from Mayville High School. Jane also attended Moorhead State University. She worked as a paraprofessional in the Moorhead Public School District. Jane was an active member in People to People, teaching students to be Ambassadors while traveling the world. Jane loved spending time with family and friends and was an avid outdoors person. She enjoyed cross country skiing, camping, hiking and kayaking.

On September 27, 1980, she married Duane Brevik at Christ the King Church in Moorhead, MN. In retirement, Jane and Duane moved to Park Rapids and built their dream home in the woods next to the Straight River.

Jane is survived by her husband Duane Brevik of Park Rapids, MN; and three children: Amy Kaldor (Ercu) Akbay of Saint Paul, MN, Kelly Brevik (Sara Weigel) of Rochester, MN, and Katie Brevik (Gavin) Holden of Glendive, MT; two brothers: F. Scott (Connie) Carter of Mandan, ND, and Mark Carter of Bismarck, ND; three grandchildren: Luke Holden, Jonah Holden, and Lara Akbay.

Jane is preceded in death by her parents Fred and Marion Carter.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids, MN with the Reverend Dan Dornfeld officiating. Visitation will begin one-half hour prior to the service on Saturday, beginning at 10:30 AM. To leave online condolences or view the video tribute, please visit www.jonespearson.com.

Memorials preferred to Saint Joseph’s Hospice of Park Rapids or family.

Svea's Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party!

 Svea wanted a Strawberry Shortcake birthday party this year!  She got into Strawberry this past spring and hasn't looked back.  It was popular when I was younger and I had a S.S. room too.  Kind of fun that she is still around!

 As we got closer to her birthday Svea said she wanted to be a princess.  Yes, I just said that...blah:)  I suggested a Strawberry Shortcake Princess and she was all for it.  Here's her spread.  We had a lot of sugar!

 This girl got A LOT of presents!

 Looking at the pumpkin she got from Peyton back in Paynesville.  Lynda and Gina came to the party and they brought it with them.

 So excited about her first gift!  It took awhile to open presents.  Svea wanted to open and try out almost everything. 

 Kieran kept stealing Grandma D's camera and was pretending to take pictures. This little boy seriously melts my heart.  I am loving this age!

 New light up shoes!

 Boys can play Strawberry Shortcake too!

 We sang Happy Birthday and Svea was very pensive....almost embarrassed to have the attention on her.  It took about 4 blows, but she got her candles extinguished! I can't remember if it was at her birthday party or on the actual night of her birthday, but her wish was for everyone to get a birthday:)

 We took pictures with people as they left.  Papa and Lynn came and stayed with us the night before.  Before they left Kieran said, "Papa, stay".  It was so cute!

 Extra hugs from Lynda and Gina!

 A rollder blading excursion outside with Grandma D! They came to visit us for Svea's birthday and to see us and the new house.  It was so nice to have them here and in two short months we'll go to them for a post-Christmas in Wisconsin.  Svea brought last year up the other day btw....and her cousins and something that else that I can't remember.

 With Gaga and Grandpa Ron! I love how her Strawberry Shortcake's have to be in almost every picture with her.

 See! Ha!

 We hadn't taken a picture with Daddy yet so we snuck one in that night.

 This was Svea's idea.  She loves to do the goofy ones.

Family picture!!!

 

It was a really fun birthday party!  The best part was having all that family together celebrating the special day.  I can't believe she is already four!  She looks so grown up in some of these pictures. 

 

A few things that I want to remember about Svea at four.  She is afraid of the Big Bad Wolf even though she talks about him all of the time and wants to play the Three Little Pigs over and over.  She is very thoughtful of other people sometimes.  After Grandpa Ron's surgery she and Kieran went to Jamestown for the weekend.  Ron had just had his kidney surgery and she made sure to ask him how he was feeling and how Papa's hip was too.  She is starting to be more agreeable and helpful around the house such as being responsible to put her clothes away, pick-up (although some days this is an epic battle), and get dressed/brush her teeth.  She is in speech for f, p, and s sounds.  Her teacher doesn't think it'll take her long to exit.  Svea loves to play babies and play with the other kids at daycare.  I love it when they are outside when I pick up the kids and I can see them all interacting.  It's fun! She loves to pretend play or play with her Strawberry Shortcake dolls.  She loves to make "crafts" which is just me taking out a big bin full of scrap paper, stickers and fabric.  It is fun! Right now she is into Jake and the Neverland Pirates cartoon.  She tried to switch what she wanted for her birthday on me the night before. She still has some separation anxiety although this is much better.  When it is time to say goodbye she gets a little OCD about giving hugs and kisses.  We know it's best to set boundaries with this, but I could just hug and kiss her all day long so it's hard to do that too:) She is struggling hardcore with bedtimes.  Since we moved

 

I will do another post to Moorhead she has had more fears at bedtime, which seems normal for a big change and/or her age.  We really don't watch any t.v. because when she naps at daycare she can't get to sleep until 10:00 some nights.  This girl naps at daycare, but just won't at home.  It's so weird!  By the time we get her to sleep we are exhausted and on a few rare occasions I've fallen asleep before her because I am so tired and well....it's late and she's still up.  She's a night owl or doesn't need as much sleep.  I'm not sure which?

 

We love you Svea Grace so much and Happy 4th Birthday sweet girl.  We are so blessed to have you in our lives and as we look back on the past four years with you we can't help but smile...and laugh!  We love you!!!

 

I will do another post shortly on the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa D!