wild and free

Wild and free: that's my kids on these summer days...  I'm trying to provide a little bit of structure (a few chores here and there, regular meals, and afternoon quiet time as long as we're home), but they're getting plenty of unstructured playtime, and as long as they're not fighting and no one's getting hurt, I love it!  :)  It's so fun to see them use their imaginations and see what they come up with to do.

A couple weeks ago we spent the afternoon at a pool with some school friends.  They have a membership at a country club pool, and it was so nice.  The boys had so much fun.  Jackson really liked the water, too.  And the next week I was able to take them to a friends house to swim, so they are getting plenty of opportunities for swimming.  Caleb, Logan, and Levi all did great in the water - they all went down the slide, but Caleb loved it the most.  Levi did a lot of swimming with his floaties on (he was too embarrassed at the pool the week before to wear them, even though tons of kids were wearing them) and kept saying that he wanted to stay there forever.  :)  Of course, last weekend we were up at the cottage again, so there was lots more water fun.  Logan and Levi swam to the raft.  Caleb went tubing and kayaking.

A couple weeks ago a friend who had preemie twins a month before Jackson was able to come over.  What a blessing to see those two little boys!!  They were sooooo teeny-tiny when we first visited them in the hospital (under 2 lbs, and almost 4 lbs).  One of them is having some health struggles, but it's amazing to see how far he's come.

I've been able to take Logan to a couple craft times at Michael's lately - he didn't want to do the soccer camp that Caleb is going to in a couple weeks, and this is more up his alley.  This last time I ended up letting Caleb and Levi go, too, as Logan didn't want to be alone (he was the first time), and that did make it easier for me to just wander the store (and spend some $$$...).

The garden has been keeping me busy this year!  Fun to be back at it after taking a hiatus last year.  Overall things seem to be doing well - keeping a close eye on the tomato plants right now as they just don't seem to be growing much, but they aren't dying either.  Broccoli and brussel sprouts are getting huge, cucumbers growing well, some peppers coming.  Might be able to pick a few strawberries tomorrow.

Mike started full swing with harvest this week.  Boy he works some long days!  So much better than last year with everything we had going on, but still tough.

summertime

What a fun and busy several days we've had!  Just keeping this household running is busy (and fun...) enough, but we've had some extra activities as well.  Mike had last week Thursday and Friday off of work (his last break before harvest begins...cue the "Jaws" music...).  On Thursday his brothers came over and helped with some landscaping - we put edging and stones down all along the back side of the house.  They got a lot done and it looks so much better than the weeds we had growing there!  Tom's wife Tera even got suckered into helping me in the garden, and the kids had fun playing.  :)

Friday morning we headed up to the cottage for a couple days of sun and fun.  It was great weather, and we had a great time being together as a family.  I could have handled Jackson napping better, but he at least did decent overnight.  :)  Our time there was filled with fishing, swimming, tubing, skiing (my 40 year old husband has still got it!), kayaking, paddle boarding, and just plain hanging out.

On Sunday we celebrated Mike's 40th birthday!  I had asked friends and family to send him birthday cards, so he's had a lot of fun reading all the cards that have been coming in the mail each day.

This week Caleb and Logan are going to Vacation Bible School at our church.  They were very excited to see some of their school friends there.  :)  Yesterday morning Levi, Jackson, and I stayed busy mowing the lawn; and today we got groceries.  Gotta make the most of my time with only two kiddos!

Last night was a fun dinner at my parent's house.  My mom had invited my brother Mike's co-worker, Hugo, and his family over; and also my brother Eric's co-worker, Nabor and his wife.  So, we all gathered around the table and had a fun evening trying to converse.  Thankfully there were enough people there that are bilingual (Hugo and his wife, Nabor, and my Mike) to keep things going.  :)  It was a very enjoyable evening.  I've got some tired boys today thanks to being there a little late, especially considering VBS, but I think it was worth it.

Jackson is a little on the cranky side.  Possibly his other bottom tooth?  Or maybe that it's difficult to get regular naps, or maybe the cereal I'm trying with him, or....who knows!  :)

doe

Our devotional after supper tonight was about deer.  Mike tries to throw Levi a soft ball question since his listening skills are....well....not that great yet.  (I think if he actually listened he would get a lot of it.)  So anyways, here's how things went tonight:
Mike: Levi, what is a fawn?
Levi: *no response*
Mike: Okay, Levi, what is a doe?
Levi: A kind of bread?
Oh, bless my heart!!  We laughed, and he felt bad, so I spent some time on the couch with him apologizing for laughing, but telling him I was actually impressed that he was thinking and trying to answer the question!  He just came to the wrong conclusion, and it was awfully cute.  :)

Jackson started working on his first tooth last week.  CRANKY.  We are having so much fun with him as he becomes more interactive.  He's been liking to 'blow raspberries' for a while now, and since last night we've tested him a few times and he'll do it in response after you do it first.  Pretty fun to have a back and forth with him like that.  He's been sleeping fairly well lately - I think we've slept the whole way through for a few nights now.  He'll usually (I use that term loosely) take a short nap in the morning, a bigger nap in the middle of the day, and maybe a shorter one again later.  Now today was slightly different because he dropped a feeding.  Big news: over the last week or so his spitting up has been greatly reduced.  Can it be???  Holding my breath on that one.  I've tried some more solid food here and there (cereal and applesauce), but it's still not going all that great.  At first he seemed pretty into it and ate good, but then at subsequent feedings he would refuse it or gag on it.  Hmmm....  Maybe we'll just take a break again for a while, we'll see.

So far summer break is going pretty well with Caleb and Logan home.  I'm trying to have some structure, but not too much.  They get PLENTY of free play time, but I also have some chores for them, and give them a few worksheets to do during quiet time.

Thursday evening Mike and I did something very neighborly and put an old toilet with a pot of flowers in Mike and Emily's driveway.  :)  When you come across an old toilet you can't just let it go to waste!  We thought it would be a nice addition to Natalie's graduation open house decor.  (The party was Saturday, and we were nice enough to take it back Friday night.)

Friday night Mike, Jackson, and I enjoyed a beautiful drive up to Newaygo.  Unfortunately, our reason for going fell through, but at least we had a nice couple hours together!  We went up there to buy some aluminum edging that we found on craigslist, but the guy didn't show up.  A while after getting back home I got a text from him saying he was sorry - he had been working outside without his phone and lost track of time (we had texted, emailed, and called...).  Nice.

that's a wrap!

Today was Caleb and Logan's last day of Kindergarten!!  I can hardly believe it -it feels like we're just getting into the swing of things.  :)  I'm not sure where the year went, it's all kind of in a "having a newborn" haze...

They had a fun last couple days, and are definitely overtired.  Yesterday was Field Day, so they were outside almost the entire day (and it was quite warm and humid!); and today they had a field trip in the afternoon to finish things off.  They went to Playworld and played HARD for a couple hours.

Both boys had a great first year of school; and as parents, I think Mike and I had a good first year, too.  :)  It's crazy to see how much they've learned in just one school year.  Their teacher, Mrs. Knapp, kept a few papers throughout the year and put together a book for each of the kids which they brought home today.  What a huge difference in what they can do from the first day to the last!

Basically, at the beginning of the year they could mostly write their first name, and count but not write out the numbers.  Now they can write out their whole name (nicely!), and not only write out the numbers, but count by two's, add, and subtract!  They are way better at telling time than I was at that age (I remember really struggling to tell time...).

We have loved school, and part of me is dreading summer, but it will be good to have a break, and we have a few fun things planned throughout the whole summer to keep us going.  :)  I do need to spend a little more time, though, figuring out what kind of structure our normal days at home are going to have.

ouch

This past Monday I took both Levi and Jackson in for well child check-ups at the doctor.  They both needed shots - good times!  :)  Levi weighed in at 42 lbs, which is 91st percentile; and he is 3' 7" tall, which is 93rd percentile.  Not a little guy, that's for sure!  Jackson is 17 lb 5 oz (39th percentile); and 2' 3.5" (76th percentile).  I'm always thankful for good check-ups at the doctor!

On the way to the doctor I gave Levi a heads up that he was probably getting shots, and he took it pretty well.  I was prepared for him to freak out about it, considering how the last shot went, but he stayed calm.  :)  At shot time I didn't have to wrestle him or anything - he got right up on the table, I held his arms down, and he did let out a pretty good scream, but then just cried for a bit.  I wasn't able to comfort him for long as Jackson was getting shots, too, and I had to help with him.

Levi also had to have hearing and vision tests in order to go to preschool next year.  Boy is that a trip with a four-year-old!  I had them do the picture eye test since I know he doesn't know his letters real well.  But, even that was a bit of a struggle.  It was hard to tell what he actually couldn't see, what shapes he didn't know, and what was shyness with the nurses...  Kinda the same with the hearing test - hard to get him to respond like he's supposed to.  For the most part though he did well answering the nurses and doctors when they asked him questions (we had a couple pep talks about that).

I asked the doctor about trying solids with Jackson again, and he said there's no rush to do it anytime soon since he's growing and healthy as it is.  I tried for 2-3 weeks a couple months ago and it seemed to give him reflux or something, and he just never got excited about it.  So, I quit and it's been nice not dealing with that added complication.  :)

Of course Jackson cried for his shots, too, so I had my hands full trying to comfort two sad little boys.  Levi was fine once I got to the gas station just up the road and bought him some candy.  :)  

Last Saturday we loaded up the family in Mike's truck and delivered a whole cow to Midland!  We put an old freezer in the back of the truck, stopped at Byron Center Meats to fill it up, and then hit the road.  We weren't sure how it was going to go having all six of us in the truck, but it really went well!  We were able to visit and have lunch with Mike's stepbrother and his family that live over there and it was a really nice visit.  

4 and 6

Within the last week Jackson passed the 6 month mark, and Levi had his FOURTH birthday!!  I definitely wish I could freeze time once in a while, my babies are growing so fast.

At 6 months, Jackson is mostly a lot of fun.  :)  He can't quite sit up on his own, but he wants to so bad.  When laying on the floor he often does "crunches" to try and sit up to see what's going on.  He's rolling around quite a bit, and I can't trust him to stay in one spot (I'd better get crackin' with babyproofing...).  Jackson enjoys being outside, whether it's on a blanket or in the stroller.  His smile is just darling, and even though he's been acting for months like they're coming, he doesn't have any teeth yet.  He seems awfully close to actually saying "mama".  I know it's just the noise he makes when crying, but boy it sure sounds like he's crying for mama!  Even though I was up with him 3x last night, most nights he does pretty well and sleeps from about 9pm-6:30am, give or take a bit.  He generally eats 5x/day (we're not doing solids yet), and many days has a couple cat naps with one bigger nap in the middle of the day.  Last week we were on the go quite a bit so naps didn't go as well, but he (and I!) are going to have to learn to deal with it - when you're the little guy with older siblings you can't just stay home all the time!  :)

Levi got lots of treats on his birthday!  After dropping Caleb and Logan off to school, we headed to the donut shop.  Then, while we were helping out at a garage sale, my dad came to take him out (since we already had donuts, he had a cookie); and one of the ladies at the sale wanted to get him a donut, but we passed up that one.   :)  That evening, after dinner, we had cupcakes.  (By the way, dinner was ravioli, which  he requested.)  And, on Saturday at the Mother's Day/several cousin's birthday's party with Mike's family, we had the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that he asked for.  :)  Levi got his big boy bike from Grandpa and Grandma VanBeek and he looks so big on it!  He got a kid-sized wheelbarrow from my parents that I'm excited about as he always wants to help with work outside.  :)

On Friday we were able to meet up at the park with Tera and her boys and we had such a nice time!  It was great to catch up with her, and the boys had so much fun playing together.  I think I'm going to have some sad boys when their cousins go back to Kenya.

Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was a nice day.  The boys got me a candle and gift card to a local greenhouse.  We had dinner with my family at my parent's house.  Then we just laid low the rest of the day.  I had things to get done around the house, and the other guys played outside and got dirty.  Of course. :)   There are plenty of tough times with this parenting gig, but I couldn't be more thrilled to be 'mom' to my four boys.  Even when I'm pretty sure that I'm going to LOSE. MY. MIND. I know I'm doing exactly what God has called me to do.

stinkable

If only I could record everything my kids say!  Especially Levi lately, he's full of one-liners.  The other day when he was headed into the bathroom to take care of business he said, "It might be stinkable in there!"  Lately he's been saying, "Okaaayyy, what are we doing here now?" (Even when we're at home.)  I think it was Sunday morning he told me I looked really pretty, and I thought I might melt.  :)  Many times when I tell him to do something I get a cheery, "Okay, yes, Mom!" And, when I've been going outside to work in the yard lately, he asks what work he can do.

Tuesday evening was Libertas' spring showcase concert.  Caleb and Logan sang in about four different songs, and recited a Bible verse.  Some of the skit type stuff that other classes did struggled with the sound, but the musical numbers were great!  "America the Beautiful" at the end of the concert with all the classes plus the band was neat!  And, my nephew Nathan's class sang a fun "Nifty Fifty States" song.  Always interesting to watch my kids up front.  There were plenty of times it looked like Caleb was just moving his mouth and not actually singing the words, but he was really into it!  :)  Logan was much more refined and by-the-book.  They were very happy to whip out their kazoo's during one of the songs.  :)  At one point early on Mike had fed Jackson a bottle.  He was burping him and made a comment that he would probably burp then since it was really quiet.  I was watching him and saw the look on his face, said, "He's working on one.", grabbed the burp cloth, and what do you know, a super loud burp/spit-up came, and everyone around us got a good laugh.  :)

We've been chipping away at some of the yard work around here.  So much to do after last year's project!  Trying to focus on one thing at a time and not get overwhelmed with the big picture.  This week Mike got our new lamppost installed, and I love it!  I moved the lovely clematis from the old lamppost to the new one and it's looking quite sad right now; I sure hope it perks up.  I also split off part to move over by the little spot by the garage (which I got a trellis for and Mike helped me attach it to the wall last night), but that's not looking too hot either.  We'll see.  A couple weeks ago some friends of ours gave us some plants they were getting rid of, so I planted them in the flower bed around the dining room windows.  Doing this work on a budget!!  :)  It's hard to find a large chunk of time to work on things, but at least Jackson will be content in his stroller or on a blanket for a little while here and there.  Getting the lawn mowed this year is going to be a little tricky once Mike gets busier at work.  I've been looking at video baby monitors so that I could mow while Jackson is napping, but $$$...  Last year our mowing was almost cut in half thanks to thing being tore up from the project, but now with the new grass we have even more than before!  Yikes.  Once the boys are old enough we're going to buy each of them a walk behind and let them have at it...  :)