enough!

Sickness just won't leave us.  And, of course, it couldn't be uneventful.  Last night was the Krol Christmas Party.  We were in a church gym, Caleb would run around and play fine, then lay down for a minute, or say he needed to go to the bathroom and nothing would happen.  I kept trying to see if he could describe how he was feeling, but that's kinda hard for a four-year-old!  So, at one point when he was laying down after running around, he puked.  Quite a bit.  Right in front of a bunch of people.  And almost on Aunt Linda's shoes!  Mike took Caleb out to clean him up and get him in the van, with the help of a few others I cleaned up the floor, and then we got out of there.  Caleb ended up sleeping on the couch, and I 'slept' in the recliner so I could take care of him.  He puked several more times.  Poor guy - had nothing left in his stomach to get out, but it wouldn't stop.  :(  This morning while Mike and I were in the kitchen before he went to work, Caleb got up, came over and said he felt better.  Now he's been sleeping for awhile again, so we'll see!

Logan has been up a couple times, but no sickness yet.  Just throwing a fit because he saw that Caleb's not in his bed, so he wants to come downstairs, too.  Ah, yes, the fun of trying to reason with a four-year-old in the middle of the night when you're in the middle of also trying to take care of a sick child.  And, when Logan wakes up in the middle of the night upset about something he gets REALLY worked up and there's not a whole lot you can do.  He's been quite for awhile now, so hopefully he keeps sleeping in and doesn't wake up tired.

So far so good on Levi, too!  The cold he had is getting better (still some congestion), and no sign of the pukes yet.  He has been getting more attitude with us again.  :(  When he first got sick a couple weeks ago I was hoping our "Sweetie Pie Levi" would come back when he got better, but I'm not so sure that's going to happen.  I think the sickness crankiness is just transitioning us right into early terrible two's.  :)

I do have to say, Caleb is ultimate sweetie pie when he's sick.  At one point last night when I was helping him he said, "I love you, Mom."  Wow, there's nothing like getting an unprompted "I love you" from your kids.

sick

Welcome, Winter Sickness!  We've had some sickness going around for over a week now.  Plus, Levi has four teeth coming in, and he has NOT been happy.  Currently, Caleb and Logan are congested, but it's not really slowing them down.  Mike has a runny nose as well.  Levi still has a bit of a runny nose and cough, but I think he's on the tail end of it.  There was a day last week that he didn't want to do anything - poor guy.  He just sat on my lap.

Levi is picking up new words like crazy and it is so much fun!  The ones we hear a lot now are: on (concerning lights), button (on toys, not on clothes), blanket, chocolate (asking for chocolate milk), and buckle.  Levi learned how to whisper about a week ago and it's so stinkin' cute!  At lunchtime one day either Caleb or Logan came over to me to whisper a "secret" in my ear.  Levi leaned forward in his high chair like he wanted to get close to me, so I put my ear up to him and he whispered some noises.  :)  He kept wanting to do it, and we've had alot of fun with it.  He's also gotten good at screaming and making loud noises while at the table - big brothers have something to do with that.

Caleb and Logan keep improving at counting, and figuring out sounds and letters.  Fun to see how they're learning.  I got them some letter and number tracing placemats for Christmas, so hopefully they'll have fun practicing writing with those.  I can hear Logan in quite time right now singing the ABC song.  :)  (Levi also likes to sing it, of course that's super cute.)

Both Caleb and Logan are observant and really think about some things, and I love it!  Even though they come up with some interesting and difficult questions sometimes.  :)  They ask alot of questions about God, Jesus, Heaven, Hell, etc.  It's SCARY to know the weight and responsibility I have in handling this stuff with them!  Gotta pray every day that the Lord gives me the right words to teach these boys.  Anyways, so the other day I was sitting in the chair with Caleb and Logan talking about Christmas stuff.  I mentioned that Jesus was born in something like a barn, and it was just him and his mom and dad.  Logan says, "But he's not his real dad, God is Jesus' dad."  !!!!!  A funny thing that came up the other day, Logan asked Mike how he has three moms because he calls, Grammy, Grandma, and me "Mom".  :)

different

Today we got the numbers behind how different Caleb and Logan are.  :)  They had their 4 year well-child visit to the doctor, and they did great!  They were both a bit nervous about getting shots (they got 4 each!), but it didn't ruin the whole visit.

Logan weighed in at 34 lbs (32%) and is 3 ft 4.5 in (54%).  Caleb is 43 lbs (92%) and 3 ft 7.5 in (97%).  Logan has been making more comments (and he did at the dr today) about Caleb being bigger than him, and it seems to bother him.  I just keep telling him that's just the way God made him, the two of them are different, and one isn't better than the other.  I can definitely see how this could be a significant issue in years to come.  Even though Logan is completely normal sized, having a twin that's so much bigger makes him feel like he's too small or something.  I hope that my experience on the other end of the spectrum (being a tall female, and having some rough times because of that) will help enable me to be an encouragement to him.  :)

We worked hard at prepping both of the boys for this doctor's visit, and they really did well.  They talked nice to the doctor and nurse, and behaved very well while waiting in the room.  Caleb took his shots like a champ - cried a little and stopped pretty quick.  Mike stayed with him for his shots, and I took Logan out of the room.  Then I brought Logan back in the room for his shots, and he was a bit out of sorts for a little while after, but eventually calmed down.  No more immunizations until they're 11!

food

Today Logan asked me if they could see the food in my tummy when they were in my tummy.  :)

He also asked if Mike's dad could hear them in Heaven - this was in relation to them singing in church for the Christmas program.  Which, by the way, went better than last year.  I did get video this time, so I'll have to post it.

great parents...

Great Parenting Moment number *who knows what we're up to...*:

Last night after supper Mike and I were sitting on the couch actually having a somewhat uninterrupted conversation.  Levi came running into the living room with a big smile on his face, and a steak knife in hand...  Oops!  Logan was still finishing up eating (due to there being a discipline issue during the meal), and we hadn't completely cleared the table yet.

A word I forgot about Levi saying is "cold".  It's so cute, he says it kind of like "go-o-o-o".

FOUR

I have REALLY gotten behind in blogging!  How could that be?  It's not like I'm busy or anything...  :)

While I've been away from blogging, my boys have turned four!  That just seems so grown up (even though most of the time they don't really act grown up...).  Since their birthday was the day after Thanksgiving this year, and we had all sorts of family stuff going on, we had a small party with grandparents on the 26th.  They were pretty excited (Caleb and Logan...I don't know about the grandparents...)!  They've been talking about their birthday for pretty much the whole year since their last birthday, so it was a big deal that we were FINALLY to their birthday.  On the actual day of their birthday it worked out that the family was gathering for a birthday party for my niece (who will be turning 16 next week!!!), and my bro and sis-in-law were nice enough to make it more of a combo party.  We got on "Optimus Prime" pinata, and the kids had a ball with that.  :)

One of the presents we got Caleb and Logan was Nerf bow and arrows for each of them, and Uncle Mike and Auntie Em got them blaster guns (I think that's what they're called??).  So, now living in this house is even more like a war zone than it was before.  I'm dodging arrows and these little balls from the guns all the time...

I don't have any four-year stats yet as their well-child appt with the doctor is next week.  They'll be getting shots, and Logan especially is worried about it.  :(  The other day when he brought it up and we were discussing Caleb said, "I want to do it right now!"  He's all about just getting it over with.  We'll see how things go next week, it could be interesting.

Caleb is my little helper.  He is frequently asking if he can do something for me or if he can help me with something.  Logan would love to help me in the kitchen more, I really need to do something we can do together.

This Sunday is the Christmas program at church.  Remember last year??  Really hoping this year goes better...  We were talking about it the other day and Caleb said something like, "I want to be funny up there." and I was just like, "Oh, no you don't!!"  :)

Levi is taking a break from being a little stinker and is back to being quite the sweetie pie!  He actually snuggles for a bit here and there, he hasn't been messing with the trash/tv/dishwasher/etc. as much, he's ready with a kiss whenever I ask, and gives unprompted "thank you's" quite often!  He can do pretty well playing on his own - he likes to put a train together, line things up, and things like that.  I'd say he's a nice mix of a momma's boy and daddy's boy right now.  :)  Last week he didn't cry when I dropped him off at nursery either - he looked a little concerned, but he didn't cry.  He's talking like crazy, repeating almost any word you tell him to (within reason, of course).  It's still "Lo-guy" for both Caleb and Logan.  Other words he says are: Mommy, Daddy, Sadie, puppy, monkey, piggy, choo-choo, truck (sounds more like "uck"), stinky (what a boy!), ball, book, hello, bye-bye, please, more, hot, hat...

temper

Oh, Levi.  More and more my sweetie-pie is asserting his independence.  :)  Several times lately he has been upset about not getting his way on something and has swatted at me angrily.  And, how do I know he knows better?  All it takes is me saying (in a serious but not even that firm tone), "You don't hit Mommy." and he gets sad, so you know he's feeling bad about it.  :)

He IS doing much better at not throwing food down anymore.  Still so-so with his cup, plate, and utensils, but we'll get there.  I did have my first food stand-off with him today.  We'll do a little more experimenting to see how stubborn he is and then tailor our approach accordingly.  :)

One of his favorite things that he continually asks for is for me to do "Rock-a-bye, baby" with him.  He comes up to me and says, "Baby?  Baby?"  I cradle him like a baby, sing to him, and at the end drop him on the couch.  He'll get right up and ask for it again!

I keep trying to get him to say "Caleb", but it's just "Doh-guy" over and over again.  :)  He also says "ow" alot, but not correctly (usually).

trip pics

All my guys at the airport to drop me off

The schedule that Corrine's dad had all made up for Amy and I  :)

Al and Anne Andrews (Corrine's parents)

Amy and I at the rehearsal

Some of the girls!  (Laura, me, Corrine, Amy)

Our SWEET car for the weekend!

This is just the tip of the iceberg of all the amazing food at the wedding!

me, Laura, Amy, Sarah

Sarah, Amy, Corrine, me, Laura (And, no, her dress isn't a crazy color, just bad lighting and a phone picture.)

The boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey.  (Look close and you'll see a section missing - I'm assuming from Sandy.)

The Jersey Shore

Cannoli's from Carlo's Bakery (anybody watched The Cake Boss?)

coming into Grand Rapids

trip

I returned yesterday afternoon from a weekend away, and it was wonderful!  (Both the trip and the returning home part.)  THANK YOU to my awesome hubby for making the trip possible.  A college friend got married in New Jersey, so I flew out with another friend for the wedding, and we were also able to spend alot of time with our college friends from Ohio who drove in.

Amy and I flew out of Grand Rapids on Wednesday evening.  Both our families dropped us off, and her kids cried a fair bit when saying good-bye.  My boys didn't cry, but I don't think they totally understood that I was going to be gone a few days.  We flew into Baltimore and then drove to Corrine's parent's house in South Jersey.  We had such a nice time visiting with them!  The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit and lounge around for a while before heading out to get our nails done with Corrine, her bridal party, and a few other friends.  That evening was the rehearsal and dinner, and we stayed up a little late talking with Laura.  (College flashbacks!)

Friday we went shopping for a wedding present, met Sarah and Andy for lunch, and then the wedding was in the evening.  It was beautiful, and the amount of food at the reception was unbelievable!  We ended up staying up pretty late that night in our room talking with Sarah and Laura - I guess I've never been a late night person, but I definitely can't handle those kinds of nights now; I was totally wiped out when I got home yesterday.

On Saturday, Amy and I drove down to Ocean City and spent the afternoon walking/shopping/eating on the boardwalk.  It was a beautiful fall day to be on the shore.  That evening we met up with Sarah and Andy for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory - I could hardly eat thanks to overeating all weekend and being so tired!

Sunday morning Amy and I headed back to Baltimore for our flight home.  We were both ready to see our families again!  My boys surprised me with balloons and flowers, and a new candle and potholder at home.  :)

I can't believe I almost forgot - we had such an awesome car for the weekend!!  I rented a compact car (the cheapest!), but got upgraded to a Ford Mustang!  It was pretty fun.

Sounds like overall things went well for Mike and the boys at home.  I think Logan and Levi missed me more than Caleb.  Mike said that one morning when he was bringing Levi down from his room he was saying my name thinking I would be downstairs, and he looked around for me.  And, one morning Logan came down and asked Mike if I was home yet, when Mike said, "No." Logan said something like, "She's not supposed to be gone a long time, she's only supposed to be gone a few minutes!"  And, after I'd been home awhile yesterday, Logan randomly said, "I'm glad you're home.  I'm glad you're not at the "orport" (airport) anymore."  :)  There were a few things the boys said that it seems like they think I spent the weekend at the airport.  :)  They loved seeing the planes at the airport, and yesterday on the flight home I took a whole bunch of pictures to show them, and they enjoyed looking through them.

Levi apparently started using a few new words while I was gone!  He's now saying "out" (to get out of his high chair), "up" (to be picked up), and "eat".

names

Levi is finally saying someone else's name!  He says "Doh-guy" for "Logan" and it seems like he's been using it for both Caleb and Logan...oh well, at least he's making progress!  :)

Caleb sort of got lost the other day.  I guess HE knew where he was, but Mike and I couldn't find him for a bit and were starting to get worried.  Mike was taking the Massey out back to get a cup left in the combine, and Logan was riding with him.  Caleb was outside with Sadie, and was told to wait.  I was inside with Levi.  Mike was gone for just a few minutes, came back, and Caleb was nowhere to be found.  We started looking all over and after just a couple minutes of not finding him I was starting to imagine all sorts of awful things.  After a good 5 minutes or so I heard a faint answer after calling his name.  I knew it was coming from out back, but since it can echo and stuff it's kind of hard to tell exactly where a noise is coming from.  Mike headed back on the Massey, and Caleb and Sadie were way at the top of the hill, perfectly fine.  Thank you, Lord!!

words

Levi is a hoot!  When he's excited about something (like when I'm going to give Caleb and Logan a treat for being dry, which means he'll get a treat, too....  or when I ask if anyone wants ice cream) he raises his hands and shouts "Yay!!"  It's super cute - I tried to get it on camera yesterday, but failed.  Today I made chicken nuggets for lunch and when he saw them he thought they were cookies, so he was excitedly shouting "Gookie!  Gookie!"

Any tractor we see or hear starts him off on "Bapa?  Bapa?"  (Papa.)  My dad's tractor and wagons are parked in the back here to be ready for harvesting the corn by us, and since Levi has spotted them I think I've heard "Bapa" about a million times.  And, of course he's a big Daddy fan!  First thing when I went into his room this morning it was "Daddy?  Daddy?  Daddy?" several times.  Or when we're at the table he'll often point at Mike's chair and ask about him.  Or if we're out and about and he sees a truck like Mike's.  He gets super excited to see Mike whether it's when we're visiting him at work or when he gets home in the evening.  Who wouldn't be excited??  :)  I guess he talks alot about whoever NOT here, though - last night I was out doing some shopping and Mike said Levi couldn't stop talking about Mommy.  :)

He's getting better at saying Sadie's name.  We can't really get him to say his name or Caleb or Logan.  He sort of says "thank you" and he can kind of say "Yes, Mom"!  (I wasn't really working on that with him, but he'll repeat it when I tell Caleb or Logan to say it.)  I love it when you ask him if he wants something - he'll say "Hm" and lift his head in a slight nod.  Of course he's very good at the word "NO" - he uses it alot with his brothers.  :)  He's pretty jealous of what he thinks is his - whether it's a toy he's had his hands on recently, or if one of the other boys wants to sit on my lap.  Last week Mike and I did "couch time" for the first time in forever (Hooray for celery harvest being done!), and I don't think Levi knew what to think of us actually sitting down next to each other on the couch and talking.  :)  He was pretty sad at first (acting like the whole thing was pretty traumatic), but he did GREAT at staying where we told him to!  I was surprised because I haven't practiced it much with him.

Levi is no longer my shopping buddy.  :(  He doesn't want to sit in the cart anymore (and it's quite a production to get him forced in the seat and strapped in), but if I let him walk he hasn't learned about staying by me and he wants to run off.

Caleb and Logan have been learning so fast!  They are both pretty good at counting to 20.  They might get a little tripped up in the teens, but otherwise do well.  They can recite their ABC's, and Logan especially has gotten more curious about letters and "reading".

This morning I had a chance to talk alone with Caleb and I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up.  He wants to be a daddy, make celery, drive the dump truck, work in the shop fixing things, and work with Mike.  :)  The reason I got to talk with Caleb was because Logan slept in!  He was up some in the night with a bad dream.  I woke up a little before my alarm this morning and there was Logan in bed with me!  Mike got up crazy early to do some field work for my dad, so I thought maybe something had happened while he was up and he had just put Logan in bed with me and I just didn't realize it.  But when I talked to him later he said he didn't - so I guess Logan got in on his own and I just had no idea!  Anyways, Logan woke up then saying he wanted to be on his own, but when I put him back to his bed he was upset about a bad dream, so I set him up with his lantern and a few books.  He must have been up for a bit yet because then he ended up sleeping until 9am.

We made a trip to the library today.  I really wish we could do it more, but Levi is not a fan!  Caleb and Logan love it, but Levi protests LOUDLY when I try to keep him from running all over and pulling books off shelves...

Don't think I wrote about the snow last week.  We had a crazy early snow here.  A couple inches of heavy, wet stuff.  Caleb and Logan were thrilled!  I dug up what I could find in snow gear and sent them out the door.  They had fun playing outside for quite a while.  My mom was nice enough to offer to come over to be with the boys for just a bit so I could head out with my camera.  Thankfully the snow was all melted by the next day!  :)

The other night we did alot of running around due to soybean harvest, and the boys did great being in the van for so long (and I didn't even have to turn on a movie once!).  They did get to ride in the combine a bit with Mike, but we also followed Mike in the combine down the road, brought him back to his truck, went to pick up Chick'n Lick'n, brought that over to ZFS to eat (in the van as it was too cold to eat outside), and then followed Mike back with some wagons.

It's a beautiful day here today.  Gotta soak it up while we've got it!

interviews

I did these interviews with Caleb and Logan a few weeks ago.

hmmmmm

Last night on the way home from Gopher's, Logan was insisting that sometimes he sleeps with his eyes open.  Then Caleb said that sometimes he sleeps with his eyes open because his eyes get a little bit hot.  :)

Poor Levi

My poor baby hurt his pinky toe today.  :(  The boys and I headed over to my parent's this morning so I could wash windows, and after that my mom and I were trying to get some lunch stuff ready.  Levi pulled a table leaf out of the rack and it fell on his toe.  I THINK it's going to be okay without a visit to the dr (Little toes look so funny anyways, how in the world do you know if it's broken??) - there's just a small cut, and the toe is red, but not swollen, and he's walking around fine.

The rest of lunch wasn't great even after Levi calmed down...I started dropping his morning nap about a week ago, and he can get rather cranky.  :)  But, if he takes a morning nap he won't take an afternoon nap, and we just can't have that!  Dropping the morning nap is a bit of an adjustment for me - I remember that with Caleb and Logan, too.  Going from having some "down time" in the morning AND afternoon to just morning takes a shift in thinking for the day.  (How in the world do I keep a 16-month-old occupied for several hours in a row???)  So, anyways, today we had to make a rather swift and chaotic exit from my parent's.  :)

It's a good thing Levi is so stinkin' cute, because he has been EXHAUSTING me lately!  :)  Wanting to climb on everything, push buttons on the tv, get into the bathroom, etc., etc., etc....  Really, how did I do this with two the same age??  I know it's terrible, but I kinda can't wait until he'll sit and watch tv...

Mike and I had a nice weekend away at a marriage retreat!  Of course it was a little hectic on Friday trying to get ready to go (with my three "helpers" running around), but that made the time away that much better.  :)  We were with about 8-9 other couples from our church, at a camp north a little ways.  The weather was great!  Mike and I were able to do some canoeing Saturday afternoon.  Saturday night we played volleyball for a couple hours and had so much fun!  And paid for it the next day.  I was a tad sore.  :)

Mike's last day of celery harvest is TOMORROW!!!!

Logan and the world

The other day at lunchtime Logan was praying before the meal and his prayer was something along the lines of, "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Caleb, Logan, and Levi, Grady and Alyssa, Boden and Heidi, Ashley, Hannah, China, Russia, the beach, Africa, Florida, outer space, and earth."  :)  Lately he'll stop during his prayer, look at the map on the wall, and say, "What else?"  I'll tell him that he can just say, "the whole world", but he wants to be more specific!

Last night was Parent's Night at Gopher's (our church's Wednesday night program for the kids).  Mike and I were so excited to go!  When talking about it with the boys the night before, Caleb didn't want us to go, but Logan was excited about it.  Caleb did end up being happy we were there.  :)  On the way there we were talking about the different aspects of the evening, and Mike said something about how there should be coffee at snack time...so, guess what Logan said to his teacher as soon as we walked into his room??  "We should have coffee for my daddy!"  :)  Neither Caleb or Logan wanted to practice their verse - hoping it was just because we were there (they don't like to do it at home either), and that they do better the rest of the time.  We were so proud at song/story time - Logan's name was drawn first to hold the American flag for the pledge.  Loved the look on his face!  A girl in the group held a sign for the pledge to the Bible, and then they stayed up to hold up some letters, and Caleb's name was drawn to hold a letter, too.  :)  It was interesting to see Caleb and Logan in this environment.  During song/story time they stayed separate, but then during games they were kind of together (and fighting at the beginning...).  We really had fun getting to see what our kids do on Wednesday nights, and we are so thankful they have the opportunity to do it.

Logan went into Levi's room and woke him up during naptime today.  :(  Not cool!  It wasn't that far into naptime, but he just didn't nap good after that.  I'm actually kind of surprised it took this long for it to happen!  Logan's been a little worse lately about staying put during quiet time, he's been doing some "sneaking out" - not that sneaky since I can pretty much hear most of it...

Logan's big number that he's been throwing out lately is "40".  This is thanks to talking about Noah and the Flood for a few weeks in Sunday School.  :)  He loves to use it like it's this super huge number - for example, "Or how about this?  I'll eat 20, no, 40 chicken nuggets!"  Or during story time tonight he was saying something about 40 rattlesnakes.  Such a boy!  :)

switch

Well, it's happened.  Daddy is now Levi's favorite person.  :)  He hasn't completely forgotten about me, but I hear alot about Daddy all day long, he gets VERY excited to see Mike (when visiting him at work, or when he gets home from work), and he is pretty attached to him (crying at the bathroom door when he's in there, etc.).  The last couple days he's been calling out for "Daddy" all day long - he doesn't even say "Mama" anymore!

Levi doesn't have a problem making his feelings known when something makes him upset.  :)  He loves when Mike gives him a piggy-back ride, or as we call it, a doggy ride.  The other day he had a turn, then it was Caleb's turn - guess who was NOT a happy camper??  He got pretty mad and was trying to push Caleb off.

Levi is still good about saying and signing "please" ("beeee").  He's finally saying and signing "more" ("mo"), and "all done" (he only does the sign for that one).  He gets very excited to see Sadie, and his word for her is kind of like "yay-yay".  He loves throwing her ball for her, and thankfully she's patient enough to go the short distance he can throw.  :)  Levi is super good at blowing kisses, and does nice big ones.  He likes to play "peek-a-boo" when sitting in his high chair.

He's still pretty bad about throwing things down from his high chair, and a swat on the hand apparently means nothing to him.  Oh boy.

I wish I could just soak it all up and remember everything that the kids do and what they are like!  Or have a camera rolling 24/7...

out

Yesterday Levi got out of his crib and started coming downstairs!  It was during his morning nap - he hadn't been settling down, and I heard a noise that made me think I should go check on him.  No huge thump like he fell, and he wasn't crying.  I get to the bottom of the stairs, look up, and who's at the top making his way down with a big grin on his face??  That certainly was not what I expected to see!  I put him back in his crib and he settled down and took a nap.  At bedtime I checked on him a couple times because I thought I heard something, but he didn't get out at all.  Phew!

We've been a little bit sick here since last week.  It really snuck up on me!  I guess it's because everyone else has gone back to school and started sharing germs - how nice of them to share them at church, too, since I have no one in school.  :)  Levi had a croupy cough for a couple days, now he's just kinda congested with a little bit of a runny nose, and drooling like CRAZY - I think it might be the congestion combined with some teething.  Caleb and Logan have been coughing, but nothing else really.  I've had a sore throat and some congestion.  So far Mike is in the clear.  Hope it stays that way!

Celery harvest is ALMOST done.  Probably 2-3 weeks to go.  Mike is really ready to be done.  Lots of employee issues, and he's pretty worn out from getting up at 3:30am every day (even earlier on Friday's when he has two trucks to load).

Caleb and Logan can both sing the ABC song really well!  There's just a couple spots where the don't say the letters quite right, but they've pretty much got it down.  They both can memorize their verse for Gopher's pretty well, too, except Caleb is rarely willing to say it.  Logan does, though.  I've had mixed success doing their daily "quiet times" for Gopher's.  Sometimes Caleb wants to do it, sometimes he doesn't, and it's not something I want to force at this point.  Logan usually wants to do it, but then gets VERY easily frustrated that he can't do something (e.g.: draw a square around something).  Even with me helping him, he just wants to give up and not try because he can't do it right.  Hmmmmm......sound familiar, Mom?  Mike says he was the same way, too.  So, I know how he feels, but I don't know what to say/do to encourage him to keep trying!  Working on this stuff with them has really reinforced to me that I would not do well as a preschool teacher.  :)

I did some of my own canning last week!  Feeling so domesticated.  :)

A couple Friday's ago we went to a family from church's house.  They have 8 kids (6 boys, 2 girls), but they're pretty much all grown, so there was only one there for part of the time we were there.  Anyways, the boys just love Mrs. Burkey, and she loves them, too.  :)  We all had a great time there - roasting hot dogs and marshmallows (I'm not sure how many s'mores Vonita gave Caleb....), and then inside they played with blocks and their dogs.  Oh, I almost have to mention, I took family portraits for them last spring, and when we did the photo session, Vonita had a project in mind.  She put a family tree up on the wall in her living room with the photos, and it looks really cool!

The next night Mike went to a Tiger's game with my dad, brother, and nephew.  It was a great game - went to 12 innings and the Tiger's won.  Made for a late night, though - I think he got home at 3:30am!

Last Tuesday we had a greater Steenwyk family party at my parent's.  My cousin from CA was in town with her three girls (two-yr-old, and 9-month-old twins).  My other cousin with 6-month-old twin girls was able to be there as well, babies, babies, everywhere!  Levi acted a little jealous when I was holding another baby, but not too bad.  :)

record

I wish I had a way to record the kids all the time - oh, the things they say!  Caleb and Logan have started with our church's Wednesday night program (we do a Word of Life program, and the boys are in Gopher's).  There are daily devotionals that we do, and it has started out in Proverbs.  The other day I hear Logan say to Caleb, "You're a fool!"  So, I guess that's all they've picked up on so far - the word "fool"....

About a week ago Mike and the boys were talking about his dad.  Mike has talked about him alot, and the boys know he died and where his body is buried, but it's hard to know what all they really grasp about it.  Anyways, I can't remember the whole discussion, but at some point Caleb got a look on his face like a light bulb just went off and he said, "Hey!  Maybe Grandpa could be your dad!"  (That's what they call Mike's stepdad - my dad is "Papa".)  They know Grandma is Mike's mom, and they know Mike's dad died, and they know Grandma and Grandpa go together, but I don't know if they've connected all the dots yet.  :)  But, obviously Caleb's thinking about it and trying to figure it all out!

Levi's big thing right now is wearing his big brothers' shoes.  He is often bringing me a shoe and "asking" me to put it on him.  Once on, he's happily clomping around the house.  He's also still very into doors.  Loves making sure doors are shut - he'll point and say "bye" when he wants a door shut.  For the past week or two I've been working on "rug time" with him, and he's doing pretty well.  I can't leave him on his own to do it yet, but once he's trained it will be SO worth it.  I did this with Caleb and Logan and it was INCREDIBLE (and it's still paying off).  Levi actually asks for it now!  He'll go to the spot where I have a small Thomas the Train rug set up for him, point to the timer I set, and point to the box of toys I put over there for him.

As mentioned earlier, Caleb and Logan started Gopher's at church.  I know parent's usually takes pics of the first night of this kind of stuff, but oh well, guess I failed in that area...  They were excited to go, and once we got there Caleb got pretty scared.  Logan was fine.  It's in a different part of the building that they've haven't really been in before, so I think that made it a little extra intimidating.  Mike was able to make it in time that we could drop them off together, and it was SO STRANGE to just drop them off and walk out the door with Levi.  (When they start Kindergarten I don't know who's going to have a harder time - Mike or myself...)  Mike and I took Levi to a nearby park for a walk and to play, and we really enjoyed our time.  We were talking about how much fun Levi is now at that age, and reflecting on what it was like with Caleb and Logan.  I remember it being a fun age with them learning new words and doing new things, but I'm thinking I might be able to enjoy it more this time around.  Anyways, when we picked Caleb and Logan up after Gopher's they were both very enthusiastic and told us all sorts of things.  I didn't have a chance to chat with any of the teachers, but I guess I'm assuming that if there was anything bad enough they would have told us.  :)

Yesterday afternoon I got to go to work!  They were shorthanded for harvesting onions, so the kids went to Harold's, and I drove tractor for the afternoon.  It was fun to have the chance to do it (although I still get nervous even though I've done it a thousand times...), and it's nice to be "qualified" to help out.  The day before (9/11), I had been reflecting on 9/11/01, and I had harvested onions on that afternoon.  I was so glad I had gotten out of the celery packing shed to be in a tractor with a radio.  After my first load yesterday Bruce hopped over from his tractor and asked if I remembered what I was doing 9/11 - so he remembered, too.  We were just down the road from where we were on that day (yesterday we were in Rich Schreur's field, 9/11/01 we were in Wally Hamberg's).  Yesterday it was nice to have a break from the kids for the afternoon, but working also made me glad I don't have to do that every day, and that I get to stay at home with my kids!

said

Couple quick things I gotta make a note of:

Tonight I took Logan out on a grocery shopping date.  On the way to the store I was asking him how his throat was feeling (he told me this morning it hurt).  He said it was feeling fine and, "I hope I don't get a chilly, I don't like chillies!"  Took a split-second to figure out he was using the word "chilly" instead of "cold".  :)

Levi always says "bye" when he wants a door closed.  And, I think tonight the boys taught him to say "yuck" at supper time.  Nice.  You can always count on big brothers to teach good things!  ;)  I'm curious to see how his speech continues to develop.  He's saying some things, and of course he's got older siblings he hears talking all the time, but yet I feel like we're able to communicate pretty well with his various noises, grunts, and pointing, so maybe he won't be as motivated to use actual words??  We'll see.

Oh yeah, even with boys we do have plenty of drama around here.  Tonight I was supposed to take Caleb out with me.  He said he was going to go, but then at the last minute said he didn't want to go.  So, I offered it to Logan instead.  Of course then Caleb changed his mind, but we're trying to work on "Say what you mean; mean what you say." so I made him stay home.  He was not happy when we left, but was fine about it later when I got home.  Logan and I had a really nice time the whole shopping trip, until the very end when I bought us a bag of M&M's to share.  He thought the whole bag should be his and he didn't want to share with me.  We had a lengthy discussion (basically saying the same thing over, and over, and over, and over again...) about how I bought the candy and I was sharing with him.  Anyways, he was terribly upset about it all.  And as soon as we got home, he and Caleb were right back at it (Caleb purposely making Logan upset, and Logan walking right into it.).  Ahhhhh, the house is nice and quiet now!

blank

So, I always think of all this good stuff to put in the blog, but I don't write it down, and then when I actually have a chance to type out a post, my mind is blank...

Oh yeah, the other day I rearranged Caleb and Logan's room.  I've wanted to for awhile, but just never got around to it, and now I really wanted their beds farther apart (they are SOOO not ready for their beds to be bunked together...), so I got 'er done.  They are now on opposite sides of the room from what they were, and that first night when Mike and I went to check on them before we went to bed, we didn't know quite how to handle it!  :)  We're in such a routine - do we walk to the same spot (different kid), or check on the same kid first, therefore altering our traffic pattern??  I know, major dilemma.  :)

Did I mention in the last post that Levi is really good at following directions?  Let's see how long that lasts!  He loves cleaning up after himself after a meal, and putting food that was dropped on the floor in the trash (not so much that he drops intentionally...he is improving in that area).  Today I told him to put his sandals in the closet, and he did.  He also knows if we're going outside and will get at least one of his sandals - it's so cute when he just plops right down so you can put them on for him.  He's very concerned that all doors be shut, except for the bathroom door, of course - if it's open he'll just walk right in and "check" on the toilet...  He likes to play with trains and tractors, and when we're outside he loves to ride in his car that he got from Grandpa and Grandma for his birthday.  Today we were at a friend's house for awhile, and they have a cat.  He was both intrigued and fearful.  You should have seen his face once when he was kinda following the cat, but then it turned to come back towards him and Levi turned right around and hurried back to me with a serious look of concern on his face.

Alright, not thinking of whatever else I was going to write...it'll come to me once I shut the computer down and the kids' quiet time is over...

good-bye

Well, we've already said good-bye to both of the goldfish!  I'm not feeling too bad.  :)  It was kinda fun to have them, but extra work for me - which I don't exactly need right now...  Caleb's fish died after the boys dirtied up the water (I was mowing the lawn and Mike, super exhausted as he is this time of year, fell asleep on the couch), and Logan's fish was just dead when we got back from the cottage Saturday.  Well, now I've got fish food on hand for fair time next summer!

Both Caleb and Logan have gotten into getting dressed in various clothing items.  The other morning they sneakily got dressed first thing in the morning and surprised me by showing up downstairs like this:

It's fun, but we've also got to work on taking care of their things - they have been making a disaster of their room!  I'm fine with the room not being perfect, but really, they don't need to just open the drawers and start throwing everything out...

Levi is just too much fun right now.  He's gotten really good at communicating and getting his point across when he wants something.  He's also our resident doorman - he goes around to make sure all doors are shut.  He's pretty attached to me - when there's an evening that I'm going to leave to get groceries or something he'll be crying when I leave, even though he's with Mike.  And, the other night the boys had a babysitter for just a bit because Mike was still at work and I had to leave for a photo shoot - Levi was NOT happy.  I think he calmed down fairly soon after I left, but Mike said Levi ran right to him when he got home.

Saturday was a fun day at the cottage, Sunday was a busy day with church stuff, and today it was super nice to have Mike home from work.  Labor Day is always very much needed around here!  We had breakfast and spent the morning at my parent's (beautiful morning for a hayride), for awhile in the afternoon I went to a friend's house to learn about canning, and we just spent the evening at home.  Back to reality tomorrow!

t-ball

Levi likes t-ball!  Still amazes me how quickly kids can catch on to things.  A week ago we had Boden and Heidi over and played t-ball at some point.  (Okay, didn't really play a game - just set stuff up and the kids hit balls.)  Twice in the last week now Levi has "asked" me to play.  He goes over to where the stuff is in the garage and points to it.  I'll set up the tee, he puts the ball on himself, hits it off, and then goes and gets the ball.  Of course it's pretty cute.  :)

We went as a family to the fair on Wednesday night.  Overall, the boys did great.  Caleb and Logan don't yet understand that we can't do EVERYTHING because it all costs money, but they didn't do too bad.  For the most part they listened pretty well and there were no major issues.  (Taking young children to the fair can be fun, but can also be a nightmare....)  They enjoyed the animals.  Caleb and Mike rode the ferris wheel, and then Logan, Caleb, and Mike rode a "Dizzy Dragon" ride.  We met up with my parent's and Mike & Emily and fam for Mike and Natalie's annual "Zipper" ride.  However, when we got over there the line was OUTRAGEOUS, so they didn't get to do it this year.  :(  Thursday night Mike took Caleb and Logan back to the fair.  They did a couple rides and also did the "goldfish" game and came home with two fish - so far they are still alive...  Logan's is Megatron, and Caleb's is Lightning McQueen (and, yes, we can tell the difference between the two).

waiting for the ferris wheel

going up

near the top!

the "dizzy dragon"

stinky cows!

fair

This happens to me every year.  We get to "fair week" (which, for those of you that may not be aware, signals the end of summer) and I'm just like, "What in the world happened to summer??"  I'm pretty sure that part of the problem is that celery harvest for Mike doesn't begin until early July, and that to me is the beginning of summer, so fair week sneaks up pretty quick after that.  Doesn't help that up until the last few days we've had pretty cool weather and the days are getting noticeably shorter.  I'm so torn because summer is a crazy time for us, but I like the sunshine and warm weather SO. MUCH. BETTER. than the cold and darkness of winter...

Speaking of it being a crazy time, the farm is pretty caught up to the celery right now, so Mike has actually gotten home at a respectable time the last few days!  Still pretty long days since he's getting up so early to load trucks, but him getting home and hour or more sooner than he was before is pretty huge for me and my level of sanity.

(Side note: I just went to get Caleb out of quiet time and he had fallen asleep in the toy chest...with the lid shut!)

A few days ago Levi got out of his exersaucer!  Didn't scare me quite as bad as the first time it happened with Caleb and Logan (because he didn't sneak up on me), but it's still a little surprising.  :)  Another funny Levi story:  it's crazy how easily they pick up on things!  (The following story contains some details on one form of correction we use for our children.  I know not everyone agrees with me, but just know I love my kids and let's agree to disagree.)  So, in the after dinner chaos the other night, Mike and I were cleaning up, Levi was in his highchair where he could just observe, and Caleb and Logan were getting into trouble.  Mike sent them to separate couches for spankings.  He got the wooden spoon we often use, administered the correction, and when he came back to the kitchen I asked him to spank me with the spoon so that I could know what it feels like - I've been wondering, and I want to make sure that when I'm using it on the kids I have the right amount of force - not too much, not too little.  Anyways, he did, then asked me to spank him.  After we did this I remembered Levi was in his highchair just watching us and I just kinda laughed about it.  A few minutes later I got Levi out of his highchair and set him down.  He very purposely walked around behind me, reached up, and "spanked" my behind!  He only gets some hand swats so far, for which he braces himself by squinting his eyes shut and scrunching his nose, and then goes on like nothing happened...

oops

Had Levi in to the doctor for a 15 month check-up today.  Took Caleb and Logan with me thinking Levi wouldn't be getting any shots (up until now they haven't had a clue about getting shots...).  Well, I was wrong, he DID get shots today.  So now, Caleb and Logan are very aware of what getting shots entails, and Logan especially seems a little afraid of it.  I do believe they'll be getting shots at their 4 year check-up, and with the way their memories work, they're not about to forget about today!

I can't remember, I think this was either my first or second time taking all three to the doctor by myself.  Thankfully I didn't have to wait very long once we were in the room.  It went okay - not great, but definitely could have been worse.

Levi is still a healthy boy!  (Not that I'm surprised.)  He is 32 inches tall, which is 75th percentile; and 26 lb 15 oz, which is 92nd percentile.

ball

Random cute thing I just remembered that I want to make sure I record - I love it when we're at the grocery store, get to the produce section, and Levi gets sight of the display of canteloupe's and excitedly says, "Ball!"  :)

celery coming out our ears!

Okay, not quite, but Mike probably feels like it.  I at least hope that when he sleeps he can actually relax -  I remember when I was packing celery all day every day I would dream I was packing and be sitting up in my bed grabbing at my blanket.  No break!  I was exhausted!  :)  The crop is really looking good so far, which is great, just means long days for Mike.  I know he likes seeing all this good stuff come by, though, as opposed to last year when it didn't look as nice.

So now it's the end of the day and I started this at the beginning of the day, and I don't remember what I was going to write about.  I know for a few days I've been thinking I should update the blog, but now I don't know what about...

Levi is getting faster and faster.  He often tries to follow his big brothers around.  About a week or so ago he started "praying" - it's pretty cute.  While sitting in his high chair he'll fold his hands, jabber very purposely for a good 10 seconds or so, and then be done.  He loves to ride in his little push car outside.  He also thinks that anything with a steering wheel has a horn.  He gets VERY excited when Mike gets home from work, and I think it's partly to see Mike and partly because he has sat in the driver's seat of Mike's truck a few times now and he LOVES it.

It's crazy, but Caleb is absolutely my firstborn, and Logan is most definitely my second born.  Caleb really thinks he's gotta be in the know for everything, and he tries to be Mr. Boss-Man.  (Telling his brothers what to do, keeping me informed on what's going on, and always asking me why/what I'm doing, etc.)  It's definitely a challenge now, but it'll be interesting to see how these qualities are used as he grows up!

Logan is much more sensitive, and seems to need more quality time.  The boy can talk (where does he get that from?), and he needs chances to just talk without being interrupted.  But, he can go on, and on, and on, and on....  :)

Our garden is doing well!  We have a couple sunflowers that are super tall, our sweet corn is almost ready, and we've had tomatoes gradually getting ripe.

toddler

I guess I was so overwhelmed dealing with two preschoolers that I forgot what it was like to have two toddlers, and now I have one toddler and I'm wondering how in the world I survived with two?!?!  Levi is pretty proud of himself walking all over the place.  And, even though we've got a bazillion toys to play with, he just wants to walk right to what he's not supposed to mess with...the diaper champ in the playroom (I mean, really, you'd think the smell would overwhelm him, but he doesn't stop...), the tv/dvd player/etc. in the living room, the trash/cupboards/etc. in the kitchen.  He's also been very bad about throwing food and his cup down when he's in his high chair (he's gotten picky lately!).  He's gotten much more 'outspoken' when he doesn't want to do something (diaper change, bedtime) - while crying and screaming he really wrestles to try and get out of my arms and he almost succeeds, I can barely contain him!  He IS much better about spending some time in his pack'n'play, so that helps.  And maybe I'll have to get the gate down that I used when Caleb and Logan were this age to keep him just in the playroom.

Despite Levi quickly becoming a big challenge for me, he is such a joy!  There are so many things that are fun about this age.  I love watching him interact with the older boys, and I love watching him learn and try to figure stuff out.  It's so much fun to listen to him jabber, and getting to interact with him.  He likes to do 'nosey-nosey' and sometimes he'll give kisses when asked.  Seeing the look of joy on his face after he successfully walks down the hallway is pretty cool.

Oh yeah!  I guess Levi fell out of his crib.  :(  I wasn't here - I was out 'getting my head on straight'.  :)  He was waking up from nap, and all of the sudden Mike heard the loud thud and was up there in a flash to get him.  He was okay, but pretty upset about it.  Hopefully that means he won't do it again!  I think Caleb was close to this age when he did it for the first time, and then didn't do it again for a long time.

tubers

Caleb and Logan both went tubing for the first time Saturday!  Harold and Kara have a big three-person tube that is nearly impossible to tip over, plus Harold was nice enough to go fairly slow.  :)  Neither of them wanted to go at first, but after seeing some of the other kids go, Caleb said he wanted to do it.  And then after seeing Caleb do it, Logan decided he wanted to go.  They both enjoyed it and want to do it more - I think Caleb especially has mentioned doing it again.  Which doesn't really surprise me since when we were at the water park Caleb wanted to go down the slides and Logan would rather just swim.  It was pretty funny, when Caleb was getting ready to go the first time, Harold said something like, "You all said you wanted to go really fast, right?" and Caleb right away said, "No!  My mom said to go slow!"  I hadn't said that, but I love how Caleb figured he was coming out with his trump card "my mom said..."  :)

We had a great time at the cottage.  The water was PERFECT.  Levi loved it this time - took him a minute to relax, but he spent a lot of time just floating in his tube thingie.  He had fun playing "catch" with a ball.  Logan and Caleb pretty much swam all day - even when it rained for a bit in the afternoon!  They were tuckered out by the end of the day and fell asleep pretty quickly on the way home.  Levi, on the other hand, did not fall asleep in the car and was fairly cranky about it.

Caleb ready to go for his first tube ride!

Logan excited to go tubing for the first time!  (I don't think he was blinking, he just wouldn't open his eyes for the pic...)

Levi just chillin' in the water.

walk!

Levi has really started walking now!  He's been taking just a few steps for awhile now, but on Wednesday he decided to really give it a go.  Right before Mike got home from work he walked across the room, and then when Mike did come home Levi walked several steps for him.  Now he'll often go from the couch to the train table, or from the pantry cupboard to the dining table, etc.

Did I mention before that 'no' is one of the words he says?  Kinda funny, he hasn't learned yet to try and hide what he's doing wrong - if I hear him saying "Nnnnnno!" I know he's doing something that he's not supposed to.  :)

Last Saturday was our babysitter's wedding.  We're sure going to miss having Miss Michelle around!  She's moving to Detroit.  :(  The boys were in the wedding, and it went great!  Of course, the bride was beautiful, I love the color of the bridesmaid dresses, and it was a gorgeous day, but - wow, were my little ringbearers HANDSOME!  ;)  All three boys were dressed up for pictures before the ceremony, but only Caleb and Logan went down the aisle.  I had been worried they would either run or not go down the aisle at all, but they ended up walking soooooo sloooooow...I guess they wanted to really soak up their time in the limelight.  :)  At rehearsal the night before they went slow the first time, then we talked about walking the right speed (not as fast as Lightning McQueen, but not as slow as our turtle at last year's Fourth of July turtle race...), and they did it perfect the second time.  We talked it over again before the ceremony, then I sent them down the aisle, saw they were going slow, but there's nothing I could do about it at that point!  The only reason it kinda ended up being a problem is because nobody was cueing the pianist and she couldn't see them, so she switched to the bride's processional song a little early.  But, considering all that could go wrong with two three-year-olds, I'm happy with how they did!

Sunday was a busy day at church.  Mike had Deacon duty, so we didn't get to see much of him.  I got sick with some crazy bug or something Sunday evening - it was awful!  My stomach started feeling funny partway through church, of course this would be a week that Mike's doing Deacon stuff and wasn't available to help until he got home later - and, boy, was I glad when he did get home later and that this happened on a weekend instead of during a weekday!  I barely made it home - managed to get Levi out of the car and in the pack'n'play before "losing my lunch" - poor Logan was a witness, but he doesn't seem too scarred by it.  Then I pulled it together enough to get Caleb out of the car (he had fallen asleep on the way home), put Levi in bed, and turn on the tv for Caleb and Logan.  As soon as Mike got home I went straight to bed.  Woke up feeling almost normal the next morning!  Mike's mom was lined up to come get the kids in the morning, but I felt good enough to handle it.  Crazy!

It's been hot here this week!  We've spent some time in our little pool, visited Mike at work on Tuesday (he's been working long days and had to go straight to a meeting that night), gone to the library, and the boys went to a friends house yesterday so that I could get groceries by myself.  :)

please

Now that Levi is starting to actually talk he'll do some signing for us...  :)  He still won't do "more", but is pretty good about signing "please" (and very emphatically, as you'll see in the video!).  He often also says his version of "please" while signing it (kinda sounds like "beeeee").

ham

Levi was hamming it up the other day!  And he started totally on his own - he came walking (with his cart) into the room with a blanket on his shoulders and then started being funny with it.

Last week when we went to Lansing we were on our way back and he was getting pretty fussy (instead of just falling asleep!!).  I gave him a blanket to play with and he would put it on his head and scream and laugh like it was the funniest thing ever.

zippy

We found out that Hudsonville Christian has a really cool playground - I mean, they have a zip line, how awesome is that?!  Caleb and Logan love it, and of course Mike and I tried it out, too - we can just barely do it without hitting the ground...  :)  Oh yeah, I did take Levi for a little ride as well, he has no concept yet of having to hold on, so it'll be a while before he's ready to go on his own.

family time

Last week my sister and her family were in town, so it was like Christmas week in the summer for us.  LOTS of fun and great seeing everyone, but by the end we had overtired, overstimulated, and oversugared kids.  :) On Monday my sister-in-law came and picked up Caleb and Logan to play at the park with the other cousins - that way I could stay home for Levi to get a nap.  I think it was Tuesday she took the kids so I could go on a quick shopping trip with my sister and older nieces.  Nice!  Tuesday evening was our adult night - we went to Wild Chef for dinner (yum!) and Biggby for coffee.  Wednesday my sis and her kids came over to watch all the boys so I could go to a luncheon for my friend that's leaving for the missionfield soon (said our good-bye's last night - gonna miss her!).  Wednesday evening some of the fam went to the beach at Holland State Park.  What a beautiful night!  All three boys had fun playing in the sand.  Levi really seemed to enjoy the feel of it - and apparently didn't really mind the taste either...  Thursday afternoon/evening was a 4th of July party at my brother's house.  Water play for the kids/kids at heart (my husband and my brother...), and plenty of good food for the rest of us.  After we got home Mike took Caleb and Logan out back to hopefully see some fireworks.  Some of my family showed up as well.  Mike wasn't sure what they'd be able to see, but he said they saw quite a few fireworks - plus there's the fireflies, having a bonfire, being in a beautiful setting, and having family around.  :)  Since I didn't go to the fireworks party, I ran over to my parent's the next morning to say my good-bye's and give them some zucchini - we have plenty to share!!

Friday evening I had a photo session in Lansing, and Mike and the boys came along.  It was at a beautiful park with a nice play area for the kids so they could have fun while I worked.

 

the men in my life

*7/9/13*Adding a few things I forgot yesterday!
Logan
This morning I dug up some papers that Logan won playing Bingo at my family's Christmas party (he remembered that, not me) - they are info sheets on a bunch of animals, and he just loves them.  He and Caleb have spent quite a bit of time studying them, and he had to bring them with him when we went out today - he especially seemed to enjoy showing them to Miss Heather when we visited Mike at work.  :)  I need to find a notebook to put them in.

On Thursday Logan and I went on a little date.  It's been awhile since we've been able to do one-on-one time and we both needed it.  :)  We went to Meijer for a couple things, and then to Culver's for some ice cream.  He got to just talk to me the whole time about who knows what with nobody interrupting him.  Oh yeah, Mike gave him a few dollars before we left and told him to buy something for me.  He picked out some pretty flowers.  :)

Caleb
What a thinker!  My sister and her family were in town last week.  Usually when they're here in the summer my brother-in-law borrows a bike to go for a ride.  So, one day last week when the boys came down for breakfast they noticed Uncle Chad and Auntie Shell's van parked in the driveway.  I told them Uncle Chad was borrowing a bike and had to drive here from Papa and Grammy's house.  I also told them that later Auntie Shell would be coming over to play.  On his own, Caleb thought it through and asked how she was going to get here!  Today I gave Caleb and Logan hot dogs for lunch.  I had a package that my mom gave me after she used a couple out of it.  The package was out on the counter, and awhile into lunch Caleb asked if I had given Levi hot dog for lunch.  I said, "no", and he looked at the package and asked why there were three missing if only he and Logan had a hot dog!  (There were actually four missing, but you get the idea...)  He's always trying to figure things out.

Levi
So stinkin' cute.  I could kiss his cheeks all. day. long.  His main mode of transportation is still crawling or his push cart, but he has gotten up to about 6-8 steps unassisted now.  I think I mentioned before that he was saying "uh-oh" - we can add "ball", "hi", and maybe "bye" to that list (I'm not 100% on that one).  He also loves to cruise around with his push cart and say "Beeeeeep!"  :)  After months and months of trying, he is finally doing some sign language, now that he's on the verge of talking...  He still rarely does "more" (even though he totally knows how), but he'll often do "please" now.  I'll take it!  If we can get him to communicate without whining I don't care about perfection.  :)  I am ALMOST done with his baby book!!

After hearing it a couple times I remembered today that Levi is also starting to say, "no".  Oh, goody.  :)  It'll happen right after I tell him "no" for something.  Which, by the way, we're in the stage where I have a hard time not laughing when correcting...  He's just so cute!  You sternly say "no" to him and that bottom lip curls out, his eyes fill up with tears, and he starts to cry - so much more enjoyable now than when they get a little older and more defiant.  :)  Right now his offenses mainly consist of throwing his cup and food on the floor, and playing with the trash can (yuck!).  Back to his talking, I think he's saying "book", too.  He says it without a "k" on the end, but he often reaches for a book and says "boo", so I think it's legit.

Mike
Celery harvest started last week, and Mike's packing shed started today.  Can't believe another harvest season is upon us!  Mike started back at Schreur's in July 2008, so this is the start of his sixth season already.  He has mostly the same crew working for him again, just a few new people.  Hopefully not too many problems.  :)

bedtime

Overall, bedtime with Caleb and Logan is going SO MUCH BETTER.  About a month ago or so we started letting them have a stack of books to look at in their beds.  That has really seemed to help them calm down and eventually fall asleep without it being a big production every night.  Not every night is perfect, but most of the time things go really well.

One of Caleb's favorite books in all this has been The Circus Ship.  It's a fun book with neat illustrations - it's cute to see him have a favorite like that and want to look at it every night.

With the nicer weather and all the outdoor playtime I was getting lax at enforcing separate playtime, but I've been doing it more again the last few days and the boys have been doing great with it.  I hardly get a complaint, and they play nice on their own for quite a while.  They must need it as much as I do!  :)

Logan especially is observant of and curious about my flowers and plants outside.  Caleb notices some and asks questions, too, but not as much.  Logan is good at remembering the names of different plants, and when he picks a "flower" (a weed out of the grass) he wants to plant it by my flowers.  He's also the one that is always seeing a stone he wants to pick up, or some cool leaves, or helicopter seeds, etc...  :)

garden

Our garden is really taking off!  I can't wait to see how big some of the sunflowers get, there are a couple plants that already have stalks almost as big as my arm.

We are getting zucchini like crazy.  Definitely going to end up sharing some of it.  :)  I have several yellow squash coming, too.

We've gotten some peppers.  None of our tomatoes are ready yet.  It does look like our cucumber plants are going to be okay even though they got hurt a bit in the last frost.

Pumpkins are spreading out alot.

It'll be interesting to see how this year goes and see how we decide to change things up for next year.

clean

I didn't hear Levi say anything bad, but apparently he felt the need to wash his mouth with soap.  :)  Which then meant that I made my first (and hopefully last) call to Poison Control - so glad I keep that magnet on the fridge!  Levi really only had a few seconds, and I don't think he got more than a taste, but I figured I'd better call anyway.  (There was one bathroom door open and he found his way in there while I was getting socks from the other room for Caleb - got right up on the step stool and was sucking on the soap bottle...)  After asking a few questions the lady said to just make sure I wiped out his mouth and then give him something to drink.  Said he might just have an upset stomach.

He is SO curious, and SO fast!  And, of course I think he's pretty smart.  Yesterday while I was in the bathroom getting ready for church, he came in, climbed on the step stool, grabbed a comb, and started "combing" his hair!!  I never comb his hair, I rarely comb Caleb and Logan's hair (and when I do it he's usually not right there to see it), and Mike doesn't comb his hair.  How did he know to do that?!  I know it's something small and simple, but I love watching all this development stuff.  Levi is at such a fun age right now.

Levi is definitely saying "ball".  He's taken 2-3 steps here and there, but still generally wants to crawl or tear around with his walker (which is too cute to watch because he goes around and picks stuff up off the floor to put in his walker).  He's all boy and is a natural at making tractor noises when playing.  He loves playing with books - he sort of looks at pictures, but mostly likes to flip pages.