A Boy and His Dog (Bed)

Hmm... looks like a pretty comfy spot.

What better place to lay down and rest than on the dog's bed.

Randomness

Jack is literally pulling up on anything that will hold him.  The kitchen cupboards and dishwasher are two favorites.

Three going on thirteen.  She loves to "talk" on the phone.

Loving his whole wheat banana pancakes.

Future broadway star.

Who says dress-up is for girls??

Life's a Beach

So when our deck looked like this last week...

we rebelled against Old Man Winter and did this.

That's right.  We had a beach party! 

(Can you tell we've got cabin fever?!?)

Only in Michigan...

...are kids so excited to play in the sandbox that they will even do it in winter coats (and the necessary pretty hat).

Of course, only in Michigan do you need a winter coat at the end of March!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Since Hannah got a kite for her birthday, I'm not sure who's been more eager to fly it, Hannah or Jason.

A few days ago (when the weather was actually above freezing), Jason and Hannah took it out.  Poor Jack got stuck inside with me.

Jason in all his kite-flying glory.

And Hannah having a ball!

A Little Brother's Life

10 Months Old

Hard to believe that Jack is in the double digits.  Here's what he's been up to:

*He regularly pulls himself up to his knees on whatever he can grab a hold of.

*He's been gradually eating more and more "regular" food.  Lately, we've been doing mini pieces of banana, pancakes, and pears.  He still take 4 6-8 oz. bottles a day plus a pureed veggie or fruit at meal time.

*He has quite a personality.  For the most part, though, he is very jolly and easy going.  However, he gets very upset when something is taken away from him. 

*He is cutting 2 of his top teeth.  We can literally see them, but they just haven't broken through.  He's really being a trooper and hardly seems bothered by them, with the exception of waking up a few times in the night. 

*He waves bye-bye and claps when we say "yay!"

*He sits up all by himself.

*A good game a peek-a-boo gets him giggling out of control!

*He is an expert crawler and keeps up with his sister pretty well.

*He LOVES JJ's water bowl and goes swimming every chance he gets.

Outdoors

Boy, have we had cabin fever.  With the nice weather we've been having this week, we've been taking advantage and getting outside. 

Of course, we have to wear our rain boots and bring along the umbrella, just in case. 

We are certainly looking forward to kicking this ball lots more around the yard this spring and summer (and hopefully fall, too!)

And the cherry on the sundae - green is starting to appear!

3-year and 9 month check-ups

It was that time again this week.  Time for the well-child check-ups.  It's funny how at this stage of the game, Hannah actually looks forward to going to the doctor, and Jack is just happy to go wherever he gets attention.  Makes for fairly easy visits. 

I'm happy to say that overall both kids got good reports.  The only somewhat minor issue Jack had is that one of his tear ducts still appears to be blocked, judging from the teariness and goopiness he still gets, especially when he's sick.  Looks like we'll be visiting a specialist for that, but we're rpraying that we'll be able to get it taken care of without surgery.

Hannah's stats:
Weight:  27 1/2 lbs. (5%)
Height:  34 1/2 inches (5%)

Jack's stats:
Weight:  19 lbs. 3 oz. (25%)
Height:  28 1/2 inches (50%)
Head Circ:  17 3/4 inches (40%)

And since yesterday was also St. Patrick's Day, I had to get a couple of pictures of my little lucky charms.

Last year's dress makes a perfect shirt this year!

My How Time Flies

2008

2009

2010

2011

Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah!

Yes, Hannah is now 3-years old. So hard to believe. It seems like just yesterday I was walking myself into Holland Hospital, pretty sure I wasn't in labor and would be going home. So confident in fact, that I didn't even bother to call Jason. How surprised we were that Hannah arrived that night, 2 1/2 weeks early! Here's what this big girl is up to:

*She loves pink!

*She's now into princesses. She regularly wraps her blanket around her shoulders and tells me that she's a princess.

*She is totally into wearing skirts. They are her "dancing" skirts. When she has one one, she spins around and tells me she's a Hannah-rina.

*She's on the verge of giving up her naps. She probably only really needs one 3 or 4 days a week, but I still send her to her bed to "rest" in the afternoon. Most of the time she eventually falls alseep, but it's taking longer and longer.

*She's started going to children and worship during church, instead of the nursery. The first time I took her, she was a bit hesitant, but the second time she ran right into the room. She loves it, and it makes her feel like such a big girl.

*She gets herself dressed in the morning.

*She is fully potty trained.

*When we part with her, she tells us, "Bye. I love you. Jesus loves you. I love you very much!"

*She has her bedtime stalling down to a tee. After doing devotions, she asks that I rock her while she sings Jesus Loves the Little Children and the Zaccheus song, complete with movements. She then requests "a little sip" of water and then once in awhile throws in "I need coco (coconut oil for her lips)."

Happy birthday big girl. We love you and Jesus does, too :-)

Pinkalicious Kite Party

It's hard to believe, but another year has gone by since we celebrated Hannah's last birthday. Although her actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, we celebrated her birthday with our families today.

She's been talking about her birthday party for weeks, and she knew exactly what she wanted. She'd been insistent on getting a pink kite, pink cake, pink balloons, pink umbrella, and a pink wagon. I'm pretty confident that she got her wish (except for the wagon. We already had a red one. Come on!)

Waiting for the guests to arrive, holding tight to her pink balloons.

Her pink kite birthday cake.

Pink, pink, pink

Did I say that she wanted pink balloons?? She wouldn't let go of them the first half of the party.

Jack was pretty captivated by cloud of floating pink as well.

As a special birthday treat, Hannah and Kara got to eat at their very own table.

Not only did Hannah get lots of attention, but Jack got his share as well.

Hannah was spoiled with lots of nice presents, but hands down her favorite gifts were the pink rain boots and umbrella from Uncle Todd, Aunt Courtney, and Kara. She pretty much wore them the rest of the party. Not only did Hannah love the boots, but Kara did as well. If one of them wasn't wearing the boots, the other one had them on. Looks like we know what we'll be getting Kara for her birthday this May!

Pink was definitely the theme of the day. She got a pink princess suitcase...

and a pink, princess backpack...

and a pink princess sleeping bag...


and a pink Barbie...

and a pink kite.

Somehow my dad ended up being the keeper of the pink gifts.

And then we got to the pink kite cake. Truth be told, after all of my fretting about this cake, I was a little bit sad to cut into it.

The girls were really more interested in the candy.

Happy birthday dear Hannah. Happy birthday to you. We love you birthday girl!

Sitting

Last week, Jack started sitting up all by himself. Since then, we've been finding him in the sitting position more and more.

He found the perfect spot under the piano bench.


This is how I'm now greeted in the morning.


And since he's started sitting up, he's also discovered that he can pull himself up to his knees as well. So many changes...

8 oz. curl

Big boy!

Night with the Butterflies

Since we've been members at Frederik Meijer Gardens, one of our favorite times of year is butterfly season. For whatever reason, though, we've never been able to make it to their night time event, until this year.

Hannah came ready to find butterflies with her flashlight. It was really dark in the atrium, so finding the butterflies was actually pretty tricky.

We learned that butterflies sleep in the trees at night. Taking pictures was quite a challenge, since I was literally shooting in the dark.

It was amazing that you could reach right out and touch them, if that weren't prohibited of course!

In addition to the butterflies themselves, there were a number of other special activities taking place. Hannah got her first ink - a caterpillar tattoo.

Jason and Hannah had fun making butterflies (not sure who's working harder.)

Adding the bling.

For the record, Jack also came along. However, since I was wearing Jack in my new Boba carrier (L.O.V.E it!!), and I was the photographer of the night, he didn't get in any of the other pictures.

The prettiest butterfly of the night.