roly

Yesterday Levi started rolling from back to tummy.  For quite a long time now he has slept on his side, but not gotten all the way over.  He's not a fan of being on his tummy, and apparently can't figure out how to roll from tummy to back, so he gets mad about it.  New bedtime challenge.  :)

A couple of fluke times he has rolled from tummy to back - when I have him propped up on his arms and he falls over - once a couple months ago and once just yesterday (and I actually happened to be taking his picture at the time!).  He probably could do better, but I honestly don't give him much of a chance.  The two major factors are that when he has tummy time he's guaranteed to spit-up, and when he's on the floor the chance of being trampled by big brothers greatly increases...

Today I had a couple of my college friends and their kids over.  I can hardly believe it!  It's been 10 years since graduation and I just don't see how that's possible.  :)  Amy lives in the area and we get together frequently, and Jen just moved back to Michigan from Florida - she took a teaching position at Western Michigan University...she's a professor...Dr. Foster...that's just crazy!  I was nervous because generally when we have friends over the boys get HYPER.  Beforehand I kept telling the boys that Jen's daughter, Savannah, was smaller than them and not used to playing rough like they are, and they did great today!

From l to r: Alyssa (Amy's), Caleb, Savannah (Jen's), Logan, Grady (Amy's)

fast

Wow, I am super fast at getting things up on the blog!  :)  Okay, I've had trouble falling behind lately (I wonder why...) but tonight I decided to get right on it.  Levi got to meet his Uncle Steve and Aunt Erin for the first time tonight.  They are avid readers of the blog, and I'm glad I have the chance to give them a little shout out.  :)  Steve and Erin are on a whirlwind tour meeting 4 of the 5 new babies in the family.

details

I'm going to try and record and bunch of cute things I don't want to forget.  :)

Levi has started sticking his tongue out, it's pretty cute (pretty much everything he does is cute!).  He hasn't been the best napper, but he's rock solid at night, so that's pretty great.  Often when he's sleeping he's on his side with his thumb in his mouth and feet up on the side of the crib/pack'n'play.  :)  He smiles a ton, and sometimes he laughs.  Actually, the other day he was in the pack'n'play in the playroom and I asked Caleb to go talk to him to try and keep him happy for a few minutes.  Caleb started jumping on the chaise right there (something we don't totally crack down on, but I'm not a huge fan of...gotta pick your battles...) and Levi was totally cracking up, he was laughing like it was the funniest thing ever.  I got these visions of Caleb and Levi getting into trouble together in a couple years...  I tried Levi in the exersaucer tonight and I don't think he's quite ready - he really weighs down the bouncy seat and I thought he'd like being more upright in the exersaucer, but I think he's actually too tall for it in a way.  Caleb and Logan were able to be in them around this age, but they were small enough that they were kinda down in the seat and just putting a towel around them would keep them secure enough.  But, Levi sticks up out of the seat more and even though his head control is good, he can still be kinda jerky and I think he'd end up hurting himself in there.  So, we'll hold off on that for now.

Caleb stopped napping a couple weeks ago.  He still has quiet time where he has to play on his own, but it still makes the afternoons a little hectic.  (ex: I check on Caleb and he needs a diaper change, Logan is calling from his room upstairs that he wants to go pee on the potty, and Levi is crying and not going down for his nap...)  The last couple of nights he's actually fallen asleep much earlier than what's been normal for the last few months - so hopefully that continues.

Speaking of Logan going on the potty...he's been doing pretty well with it.  Still keeping it casual, but he frequently asks to use the potty, so we're headed in the right direction.

Some cute things they've said lately:  We had to take Mike's truck to the mechanic.  (Ugh.  So not pleasant to spend around $1000 on a truck we don't even want anymore...)  Caleb and Logan were asking lots of questions about it, and according to them we took the truck to the "chemanic".  :)  Also, Caleb's word for "helicopter" has changed from "hockuh-hockuh" to "hockuhlopper".  A few nights ago I showed them a picture of my parents on vacation.  Caleb and I were talking about it (he was pretending to drive a tractor and he said he was going to drive it up north to Papa and Grammy) and I could see him starting to think and he asked, "They not at home?"  When I said they were gone on vacation he said, "I miss them!"

fair

Last week was fair week already!  Every year it's hard to believe the summer goes so fast (summer is basically over after the fair...).  Caleb and Logan were excited to go to the fair, and they really seemed to enjoy it.  We went two nights - the first night we met up with my parents and Eric and Lea Anne, so the boys had their cousins to run around with and were HYPER.  They had fun checking out a bunch of different tractors and checking out animals.  They also got their faces painted and it was really cute - Caleb chose a turtle, and Logan got a lizard.

 Sitting very still for face painting...

Boden, Caleb, Logan, and Heidi show off their "tattoos".

 Dessert time!

 Checking out the horse barns.

Isn't this sweet?  :)

The second night we went and met up with Mike and Emily.  Mike and my niece Natalie have a tradition of riding on the Zipper together.  We walked around by the rides for awhile.  Talk about overstimulation for the kids!  I must be getting old because I could hardly handle all the noise and lights and people. :)  A couple times we had to deal with Caleb being disappointed that he wasn't big enough for a certain ride, but they did get to ride on a little train and go in a fun house with Mike.  Caleb and Logan also played a game and Caleb won a goldfish!  The fish only survived one day - when we were talking about it later (I didn't tell them it died until the next day) Caleb was worried that it had jumped out, and when I told them that Mike had flushed it down the toilet Logan was bummed that he didn't get to pee on it.  Boys!

 Caleb about to win the goldfish.

 Mike and Natalie waiting in line for the Zipper.

Caleb and the goldfish.

tippy

This weekend was our annual canoe trip with Mike's friends.  If we counted right, this was my 9th time going and Mike's 14th.  And guess what, we tipped for the FIRST time!  (Note: Mike had tipped over in the past before teaming up with me...)  So, the Pine River is a more challenging river to canoe and it is also a very, very cold river - when standing in the river it doesn't take long for your feet to turn to ice cubes.  It was a gorgeous day yesterday and we were canoeing with about 7 or 8 other couples.  At one of our stops I decided a candy cane sounded good (yes, a candy cane in August...it was chocolate flavored...).  So then we're just going down the river, I'm enjoying my candy cane, and one of our friends decided she wanted one.  Mike got one out for her, no problem, then came trying to pass off the candy cane to her - that didn't go so well.  We ended up going into some thick trees at the edge of the river.  I huddled down just to avoid getting knocked over or cut in the face and next thing I knew we were tipping over and I was submerged in ice cold water.  (Thankfully it was hot out, so after the initial shock wore off it felt great.)  Me, being such a water person (yeah, right), had just a split second of panic when I was under water thinking that I was going to get stuck under the canoe or something, but not to worry, I popped right out of the water, regained my senses and started grabbing at our stuff that was floating down the river.  The only thing of importance I had with me was my phone (just couldn't bear to be out of touch for that long in case one of my babies needed me...) and it was in two ziplocs so it was just fine.  I even managed to grab both my flip-flops that were starting to float away, and never let go of my paddle through the whole thing so we didn't lose any of that stuff either.  None of our friends were able to stop right there and help us, but there was a nice gentleman already stopped alongside the river just ahead that helped us empty the water from our canoe and get us back on the river again.

We had a very nice time away.  Mike and I don't get to talk a whole lot (thanks to both kids and busy schedule), so we especially enjoyed being by ourselves on the drive (over two hours) - we had alot of catching up to do!  :)  We also had lots of fun with his friends who we don't get to see very much.  They're the type of friends where we can go a whole year without seeing them (usually now we only see them on the canoe trip) and we can just pick right back up with them without a problem.

We dropped Caleb and Logan off at Grandma & Grandpa VanBeek's Friday night.  That sure made packing and getting out the door the next morning alot let stressful!!  Saturday morning first thing we dropped Levi off at Eric & Lea Anne's.  I was kinda dreading leaving him (our first overnight separated!), but I managed to do it without crying or anything.  :)  They sent us photos and status updates yesterday and this morning so I could keep tabs on how he was doing, and that sure helped.  (Technology is really great sometimes!)  Today we got back in time to unload our stuff at home, and clean up the van a little bit (gotta take advantage of having all the car seats out...) before going to pick everyone up.

It was a much needed time away, and I'm so glad we were able to make it.  Last year, due to some circumstances, we weren't able to make it and it was the first ever that Mike missed (my first since joining the group).  Within a couple hours of being home I was feeling frazzled again, but such is life!  :)  Mike had to go into work to load a truck, and thankfully Logan was napping, but Caleb and Levi were keeping me hopping.  All is quiet at the moment - I'm soaking it up while it lasts!

saturday

This past Saturday was another cottage day.  Mostly a beautiful day, but we did get rained out for a bit in the afternoon.  Caleb, Logan, and their cousin Alyssa who is just a few months older did manage to get into a little mischief during the rain.  They had been playing upstairs nicely for awhile, a little too nicely so I figured I'd better check on things.  The three of them were in the bathroom, Caleb was trying to wash his hands - he had PLENTY of liquid soap on his hands - and Alyssa had put gel in everyone's hair.  :)  At that point I was just thankful I had boys with short hair to clean up, hers looked like it was going to be a little more challenging...

 Levi chillin' with Uncle Harold.

 Mid-afternoon fire.  One of those days that was changing from warm to cold and back again.

 Check out Alyssa's hair...

I'm sure the boys were talking Grandpa's ear off while he was fishing.

cats

One evening last week we went to Mike's co-worker, Brad's, house for supper and to hang out a bit.  They have a dog and a few cat and Caleb and Logan LOOOVED the cats.  They also got to ride some mini-bike/motorcycle thingie.

 Caleb's favorite was this gray one.  At least in this photo he's not holding it by the neck like he was other times...

Logan's favorite was this smaller orange/white one.  

dr

I had to take Levi in to the doctor last Monday.  The week before I had noticed one of his fingers getting a little red by the fingernail.  Monday morning it looked pretty bad - very red, inflamed, a little puffy, and it hurt him (when I tried to make sure it wasn't an ingrown nail he was NOT happy).  Figured it was one of those things that would just get worse if we didn't deal with it right away and they said it sounded like he would need antibiotics for an infection and I had to bring him in.  So, yeah, antibiotics for the little guy.  Not fun since it's twice a day for two whole weeks and he does seem to be dealing with some side effects, but the infection is better.  They did weigh him and he's 16 lbs now.

Sundays

Sundays are just not always the best day for us.  We all love going to church and the fact that it's the weekend and Mike's home, but it's just a really hard day with small children.  For the first part of the morning last week I actually thought things were going fairly well.  We made it to church early (I had to be in nursery), Levi took a good nap, and Caleb and Logan sat with Mike in church for a little bit and then came and played nice in nursery.  However, during Sunday School the boys' teacher (Miss Brandi) came to ask me if I had a change of clothes for Logan.  Uh-oh.  Apparently he spilled water and needed dry pants.  I didn't have anything for him (haven't needed anything in ages!) so they used something from some clothes they keep around in the nursery for just such occasions.  Hunter green cut-off sweat pants.  Nice.  And then during the evening service he had another water incident and came out in a way too small red sweatshirt.  :)

After Sunday School that morning was done and we were picking up Caleb and Logan, Miss Brandi told us that Caleb had trouble listening.  Jumping up and running around during story time.  We tried to get him to apologize to her right away, but he refused.  Dealt with it more at home and had him all prepped to say sorry to her that night, but she wasn't there.

I started this post a few days ago, but now we've made it through another Sunday and I've got a great update!  So, last night and this morning Mike talked to Caleb about apologizing to Miss Brandi.  After the boys had been in their class for a few minutes Mike popped his head in to check on things - Brandi was right there and right away told Mike that Caleb said he was sorry and that he was going to do better this week!!!  He did it all on his own without any prompting!  So proud of my son!  :)

Levi was very cranky this afternoon/evening.  Who knows what it is...could be just because it's Sunday (he was pretty cranky last week, too), or the antibiotics he's on, or he's gassy, or any number of things.  I spent the whole evening service in the nursery with him - he had to eat, and I hate to pass him off to someone else too soon since he spits up so much (although, it really doesn't make a difference when, he'll spit up ANYTIME), and by the way he was acting I was just waiting for a blow-out (which he did do, so then there was clean-up to do...).

We had an ice cream social after church tonight.  It's a little interesting waiting in line with two little boys that are very excited about ice cream and just hyped up in general - Caleb was being super friendly to EVERYBODY, and one of the pastors was jumping up and down with the boys getting them to say, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"  :)  Thankfully, Grandma Marsha was there to lend a hand and helped Logan get his ice cream, so I could help Caleb and Mike was managing Levi (who kept periodically spitting up and was NOT happy when someone else tried to hold him so Mike could eat his ice cream).

Caleb and Logan have still been sitting in the beginning of the church service ("big church" as we call it) and doing well.  I think Logan was trying to sing along a little bit this morning.  He seems to be a little more musically inclined.  (By the way, the other day I was singing along to "The Wheels on the Bus..." and Logan told me I was too old to sing that song.  :)

old

I am old.  Saturday I had the opportunity to play volleyball in an alumni vs. varsity team game at Freedom.  I had gotten the invite a few weeks back, but didn't decide until Friday night that I was going to play.  I mean, I haven't played in years (would love to, just don't have the chance to!), and I just had a baby so I'm pretty out of shape - why would I willingly choose to go possibly make a fool of myself??  Well, my desire to play was too strong, and I found out a few of the girls that I played with in high school were also going to be there and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to play with them again.  Also, my dear husband was very encouraging and assured me that he and the boys would always love me no matter how I played.  :)

It was fun!  Definitely felt old playing against those high school girls.  Our team took just a little bit to get warmed up, but once we got going we really weren't all that bad.  We didn't win at all, but they didn't totally cream us either, and we came super close in the last game.  I didn't quite play like I did in high school, but I wasn't terrible either.  :)  I have been rather sore the last few days after using muscles I haven't used in a very long time.

 Mike had the boys all excited to watch me play volleyball (or as they say, "bolleyball").

Serving.  Wish we would have had this gym when I was there!!

more activities

One evening last night Mike and I took the boys to McDonald's to eat and play. It was a nice night outside, so we had the playplace all to ourselves for quite a while.  :)  Caleb and Logan are getting braver in there (now crawling through the high tunnels) and it's fun to watch.  Also interesting to see how they make friends.  It seems they can both be social butterflies like their dad.  :)  Mike and I enjoy going there because it's a place where they'll go off and play nice, and we can actually sit and have a conversation!!  Imagine that!

Last Friday we went to Kollen Park in Holland for a kids' concert.  For a while Caleb was more interested in the fire station across the street - partway through things a fire truck came in and a firewoman waved at him, and at the very end a truck pulled out with lights and sirens and all.  :)  Both boys had fun running around with their cousins.

 Claire & Logan

Caleb watching the fire station...

Saturday night was girls night!  I went to see Ramona Quimby at the GR Civic Theatre with my Mom, my sister, and two of her girls.  It was a cute play and we had a fun evening!  Slight damper when I found out at the end of the night that I had left my wallet out on the car before the play, but thankfully there are some kind people left in this world and it had been brought in to the theater.  Just bothered me that I did that...that's not like me....I feel like my head has been spinning for the last three months, hmmm, I wonder why?!  

Sunday morning we visited my parent's church because my sister and niece were playing piano.  We tried to have the boys in the service to at least see them, but we were only partially successful.  I had to take Caleb out before they played, I think Logan made it through their song and then Mike took him out, and Levi didn't last much longer before I had to go out and feed him.  :)

Today we got to go on a train ride!  We took the train that goes from Coopersville to Marne, it's a fun little ride to go on with kids.  I didn't tell the boys about it until they got up this morning because I knew I'd get endless questions otherwise.  And I still did.  Of course we had to take time to drive up there, wait around until we could board, and then wait until the train actually got moving.  Must seem like at eternity for a two-year-old.  :)  Caleb kept saying again and again that he wanted to go on the train, etc.  He enjoyed watching out the window for most of the ride.  Logan watched out he window some and especially enjoyed his ticket (he gets attached to little random things like that, especially anything paper...).  

 Levi hangs out with Auntie Shell, Caleb looks out the window.

 Caleb watching out the window.

 Logan and I.

Me and my boys!  Levi looks nice with that burp rag, doesn't he??  :)  It's a necessity!  You never know when he'll erupt!

activities

Something I forgot to add to my recent post about funny things the boys say:  sometimes when Logan is crying he'll ask to have his tears wiped away, and he's also started saying "I can't stop my tears!"

We have been super busy with all sorts of activities lately!  The last Saturday in July we made it up to the cottage.  Someone at work came across a turtle and put it in Mike's truck, so we had that to take up with us.

Levi even got his swimsuit on and got in the water for a few minutes.  He wasn't terribly thrilled.  Logan, of course, swam like a fish.  Caleb had moments where he was doing really well, and other times he seemed pretty scared.  I'm just glad that he'll at least get in the water.

My sister came into town the beginning of last week, so we've been keeping busy with family events.  Last week we had a birthday party for my two oldest nieces.  My sister finally got to meet Levi, and it was actually the only evening that my whole family could be together - everyone has so many things going on it's hard to get all together!

 Michelle & Levi

 Playtime on the big slide (there was a little water involved...)

My nieces are THRILLED to have their picture taken.

We also went to the beach in Holland last week.  My mom stayed home with Levi so I could keep better track of Caleb and Logan.  They had fun playing in the sand with Micah, Jenna, and Claire.  Only went in the water a little bit.  Caleb kept trying to catch seagulls.

Thursday night we had our traditional "adult night" with my parents and siblings.  Mike & Emily weren't able to join us, and Levi came along, but it was still a nice night!  Crazy Horse in Holland for supper, Village Dipper in Drenthe for dessert.

 Eric & Lea Anne

 Chad & Michelle

Mike, Levi, & I

More catch-up to come, but I'm running out of time right now!

talk

Some of the funny things that get said around here:

This morning while playing Logan started up with some potty talk.  Caleb told him, "Watch your language, Logan."  Ha ha!  Do you think they hear that from us quite a bit??  :)  Boys and potty talk...I know I'll never cure them of it, but if I can at least get them to control it!

Many times when Logan is getting in trouble for something, he'll say very pathetically, "I want to be nice, Mom." or "I want to be happy, Mom."  This comes from me telling him he needs to be nice, or I want him to have a happy heart, etc.  Lately in the mornings when we come downstairs he right away asks to watch tv.  When I tell him "no"  (tv time is for when I'm feeding Levi or cooking dinner or something like that) he right away throws himself on the couch and starts crying and whining.  I'll tell him he needs to stop whining and get a happy heart or go to the other room, and in return I get a really whiny, "I want to be happy!".  :)

Something else that I can't figure out, is often at a mealtime Logan will put his spoon up to his forehead and say, "You want to go a beach, Mom?"  What in the world does the spoon on his forehead mean??  It's really bugging me and I can't get an explanation out of him.

Caleb and Logan have started telling on each other more now.  Certainly if one hits/pushes the other we've heard about that sort of thing for a long time, but they're starting to report on other things.  Like today Logan was completely emptying out the toy chest, and Caleb made sure to tell me about it.

Poor Levi, I wonder how many times he's been startled because I've hollered at his brothers while feeding him...

behind

There are so many things I want to post about, but it's just not happening.  The only reason I'm sitting at the computer now is to wait and make sure Caleb and Logan are settled down - it's been quiet for a couple minutes now so maybe I'll go ahead and make my way downstairs...  So anyways, until I catch up on things (which could be never?!), here's a couple pics of my 3 month old.  Pretty cute, huh?