Merry Christmas!

We had a fantastic Christmas this year! It was so much fun having two kids to celebrate with this year. Simon was pretty excited about it this year. It was the first year where I really felt like he got into the fun of the holiday. We did make a trip to see Santa this year with the boys. You will notice in the picture that there is no Simon. He was terrified! He was crying and clinging to Chris, so there was not a chance he was going to get near Santa. You can tell by Luke's expression that he was not that thrilled with Santa either!


Christmas Eve was wonderful. My dad graciously came over to stay with the boys so Chris and I could go to church. What a blessing it was to go to church and celebrate the birth of our Savior! That night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Chris' parents, grandparents, and his uncle Bob from Indiana. The boys were so well behaved! Simon was incredibly patient while Poppi (Chris' dad) chatted with the adults and did not play with him. After the boys were down that night Chris and I cozied up on the couch together to watch our favorite Christmas movie "A Christmas Story".


Christmas Day started bright and early at 7:30. Simon was a little overwhelmed at first, but once he started opening his gifts he warmed up!




After some family time at home we went to my parents for a great brunch with my parents, grandparents, and Kirk and Kathy and the boys (my brother and his family). Simon got his first bike from parents! He was super excited!



Next, we headed over to Chris' parents for a very relaxed and enjoyable time of exchanging gifts.


Christmas night we had an awesome time with my extended family! It was a wonderful time of fun and laughter!
We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. It is such a blessing to be able to spend Christmas with all of our loved ones!

6 Months Old!

Lukie turned 6 months on Dec. 3. It is amazing how time flies! Today he had his 6 month appointment with Dr. Schrotenboer. Luke continues to be a very healthy boy! He weighed in at 19lbs 3.5ozs., which puts him in the 80th percentile. He is 28 1/2inches long which puts him in the 97th percentile and his head circumference is off the curve. That does not surprise me at all because Simon was exactly the same way. He is meeting all of his milestones on time, if not a little ahead!
Luke continues to be such an easygoing and happy baby! We are truly very blessed. His sleeping is improving. After a few nights of crying for two hours and one night of crying for 4 hours (yes, you read correctly. He is one stubborn dude!) we are down to once or twice a night. I just figure he loves me so much that he needs to see every few hours.
Here are some new things Luke is doing this month:
- He sits up very well with no support and for long periods of time!






- He rolls all over the place. I caught him the other day tugging on the lights of the Christmas tree.
- He is very good at blowing bubbles and he mimics actions and sounds. It is the darn cutest thing!
- He loves taking baths in the big bathtub now!


- As of this past Sunday he cut his first tooth, his next one is not far behind!
His favorite things remain the same:
- his blankie
- his jump-a-roo
- his brother and his all time favorite obsession is still me!
I know I say this every month but we are so truly blessed to have Luke as our son. He is such a wonderful addition to our family!

Winter and Christmas Fun!

Last week we had such a fun week. The fun began on Tuesday with a trip to downtown Holland for the Christmas Parade of Lights. We had the extra pleasure of having my two nephews with us. Thankfully the weather was still pretty mild that day so we were able to enjoy the parade without freezing. Andrew and Matthew enjoyed the lights and the candy. Luke enjoyed being bundled up and held by his dad.
Simon, well, I don't think he enjoyed anything about the parade. He was unusually quiet and only wanted to stay in the stroller. Hopefully next year he will enjoy it a bit more.
Thursday we finally had our first significant snowfall (quite a bit later than normal). Simon was so excited when he saw the huge white flakes. He stood at the top of the basement steps and yelled down to Chris "Daddy, it's snowing!". We even went out in the snow to feel what it was like to have the huge flakes land on our heads! He loved it so much!
Saturday the four of us ventured out in the morning to get our Christmas tree. Every year Coldwell Bankers (formerly Woodland Realty) gives out free trees to past and present customers. They hold the event at a local farm where they have a hayride, hot chocolate and donuts, and farm animals to feed and pet. It was the first time this year that Simon had on all of his winter gear. He said to us once he had everything on "I'm big!". After we picked out our tree we went to go see the animals. Simon was very excited to see the horses and other animals, but he did not want to touch or feed them (silly boy!).




After spending some time in the snow and checking out the animals we headed home with our cute little Christmas tree. We decided that this year we would put the tree up in our living room rather than on the front porch. Simon is so into Christmas this year that we thought it would be fun to have the tree where we can see it all the time. We put the tree up in the afternoon and Simon loved seeing all the different ornaments and lights. That night while Simon was in the bathtub I turned off all the lights and left only the tree on. When he came tearing out of the bathroom into the living his eyes got real wide and he said "OOOOOH". It was exactly the reaction we were hoping for.

So far our holiday season is off to a great start and I am so looking forward to the next few weeks! The joy and excitement on my little boys face is priceless!

My Thankful List!

The last couple of weeks I have noticed some of my friends making lists of thinks they are thankful. I thought it was high time that I stop and write out a list of the things that I am thankful for.
Here is the list(in no particular order):

1. My husband Chris - he is loving, hardworking, and an amazing father.


2. Simon - headstrong and stubborn, but incredibly loving and happy!!


3. Luke - sweet, happy and unconditionally loving


4. My mom and dad - loving and supportive in all ways and awesome grandparents
5. Tom and Sharon - I could not ask for better in-laws, they too are amazing grandparents
6. Cooie and Ta (my grandparents) - their unconditional love and support is incredible, not to mention they are the best "Greats" in the world!
7. Andrew and Matthew (my nephews) - I love them as if they were my own boys!


8. Kathy (my sister-in-law) - she is a great friend and an amazing mother!
9. My warm and cozy home
10. Our neighbors and neighborhood
11. My group of friends - you know true friendship when you can not talk for awhile and when you do you can pick up right where you left off.
12. Our small group - their prayer support and friendship
13. Our church - Ridge Point
14. Food - we have have far more than we need, when so many do not have enough
15. Chris job
16. The ability to be a stay at home mom
17. The Good Earth - my part-time job
18. A dependable vehicle
19. My pets (yes, even Molly) - the joy they bring to us and the boys is invaluable
20. Living the United States - Although I may not agree with everything (or anything) our government is doing right now it is fundamentally still the best country in the world.
21. My health and the healthy of my family
22. Living in Holland - this is a great place to raise a family
23. U.S. Military that works to protect the freedoms of me and my family
24. Our extended family (mine and Chris)
25. A loving and forgiving God!!!

5 months - well actually 5 1/2 months!

It is so hard to believe that my baby is 5 1/2 months already! He continues to be such a joy. He is an extremely happy baby. He has such a bubbly personality that you can't help but smile when you are around him.

The only thing that would make him more perfect is if he would sleep through the night. We did have a two nights in a row last week that he slept the whole night but that has not happened since. Well, at least I know that he can do it and I have high hopes that he will do it again soon!

Here are some of the new things that Luke is doing this month:
* Rolling all over the place
* Eating baby food twice a day. He loves it now and I have begun making our own baby food.
* Sits up well when propped up and getting better at sitting on his own.



Here are some Luke's favorite things:
* His blankie continues to be a hit
* Doorway jumparoo. It is hilarious to watch him go in this thing!
* Playing with his brother's toys





* Simon is always guaranteed to get a smile and laugh!

Luke is such an amazing baby!! We are truly blessed to have him in our family.

Halloween!

It is amazing how time flies. Here it is almost a month later and I am just now getting around to a Halloween post.
We had a super fun Halloween! As has been our tradition for the last few years Chris' parents joined us for pizza and handing out candy. They stay at our house to hand candy to the TONS of trick or treaters we get while we take the boys out.
This year we recycled costumes and Simon was once again an adorable chicken and Luke was a "stinkin" cute skunk.



We started out by trick or treating to a few houses in our neighborhood. Simon loved this! This year I can truly say that he understood the fun of going around and getting candy. He was so cute standing at doors and saying "trick or treat".
After spending some time in the neighborhood we piled in the van and headed to my parents. Simon thought it was the funniest thing to stand at my parents door and knock. After that we headed over to see the "Greats" (my grandparents) and then to see Nana and Grandad (Chris' grandparents).
Halloween was so much this year! I look forward to the coming years as the boys get older and enjoy it more and more!

Apple Picking

A couple of weeks ago we took our traditional family trip to Crane's Orchard. This year was so much fun! The weather was cloudy, but a perfect fall day for apple picking. Cool and crisp is perfect!
Simon had so much fun! He was actually able to pick apples off the tree. He loved doing this even though he was not to gentle when putting them in the bag. He also discovered that he could eat the apples that he picked so he needed a quick lesson on how to rub the apples clean on his clothes. He also loved just being able to run through the orchard.



Luke also enjoyed his first trip to the apple orchard. He was fascinated with the apples. He loved touching them and when offered one he even acted like he wanted to eat it!



After picking over 6o pounds of apples (half of them were for my mom)we ventured over to the very busy Pie Pantry for delicious apple cider and doughnuts!


We had a wonderful time picking apples and look forward to doing it again next year!

4 Months!

Wow! It is hard to believe that Luke is now four months old. He continues to be a very happy and healthy baby! At his four month doctors appointment he weighed 16lbs. 15ozs (90th percentile) and he is 27 inches long (97th percentile), so he is a big, healthy boy.
Here are some of the things Luke is doing now:
* Smiles and laughs a ton
* Rolls from his back to his stomach
* Eats baby food (he does not like it quite yet)





Some of his favorite things:
* his blankie
* Big brother Simon always gets a smile.
* His exersaucer is a big hit.



We are so very blessed to have Luke in our family.

South Carolina

Chris, Simon, Luke and I had the pleasure of going to South Carolina for the week of September 25 - October 3. The boys and I left Holland on Friday, September 25 to pick up Chris in Indianapolis where he had been in meetings since Wednesday. The drive to Harbor Island (near Beaufort), South Carolina is a 16 hour. The plan was to pick up Chris in Indy then drive to just east of Knoxville to stay the night, then continue rest of the way to meet my parents at our beach house on Harbor Island on Saturday.
We arrrived safely, but very exhausted, at our cute little beach house on Saturday evening. My parents were already there and thankfully my mom had already started dinner. The boys were ecstatic to be out of the car and Simon had a great time exploring the house.


After a great nights sleep we ventured to the beach late Sunday morning. Simon was very excited to be walking on the beach! He was a little leery of walking in the water until he saw other kids in the water. Once he saw them he loved walking in the 84 degree water. This was the beginning of many wonderful walks on the beach throughout the week.




Monday and Tuesday were repeats of Sunday with long walks on the beach, splashing in the water and looking for shells. We also spent time swimming in the pools. Chris and Simon spent lots of timing driving around the Island on the golf cart.


Wednesday we ventured into Charleston with my parents. Charleston is such a beautiful and historic city. We spend the day wandering around the city looking at the beautiful homes, parks, and waterfront.


Thursday was again spent on the Island walking the beach and swimming in the pools.




Friday was overcast so we went into Beaufort to explore that charming and historic city. We had fun visting the shops downtown and exploring the waterfront. Simon got to see a shrimp boat up close and personal. He thought that was so cool since we had been seeing them everyday off shore. Simon also had some fun playing in the park in downtown Beaufort. We headed back to the house in time for the boys to take a nap and for me to catch a little time laying out by the pool.


Saturday we loaded up the cars and headed out of Harbor Island about 9:00AM. The goal was to drive to Lexingon, Kentucky that day and finish the last leg of the trip on Sunday. We arrived home safely (and exhausted) late afternoon on Sunday.
The trip to South Carolina was WONDERFUL. We were blessed with wonderful weather (sunny and warm (80's) everyday). As great as it was to have good weather it was even better to be able to have family time with our little family of 4and to be able to spent time with my parents!


We loved every minute of our time in South Carolina and we are ready to go back anytime!!