weekend

We made a last minute trip up to Harold and Kara's cottage from Saturday to Sunday.  Mike was missing his first canoe trip in 14 years (and this would have been my 9th!!), so we had to do something fun.  :)

Sleeping is still hard for the boys there, but they played so much better this time, which is huge when dealing with two toddlers in a place where there's so much trouble for them to get into.  They had alot of fun in the water, which they had been better with last time too, but they also spent alot of time just playing the sand.  They did this a little bit before, but now they really spent a chunk of time focused on playing in the dirt.  In the water they're much more comfortable running around, splashing, and even "jumping" off the dock.  Logan loves swimming so much that he even doesn't want you to hang onto him, so that gets a little challenging.  :)  After a late bedtime Friday, 30 min. nap Saturday, late bedtime Saturday, and 30 min. nap Sunday, the boys were definitely worn out and tired!  (At bedtime Saturday we had issues with them climbing out of pack'n'plays and into each other's.)

 Checking out a toad.

 One of Caleb's things within the last few days is to put his hands in his pockets.  Love.

 Yes, despite the look on his face he was having fun.

The big boys had dug a big hole and filled it with water, so Mike dug a smaller hole for the littles.  A little later Caleb did manage to squeeze himself in with Logan and Alyssa.

wrong

Boy, was I wrong!  Lately the boys, especially Logan, like to get wrapped up in a blanket and lay down on the floor like they're going "nigh-nigh".  They were doing this downstairs just before naptime so I thought I'd go with it.  Got them upstairs, Caleb climbed into his own crib, wrapped them up in blankets (which we never do in their cribs), and they were laying down all quiet like when I left the room.  I thought, "Wow, maybe they're just going to fall right asleep!"  Um, no.  It took them an hour to fall asleep!  Every once in awhile it takes that long, but that's definitely longer than normal.  And there was alot of rowdiness in that hour, they certainly weren't all calm and subdued like I thought at first.

Friday night was an impromptu visit with Eric and Lea Anne.  The boys played GREAT.  I'm sure it's mostly being somewhere different with different toys and people, but I sure wish they would play like that at home.  Inside they were all about the tractors and trains - we barely got in the door and Caleb found a stash of tractors in the corner.  And later he sat in one spot and played with trains for probably an hour!!!  He was so focused - I didn't know it was possible.  Logan was definitely into the tractors and trains, but he didn't focus quite like Caleb, he seems to be more social.  Outside Logan got to ride with Boden in his Jeep (Caleb was too scared), they both played a little t-ball, and had fun going down the slide.  It was a fun evening and we ended up staying a little late because the boys were playing so nice.  I had a little bit of time to look at Boden's atlas with him, so fun that he's old enough and showing interest in stuff like that!

 The boys have been into these hats lately.  Boden and Heidi found hats to wear, too.  :)

 Boden and Logan out for a drive.

 Caleb and Heidi just hanging out.  Heidi kept wanting Caleb to drive, but he's not quite ready for that yet.  :)

 Sitting at the table like a big boy eating a snack.  Let's pretend he didn't throw all the crackers on the floor....

My other big boy.

I was going to do one post to catch up, but with all the pics I've got I think I'll separate it out...

another

Yikes!  I'm full of random tidbits lately - these boys are hard to keep up with!

Logan got his diaper off during naptime today.  He actually didn't get his shorts off, but had his diaper all undone underneath.  SOOOOOOO glad there was no poop, just some wet clothes to throw in the wash.

random

I'm trying to do a little better at writing down random things the boys are doing that I don't want to forget...

For several weeks now both of them, but especially Logan, have been right on top of pointing out the moon in the sky.  I was never so aware as I am now that the moon is visible alot during the day!

Also, for quite a long time Caleb has been very good with knowing heavy machinery.  What a boy!  Of course tractor was first - I'm not sure I can type out very well how he says it, but it's kinda like "tra-truh".  I think hilo was probably next - he says "hillo".  And, he also knows crane - which he calls "key".  I think we'll actually be a little sad when the construction on Chicago Dr is done because the boys are enjoying it so much.

Logan loves to be wrapped up in a blanket, just like me!  My college friends teased me unmercifully about this, but after growing up in a frigid home I was just used to always having a blanket.  :)  Anyways, if we're hanging out in the living room, Logan often wants a blanket wrapped around him.  The only problem is that it eventually comes off, he gets upset, and I have to reapply.  We did this several times this morning.

see

I knew I shouldn't have said anything the other day about the boys staying in their cribs good!  Yesterday I went to get the boys up from nap, I walk into the room and there's Caleb perched on the end of his crib - not on one of the lower down sides, on the end.  His back was to me, I rather sternly said, "Caleb Krol get down.", that startled him a little bit, he faltered and then fell the wrong way, all the way down to the floor.  I felt bad for spooking him, but if he hadn't been up there in the first place...

Last night we went to the Hudsonville Fair.  For the most part the boys enjoyed seeing the animals.  They seemed fascinated with the chickens and roosters, both freaked out a little when the sheep "baaaa-ed" so loud, and the big horses were a little scary - my Dad was holding Caleb at the time, and he was hanging on pretty tight saying, "Bye-bye, cow".  :)  Can you believe we saw some people we know??  Ha ha ha!  Between Mike, my parents, and even me sometimes it's hard to make much progress through the fairgrounds.  We ended up getting rained out by the end of the night, but it wasn't too bad.  Somehow we got a flat tire on the stroller, which was no fun.  And, Mike and my niece Natalie's big bummer was they didn't get to go on their annual Zipper ride because they shut the ride down just before they were going to get on because of the approaching storm.  We weren't able to get our pie and ice cream at the Beaverdam booth either - way too packed, and the boys definitely did not have the patience for it and that would have been unpleasant for everyone - but we did enjoy dessert outside the Freedom booth instead.  I guess it's okay to give up some traditions and change things up.  :)

 Caleb and Logan even run into people they know!

 Checking out cows with Papa and Daddy.

 Pre no Zipper ride, rain, flat tire, and no pie.  :)

Mike and Natalie waiting in line for their annual Zipper ride.  No, Logan was not going to go!

grown-up

My babies are now little boys, and oh so grown-up!  Caleb does much better now with answering yes and no questions correctly.  Only problem is he answers whenever he hears a question, doesn't matter if he's the one being asked the question or not!  For stuff like that he pretty much just answers "yeah", but when we're actually asking him a question and need to know what he wants he does well answering.  We also hear alot of "I do too" from Caleb.  That's what he says when he wants something that he sees.

When Logan wants something that he sees he just whines.  :)  We can't get him to really answer yes and no questions either.  When I'm pretty sure I know the answer I'll try to lead him along, and I'll eventually get him to nod 'yes', but it takes prompting.  I guess he actually does do pretty well with 'no' when he doesn't want something.

A few weeks ago the boys finally started saying the word "please".  For the longest time we kept asking them to say the word, not just sign it, but that's a hard concept to explain to a toddler.  :)  One day it just clicked.  And, at first Caleb was saying it really quiet, but after several times of asking him to say it louder now he says it nice and loud!

Last night we had an ice cream social after church.  I'm on the committee that put it on, so I had work to do.  That meant Mike had to keep track of the boys himself, and in a not ideal situation (Sunday night after church and they didn't nap good in the afternoon, lots of people crammed in a big room and no way to contain them, etc.).  Well, the boys had no problem being social!  They were given balloons from the decor and Logan was just this mass of balloons walking around the whole time.  At one point I saw him standing on a chair over by some of the elderly women (nowhere near Mike or I!).  They got plenty of comments, and I'd like to think that other than the barber shop quartet they were almost the stars of the show.  :)

We've been teaching the boys to shake hands and they've done well with it!  They have no problem shaking someone's hand when we ask them to, and they are good at knuckles and high fives, too.  I guess this is not a huge surprise considering who their father is, but I just thought that at this age they'd be a little more apprehensive.

Here's a cute, random tidbit.  We've been having sweet corn probably twice a week since it was first available at the farmer's market down the road.  Logan will eat a little bit, but Caleb won't.  Anyways, for some reason when they see sweet corn they say "taco".  Maybe corn on the cob kinda looks like a taco to them?  We keep trying to tell them it's corn, but they insist and say, "Taco!  Taco!  Taco!"  :)

One of our favorite activities as of late is to look at old photos and movies of them on my phone.  They climb up on my lap and snuggle in, which I LOVE.  Can't get them to sit still otherwise.  :)  I can get a few minutes out of them to look at books or watch a Thomas movie, but looking at stuff on my phone seems to get me some extended snuggle time.

I shouldn't say this, but it's been a couple weeks now since someone has climbed out of their crib!  So, we can again put off dealing with this...  :)  Caleb can now climb INTO both his crib and Logan's.  Logan can sorta climb into Caleb's (the side is lowered on Caleb's, not on Logan's).  Although, I don't think I've mentioned that Logan can get out of a pack'n'play now, too.  He did it at home a few times last week.  I always put him in the one next to the chaise in the playroom and I discovered he was climbing out onto the chaise so he wouldn't fall.  I now move it away from the chaise so he has nothing to climb out onto and he hasn't tried to get out anymore.

The boys must know their way around town, at least the places we go alot.  :)  When we go over the train tracks they start saying "Daddy" knowing that we're almost to Schreur's.  And within a mile of home heading west on Chicago Dr they start saying "up, up, up" knowing that we're almost to the big hill to get to our house.

I'm sure there are other things to share about what the boys are doing and how cute they are, but I'm running out for now!

dogarama

Saturday we went to Dogarama in Zeeland.  Can you think of any better activity for our family?  Well, other than something involving tractors.  :)  We all love dogs, so this was great.

We got to see all kinds of dogs, from teeny-tiny puppies to great big Great Danes.  The boys sure enjoyed seeing the dogs, petting some, and getting some kisses.  They especially liked one dog dressed up in a cowboy outfit - they couldn't stop pointing out his hat.

 holding hands

 Playing on the ramp and steps at the Post Office.

 Watching the dog agility course.

 Starting to wear out...

Me and my boys!

bath

 "We love bath time so much we can hardly wait to get in!"

 Caleb totally posed for this shot.  And look at those cute little buns in the bottom right corner!  (At the beginning of bath time the boys love to alternate between the shower head and bath faucet.)

 "Mom, that is so not cool that my butt got in that picture."

Not sure if he was saying "tattoo" or "belbow" (elbow) here.  :)

chopper

Last night a crop duster came to spray at Schreur's, so we went to watch.  No surprise, Caleb was scared and it didn't bother Logan.  :)

show-off

Check out these muscles!  Sunday night when we checked on Caleb and Logan before we went to bed we walked in the room and smelled dirty diaper.  We narrowed it down to Caleb and when we got him up saw that his shirt was like this - I could not stop laughing!  Didn't want to torture him by taking a photo as he was sleepy and of course we wanted him to stay that way, but we fixed his shirt, and when I got them up Monday morning he had it like that again (and was starting to mess with his diaper...a few more minutes and I would have had a big mess on my hands...).

mini-vacation

We didn't really plan on today being a "vacation" day, but it kind of ended up that way!  (In between Mike having to work...)  We can't take a vacation in the summer, and it's rare to have a Saturday without something else going on, so we took advantage of it.  Mike still had to work early this morning, during naptime, and right now he's loading a truck, but during the boys' waking hours he was able to join in the fun.  :)

This morning Mike got home a bit before the boys woke up, so we were able to sit and have coffee and watch the news together - that's a rare treat this time of year!  After breakfast we loaded up and headed out.  First stop: to visit my grandpa at the nursing home.  We chatted with him a bit, which is a little hard as he can only whisper (they just discovered he has cancer on his vocal chords), and then he wanted to go check on his girlfriend, Lila, whom we enjoy visiting with also and she likes to see the boys.  We ended up in my grandpa's sister's room (Stella) and Lila joined us in there.  The boys did pretty well for a bit.  They liked looking at Stella's dolls, and had fun on a rocking chair that one of the dolls was sitting on.  We started to get worried about the chair, though, and things started going south once we wouldn't let them on it anymore.  We made a quick exit before having a major meltdown and the boys were still in good enough moods to give kisses and say bye-bye.

After the nursing home we headed to the mall in Holland.  Spent some time in the play area there - it's the perfect size for the boys at this age.  It took them just a couple minutes to take it all in, then they had lots of fun.  We had no idea, but found out one of the stores was having a Kid's Day.  The boys got cookies that we frosted and put sprinkles on, and a couple other goodies.  We also got to see fire trucks outside.  There was a robot dog in a little fire truck talking to some of the people that Caleb was scared of, but Logan was a little more intrigued.

After the mall we went to Qdoba for lunch.  Yum!  Mike and I went there alot when we were dating - so much so that I got tired of it and it didn't sound good for a long time, but now I like it again.  :)  Then it was time to head home, and it was super close to naptime, so I had to work the whole ride home to keep the boys awake.  We made it and they took great naps - phew!

After supper we headed out again.  This time to downtown Holland.  I wanted to get to Gazelle's to spend a gift card I won a little while ago, but we didn't make it before they closed.  :(  Oh well, ice cream would make it all better!  We walked over to Coldstone.  They were running a special - you could get a 'Like It' size with one mix-in for $1.00! Score!  Once we finished our ice cream we walked over to Centennial Park and just walked around for a bit.  Two separate weddings had just finished, so we tried to stay out of their way.  As we were leaving the park we crossed paths with a couple walking their three dogs.  They were very friendly and of course the boys love dogs, so that was fun.

corn

Been checking out the corn lately.

fun

I love playing outside!

I love playing outside, too, I just don't always show  it!

We went to Harold & Kara's cottage this past Saturday.  I don't know if it was the warmer water temp or what, but the boys were way more comfortable playing in the water this time.  They each had a ball with Mike tossing them high, when Logan had his lifejacket on he kept wanting to float on his back and try to swim (he got to the point of turning purple and shivering and he did NOT want to stop!), and Caleb would start up on the beach and run into the water.  They each went for a waverunner ride with me, and as far as I know they enjoyed it.  :)  We did give an attempt at naptime, but it wasn't going to happen so we gave up.  They weren't cranky until the ride home - I was starting to think it was going to be a pretty miserable ride when they gave in and fell asleep.

week

Yikes!  A whole other week has gone by.  

Friday night Mike and Logan mowed the lawn, while Caleb and I got groceries.  We've done this a couple times now and have found it's a good way to get done what we need to and get some one-on-one time with the boys.  

Last Saturday I was a second shooter at a wedding.  For me that's the ideal way to photograph a wedding - way less pressure and not all the editing afterwards!  I can just go have fun shooting a wedding and then be done.  :)  So, the guys got to hang out without me.  They had a pretty full day!  They went to the park (where I guess Caleb got his hand in the van door, but there were no major injuries...), to Papa's to feed the cows, grabbed McDonald's for supper, then went to Mike's work to eat supper and sit on all the tractors.

Sunday night's meeting at church after the evening service didn't go a whole lot better than the week before.  There was supposed to be nursery, but nobody seemed to know about it, so we took the boys and tried to sit in the back.  Wasn't going to happen.  We saw our babysitter (who's leaving for college soon...) and her friends out in the hall and asked if they'd be willing to keep the boys occupied for a bit.  They did great!  After we were done voting we took over so the teenagers could be free to go, and played with the boys out in the hall until the votes were counted and ready to be announced.  We have a full-time music pastor and a senior pastor now!  And thankfully both were passed with an overwhelming majority.

Caleb and Logan have improved greatly at playing on their own.  I always kinda struggled with the time period after nap and before supper when I need to be getting things ready.  Now I can put the gate up to keep them in the playroom (if I don't put the gate up they'll come by me in the kitchen) and they play very nice.  I'll peek in every few minutes and sometimes they're sitting on the chaise looking at books, or they're getting in and out of the toy chest, or riding tractors, or whatever.  The point is that they're in there, not screaming to get out, and not getting into what they shouldn't.  This is major!  And, at other times in the day they can handle more freedom throughout the house.  We used to just stay in the playroom most of the time because it was just too difficult to let them roam, but now with certain doors shut, the gate at the bottom of the stairs and still pretty close supervision they do much better.  

We have had some mealtime struggles lately.  Normal for this age, but still makes it frustrating.  It's mostly Caleb - he can be so defiant!  He certainly doesn't get that from me!!!  :)