The Greenlee Family: 2013

Monday, December 30, 2013

November/December 15/16 Months old

Colin loves to give hugs and kisses, and his new favorite is coming to grab and hug our legs!
He loves to tickle my bare feet, and if they're bare, he'll take my slippers off- this is hilarious to him!
We finally got Colin's hair cut in November! We went to Campus Hairstyling in Aggieville, and Roger did so well with him.
He loves feeding himself. Favorite foods right now- scrambled eggs, pears, bread, cheese, blueberries, yogurt.
Colin drinks whole milk about 4 times a day- first thing in the morning, before nap, mid afternoon (sometimes), and at bedtime.
Colin still LOVES to read! He brings us at least 20 books a day to read. We love that! We will also find him reading by himself. :)
He knows what we're saying to him- if we ask if he's hungry, he'll go to his high chair. If we ask if he wants milk, he'll go to the fridge.
He really likes to close doors- fridge, bathroom, front door, closet.
He can say- mama, dada (all the time :) ), Al (his stuffed alligator), yeah, no, uh oh, bye bye, hello (kinda, but he'll put ANYTHING up to his ear if he thinks he hears any phone sound, and say it). He says other things he repeats after us, not perfectly, but sometimes the same amount of syllables.
Colin's been "shadow friending" at his little Child's Day Out school. :) He follows around a little friend, and I guess this is the first step in "playing" with other kiddos!
He is RUNNING everywhere. It's so adorable, he rarely walks, he just does a little jog everywhere!
He's been teething in December, poor baby. His little gums are just so swollen, but he's a trooper!
In Nov. he was more often than not taking 2 naps. Mid to end of Dec. it has moved to 1, mid to late morning. He still goes to bed around 8pm and will USUALLY sleep until at least 7am. December has been trying, as it's the first time it's been hard to get Colin to sleep in his life. We think teething is the culprit. He's been waking at night, difficult to get to bed. Poor baby. We've had to pull a few tricks out of sleeves to get him down! Hopefully this is a phase and he goes back to being a breeze to get to sleep.
Such a happy little boy!
More good news- Colin will be a big brother in June!

Welcome to the world, Faye Helen Muenks!

First haircut!

Thanksgiving in Oklahoma!

Big brother- June 2014!

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas 2013

Ugly Sweater Bunco!

Colin's Christmas present to us- he made it at school. :)

Blanket Grandma made!

Pong!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Just 2 weeks after my dad's memorial service, we celebrated the life of his dad, my Opa, Colin's Uber Opa. Opa had been in failing health for just a short while. On his last day, he waited for my cousin to visit from Manhattan. When Blazik walked in, he told Opa (he calls him Poppa) it was ok to leave us and go see Oma (our grandma), and just a few seconds later, he took his last breath. He had a wonderful life, and he was a great man! Below is a link to his obituary and what I said at his memorial service.

http://www.penwellgabelhutchinson.com/obituary.aspx?src=choice&obitid=70498&name=Vernon+F.+Martens&city=Hutchinson&st=KS

"To my brother and I he was Opa. Our sweet Opa, who loved us so much, who grew tomatoes every summer, who took us for drives in his old car, tried to scare us by taking out his teeth or playing the missing finger trick. He loved photographs, taking them, being in them, collecting them. One of my favorites is of him and Oma on the steps of the church they were married in. While Zach and I lived in Europe, we were able to visit Munich and take a photo on those same steps. Opa loved Zach, talking to him on the phone, asking questions about military life. Uber Opa loved his first great grandchild, Colin. He thought he was absolutely perfect. He loved holding him, talking with him, and, playing with him on the floor. He would wait until we were all looking away, and somehow get to the floor with him. He rolled around on the floor and played with Colin. Then, it would take a few of us to get him back up. Just a few days before he left us, he was talking about playing on the floor with Colin. Opa was such a sweet guy. He loved his family. He was a good person. And, because of his love of pictures, we have photographs to go along with the wonderful memories we have of him. We love you Opa, and we will see you soon!"

The first time Colin & Opa met

Sweet hands

4 Generations

Opa's favorite shirt!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Family

I will never forget August 5. It was the day before Colin's 1st birthday. We were having our family pictures taken. That was the day I got a call from my dad. His bladder cancer he'd found out about just a year ago, was terminal. The doctors gave him "weeks to months". Devastated is an understatement. My daddy. Colin's Opa. Abel's dad. Zach's father-in-law. A brother, friend, uncle, son.

We decided we would go visit him. Our trip to Fisher, Illinois (30 minutes from Champaign) was scheduled for the weekend of August 16. The day of Colin's first birthday party, my uncles, who were visiting my dad, recommended we visit sooner if possible. So, Saturday night, after Colin went to bed, we did laundry, packed up, and prepared to leave the next day. I ran to school quickly to prepare for a week's worth of sub plans (the first week of school). My principal met me there, told me not to worry, and so after getting a few things taken care of, I came back home.

The next day, with my mom and Abel following us in another car, we drove the 9+ hours to my dad's house in Fisher. I couldn't believe how different he looked. He'd lost a bunch of weight (after a failed treatment in the fall, he had surgery right after this Easter to remove his bladder). But, he was still the same old daddy. Colin played with him as we visited.

Over the next week, we went back and forth from his house to our hotel, and then from the V.A. hospital Hospice to another hotel. Among everything, Colin was a trooper. Schedules out the window for the most part, he coped perfectly. We visited my dad as much as we could and for as long as he could handle. My Aunt Lori came to visit for a few days.

Friday we went home. After a tearful good bye, I kissed my dad, held Colin while he gave his Opa a wet smooch, and told him we'd see him next weekend (we'd planned to go back to visit). He wanted us to get back, get back into our routine, and he would get to spend some time with his companion of 10+ years, Juli (who took great care of him after his surgery).

Saturday, my Aunt called Zach and the hospice said it would be soon. That evening, very peacefully, he passed away, ready to go see his twin brother and his mom. August 17, at the age of 63.

I kind of think he was waiting for us all to come visit, then go, to go to heaven.

Below is what I said at his memorial.

My daddy loved the color purple. He loved sunflowers. He loved the Royals, baseball, and all sports. He loved reading our family blog and hearing about our adventures living in Europe. He loved Abel and I, he thought his grandson was absolutely perfect, and he knew his son-in-law was the right one for his daughter. The song “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead will always remind me of him, and I can still hear him playing the song on his guitar with his harmonica around his neck. We loved going to the drive-in movies, and on the drive home from one I remember telling him I loved driving in the rain. He taught my friend and I, at the age of 14, how to drive a stick -shift with such patience. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to know you are not going to live very much longer, but he had so much strength living those last few days, going to hospice. I’m so happy that he got to spend his last few days with his siblings, children, grandchildren, and best friend. A few years ago he gave me a piece of advice that was given to him and my mom when they were pregnant with me. “Try not to worry, it won’t change anything.” While with my dad in Illinois, I tried to do just that. I tried not to worry, just do what I could with what I had. I’ll miss my dad forever, but every time I see a sunflower, watch a Royals game, hear the song “Ripple”, or see the color purple (it’s everywhere in Manhattan), I’ll be happy, thinking of my dad. We love you daddy!

I love him so much, and will miss him every day. I'm just so thankful we got to spend so much time with him before he passed away, and that Zach and Colin knew him.

Friday, September 6, 2013

September/October- 13/14 months old

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101221461408511&l=5465355605892851463

A walking video from September 10th- this link will take you to it. For some reason Blogger won't let me upload it here.

So far, Colin has loved being more mobile! He is walking faster and faster everyday, and he can even get himself up from a squat without holding on to anything. He is eating ANYTHING! He still has whole milk about 4 times a day in either a sippy or a bottle. He is in 12 and 12-18 month clothing, and we found a whole fall and winter wardrobe at an awesome garage sale (she had a boy just a year older that Colin!) and a consignment sale. We've added a few new pieces we couldn't resist. :) He is getting better at walking in shoes, and his fear of the park is improving.

On October 10, Colin will start at the First United Methodist Preschool in their Child's Day Out program. He will go once a week, Thursdays, from 9am-noon. He will have snack and play with other kiddos! They keep the numbers 8 kids in the toddler rooms, and there are 2 teachers. I know one of them, and we're excited for him to start! Colin is still taking 2 naps a day (usually), but we think he might be transitioning himself to just 1 longer nap. He goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps until about 7 or 7:30.

I miss him everyday I am at school, but I know he is in good hands with my mom (M/F), Zach (T/TH), and a babysitter we found who is a Chi Omega, once a week (W 8:30-12:30). On that note, I just got recruited to be a Chi advisor for the chapter here in Manhattan, where I was active. I'll be the social advisor, supervising date parties, making sure the girls aren't having TOO much fun...Should be fun! :) I love my job, my school is great. It's a great team of 2nd grade teachers, and my kids are the sweetest.

Zach is enjoying staying home twice a week, and is liking being full time student. Some of his classes are challenging, but he has plenty of opportunities to do homework and attend study sessions for the tough classes, like chemistry (yuck!) He's been to a few KU football games, and went to the Chiefs game at the end of September!

A few pics from September and this far in October---