Grand Rapids Snow Removal

I can't believe people actually pay for this!

These guys do high quality work. Quite the professionals, if you ask me. A little slow, though.

Playing in the snow

So this took place a few weeks ago but I thought you'd enjoy it anyway...

Only twice this winter has is been warm enough (with no snow fall) to take the kids out to play in the snow on a Saturday. But when it happened, we made a point of taking Lyla out to play in it. Both times we went over to our friends' house and played in their driveway and yard.

It was a blast getting to pull Lyla around in a sled, sliding down the mounds of snow that the snowplows had left, making snow angels, and building snow men. For being a relatively low-key kid, Lyla sure has a sense of adventure (so long as she isn't too cold). She loved every moment of it... and as a result, so did I.

Looking forward to this aspect of next winter and having Will join us as well.

Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Lyla!!!! *or* Holy Moley, I Can't Believe My Daughter is TWO!!!

Seriously? When did Lyla grow up? It seems like just 730 days ago that Katherine was telling me it was time to go to the hospital. Yet somehow my Little Button became my Little Baby and my Little Baby become my Little Girl. All those country songs suddenly make a lot of sense...

Friday, December 4 was destined to be a special day even before it began. For us the magic began the night before when the first snow fall of this winter began to fall. We were forecast to get 3 or 4 inches over night and boy did we. We awoke Friday morning to a blanket of soft, white, beautiful snow covering everything.

Typically I have mixed feelings about the snow. I love the serenity and the beauty of freshly fallen snow, but I dread the cold and the exertion of shoveling our walks. But this was different because this was going to be the first snow that Lyla got to play in and that she would remember. And it happened on her birthday, what a neat gift.

I think that Katherine and I were slightly more excited about Lyla's actual birthday than the Birthday Girl was. Granted she had been talking about her birthday non-stop for at least two weeks and had made us sing "Happy Birthday" to every single person that we know, at least once. But I awoke that day more excited than I'd been in awhile.

We started the day with a special breakfast: blueberry pancakes. Special because we seldom make pancakes. They were good. Then we got dressed and all went to Target, whoopie!! Look, just because it was Lyla's birthday doesn't mean we can avoid the day to day tasks of running our lives. We all went together so that was fun.

After Target, we came home and Lyla got ready to go outside. We got her snowsuit on plus her hat and these great winter boots she got from her friend Sadie. Out Lyla and I went and shoveled the path. I had bought a small snow-shovel for Lyla a couple weeks ago and she was more than happy to help me clear off the snow. After shoveling, she and I built our very first snowman. Nothing too special, we used a carrot for the nose and leaves for everything else. Lyla really enjoyed packing the snow down. I think he turned out rather nice and he sort of looks like Grover from Sesame Street.

After playing in the snow we came in and were treated to a nice lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. It was the perfect meal to warm us up from the cold. After we finished, the kids went down for naps and Katherine and I started to get ready for Lyla's party.

For her party we wrestled for a long time as to what to do. Last year we invited a few friends and their kids over, four families in total. In the subsequent 365 days, 3 of the 4 families had another child and all the other kids aged a year. As a result, having the same families over would have been pure chaos.

So instead, we invited two families for dinner. I made pork street tacos and they turned out pretty good. After dinner we did presents and then cupcakes. After dinner, the chaos slowly ratcheted up until the kids ended up hitting a wall. The following pictures will give you some idea of how chaotic just two additional families can be:

Playing with friends...

More friends, more playing...

Adults trying to converse as the kids play...

More playing...

Pretty soon Will had had enough...

So we opened presents...

And then we played with the presents...

Pretty soon Will and Kevin had had enough...

So it was time for the cake...

Lyla likes cake.

So does Ian...

So does Sadie...

And then it was over.

The next day, we woke up and played with our new toys.

Lyla drying her hair with Mommy..

Later that morning, we went over to Sadie's house for her 2-year-old birthday party. I decided that Will and I should dress a like... I'm glad I did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYLA!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Last weekend

Last weekend, Katherine's mom (who had been in Grand Rapids since Will had been born) went home to Marion, IN and took Lyla with her. When she asked if Katherine and Iwanted her to take Lyla for the weekend, we were conflicted and had mixed feelings. Katherine's never been away from Lyla for multiple days, while I have had to be away for days at time before for work. So we both didn't want her to go because we knew we'd miss her. On the other hand, Katherine was still recovering and the idea of taking care of Katherine, Will and Lyla was daunting. So in the end, we decided to let our little bird fly and spent Thursday through Monday just me, Katherine and Will.

While we did miss Lyla a lot (I mean A LOT!), it was a relief to have some low-energy, quiet time. In fact, one day at lunch Will was sleeping and I said to Katherine, "The lack of noise is almost deafening. What did we used to do before Lyla?" Her answer: talk to each other... seems vaguely familiar.

The weather was somewhat nice a few of the days so we did get outside for a short walk up to the corner and back. Here we are at the apex of our walk:
Here's Katherine and Will getting ready.

Here's Will in the awesome hoodie that Mandy loaned us (Ian sure is a stylish kiddo).

Another shot of cute Will.

And here's our first thought as to what Will could wear if we took him outside. Unfortunately it was bigger than we needed. Which is too bad because he sure is cute in it. It reminds me of another cute kid I know...

Snow + freezing weather + direct sunshine = icicles

So it's been ridiculously cold the past two weeks. I mean, anytime you hear the phrase "... feels like negative..." when someone is telling you the temperature, you know you're in trouble. The weird thing is that over the past 4 our 5 days it hasn't snowed at all, and when the sun comes out, it melts the 2+ feet of snow that has accumulated everywhere, but because it's so cold out, the melted snow doesn't stay melted that long but instead forms icicles. And not just little, candy-cane sized icicles; I'm talking, the honkin' suckers that would do some serious damage if they fell on you icicles.

Keeping with tradition, I was able to grab one and we took pictures of it next to Lyla for comparison. You can see last year's version here. And now, this year's:



And a video of Lyla trying to figure out what the heck that thing is:

Snow days

So, last year was a record year of snow fall in Grand Rapids. This year is headed toward equal (if not greater) amounts of snow. Our friend commented the other day that we've already seen the same amount of snow in November and December that GR would typically see in an entire winter (November through March)!

That, combined with the sub-frigid temperatures, combined with the fact that Katherine is 32 weeks pregnant are all forces conspiring to keep us inside. So we've been making a serious effort to get outside on days that we're able in order to take walks. We spend equal amounts of time getting ready as we do actually outside. All in all it is quite an ordeal, but it's also been a lot of fun and totally worth it.

Here's pictures of Lyla putting on her snowsuit:




Here's pictures of me and Lyla waiting for Katherine to come out:




Here we are walking in the snow! Happy winter, everyone!

Today is the winter of our discontent

What had been a very wonderful week (democratic process, EMS that didn't make me sad, dinner with friends, business development, super cute Lyla) has rather quickly turned south and today marks a sad day for the Rings. For one, yesterday our next-door neighbors, friends, and definite answer to pray the McIntyres moved into their new house. We're happy for them because they now have a wonderful how for their family to grow in. And it's only 0.8 miles away. But that's 0.798106060606 miles farther away than they were. And that's sad. Because we miss them. We miss how much a part of our daily lives they have been. I miss hearing Ian's bathtime through the wall. I mean it's not super tragic, hide your head under the pillow sad; but it's sad.


And the sadness of today being the first day with them not right next door was served with a side of "the first snow of the year." Yippee. Seriously, of all days for it to snow, it had to be today. Boo. Now I know why bears hibernate.

It's that time of year

Freaking winter!! I tell ya. I love the changing seasons, the trees, the crispness of the air, that winter smell. I even like snow. But one major difference between here and San Diego is how many freaking time we get sick because of how freaking cold it is. I think last winter I got a total of five severe colds. It isn't even November and I've already had one... and it's turned into a sinus infection. Ugh! Nothing quite like having your teeth hurt because of a sinus infection.

I will tell you, the only thing worse than having a cold is having a young child with a cold. So here's a recap of our last two weeks. Ready? Katherine gets sick, down for three days. Kevin gets sick, down for three days. Katherine gets food poisoning, down for two days. Lyla get's sick, down for three days. It was a dark dark time. Especially because when you weren't sick, you were worn down by having to take care of a sick spouse and a baby. Not fun. Fortunately, we're on the road to recovery.


I think the hardest was dealing with sick Lyla. She's never been sick like this and she just seemed so helpless. Especially at night because she was uncomfortable and thus didn't want to sleep. Which meant, no sleep for us. Fortunately the recommended treatment for a baby with a cold really worked. It is: steam, salt water, and suction. After the first night of being up with her, I wasn't shy about administering it (even though Lyla really didn't like it).


For us, steam was either running the humidifier and trying to get her in the path of its vent or taking her in the shower and letting it run hot. So over the last few days, Lyla took three showers, which she liked moderately more than her baths so it may become part of the routine. For salt water, we bough a nose sprayer designed for children. Of course Lyla did not like the intrusion of me jamming it in her nostril and had to be held down to administer it. Though I think she recognized the good it was doing because she would lean forward to line her nose up to it, but then she'd turn away when it got near her face as if she had suddenly realized what was about to happen.

Suction consisted of post-salt water, sticking an aspirator (a rubber bulb with a nozzle on one end... kind of like a tiny turkey baster) in a nostril, releasing the squeeze bulb and drawing out... (what's the polite word for snot? mucous?) mucous. That girl had a lot of mucous. She also had no hesitation about how much she dislikes the aspirator. Not fun trying to pin her down and jam something in her nose. All while being gentle and reassuring. Especially when your reward is mucous. But despite the discomfort and potential trauma, Lyla's health improved quickly and she's almost past it (she is sleeping through the night again).

So the pictures are of Lyla up late because she couldn't sleep. Sad because of the cold and being tired, yet somehow still in a good mood. Glad to be reading books with mom and dad.

And this picture is just a taste of all the cute pictures of Lyla in winter gear that you can expect over the coming months.


Also, Friday is Lyla's first Halloween and I guarantee you that if you check back in in the coming days you will not be disappointed by how freaking cute she is in her costume. Yay baby costumes!!! Oooh, Lyla's going to be 11 months next week. Do I have to stop referring to her as a baby?

Final count: 4 uses of the word "freaking"; 4 uses of the word "mucous". I smell a Pulitzer... actually I don't smell anything. Freaking mucous!