Daddy Day
Mommy Day
Friday, April 16, 2010
Daddy Day & Mommy Day
Mid April Ella had a day away alone with Daddy to the Zoo and with Mommy to the beach. Here is our pictures from those days...
Daddy Day
Daddy Day
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Man Vs Burger (& Baptism)
This past weekend we had our college friends over for a BBQ...we called it (wo) MAN VS BURGER. Brad loves the show on TV where this guy eats all kinds of crazy food and so from there he came up with the idea to have each person make their own type of crazy burger. The competition of it all didn't turn out quite like we expected due to all the kids needing to eat and no one really felt like sharing what they made, but it was a lot of fun seeing how some people made their burger...shrimp, cream cheese, chips, garlic bread bun etc:) Beyond that, it was just a fun time having people over to our new house and just hanging out together chatting it up and watching the kids have a ball together.
Julie, Rex, Alden, Jamie, Mere, Layla, Jonathan & Lindsay
The men ~ Joe, Jim, Brad, Curt & Darrell
Alden & Ella hamming it up:)
Fast friends - Ella & Layla playing in the spare room
The little ones - Gibson, Madison & Rex
Jonathan, Alden, Ella & Layla creating their own fun:) 
and afterwards the kids had so much fun running back and forth where there was a dinner reception. They just kept giggling and running back and forth - so cute!
Ella and Alden
Alden, Jonathan, Ella & Layla
Layla, Mere, Gibson & Joe
Julie, Rex, Alden, Jamie, Mere, Layla, Jonathan & Lindsay
The men ~ Joe, Jim, Brad, Curt & Darrell
Alden & Ella hamming it up:)
Fast friends - Ella & Layla playing in the spare room
The little ones - Gibson, Madison & Rex
Jonathan, Alden, Ella & Layla creating their own fun:)Sunday night we had the honor of watching Gibson Geurink get baptized...
and afterwards the kids had so much fun running back and forth where there was a dinner reception. They just kept giggling and running back and forth - so cute!
Ella and Alden
Alden, Jonathan, Ella & Layla
Layla, Mere, Gibson & JoeFriday, April 9, 2010
Play days
Last week was Spring Break and although we didn't go anywhere special, we did hang out with some pretty special people:)
One morning I got together with some old high school friends and our kids to catch up on our lives and play with each other's kids. Pictured here is Ella, Josiah Gemmen, and Claire & Sam Brummel (twins). The best news shared that morning was that my oldest and dearest friend Lisa DeVries is pregnant with twins! This time next year when we all get together again, it will be a full house! God is good!
The next morning I met my friend Annie and her two little tikes for a play date at an indoor jungle gym. We had so much fun chatting it up and playing with the kids...they got along so cute and it was awesome to have Ella get to play with such energetic and kind little kids!
Jackson, Avery & Ella
the playdate sure pooped her out...
The following day we were kicked out of our house while a painter was there so we went to my parents house for the morning. Ella just adores my parents dog, Josie, and so we of course had to go outside and play with "Joes".
One morning I got together with some old high school friends and our kids to catch up on our lives and play with each other's kids. Pictured here is Ella, Josiah Gemmen, and Claire & Sam Brummel (twins). The best news shared that morning was that my oldest and dearest friend Lisa DeVries is pregnant with twins! This time next year when we all get together again, it will be a full house! God is good!
The next morning I met my friend Annie and her two little tikes for a play date at an indoor jungle gym. We had so much fun chatting it up and playing with the kids...they got along so cute and it was awesome to have Ella get to play with such energetic and kind little kids!
Jackson, Avery & Ella
the playdate sure pooped her out...
The following day we were kicked out of our house while a painter was there so we went to my parents house for the morning. Ella just adores my parents dog, Josie, and so we of course had to go outside and play with "Joes".
Easter
We had a lovely Easter celebrating Jesus' resurrection and being our true Savior! We spent the afternoon at Brad's Grandpa and Grandma's house with the rest of his family. We had an awesome meal and finished it off with Grandma's Easter bunny cake...Ella loved it and tried to dig right in:)
After lunch we headed to the fish pond down the street to feed the extra cake to the fish. Ella pictured here with Brad's sister, uncles, and cousin.
After lunch we headed to the fish pond down the street to feed the extra cake to the fish. Ella pictured here with Brad's sister, uncles, and cousin.
Later in the afternoon we set up an Easter egg hunt for Ella in the yard. I didn't know how difficult to make the search and I probably should have made it harder but regardless she loved it...especially when she realized that there was a jelly bean on the inside of each egg:)
18 months!
On April 3 our little baby turned 18 months! She has grown up so much over the last few months...I hate to say it but my baby is gone and I feel like we truly have a little girl on our hands! Although she continues to be a snuggle bug and a mommas girl, she is definitely becoming "miss independent":) I feel like she is learning new things every day and growing up right before my eyes. With this new found independence comes a stubborn streak but it is priceless seeing her experiencing the world around her with fresh eyes. Here are some of the things that describe Ella at this stage:
LOVES to read books...any time, anywhere - I already have to specify how many books we are going to read before I put her down or she would make me read all night. Oddly her favorite daily books are my books from childhood, not the ones we have bought for her.
She will spend a huge amount of time playing with our wallets -playing with our credit cards and business cards...basically she just likes to putter with little items
She thinks it is fun to give me food from her kitchen by pushing her grocery cart around the house and "serving" me food.
FINALLY says "No!" instead of teetering her head back and forth...and might I say is a long time coming. It is so much easier to communicate now that she says it out loud:)
Says "uh oh" when she gets put in the corner for a time out making it hard to teach her a lesson when it sounds so cute
She is really into playing outside - throwing a ball around, going on the swings, blowing bubbles, getting pushed around on her car buggy, putting rocks & bark in her pails, play around with sidewalk chalk, running up and down the hill, and look for birdies. Currently scared of the slide oddly enough.
Is in love with anything Elmo:)
Favorite songs to "sing" and do motions to are "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", and "Head and Shoulders"
Can say- hi, bye bye, no, yes, Dad, Mom, ball, bird, dog, Grandma, Grandpa, more, hat, Gil (our fish), water, etc. She also will repeat words that you ask her to say but doesn't necessarily use them again. I personally think she is really smart of course but she hasn't been a huge talker...she is great at communicating and I feel like she understands everything and has a great memory but just doesn't do a lot of actual talking. Every week she seems to say more and soon enough I am sure she will be jabbering away.
Hits herself when she gets frustrated or mad...we are working on resolving this:)
Loves to give kisses and blow kisses
Totally into dipping her food into really anything at all (pickles and applesauce last week:)
Has hair long enough to put into a pigtail!
Currently growing like a weed and needs a new wardrobe ASAP...gotta love those long legs!
Although there are a lot of little things that characterize my little girl at this point in her life, these were just a few that are fresh in my mind. Although this stage does brings tantrums, we are definitely having a riot with our little ball of energy! Here are some pictures of her around the house at 18 months...
LOVES to read books...any time, anywhere - I already have to specify how many books we are going to read before I put her down or she would make me read all night. Oddly her favorite daily books are my books from childhood, not the ones we have bought for her.
She will spend a huge amount of time playing with our wallets -playing with our credit cards and business cards...basically she just likes to putter with little items
She thinks it is fun to give me food from her kitchen by pushing her grocery cart around the house and "serving" me food.
FINALLY says "No!" instead of teetering her head back and forth...and might I say is a long time coming. It is so much easier to communicate now that she says it out loud:)
Says "uh oh" when she gets put in the corner for a time out making it hard to teach her a lesson when it sounds so cute
She is really into playing outside - throwing a ball around, going on the swings, blowing bubbles, getting pushed around on her car buggy, putting rocks & bark in her pails, play around with sidewalk chalk, running up and down the hill, and look for birdies. Currently scared of the slide oddly enough.
Is in love with anything Elmo:)
Favorite songs to "sing" and do motions to are "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", and "Head and Shoulders"
Can say- hi, bye bye, no, yes, Dad, Mom, ball, bird, dog, Grandma, Grandpa, more, hat, Gil (our fish), water, etc. She also will repeat words that you ask her to say but doesn't necessarily use them again. I personally think she is really smart of course but she hasn't been a huge talker...she is great at communicating and I feel like she understands everything and has a great memory but just doesn't do a lot of actual talking. Every week she seems to say more and soon enough I am sure she will be jabbering away.
Hits herself when she gets frustrated or mad...we are working on resolving this:)
Loves to give kisses and blow kisses
Totally into dipping her food into really anything at all (pickles and applesauce last week:)
Has hair long enough to put into a pigtail!
Currently growing like a weed and needs a new wardrobe ASAP...gotta love those long legs!
Although there are a lot of little things that characterize my little girl at this point in her life, these were just a few that are fresh in my mind. Although this stage does brings tantrums, we are definitely having a riot with our little ball of energy! Here are some pictures of her around the house at 18 months...
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