Daddy, You Come Back to See Me?

Annie: "Daddy, You Come Back to See Me?"

Daddy: "Yes"

Annie: "Promise"

Daddy: "Yes"....

This is the conversation that takes place almost anytime Brandon has to leave the house. No matter if it is for work or school, Brandon's little princess wants to make sure her daddy comes home to see her.

I take Brandon's job for granted, down play it's dangers. This is only Grand Forks, there isn't REAL crime..right? Wrong!  Maybe it is because I don't want to think that my husband is out there risking his life or maybe its because I am naive to what he actually does. The other day without intending to , he put it into perspective.

He walked in the door a little after 9am, tired and exhausted. Annie and Elias were jumping up and down with excitement to see their daddy. Annie squealed in delight "Daddy! you came home to see meeee!!!!"

 Brandon began taking off his gun and looked and me and said "Have you ever been in a situation where you are scared and you think, I need to call someone to help me, someone needs to do something? It occurred to me tonight that, that person is me. When violence and tragedy strike I'm the last line"

My heart kinda dropped, I remembered the times throughout my life where either myself or someone I knew was in danger and we called the police to come save the day.

 He proceeded to tell me about a call that involved a crazy guy in a crowded public place with a large knife..it was my husbands job to wrestle it away from him and restore public safety  Brandon is a trained Krav Maga and defensive tactics instructor so if anyone is qualified for this task it is him, that doesn't mean it isn't scary. As he successfully took the knife away and arrested crazy man, he couldn't help but think of Annie and the promise he had made to her the night before about coming home to see her. This story brought me to tears.

 Brandon very rarely is scared and the couple of times he has been, he hasn't admitted it until much much later. I thought of all the times he has come home with work stories of drunken people doing silly things but that doesn't mean that is all there is to his job. In the 5 years he has worked as a police officer he has almost been electrocuted by a falling cord at a house fire, stabbed by crazy people, and had his family and his life threatened by disgruntled citizens. He has to see children being abused and living in unsafe conditions. He deals with crappy drunk parents almost daily and it breaks his heart.He has had to deal with dead children, suicides, fatal car crashes and even murder. He tends to not focus on those things but instead to come home, hug and kiss his family and do it all again the next night. He doesn't know if the next call is going to be something annoying like a lady screaming at the moon because she lost her cat, a wild college party, a neglected child, or a high stress call that puts him in a place of danger.

I don't say this often but I am proud of my husband and the job he does. I know we all put a lot of faith in police when and if something terrible should happen. When you feel threatened or are in danger my  husband is one of those people to swoop in to save the day. Every night when Brandon goes to work, he thinks about his three beautiful babies and the promise he made to them to come home and see them. I pray to God that he never has to break that promise.

 Sweet Annie Kat coming to greet her daddy, usually squeeling "daddy!!! you came back to see meeeee!!"

 Elias lounging in his pj's playing a computer game waiting for daddy to come home

Daddy usually finds Benjamin sitting his his chair eating some breakfast when he gets home

Standing up Boy

This Blog-a-plooza is wearing on me. I am getting pretty tired and am not nearing the end of the mountain of pictures I have to blog about. This is my last one for the night and I am keeping it short and sweet. A couple of weeks ago Benjamin stood up for about 10 seconds...he is 7 months old, that is impressive. No walking yet but he is getting darn close, I bet by his 9th month for sure! Enjoy the video

Ball

A couple of weeks ago my mom was hanging out with Mr. Benjamin while I ran a couple of quick errands. Benjamin was scheduled to take a nice long nap and I thought Grammy's house would be much nicer to nap at then a noisy store. I got back to my mom's shortly after Benjamin woke up and paniced a bit when no one was home. After glancing outside I nocited mom and Benjaim on teh trampoline. She had discovered that in addition to him loving the outdoors, he also loved trampolines and balls! She would roll the ball to him and he would catch in in delight. It didn't have the roll it back part down but he is only 7 months old so we will give him a break on that. I ran and grabbed my camera from the car and shot a couple of quick pics and videos of the milestone....catching ball on trampoline is a milestone right!? Sorry the video got a little long, I am too lazy to edit it right now.

Happy Birthday Gavin

My nephew turned 7 on August 13th! He celebrated his birthday in style with a water party at the CanadInn. Brandon was working so Mim volunteered to take Benjamin so I could take Annie and Elias to the party. I should rewind 18 months to the last time we went to this particular water park. It was Elias' third birthday and we thought it would be so much fun for the kids...boy were we wrong! The water was freezing and no one was having any fun but Daddy who thought the water was just right. 

 My 3 year old going down the water slide...I think he might have worn this same swim suit 18 months later to Gavins party..skinny boy!

Cold Elias and Annie warming up after freezing their tushys off in the water.

The weather outside in August is considerably warmer then it is in March and the water and pool area in general was nice and warm. The kids didn't hesitate getting  in the water. Annie wanted to cling to either me or pappa but she was content as long as someone was holding her. Elias was VERY independent and was doing a great job walking around and playing in the shallow water. My dad and I might have even thrown each kid encouraged the kids to go down the slide a time or two. They both had a blast!! After about a hour it was time for pizza, popcorn chicken and sprite for lunch! Elias ate like I have never seen him eat before! 

Side Track: He got his tonsils out the 19th of July and has gained almost 5 lbs since then!! He had giant tonsils and adenoids that we thing made it painful to eat. He is playing catch up now for sure!

After lunch it was more water fun which concluded with a trip into the hot tub. After almost 2 fun filled hours in the pool the Eberhardts headed home. They kids had a wonderful time and I see many trips to this water park in these cousins future!

 Elias eating his cupcake at the party

 Gavin getting pretty excited over his $20

A true Ebherhard...sneaking away during the party to keep eating, look at that belly! I am so happy he is finally eating!

That is all the pictures I have, my mom has a lot more so I will have to get them from her and do an update, she got some pretty cute ones!

Mornings with Daddy

I feel like I have done 100 posts just like this one, but it is hard to not keep posting these sweet moments. The kids LOVE waking Brandon up for the day, I would venture to say it is their favorite activity. Brandon has turned this time into a daily ritual that the kids look forward to. Elias is a pretty smart kid and I try to tell him(when he asks) that we wake daddy up at 4:00pm. I know he can't tell time but I think he remembers what the clock hands look like when it is 4. On more then one occasion he has pointed to the clock and said " it is 4 in a little bit" and it will be right around 3:50. On a side note, don't ever tell Elias anything you don't want him to remember forever...he never forgets anything! Back to the post. Brandon like to lay in bad as long as he possibly can let the kids get some good quality cuddles in while I clean like a mad woman spend  quality time with Benjamin downstairs. He hands over his phone and they usually watch word girl for 15 or 20 min until it is time to get up and get going. One "morning" the camera was upstairs the kids had a ball taking  pictures with their daddy. Yes my children were still in their pj's at 4pm...don't judge

All dressed up and somewhere to go

When I found out I was pregnant with Elias I did what every first time expecting woman does, went out and bought a ton of highly impracticable clothing for my tiny, not mobile, diaper wearing baby. I had so many jeans, jackets, button up shirts etc, that when I found out I was expecting again I had to go shopping for "normal" clothes. I would not subject my 2nd child to that kind of discomfort again, especially one that wears cloth diapers! Have you ever tried to put a cloth diaper child into a pair of baby gap jeans...not happening. Anyways, I had all these clothes and while they are not practical for day to day use, they sure are cute. I try to find a legit reason to have benjamin wear them though it is tough. A couple of weeks ago we were headed to mass and I dug deep into the drawer and came up with this cute outfit. I bought a cute pair of CK jeans and jacket with a button up shirt for Michelle and Chad's wedding in September 2008 when Elias was 6 months old.

Doesn't he look handsome?

The family was headed to mass and I decided since we didn't have any wedding coming up, it was now or never for this outfit. I wrestled Benjamin to the ground and pinned this bad boy on him.

He was sporting his BumGenius cloth diaper and his poor pants wouldn't even button!

 I managed to get the blazer on and buttoned, doesn't he look comfortable? He really didn't complain that much about it, although he was making some grunting sounds.

 I stood him up and he was much happier, he looks like such a little man! I have learned my lesson and did not subject my son to this discomfort, we changed into something elastic and merrily went on our way to church, but not before Annie got in on some of the picture taking action.

Showing off her pretty Easter dress that I made for her this year. Do you like her little yellow spandex on underneath? She loves wearing dresses but HAS to be wearing some form of short on underneath, it just doesn't feel right to her without pants. Silly girl

Blog-a-pooloza

I am sooooo far behind on my blog posts that I have decided to write a ton of them tonight and schedule them to post every day for a week or so. I know I have so many dedicated blog stalkers fans out there who this should make pretty happy. 

I will start off this blog-a- plooza with our family trip to Kristi for haircuts! I have been going to Kristi since I was in college. She did my hair the day of my wedding and she  gave Elias and Annie their first hair cuts.

Kristi doing my hair on my wedding day

Elias' first hair cut

 I usually just cut the kids hair myself but with a new school year upon us I decided to splurge and start the year minus bowl cuts and uneven layers. Annie was up first.

She was a little hesitant, but all Kristi had to do was offer that girl a sucker and she was perfectly content sitting and getting her hair did. The second Kristi was done she squealed "ooooo its SO pretty" and looked gleefully at herself in the hand mirror.

 Before

 Just kickin back getting my hair trimmed

Such a big girl! Man she looks like me doesn't she!?

 Elias was not so eager, he cautiously climbed up in the chair, and with a look of suspicion took a sucker from the jar...like he knew he was making a deal with the devil. He let Kristi put the cape around him and use the big clippers without much of a fuss. Next up was the ticklers aka trimmer. He was NOT having it! Kristi switched to the scissor and did what she could. We eventually gently held his head stable and let her trim him up, we knew it was just his fear of the unknown and he wasn't actually afraid. His hesitance could have been due to the fact that Daddy drew blood the last time that Elias had a hair cut...that boy never forgets! He was very happy to be done and practically flew out of the chair and into the safety of daddy's arms.  

 Before

 What is this sucker going to cost me?

Just happy to be done!

Last up was Mr. Benjamin. He has finally grown enough hair to need a hair cut! The back wasn't getting long at all but the top was getting really full, it was like the opposite of a mullet. Anyways I held onto him just like I had the previous two babies during their first haircut. He smiled and has his usually sunny disposition during the hair cut and although he didn't get a sucker, he got some hugs from Kristi.

 Content eating the cape

 Whats up dad...I can't really breath like this you know!

Who is so silly?

All in all we were only in her office for about 35 min! That is pretty impressive if you ask me. All the kids did wonderful and their hair looks much better then the bowl cuts I usually give them. I tried to take notes so hopefully next month I can do a blog post on my professional styling skills

Bemidji

Wow, so I am finally sitting down to update the blog with all of our shanagins the last week or so. Rewind two weeks ago to the beginning of August.

Grandma Mim has been inviting the boys out to go fishing on the boat all summer. With Brandon in school and training his first officer and me up to my eyes in cheer crap, the time never seemed to be right. We finally made the decision to go to Bemidji on Brandons last day on...this meant that he woke up at 4pm on August 4th worked from 10pm to 8am and that morning( on August 5th) we all packed up and headed to Bemidji. Poor guy didn't get to sleep a wink but he was a champ the whole trip. 

Anyways, Jordan, his friend Kristen, me, Brandon and the kids packed the minivan full to the gills and headed out of town after dropping Benjamin off at my moms. The kids were great on the car ride, we watched movies and sang to our favorite bible tunes CD. I have to admit I felt a bit like the duggers, but it was fun. 

As soon as we got to Bemidji Elias ran into Jeff's house to find some trains set up.  He pretty much played trains until it was time to eat lunch. He was too excited to eat his PB&J at the table,but kept it right next to his tracks and managed to take a nibble every now and then. Annie ran around contently with Mickey exploring every nook and crany including the deck. Grandma Mim had found a workbench at a garage sale and she thougth of Annie Kat right away! She hit the nail on teh head ( get it ha) Annie loved it! She played and played until we headed down to the water. Elias wasn't so willing to leave, he was having so much fun playing trains that he didn't even want to  go to the beach which was the reason we made the trek! With some bribery encouraging, he finally left his trains and headed to the beach

 This is his celebration dance. YESSSS

 Annie watching Elias play trains

 more trucks and trains on the patio

 Annie and her tool bench

We made it down to the water and I had the overwhelming sense of dejavu. After a few minuets of thinking I realized I had been to this beach several times in my early college years with an ex boyfriend and his family  old high school friend. It is a beautiful beach and we got there before the crowds rolled in so it was quiet as well. We all know the reason for any family outing is not for the actual memories but for pictures!!! I started off our afternoon by snapping a few

Mim and Jeff

Me and my hubby

Jordan and Kristen

The crew getting set up on the beach

After picture, sunscreen and tantrum time(a little princess missed her nap) it was beach time! The kids started in with the water toys but were pretty hesitant to actually go in the water. All summer it had been about 90 degrees, but on this particular day it was mid 70s The eventually did go in but were much happier digging holes and pouring water in them.

The week before we went to Bemidji Annie got a princess rod and was learning how to use it. She was being a big time Diva screaming wanting to use the rod by herself, this girl is way to independent for her own good!

Annie splashing around

Clearly you should go fishing(by hand) while at the lake

...and then take a nap

 The kids were having a blast, filling holes with water, playing in the sand and just having a grand ole time...then the wind blew and that started a sting of meltdowns. Elias go cold and wanted to be changed and so did Annie. Both kids wanted to play on the playground but neither wanted to put on shoes and the bark hurt their feet. Elias got invited to a kids pizza party and a picnic bench and got mad because he wasn't allowed to go. Annie just wanted to swing until the cows came home. Elias tried to run away and it was all just very stressful. After both kids had an EPIC melt down in public, we took a time out in the van. We listened to bible songs, and took pictures with the camera. After a heart to heart chat with the babies about behavior, we were ready to continue the fun.

Bemidji is home to a very large Paul and Babe statue, Mim and Jeff thought it would be really fun to take the kids down to see it and once again she was right. The kids had fun running around and looking up at the giant blue ox. 

 We snaped a few pictures and were about to head home when Brandon spotted the ice cream vending machine. My husband LOVES ice cream, he had a melt down insisting that the KIDS need ice cream before the fun could contine. After 10 min of finding enough cash and ice cream that wasn't sold out, the kids sat down and enjoyed a treat.

My boys enjoying some ice cream before heading home