FAMILY

Summertime

We are enjoying every ounce of summer. As it does every year, this vacation is flying by. We have a few more weeks until we're back to the school routine. :(

Here are a few highlights:

• Swimming lessons with Miss Lisa
• Higgins Lake
• Big Star Lake
• Strawberry picking
• Cherry picking
• Blueberry picking
• Kindermusik
• Vacation Bible School
• Visiting friends
• Sleeping in (until 7:00 AM!)
• The pool
• Golf
• Reeds Lake Run
• Sprinklers
• Sand box and swingset
• Bike Rides
• Ice Cream!!!

Daniel is 4 years old now and William is 2 1/2 (although if you ask him his age, he'll tell you he's 4.....everything is the same as his big brother!). The boys are best friends and they'll tell each other that multiple times a day. So sweet.

blizzard 2011

Busy Busy Busy

Here we are--over 6 months since the last post! We've had birthdays, our 8th anniversary, holidays, a full-semester of school, and we're starting to think about spring break and summer plans already! Where does the time go?

Here's what we've been up to:

Matt: Full-time daddy--Daniel and Will's idol, diapers, books, hugs, sports/coach, and more. Over a year with 5/3 Bank. Plays basketball at lunch/P90X at night. Projects around the house.

Abbie: Full-time mommy---diapers, books, hugs, cooking, cleaning, art projects and more. Teacher (full time this year!)--high school special ed.

Daniel: Turns 4 in March (Wants a Detroit Tiger themed birthday party). Daycare/preschool all day--is learning SO much! Soccer on Tuesdays. Wears shorts and t-shirts when at home....always a "home sporting event" going on. Loves books, coloring, practicing his letters, music, and playing the drums. Loves being a big brother. Wakes up at the crack of dawn. Was baptized at our new church this month.

William: Turned 2 in September (had a "Choo-Choo" Birthday Party)! Daycare/3school all day. Loves books, trucks, choo-choos, coloring, sports, singing, music and anything his older brother is doing. Is Daniel's cheering section at soccer on Tuesday----can't wait to be able to play next year! Loves his big brother. Wakes up at the crack of dawn (or earlier). :( Potty training is in the near future! Was baptized at our new church this month.

Summer Vacay

I think it's been a few months since I have logged into my blog! I hardly know where to start on this update. The boys are keeping me on my toes--we are having a very fun summer together! William is rapidly approaching his 2nd birthday (in Sept.) and Daniel is getting closer to being a 3 1/2 year old! They are good buddies and it has been so much fun to see them play as brothers. They seem a bit lost when the other one is not around. Here are a few albums to show you what we've been doing this summer.

Swimming Lessons 2010

Playdate and Pentwater

Meijer Gardens

4th of July 2010

Playdate in Cherryland

updates!

our big man turns THREE today! here's what daniel is up to:

::sports, sports and more sports (his new fav is lacrosse!)

::can be silly or very serious

::asking questions and why, why, why

::loving big brother and son

::obsessed with curious george

::favorite color is yellow

::starting to recognize more letters of the alphabet

::likes to write circles and dots

::does everything he possibly can to stall before bedtime

::learning LOTS of good and a few not so good things from friends

::amazing memory (we can't get a thing past him)

::fav snack: fruit snacks or goldfish crackers or ritz

::sleeps well: about 7:30-6:30 or later, and a 2-3 hour nap

::we cannot believe how much he's grown into a little person in just 3 short years!

::LOVE YOU DANIEL!

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our (big) little man turned 18 months old last week! here's what william is doing:

::mr. independent

::very ticklish

::lots of teeth! his molars are FINALLY in.... he was a bit uncomfortable there for a while

::loves to chew on and eat anything and everything in sight

::gets REALLY frustrated when he can't do something that daniel is doing

::FREAKS out if we try to change his course of action---he's a man on a mission

::loves being outside

::cuddle bug (but only for a minute)---he leans in for kisses and LOVES to hug

::loves to wave and blow kisses

::loves his blankies

::favorite snack: dried cherries or cheese sticks

::trying SO hard to communicate---he's doing better, but most of his words are not completely comprehensible unless you're around him all the time. still signs please and thank you. he understands A LOT, but he's working on the vocabulary. we think it's really cute when you ask him a question and he nods his head and says "uh huh." he says "uh oh" perfectly.....usually when he has intentionally dropped some food on the floor.

::sleeps well: 7:00-7:00 (sometimes up before that, but hangs out and talks to himself in his crib) one nap for 2-3 hours.

::loves music and dancing!

::extremely squirmy during diaper changes or when trying to get him into his carseat

::he is curious george---getting into things, discovering new things, AND he even sounds a little like him when he talks! :)

::LOVE YOU WILLIAM! we can't wait to see you continue to grow and learn about the world around you!

we are scheduled to go into the doctor in april to get their 18 month and 3 yr. check-ups. we'll report back then!

silly boys

we're having fun around here! these boys are GOOD buddies. just within the last month they have started to really play together. what fun, but what a nerve wracking thing for me. they wrestle, tackle, run around the house, and try to jump on and off the furniture. wow, even if i constantly follow them around, we still have some bumped heads and slip and falls. hopefully nothing worse in our future. it's great to see them interacting as brothers. william wants to do everything that daniel does and gets very frustrated when daniel is not around or if he can't keep up.

i've posted a couple of detailed updates on both boys. they're long, so read if you have the time.

i'll work on a photo album and post it sometime this week to show you more of what we've been up to around here!

daniel

2 1/2 year (32 months) update:

• runs. jumps. loves basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, soccer, football...a very active boy.
• questions EVERYTHING. soaking up the world like a sponge. loves asking "why."
• smiley. happy. sweet. thoughtful. rascal. smart. defiant. silly.
• likes to help clean around the house and at school (he's usually mopping the floor at school when i pick him up).
• wants to do most things independently--getting dressed, potty, etc.
• wearing 24 mo/2T clothes (occasionally a 3T)
• loves thomas the train and handy manny
• wants to help daddy with every home improvement project
• sleeps 11-12 hrs. at night and about 2 hrs. for an afternoon nap
• loves music---memorizes all the words to his favorite songs
• eats like a bird--a little picky--we're working on it.
• favorite foods: spaghetti or pizza--favorite snack: pretzels or goldfish crackers
• 28 lbs. (just two lbs. more than his little bro)--tall and skinny
• enjoys playing with his brother and teaching him new things....both good and bad. :)
• POTTY TRAINED! He woke up about a month ago and decided that was the day! He wanted to give his diapers to Will. He had about 2 rough days with accidents and that was it! We have an occasional accident from time to time, but otherwise we're good to go!
• loves books. can't get enough of them (especially at bedtime when he is trying to stall).
• in a big boy bed. matt and daniel decided one day a couple of weeks ago that it was time to move to a toddler bed. they got him all set up and he's been loving it! we're working on him not sneaking out too early in the morning and at nap time. he's actually doing quite well!
• we love him to pieces.

william

14 month (almost 15) update:

• walking. went from crawling everywhere, to taking a few steps, to walking and now trying to run (to catch up with daniel) in a matter of a few days.
• cuddly. loves to snuggle. especially after his nap, or in the evening when tired. he melts when the silky side of his blankie touches his cheek.
• loves music and dancing
• daredevil. climber. wants to do whatever daniel is doing, even if that means climbing up then jumping off the furniture. having two boys is going to be loads of fun!
• favorite book: goodnight moon. loves most books actually. he picks one out and backs up to sit on our lap so we read to him. he doesn't have enough attention for the whole thing though--we usually read a couple pages and he's ready for the next one.
• favorite snack: raisins. he doesn't really chew them though, so every diaper change is an experience!
• favorite food: anything on his tray. he's a meat lover though. he usually eats that first.
• no more bottle as of about a month ago!
• feeding himself. will not let anyone help him with his spoon. its messy (especially the yogurt and applesauce), but he's learning!
• communicating: uh oh. mama. dada. hi. daniel (da) signs please, thank you, and lights. uh uh uh uh uh (while pointing)...means i want that. my mom thinks he said "i want mama" the other day. it came out more "uhwamama." not many more words yet---just the important stuff for now. :)
• wants to be independent, but wants people around. doesn't want to miss any of the action.
• stinker. little dickens. gets into everything. curious. exploring. tries to copy daniel's every move. huggable. sweet. silly.
• red hair. blue eyes. eight teeth. 26 lbs. strong. strong. strong. squirmy. very hard to hold.
• sleeps 12 hrs. at night. takes one, 2-3 hr. afternoon nap.
• love him like crazy.

happy holidays

this thanksgiving was a bit different for us this year. we stayed home! the boys both came down with a fever the day before (yep, we're going on about 6 weeks of sickness!). ugh---i have to keep reminding myself that down the road, the boys' immune systems are going to be great! will's previous ear infection hadn't cleared up, so we started a new antibiotic. daniel had a nasty virus creep up on him, so he was feeling lousy. we stayed home and i put together a little thanksgiving dinner. nothing like the usual spread that we have with the extended family, but it was nice to spend the holiday with just the 4 of us!

the boys started feeling better on friday, but still had runny noses and coughs. by saturday they were doing even better, and FINALLY sleeping better. yay!

we had fun getting out the christmas decorations and visiting santa at the mall. we are teaching the boys that christmas is jesus' birthday, but we've also had fun telling daniel about the magic of santa too. he told santa this year that he was a good boy and he listens to his mommy and daddy. and he asked for a james (a thomas engine) and a caboose. he LOVED the candy cane that he got from santa. he gobbled that up pretty quickly. he has been asking about santa and where he lives. i explained that he lives on the north pole and has a toy factory there too! we were driving in the car the other day and he spotted toys r us. he said, "mommy, is that the north pole?" :)

getting the christmas tree was cool too---daniel is into it this year and had a great time "hunting" for just the right tree. william LOVES the lights on the tree and just learned the sign for lights---cute.

happy holidays.