Big Boy

Well, we did it! We finally took the plunge and got Sam's hair cut. I was really hesitant because he was just so cute with is shaggy/fluffy hair and he's my baby...but, alas, we decided it was time. He did really well sitting in the adorable little car chair, w/ the cape on, "watching" a Baby Einstein video. He didn't cry at all! I hope that is a sign for times to come, because I'm guessing this little guy is going to have his fair share of hair cuts! ;O)

Memories in the making...

We celebrated Hannah birthday this past week not once, but twice (and the real date isn't even until tomorrow!!)! We had Brian's family over on Tues. night to have a combined party for Hannah and Brian (his b-day was 11/29). 

Peter and Hannah - always ready to lend a helping hand. :O)

Hannah's new jewelry box from Grandma and Grandpa...I think she now has a new goal in life...to be the twirling ballerina in the box!

Jeremy and Ellie playing...yes, they really were! I know it looks like an attack, but there was laughter all around!

We then had Hannah's little princess party on Saturday morning. What a fun mix of friends...friends from church, friends from out-and-about and we were even blessed with friends from Michigan! My sister-in-law Stacey came with my niece Taylor and my dearest, oldest (not old as in age, but old as in we've been best friends since 6th grade!) friend Jane, came with her daughter Avery. :O) What a treat! 

Our guests arrived Friday night just in time for an authentic Chicago pizza dinner! As suspected, the girls all wanted to sleep in Hannah and Ellie's room that night and we thought it would be great...that is, if they actually went to sleep! About an hour and a half after we put them to bed, we finally had to lay down the law and separate them. It was already 10pm Eastern time and the MI girls were exhausted! 

Trying to wind-down with Rudolf...

"Go to sleep girls!"

Saturday morning started bright and early, but that's okay. The girls has a blast together. It was so fun watching the three of them playing so well...they would even include Ellie from time to time. :O)  The rest of the princesses arrived at 10am, ready for their craft, cake and present opening! What a great time with the little girls. Brian definitely felt outnumbered, but I know he enjoyed it!

The princesses having some sort of "pow-wow."

7 little princesses!

Taylor, Avery and Hannah

The party wrapped up at 11:30 am and by 12:30, the 6 of us were off to The Nutcracker at the Paramount Theater in Aurora, IL. What a sight! I took Hannah last year and was so excited to share the experience with Stacey, Taylor, Jane and Avery. The girls were adorable in their Christmas outfits and absolutely loved the performance (although they asked a lot of questions throughout!). :O) 

Okay, now I see it...Hannah really does look like me! 

Waiting for the ballerinas!

Aren't they gorgeous?!

Okay, I just realized I've written more details here than most of you really care about...sorry. It was just such a special weekend and I"m so thankful for opportunities like it to create lasting memories for myself and Hannah. 

Oh, I had to throw at least one picture of Sam in here...he's just so sweet and somehow he survived all those girls! ;O)

Mystery solved...

Shortly after my last post regarding Ellie's shenanigans in the bathroom, I discovered what had made the "clinking" noise...yeah, the toilet paper holder thingy. She had somehow gotten the toilet paper roll off of the holder and when I went back in later that afternoon, I discovered only the spring from the middle of the "tube" part, not the outer portion...clink, clink, clink...

2 year olds

I just came downstairs to find Ellie playing in the toilet water. Nice. It looked a little yellow (Hannah often forgets to flush), so I flushed it and heard, "clink, clink"...she wouldn't/couldn't tell me what was in there...I'm hoping it wasn't valuable. I do have my wedding ring on, so that's good... :O) 

I can't believe that I had forgotten what 2 year olds are capable of! I better keep a better eye on her!!!

p.s. Don't worry, I washed her hands...

I lied...

as you can see, we have not mastered staying clean...what was I thinking?

Thanksgiving in MI

As usual, we spent Thanksgiving in MI this year. It was a blessing to share the day with our both of our families in Holland. We also had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Matt, Stacey, Luke and Taylor...it was soooooooooo fun and there was non stop action! I don't think the kids sat for more than 5 minutes at a time! While together, we celebrated Hannah and Taylor's 5th birthdays too. It's almost unbelievable that they are 5 already!

And, on top of that, we were able to see our dear friends from Hope College. Never a dull moment with that group!

We hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving too!

The kids sportin' their new Christmas jammies!

5 years old (on 12/9), going on 16!

Getting goofy!

Cousins

Our 5 year olds (Taylor's was 11/26)

Sammy boy doing his sit-ups...a new favorite pose for him!

"I like your hair Luke." :O)

Bath time...each grandchild has had a bath in Grandma's sink and now it was Sam's turn!

He enjoyed it!

All clean!

Papa and girls...

Papa and Ellie...

The women. (no, I'm not trying out a new hair-do, there was a plant conveniently right behind my head. :O)

Big Boy

Look who's sitting up now!!! Just one fun thing Sam mastered while we were in MI last week for Thanksgiving! Another milestone hit...keeping his face clean while eating baby food! ;O)

Update on Ellie

Just wanted to report that Ellie did great this morning! She shocked Brian and I by not crying as the nurse walked her to the operating room (although she said she cried when they put the mask on her to administer the anesthesia) and she didn't shed a tear when she came out of anesthesia! Her surgery was a little before 8:30 am and we were home around 9:10 am! 

It took her a little bit to "come around" once we were home, but now she's been eating and running around as usual (although I'm trying to keep an "eye" on her, but she seems fine!)! We keep asking her if she can hear better and she says "yes"...hopefully the days of hearing like she's under water and having infections are over! ;O)

Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers! 

Our pretty little patient in pre-op.

(along with her "pretty dress," they gave her size XXL socks to wear!?!)

Stiff upper lip

The goofy Giere's.

Sorry its been so long...we've had a couple of eventful weeks around here. Really, we were all just sick at one point or another...no surprise now that the cold weather is here. Poor Ellie suffered her 6th ear infection of the year (2 in 3 weeks!) and we were referred to an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor to evaluate her and decide if she needs ear tubes placed. Sure enough, she does! So, tomorrow morning at 8:30 our little girl is going in for surgery. Now, I know it's a minor surgery and extremely quick (5-10 min!), but I still don't like the thought of our poor little Ellie Boo having to go through any type of procedure. We were told that when Ellie is finally separated from us to go into surgery, we will need to have a "stiff upper lip," so that we don't worry her. Okay, yeah right! How am I supposed to do that!? Ultimately, we know this is the best thing for her and truly believe that God will be watching over her as he always does. This fact alone will give me the stiff lip that is required of me. :O)

Other than Ellie, Hannah was sick with a sinus infection (that actually caused one night of vomiting...fun) and Sam was in for his 6 month check-up (thankfully, he has stayed healthy through all of this!). He weighed in at 18.2 lbs. and was 27 1/4 inches and everything looked great! Brian and I comment all of the time how distant and almost unreal it is that just 6 months ago we were taking Sam to a geneticist, monitoring his tyrosine levels...to look at him now, it's just hard to imagine him the little guy that he was! All this to say, I've been to the doctor a fair amount in the past couple of weeks!

Now that the past two weeks are over, we can look forward to a busy holiday season ahead. We have Thanksgiving in MI this coming week and then 3 birthday parties for Hannah (turning 5!!!) and then, of course, the celebration of our Savior's birth with family, in MI and here in IL. I LOVE IT!!! Hopefully I'll keep up with my posting the next month and a half, or I'll have a LOT of catching up to do! Until next time, enjoy some pics from today...

Hugs for Mommy...

What a big boy!!

Bundled up for church...

Our little patient...please pray for a safe & successful procedure. Thanks!

6 months old!

Our baby boy is 6 months old today! Sam is such a great baby...I don't even hardly dare to say that out loud for fear that he'll turn on me! :O) Seriously, Sam is such a joy...even tempered, smiley, giggly, handsome...precious. We thank God for giving us this precious gift in our son!

Our big boy!

Our big, "drooly" boy. (no teeth yet...)

All bundled for the cold weather!

He doesn't seem to mind. :O)

Never too early - helping Daddy get some work done at home. ;O)

Fridays...

Hannah has gymnastics on Friday mornings and at the end of the class, the teacher puts a little stamp on each child's hand...one highlight of the class! So, when we returned this morning after class, Hannah and Ellie were playing together and H was teaching E gymnastics. It was so cute. Well, minutes later (after too much quiet time), I entered the toy room where I saw this...

Hannah's version of a stamp on the hand. Ahhh, what to do...what to do? ;O)

October Days

Aren't you proud of me? This is my 4th post in one week! I'm playing a little catch up...hope you're enjoying it. :O)

The pictures in the slide show you're about to watch are from the past couple of weeks. I chose a show that didn't allow me to add a lot of text, so I'll try to explain some of the picture here.

Hannah LOVES to play with Sam. She also LOVES to now pick him up, which makes me extremely nervous, to say the least. He doesn't seem to mind one bit. 

There are days when Sammy boy's hair is just a little out of control...we try not to laugh too much and yes, I do try to slick it down. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not. :O)

I bought a cheap-o wig for Hannah, in hopes that she could wear it with her Sleeping Beauty costume for Halloween. Unfortunately, it evoked too much laughter, which she didn't think was funny. So, she didn't wear it, but oh man, have we been having fun with it!

I think I described the rest in the slides. It has been a busy October, but one filled with great memories to last a lifetime!

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