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June 27, 2009

Farmer's Market

So, I am trying to break into the Farmer's Market world...This was my first week and I'll be back to try it again.  It went pretty well, except for the torrential downpour and thunderstorm and of course the HUGE puddles that resulted from it!

Getting his hand all mucky...

 

Showing me his super mucky hand...

 

Me trying to run away from the mucky hand!

Esther Rose is apparently unimpressed by her brother's current state of silly!

 

This is their norm...Eyes locked and coos and babbles back and forth..I'm sure they are plotting Zeb's and my demise!

 

Daddy is so silly!! He's trying to teach Brother Bear how to give Ladybug a piggy back ride!

 

Just a cute pic of the Princess....

She always has her hands like this...

 

Playdate with Coley Moley

Amanda and I took the boys to the pool on Wednesday. They had so much fun!!  Enjoy the pictures :)

We had been there about 15 minutes (it was about 11am) and Isaac is already fatigued and laying down in the water a lot...He does perk up later though!

 

 

Cole has the most beautiful blue eyes...Love this picture for that reason alone!  Oh, and he has teh coveted green alligator!

 

 

They really do love each other...I bought these towels last year for Isaac's and Phoebe's birthdays at the waterpark...They all still use them!

 

 

Pics of last week's medical adventures...

So, Isaac officially got fitted with his C-Pap mask...

It is affectionately known in our house as his "Elephant Nose"

And, yes, that is the Princess chillin' on her own personal cookie sheet!  It's getting a 2 week hiatus before it gets put to use again...

Drive - In Movies!

We have a local hockey arena that converts their parking lot into 3 separate Drive-In screens for the "off-season".  It's a double feature and movies start at dusk (about 9:30pm here). It makes for a REALLY late night, but a fabulous time with the family (Read: The kids fall asleep between movies, and then we get a "mini date" out of the deal!)..

Isaac made friends with the boys next to us. They were so sweet to him and played very nicely and Isaac thought it was so cool to play with the "big boys"!!

 

Yes, he is in the back of their car, eating their swedish fish, and driving their toy car...

 

 

Yep! You can count the ponytails...There are indeed 2 of them! She's big enough for pigtails! Have I mentioned that I love having a daughter :)

June 16, 2009

My Apologies...

I owe everyone an apology. Especially those who have blogs I follow and get annoyed with because you don't update them often enough for my taste!  I have slacked. The last week or so have been crazy in our household, and I have the ER bills to prove it!

 Please enjoy the posts today...I do hope they make you smile!

Isaac's Artwork

These are all the pieces of artwork that came home on the last day of school!! 

 

Isaac calls this "Caterpillar Cocoon Butterfly"  If you can figure it out from that...It took me a minute!

 

Rainbow Fish

 

My favorite piece of artwork...You should have seen their room with 20 of these being used as a border along one wall...Sooo very cute!  And Isaac did cut all those lines himself!

They gave each child a picture of themselves and told them to draw themselves...here's Isaac's self portrait! **Disclaimer: This is Isaac's story about the picture...I don't know from the teachers exactly how this picture came about.

 

 Isaac calls this "Flowers".

Birding...Zoo Style

We went to the zoo with Bert, Amanda, and Cole on Saturday. We had a great time. Oddly enough, I think the birds won out as the favorite animal on the day...Well, maybe next to the Seals and Kudus...More on those later!

 

This is the coolest "Piano". Every note is a different bird's song. So, middle C might be a Robin, while the C two octaves higher is a Tree Swallow..Very cool!

 

Birds "talk" to you on the phone about who knows what...Isaac and Cole thought they were great fun though!

 

Playing in the bird's nest outside the ice cream/funnel cake stand!

 

Train Rides...At the Zoo

So, the plan was to ride the Southern Michigan Railroad this weekend with Bert and Amanda and Cole, but when we arrived, it was not running?!  Well, we had the van loaded with 3 kids and 4 grown-ups and figured we were going to do something fun today regardless and headed off to the zoo...While we rarely ride the train at the zoo, today seemed an appropriate day to do it!

 

For those not up on their African animals...This is a kudu. We spent 20 minutes of the drive to the zoo trying to remember its name with descriptions being provided by an animal enthusiast of a 3 year old!

 

He as VERY happy to see the kudu!

 

 

..and on the way to the bridge to take us to the other side of the zoo, Bert and Zeb let the boys throw coins in the fountain. Why? Well, to help feed the seals of course!

 

Random Zoo Fun

 

 

The Aftermath of the Zoo...

 

June 07, 2009

Brother and Sister

Here are some random pictures from this weekend! 

Daddy's Favorite of the bunch!

Mommy's favorite! Esther Rose is looking at the fan behind me!

Isaac's rendition of the "dominoe eyes"

 

Helping mow the lawn! He took this very seriously...

 

I don't think anyone will be accusing my children of not loving one another any time soon!  Zeb and I are in so much trouble when she learns to talk!

Softball Shenanigans

Our church plays in a local softball league for churches. Zeb used to play, then we became the scorekeepers, but now with 2 kids underfoot, we are the spectators and child chasers! Here are some great pictures of Cole, Isaac, and Esther Rose having a great day at the ball fields..

 

 

 

 

...and today's precious moment picture is....

 

...Pastor Bert, with Cole on one arm and Isaac on the other, out at the mound praying at the end of the game!

 

June 04, 2009

Confession...

For those who don't care to read the more emotional stuff, just skip to the pictures.

I just confessed this to Zeb a couple of weeks ago, but today was a sort of break through for me, as a mom of two.  After Isaac was born, we had several wonderful weeks of being home and just being mommy and son and daddy and bonds were quickly formed and attachment was very strong.  We had what is affectionately known as a "babymoon" for more than a month.  

After Esther Rose was born, however, things weren't the same. I was whisked away to the hospital after only holding Esther Rose for a very few minutes still in the tub and nursing her once in a 3 hour period, and then thrown into the thick of life with Isaac...the medical stuff, the school things, and everything else that goes with having a 3 year old at home.  I didn't get my "babymoon" with Esther Rose, and didn't feel like I had formed that bond with her that I had/have with Isaac. I love her deeply and would rearrange the stars in the sky if it would make her happy, but I didn't have that giddy "I'm a new mommy" feeling that I had with Isaac.  I almost felt like she was just another kid to be carried around from place to place and another mouth to feed, and knew I was missing something.  I even found myself disappointed to not have had another son, not that I had any control over that one, but it still bummed me out that I was wrong in my gut feeling. Which caused me to second guess my instincts in being her mommy. 

Well, today it happened. I finally got that "I'm a mommy to a beautiful baby girl" excitement that I had been yearning to have.  Want to know what solidified it for me?  A ponytail...That's right. I fixed her hair.  Nevermind the pretty dresses and cute socks...The girl has enough hair to play with!  As I tied her hair up today, I got a feeling deep in my gut that said, "YAY for baby girls!! I love being your mommy, and we're going to have a great time together".  God answered my heart's deepest cry over a ponytail...Who'd of thunk it?

So, without further ado, I present my Princess sporting her new "hair do"...Isn't she pretty?

 

 

Summer is Officially Here!!

School is out, so we had to celebrate! Not to mention we had 2 doctor appointments today, so I had to do something to make it up to Isaac...

We had lunch at McD's. Isaac gets braver everytime we go. He regularly goes down the blue slide now and occasionally down the yellow one!

And next time I have the audacity to schedule 2 doctor's appointments for 2 different kids, in 2 totally different locations, in less than 2 hours time between them....someone stop me!  It was crazy fun, but good.  (Update of course on the caringbridge page)

When we got home from dinner with Emily, Isaac was playing with his trains, while Esther Rose played on her Einstein mat. She started to fuss and Isaac thought that sharing his Gordon train with her would make her happy. It certainly made her stop crying, but I think it was more out of "what are you thinking? I'm too small for this!"

 

 

June 03, 2009

End of School Picnic

This post comes with a disclaimer. Please do not copy these pictures to anywhere else, unless they only have Isaac, Esther or myself in them.

 Now onto the fun stuff! Today was Isaac's end of school year picnic with his class and the class next door.  It was a lot of fun, but exhausting, and I should probably be napping with the kids now instead of blogging.  This is an incredibly long post, but there was just too much fun to be had and you need to meet some of his friends!

 

Waiting patiently to go to the park. The high school student has been their aide this year. She is wonderful with the kids! Tea is on the left, then Donny, Isaac, and Shyam (pronounced Shaum, like Shawn, but with an "m").

Trevor is hilarious! Isaac LOVES to play with Trevor. He has a little sister in the class that Isaac absolutely adores...I'll introduce you to her later.

Ever walked with 19 pre-schoolers over a 1/4 of mile to a park with no sidewalks?  There are few adventures as adventurous as this! You can't see all the kids because we had LOTS of parents around to block the view. Today, I count this a blessing!

This is precious Malik. Isaac doesn't talk about him much, but when he does it is always something very sweet.  Last week, Isaac told me, "Malik likes to share toys. He my friend. I make him happy."

 

This is Shyam, again. He is a hoot! I see him every morning, and he always greets me with a smile and tells me what is on his shirt or what color it is.

 

Donny and Shyam playing on the bridge.

 

Yay for swings!  Too bad Esther Rose was sleeping or she could have gotten a free ride!

Just a cool picture of Ben!  He is another of Isaac's car buddies. They LOVE to play cars together. Isaac's first comment about someone at school, was about Ben. Isaac's comment? "Ben and me build it a zoo with animals."

This is Trevor's baby sister! She is in Isaac's class and Isaac adores her!  They have a sweet bond.  When Madison enters the room, you NEVER have to prompt Isaac to say "Hi". He jumps right to it!

Another sweet Madison story. Yesterday, I was carrying Esther Rose in my arms, and Madison wanted to see her closer. I scrunched down close to the floor. Madison instantly said "Baby" and Esther Rose smiled from ear to ear! So precious!!

 

LeLaina and Isaac in the sand box. They like each other more than it looks!

 

LeLaina is so very sweet and loves to see the Princess each morning. I met her mom today and hope we can do some things together this summer. She is really sweet and a photo nut like me :)

Shyam sliding.

Mmmm...Cookie!

Tea is definitely the princess of this classroom!

 

Isaac and Ema. Isaac likes to play with Ema. Anytime he wants to take a toy to school. We ask him who he is going to share with. He almost always starts with Donny and Ema!

 

The fearless leaders. The one on the left is Mrs. Mickevicius. She is the lead teacher in Isaac's room and is wonderful!!  Mrs. Holloway is her partner in crime. Isaac loves them both, for which I am thankful!

 

LeLaina and Isaac on the tire swing.  They both started singing "We're all done" at the same time...They'd make a pretty good duet!

Kind of sort of a picture of us!

 

LeLaina, Isaac, boy we don't know, and Ema all going down the slide!

 

Hugs for friends!

 

These three could cause some serious trouble!  Ema, LeLaina and Isaac!

There you have it.. You have finally been introduced to Isaac's pre-school class of 2009!  We're going to get a group shot in the morning! 

Love Is...

Holding onto your sister's pacifier...

 

...and waiting for her to need it!

Making a fool of yourself...

...just to make your sister smile!

New Pasttime!

Isaac's new favorite pasttime, besides trains, is playing with play doh!  Miss Ann bought him some when Esther Rose was born and we got it out last week.  It has been so much fun!

 

June 02, 2009

Stickers!

You probably noticed that Isaac is wearing a sticker in some of his newer pictures. He loves them, and they make a great incentive to say his Bible memory verse. The best part? If he has a sticker and says his memory verse to get a new sticker, he always gives it to Mommy...after he makes me say mine!  It's very cute.

If you have a favorite verse, let me know and we'll start teaching Isaac verses and who they are special to!

 This week's verse is going to be Acts 1:8. "And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

 Last week's verse was Deuteronomy 6:4-5. "Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

We are memorizing out of the NASB (Isaac and I out of the older version and Zeb out of the newer).

June 01, 2009

Pics from the hospital...

The medical update is on the caringbridge site, email Tiffany for information.  These are just the pics...

 

 

 

 

 

I had to wear a mask when I left her room, at least when certain nurses were around!

Fun at the Park

We played at the park until the helicopter took off...

He went down this crazy tall slide without any prompting!!

 

Teeter Tottering with Mommy on the other end!

 

Hurry Hurry Drive the firetruck!

 

Helmet Head

We never did figure out whose helmet and coat this was, but the fire fighters were all standing around him and getting a good chuckle!  I, of course, was busy documenting the whole thing!!!

 

"Oh, look...a helmet..I think I'll put it on!"

 

"Isaac, be careful...it will still hurt to headbutt the ambulance, even with the helmet on!"

On at last!

But now, he can see, too...always a good thing!

"Now I put it back and wear the coat!" Yeah...he couldn't even lift the arm of the coat and gave up pretty quickly on that venture.

Fire House Friday

Our local country radio station, which we don't listen to on any kind of a regular basis, hosts Fire House Fridays around the county during the spring/summer months. The kids get to come out and climb on the fire trucks and see the fire fighters and lots of other cool stuff.  Here is Isaac's adventure from last week, before we took the Princess into the ER.  Gotta let him have a little fun!!

 

 Our local ambulance service has a remote control ambulance named "Andy". The guy controlling it was having a ball with Isaac.

Lady to Isaac: Do you know what his name is?

Isaac to Lady: Ambulance

Lady to Isaac: His name is Andy the Ambulance

Isaac to Lady: He's not Andy, he's a ambulance. That's so silly!

 

Sitting in the truck built for fighting brush fires. The fire fighters sit on the seat on the back of the truck and fight the fires from there!

 

They basically give the kids free reign to climb and explore all the trucks...It's awesome!

He's getting braver with this whole climbing thing!

Driving one of the trucks inside the Fire House.

 

And sometimes, U of M MediFlight comes out to let the kids check out their helicopter!

Isaac just introduced himself to everyone! It's a good thing I didn't know yet what was hiding in the helicopter. I probably wouldn't have let him get in...

Their boss walked down to the firehouse with her german shepherd...For those who know me well, I love dogs, but german shepherds scare the poop out of me..Isaac loved him!

 


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