Two nights ago we bunked Caleb and Logan's beds, and they are LOVING it. The first night they were a little wound up, but it wasn't too bad. Last night they were tired enough after Gopher's to just go to bed, and tonight it sounds like they're a tad wound up... It worked out perfect the first night that Caleb wanted to be on the top bunk, and Logan wanted to be in the "cave" - no arguments there. Now Logan's been asking to try the top bunk, but we're planning to switch every week. Now to figure out how I want to arrange the rest of the room! It's a MESS and we need some serious toy organization options. (One of the options at this point is to get rid of stuff, but since I'll be nice enough to let them keep a few things, I should probably have something for them to put them in...)
Of course Levi loves to climb up the ladder to the top bunk. We've made it pretty clear that he's only allowed to do that when Mike or I is up there, so we'll see how that goes. For the most part we don't let him upstairs without supervision anyways - okay, well, I guess he's not downstairs without supervision either...he's kinda at that age where he could get into a lot of trouble without having enough self-control to stop. Not that Caleb and Logan are SO wise and mature, but there's a definite difference between a four-year-old and two-year-old!
Levi is our little parrot! Many times I can't get him to answer a question because he just keeps repeating what I'm asking. And, when you say, "Hi, Levi!"; he says, "Good!" instead of waiting to be asked "How are you?" :)
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
measure
Just did some informal measurements of the boys:
- Caleb = 45 pounds, 44.5 inches
- Logan = 36.5 pounds, 41.75 inches
- Levi = 31 pounds, 35 inches
Monday, March 17, 2014
winner
Saturday was our church's pinewood derby, and since Caleb and Logan are involved in the Wednesday night program now, Mike built and entered cars for them. Pretty much their only input was what color their car would be, but each year the level of involvement will increase. :) The cars did great! Logan won first place for speed in his division (which was his age group and the next age group up of the Wed night program)!!! Here's my little guy up on stage with a couple bigger kids that were in 2nd and 3rd. :)
Levi gave me a scare this morning, and I'm still keeping an eye on him to make sure everything's okay. He fell backwards off the side of a dining chair and hit his head quite hard. Within 30 seconds or so he threw up. I got on the phone right away trying to call our doctor to see if I should bring him to urgent care or what, sat on hold for way too long, then gave up and called a friend who's a PA at Butterworth's ER. He said to just watch him close and if he throws up again or starts to act funny, then bring him in. So far so good. I delayed nap time a little while to give him some extra awake time, and I've already checked on him once while napping. A little while after it happened I was talking to Levi and said something like, "You scared Mommy!" and he said, "Rawr!" (To scare me.) Melt my heart!
Caleb still often asks if Sadie is in Heaven. He talks about her more than Logan. We're casually looking for another dog, but haven't found a match for us yet!
Levi gave me a scare this morning, and I'm still keeping an eye on him to make sure everything's okay. He fell backwards off the side of a dining chair and hit his head quite hard. Within 30 seconds or so he threw up. I got on the phone right away trying to call our doctor to see if I should bring him to urgent care or what, sat on hold for way too long, then gave up and called a friend who's a PA at Butterworth's ER. He said to just watch him close and if he throws up again or starts to act funny, then bring him in. So far so good. I delayed nap time a little while to give him some extra awake time, and I've already checked on him once while napping. A little while after it happened I was talking to Levi and said something like, "You scared Mommy!" and he said, "Rawr!" (To scare me.) Melt my heart!
Caleb still often asks if Sadie is in Heaven. He talks about her more than Logan. We're casually looking for another dog, but haven't found a match for us yet!
Monday, March 10, 2014
kids
Caleb: Technically is the firstborn, and totally acts like it. Thinks he's the boss and frequently needs to be reminded that he needs to just worry about himself and I'll make sure his brothers are doing what they're supposed to. :)
Logan: On an emotional roller coaster 24/7. The littlest things (or nothing, it seems...) can set him off, and then watch out (or put in your ear plugs!). He is also more expressive and sweet.
Levi: Starting to exert his independence. He's still stinkin' cute, but he can be very defiant and give you quite a scowl when he's upset. And, he's good at sticking out his bottom lip and blinking back tears with those long eyelashes, making you feel bad for him...
There are PLENTY of moments when the boys are fighting about something and not getting along. But, over the last couple of weeks, Caleb and Logan have been playing especially nice after lunch time. So much so that I often delay the commencement of quiet time for them - if they're playing nice (not being loud, not being crazy), and I'm able to get some things done, why not? For some reason lately they especially like to play "baby", and it drives. me. nuts. But, since I don't want to stifle their creativity, they are allowed to do it, just not by me. I've heard enough real crying over the last four years, why should I listen to it when they're playing, too??
Over the last month or so Levi has started being interested in books. He has a couple favorites - the ones that have a picture of a combine in them. :) We might look through a few of the other pages, but he pretty much wants the book open to the combine page. He'll just keep saying things like, "Combine? Papa? Ride it?" Levi talks SO MUCH. I love it. He knows tons of words and is putting a few words together into sentences. For a long time now he has recognized letters - he doesn't know which is which, he just knows when he sees letters (for example, I have a shirt with lettering down the sleeve; he sees that and says, "ABCD!" And, today when we were in the bathroom at Target (FOREVER), he kinda tried to "count" the sinks.
I know there have been tons of other things lately that I've thought of to write about my ever growing and changing boys, but at the moment I'm drawing a blank. Hopefully it won't be so long before I write again!
Logan: On an emotional roller coaster 24/7. The littlest things (or nothing, it seems...) can set him off, and then watch out (or put in your ear plugs!). He is also more expressive and sweet.
Levi: Starting to exert his independence. He's still stinkin' cute, but he can be very defiant and give you quite a scowl when he's upset. And, he's good at sticking out his bottom lip and blinking back tears with those long eyelashes, making you feel bad for him...
There are PLENTY of moments when the boys are fighting about something and not getting along. But, over the last couple of weeks, Caleb and Logan have been playing especially nice after lunch time. So much so that I often delay the commencement of quiet time for them - if they're playing nice (not being loud, not being crazy), and I'm able to get some things done, why not? For some reason lately they especially like to play "baby", and it drives. me. nuts. But, since I don't want to stifle their creativity, they are allowed to do it, just not by me. I've heard enough real crying over the last four years, why should I listen to it when they're playing, too??
Over the last month or so Levi has started being interested in books. He has a couple favorites - the ones that have a picture of a combine in them. :) We might look through a few of the other pages, but he pretty much wants the book open to the combine page. He'll just keep saying things like, "Combine? Papa? Ride it?" Levi talks SO MUCH. I love it. He knows tons of words and is putting a few words together into sentences. For a long time now he has recognized letters - he doesn't know which is which, he just knows when he sees letters (for example, I have a shirt with lettering down the sleeve; he sees that and says, "ABCD!" And, today when we were in the bathroom at Target (FOREVER), he kinda tried to "count" the sinks.
I know there have been tons of other things lately that I've thought of to write about my ever growing and changing boys, but at the moment I'm drawing a blank. Hopefully it won't be so long before I write again!
banquet
I'm just a tad behind on posting to the blog, but I've been a little wrapped up in a project over here. After over six years of living here and three colors of paint, I am FINALLY happy with our entry hall! I painted the trim, doors, and walls and am very happy with how it looks. I can't finish the windows until the weather is warmer, and there are a couple small things I need Mike's help with, but otherwise the hall is done. Phew! It felt good to finally work on something that's been bothering me for so long, and for the most part I didn't mind the work (really helps to be listening to a good book!!), but now I'm ready to be done with it. :)
Anyways, backing up a couple weeks, Mike and I were on the committee for planning our church's Winter Banquet. For the most part, it was a lot of fun. We had a REALLY great committee that was very enjoyable to work with. We even had a "wrap up" meeting last week - I think it was more to hang out rather than actually discuss how the event went. :) We thought the banquet was fun, and we received good feedback on it as well. It was supposed to be just an enjoyable, lighthearted evening, and I really think we were able to achieve that. We had activities for people to do during the punch bowl time, one being a photo booth, and after dinner we had Bill Bennett as our guest speaker. And, for those of you who know him, you know the evening couldn't get too serious. :) One major plus was that we provided childcare at the church so young families wouldn't have to get a babysitter. Our youth pastor and his wife handled that area and did a fabulous job - we had talked about just showing a movie for the kids, but they did crafts, games, etc.
Anyways, backing up a couple weeks, Mike and I were on the committee for planning our church's Winter Banquet. For the most part, it was a lot of fun. We had a REALLY great committee that was very enjoyable to work with. We even had a "wrap up" meeting last week - I think it was more to hang out rather than actually discuss how the event went. :) We thought the banquet was fun, and we received good feedback on it as well. It was supposed to be just an enjoyable, lighthearted evening, and I really think we were able to achieve that. We had activities for people to do during the punch bowl time, one being a photo booth, and after dinner we had Bill Bennett as our guest speaker. And, for those of you who know him, you know the evening couldn't get too serious. :) One major plus was that we provided childcare at the church so young families wouldn't have to get a babysitter. Our youth pastor and his wife handled that area and did a fabulous job - we had talked about just showing a movie for the kids, but they did crafts, games, etc.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Sadie
On Monday we had to make the decision to put down our sweet Sadie. What a great dog she was! Not perfect (Over the last year or so she ran away a few times, but that's more our fault...), but really a wonderful pet. She was incredibly patient and gentle with the kids. And, she was just plain a good looking dog. Every season I would enjoy looking out the window and seeing her either sitting in the driveway keeping watch, or running through the yard with her ball. Which brings up a quirk about her - she was VERY particular about her ball. She wouldn't chase just any ball, it had to be just like her original "Buddy Glow Ball". Of course, she loved getting attention. If you were outside and wanted to sit down and relax for a minute and just have her lay at your feet, not a chance! She'd be nudging you with her nose, or dropping her slobbery ball in your lap.
Mike and I got Sadie in November 2004, just a few months after getting married. We actually bid on her brother at a fundraising auction, but really wanted a female dog, so the breeder let us switch. She was about 16 weeks old, I think - so, young, but not a totally new puppy. Cute and full of energy, and it sure made Brandy (who was 9 at the time) seem old. :) She did seem to miss Brandy and Macy for a bit after they were gone. This winter has been pretty intense with cold and snow, so Sadie spent alot of time in the house, which I am extra thankful for now! It was nice to have that extra time with her.
Over the last week Sadie lost her appetite. This has happened from time to time before, so we were keeping an eye on her, but we weren't overly concerned. We figured we'd bring her in to the vet soon to have her checked out. On Monday when Mike came home from work, Sadie would not get up (she had been back out in the kennel for a few days). After a little bit, she did get up, but was very weak and just standing there. We got her in the house, and had decided we'd bring her to the vet first thing the next morning. But then, while we were all at the table, she tried to get up, fell down, and whimpered/made noises like she was in pain. At that point I just didn't want her to die right there in front of the kids! So then we decided Mike should take her in right away, which meant going all the way to Grand Rapids since it was an after hours emergency. He took her in, found out she had bleeding in her abdomen, most likely from a cancerous tumor - the vet said it's fairly common in Golden's of that age. It was pretty clear that we should put her down, but that's still a very hard decision to make! My mom came over to be with the kids so that I could go in and be there for it. She was her true self right up until the end - when the vet was by her she kept putting her paw on her hand, making it that much harder to "do the deed" since she was being such a sweetie pie. With all the snow and cold we've had, we couldn't bury Sadie in our little pet cemetery with Brandy and Macy (and a woodchuck, as the boys like to bring up....), so we had to have her cremated. We did not pay the extra money to get her ashes, what in the world would we do with that??
The night it happened Caleb was pretty upset for awhile, but it may have been more the confusion of everything going on - Mike leaving suddenly during supper with Sadie, me getting several phone calls from him with updates and discussions on what to do, then my mom coming over and me leaving. The next morning the boys had some questions about what happened, but nobody seemed sad. They have talked about it very matter of factly this week.
We have Harold's dog, Emmy, for the weekend, and even though personality wise she is very different from Sadie, at a glance she has a similar look, and a few of us have slipped up and called her Sadie by accident. :)
Mike and I got Sadie in November 2004, just a few months after getting married. We actually bid on her brother at a fundraising auction, but really wanted a female dog, so the breeder let us switch. She was about 16 weeks old, I think - so, young, but not a totally new puppy. Cute and full of energy, and it sure made Brandy (who was 9 at the time) seem old. :) She did seem to miss Brandy and Macy for a bit after they were gone. This winter has been pretty intense with cold and snow, so Sadie spent alot of time in the house, which I am extra thankful for now! It was nice to have that extra time with her.
Over the last week Sadie lost her appetite. This has happened from time to time before, so we were keeping an eye on her, but we weren't overly concerned. We figured we'd bring her in to the vet soon to have her checked out. On Monday when Mike came home from work, Sadie would not get up (she had been back out in the kennel for a few days). After a little bit, she did get up, but was very weak and just standing there. We got her in the house, and had decided we'd bring her to the vet first thing the next morning. But then, while we were all at the table, she tried to get up, fell down, and whimpered/made noises like she was in pain. At that point I just didn't want her to die right there in front of the kids! So then we decided Mike should take her in right away, which meant going all the way to Grand Rapids since it was an after hours emergency. He took her in, found out she had bleeding in her abdomen, most likely from a cancerous tumor - the vet said it's fairly common in Golden's of that age. It was pretty clear that we should put her down, but that's still a very hard decision to make! My mom came over to be with the kids so that I could go in and be there for it. She was her true self right up until the end - when the vet was by her she kept putting her paw on her hand, making it that much harder to "do the deed" since she was being such a sweetie pie. With all the snow and cold we've had, we couldn't bury Sadie in our little pet cemetery with Brandy and Macy (and a woodchuck, as the boys like to bring up....), so we had to have her cremated. We did not pay the extra money to get her ashes, what in the world would we do with that??
The night it happened Caleb was pretty upset for awhile, but it may have been more the confusion of everything going on - Mike leaving suddenly during supper with Sadie, me getting several phone calls from him with updates and discussions on what to do, then my mom coming over and me leaving. The next morning the boys had some questions about what happened, but nobody seemed sad. They have talked about it very matter of factly this week.
We have Harold's dog, Emmy, for the weekend, and even though personality wise she is very different from Sadie, at a glance she has a similar look, and a few of us have slipped up and called her Sadie by accident. :)
Monday, February 10, 2014
vacay
So, we had a little mini-vacation last week, and overall it was lots of fun! Certainly, when you have three over-tired little boys there's bound to be some "moments"... (And, I have to admit, I wasn't always in the best mood either - you know, it's hard to be the mom and put on a happy face when things aren't going as they should!)
We had told the boys we were going to an indoor water park (and we had been counting down the days), but we also surprised them with a train ride. We thought it would be fun to take the Amtrak from Grand Rapids to Holland since we often see the train on Sunday mornings on our way to church and we hear it every morning from home, and it would just be cool to go on that stretch of track past Schreur's, etc. (Mike and I have both taken the train to Chicago, but get on in Holland.) Anyways, the train is supposed to leave GR at 7:40am (and that's where it starts from, it's not coming from anywhere else). It seems like usually it leaves on time - on the way to Chicago there are often delays starting around Gary, IN, and on the way back this way in the evening it's often running late, but you would think the very first stretch of the morning it would be running on time. So, we got the boys up at 6:30am, which is quite early for them, got them to the station in GR where it was packed with no good place to wait, and we waited, and waited... We were SO close to just bagging it and going home when the train finally came and we could board (8:30 am, almost an hour behind at this point). Yay! We're going to get going and this won't be so bad after all! Wrong... Still stopped and waited several times. Boys had lost their patience (esp. Levi), so by the time we actually did get going for real, they weren't as into it. And yes, I was struggling a bit with my attitude at this point. :) Thinking I had planned this really cool thing, and it just wasn't turning out well! We did get to see my parent's on the road in Jenison (they dropped us off in GR and picked us up in Holland), so that was fun. We finally got into Holland at 10am (supposed to get there at 8:30am). Thankfully we were still able to get breakfast at McDonald's because I was counting on it and would have been so upset if I missed being able to get a Sausage Egg McMuffin because of the train delays! :)
After finishing packing up at home, we headed out to Frankenmuth. We stayed at Zehnder's and really enjoyed the water park there. It was perfect for us. It was pretty empty on Thur and Fri, and was definitely busier on Sat, but still not too bad. Caleb loved the big slides that you ride a tube down, Logan enjoyed a bigger slide that you go down without a tube. And, the last day Logan really got into swimming in the shallow pool without a life jacket - he LOVED going under water. Levi warmed up to things a little slow. As far as water stuff goes, he seems to be more of a Steenwyk than a Krol... The last day he did go down the small slide a bunch of times and was really getting into it - Mike would catch him at the bottom and, of course, the last time Mike had to let him go under water a bit. Then Levi just wanted Grammy because he knew she was safe territory. :) Thursday evening we went to a sit down Italian place for dinner and the kids did remarkably well! We thought we might be pushing out luck to take them out again for a real dinner on Friday night, but that didn't go too bad. We went to Zehnder's and did the whole family style chicken dinner thing. Levi ran out of patience, but didn't do too bad.
So, I just had to take a break from typing this post to rescue Caleb. He was in quiet time upstairs and somehow got the small desk in their room tipped over on top of him with his fingers caught in a drawer - hmmmm....you just never know what's going to happen with these boys. Of course, first I didn't realize his fingers were in there and I started lifting the desk off of him, and a drawer came slamming back on my thumb. After a minute we got all untangled - he's got pretty good marks on his fingers, but no bones are sticking out and he can bend them, so I think we're good to go. My thumb is bleeding and sore, but I'll make it. :) I haven't tried too hard yet to figure out what he was trying to do, but (He said something like he was just opening a drawer and the desk fell over...yeah, right!) we'll see if we can get the story later.
Levi was quite the stinker in the hotel room! Between the bathroom, microwave, fridge, door, alarm clock, remote control, phone, and heater, he kept us running! Also, the first night he was NOT going to sleep in his pack'n'play, so he ended up in bed with Mike and I. Now I know why we never do that. Sheesh. Thankfully by the second night everyone was tired out enough from playing that bedtime went much better.
We had told the boys we were going to an indoor water park (and we had been counting down the days), but we also surprised them with a train ride. We thought it would be fun to take the Amtrak from Grand Rapids to Holland since we often see the train on Sunday mornings on our way to church and we hear it every morning from home, and it would just be cool to go on that stretch of track past Schreur's, etc. (Mike and I have both taken the train to Chicago, but get on in Holland.) Anyways, the train is supposed to leave GR at 7:40am (and that's where it starts from, it's not coming from anywhere else). It seems like usually it leaves on time - on the way to Chicago there are often delays starting around Gary, IN, and on the way back this way in the evening it's often running late, but you would think the very first stretch of the morning it would be running on time. So, we got the boys up at 6:30am, which is quite early for them, got them to the station in GR where it was packed with no good place to wait, and we waited, and waited... We were SO close to just bagging it and going home when the train finally came and we could board (8:30 am, almost an hour behind at this point). Yay! We're going to get going and this won't be so bad after all! Wrong... Still stopped and waited several times. Boys had lost their patience (esp. Levi), so by the time we actually did get going for real, they weren't as into it. And yes, I was struggling a bit with my attitude at this point. :) Thinking I had planned this really cool thing, and it just wasn't turning out well! We did get to see my parent's on the road in Jenison (they dropped us off in GR and picked us up in Holland), so that was fun. We finally got into Holland at 10am (supposed to get there at 8:30am). Thankfully we were still able to get breakfast at McDonald's because I was counting on it and would have been so upset if I missed being able to get a Sausage Egg McMuffin because of the train delays! :)
After finishing packing up at home, we headed out to Frankenmuth. We stayed at Zehnder's and really enjoyed the water park there. It was perfect for us. It was pretty empty on Thur and Fri, and was definitely busier on Sat, but still not too bad. Caleb loved the big slides that you ride a tube down, Logan enjoyed a bigger slide that you go down without a tube. And, the last day Logan really got into swimming in the shallow pool without a life jacket - he LOVED going under water. Levi warmed up to things a little slow. As far as water stuff goes, he seems to be more of a Steenwyk than a Krol... The last day he did go down the small slide a bunch of times and was really getting into it - Mike would catch him at the bottom and, of course, the last time Mike had to let him go under water a bit. Then Levi just wanted Grammy because he knew she was safe territory. :) Thursday evening we went to a sit down Italian place for dinner and the kids did remarkably well! We thought we might be pushing out luck to take them out again for a real dinner on Friday night, but that didn't go too bad. We went to Zehnder's and did the whole family style chicken dinner thing. Levi ran out of patience, but didn't do too bad.
So, I just had to take a break from typing this post to rescue Caleb. He was in quiet time upstairs and somehow got the small desk in their room tipped over on top of him with his fingers caught in a drawer - hmmmm....you just never know what's going to happen with these boys. Of course, first I didn't realize his fingers were in there and I started lifting the desk off of him, and a drawer came slamming back on my thumb. After a minute we got all untangled - he's got pretty good marks on his fingers, but no bones are sticking out and he can bend them, so I think we're good to go. My thumb is bleeding and sore, but I'll make it. :) I haven't tried too hard yet to figure out what he was trying to do, but (He said something like he was just opening a drawer and the desk fell over...yeah, right!) we'll see if we can get the story later.
Levi was quite the stinker in the hotel room! Between the bathroom, microwave, fridge, door, alarm clock, remote control, phone, and heater, he kept us running! Also, the first night he was NOT going to sleep in his pack'n'play, so he ended up in bed with Mike and I. Now I know why we never do that. Sheesh. Thankfully by the second night everyone was tired out enough from playing that bedtime went much better.
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