Husbandhastoberightsometimesiguess.
Me.
Welcome to the Fruvellhoff's page...Here to keep you updated in the lives of us!:) We are a growing family...month by month you just don't know what will be running around here!
Welcome to the Fruvellhoff's page...Here to keep you updated in the lives of us!:) We are a growing family...month by month you just don't know what will be running around here!
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To the Fruvellhoffs and specifically Aylen John, Ryker Lee and Dempsey Snow:
Reflections on this past year:
1. Our special time at the end of 2012:
Aylen John, when I think about 2013, I go immediately to the end of 2012 when you and your brother Ryker came to stay with Grandma and me for a week while your folks went to Aruba. You were “brave.” Your folks did such a wonderful job of preparing you. They made sure you understood that this would be a long date. At the age of two, you understood that your parents were gone but coming back and you never once cried because your parents were not there. You slept in Grandpa and Grandma’s room and occasionally would wake up in the middle of the night frightened but then who isn’t occasionally frightened in the middle of the night. You demonstrated that bravery when we went into New York City with Grandma and Aunt Joan. We went to Toys “R” Us and you asked to go see Geoffrey the Giraffe and I took you to shake his hand. Grandma and I took you and Ryker to see the animated tyrannosaurus. You were so impressed that you asked me to take you back so you could touch it. I did that and you touched its toes. And one of my favorite memories of your trip to us was when I took you to the airport for a surprise welcoming of your parents when they came back from Aruba. Grandma and I told you that you were going with me to see planes. When your parents walked out of the security exit at the airport, you were so happy that you ran in circles and you didn’t stop running in circles. As we waited for luggage, you led your dad, your mom and me in a jog around the luggage carousels at Newark Liberty Airport. You laughed and laughed. I don’t know if you could have done anything better to welcome your folks back home and show them how much you love them.
Ryker, you were only one-year-old when you came to stay with us for that week. Mom and Dad had to remind us that you were older than your one year and that when you woke up at night crying, we didn’t need to immediately pick you up but to let you cry for a couple of minutes as you usually would go back to sleep. Of course I forgot that and, the first couple of nights, rushed in to pick you up and hold you when you cried. Grandma, much wiser than me, reminded me and eventually we got to a good schedule where you would wake up, cry for a couple of minutes and go back to sleep. Then, of course, there was the night that we heard you cry, you stopped, and then we found you missing from your crib. Of all the things that grandparents shouldn’t do, losing a 1-year-old is at the top of that list. Turns out that Aunt Joan also needed to learn to let you cry and settle back down to sleep as we found Joan holding you in the living room. Once awake, you didn’t like to be put back into your crib so we held you for most of that night/early morning.
You missed your parents and one time you cried and cried. Fortunately, you have very smart parents who made a video talking to both you and your brother. We played a video of your mom talking to you and you watched it and watched it and watched it until finally you stopped crying. Grandma loved to dance and sing with you and she would do that many mornings as she was in the kitchen. When we went into New York, you flirted with a young woman in the seat ahead of us on the train. You slept in the stroller on the walk to Toys “R” Us but woke up when we went to see the tyrannosaurus. Grandma held you and you grabbed on to her when the tyrannosaurus roared and you weren’t going to let go. On the way back to Penn Station, your brother took the stroller and fell asleep. I carried you. You saw all the lights from Times Square and along 7th Avenue. You looked and looked. I decided then that one of the next times you come to visit us; we will take you into NY and stay into the evening so you can see the lights.
You were asleep when your parents arrived to our house from the airport. Your mother woke up early the next morning and couldn’t wait to see you as she had seen Aylen John the night before. She may have woken you up that morning. (Part 2 of 3 or 4)
Aylen and Ryker: Finally when your parents were here and you were about ready to leave us, all of you with the exception of your mother got sick. You were ready to fly back to Colorado and you both were sick and your dad was sick. After saying good bye to you, your Grandma and I talked to your mother a day or two later and decided that I would get on a plane and come out to help out for a couple of days. Your mother was still well but not getting any sleep because you boys were sick. I gladly found a flight and went out to stay with you for a couple of days until your dad got better. I did it because, like your Grandma, we believe that grandparents are “humanity’s ace in the hole.” Grandparents can provide an additional support for parents in raising children. I did this for a couple of days. Your Grandma provided this support for months at a time. If there is anything we do to show you we love you, it is to be there if you need us. That is our commitment to our children and grandchildren.
April 2013: In April, your Grandma and I went to Colorado to see you and to celebrate my birthday and your mother’s birthday early. Your mother and both of you boys picked us up from the airport and we drove to IKEA. While in the car, you mother gave me a gift – an IPOD protective case with pictures of both of you boys on it. I looked at it and was delighted to have it. Your mother knew I wouldn’t understand so I gave the case to Grandma who immediately saw the picture of both of you boys with T-shirts that said, “Big Brother” and understood that your family was continuing to grow. And that is how we learned of the little girl that eventually would be born as Dempsey Snow. Your Grandma is very smart but you probably already know that.
July 2013: You boys and your mother came to visit us over the summer. We went to the shore, we went to see the Statue of Liberty and we went to visit a family friend from Nebraska, Mary Smith. Aylen John, when we went to see the Statue of Liberty, we all got to ride in a ship to the island. Once on the island, we went to see the Statue of Liberty I took you to see the “front” or the face of the statue. It was very hot that day. As soon as we could see the front of the Statue, you said, “OK, I see the face.” You were ready to go back into the shade.
Grandma had a greenhouse that she converted into a breakfast nook for you boys. You would sit out in the nook at a little table and chairs that Grandma set up. After a week that went by so quickly, we flew to Nebraska for a visit. Aylen John, on that trip from New Jersey to Nebraska, you sat with me on the plane. You played the entire time and as a result, you missed your nap. While we waited in the Chicago Midway airport for our flight to Omaha, you were so tired that you became very agitated. Your mother settled you down and then you became agitated again. Your mother knew that you needed sleep. Once on the plane, she had you lay down and you went to sleep immediately. You did not wake up until we landed in Omaha. Because you were asleep during the flight, when you woke, you insisted that we needed to wear our seat belts. Your mother finally convinced you that we had completed our flight. When we got off the plane, you led the way as we exited security. When you saw your dad, you ran all the way up the ramp to the passenger waiting area in the Omaha airport so you could give him a hug. I remember that your dad carried both you and your brother Ryker to the baggage claim area.
(part 3 of 4)
November, 2013: Your grandma had gone to Colorado to help your parents before the birth of your sister, Dempsey Snow. As I said before, you grandma is committed to being there to help out when needed. While I was at the hospital for Aylen’s birth and in Colorado when Ryker was born, I was in New Jersey when I got the call that Dempsey was born. As your parents never knew the sex of the unborn baby, I first learned that this newest baby was a girl after the birth. I started to receive pictures of Dempsey Snow almost immediately. Your grandma and I knew that I had to get to Colorado as soon as possible so I cancelled my planned flight for just before Thanksgiving and booked a flight for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Your grandma took Ryker for a date and then secretly came to the Denver airport to pick me up. We walked into the house where I surprised your parents and then got to meet Dempsey Snow for the first time.
Here are my memories of the November trip:
Aylen John: I remember you holding Dempsey Snow and being so loving with her. You are a wonderful big brother. I remember you playing Legos with your brother Ryker and me. You have a great imagination and you are so much fun. One day during this visit you went on a “date” with Grandma and me. We drove to Estes Park and we went shopping where you helped us pick out gifts. When you saw a toy you liked, you wanted to get one not just for you but for Ryker also. To repeat myself, you are a wonderful big brother. During this trip, we stopped at a small restaurant where you were very clear that you wanted, “warm chocolate,” not hot chocolate. You told Grandma and I several times and then told the woman who took our order. She made sure that she made up a cup of “warm chocolate.” You helped Grandma pick out “nesting owls” for your mother as a Christmas gift. You helped to remind me to pet the German Shepard in the store only when it was awake and to not try to pet it when it was asleep because it could get startled if it suddenly awoke. Outside one of the stores, you found snow and ice that you could break off and throw at the water wheel. Your aim was very good and you hit the wheel more than you missed it. Finally, you went with us to the Y to visit Art and Joanie and have dinner. You put the empty trays on the conveyor where you were very careful to slide them onto the conveyor and not get pinched. You even got to go back into the kitchen to see the workers empty the trays and send them on to the dishwasher. At the end of the day, you were ready to see your parents. I dropped Grandma off at the Wal-Mart and then took you home because it was right to give you some time to spend with your folks before your bedtime. We had a wonderful day with you. Thanks for the wonderful memories.
(part 4 of now 5)
Ryker: On this trip, not only did we spend lots of time playing Legos but you loved to watch videos of planes, trains and construction equipment. You would get my laptop and say, “Struction” meaning you wanted to look at construction videos. As you normally were awake by 5:30 a.m., you would snuggle with your mom and Dempsey until you mom was sure that Grandma and I were awake. You then would come downstairs and get Grandma’s IPAD so the two of you could watch videos of construction equipment, planes or trains. This became part of your morning routine.
I also remember that you became a bit frightened of the basement because Aylen John invented a game where monsters came out of the wall behind the mattress that was stored against a wall in the main room. Aylen John organized a group that included your dad, Grandma, and me banging drums and pots to scare the monsters away. I think that you believed there were monsters in the basement. Grandma held you, took you upstairs and showed you that monsters had “all run away to the mountains”. I am not sure you ever were convinced that the monsters were gone from the basement so each morning either Grandma or I would need to meet you at the top of the stairs and carry you down to our bedroom so you could watch videos.
And this brings me to my final memories of 2013. Your mother brought Dempsey Snow to Texas just before Christmas. Grandma and I went to your Aunt Jessica and Uncle Kaval’s house for Christmas. For two days, we got to see Dempsey Snow. On the first night, your Aunt Jessica and I traded walking Dempsey as we believe she had a gassy stomach. About 2:30 a.m., she finally went to sleep and may have slept a couple of hours before waking up with your mother. On the second night, Grandma and I had Dempsey until 2 a.m. While Dempsey fell asleep about midnight, we walked her through the house for two more hours to make sure your mother got a little sleep. Your mother noted that at home in Colorado, it was not unusual for either your mom or dad to be awake until 2 a.m. with Dempsey Snow and then either Ryker or Aylen to come in during the night and want to snuggle. And Ryker usually was awake by 5:30 a.m. It takes both parents to take care of three young children and on only a couple of hours of sleep.
(As a reminder to myself: I need to write to Arjan and Riya about the wonderful memories I had in Texas for Christmas 2013.)
In February, Grandma will be on her way back to Colorado to take care of Dempsey Snow during the day when your mom goes back to work. I look forward to wonderful memories of 2014. Thank you for a wonderful 2013. I love you all. (5 of 5)
Grandpa Hoffman
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