Boxwoods and Prom

We've been busy preparing our garden for planting! Elise has been quite the helper. And Yes, she is wearing butterfly wings in these pictures! We ripped out all the old, overgrown foliage from the old owners and have started planting little boxwoods along the perimeter. In a few years, we should have a cute, little hedge.

Next, we'll be planting our veggies... after Mother's Day. I'm sure the rabbits are greatly anticipating the this day!

This past weekend, Elise and I drove to Medina for a visit with Nana and Pops. It was also Grandma GG's prom at her assisted living home. So, we got dressed up and headed to her place for the big party. Beforehand, Elise and I had dinner out at Bob Evans. She scarfed down a plate of pancakes, bacon and smiley fries in anticipation of a long night of dancing.

Elise was super pumped at the promise of dancing... she even ran the whole way in. Where's the party?!

Grandma GG looked beautiful in her dress. It was nice that they had a professional photographer there for photos beforehand. We had 4 generation of women in our picture!

The dance floor was a happening place and Elise stole the show with her moves. Then again she was working off her syrup overload!

Here's some live footage from the festivities. I'd like to comment that the cheering came from the little old lady watching Elise dance from stage right... 

Wacky Wednesday

 I'm sure you have been celebrating all week too... it's the week of the Young Child. It's on your calendar, right?

In celebration of the big week, each day has been something fun and new at school for Elise. Monday, they got to watch a movie (Chicka, Chicka 1,2,3) with the whole school of preschoolers. Popcorn included! Tuesday everyone supported their favorite teams. Need we mention what color Elise wore?

Today was Wacky Wednesday! And wacky it was! Elise wore her butterfly shirt, butterfly pants, two different kids of socks, two different kinds of shoes (I sent an extra shoe in her book bag just in case!) and three pony tails with mismatched bows.

When we were picking out her outfit last night, Elise was convinced that because both her shirt and pants had butterflies on them that they had matched. Oh boy.

The other kids in her class were equally put together but it sure looked like fun! ... And tomorrow is pajama day! Elise has been waiting all week for this one!

Unless I if I run errands before picking up Elise, both Garth and Demi go with me to pick Elise up from school. In fact, they are fanatics about it--- they are glued to me when it's time for me to leave. No one wants to get left behind. And, this is where Demi likes to sit-- in Elise's car seat. 

We also just had a parent-teacher conference with Elise's teacher. She is impressed with Elise's growth in all areas. Her speech is excelling and she's participating more in class as she is comfortable with the school routine. We are so proud of her and frankly we agree with Miss Gail too. She also mentioned how far along her artwork has come since January. You be the judge-- this is a picture of Aunt Amy she made before lunch today:

Easter

Happy Easter!

We hosted Easter at our house last weekend. It was quite festive and fun. We started the festivities with egg decorating on Saturday. This was Elise's first official introduction to egg decorating and it was a hit.  I probably should have made an extra dozen of eggs just for Elise as she could have decorated forever in her paint shirt. 

Egg decorating is serious business in our house. There is an egg decorating contest that involves serious bragging rights for the entire year... or the rest of your life depending who the winner is.

On Easter morning, Elise put on her purple dress that Grandma and Grandpa got her on their trip to Columbia. We'd been saving it in her closet for about a year. It fit perfectly.

The Easter bunny had come and brought a basket of books, bubbles and coloring books with crayons. Elise also got a small bug box with a magnifying glass for her collections in the yard. And since it was sooo windy, Daddy and Elise put together their ladybug kite for its maiden voyage.

Afterwards, Elise looked for Easter eggs that were hidden in the living room. It was such a hit that we've played that 'game' multiple time since!

Then it was time for Easter lunch. The rest of the family joined us. A few days earlier we had driven downtown and bought fresh kielbasa and sauerkraut from the Polish neighborhood. What a treat... grandma GG would be proud. Of course we had ham too... and butter in shape of a lamb.

Elise got a new ladybug raincoat! Garth 

looks handsome in his green bandanna.

The biggest treat of all was that the Easter bunny made a visit to our house after lunch! What a surprise! He brought chocolate for everyone and a special basket for Elise. Too bad Uncle Rik was outside at his car or in the bathroom when the bunny was here. He missed a good time!

Before leaving, the Easter bunny told Elise to be a good girl and listen to her Mommy and Daddy. If she behaved, he promised to return next year. He was such a hit that Elise keeps saying that the bunny will be bringing more chocolate next year.

Gramps

There's a song called 'Good Life' by New Republic. It's one of those catchy songs that you hear on the radio. When you hear it, you can't help but smile, turn up the volume, open the windows of your car and let the air blow through your hair. It's even on a commercial- although I can't remember for what product. Last summer, when we had sold our old house and moved into our new house, that song captured the time we were in. Jeff even joked that it was our theme song. We did have a good life. 

Then we smacked into 2012 and things changed. We said 'goodbye' to Brutus and Grandpa Kaiser said 'hello' to stage IV bladder cancer. Well, WE said 'hello' to bladder cancer as Gramps isn't alone. 

I know I alluded to Grandpa being in the hospital in my last post. He was actually there for 11 days-- 4 of them in ICU after having his bladder removed. We knew that the cancer was aggressive (as he previously had several bladder resections) but we hadn't realized it's aggressiveness until the final pathology had returned. It had gone from what we had thought was a Stage I to a cancer that had a positive lymph node. 

But, if there is a silver lining, the surgery may have been a cure... and only 1 out of 14 nodes was positive. However, because we can't be sure that Grandpa is 100% cancer-free, he will undergo four months of chemotherapy... a rough road but one that he (and we) feels is worth traveling. So, we batten down the hatches and forge on.

Grandpa is now home and out of the hospital. He's getting stronger everyday after his surgery and he's getting his energy back. He's a strong and tough man-- those crazy Kaisers! And he's not alone, he has his family and friends alongside him. 

It's been tough to talk to Elise about all of this. She's a smart girl and asks a lot of questions. One day while visiting Grandpa in the hospital, she asked him 'Do you have cancer?'. Wow. How did she even know that word? I wished she didn't know that word. We had never talked to her about that. To this day, I'm not sure if she overheard a conversation or possibly was thinking of Brutus (when again she must have overheard the 'C' word). Up until then, we just told her Grandpa was sick with a tummy ache and his doctor had fixed him-- but he would have to stay in the hospital until he felt better. When she asked that question, the room got quiet. I quickly tried to think of an answer but Grandpa just said 'Yes'. 

Elise doesn't ask that question now. Elise just asks Grandpa if he's feeling better. 'You feelin' better Gramps?' is usually what she asks. Grandpa always answers 'Yes'. 

So, that song 'Good Life' isn't our song anymore... well, at least for a bit. However, I'm optimist and positive that we'll be singing it again down the road. Maybe Elise will make us dance to it at her next birthday and we'll once again be singing along.  Love you Gramps!