Huge Help

I'm going crazy with posts now as I know that once my maternity leave ends I will have fewer pictures and less time to sit down to post about the kids.  I'm not even going to think about that right now!  Anyways, yesterday I had a wonderful surprise - Jackson wanted to change Lydia's diaper!  I've been changing countless amounts of diapers since 2007 (when Jackson was born) and yesterday he actually ASKED to change her diaper.  I should say that Luke has changed some diapers in those years but he's never really "asked" me if he could change a diaper.  So of course I happily obliged and let Jackson change her diaper (he did say he wouldn't change it if it was a poopy diaper).  He was so pleased with himself and I just loved seeing his look of accomplishment. 

We Love Aunt Sara

One people that I treasure most in this world is my little sister, Sara.  Sara is 5 years younger than me which meant that as kids we didn't really get along (in fact, my brother and I were actually quite horrible to her) but as we got older things changed.  I think that we really started getting closer when I went to college.  When I came home over the summer, Sara and I had to share a room (because my parents gave my old room to my brother and made his room into a living room... that's another story!).  Sara and I would make our room into a "dorm" for the summer.  In fact, one summer we put up a loft in our room - it was pretty cool.  While I was at MSU, Sara would come for the weekend or a night to just hang out with me.  During that time we really started becoming good friends.  When Jackson was born, Sara was the first to hear (and the first to meet him... still something my mom reminds us of!).  She would come to our house and hang out with us.  She even came on some camping trips with us.  As our family has grown, Sara remains close to all of us.  The boys love when Aunt Sara will come to spend the night (although now she's busy so we don't get to see her as often as we'd like!).  When she comes, she sleeps on the bunk in the boys room and they think that's the coolest thing, to have their Aunt Sara have a sleepover with them.  Sara is now completing her masters at MSU (go green!) but over the holidays she had some extra time off and spent time with us.  We all loved it!  It's fun to see that not only is Sara special to me but now she's someone special to the boys and Lydia as well.  She has a way with the kids that makes them absolutely adore her.   And I have to admit, I think Luke enjoys having her come over so they can gang up and give me a hard time. 

When Sara is over, the boys have to sit right by her - we become not so cool anymore.

Don't mind the child without pants and the super old jersey on Jackson ... the boys have minds of their own!

Sara and Lydia on Christmas Eve

Children's Museum

Last week we journeyed to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum with the DeVissers.  We went during the evening so thankfully it wasn't busy at all.  The kids had free reign of the museum and loved going from activity to activity.  I was greatful that Luke was along as the boys seemed to want to go in opposite directions! 

2 Months

How can my little girl already be 2 months old?!  I think that I'll be questioning how quickly she's growing for the rest of her life.  I know I felt that way about the boys too and now I can't ever imagine them being 2 months old - time goes way too quickly. 

Lydia had her 2 month appointment last week Tuesday so we planned a Mommy/Lydia day for that day.  We started out at her appointment where she weighed in at 11lbs. 6 oz (58th percentile) and 23 inches (75th percentile).  She's definitely larger than Jackson was but is still smaller than Brendan was, however, she is similar to them as she's getting taller and leaner.  The check-up with Dr. Schrotenboer went really well and she was smiles (most of the time).  Poor girl was pretty upset with all her shots but was able to sleep while I went shopping with her.  She loves riding in her carseat so it was a good day for her.  Although whenever she woke up she would scream so I knew she just wasn't herself. 

She's like her brothers in that she sleeps pretty well at night.  I'll do her last feeding around 9pm and she'll wake up to feed at 3am and then sleep until 6 or 6:30am (which is when Brendan is waking up).  We've had a couple of nights where she slept through that 3am feeding which was a pleasant surprise!  She loves her swing and will usually take one of her daily naps in there.  The boys weren't huge swing fans so it's nice to be able to use it for her.  If she's awake, she loves to watch the action at our house (which there is plenty of!).  The girl gets plenty of love from her brothers!   I love watching their interactions:)

Lydia and Brendan laying in her crib.  She looks SO much like Jackson here!

All smiles on her playmat - she looks a lot like Brendan in this picture.  I guess she's definitely got traits from both brothers.

Crazy Bounce

My little dare devil!  He went down every single slide there.

The "big boys" sliding down.

And Lydia took a nap the entire time we were there!

Boxing

One of the best things about having a maternity leave during the school year is that I get a chance to take the kids to places that aren't as busy with kids because the kids are all in school.  We took our first trip to Crazy Bounce last week and I have a feeling we'll be going back again soon.  The boys absolutely loved running around and going down the slides.  We went during their toddler time and practically had the place to ourselves.  That afternoon the kids were exhausted which made for a happy Mom as well:) 

Lots and Lots of Snow!

Luke and the boys ready to head out. 

Almost a smile...

Finally caught her smile on camera!

It finally snowed!  The boys (all 3 of them!) have been anxiously waiting for this first big snow and it finally happened.  As Brendan came downstairs this morning he yelled out "no" (his way of saying snow) and kept telling everyone it had "no'ed" as they woke up.  Lydia and I decided to stay inside as I appreciate snow so much more when I am warm inside.  As the day went on though, it became less fun for the boys outside as the snow was above Brendan's waist so he had a bit of trouble maneuvering through it. 

Lydia's Birth Announcement

Floral Contour Pink Birth Announcement

Announcements for every life event: graduation, wedding & baby.

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