My Three Sons

Rare Moment

2011-12-21T18:54:00.001-08:00

Its been awhile. We have been keeping busy and I don't feel much like keeping up with the blog( and still don't) but i snapped this rare moment with Levi and Thor, our cat, cuddling on the couch. Usually he is torturing him, yet the cat seems to always come back to him :) This is what Levi is usually doing to the cat. You can't really tell but that black blob in the drum is the cat. He stuffed him in there and put the lid on! Cat didn't really care. When Levi took the lid of I expected Thor to make a mad dash out of there but he just sat there.

Big Boy Bed

2011-11-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Levi is in a big boy bed now! No more cribs over in this house. I had not planned on moving him yet b/c he was not really attempting at getting out, but he was running out of room in the crib. Plus I had to find a full size mattress set. I found one pretty quickly and we converted his crib in to a full size bed. This is the first time it has been done this way b/c usually I am kicking them out to make room for baby, but he is my baby!
I has been a week and he does pretty well, we have to put up two gates in his doorway otherwise he climbs out and I am afraid he will wake at night and go outside or hurt himself. I have found him laying by the door already and had to move him back to bed. Suprisingly he does well for his naps too. As you can see in the first photo he was pretty excited! :)

Race Day!

2011-09-21T11:10:00.001-07:00

Race Day finally was here! Riley was looking forward to racing his dirtbike for the first time ever, we heard about it for about the last month :) We went to one of the last races of the season at Muskegon and when we got there Carter wanted to race his bike as well, but we only had one bike along, so they had to share. Thankfully we had all their own gear. The boys did AWESOME, they did better with each race and were passing other riders and neither of them fell!! They had blast and John and I couldn't have been more PROUD of them!! We are all looking forward to the next season in May!
They each got a trophy( thankfully the same size otherwise a certain someone.., ahem..Carter..would of had a meltdown :) Riley had 7 riders in his class and he got 5th each race(they race twice)giving him 5th overall in his class and Carter had 15 riders in his class and got 12th the first race and 7th in the second giving him 10th overall in his class.

First Day of School

2011-09-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have been a blog slacker lately. I love to read everyone elses, but never update my own. So I guess I better start with their first day of school since school has been in session for 3 weeks now. It has been going well so far. Carter gets up well in the morning which is good since he is not a morning person and so far we have arrived at school on time. The boys seem to be enjoying their teachers and meeting new friends or hanging out with old ones.

My boys heading back to school- showing off their similar backpacks and no, I did not intentionally dress them in matching colors :)

Carter is going into Kindergarten

Riley is going into 3rd grade. His teacher is my old teacher from when I was in second grade.. Talk about making me feel old!

August

2011-08-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

August has been a very busy month, trying to get in all those last minute vacations/get aways before school starts(which is in a week and a half!) Instead of trying to post everything and to avoid overwhelming and stressing myself I will just write about what we have been up to. I have posted most of the pictures on my Facebook profile anyway.
Back in the last week of July we, as in, my boys and I ( John had to work and couldn't take of two weeks from work since we were going to be camping the following week) went up to my sisters cottage on Silver Lake and stayed there from Mon.-Thurs. We had some friends up there as well just down the road so we spent most our time over there. They took my boys on tube rides, even Levi went once with me, not so sure what he thought of it though. We just enjoyed the sun, water and hanging out, we went into town one night for ice cream. On Wed. night I invited my sisters kids to come up and spend the night and next day with us, which my boys loved. They call them their dudes :) Then on Thurs. evening we headed back home so that I could pack for a week of camping in 2 days!

Heres a picture up at the cottage to break up the long post.... :)

After the cottage we headed to Tri-Ponds Campground with my whole side of the family. This is the first year we stayed for a full week and John even took the whole week off! We rented a cabin which was really nice except it had been really hot the first few days we were there and they have no air. We find that this place is perfect for us b/c it has a pond and pool, kayaks, fishing, petting zoo, game room, volleyball, ect.. so there are plenty of things for everyone to do b/c all our kids range in age from 15-2. The weather was awesome, couldn't have asked for anything better, it did rain late one night and then a little another morning, but still got in plenty of sunshine. Camping is a little tiring at this stage yet, trying to keep on eye on my young kids, but I know that they love it and have a great time and we make some wonderful memories. Can't wait to go again next year!

About half the group, one of my brothers family didn't come till mid-week and most the guys were at work yet.

We were gone from Sunday to a Sunday so the week after camping I just spent putting everything away and getting back into a normal routine. The Sat after we got we headed to Chicago with John's side of the family. They have a visitor from Uganda that is stayign with them for a month and they wanted him to see Shedds Aquarium. This was are first time going there and it was a nice place to visit. Lots of underwater creatures you don't normally see. We also watched a short 4D movie which Levi did not like and a dolphin show. It was very busy there and was getting difficult to move around the place so I was ready to leave. We were going to go to Millenium Park and see a few things but it was raining we we all headed towards home and on the way we stopped at The Cracker Barrel and had a nice home cooked meal. Another great adventure with our family.

Road Trip!....

Riley and Levi with their 3D glasses on...

This one is out of order and should have gone first, but we also went to John Ball Zoo with my sister in law and her to kids about a week or two before the cottage. It was a perfect summer day, we went right away in the morning, checked out all the animals/exhibits, had lunch there, rode a camel, feed the birds, touched sting rays( only me though the older two would not tough them, and were done and home for naps by 2:00, nice little day trip.

The classic photo on the statue, I even have one with all my cousins :) My neice Lexi and Logan on the bottom, Levi in the middle and then Riley and Carter on top.

Riding the camel...

I think that is it for our family adventures for now, but this Sat. John and I are going to Cedar Point, just the two of us for some much needed alone time. The boys are going to have a sleepover at grandma and grandpas were I am sure they will be spoiled. Then its a whole new kind of busy, school starts along with soccer. Riley is a doing it for his 4th year and this is Carter's first time. Until the next blog post, hopefully I will keep on top of it next time.

A Day at the Track

2011-07-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice day to ride around the track at the farm where my parents graciously allowed us to put one up last summer, so we meet my sister in law, her husband and their two kids and let them play around. There was a toy there for everyone to ride, so they had lots of fun!

Riley jumping the tabletop. He says he is ready to race so we may try one of the fair races at the end of the summer.

Logan let Levi ride his toy quad around and Levi loved every minute of it. He went up and down the jumps and all over the field. He got to act like one of the big boys!

Levi and Logan. I see these two being up to no good together in the future :)

Logan and Lexi

finally got Carter to ride his bike this summer

cousins : Carter, Riley, Levi, Logan, and Lexi ( we are just missing Conner)

Potty Training Success

2011-07-07T09:55:00.001-07:00

Potty training is my least favorite thing to get accomplished. The older two were 3( even a little after) before they trained, Riley probally b/c he was my first and I didn't really push the issue till later and Carter was just stubborn! So I was pleasantly suprised that Levi showed an interest in it so young, ( maybe the others did to I just didn't tune in to the clues they were giving me) and I think its safe to say that after only a month he is pretty much potty trained except for naps and bedtime( which he has been dry alot after those too. Once I even forgot a diaper during the night and he was dry in the morning!) He just turned 2 a few weeks ago! I usually let him be naked in the house which makes it easier than taking the pants and diaper of constantly and when we go out he wore a pull up, but now he even asks to go when we are out and about. He also thinks its fun to go outside.We skipped the small potty altogether and went right to the big potty, no potty ring/seat either and he did fine with it. When he went #1 he got a small candy( remember sixlets candy? just little balls of coated chocolate? he got one of those) and if he went #2 he got a bigger candy. This task was a little harder, he seemed afraid of the process at first but now I think he is good. So glad to be done potty training my children( hopefully he does not regress) and most important, I don't have to buy another pack of diapers again( except for pull-ups but they last alot longer, so less money spent!)

such a big boy!

checking out his "deposit" :)

Levi's Birthday Party

2011-06-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

This past Sat. we had a little birthday party with the grandparents to celebrate Levi's 2nd birthday. We opened some presents and enjoyed some cake and ice cream.

mom, dad and the birthday boy

family picture

opening his present. He got a bubble bucket with extra bubbles from us, a pirate ship water table, from grandpa and grandma VanRhee and a stand n' play raceway car track from grandpa and grandma Scholten

playing with his new present. His brothers enjoyed them as well :)

his dump truck cake, I think he liked it alot

Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy!

2011-06-21T11:12:00.001-07:00

My baby is 2 already! :( Little sad b/c he is my last child, but also looking forward to the next chapter in our life and that is a little more independent children. We have moved out of the baby stage. He is SO SO BUSY!! He does not stop moving it ought to make for an interesting camping trip we have every year! He loves animals and being outside and absolutely LOVES to hang at dads shop with the big boys and check out all the semi trucks and dirtbikes. He just had an appt this morning and he is a healthy 30 lbs and 35" tall- 75% for both, so he has slowed down a bit( he was a steady 98% since 2 weeks old) and no shots, that was a bonus. I was expecting them but he will get them in Dec. when he is 2.5 I quick snapped a picture of him this morning before our busy morning runnning errands and the second one is just a goofy picture of him that I thought was cute! Next week I will probally get his pictures taken, just waiting for that bruise on his forehead to go away and hopefully no new ones appear before then.

LOVE

2011-05-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

They are getting so big! ages 8, 5, and almost 2. LOVE. THESE. GUYS!!

One VERY Dirty Boy

2011-05-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

John had Levi at the shop with him a few weekends ago for the first time all day and he LOVED it. He takes the older two boys alot b/c they are more independent but Levi is getting old enough to start making a fuss about them leaving without him. He came home one VERY dirty boy. His pants had oil on them and his hands were black. I gave him a bath when we got home and even afterwards he still had a "stain" on his skin from the oil!. He slept great that night! He had a great time hanging with the boys :)

Birthday Boy # 2

2011-05-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!!! Riley is 8 today! Love that I get to share this Mother's Day with him b/c he ( and his brother's) are the reasons that allow me to celebrate it! He actually arrived a few days before Mother's Day that year and made me a first time mommy :) The best gift ever! Happy Birthday Bud, Mom and Dad Love You!

Happy Birthday..To Me!

2011-04-22T15:59:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday, although it seems like any other day. Not as much fun and anticipation as I remember as a kid. But I turned 29 today, last year of my twenties( lots of great things happened in my twenties, most importantly my boys!) The day was cold, rainy and gloomy but I didn't let that slow me down. I took advantage of a few deals today. I ate a free meal at IHOP, just had to pay for the beverages. Then I headed to a second hand store where I recieved 25% off my total purchase, ran a few more errands, then meet my mom and sister at Crazy Horse for lunch. They graciously paid for my meal + I got a free sundae. My sister gave me some candy too. The rest of the day was pretty normal, pick up kids from school, chiropractor appt., make dinner. It would have been a better day if I could have had John home to celebrate, but he was in PA heading for home. Since our b-days are only 4 days apart we are heading out tomorrow afternoon as a combined b-day celebration. We are going to grab some free( of course!) burgers at Red Robin, check out the new casino in our area( and probally leave with nothing) grab some dinner and then head home, probally rent a movie too. Nothing to exciting for us old people :) haha. Next year is the big one. It does not bother me that I will be 30, we shall see how I feel about that next year.

FREEBIES!!!!

2011-04-20T07:15:00.001-07:00

I normally don't post about my shopping deals, but this week was good. I love getting free stuff! I mean who doesn't, saves you money!! I got free printer paper from Staples, after rebate. From Walgreens I got 3 free scotch tapes, 2 Peeps, and 3 single bags of M&M's, and travel toothpaste + 2 full size toothpaste( not pictured) for $0.50 each. From Meijer I got free ketchup and the Lysol was not free, but almost! I paid $0.17 each + I got many other good deals at Meijer this week! I also recieved free stuff in the mail, this week I got Orville Redenbachers pop-up popcorn bowl( not pictured) If you want to hear about the deals, I always follow moneysavingmom.com and westmichiganmommy.com, I have heard alot of people like savingsaddiction.com also. They all pretty much tell you the same things, but the last 2 are local ladies. You can also follow them on Facebook and since I am on there often :) I always see the newest/latest deals

Carter's 5 Year Pictures

2011-04-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Carter had his 5 year pictures taken today. The first one is my favorite and the one I chose. I had wanted him to wear a different shirt but it had a stain on it, so he wore this one instead and then we got there and I realized that he had a tatoo on his arm that would not come off,but the lady did a nice job of hiding it :)

Party #1

2011-04-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

We had 2 parties for Carter's 5th birthday, normally I do one evening with just the grandparents, but it just worked this year to do it this way b/c it fell on a Sunday and we are usually at one grandparents on a Sunday. So a week before his actual birthday we were at the VanRhee side with all my family and celebrated then. We had a nice dinner and then he opened his presents. He got all Beyblade stuff, which he was super excited about. They had to come out right away to be played with. I made him a Lego block cake in the shape of a C for Carter and put little Lego guys on it. It was cute, but very time consuming, it took like 2-3 hours to make and decorate! But everyone seemed to like it b/c it was completely gone.

Party # 2

2011-04-11T14:59:00.001-07:00

We celebrated with the Scholten side on his actual birthday in the evening. He wanted a monster truck cake, so I got and icing sheet made and then just put it on top of a 9x13 b/c after his first cake I wanted something quick and easy. We had pizza and then played outside a bit and then opened his presents, he got some cash( I think was his favorite- I mean who doesn't like free money?!) and some figures to go with his play castle and a Wii Hot Wheels game and cousin Lexi got him some cars. All the guys got haircuts and then we had cake and ice cream, even the dog, Buddy, did too b/c its his birthday too( he is 3 or 21 in dog years) I was such a nice day for a birthday!

Birthday Boy

2011-04-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER!!!! Carter turns 5 today, I can't believe it! I remember every detail of that day. We were so excited and blessed to welcome a second son! We Love you buddy He looks so grown up, like he has finally lost that baby/toddler face. I snapped this right away this morning, so he may look a little sleepy eyed yet. :)

Another Visit from the Tooth Fairy

2011-04-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

After about 4 months of wiggling and coaxing, and one little tug he finally lost one of his top teeth. It looks weird with such a big gap but the other tooth is already there so it won't look silly long,that is until he loses the other one.

Just Like Mom

2011-04-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

I heard Levi moving chairs around, which is nothing new b/c he does it all the time and it drives me bonkers, but he had pulled all the chairs away from the table to use his vaccuum on the rug under the table like he has seen me do before. :)

Wrestling

2011-03-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

boy being boys, having a good old fashioned wrestling match with their dad :)

Levi looks like he is body slamming John!

Derby Cars

2011-03-15T07:14:00.001-07:00

The boys really wanted to make Derby Cars (well more like Riley did and Carter then wanted to also) after seeing some other kids sharing theirs at school, so we headed to the craft store and found some kits and got some paint and daddy and his boys had some quality time on Sunday afternoon putting these together while mommy took a nap :) Next year Riley will be in a boys group at church so he will actually get to race them, which he is already really excited about b/c they have been trying to make ramps with pizza boxes off of the couch to race them against each other. We have already had to use super glue to put some things back together. I think they turned out great,the boys did a nice job!

My Youngest Child... My Baby

2011-03-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Figured it was time to post about Levi...

Where to start with Levi. He is my bundle of energy, he keeps me on my toes. Still loves to climb on everything and get into everything. My house looks like a tornado ripped through it, so if you stop by unannounced be forewarned it more than likely will look like a disaster :) I think he is going to be my quiet sneaky guy- you know he is up to no good when its quiet. He is a funny little guy too, some of the things he does, of course I can not think of them off the top of my head right now, but he is quite the character. He is saying lots more word. He knows a couple body parts and can tell you what most the animals say. I find this cute as well when I am usually counting to 3, I will say one and then he yells out 2, so funny, I love this little man!

At about 18 months he showed some interest in the potty, he has gone #1 & 2 a few time when I put him on the potty, but now he is starting to not be so interested. I have not really pursued it so much, maybe this summer, but it would be nice not to have to buy anymore diapers. Occasionaly he will come to me and say poop, then I ask if he has to use the potty and he runs and gets a book, HA! true man already he has to read while on the toilet. He usually never goes until about 5 min later once I put a fresh diaper on him. At least he is starting to recognize it though.

Hard to believe that he is almost 2!. My baby... my last one. Time is going so fast! But I look forward to all the fun we will have, just me and my boys. Love them all so much!

My Middle Child

2011-02-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

Carter's turn for a little acknowledgement. He is a middle child after all and they do tend to get lost in the mix, but he is not any less important than my other two. I even had a problem finding a nice picture of him b/c he is either with his brothers, eating something or giving me a goofy grin, so the photo is from about 6 months ago.

Carter has two side, the sweet affectionate side where he will always give me a hug and kiss, (unlike my oldest child) and compliments me by telling me I am beautiful and pretty( he sure is going to know how to work the ladies when he is older :) He is my big sweet little man. He has a sweet smile and genuinely cares. Then there is the other side where he throws a fit, cries and runs away b/c he didn't get his way and threatens that he will not love me if I don't comply with his demands, but this quickly passes and is soon back to his loving self.

Carter is almost 5 and currently in preschool and doing awesome for how little time I spent with him learning his stuff( again second child thing, I need to work harder on that) He can count to 14 then jumps to 18 up to 23. He recognizes most his alphabet and some of the sounds they make. He has mastered writing his name as well, must have been all those Valentines he filled out. :) He is a very social guy, he loves to make friends, even though he is a little timid at first with a little encouragement he goes right up to them. He likes to hang with his big brother and protect his little brother.

He is my imaginitive child. He likes castles, pirate ships and all the little guys that go with them and making up these little stories or scenes. He likes to do puzzles and be crafty( like play-doh, paint, and coloring) He also likes to help bake. He is the closest I am going to get to my girl, haha he may not like to here me say that in about 10 years, oh well. But he also enjoys being outside building forts, riding bike and running around with the neighbor boys. We love him for who he is just the way he is( mood swings and all!) We love you buddy!

My Firstborn Son

2011-01-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take the time and post about each of my boys individually and reflect on who they are and what they love, instead of always posting about the youngest( I admit to doing this most often) or grouping them as "the boys". So I will start with Riley my firstborn son....

Riley fits the role of big brother well in both good and bad. He cares about them and helps them out and tries to teach them all that he knows, but he can take it a bit far and be a little bossy too.

He is quite smart, he catches on to stuff very quickly and does not need very much instruction. He is great a spelling( he gets that from me) and he likes math( which is good b/c I am terrible at it- he gets this from his dad.) He has an amazing teacher this year, I could not have asked for a better teacher, they work so well together and I know Riley is learning so much from him. He is my techie. He likes to be on the computer, playing the Wii or PS2, watching t.v/videos, playing the Leapster. I anticipate in the future him being up on the new phones, ipads,ipods and whatever else there will be( can you tell I am not that educated on technology, I used to laugh at my parents when they couldn't figure it out, it was simple, Ha! Now I am in their shoes) He loves to hang out with his older cousins( not sure how much they love it, but..) I think he can't wait to be older and it's coming soon enough, he is almost 8! Right now its the middle of winter and he enjoys sledding, but also likes soccer, maybe soon he will try football. He also enjoys riding his dirtbike. He is VERY competitive and does well racing against someone, but when we ask if he wants to go to races he seems unsure. We will see what this summer brings. He also likes to read and is an advanced reader for his grade. He likes a variety of chapter books and will read whatever I pick up at a second hand store. He is a wonderful, loving boy, all his own and we love him to pieces.

A Weekend Away

2011-01-26T17:36:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago we headed to Shipshewana, IN to Splash Universe for a little fun. We went with John's side of the family and had a great time. There was plenty for the boys to do. I actually did not see the older 2 almost the entire time we were at the waterpark. Levi was a little apprehensive at first but warmed up to it. Its a great place for young families and not too far away from home.

Levi's 18 Month Pictures

2011-01-05T18:40:00.001-08:00

here are a few of my favorite poses....

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-24T06:48:00.001-08:00

Yesterday after Levi went down for a nap the boys and I made some Christmas cookies, its a tradition over here and we always have lots of fun and a big mess!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!!

rolling, cutting, and decorating

the finished product, the boys did a great job! enjoying their cookies

Proof

2010-12-23T16:19:00.001-08:00

I just got done saying in my last post that Levi is into and on top of everything and now I have my proof. He did this while I was writing the last post about his mischievousness.

18 months

2010-12-23T13:55:00.001-08:00

Levi is now 18 months old. He is a fun, energetic, cuddly little boy that can also be a little stinker too- quite the handful at times, he is so busy. He still climbs on everything and pulls everything out of the cupboards that do not have locks ( and even some that do!) He says a few words- hot, up, pop(as in soda pop), mama, pop-pop(daddy or grandpa) gama ( grandma) bye- there are probally a few more that I can't think of right now. When he needs something or wants to show me something he comes over to me and taps me on the side until I get up and follow him. He just had a checkup today and is healthy. We did get a perscription for a patch of eczema on his back, that seems to be worse now b/c of the dry winter, so hopefully that helps, but it doesn't seem to bother him. Here are his stats, still a big boy, but he has slowed way down:

Height: 33.5"- 90%
Weight: 29 lbs. 12 oz- 90%

Lifting Weights

2010-12-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Such hard work maintaining that physhique.... :)

Levi's Future Job

2010-11-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

I thought this was cute. I walked into the office/toy room and saw him like this and has to snap a picture. Think he might take an interest in an office job someday?

Climber!

2010-11-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Levi is such a climber!!! I do not recall my other two hardly climbing on things at all or at least not so persitantly. I will find him on everything. The table, chairs, countertops, stove,on the dishwasher door, the ledge by our fireplace, climbing on the exercise equipment, into the toybox, on the bench. And everytime I take him down off something he goes right back for it. He also likes to snoop in the cupboards and take everything out but recently has not been able to b/c I fixed all the locks on them and he can't open them, which is probally why he now climbs more to get to the one on top that don't have locks! He definetly is a very busy boy.

on the stove eating the last cookie, what a stinker!! Can you tell he is a third child I saw this and ran for the camera instead of immediatly taking him down :)

I had just taken him down off the stove and brought him to another room and he goes right back and I find him snooping in the cupboards!

on top of the counter trying to get into brothers Legos

Trick or Treating

2010-10-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun and got lots of candy last night. We went with a couple friends and their kiddos around our neighborhood and it was actual a pretty nice night for it. We discovered that Levi loves candy, he really has not been given a lot of candy before but now he begs for it. He caught on real quick to what this whole trick or treating thing is about!

Carter as Bumble Bee from the Transfomers

Riley as Optimus Prime from the Transformers

my dirtbike rider(the Thor pajamas he is wearing are a brand of riding gear) but everyone thought he was a race car driver.

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-31T14:57:00.001-07:00

We carved our pumpkins a few weeks ago, after we went to Post's, I just have not posted about them, so here they are.My boys pumkins- I did not make one. I end up carving all theirs anyway. Riley choose a flaming skull, Carter a ghost, Levi has the John Deere logo and John being a truck driver choose the KW (Kenworth) truck logo. Uncle Mike drew the stuff on the pumpkins, except Johns, and the ladies carved them. The kids did help with gutting the pumpkins I just did not have the camera to take a pic at the time.

Post Family Farm

2010-10-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday our family and John's sister and family went to our annual trip to Post Family Farm. They have a lot of great activites that the kids enjoy and my favorite parts is the pumpkin doughnuts. I think they did all about they had to offer there. They had a pony ride, rode the pumpkin train and the new pedal cars. Played in the straw and rode the zip line. Got their faces painted and rode the wagon back to the pumpkin patch to pick out their pumpkins. It was another beautiful day and we had a great time. Afterwards we headed to our house to carve our pumpkins. I will post pictures about that soon, so stay tuned.

YUMMY DOUGHNUTS!!!!

pumpkin train and pony rides

wagon rides

looking for the best pumpkins

Field Trip

2010-10-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Last week I went with Carter's preschool class for a field trip to Nyboers Pumpkin patch. It was a gorgeous fall day and we had lots of fun exploring. We got to take home some pumpkins, gourds and indian corn.

some of Carter's prescool friends riding the wagon around the pumpkin patch

Exploring the pumkin patch

Pumpkinfest Parade

2010-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Zeeland had the Pumkinfest. We had gone on Thursday night and had the free dinner, the kids played some games, painted a pumpkin and did the pedal pulls. ( I don't have any pics of that I forgot my camera) Then on Saturday Carter had to be in the parade with his preschool class, so we headed out to that in the afternoon.

Sitting next to one of his friends, waiting to go. He did not want to get on the float. He was crying and everything. After 10 minutes of trying all sorts of things I ended up having to bribe him with ice cream afterwards. Then he was all smiles and waving as he passed us.

waiting for the parade to start. My neice, Sophia and Riley and Levi. Riley was also busy climbing a tree nearby.

watching the parade and getting candy. I also thought it was so cute that Levi was clapping. He loved the parade!

15 months

2010-09-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Levi is already 15 months!! He is so much fun right now. His personality is coming out. He still loves to be outside, climb on everything, including climbing in his own high chair when its time to eat and the tramp to jump. He loves to be rough with his brothers and has a pretty loud squeal. He is talking more and a few words he says(and that I only really understand) are eat, out, hot, ball, mama, dada. Not to many yet, but he has never been much of a babbler even as a baby. He is goofy, always happy and fun. He amazes me at what he can do, he can operate his little quad, he figured out how to bounce on the spring horse we have, rock on his rocking motorcycle, climb up the steep playset steps, he even pulls out a wipe if I left them out and starts to wash something. He also pulls his bibs out and tries to put them on his head, along with hats, belts, my purses- he likes to put things on his head or around his neck( better watch that!) He loves to help empty the dishwasher, he climbs right on the door. He also takes everything out of the cupboards that are not locked, the toy boxes, anything..the house is always messy. He just had a check-up and it seems that he is finally slowing down in the weight stats, even though he is still big for his age in the 93% in weight at 28 lbs. 2 oz ( he only gained 1/2 lbs in 3 months, in the past he could easily do that 3-4 weeks) and for height he is 90% at 33"( he grew 1 1/2" in 3 months)

Carter's First Day of Preschool

2010-09-20T19:02:00.001-07:00

Carter has started preschool at Zeeland Christian, 3 days a week in the afternoon. He seems to enjoy it so far and has no problems seeing me leave and making new friends. He seems very excited to be going to school like his big brother. He has all of the sudden looked so grown up to me, where has the time gone? This is a picture on his first official day of school (the first day was an hour with me along visiting the classroom)

Ridin' a 2-Wheeler

2010-09-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

While Riley has finally gotten comfortable on a motorized dirtbike without training wheels, Carter has mastered riding a bicycle without training wheels. All in his own time, he was not going to do it if he didn't want too, but with a little encouragement he went for it and he has just taken off. Now to get him on the dirtbike.....one step at a time!

At the Track

2010-09-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

We went out to the track on Labor Day and had a lot of fun riding around and getting more practice in. He is doing good for only his 3rd time on a track. He is getting much faster and more confident, although he still needs a little pushing and prompting at first, but he is getting good, so maybe next year we will try out a few fair races! Pardon the shaky camera a poor picture quality it is off of my cheap camera.

Weekend Family Getaway/Day 1 : LEGOLAND

2010-08-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a mini weekend vacation with the family. We headed to the Chicago area and went to Legoland and the Brookfield Zoo( I will post pics of that trip soon). We drove to Legoland on Friday, got to our hotel around 2:00, checked in and then headed to Legoland. WOW! I am amazed at the crazy stuff they make with Legos, that has to be a very tedious and time consuming job and must take alot of patience! I forgot to take a picture of the huge giraffe they made out of Duplo blocks when you walk in the entrance, but its huge! The boys had a great time in there checking out all the creations, building their own cars/trucks. We also watched a 4D movie and went on a dragon ride. After being there for about 3 hours we grabbed some dinner then headed back to our hotel for some swimming and to bed b/c we had another busy day ahead of us. If you have young boys( or girls too, the also love Legos, but there were far more boys there than girls) that love Legos I would suggest checking this place out, its about a 3 hour drive away, you could just make it a day thing if you wish. They also had a Lego store there too, if you want to buy stuff and it is priced the same as stores around here, but they have a better selection. I will post about our second day at the Zoo soon, for know enjoy pictures of Legoland....

the many creative statues we saw.....

Amazing what they can do with Legos!Downtown Chicago/Navy Pier scene all made out of Legos and they had a moving crane that the boys could play with too.

We went on a dragon ride there and they had this medevial ( sp?) theme, of course all made out of tiny Legos! Levi even went on it and was not scared at all b/c it got dark sometimes and some things moved and at one point we got sprayed with water, which he hates!(more of a mist)

They also had this ride upstairs. They had this little pit of big rubbery blocks that Levi could play in.

This was upstairs, were you can put together your own creations with Legos and they had little tracks that you could race them on.

Camping @ Tri-Ponds 2010

2010-08-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time camping this year. We went at the very end of July for 4 nights. We tried a new spot this year at Tri-Ponds and we LOVED IT!!! They have a pond and pool, game room, petting zoo, lots of space to ride your bike, a playground and a jumpng pillow. Us adults even enjoyed some volleyball. So there are lots of things to do which is good because the kids range in age from 14-1, so there was plenty for everyone to do. The weather was beautiful, we hung out the pool, we played card games and we could see the kids playing in the pond from where we camping. We are definetly going back next year for a full week and this next time we are renting a cabin. Already looking forward to it!

hanging at the pool

** disclaimer- no child was harmed in this photo, nor did he consume any adult beverages :)**

BUSTED!!!!!! doesn't it look like he is cracking open a cold one!! He knew he was being a stinker!

most of the gang, hanging around the fire and making some smores! YUM!!

some cute photo ops....

can't be totally disconnected from the rest of the world, on the internet..probally Facebook.

Levi's bathing tub, it was nice that the camper we rented had a shower on the outside and it had hot water too.

some of the things we did....playing on their new jumping pillow, playing on the playground, riding bikes and playing in the dirt are just of the few things we enjoyed doing.

Levi and Max's "prison" They did not like it very much, but Levi did tolerate it for about 10 minutes on a few differnt occasions. on the way back home....camping is hard work (and it was past his naptime.

Big Brothers

2010-08-10T05:49:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you have big brothers..........

Fair Fun

2010-08-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Just before we went camping they had Kids Day at the Ottawa county fair grounds, we have gone several years in a row now, I think this is the first that John has been able to come with us, so that was a fun day to spend some family time together. It was a nice hot day, but they had plenty of shade to stand under. The boys did the pedal pulls, rode tons of games and checked out all the animals. They even had a wild animal exhibit this year beside the typical farm animals, so that was neat. They even had camels to ride, for $5 of course!(we didn't ride them, just looked at them) I will post about our camping trip later, as this one took awhile and its getting late.

My boys :) the best picture I could get of all three, too many distractions. ( I think some cows were walking by after being judged)

Levi was a little trooper the whole day riding around in his stroller. We did take a little ice cream break and let him run around a bit. I thought he would for sure fall asleep there but he crashed in the car on the way home.

For $10 they got a wristband to wear and use for unlimited rides, so we tried just about every one and repeated some too. Riley loved all the rides ( he takes after me) he is tall enough to go on the bigger rides himself. His favorite was the Gravitron( do you remember this from when we were younger it spins you around in circles and you are "stuck" to the wall you can't move anything) John first went on it with him b/c he thought that he would be scared, but he ended up doing it 3 times in a row! Once was enough for John, he had a headache afterwards. Getting old sucks!

John went on the ferris wheel with the boys b/c they really wanted to go by themselves, but there was no way I would let that happen. There are no seat belts and the doors just swing open. Not a good idea with to young, rowdy boys high up in the air.

They had no idea what they were in for with this ride and when it first dropped them Carter was terrified, but once he realized that he was not going to crash into the ground he enjoyed it and even went on it again later.

Riley has done the pedal pulls for a couple years now and he finally got 1st place. He was so excited and proud of himself.

Carter did the pedal pulls for the first time this year, but only if I walked next to him and he ended up with third place.

Levi checking out the animals for the first time. He was a little hesitant and then got a little spooked when it licked his hand.

sorry about the color of the tractor grandpa ( it should be John Deere green)

A Visit to the Cottage

2010-07-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in awhile and I can't believe that July is half gone already. We have been keeping very busy, one of the places we visited recently was my sister's cottage up at Silver Lake. The boys always have a great time up there playing with their cousins. They enjoyed playing in the water. They are at the end of a canal off of the lake so its really calm and quiet down there-perfect for the kids. They also got to go for a ride up in the dunes with Uncle Mark in his Jeep. It was very hot and the perfect day!

Carter and Riley did alittle fishing with the help of their cousins and even caught a few( we threw them back) Carter watched the fish for awhile and we even fed them bread, they were hungry b/c they attacked the food and even nibbled our toes!

Levi playing with his new sand toys and Carter digging a hole

Levi enjoying his own little pool and keeping cool in this hot weather we have been having for some time now. He is a little hesitant of the water at first. I had to put him in it empty and let it fill up slowly. He does not like to be sprayed or splashed by others, but he loves the bathtub and splashing himself? Figure that out! Strange child. Just kidding :) He loves to be outside and has now mastered how to turn himself backwards and go down the stairs himself. He says a few things that only I understand and is just one busy boy exploring new things.

The boys enjoying their first rootbeer floats. Riley asked me why I had never made these before. He loved them- his two favorite things, ice cream and rootbeer! I have a feeling I will be asked to make these alot this summer.

Birthday Party #2

2010-06-30T14:42:00.001-07:00

Here are the pictures from his second party he celebrated with his cousin Max and my side of the family...

opening more presents

the cakes. I did not make his #1 cake. I was sick of making cakes and I had other things to get ready, so I had some lady make it. I did make their smash cakes again.

the boys digging in to their cakes. Max went right for it and Levi took a little bit getting into it this time.

Birthday Party #1

2010-06-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Levi's birthday with two parties. Normally I do both sides of the family all together, but this time we celebrated Levi and his cousin Max's birthdays together with my side of the family( they are two weeks apart) and then had John's side of the family over a few days earlier to celebrate. Here are pictures of party #1...

John and I with the birthday boy ( he actually didn't turn one till a few days later)

Presents

I made him a monkey cake and he had his own little smash cake.enjoying making a mess out of his cake

cleaning up after having so much fun eating the cake.

1 Year Pictures & Stats

2010-06-23T10:30:00.001-07:00

We have been frequent visitors to Sears lately with the boys yearly pictures, and family pictures. Here are my favorites of his 1 year pictures. Sorry that they can't be viewed too well with their name all over the pictures, but I did post a link on Facebook to view the rest of them.
He also visited the doctor yesterday and had to get four shots and then get a lead test done b/c we live in an old house. We had to go upstairs for that to the lab and with my other two boys they just poked their fingers. This time they put a tiny needle in. I had to bear hug him and another nurse had to hold his arm and the other put in the needle and drew blood. He didn't even flinch or cry. He cried more at his shots. He is still following his own growth curve well and weighed in at 27 lbs. 6 oz and 31.5" he gained 2 lbs and 2" in just 3 months. Still in the 90-95%.

Happy Birthday Levi!! 1 Year Old Today!!

2010-06-21T15:23:00.001-07:00

My baby is 1 today! This year has flown by and I feel so blessed to have him in our lives. He is such a joy. I love him to pieces. We had a normal day, no parties, those were all over the weekend ( hopefully I will get pictures of that up soon.) We got your pictures taken at Sears today and then we went to Target and then had Pizza Hut there. We got home and you took a 4 1/2 hour nap! Then we just played outside for a bit while I made chicken on the grill for dinner. I think he ate a whole piece himself he loved it. We played with some more of his new presents he got and enjoyed some leftover cake and ice cream.
At 12 months old he is finally walking- for the most part. He will still crawl around on occasion b/c it is quicker. He has 6 teeth( 4 on top and 2 on bottom) He only gets one bottle now at bedtime- the formula is almost gone and then he will be done. He likes regular milk and water. Not so much juices though. He is eating all regular food and loves most of it. He is chatting a little more but still not much of a talker. I think he has said "nana" which is for banana and of course mama and dada and hot ( i was telling him the grill was hot and he repeated me) He goes for his check-up tomorrow so I will post his stats then. Here are a few pictures of the Birthday Boy in his little t-shirt.

Dirt Bikes

2010-06-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Levi loves the dirtbikes too. Everytime they come out he crawls/walks right for it. He even gets rides and he always has a huge grin on his face. I can't wait till they all get a little older and watch them ride/race (if they choose too.) I love it! This is what John did when we met and I spent many summers going with him to races and watching him and then to watch my boys do it too, will bring back a lot of memories.

Carter taking a ride with dad and even twisitng the throttle himself. This is a huge accomplishment since he wanted nothing to do with it. He even has his own bike now, that needs training wheels put on it yet, but for awhile he was denying it was his and screaming that he does not want a dirtbike.

Riley riding his bike around the house. Usually we go to the farm where there is more room, but he wanted to show grandpa and grandma when they were over for Levi's birthday party last night( more posts and pictures to come soon)

Levi's Walking

2010-06-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Levi has finally gotten the hang of walking. He would do it a little here and there, but now he is getting much better at it and going longer distances. He still crawls around alot too. Sorry the picture is sideways. If anyone knows how to rotate them please let me know.

Family Pictures

2010-06-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

We had a family picture taken again. They turned out really well and I am very happy with them. They changed how you can view photos online, so now they have their name plastered all over and they come up smaller so they are harder to view. I have a link posted on FB where you can view them better if you like, but they are not rotated. Here are two of my favorites.

DETERMINATION

2010-06-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Levi was so determined to get to the stairs. At first I had 1 chair up and he made it through that. He had a huge smile on his face like I did it mom! so I added more chairs, although it would have been just as easy for me to go get the gate which was outside, but this was more fun. He really worked at it and twisted and turned to get through the bottom, just to be stopped by another chair. He tried a couple different ways too. He never made it to the stairs again, but he sure tried hard!!

he made it through one chair to be stopped by another

getting a little frustrated at first with his situation then he manages to figure it out

Hot "Summer" Days

2010-05-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well it is not offically summer yet these last couple days sure feels like it! We hauled out the pools to cool off and have some fun. This was Levi's first experience with the pool since he was a newborn last summer and he seemed to enjoy it. Her are two of my boys( the other was at school) enjoying the water in this warm weather.

He likes cords, he plays with the vaccum cord, the lamp cord,computer cords, air pump cord, the cord to the blinds and even when we were at Crazy Bounce he played with the cords there too.

11 Months

2010-05-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

Man, 11 months- that means next month is your birthday and you will be one! Levi is constantly on the go and acting less and less like a baby each day. He is on all table food and still has 3 bottles a day, but he has also tried regular milk in a sippy and he loves it! He is getting more daring and pushing away from furniture and taking a few steps, but I wouldn't consider him walking yet, but I think very soon. He waves bye bye, but also for night night and hi. He says mama and dada but I have not heard much else. He has never been much of a talker. He loves being outside and is always putting stones, grass, whirlie birds, whatever he can find in his mouth. It's gonna be a busy summer keeping after him. He got his first big owie- he fell into the window ledge and still has a huge bump on his forehead. He also loves to play with trucks and push them around and make truck noises. It is so cute! He still has four teeth, the bottom two and his fangs on top, he may be working on some more b/c he has been a little crabbier lately. Hopefully his front two teeth. Love Him! He is growing into such a fun, happy, lovable little guy!

playing trucks

standing on his own

Best Buds

2010-05-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I got to watch my niece Sophia and nephew Max. I snapped a few pictures of the boys. They are only 2 weeks apart. They don't play together much right now, but I hope as they grow up they become best buddies!

Meijer Deal...Free & Cheap

2010-05-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

This may not seem like a great deal or much to write about, but I only paid .50 for these to items. The Nabisco snack packs(12 ct) are $4 at Meijer and if you purchased one of these you also got the mac' n cheese cup for free. You are only allowed 1 per transaction( to get the free mac'n cheese- if you don't care to have those you can purchase the snack packs all at once with all the coupons), so I did like 5 different transactions. Here is how you get the snack packs for .50- If you got the 5 pack of mac' n cheese a few weeks ago they also had coupons on them for $2.50 off a snack pack( and there are still some available on them in the store), so I used that plus Meijer Mealbox had a coupon for $1.00 off 1 off these packs. Combined them together and got pretty cheap stuff. These are great to use in Riley's lunch box, on the go snack, or like I am going to use them for the snack I have to bring for after one of his t-ball games.

Happy 7th Birthday Riley!!

2010-05-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

My oldest boy is 7!! WOW!! Riley had a great b-day with lots of gifts recieved. He is obsessed with Mario on the Wii and even had a Mario theme party. He got Mario Cart and then recieved $50 and wanted to buy Mario Galaxy. He also got some Legos, Transformers, Rollerblades, Leapster game, water gun, and some other cool toys too. He definetly got a lot of loot this year. He is growing up way to fast but I look forward to watching him become a young man, he is already a great brother! We love you buddy!!

he wanted a mario theme b-day party at Crazy bounce so I carried the theme over into his other b-day party and made him this cake.

Riley really wanted a birthday party with the boys from his class, so we celebrated at Crazy Bounce. The boys had lots of energy and had lots of fun!

enjoying some pizza and cupcakes

Opening up his presents he got from his friend

Outdoor Discovery Center Field Trip

2010-05-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I went on a field trip with Riley's class to the Outdoor Discovery Center. We first went and ate lunch at Timbertown and got to play for a little bit, then spent the afternoon exploring the trails and then learning about animals habitats and got to touch a few animals

Riley's first grade class

Out on the trails

They got to see and/or touch a snake, salamander, bunny, and a screech owl that was hit by a car and was missing an eye.

Busy, Busy

2010-05-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing special about this post but just some things that have been going on lately. The title says it all. Its exactly how I feel this past month and the month to come. All my weekends for May are booked. Don't get me wrong I like keep busy, but it has been non-stop. Plus I do alot of the stuff with 3 kids on my own b/c the hubby is over the road trucking alot and it wears on you after awhile. I just feel like I have been running here and there and shuttling kids around, planning parties and sport events. I shouldn't complain I don't even have to get up to do a job on top of it all, they are my job. I am just tired and I have another month of this craziness.

Carter has turned 4, John is the BIG 3-0, I turned 28( these were all in a 2 week span) Riley is turning 7 on Saturday- we are having a party at Crazy Bounce with the boys from his class( pictures to come soon) and then a small family party the same day. At some point we as a family go to a fun place of their choice( Carter chose Chuckie Cheese, gotta love that pizza- not). He usually picks the Craigs Cruisers in GR its alot more fun than the Holland one, but the weather needs to cooperate to do the outdoor stuff. Then in June my baby turns 1 :( and we will have another big party! Anyway enough rambling. Here are some pictures of our past month....

The cake that I made him-sort of. I baked the cake and frosted it, but the picture was made of an edible icing by someone else and all I had to do was apply it to the top of the cake. I emailed her a picture of his truck and she was able to make this.

John the birthday guy. Not the best shot , but its all I had.

Some of the party guests and activities at John's 30th Birthday party

My sister-in-laws, Jen and Jen and my sister, Julie on the right

Levi being a little busy boy. Checking out the cupboards, he didn't make to big a mess. He has also started to climb the stairs, so its time to get the gates out again. He is really getting into everything!

Headed out to the Tulip Time Parade again this year and of course it rained as it usually does just before and then was fine the rest of the time.

Our neighbor Austin, nephew Trenton, Riley, and neice Sophia. Carter did not want to take part in the picture. I told him someday when he is older he is going to wonder why there are no pictures of him and I will tell him that he never wanted to be in them b/c he always had a little attitude. :)

My sister and her daughter dressed up in their Dutch costumes for the street scrubbing

My nephew Kody( 3rd from the left) got to hold the gun for the ZCS band during the Tulip Time Parade.

Levi LOVED the parade! The loud bands did not bother him at all.

Riley's 7 Year Pictures

2010-05-03T17:41:00.001-07:00

My oldest is turning 7 on Saturday, so we got his pictures taken. He was not to excited to do it, but once he got into it and the lady figured out what made him smile nicely it went pretty good. He wanted to give a cheesy smile with wide eyes as you can tell in the picture where he is standing with his hands in his pocket, but towards the end he gave a more natural smile. I again went with a blue background b/c the other two ended up getting their photos that way, which was not planned, it just happened to be the pose I liked, so I couldn't have him being left out, so I had to do it the same way. Although when Levi turns 1 soon his background may change. Oh Well!

10 Months

2010-04-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Levi's first year of life is going so quickly. He is such a big boy at 10 months. When we returned from Florida he had learned so much while I was gone( probally b/c he got all the attention from grandmas, sorry to say, hes the third child and yes they do get less attention, especially when they are such good babies) He has started to "talk" alot more, the other day he was attempting to copy me and make truck noises, it was so cute. He learned so big. I think its funny b/c their arms barely reach past their head. He also learned to wave bye-bye. He is pulling up on everything and will attempt to stand for a few seconds without holding on to anything. He loves to walk around holding your hands. This is the month that my other two started walking so we will see if he follows them. Its going to be a busy summer with him! He now has 4 teeth, the other tooth on the top came through just after we came home from vacation. But they are not his two top front teeth they are the next two. I thought that was a odd pattern, so he looks like he is missing his two front teeth. He is eats both jarred and table food yet with a total of 3 bottles a day. He loves to eat and will eat about anything. He loves to be outside and watch everything. Its fun to start seeing his little personality come out, although it looks like he has some attitude already, but right now its cute! How can you get mad at this face...

Fort Myers Beach, Florida 2010

2010-04-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Lots of pictures. I was kinda putting of posting this b/c of al lthe pictures that I had and it seemed a little daunting. They are in no particular order they are just a few snapshots of what we did during the week in Florida. I have more posted on FB.
We had a wonderful time the weather was perfect, sunny and 80 all week. I went down with my sister and her 3 kids and then my two oldest( Levi stayed behind and got spoiled) The ride there and back went smoothly. There were a few traffic delays but nothing major. The ride back was worse and I drove straight home, so I was very tired and night driving is hard. We mostly hung out at the beach or the pool, walked the beach and pier. We saw baby sharks that people would catch while fishing and we even touched it and we got to hold a parrot( no pic b/c I forgot my camera!!) We walked around the shops downtown alot and also went to an outlet mall one morning. We also visted the Shell Factory and Nature park and their community pool which is pretty much like our aquatic center, just outside. We also did a little mini-golf too. And a few nights my sister and I got to go out and enjoy a few drinks. I would definetly go back again. It was very nice and relaxing.

our condo where we stayed at the Bel-Air Beach Club

Carter's 4th Birthday Party

2010-04-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Carter is 4 now! Wow I can't believe it! He actually turned four last Sat. when we were in FL. We were traveling home that day, so he had to spend it in the car :( We had a party for him last night with the grandparents. He wanted a monster truck cake, so this is an idea I found. Don't think it turned out to bad. He wanted it to be red, but the frosting always ends up looking pink, so we did green. Happy Birthday Buddy! We Love you!!

These pictures are backwards, but they are all of him opening and playing with his presents. He got his first Playmobil set- it was a pirate ship along with some extra pirates and smaller boat. He also got a Playmobil safari jeep. He also got a dragon castle with a dragon. He is a very imaginitive boy and as you can see from the picture that he loves them and went right to playing with them.

Carter's 4 Year Pictures

2010-04-13T09:58:00.001-07:00

Here are Carter's 4 year pictures we had take today. He gave me some attitude at first and didn't want them taken, no suprise there, but he turned around real quick and I think they turned out great. I can't believe he is 4 already. He doesn't look like a toddler anymore, but a tall young boy. You dont really realize it until you take a picture of them and look at it. The first is my favorite and the one that I ordered- it shows his true genuine smile, not forced or fake, you can see it in his eyes too.

9 Month Pictures & Stats

2010-03-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

We had Levi's 9 month pictures taken today at Sears and he did great. Such a handsome little man! He also had a doc. appt. Tuesday and he weighed 25 lbs and was 29.5" tall. He gained 2.5 lbs and only grew 1/2 and inch within the past 2 months( he was late for his 6 month and was really 7 months). He is 85% for height and 95% for weight. No suprise there! They also found that he has a ear infection from the cold he has, so know he is on some meds and should be cleared up before we leave for Florida. Here are some pics of our photo sessions, the rest are posted on Facebook.

Look-a-likes??? I would say that he is definetly my son and we have similarities. Most of our features are the same, like the mouth and ears. I have more hair and its darker. I also noticed that I was wearing red and white like he is. That was not planned.

9 months

2010-03-21T13:34:00.001-07:00

Levi is turning more into a big boy than my little baby. He loves to be around his brothers and watch what they are doing. He's always in their toys, crawling into places he shouldn't be and then getting stuck and crying for help. He pulls up to things and plays with whatever he can reach. He likes to "walk" around holding your hands. He has just started to open up the cupboards/drawers in the kitchen so time to baby proof again. I always have to remember to shut the doors so he doesn't fall down the steps now and he has even begun to climb up them. He is a very busy boy. He still drinks 3 bottles a day and eats 3rd foods, baby snacks and some table foods. He also got his 3rd tooth on the top, but it was not one of the front ones it was one to the side?! He has finally given up his 3rd nap and has 2 big naps, one in the morning and afternoon. He has his 9 month appt. on Tues and I need to schedule his pictures this week, so I will post that stuff by the end of the week.

enjoying his freedom after a bath

he loves to eat and sure made a mess with those biter biscuits

this is a little bit of a goofy picture, but he's showing off his big boy teeth (hes had them since 5 months)

Playing Outdoors, Finally!!!

2010-03-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

The last couple days we have been getting a taste of spring with this warmer weather especially today. It has been great to get the boys outside. We went for a few walks, played with some chalk and got to swing. For Levi it was his first time and he loved it, can't you tell!?! I hope soon that this warm weather will decide to stick around b/c I am so ready for Spring and Summer and we can enjoy these activities more.

my boys and they are actually all looking at me for the picture

Cheap Cereal at Family Fare!

2010-02-28T10:21:00.001-08:00

Family Fare has a great deal on cereal this week, if your family loves cereal as much as we do. They have a promotion going on that if you buy 6 boxes of any size General Mills cereal you instantly get $10 off + you get a coupon for $6 off you next purchase of milk, which is about 3 gallons of milk if bought on sale.
I purchased the smaller boxes b/c they are obviously cheaper than I used the coupons that I had + the $10 off instantly. I did two seperate transactions to be sure I got the $10 off each time. I ended up with 12 boxes of cereal for $8.78, that is 0.73 a box + 2 coupons for $6 each off my next purchase of milk, which would be about 6 FREE gallons of milk. Then to top it off they printed off two more coupons for general mills cereal(totaling a purchase of 6) so I will probally go back during the week and get more cheap cereal and free milk. Hopefully they will restock b/c I took the last of the smaller boxes of Cheerios. I think we will be set on cereal for a long time b/c I already had a good stock pile going anyway.

8 months

2010-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

Levi has accomplished a few milestones within the past month. He has just started to crawl on his hands and knees vs. his army crawl, which he still does sometimes. He can get himself into a sitting postition if he was crawling or laying on the ground. He also likes to pull himself up on anything that he can. He also likes to try and "walk" while you hold on to him. My other two boys were walking at 10 months so we will see if he follows. His eating is still the same and he has started to try and feed himself little snacks, but usually misses and I have to give it to him. He is also testing out a sippy cup, he just bites it and gets a few dribbles out. He can now hold his own bottle. He is working on his 3rd tooth and it doesn't seem to be bothering him to much. He is growing so fast. It seems like I am constantly switching out clothes for him. He wears anything from 6-18 months. I think he is pretty close to 25 lbs but he does not have an appoinment until next month, so I will know better then.

crawling all over the place

He will try and stand up by anything

I completly forgot about this t-shirt that we got from HCHS so I had to try it on him and lets just say he will not be wearing it again. As you can see it is a little tight on him!

I found him like this the other day, in the bottom of his exersaucer. He is becoming a busy boy.

7 months

2010-01-24T12:42:00.001-08:00

Levi is now 7 months old. He is still a very happy content baby, but he has just started to cry a little more when I leave the room, mostly when he is tired. I think he is a bit of a momma's boy, but hey I am with him 24/7. He sits up all by himself without falling over anymore and scoots himself around by doing the army crawl, so he is not crawling on his hands and knees yet. He has just started to talk up a storm and interacting with his brothers more, mostly getting into their toys :) He still eats 4 bottles a day and enjoys all the baby food that I have fed him so far. He also got his second tooth on the bottom. I love every thing about this little man, but most recently cuddling with him while he is eating a bottle or falling asleep in my arms. Plus the way he flirts with me with his eyes and then gives me a big grin. I love this age!

My Guys

2010-01-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

I love these guys...

I know it looks like Riley is choking Levi, but he isn't. It was the best picture I got out of 5 shots

Levi's Stats

2010-01-15T16:05:00.001-08:00

Levi went for his 6 month check-up yesterday, but he is actually a few days shy of 7 months, so I guess it is his 7 month check-up. He had to get 3 shots and 1 oral medicine and we found that he had an ear infection for the first time, so now he is on antibiotics. He weighed in at 22 lbs 7 oz and was 29" tall, both around the 95% He still continues to be a happy guy, everyone comments on that when they see him b/c he flirts with them and always gives them a huge smile.

Levi loves the bath!!! Don't mind the nasty tub and focus on the cute baby looking at you :) Riley got some crayons that you can use in the tub and they bleed everywhere.

Levi got these p.j's as a Christmas gift and then while I was at Carters ( the store) looking for footie p.j's for Riley b/c he loves them and only has one pair where both his big toes stick out, I found the identical pair for him, on sale, but then I couldn't leave Carter out so I lucked out and found him a pair too. These were the last two and both in the sizes that I needed.

Carter was being stubborn, imagine that!? and he didn't want to be in the picture........ By the time he did, Levi was not having it anymore

Sledding

2010-01-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Riley has been home on Christmas break for the last 2 weeks( and I will admit that I am very ready for him to go back, I love him but him and Carter are constantly bugging each other), so a couple days ago I decided to take the older two sledding while Levi stayed with the babysitter for something different and to get out of the house. We went to the ZCS hill for 2 hours and we had a lot of fun. The boys mostly went up and down on their own, which was really nice b/c Carter is really heavy to pull up the hill, and I joined them a few times. Riley even meet a few of his friends there from his class. Towards the end they were eyeing this ramp that someone has built for snowboarding I finally let them go try it and they loved it of course( I think Riley a little more than Carter) It was a great time for me to spend with my two older boys without having to tend to Levi and worry about his napping and eating schedule plus he would just sit there and not do anything and then I would have to sit with him and not be able todo anything with the other two. Well, enough ramblings here are some pictures of our day...

hitting a ramp, getting some air..they thought is was so fun and cool

Parties, Parties, and more Parties

2009-12-31T05:34:00.000-08:00

The title of this post says it all. Thats all we have been doing for the past 2 weeks and we have our last party on Sat. We had a wonderful Christmas, John was able to be home more than he usually is, which was nice. On the Monday before Christmas we had a party with Johns extended family. Then we celebrated as a family on Christmas Eve by opening our own presents. On Christmas night we headed to my parents house. That Sat. we had my extended family party where we played some BINGO! And on Sunday morning ( due to my in-laws work schedule) we had Johns family party with a nice breakfast. The boys did great through all the many parties and laste nights and got quite a few new toys that I still have to find a place for.

my 3 handsome boys on Christmas Eve 2009

Most of these pics I'm sure you have already seen on FB, but here they are again. Us opening presents at home on Christmas Eve. Levi's favorite was the wrapping paper and the boys favorite I would say was the Wii ( ours too :))

our family, John and I, Riley-6, Carter-3 and Levi- 6 months my sister and her husband Mark and kids, Kody-12, Trenton-10, and Maddie-8 my brother Kevin and his wife Jen and kids(l-r) Tyler-5, Megan-10, Ashley-13, and Kelsey-12. I hope I got all the ages right :)

my brother Chad, his wife Jen and kids, Sophia-4 and Max- 6 monthmy parents and their 12 grandkids, ranging in age from 13 to 6 months

opening presents from grandpa and grandma VanRhee

The mixer that I have wanted for years and it was a really good price too, now I just have to find room for it in my kitchen.

all the boy cousins on the Van Rhee side : Kody, Riley, Carter, Levi, Trenton, Max and Tyler

more presents from Grandma & Grandpa Scholten

Cousin : Levi, Riley, Logan, Lexi, and Carter in their new Christmas pajamas from grandma and grandpa Scholten.

Levi's 6 month Pictures

2009-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Levi had his 6 month pictures taken again a Sears. He did so good. They had no troubles getting a smile out of him. We were in and out in 30 minutes. I think this age is the easiest. They are not moving yet, but can sit up and you can plan the time around there naps and feeding a little better b/c they are awake and happier for longer periods of time. The picture below is the one that I purchased, but I also uploaded the other ones on my Facebook.

All I want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth

2009-12-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

Well he got one of them anyway. Levi's first tooth finally popped through today on the bottom after lots of drooling and soaking all his bibs. The other bottom one I don't think will make an apperance anytime soon, theres no real big bump, but I could be wrong. No picture though- you wouldn't even be able to see it anyway.

Half a Year Old

2009-12-21T09:57:00.001-08:00

My baby is already 6 months old, man how those 6 months have flown by. Levi has started to eat more solid foods within the past month. His favorite veggie is green beans, I would say the least favorite is carrots. He likes all the fruits of course. He eats about 1/2-1 jar of each through out the day (not all in one sitting) + some ceral for breakfast and his usual 8 oz bottles. He is starting to scoot around alot, mostly backwards but not crawling yet, although he is practicing getting up on his hands and knees. Glad that he isn't crawling yet otherwise I would have to keep him out of the Christmas tree and decorations. He is also sitting up on his own. He has one tooth that is right there- it will probally pop through in the next day or two, so he has been really drooly, but not really that fussy, so that is good. He is still a good sleeper at night and for naptimes. He continues to grow quickly. He is in 6-12 month clothing(and has been for the past month) I don't have any stats on him. He does not go till mid January when he will be 6.5 months old. I did weigh him on the home scale and it says that he weighs 22 lbs. I am not suprised as you can tell by his many rolls in the pic below :). I love this age b/c he is happy and content with whatever is going on and has a routine and he is not getting into anything yet, but still able to get the toys he wants. I need to get his 6 month pics taken soon, so I will post them when I do.

One happy, chubby, drooly little boy. Check out those rolls- he is well fed

Levi and his big brother Riley

5 months

2009-11-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

Levi is now 5 months old and such a happy fun little man. He is becoming more "active" He is always rolling over, but still has yet to do it from his back to tummy. He gets on his side and thats about it. He spins himself in circles around his toys are moves backwards from them. He is just starting to sit up pretty good with little assistance. He still loves to jump around in his jumperoo and play in his exersaucer and most of all laugh at his brother- I love to hear him laugh, so sweet. No teeth yet, but he has been working on the bottom two for awhile now, so maybe by 6 months he will have some new teeth. In the past month he has been trying cereal for breakfast, not to interested in it though and in the last few days I gave him some squash and green beans for lunch. He loved the beans, squash was o.k. He is really starting to get the hang of the whole spoon thing and is keeping more of his food in his mouth. He also continues to eat 8 oz bottles every 4 hours. He is still a great sleeper, about 11 hours at night, although thanks to the time change instead of getting up at 7:30 it is now 6:30 :( I still try to get him to go back to sleep, sometimes it works. He also takes 2 big naps and a small one in the evening and there are a few days inbetween that he hardly naps at all. He also got moved into a bigger boy seat b/c he outgrew his infant one in weight and height. It actually makes him look small sitting in such a big seat. I love him so much!! He makes me smile every day. Wouldn't you if you saw this face everyday?....

Post Family Farm & Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-25T16:10:00.001-07:00

We made our annual trip to Post's Family Farm 2 Saturdays ago. The weather was pretty nice, little chill in the air, but no rain. We enjoyed some great activities with our friends/family and of course we had some donuts, those things are the best. Afterwards we all went to our house and carved our pumpkins.

Family photo time, me and my boys

Feeding the silly goats, pony rides and the pumpkin train

In the pumpkin patch searching for the best pumpkin

Eveyone gutting their pumpkins and the finished products. Riley dove right in and Carter was not so sure. He did try it though he prefered a spoon.

My Boys

2009-10-25T16:06:00.001-07:00

Just thought it was a cute picture, although Levi is the only one looking at me, but I don't have very many pics of the three of them together

Farming

2009-10-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

The boys got a chance to do a little farming with grandpa on Monday. It was not raining and it was warm, so we figured that would be a good time to go. Maybe next year Levi will be old enough to get a ride in the combine, but for know he enjoyed a ride around in the golf cart.

4 months old

2009-10-16T19:09:00.001-07:00

Levi will be 4 months old on Sunday. He is getting so big and getting such a personality. He has not offically been weighed at the doctors ( we go on the 26th) but according to our scale he weighs at least 18 lbs!! He is very much a mommas boy. He can be screaming at whoever has him and the minute I take him he stops. Hope this is something he outgrows, but I am with him 24/7. Anyway since about 3-4 weeks ago he had rolled over, but has only done it once since then and is content to be on his tummy and watch his brother and play with his toys, although now he does a 180 and his toys are at his feet. He absolutely loves to look at himself in the mirror. He got a new jumperoo and loves to be in it. He can get pretty wild in it sometimes. and For some reason he finds the word MOO very funny?? He continues to sleep 11 hours at night and then has two big 3 hour naps and a short 1/2 hour nap in the evening. I just started him on cereal which he is not too intersted in. I will post his stats after we go to the doctor.

Walgreens Deals

2009-10-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

I have been into the whole coupon thing again and trying to find the best deals and get groceries/stuff for very cheap or even free. I went to Walgreens and had a successful trip! I got all this stuff for free + they paid me $1.22. I know its not much but who doesn't like getting free stuff and getting paid to shop! :)

3 months

2009-09-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is 3 months old! He is growing and developing into a little man so fast. He continues to talk more and more and in the last few days I have gotten a few laughs out of him. He is so close to rolling over, he gets up on his side and thats all the further he makes it. He is also staring to grab at toys and put them in his mouth. He enjoys being outside and taking walks. He loves the bath, but hates getting out. ( I feel like I am filling out his dating profile ) He is also getting better at sitting in his bumbo, as you can see in the picture below. At the beginning of the month he was sleeping 8 hours, now he sleeps 11 hours, usually from 8-7. He is just starting to stay awake longer between naps, usually up 1 1/2 hours and then naps for 3 hours. He takes a big morning and afternoon nap and about an hour nap in the late evening, but he is usually pretty restless for the evening nap and does not sleep for long or well. He still drinks about 6 oz. sometimes 7-8 oz (usually right when he wakes up and just before bed). Can't wait to see how he grow and develops in the next month. I LOVE my Levi! ( and my other boys too! :))

Levi and Me- 3 month Picture

2009-09-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

So, what do ya think? I know its different camera angles, but I think that he looks a lot like me. We are both 3 months old here. I wish he was smiling a little then he would look even more like me. I posted the rest of his photos on facebook and most of you who read this are also my friends and you can check them out there.

1 Down...19 To Go

2009-09-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Your probally wondering what this post is about. Well Riley finally lost his first tooth at the age of 6 years ( and 4 months to be exact) It has been loose for awhile along with the one next to it. Then a few days ago he bit on a block and it started to bleed. Over a few days and a little encouraging, he finally let me pull it out. He put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy, so she can bring him some money. He then asked me where she gets her money. I paused uncomfortably and thought for a second trying to think of an answer and quickly told him that she had a job. He was happy with that answer and no other questions were asked. Whew!
I was looking online about how many teeth a human has when I was trying to think of a good title for this post. Children have 20 teeth ( I even went upstairs where Riley was in bed to count his teeth- they were right) and adults have 32 ( 4 of which are your wisdom teeth- if you have them, so I only have 28, and yes I counted my teeth too, and yes they were right again)
So, Riley was really apprehensive about pulling out his tooth b/c it hurt, but once it was out I think he was happy and more excited to get some money. I asked him how much he thought she would bring, his response was $5.00 - I don't think so, the "tooth fairy" would go broke. Here is a pick of his new smile and the tooth he lost.

Riley showing off his new smile with one less tooth.

Its hard to see b/c its so tiny, but here is his first tooth that he lost

Levi's Baptism

2009-09-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

Levi was baptized today. He was 11 weeks old, a little bit later than I did with the other two, but this worked best b/c it was a holiday weekend and John was home otherwise he usually leaves on Sunday. His outfit barely fit him, but I was not about to buy another one + the other boys wore it too, so I wanted him too also. He did really good- no crying and his brothers did well up there too. I will admit I was nervous b/c Carter can have a temper and when he does not want to do something and he will make it known and Riley can be very "active" he has a hard time being still, but in the end I had nothing to worry about. Afterward we had all the family over and cooked burgers/hotdogs and had a good time with family and friends on such a beautiful day. We could'nt have asked for a better day.

Levi and his momma

Levi and his daddy. Levi was to busy looking at his brother, Riley.

Levi in his baptism outfit. All three boys wore this. It was a little tight on him b/c he was baptized about a month older than the other two boys.( I was tight on Carter too, but he was just a big boy :)

His cake-it was yummy!

Levi's 2 Month Stats

2009-08-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Levi had his 2 month appt. today. He is healthy and doing all the developmental stuff that he should. He also had to get 3 shots and one oral medicine. Only one nurse did it this time, usually they have two, so its done quicker, less pain....poor guy, he screamed, can't blame him :( He got some Tylenol and is now napping. He is also one chubby baby!! Here are his stats.....

Height : 24.5" (90%)
Weight : 15 lbs 4 oz (97%)
not sure what his head measured at, but its in proportion to the rest of his body.

He is taking after Carter is body size. Carter was the same height at this age and weighed 4 more ounces. Riley on the other hand continues to be my little guy. At this age he was only 23" and 13 lbs. 6 oz. Riley did not weigh what Levi and Carter did at this age until 4 months. Oh well they are all different and I love them all!!

Levi also started to sleep through the night at 8 weeks. He went 8 hours the first night and now he still sleeps about the same length of time it just varies when he goes down at night. Then he usually goes back to sleep for another 3-4 hours until its feeding time again. Last night he slept from 9-7. YEAH!! So glad that those sleepless nights are behind me for the most part.

8 Year Anniversary

2009-08-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Has it been 8 years already?? Where does the time go?? Well it has been 8 great years and within those 8 years we have had 3 handsome boys. Little did I know on our 1 year anniversary we were expecting our first child (I found out 2 weeks later) John is actually home tonight so we are just going to go out for dinner while grandpa watches the boys- brave man! Below is a pic of us on our wedding day, man we look so young ;p ( I was 19 and he was 21)

Annual Camping Trip

2009-08-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago we had our annual VanRhee camping trip, this year was at Hungry Horse again. It was not quite the same as in the past b/c my parents were not there b/c my mom had knee surgery the week before and my brother and his wife had cancelled earlier b/c she did not want to be camping with a 3 week old baby, thats understandable :) but we still had a great time with my sister and my other brother. The weather for the most part was nice except one evening/morning it rained. I was a little nervous about having a 6 week old camping but it went smoothly, John took time off from work and was around to help most of the time. The older boys had a blast too and are still talking about it and looking forward to next year, I think we are going to try Tri-Ponds next year. I have posted quite a few pics, but I have even more on FB. I was not going to download them all again.

Hanging around the campfire. The first photo is of all the cousins minus Levi, he was sleeping in the camper. The second is of some of the adults.

The group playing some Blackjack, even Levi :)

The boys just being boys...

This is how Levi spent his time at the pool

Having fun at the pool. One thing about Hungry Horse that I like is that they have a big pool and a kiddie pool.

This is how they looked most of the time...VERY dirty. We had one night/morning that it rained and we had a huge puddle in front of our camper and they did not miss the oppurtunity to play in it.

John's Mini-Me

2009-08-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we went out to the farm for

Riley to ride his dirtbike without the training wheels. He was finally ready and he did awesome, I am so proud of him, but very nervous at the same time- he did almost hit a tree! He is so excited he already wants to race, but he needs some more practice. John is going to build him a pee-wee track on my brothers land until we move out to our property. Watching Riley ride brought back lots of memories of when John and I were dating, he also had a dirtbike and raced. I came across this pic that took me forever to figure out how to scan and get it to the right size, but I sure see alot of similarities-he is definetly his son.

2 months

2009-08-15T10:15:00.001-07:00

Levi will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. As you can tell in the picture below that he is getting chubby and has a double chin. He goes to the doctor at the end of the month then I will post his stats, but I think he is on track to be a big boy- on a regular scale he already weighs 13 lbs! and that was 2 weeks ago. Anyway he continues to be a happy baby, he smiles and coos alot more. He loves to stare at ceiling fans and lights. He also enjoys being outside. His favorite thing to be in is the new swing that we got him, it swings side to side vs. the back and forth which he does not like. It has a mobile above him that plays music which he loves to watch, he even "talks" to it. He eats every 4 hours and drinks 6 oz. I think that he really enjoys a routine, hes up for about an hour to play and then back to sleep in his crib until he needs to eat again. He does not do well when his sleep is interuppted to go some where, if I do this to many times in a day hes crabby by the end of the day. He still does not sleep through the night, I hope that it happens soon. Right now he will go 5-6 hour stretches. I have to work on those stretches being a little later at night. Right now he goes down around 8-9 ( 10-11 would be more ideal, but I'm not in charge :)) then up around 2-3 a.m and then again around 5-6 and that is still to early for me to start the day so we go back to sleep till about 9. This will soon change as Riley starts school in 2 weeks and need to be there at 8:30. Anyway.... The pictures below are from our recent camping trip, he did really well and we had lots of fun.

Levi and his favorite pipe, we finally found one that he will keep in his mouth, its the Gumdrop Soothie, I had to order them online.

Best Buddies

2009-08-03T18:47:00.001-07:00

I finally got a picture of Levi and his cousin Max together. I have not seen him since he was born and that was 4 weeks ago. They are only two weeks apart and I think they are going to be good buddies and probally cause a lot of mischief too. What a difference 2 weeks makes, Levi looks so chubby and they were both born at pretty much the same weight and height.

First Smiles

2009-08-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Levi has been smiling alot more lately. He first gave me a smile 2 weeks ago and I finally got some decent pictures of him smiling today, its so hard b/c the moment is brief. He has been trying really hard to talk too, I have heard a few small coos come out.

Sorry these are a little blurry, they were my first attempt at capturing a smile while holding him.