Happy Holidays

The holidays are certainly much more fun with a toddler. We are finding ourselves seeing everything Christmas through the eyes of a little one who is experiencing it for the first (well, second) time. The simple things such as a Christmas tree, lights, and snow are so much more fascinating. We are eagerly awaiting Christmas Day and all of the festivities and are so grateful for the blessings we have been given this year!!

Emma is loving winter and the snow. Getting her outside is often a battle, but once she is out, she loves it. She likes to throw snowballs at Sigsbee and has been waiting to make her first snowman. Her new favorite phrases, which we hear OFTEN..."What are you doing?""What is that?"..."I don't want to..." We're working really hard at showing her how to share as she has displayed some (probably normal) territorial behaviors...we have heard the phrase, It's mine more than we'd like...now it has been replaced with, It's my turn...progress I think.

Baby #2 is continuing to grow. We visit the doctor on New Year's Eve for our ultrasound and we plan NOT to find out if #2 is a boy or a girl. I've been feeling movement now for a couple of weeks and we are excited to meet the new member of our family. We'll get a belly shot up here soon!
A blessed Christmas to all of you and a peaceful and joyful New Year.

Fall 2009

Here's a quick update on the happenings here in Hudsonville...
Nate has been extraordinarily busy trying to juggle a taxing grad class, coaching middle school girls basketball as well as all of his day to day duties. His class at Grand Valley has him 'interning' and 'shadowing' to learn more of the responsibilities of an administrator. He is required to complete 100 hours of time throughout the semester. As of now, he has 15 to go. We'll all sleep and breath a bit easier when everything is finished. Feel free to celebrate with us on December 11-when basketball and classwork will be finished.
I am beginning to feel better each day. Most of my energy has returned and the nausea is gone, but new symptoms have developed...restless nights, achy back, and round ligament stretching. Everyday is something new.
Emma continues to keep us laughing. She is beginning to sing to us a variety of her favorite songs...The Wheels on the Bus, ABC, Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, etc. We're praying that her tone develops as she grows older, but it is certainly precious to listen to.

And another makes 4!

We are thrilled to announce that our small family of three will soon be growing. Baby #2 will be joining us in May and we are excited about this new change. Emma is oblivious to what is happening, yet we talk about a baby occasionally and she has added that she wants a brother and a sister. We are excited to see her in this new role. She will be a fantastic big sister and a big help to us (hopefully).
It is amazing how differently one can feel from pregnancy to pregnancy. With Emma, I felt amazing all throughout. This baby is making me work. I am continually worn out and nauseous almost all day. I'm praying that this will be a temporary condition and will be at full speed again soon.
We covet your prayers for our family as we adjust and prepare for this new life!

Sleeping Beauty

Every mother has to have a picture of this...

Where is everybody?

We're back from our adventures down south and had a wonderful time. The weather in Hilton Head, SC was beautiful--mostly sunny and HOT! We spent our days relaxing by the pool, sitting on the beach or playing in the sand. It was great to spend time together as a family and get away from our normal routine and relax. Emma did phenomenally. I was very nervous about the drive from Ohio to South Carolina--14 hours--but she surprised us and did awesome. She slept, watched videos, colored, and read lots and lots of books. She loved being with all of her aunts and uncles and grandparents and especially loved her 'Ogan' (Logan). I think she said 'hi' to Logan 100 times a day. It was precious to watch her standing over him, patting his back and maybe not so precious to catch her stealing his pacifier. Every morning she would wake up asking for someone: Mindie? Matt? Logan? or she would say "Where is everybody?" Nate and I both enjoyed playing with her in the pool and at the beach. One night, Matt, Mindie, Logan, Nate, Emma and I went back to the beach after dinner as the sun set. Emma started walking through the tide pools and ended up crawling through them. Needless to say, she got soaked so we stripped her down and let her go. She was thrilled to play with the mud and the water and wasn't even hesitant about the salt water. She had a blast and we took way too many pictures of her!
We had a great time, but we are glad to be back home!

Summer thus far...

It is unbelievable how quickly the days go by during the summer. I cannot believe that it is already July. Our household continues to hum. Nate has been busy working with a local drywaller and is quickly racking up the hours (and the extra paychecks, too :)). Emma and I are trying to enjoy all that summer has to offer. We've visited the zoo a few times, taken several walks, and spent some afternoons in the kiddie pool in the back yard. We are gearing up for a family vacation with the Wiechel side of the family in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Everyone needs a break from the daily routine, but I don't suppose that it will be a relaxing vacation as we are used to with a toddler.
Emma continues to amaze us. Her vocabulary is astounding and we are surprised everyday by the new words she uses. I am constantly reaffirmed in the importance of reading to your child. We read TONS of books in our house and she has learned so many things as we have read them. She can identify a walrus, narwhal, platapus, hippo, etc. by looking through a book. It is so fun to talk with her and carry on a conversation. This afternoon she said to me..."listen" as she heard an airplane flying overhead. I asked her what it was and she said "airplane." Amazing. She can walk, but is not yet convinced that that is the best means of transportation for her. She can get most places much faster crawling than walking. We just recently discovered her love for the sand and water--it will certainly be fun to watch her in South Carolina.

Sunny Days

Is she walking yet?

Our little lady is quickly approaching 14 months now and the question I get the most is "Is she walking yet?" The answer is a big, fat "no," but that isn't slowing her down. She is crawling like a maniac and walking along furniture. I bought her a shopping cart at a garage sale and she is cruising around the house with her groceries all the time!
One of the coolest things about this stage in her life is her vocabulary. It is growing by leaps and bounds. It is cool to be able to communicate with her and understand some of her needs and wants. She just learned the word, 'buckeye' the other day which made her daddy really proud. She can comment that it is a 'pretty day' and identifies some of her grocery fruits-apple, banana, orange.
The month of May is ridiculously crazy in our household. I just started a masters class at GVSU which meets every Monday and Wednesday night. On top of the class periods, I am having to do homework. The homework itself is manageable, but finding the time to do it is difficult. It is kind of nice to exercise my brain a bit and talk intellectually with other adults. Nate continues to be busy as athletic director and is finishing up another school year. Unfortunately, this job keeps him away from home sometimes three nights a week. We are also finishing up the year with our youth group and have different activities and open houses to attend. We'll welcome June with open arms!

Spring Break and Easter

Nate had a week off from school so we took advantage of it and kept ourselves very busy. One of the highlights of the week was Emma's first trip to the zoo. We aren't quite sure if she was more interested in the other people or all of the animals, but she did have a good time. We saw monkeys, tigers, lions, pelicans, penguins, and more. We will have to go again, soon!
For Easter, we celebrated the day by going to our church and then to my parents house in Fremont. Emma was all decked out and beautiful.

Happy Birthday Baby

We've come a long way, baby! It is hard to believe that one year ago today we were welcoming a new little girl into the world and today, we're doing our best to keep up with her. We are so thankful for her life, good health and development. It has been such a joy to watch her, play with her, listen to her, and teach her new things. She is truly a gift from God!
On her one year birthday...
she has 5 teeth.
she is crawling like a maniac, standing for a few seconds, but no walking yet.
her vocabulary is growing each day and we are able to pick out actual words!
her hair is growing, right now a blondish color with a small hint of strawberry blonde in the sun.
her favorite food is deli turkey and cheese.

Dad thought this would be a good idea...

Changing

Nate and I have commented in the past few days that she has changed so much even in the last week. Her vocabulary continues to grow and she will frequently try to mimic what we are saying. Her animal sounds now include cat, elephant, lion, sheep, and rooster. She can point to her ears, eyes, nose, belly, hands, and toes.
She has finally figured out the whole crawling thing but is hesitant to take off crawling. But she is certainly able to get where she wants. She is now eating all finger foods--no more baby food. Her favorites are cheese, pancakes, grapes, goldfish crackers, Gerber Puffs, tortillas with melted cheese and crackers.
There's never a dull moment in our house! Never.

I'm not bragging, just documenting :)

It seems like just in the past few days she has changed so much. This week, her 4th tooth popped. She is no longer sleeping in her swing--after I caught her twice sitting up and swinging in it.

Within the past week, her vocabulary has grown, too. I do realize that many of these 'words' are filtered through my mom ears--I think that it would be gibberish to other ears. She consistently can say mama, dada, duck and no-no. This week, she has added more, more, uh-oh, nigh-night, dog ('da'), ball, bath, and book (which all sound strangely the same, so context is quite important), and she is real close to saying 'Sis' (Sigsbee). She has been consistently signing the words milk, more, and all done. She also knows the sounds for cow, monkey, dog, and curls up her nose and tries to snort for a pig...we're working on the others. She is waving bye-bye and hi to the people at the store.

She is still not crawling, but not for lack of trying and constant tutorials. She is excited to 'walk' holding on to our hands and is getting quite sturdy holding onto the couch and cabinets, etc. She loves to 'chase' after Sigsbee.

This parenthood thing is quite an adventure and we're loving every minute!

Here she is saying "CHEESE" for the camera. She is such a ham.

Newer pictures of our little lady--10 months

Happy New Year

It's hard to believe that it is already January. Christmas break came and went so quickly, but we did get to spend some time with our family. It was so fun to watch Emma open ALL of her gifts (sheesh). She did everything that a baby should do...awe over the tissue, play with the bows, and ignore the actual gift. We are incredibly thankful. One of the best Christmas gifts was her first tooth on Christmas morning soon to be followed by her second tooth on New Years Day. Farewell toothless grin!

We visited the doctor for her 9 month check up and she is growing. 29 1/2 inches long and 21 pounds.

We are waiting patiently for her to crawl. She is so close. Did you know there is a correlation between crawling and reading? Apparently if you crawl first you will be more prepared to read. So, with two teachers for parents, we are already concerned about her academics and trying to 'teach' her how to crawl. Yeah, I think we will be those parents!

Hoping that your holidays were filled with joy and you are refreshed and ready for a blessed new year!