Birthday Fun and Family

This week has been so crazy with Dannika's first day of school.

 I totally forgot to post that my mom, little sister, brother in law, niece, and my brother in law's parents ALL came into town to visit us this week!

We had a very FULL house this week!

So let's just recap this week with some photos.

I snapped a few photos of Mattis wearing his traditional Korean hambok.

My aunt in South Korea sent this to us, so this is an original.

A baby's first birthday in Korea is called "dol", and it's traditionally celebrated wearing the Korean traditional outfit (the hambok) with a huge party.

Poor Mattis is a victim of second child syndrome, and we didn't throw a traditional "dol" for him.

We had family in town though, and having a birthday BBQ with just our family was perfect.

I actually had plans to throw him an actual "dol" today, but our family made plans, and we ended up having to cancel it.

I even ordered this elaborate strawberry shortcake for him (complete with matching smash cake), and I cancelled it! 

 But, Mattis did have a great little party with the people who love him most!

Nick made his famous ribs....

Mattis enjoyed them...mmmmmm...

He did get to enjoy a little birthday cake too...

Ok, a LOT of birthday cake...

Post birthday cake bath...as happy as a clam!

Wednesday was a hot day, so Nick cleaned out the giant kiddie pool, we managed to squeeze in two grown men (Nick and my bro in law) and 3 children comfortably.

I'm just going to add that the two grown men were the last ones out of the kiddie pool at the end of the day.

We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese.

I think the adults had more fun than the kids though....

Mattis had his last doctor's appointment in Massachusetts last week!

We sure are gonna miss Dr. Yoon!

It's rare that all the grandkids are ever together with our families spread out all over the country.

I figured I'd use this opportunity to get one good photo of all 3 of the kids.

I thought it'd be a good Christmas gift for our parents to have one of all 3 kids blown up.

Unfortunately, no one wanted to cooperate all weekend, and this is the best photo I got...

 

Maybe next year...

And finally, Mattis got his very first Tonka truck.

And he loves it!

The Aggies, First Day, & Schoolbus Rides

Let me just start this post off with...

HOW BOUT THAT AGGIE GAME AGAINST THE GAMECOCKS?!?!

That was one hell of an upset!!!!

And if you live in College Station, and were lucky enough to buy furniture from Ashley Furniture between a certain period of time, you get a refund for all your furniture!

You can read more about it here.

image from http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/24685495/college-football-rewind-kenny-hill-proves-aggies-fine-without-manziel

All is well in the Romer house now that college football is in the air.

Onto Dannika's first day of Kindergarten.

We dropped her off and picked her up ourselves since it was her first day yesterday.

We had to patiently wait outside for 10 minutes before they rounded up all the Kindergarteners.

She kept asking us when she we would get to go inside.

I've never seen a girl so eager to leave her mama!

As soon as her teacher walked up, she was OFF!

I had to pull her back to steal a quick kiss from her!

At least she waved one last goodbye before heading into her classroom.

The house felt so empty yesterday without her, and even Mattis seemed a little lonely. 

I sat in my living room and looked at my phone a million times to see what time it was and watched the hours tick by.

Nick got home from work early so we could go pick her up together.

I think as soon as he came home, I was ready to leave!

When we got to her school, we were allowed into her classroom since it was the first day.

She may not have the best coloring skills of the bunch, but she's the only one who could write her entire first, middle, and last name! 

I'll take it! lol.

Besides, her school bus looks way more retro than the plain yellow ones...

Showing us the way out of her school.

  She had a great first day!

She came home and PASSED OUT for 2 hours.

This girl has not napped in over 3 years!!!

Today is her first day riding the school bus.

She's been begging me to ride the bus since the summer, and originally, I had plans to just take her to school and pick her up myself.

I decided it's more convenient for me if I just put her on the bus, and she gets to experience the "bus ride".

This morning, we walked to the bus stop...

When I was a kid, the bus always came right to the front of my house, but up here, the bus has designated intersections where it stops, and we have to walk to the one nearest to our house.

It's only a block away, but still very strange to me.

We got to the bus stop, and I met a group of moms and their kids.

They already all seemed to know each other, and it felt a little awkward.

I kinda felt like the "new kid" on the block.

Once the bus came, I had to pull Dannika back to give me a kiss goodbye before she got on the bus.

She was so eager to get on it!

Once she got on, and I watched the bus drive away (while I was in tears), I realized we had never talked to Dannika about where to get off the bus at in the afternoon!

Panic started to set in.

I pictured her sitting on the bus and seeing kids getting off at the first stop, and her just following them.

Then I thought about her being lost and alone on some random street in some random neighborhood and of course we would have no clue where she was.

I then realized I never put anything in her back pack identifying who she is and who she belongs to!

I mean, she knows our names, Nick's cell phone number, and our address, but the only thing I'm thinking is "what if she randomly forgets?!?!"

The buses have no monitors on them.

Just a bus driver who could care less what stop the kids get off at.

I called Nick panicking (of course), and had him call her school to let them know that we had a poor, helpless, and fragile Kindergartener who had no clue which bus stop to get off at...ok, she's not poor, helpless, and fragile....but that's what my mind was thinking when I pictured her alone on some random street cause she got off at the wrong stop.

Apparently, the school told us we need to assign her a "bus buddy", and that the buses are a private company contracted by the school district, so they don't put bus monitors on them (lame).

So, we are going to pick her up today from school, and we will spend the weekend going over what bus stop she needs to get off at, and going over emergency procedures.

I never knew something as simple as a bus ride would give me so much anxiety!!

Freak out mode #1 of the school year for me....check.

Other than that, we're going into Labor Day weekend, and our family has some fun things planned!

Mattis says, "Have a great weekend!"

Now A KINDERGARTENER!

This week has been packed with way too many "grow up too fast" milestones for me.

First, Mattis turned 1, and now this happened...

Ok, Time...you can come back now!

Today is Dannika's first official day as a Kindergartener at her first (and not last) elementary school.

She has been counting down the "sleeps" since last Saturday, and the anticipation has been building all week.

I just hope that Kindergarten does not disappoint her big expectations!

I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she came up with a doctor, a dentist, and a runner (definitely MY kid, and damn proud).

For the sake of my chalkboard, I made her narrow it down to one, and being a dentist won (for now at least!).

The only things I told her last night before embarking on this 13 year journey called school were these things...

*Always say "yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, and no sir" when answering adults.

*When people aren't nice to you, be nice to them anyway.

*If someone else is being picked on, become their friend.

*Stand up for people.

And most importantly...

Love yourself cause God loves you, and make sure you spend each day glorifying Him...through your actions, your words, and most importantly, your compassion.

I figure the rest, she'll learn along the way through trial and error...lots of errors.

I just hope that through those rough times, she'll always know that we love her unconditionally!

So here she is, y'all!!

My official Kindergartener...sass and all!

"Here mom, get a picture of my new backpack!"

(for you ballerinas out there...notice her feet are in 4th position naturally)

Mattis is 1!

People say it ALL. THE. TIME. 

But when and how did this year fly by so fast?! 

I literally remember this morning exactly one year ago today.

I had a light breakfast, and was headed to Newton Wellesley Hospital to be induced.

I kissed my first born one last time knowing that the next time we'd all be under this roof, she would no longer be an only child.

I had so many emotions wondering if Dannika would feel abandoned while I left her at home with my mom while we brought Mattis into the world.

I was nervous that I wouldn't love this child as much as Dannika.

So. many. emotions.

So. many. thoughts.

And at 1637 (437pm for you non military types), none of those thoughts or emotions mattered.

And all those fears I had of not being able to love another child as much and Dannika feeling abandoned vanished at that moment.

They say when you have children 4-5 years apart or more, it's like raising "two only childs", but I don't believe that for a second.

These two do EVERYTHING together, and the bond that these two have with each other is unbreakable.

I learned that God makes room in your heart when you feel that there's no way you could possibly add another human being to love.

So Mattis Mark Vincent Romer...

You are crazy.

You scream like a banshee.

You are always filthy.

You like to throw your food and make a mess everywhere.

It takes an act of God to get a family photo with you smiling in it.

We call you our "grumpy cat" because we're constantly telling people, "he's not upset, it's just his face." lol.

But honestly, we wouldn't have it any other way.

When you squeal and giggle, you can hear it a mile away.

It's a cheerful noise that can make anyone smile...probably even the "grumpy cat".

You give THE BEST open mouth slobbery kisses ever.

You are the absolute best cuddler in the world.

You know how to make mama feel loved when she's having a rough day.

You're such a blessing to our little family, and you were JUST what we needed to complete it!

We love you!

A year of Mattis and his trust dog, "Jake" that Dannika made him from Buld-A-Bear.

Friday Confessions

I stole this idea of doing "Friday Confessions" from Chelsea at Anchors Aweigh.

I really enjoy reading her blog, and following her little family's adventures in the Navy.

Oh, and her and her husband are Fightin' Texas Aggies...so that's just bonus!

So here are my confessions...

I confess...

I told two friends who are non Texans that it annoys me that all these "non native Texans" are moving to my wonderful state. I'm not the only Texan who feels this way...I've had many conversations with my fellow Texans about this issue! In all seriousness, I'm so proud to come from a state that offers so much that people are ditching their own states to become residents there. I guess currently, I'm just jealous because we can't settle down there yet, and all these non residents can! boo! BTW, unless you were born and raised in Texas, you'll never truly understand the immense amount of pride of having Texas as your birthplace on your birth certificate!

 *Fun Fact: I have a Texas tattoo*

I confess...

I have done close to nothing when it comes to taking care of my kiddos the last two weeks. Since Nick's been home, he's taken on all the duties as if he were a single parent. He makes meals for them, changes diapers, bathes them...he's been doing everything. Come Monday when he returns to work, it's gonna be a hard reality check for me to go back to being a "mom".

I confess...

I am officially done breastfeeding Mattis just shy of his first birthday!!!! I'm ridiculously proud because I honestly did not think I'd survive 6 months (my original) goal. I'm so glad I stuck with it for a year.

I confess...

Nick and I had a date night this week (our first one since he's been home from OCS), and I didn't even kiss my kids goodbye when I left them with the sitters (Miss Emilee brought her sister to watch our munckins). I was out of that house in a heartbeat! I love my kids, but mama needs time away, and I haven't been away from them in 12 weeks!!!!!

 We went to see the Ninja Turtles movie (and it was AWESOME!).

Totally brought us back to our childhood.

Afterwards, we went to Legal seafoods to split an appetizer and have some drinks at the bar.

I confess...

I've been having Nick help me with my lifting game at the gym, and I've never been so sore in my entire life. But I don't act like it, cause you know...I don't want him to think I'm weak.

Tickets to the gun show anyone?

Hope y'all have a great weekend!! 

Enjoy!

Is it "Duck" or "DUKW"

Yesterday, our family checked off another item off of our "Boston Bucket List".

The Famous "Boston Duck Tour"

It's basically a tour of the city on a WWII style amphibious landing vehicle called the "DUKW".

They drive you around the city showing you famous landmarks while giving you a little bit of a history lesson.

You end the tour with the vessel going from driving on land straight into the Charles River where you get some pretty awesome views of Boston from the water.

 Boston is a very pretty city.....

When it's not freaking cold and snowy for 6-7 months out of year, or fighting the thousands of Massholes on the pike...haha.

There are 3 locations you can take the Duck Tour from.

We chose the Museum of Science because they have fairly reasonable parking prices (for Boston, that is).

Here's Dannika and her duck lollipop in front of a model of a skeleton of the duck boat.

The Trinity church (constructed in 1733) still holds regular services.

Once the boat was on the water, the conDUCKtor (harharhar) let Dannika steer the boat.

 Funny dialogue between Dannika and the tour guide..

TG: Where are you from?

D: (without hesitation) CALIFORNIA! (notice she does not claim New England AT ALL..good girl).

TG: What are you doing here in Boston?

D: (shrugs shoulders)

TG: Are you here on business?

D: (shakes head yes)

TG: Nice, what do you do for work?

D: Make people laugh

TG: Nice! You looking for a more permanent job? I can give you a job.

My normally loud and unruly son was SO good on the tour. 

He was totally intrigued by all the sites and sounds.

He eventually fell asleep.

This was the boat we rode!

The ceiling of the boat is signed by military service members and veterans only.

So, of course the Romer's tagged it.

A picture of a picture

All in all, we really enjoyed the Duck Tour.

They offer military discounts!

I knew Boston has so much history in it (being the birthplace of 'Merica), but I learned so much on this 85 minute tour.

We got to see where the Declaration of Independence was read out loud for the first time.

We got to see where John Hancock's family was buried.

We saw where Ben Franklin used to like to swim.

The tour made me appreciate Boston as a city more.

I can't help but wonder what our founding forefathers would think of Massachusetts today (one of the most HIGHLY regulated states in the country).

They'd be rolling over in their graves.

They'll probably be more content in places like Texas (shameless plug)...lol.