Pumpkin Time

Last night was "pumpkin" night. Hannah was so excited to carve the pumpkins we got this year! I think the best part was scooping out the insides and playing with them in the bowl! Ellie and I didn't really get in on the fun, but that's ok, it was some good daddy-daughter time. :o) Plus, somebody had to take the pictures!

One more...

I had to add another post about Hannah "graduating" from gymnastics last week! She had a great time the past 8 weeks learning how to do forward and backwards rolls, walk on the balance beam, swing on the bars and jump on the little "trampoline." We're going to take a break from it until she turns 3 so that she can attend the next class without needing my help (a parent has to help in the 2 year old class). Don't get me wrong, I loved helping her, it's just getting a little tougher w/ Ellie sitting in her car seat the whole time. She used to sleep like an angel, but now she's awake more. All this to say, I want to put her in gymnastics again, but in a few months.

Pretty Girls

The Four Seasons

I don't really think that I have a favorite season, each has aspects I love about it. In the winter, I love sitting on the couch, under a blanket with a cozy fire blazing nearby. I also love getting together with family at Thanksgiving (and eating a ton of great food) and Christmas. My favorite time in spring is when the first warm day of the year comes. I love to see everyone suddenly appear outside walking, riding bikes, and playing at the park. It makes me happy. Of course summer brings one of my favorite activities of all...playing at the beach! There's nothing like hitting the beach on the shores of Lake Michigan at 10 am and staying out there all day only to come in for a quick lunch and potty breaks. I love it. But, then there's fall. I really do enjoy being outside on a crisp fall day. I love walking and hearing the crunch of the leaves under my feet and seeing the beautiful colors on the trees.

Yesterday we took Hannah and Ellie to a really nice park in downtown Naperville. It was fun to bundle the girls up and enjoy time together as a family.

Fall Weekend Fun

My parents came for a visit this past weekend and even though it was a bit chilly, we took them to The Morton Arboretum. It was my first visit there as well and I must say, it's a great place! They have a relatively new "Children's Garden" that was perfect for Hannah. In fact, that's really the only part of the arboretum that we saw on Sat. It was so big!

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. We discovered that Ellie likes to look at Hannah's doll. She was smiling away and it appears that they became good friends!

You'd think I'd know by now...

Last night Brian had a dinner for work, so I decided that I'd rather not cook for Hannah and I and we'd just go out and grab a quick dinner ourselves. I didn't want to do fast food and there's a local restaurant only 5 minutes from our house that I thought I'd try. I knew that if Ellie fell asleep on the way there, she would sleep through our "quick" dinner. Right? Wrong! She did fall asleep, but woke up after we ordered and before our food came. Well, this tends to be the start of her "fussy time," so I knew I was in trouble. Naturally, every eye in the place was on us as Ellie's cries got louder and louder. I started to sweat a little and knew I had to get out of there. So, when our food came I quickly asked for two boxes to take it home with us. I was trying to make light of the situation and did a pretty good job of it. Hannah did even better when, on the way home she said, "That was so much fun at the restaurant!" I'm not sure what the "fun" was that she was referring to...maybe the coloring? maybe the fact that she got to order pancakes for dinner? Who knows...all I know is that you'd think I'd know by now, not to take a 6 week old out right at her "fussy time" no matter if she falls asleep or not. What was I thinking?! Clearly, I wasn't. I mean, it's not like this is my first time at being a mother! Yikes! :o)

I must add a note here about how the actions of one person can change a bad situation into something good (or at least OK). There was a couple sitting next to us who, of course, glanced over several times during the craziness. I finally turned to them and apologized because I felt badly about interrupting their dinner. They were very kind and said not to worry. Well, as I was walking w/ Hannah carrying her coat and her pancakes in a box, the woman followed us up to the front counter where I had to pay. She offered to help Hannah get her coat on and even offered, almost insisting, to help me out to the car. She was so kind and her actions really meant a lot to me. I was still a little embarrassed about the whole thing, so I told her I could make it to the car ok, but thanked her for her help. Just goes to show how helping someone in need, whether it's a mom w/ crying kids, an elderly person who needs help with something, or anyone else in need, brings joy to the person receiving the kindness. It's a call we've been told about before as Christians...be kind to others and help those in need.

gettin' big & smiley

People have asked if Hannah and Ellie look the same as newborns...you be the judge. :o) (see the above two pics, both taken at roughly the same age...E on top, H below)

Can't resist

Hannah cannot resist licking the spoon AND bowl after we make brownies...today was no exception. And I can't resist posting these pictures here. :o)






p.s. I promise that I did not prompt her to do this...I turned around and this is what I saw! (Of course once I saw her licking the bowl, I told her to hold still so I could get the camera.) ;O)

Wisdom from an almost 3 year old

Last night Brian asked Hannah if she was more like Mommy or Daddy. As usual, she didn't answer the way we expected by choosing one of the two choices, "Mommy or Daddy." Instead, she simply replied, "I'm like me."

She certainly is her own self and we love it that way. Shouldn't we all be that...just "like me?" (ourselves and no one else?) Of course she has a little of Brian and a little of me in her, but Hannah is truly her own person. I think most toddlers are. That is one wish I have for her in life, that she will always remain herself. I pray that she will not conform to what the "world" says she should look like, what she should say, what she should choose as a profession, etc.





Romans 12:2
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

1 month

Ellie is 1 month old, so I thought I'd take a few pictures of her in her "going home" outfit to see how she's changed.



We had fun with the whole family taking some other pics as well. :o)

Blue Eyes

First Smiles

These are the first pictures we have of Ellie smiling "for real." :o) She's been smiling for a week or so already, but now they are coming more frequently and it's so exciting!

Michigan

Hannah, Ellie and I were up in MI from last Tues. until this morning. Brian had to travel for work last week, so I figured that I'd spend time in MI, getting help w/ the girls, instead of sitting home by myself. It was a great time to spend with my family and friends.

Brian came and joined us Friday night and then we were able to get together with our Hope College friends Sat. Our dear friends Tim and Lyndsey Dykstra were in town from ID with their two children, so it was great to see them and catch up a bit.

Here's a funny Hannah story I had to add here...
We were sitting at dinner with my mom and she asked Hannah if she wanted some "Catsup" (apparently that's the "Dutch" way of saying it) on her hamburger. Hannah quickly replied, "It's NOT catsup, it's ketchup Grandma!" She doesn't miss a thing!

Grandpa Barker and Trudy meeting Ellie for the first time


Grandma Smith with her great-grandchildren Luke, Taylor, Hannah and Ellie (Grandma is 93 years old!!)


Great friends (aka "Hope Gang")

They just keep comin'

Hannah just keeps them coming!

Since having Ellie, she's only been a little bit curious about the whole nursing thing. I think it has helped that she's seen her Aunt Heidi feeding Jeremy over the past few months. Well, despite this, she does get a little intrigued when I'm feeding Ellie. Last night, she was sitting next to me while I Ellie was eating and gave me a funny look.

I looked back at her and she said, rather casually, "I'd like some of that."

Oh too funny! As soon as she said it, she grinned b/c she knew that she was being silly, yet somewhat serious. I had tried hard not to laugh as I explained, again, that this is how babies eat, not big girls like her. (although some la leche supporters might argue that "big" girls at 2 1/2 can eat that way too...hmmm, that's not my thinking) ;o)

Looking up to big sister


Pretty girl

Who is our president?

We watched part of the President's address on 9/11 and told Hannah that our President's name is George Bush.

Last night, out of the blue, Brian asked her what are President's name was?
She confidently replied, "Curious George Bush."

We haven't laughed so hard in a while...Ok, since the last funny thing she said.

A special man...

Gary Nederveld

Many of you reading this (if there are any of you out there) have probably already heard about the passing of my uncle Gary. He was my dad's twin brother (age 65) and a special uncle. He and my aunt Kathy have three kids who are close in age to my brother and I, so we were pretty close to them growing up. He died on Sept. 2 in a mountain biking accident while visiting his daughter and her family in Idaho. His death was tragic, sudden and very shocking. I wanted to write about him, even though I haven't ever done anything like this on this blog. I guess it's meant to be about family, and he is family. Uncle Gary was a generous, caring, hilarious, spiritual man. He made everyone smile and as they said in his funeral service this past Friday, he loved kids and never really grew up himself. One memory that will always stick out in my head was of our Christmas parties together as a family. Every Christmas, after a delicious meal, Uncle Gary would slip away unnoticed and sure enough, a few minutes later, Santa would arrive. He MADE everyone sit on his lap to get their gift, even Grandma Nederveld! He would have no problem embarrassing you and making you squirm just to get a laugh. At the service I learned that "Santa" made a lot of appearances over the years w/ friends and family. There are a lot of memories of this great man.

I looked at new baby Ellie several times over the past few days and thought about what a precious gift she is and what a precious gift life is. I thought about how we could have her for the next year or the next 65, as we had my uncle. I pray that both Hannah and Ellie will be healthy in life and grow to have the experiences of a lifetime no matter how long they are here. I also pray that Brian and I and the rest of our family will be blessed with sharing many of those experiences with them for a long time to come.

Sorry if this is sad, but it's what's been on my heart. Life and death...both precious. My uncle was taken way too soon, but I'm thankful that he is w/ Jesus right now, no doubt hamming it up and showing everyone a good time. We will all miss him dearly. If you think of it, please continue to pray for my aunt and cousins. I'm sure the next few days, weeks and months are going to be extremely difficult. Thanks.

Perfect

Conversation to remember...
Hannah - "Daddy, you're awesome."
Daddy - "You're awesome too Hannah."
Hannah - "No, I'm not."
Mommy - "Well, then what are you?"
Hannah - "I'm perfect."

Perfect or not, we feel so blessed to have these two little girls in our home.

Sisters...beautiful sisters.

Fishing with cousins

Matt, Stacey, Luke and Taylor came from MI to meet baby Ellie this weekend. Saturday morning was spent fishing in the neighborhood pond.