We're approximately two-thirds of the way through summer break and, of course, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Slow down! We really are enjoying summer. As school was finishing up in the spring I was dreading summer a little bit, but so far it's great. (Ask me again in a few weeks... Last year August was the biggest struggle.)
Since my last post we've been to Harold and Kara's cottage a couple more times, and my aunt's cottage one Saturday as well. At her cottage we (Logan, Mike, and myself) had a blast jumping off the diving board. Caleb was SO close to doing it, but then decided not to. :( We were able to hang out with Tom, Tera, Luke, and Jude a couple more times before they headed home to Kenya. All the boys have so much fun playing together, I love it. A couple weeks ago Caleb and Levi went to our school's soccer camp. There were a couple hot days, and they (especially Levi) were worn out by the end of the week, but I think they enjoyed it. Last week Levi was able to go to a friend's birthday party, and I think it was a good experience for him. He needs to do more things where he's on his own without his big brothers to boss him around. :) Also last week I had a school playdate here. I've been wanting to get together with some school families over the summer, and this worked out really nice. About 7 other moms showed up, a whole bunch of kids, and we had a nice time chatting while the kids just ran around outside or down in the basement.
Jackson is just too much fun right now. He's talking like crazy - Emmy, Roxy, doggy, woof-woof, ball, moo, thank you, more, please, down, all done, Mommy, Daddy, Papa, trash (he likes to put things in the trash - he takes care of his own diapers!), awwww (when he's hugging a stuffed animal or when he sees a kitten in a book). I'm sure there's a few more I'm forgetting, and I wish I could catch it all on camera because of course he sounds so cute. Jackson really seems to enjoy hanging out in his crib when he wakes up in the morning or after his nap. Sometimes when he wakes up in the afternoon I'll let him play for a while before I even go in his room, and then when I do he still doesn't want to get out of his crib, so I just leave him in there for a while yet!
I need to be domesticated and start canning pickles today. Our garden had a bunch ready, and Mike took the older boys to glean pickles from a friend (like we did last year). At least it's cooled off a bit today so it won't be so hot in the kitchen!
Monday, July 24, 2017
Monday, July 10, 2017
kids
Caleb: Getting more independent, which is good, we just need to help him figure out what's an appropriate level of independence at this age. He wants to go off and be on his own at times when that might not be the safest choice. He's been challenging me more when I tell him to do something (especially when we're in front of other people), but he's still such a sweetheart inside. He acts big and tough with certain things, but other times is still scared. Like at the cottage, he's getting a little big for his britches and getting cocky while out on the tube behind the boat. If the lake hadn't been so busy when they were tubing, I'd be all for dumping him off the tube. :) So, he's brave on the tube, but he won't try anything else behind the boat. He'll jump off the pontoon boat in the middle of the lake, but he's too scared to jump off the raft by the cottage. On the 4th we went to some kids games in the park at the lake, and he had no problem jumping in and participating with the games.
Logan: He is more reserved and not as bold as Caleb. He's so curious, with lots and lots of questions. He is very observant, and seems to especially enjoy science - whether it be facts about the planets or investigating a strange bug. He loves swimming at the cottage, and spends as much time as he can underwater. This past weekend he started opening his eyes underwater and was pretty excited about what he could see. He has no problem jumping off the raft, and will go tubing. I tried to convince him the other day that he'd be good at wake surfing because he's pretty coordinated, but he's just not ready yet. :) One of my biggest challenges with him, and has been for awhile, is how he likes to take everything I say so literally, and use it against me later. I always have to think through what I'm saying to him, and it can be exhausting.
Levi: My farmer. He loves playing with trucks and tractors, and he jumps at opportunities to help with jobs outside. He's good at taking initiative on things - like helping to unload the van after we get back from the cottage without being asked. He'll ask if he can help in the garden. He mostly has no problem keeping up with the big guys, he'll maybe just get tired a little quicker and it shows in his behavior. One of the recent times when we were on our way home from the cottage (and Caleb and Logan were riding with Mike), I said something to Levi about missing him because we're so busy having fun when were there. And he said, "Yeah, that's why I come find you sometimes." Melt! He has really been improving with his swimming. He'll keep his lifejacket on most of the time, but this last time he was getting brave and taking it off some to try swimming like that. He'll swim out to the raft, but he won't jump off. He'll go tubing as well. Don't make him mad, though. If he's upset you'll get quite a look, and good luck getting him to say anything.
Jackson: He has all of the sudden over the last couple weeks gotten into looking at books. So fun! He's especially good at making noises for cow and tractor, and saying "ball" when he sees one. Last week he said "nigh nigh" for the first time and I thought my heart might melt. However, for most naps and bedtimes lately he's been angry about being put down. I'd mucher rather have some snuggles than screaming. :( He's also angry pretty much every time I have to change him. Lots of kicking and screaming. Good times. But when he's playing and happy (and I'm not trying to get anything else done), he's so much fun! He's saying "More, please" (aloud and in sign language) all the time asking for stuff, so the trick is trying to figure out what he's asking for. He also says "All done" a lot (he says it like "da dun"). Also lately, he LOVES babies and giving hugs. Last week when we were at our friend's house, they have a life-size baby doll, and he was enjoying picking it up, holding it, and hugging it. Now since then we've been around a few other REAL babies, and he reaches up wanting to hold them. When given the chance he gives hugs, and it's pretty much one of the cutest things ever. He's been upset at each nursery drop-off the last several times, but is fine within a few minutes. Phew. He also gets upset at times when he gets to see Mike for just a few minutes - like if we visit him at work and then have to leave, or when Mike gets home from work and then has to do something else after holding him for a minute. He has been doing so well on the summer schedule, sleeping in and doing 3-4 hour naps. Woo-hoo!
Love my boys and the uniqueness they bring to the family. There are plenty of challenges, but for the most part I love the crazy we've got going on here, and wouldn't have it any other way. :)
Logan: He is more reserved and not as bold as Caleb. He's so curious, with lots and lots of questions. He is very observant, and seems to especially enjoy science - whether it be facts about the planets or investigating a strange bug. He loves swimming at the cottage, and spends as much time as he can underwater. This past weekend he started opening his eyes underwater and was pretty excited about what he could see. He has no problem jumping off the raft, and will go tubing. I tried to convince him the other day that he'd be good at wake surfing because he's pretty coordinated, but he's just not ready yet. :) One of my biggest challenges with him, and has been for awhile, is how he likes to take everything I say so literally, and use it against me later. I always have to think through what I'm saying to him, and it can be exhausting.
Levi: My farmer. He loves playing with trucks and tractors, and he jumps at opportunities to help with jobs outside. He's good at taking initiative on things - like helping to unload the van after we get back from the cottage without being asked. He'll ask if he can help in the garden. He mostly has no problem keeping up with the big guys, he'll maybe just get tired a little quicker and it shows in his behavior. One of the recent times when we were on our way home from the cottage (and Caleb and Logan were riding with Mike), I said something to Levi about missing him because we're so busy having fun when were there. And he said, "Yeah, that's why I come find you sometimes." Melt! He has really been improving with his swimming. He'll keep his lifejacket on most of the time, but this last time he was getting brave and taking it off some to try swimming like that. He'll swim out to the raft, but he won't jump off. He'll go tubing as well. Don't make him mad, though. If he's upset you'll get quite a look, and good luck getting him to say anything.
Jackson: He has all of the sudden over the last couple weeks gotten into looking at books. So fun! He's especially good at making noises for cow and tractor, and saying "ball" when he sees one. Last week he said "nigh nigh" for the first time and I thought my heart might melt. However, for most naps and bedtimes lately he's been angry about being put down. I'd mucher rather have some snuggles than screaming. :( He's also angry pretty much every time I have to change him. Lots of kicking and screaming. Good times. But when he's playing and happy (and I'm not trying to get anything else done), he's so much fun! He's saying "More, please" (aloud and in sign language) all the time asking for stuff, so the trick is trying to figure out what he's asking for. He also says "All done" a lot (he says it like "da dun"). Also lately, he LOVES babies and giving hugs. Last week when we were at our friend's house, they have a life-size baby doll, and he was enjoying picking it up, holding it, and hugging it. Now since then we've been around a few other REAL babies, and he reaches up wanting to hold them. When given the chance he gives hugs, and it's pretty much one of the cutest things ever. He's been upset at each nursery drop-off the last several times, but is fine within a few minutes. Phew. He also gets upset at times when he gets to see Mike for just a few minutes - like if we visit him at work and then have to leave, or when Mike gets home from work and then has to do something else after holding him for a minute. He has been doing so well on the summer schedule, sleeping in and doing 3-4 hour naps. Woo-hoo!
Love my boys and the uniqueness they bring to the family. There are plenty of challenges, but for the most part I love the crazy we've got going on here, and wouldn't have it any other way. :)
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
summer fun
I have so much to catch up on! We've been doing so many fun things lately, and we're all wiped out, but I wouldn't trade a thing.
I'll pick up where I think I left off last time. My sister was still in town with her youngest, and the boys had so much fun hanging out. On that Monday morning, they hung out at my sister-in-law's while my mom, sister, myself and Jackson went to Countryside Greenhouse. We're so used to having plenty of greenhouse options around here, but my sister has nothing like it where she lives, so it's pretty cool to go to a place like Countryside and wander around. Unfortunately, she was going to be flying home, so she wasn't able to get anything other than a couple seed packets. :) That afternoon my mom stayed with Jackson while he napped and my sister, sister-in-law, and myself took the kids mini-golfing. It's about as much fun as you might imagine it would be with a bunch of 7-10 year olds.... :) And then that night we went over to my parents to give the kids a chance to get some farm play time in. What could be better than making memories with your cousins, running around your grandparents farm, playing in the hay loft, walking in the corn field, and spraying each other with the hose?? I sure hope my kids cherish all these moments.
The next day was the last day of the summer Bible study I went to. It was so great to have a summer study to attend. Now to figure out what to do for the rest of the summer before the fall study begins! In the evening was the Zeeland Zoom 5k race. So, even at the ripe old age of 37, I make impulsive, foolish decisions. Caleb has been wanting to participate for a couple years now and it just hasn't happened. Just a few weeks ago my dad said something to Caleb about the race, he wanted to do it, and I figured being a young, energetic child he didn't need much time to prepare. I wasn't real comfortable with him doing it just with my dad, so I went ahead and signed up, too. Yeah. I haven't run at all in years and now I signed up for a 5k that was less than 3 weeks away... In case you're not familiar with running, that is not enough time to train. Caleb ended up not being up for the 5k, so he did the 1 mile "Little Zoomers" race and loved it. Given that I only fit in 4 runs before the race and they were VERY slow, I would have been happy to finish the race in 40 minutes. I completely surprised myself by running the whole way without stopping to walk at all, and finishing in 35 minutes! Obviously that's nothing stellar compared to other people, but personally I was thrilled! I wore my "I hate running" shirt for the race and felt like I was getting some dirty looks. Apparently not everyone has a sense of humor?? My dad finished just ahead of me, and got 2nd place in his age group - out of two people. :) It was a fun night, I felt great, and I may just try to keep up this running thing a little bit. We'll see - heading into Mike's busy season makes that a little more difficult.
On Wednesday the kids and I were able to go to a friend's house to swim. It wasn't the warmest weather, but that doesn't stop the kids, they had lots of fun swimming then playing on their playset.
Thursday was our first day just spent at home in so long! It was wonderful. I loved all the stuff we'd been doing, but it was good to have a little break.
Friday I got the kids packed up and headed to the cottage just after lunch. It was not fun getting everything packed by myself, but we survived. Soooooo thankful that Jackson naps well there. I had the afternoon to recover while he napped and the other boys played. Mike's brother and his wife who are in town from Kenya were also there and it was great to have the time with them. Mike made it up in the evening after work and we spent the night there. My favorite is being there early in the morning and sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee while everything is so quiet and calm. Later on Saturday was a family reunion with the Krol/VanBeek's plus Mike's mom's side of the family, the Sjoerdsma's. We had a beautiful day, and it's fun to see everyone, but there are so many people it's hard to connect with everyone! Oh yeah, it was our 13th anniversary, too, but we didn't really have a chance to celebrate at all. Maybe we'll have a date night soon...
We came home Saturday night, had Sunday to go to recover, go to church, and prepare for the coming week; and then Monday I headed back up to the cottage with the kids for the 4th of July. Thankfully packing went much better that time and wasn't as stressful. The packing would be fine, we don't need THAT much stuff, but when there's a toddler running around that just makes things a tad more difficult. We had a fun afternoon hanging out, and Mike came after work again. This time he made a splash with his entrance. :) Came right down the dock in his work clothes, boots and everything, and jumped in the lake! It was another beautiful evening, and at around 10pm were the fireworks. They put on a pretty good show there! Tuesday I was pretty tired, and could definitely see it in the kids' eyes as well. We had a fun day, though, got home and to bed on time last night, and it's after 8am and the house is still quiet! I feel bad for Mike having to go to work. :( I guess I'm at work, too, and have a lot to catch up on after being gone, but at least I didn't have to get up quite as early as he did.
I'll pick up where I think I left off last time. My sister was still in town with her youngest, and the boys had so much fun hanging out. On that Monday morning, they hung out at my sister-in-law's while my mom, sister, myself and Jackson went to Countryside Greenhouse. We're so used to having plenty of greenhouse options around here, but my sister has nothing like it where she lives, so it's pretty cool to go to a place like Countryside and wander around. Unfortunately, she was going to be flying home, so she wasn't able to get anything other than a couple seed packets. :) That afternoon my mom stayed with Jackson while he napped and my sister, sister-in-law, and myself took the kids mini-golfing. It's about as much fun as you might imagine it would be with a bunch of 7-10 year olds.... :) And then that night we went over to my parents to give the kids a chance to get some farm play time in. What could be better than making memories with your cousins, running around your grandparents farm, playing in the hay loft, walking in the corn field, and spraying each other with the hose?? I sure hope my kids cherish all these moments.
The next day was the last day of the summer Bible study I went to. It was so great to have a summer study to attend. Now to figure out what to do for the rest of the summer before the fall study begins! In the evening was the Zeeland Zoom 5k race. So, even at the ripe old age of 37, I make impulsive, foolish decisions. Caleb has been wanting to participate for a couple years now and it just hasn't happened. Just a few weeks ago my dad said something to Caleb about the race, he wanted to do it, and I figured being a young, energetic child he didn't need much time to prepare. I wasn't real comfortable with him doing it just with my dad, so I went ahead and signed up, too. Yeah. I haven't run at all in years and now I signed up for a 5k that was less than 3 weeks away... In case you're not familiar with running, that is not enough time to train. Caleb ended up not being up for the 5k, so he did the 1 mile "Little Zoomers" race and loved it. Given that I only fit in 4 runs before the race and they were VERY slow, I would have been happy to finish the race in 40 minutes. I completely surprised myself by running the whole way without stopping to walk at all, and finishing in 35 minutes! Obviously that's nothing stellar compared to other people, but personally I was thrilled! I wore my "I hate running" shirt for the race and felt like I was getting some dirty looks. Apparently not everyone has a sense of humor?? My dad finished just ahead of me, and got 2nd place in his age group - out of two people. :) It was a fun night, I felt great, and I may just try to keep up this running thing a little bit. We'll see - heading into Mike's busy season makes that a little more difficult.
On Wednesday the kids and I were able to go to a friend's house to swim. It wasn't the warmest weather, but that doesn't stop the kids, they had lots of fun swimming then playing on their playset.
Thursday was our first day just spent at home in so long! It was wonderful. I loved all the stuff we'd been doing, but it was good to have a little break.
Friday I got the kids packed up and headed to the cottage just after lunch. It was not fun getting everything packed by myself, but we survived. Soooooo thankful that Jackson naps well there. I had the afternoon to recover while he napped and the other boys played. Mike's brother and his wife who are in town from Kenya were also there and it was great to have the time with them. Mike made it up in the evening after work and we spent the night there. My favorite is being there early in the morning and sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee while everything is so quiet and calm. Later on Saturday was a family reunion with the Krol/VanBeek's plus Mike's mom's side of the family, the Sjoerdsma's. We had a beautiful day, and it's fun to see everyone, but there are so many people it's hard to connect with everyone! Oh yeah, it was our 13th anniversary, too, but we didn't really have a chance to celebrate at all. Maybe we'll have a date night soon...
We came home Saturday night, had Sunday to go to recover, go to church, and prepare for the coming week; and then Monday I headed back up to the cottage with the kids for the 4th of July. Thankfully packing went much better that time and wasn't as stressful. The packing would be fine, we don't need THAT much stuff, but when there's a toddler running around that just makes things a tad more difficult. We had a fun afternoon hanging out, and Mike came after work again. This time he made a splash with his entrance. :) Came right down the dock in his work clothes, boots and everything, and jumped in the lake! It was another beautiful evening, and at around 10pm were the fireworks. They put on a pretty good show there! Tuesday I was pretty tired, and could definitely see it in the kids' eyes as well. We had a fun day, though, got home and to bed on time last night, and it's after 8am and the house is still quiet! I feel bad for Mike having to go to work. :( I guess I'm at work, too, and have a lot to catch up on after being gone, but at least I didn't have to get up quite as early as he did.
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