you...in a different situation

November

2010-12-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here is some highlights from November...

My dear friend and freshman roommate at Calvin, Erin, came over to show me her new little bundle of joy - Nahla. She was such a doll and smiled constantly - I hope my baby boy is that happy and content:)

Our small group (not so small:) at church spent a cold morning at an older couple's house from our church that needed help with their yard work. It was fun seeing all the kids out there amongst the adults helping out and enjoying the fact that they were serving others. We are blessed to be apart of this group and to be welcomed into the home of such a special family. I wasn't able to help a whole lot with the manual labor but it was a fun morning to be apart of and to witness people loving others.

Uh oh - a chocolate lover just like Mommy:) I will have someone to fight now for the spoon when I bake:)

"Ring Around the Rosies" - a favorite activity when Miss Lily comes over to play:)

On a gorgeous morning in early November Ella and I paid a visit to the Critter Barn. Because of her love for farm animals I thought it would make for a fun girls morning out. There were no other visitors while we were there and it was like almost 70 out so it was a perfect day to be outside. We both had a great time!

Cows seem to be the #1 animal she always wants to see no matter where we are:)

She thought the ducks swimming around in the pool there was hilarious:)

One of her favorite songs is "Baa Baa Black Sheep" so she thought seeing one in person was pretty cool!

She was terribly scared of this goat...I couldn't get over its curly horns.

She couldn't wait to pet the donkeys...I think she feels so comfortable around them because of the ones down the street we visit.

She just plain giggled at the sight of all the chickens - she was just cracking up for some reason

She bent down and talked to the pinks and was "oinking" at them. She thought it was bizarre that they laid in the mud and then peed wherever they wanted - that quite intrigued her.

The cats were by the far the biggest hit...she stood there by the fence for like 20 minutes and just wanted to pet the kitties and kept saying - "they so cuuuute!" She thought it was so funny when they licked her fingers...we may not get a dog anytime soon, but maybe a cat will be in our future after all.

She just stood by the horse and stared at it:)

It turned out to be a great Mommy/Daughter morning!

Lately Ella has been really into her "hair ties" and bows and headbands and clips. She wants me to put them all in her hair at once all the time. She also is obsessed with her 2 play necklaces pictured below - she wants them on at all times. I didn't peg her to be such a girly girl but I guess she is:)

My parents asked me to take a picture of them for their Christmas card this year while we were downtown Zeeland and I just wanted to post it because it isn't too often that I have one of just them - what a great looking couple!

Although I am not a big fan of this picture - hate to display me looking chubby and tired - I wanted to be able to post a 34 week picture. Lately I have been experiencing quite a bit of pain and discomfort so the Dr. checked me at my 34 week appointment. Apparently I was at 1 cm and 30% effaced. I guess it is nothing to worry about but my Dr. wanted me to have a week or two of "low activity" to ensure that I at least don't continue to progress and have the baby too early. He still anticipates that I will need to be induced in the end but for now he wants me to be cautious. I can't wait to meet my little man but I don't want to meet him too soon - my bun needs to stay in the oven:)

At the end of November we headed to an old barn to do a little photo shoot for Brad's upcoming CD/website that will be coming out in December. Ella wanted to get in on the fun too:)

Later that night Ella went to Aunt Betsy and Uncle Jake's house while we were at small group to play with Lily. Ella got to experience what it was like to go in a hot tub for the first time (don't worry - they had the temperature a lot lower than normal so the girls could go in.) Ella wasn't too sure that she liked it...

She had a lot more fun playing in the bath tub afterwards!

Trying to look like Mommy again:)

One day Brad stayed home with Ella while I was at work and here is a couple of pics Daddy took while they were together.

The weekend after Thanksgiving we made our annual trek to Bosch's to get a Christmas tree. We used to cut down our own when it was just us two but now we like to just go into their barn and pick one that is already cut. It sounds corny to go all the way out there to get one that is already pre-cut but we like the atmosphere and goodies:) The bummer is that when we got there a Santa Claus was sitting right inside the barn and it totally freaked out Ella. She cried and screamed the whole time so it wasn't such a magical experience like we had hoped. We did end up getting a good looking tree and had fun outside the barn- away from Santa- eating popcorn, sitting by the fire, and taking a horse ride through the fields:)

Later that afternoon I heard something at the front door and found Ella sneaking out of the house to look at the Christmas lights that Brad had just put out on the trees outside...she wasn't really in the appropriate attire - about half way there:)

That night we decided to trim the tree and hang our ornaments. I wasn't sure how Ella would do with it all but she had a great time hanging all the ornaments on the tree - hopefully they all stay there:)

When she saw the pacifier ornament from her 1st Christmas, she couldn't resist:)

She found an angel and halo in our Christmas bin that belonged to me when I was little - just thought it was a sweet picture

My friend Jenn took care of Ella while I was at work one day at the end of the month and she got a couple of really sweet pictures of Ella with her son Cam. They are so cute together!

October

2010-11-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

October just flew by...here are some highlights that I missed!

Ella and I at Zeeland hospital meeting one of my dearest and oldest friend's, Lisa's, newborn twins...welcome to the world little Cadence and Brynnley - congrats Jeff and Lisa! Besides the blessing of them being born healthy at 37 weeks, they decided to come on Ella's 2nd Birthday...thanks for holding out that extra day Lisa;) To top it off, Lisa and I discovered that we had the exact same rooms at the hospital too!

The second weekend in October we went to Post Family Farms with Wiersemas to pick pumpkins and see the animals...

Ella and Lily up to a little mischief:)

For some reason Ella was totally freaked by the goats so Brad had to hold her in order for her to get near them.

But she adored the baby kitties!

Ella thinks cows are aweome but boy are they are big and a little intimidating up close!

Picking the perfect pumpkin...

Betsy, Lily and Jake on the hayride back from the pumpkin patch

Our little fam...Ella wasn't having it - she kept saying that night "no more pitures mom!"

Lily starting a hay fight...Ella was not having that either:)

Precious cargo:)

Ella loves to play on the swings outside...her smile is just so contagious here!

Brad and I managed to get a day to ourselves to clean up our yard before winter weather creeps in and my Dad stopped by to lend a hand ...now spring cleaning outside won't be so overwhelming next year - thanks Dad!

On October 16 our niece Carley turned 4 years old...Strawberry Shortcake style - Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Some of the weather in October was just gorgeous and this particular morning we tried to soak it all up!

Ella has recently been really enjoying acting like a grown up...

like wearing Mommy's "dresses"...she sneaked these out of my private drawer:)

and she also loves to act like a "big girl' by wearing our shoes and clunking around the house in them;)

On October 23 Ella officially moved out of her crib and into her toddler bed. We were really nervous how it would go but she went right to sleep for her 1st nap and that night she slept 12 hours straight - it was awesome. Can't say it has always been that easy since then but overall I think she did really well with the transition. The main thing that is difficult is when she shows up in our room in the middle of the night and we have to decide if we going to drag our butts out of bed to bring her back to her room or to endure a night of sleeping like sardines:) This move really made it real how old she is getting! The next thing to tackle is to get rid of her paci all together. Right now it is just at naps and bedtime - one thing at a time, right?

A glimpse at her pre-nap routine:)

Me at 30 weeks pregnant...

Baby Boy Koning is doing great! I have been feeling really great and have quite a bit of energy which is unexpected, but I have a feeling that will start to change any time now. Nesting is definately happening in our house too:) He moves around a ton and can make sleeping at night a challenge, but other than that, I have no complaints - can't wait to meet my little man!

A Happy Halloween with our little monkey!

"Trick or Treat"ing at Great Grandpa and Grandma Essenburg's house...Ella had the phrase down...it definately helped that when she said it she would get some candy:)

What a sweet little pony and monkey!

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Koning with Lily

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Rotman

Cousins Carley the princess and Reed the scarecrow happened to be at the Rotmans too - how fun!

Our happy Halloween ended with a fun party at our friends, the Heukers, house with all the kids in their costumes - so cute! Ella the monkey, Alden the fireman, Gibson and Jonathan as Mickey Mouse, and Layla and Madison as Minnie Mouse. Things have changed a bit since our first Halloween with our kids:)

A Last Chance Getaway!

2010-11-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

The second weekend in October Brad and I decided to do a little getaway together. Our little man is expected to arrive in a couple of months and we thought it would be nice to go on a little trip just us...considering I doubt we will want to leave our kids anytime soon after he is born. We decided to head up north to Traverse City. Although we have gone there together a few times, we knew it would be gorgeous up there with the leaving changing color, beautiful Lake MI, and the great towns that are so close by. We had a wonderful weekend together - walking downtown in TC, catching a movie "Life as we Know it", eating out for breakfast, traveling to Charlevoix's Apple Festival, seeing Torch Lake, walking around in Petosky, driving along the TC Peninsula, taking naps, reading, watching TV, eating at a really cute restaurant called the Jolly Pumpkin, and seeing the lighthouse...all without interruptions! It was a great weekend alone with my hubby just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful fall weather and scenery!

Enjoying Petosky along Lake MI

We stopped at this family orchard up north for some apple cider donuts - such a beautiful orchard!

A glimpse of Torch Lake - so beautiful - it was so cool to see all the way to the bottom of this clear lake

The place that we stayed - Tamarack Lodge

The view from our room - I was so thrilled to be able to wake up and see that in the morning.

The views from the lighthouse on the Traverse City peninsula.

The colors and wineries on the peninsula was breathtaking!

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl!

2010-11-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

We started out celebrating Ella's birthday weekend with a trip to Binder Park Zoo. Ella is in love with animals so we thought it would be a fun thing for us to do together as a family. Unfortunately the weather ended up being really yuck - it was cold, rainy, and our main reason for going, the giraffes, were not out because of the weather. Although that was disappointing, we all still enjoyed seeing the animals that were out and the atmosphere. It was a great zoo and we will definitely be back another time to see what we missed.

Brad and Ella checking out the jaguars

It was fun to be able to interact with the animals...like feeding the goats...

And petting the bunnies.

Due to the weather, a lot of the animals weren't available, but the ones that were were super cute!

Ella was most intrigued with the llamas. She was totally freaked out by them yet extremely interested:)

We had to make a pit stop to ride on the carousel - the zebra was quite a hit!

At the end of the visit we went to the part of the zoo designated as "Africa". We took a trolley ride to the middle of nowhere and there was this huge pretend village and trail in the woods with some awesome animals in the fields. I was super exhausted from the long walk but it was really cool!

Despite the long ride and disappointing weather, we had a great time experiencing it all with Ella!

Later that night we headed over to my parents house to celebrate Ella's birthday - Elmo style!

Grandma Rotman and Ella

My Aunt Queenie was visiting from Nevada so we decided to take a girls pic - me, Mom, Ella, Kennedy, Aunt Q, Carley, Chris, and Daysha.

Getting a pretty pink doll!

This is the only attempt that Ella really made to open any of her gifts. She didn't really seem to get that inside the wrapping paper were presents for her. Her cousins ended up opening most of them for her. She loved what she got but just didn't seem to get the concept that night:) I guess it had been about a year since the last time she got to open presents.

She did however love all the attention - especially when everyone sang to her:)

Ella with Carley and Reed and the presents they got her - a baby doll and Mr. Potato Head.

Kennedy and Ella showing off Ella's new beauty care products and Princess book.

Ella got a baby high chair and pretend glasses from Grandma and Grandpa...she thought the glasses were hilarious!

Ella with Grandpa and Grandma Rotman

Soaking up all the attention:)

Enjoying the Elmo cake!

The next morning, on her Birthday, Ella came downstairs to find her birthday present from us- a beauty salon I found on Craig's list. I had a feeling she would like all the primping and playing that goes along with it and she sure did!

Later that night we had our second party with the Konings - Elmo style once again.

Grandpa and Grandma Essenburg, Kylee, Mom and Dad Koning, and Ella

Betsy, Dad Koning, Grandpa Koning, Brad, and Grandpa Essenburg

Ella received Elmo cards from everyone that came that night but surprisingly they were all different versions of the same card - she loved them all because they all had Elmo singing Happy Birthday! This time around she totally got the whole unwrapping the present thing and had a lot of fun:)

Grandma Koning and Ella showing off one of her new beauty products she got for a present:)

Brad and I made the Elmo cakes for her birthday. The first one looked a bit iffy but this one is about as good we are capable of...it looked pretty cheesy but tasted good at least:)

"Happy Birthday to You"

I wonder what a 2 year old wishes for?:)

Enjoying the sweets with Great Grandpa Essenburg

Ella with Grandpa and Grandma Koning

All the grandparents!

Us with our Birthday girl!

Ella we are so blessed to have had you in our life for the last 2 years. Our lives changed so much after you came into this world and we would not change a moment of it. We thank God for giving us you for you bless us more and more every day and bring us so much happiness and joy - we love you sweetie!

Fall Fun in the Sun

2010-10-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Despite being the last week in September, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and Ella and I decided to go to the beach randomly for the morning to just plain run around, chase the birds, and play by the water. I know there is a ton of pictures but it was so much fun watching her just enjoying herself sans toys and the landscape was just so pretty, I couldn't help but take tons of pictures:)

Crane's Orchard

2010-10-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in September the Konings made their annual trek to Crane's Orchard to do some apple picking. We always start off with eating donuts and having lunch at the restaurant and then head off to the orchard for some apples. It has always been a nice family tradition and having our little girls there makes it even more fun!

Ella and Lily

Ella off to do some apple picking of her own

The fam - Mom, Dad, Lily, Betsy, Jake, Kylee, Drew, and Ella

Ella and Lily playing a little hide and seek

Kylee and Drew

Our little fam - Brad, Ella, and Jill

Camping at Oak Grove

2010-10-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of September we went camping to Oak Grove in Holland with the Heukers, Geurinks, and Coppess'. We really like camping in the fall but we were not expecting it to rain for a bulk of our weekend. Heukers thankfully had a handy extra handy tent to have as shelter outside of the campers to hang out under. Although the rain threatened to make the weekend a mess, we had a great time. Despite the mud and wetness, the kids had fun playing together and we were still able to have some adult time around the firepit at night, which is always my favorite part. Although the weather wasn't ideal, the great company more than made up for it:)

The boys hanging out - Darrell, Drew, Joe, and Brad

Drew and Jane working hard to keep the kids entertained:) - Mason, Kali and Ella

Joe and Gibson

Ella really liked Madison...or she really liked her exersaucer - I am sure it was both:)

Everyone huddled under the tent...some good close bonding going on

Ella and Layla being little artists with their sidewalk chalk

Gibson

Ella was practicing being a cool big sister with Gibs:)

Madison

Ella and Layla and Jonathan's beautiful artwork...oh yeah, and Joes:)

Ella loved Mickey Heuker:)

The gang around the campfire

I hope we will have many more fun camping trips together in the future!

Happy 29th Birthday...to us!!!

2010-10-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

On September 11 Brad celebrated his 29th birthday!

Ella gave Daddy a homemade gift - "Happy Birthday" card / colored picture of Elmo and a paper weight (a rock she picked out of our landscaping and colored with markers:)

Ahhh - tickle time!

Riding the horsey!

At night we celebrated our birthdays at my parents house. Whenever we all get together it is loud and chaotic fun. Below is Reed and Kennedy screaming followed by the whole family randomly making a "rainstorm".

Kooper, Reed, and Kennedy

Grandma with Kolter and Ella

The birthday kids - Brad on Sept 11 and me and my brother Ross on Sept 12

The next day we celebrated my 29th Birthday!

Me and Ella eating the breakfast Brad made for me! A special way to start the day.

That morning Brad suggested we spend the morning at Kirk Park and have a picnic lunch - I was so excited because that is my idea of a perfect morning/day! It was amazing weather and Ella had such a great time playing in the sand and along the water. I just got to sit back and relax and watch my 2 kids play:)

What a great couple of days...feeling blessed for our 29 years.

22 weeks pregnant

2010-10-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Big Star - thanks for a great rest of the summer!

2010-10-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the rest of our summer together up at the cottage.

Lily and Ella enjoying their beloved "I-cees!"

Ella reading books with Grandma Koning...in her life jacket:)

Bath time!

Enjoying an afternoon boat ride

Ella loved playing with the sprayer on the hose...she would do it all afternoon if we let her

Roasting marshmellows with Grandpa and Grandma

What a beach babe!

Tubing with Kylee...her first time out. She was a little timid about it at first but then she absolutely loved it and didn't want to stop!

Lily and Kylee out for a spin!

Grandpa's little helper

The girls checking out the frog underneath the dock...well, Ella is freaking out while Lily tries to go after it:)

Ella and Grandma Koning

Striking a pose

Goodbye...see you next year!

The End of Summer

2010-10-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Over the summer we had the joy of having Brad's cousin, Bree, be our Thursday babysitter. Ella loved having her over - their favorite activity was bike riding to the park and feeding the "nice" ducks and "mean" geese. We were so thankful to have such a sweet babysitter who gave such TLC to Ella and we will miss her as she goes back to college!

After finding a little stool to put in the bathroom, Ella has developed a new fascination of washing her hands by herself - she enjoys her independence. It comes in really handy when we are done playing outside...no arguments to wash her patties!

Ever since we have moved into our house, Ella has just loved our neighbor, Jay, across the street. Even when she didn't really know him, she would look out the window all the time and ask about him and would yell hi whenever she saw him whether we were in the house or outside. One night we had Jay and his wife, Sandy, over for dinner to get to know them better. After supper they brought over their ice cream maker and made us home made ice cream - it was a lot of work to make but very much worth it. They are super sweet and I am so glad we have such nice new neighbors (ones that don't mind our daughter spying on them all the time:).

Once a week I babysit my niece, Lily, and quite often we bike down the street and go see the donkeys. Ella loves to see them but is a little afraid to actually feed them but Lily is totally fearless. It is so cute to see them call the donkeys over by clapping and yelling and watch them try to interact with them - they get all giddy.

Just chillin' having a snack after their busy morning outside

We took a little trip to Teusink's farm one night to see all the animals. Ella is a fanatic about farm animals and thought she would love seeing all the animals up close, riding the ponies, and taking a hayride. Although she was a little too timid to feed the animals, she had so much fun going through the barn and seemed to love riding the ponies the most. Watching her ride the horse made her seem so grown up!

I went through all of my toys from when I was a child to give to Ella and found this tea set that I always played with my dolls. She has loved playing with it ever since...it is sweet and nostalgic to watch her play with my toys and it makes me glad that my mom and I kept them to be used again.

I had the privilage of throwing my best friend since elementary school a baby shower...for her TWINS! She is due on October 23 with a boy and a girl. We have been looking forward to raising our kids together for years so I am so excited to share with her this exciting time! Can't wait to meet those little tooters Lisa!

Before the summer drew to a close and school started up, we had my nephew, Reed, and my niece, Carley, over to play. We had such a fun time - biking to the donkeys, playing ball, running through the sprinklers, playing on the swingset, playing Wii, and "house". Brad happened to have that day off so it was extra special being able to spend that time together. The summer had gone by so fast and didn't get to see much of them so it was awesome having some good quality time with them.

As Ella is fast approaching 2 years old and showing some interest in "the potty", we decided to get her one of her own. Ella was pumped when she seen it and decided to carry it directly onto the porch and try it out...taking a book to keep her company. I don't know how long the novelty on this will last, but at least she can get used to the idea.

This is just a random pic of Ella who feel asleep watching Elmo...she never just falls asleep like this so I wanted to capture this cute little moment. She just looked so sweet and innocent.

It's a...BOY!

2010-08-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

This morning we had our ultrasound and found out the exciting news that we are having a baby boy! I never really had a feeling what it was going to be but before we walked in to the u/s Brad and I both guessed it would be a girl. I think because we so enjoy having a girl, and so many people said they thought it would be a boy, and because a lot of our friends have a boy and a girl, we thought maybe we would not follow that pattern since so many had...well, I guess we were not born to be trend setters after all:)

The u/s was so much fun! The technician was super nice and took her time going over everything so we could see and understand it all and her enthusiasm made it just that much more special and thankfully she reassured that all looked well. Our little man didn't take his time in showing us his manhood - we knew pretty much right away that he was a boy - not shy at all:) Unfortunately he did seem to want to hide his face. He was laying head down so we didn't get a lot of shots of his face or profile but of course it was just so awesome to see what we did. It just amazes me when I see the heart beat and the limbs moving. I feel him kick now every once in a while throughout the day, but it is so crazy to think that he is moving in there all the time - as the ultrasound proved, he is a squirmy little bugger! The tech said that he was approx 11 oz, and 8 inches long and his heartbeat was 151.

My favorite part of the u/s, besides the fact that we were totally surprised it was a boy, was seeing his face briefly really close up and he seemed to be smiling and making motions with his mouth as if he was chomping his mouth or eating. Also, there were moments when he was moving his arms and it seemed as if he was waving hello! Even though I had already experienced the thrill of having an u/s with Ella, I felt such a sense of awe at the little tiny miracle growing inside me. I already love him so much and it was really helpful to see him and know that he is doing well - it made everything seem so real!

Here is little man Koning...

I think this one is self explainatory - head up to the right and butt/legs down in the left corner. His arm is by his head in the middle of the picture.

This picture shows his position throughout the u/s. His head is down on the right - face down nuzzling into the placenta:) It is crazy how well you can see his back/spine!

Here is the straight on freaky alien picture that I convinced her to take- it is slightly disturbing but I wanted a close up of the face. The top of his head is to the right and it just shows his two eye balls, his mouth open (I like to think he is smiling) and his little hand next to his face in the middle of the picture.

Sort of a side profile picture:)

Only 20 more weeks until we get to meet our little guy:)

Little Miss Mommy

2010-08-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Lately, Ella is all about playing with her dolls and being a little mommy...acting like quite the grown up:)

I got her a few items for her little Baby Stella doll to help her learn how to take care of a baby in preparation for our new little one coming and she has played with them non stop ever since I brought them home. She will spend literally an hour or two playing with her baby and not paying attention to anything else...the first night I brought the accessories home she wouldn't even eat supper:) She loves putting her baby in the Bumbo and "feeding" her peas and cereal, giving her a "buba", changing her diaper, putting on lotion, and giving her a bath. It is so cute to see her little imagination at work and watch her be so gentle and take such good care of her little one. She'll just talk and hum while she plays with her all around the house - I think she is going to be an excellent big sister:)

She also has taking a liking to playing "library" or in her words "libarwy". She loves to sit on our high stools so I made one a reading stool and brought down all her stuffed animals and dolls to be her audience for her to "read" to. She loves to look at books and have me read to her so it has been a fun activity for us. She likes me to read the words but also likes to pretend to read and shows the "kids" the pictures in the books. Future librarian? teacher?

I know that Ella is still young yet, but just looking at these pictures of her makes me realize how much she is growing up! Ahh - my baby is not a baby anymore:) Good thing I have another on the way!

Random Summer Fun

2010-08-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we celebrated our Nephews 4th Birthday - Toy Story Style:) Here is all the cousins (and Daysha) watching in anticipation what the next present will be that they all can play with:)...but the favorite birthday present of the night was the skateboard...

What a cool dude!

We love you Koop and can't believe you are 4 already! Happy Birthday Buddy!

Some girlfriends and our kids finally got together for a playdate at the park at the end of July. We were proud that we finally managed to do it before the summer was over! While we were there, I had the pleasure of taking some impromptu pictures of my friend Mere's kids while we were there. They are so precious and such happy little kids.

Gibson Oliver

Here is some of the mommas taking a break to feed their babies a bottle - just thought it was a sweet moment. Lindsey, Madison, Layla, Mere, Gibson, Julie, and Rex.

Layla Belle

Although Ella looks a bit out of it, I thought it was cute picture of the girlies

My little tooter...she doesn't like to stop for me to take pictures so this is about a good as I could get that day - she was on the go!

Baby Rex

Alden, Ella, and Jonathan checking out the water spout...which led to some pretty wet kids

Ella likes to play outside in her little turtle sandbox turned pool - here is a couple of pics of her enjoying the warm weather by the pool.

This past weekend Brad and I attended his 10 year high school reunion. It was a fun night out - adults only! We had dinner with some friends beforehand downtown GR and the reunion, also downtown, was pretty cool too. It was nice to meet some people Brad went to school with and also to get to see some people I knew from college that were there too.

Brad and Ella like to play "ball"/golf in the yard. Here is a couple of pics of them playing around the other night.

Ding Dong Ditch! What a little stinker:)

Down the road there are donkeys that we like to walk to or ride bikes to visit and feed them carrots. Ella loves to go and see them and try to feed them. I just wanted to be able to capture a few moments of her there since it is something she enjoys so much. Seriously, I think I like it just as much, if not more, than she does - they are just so cute and friendly!

16 weeks

2010-07-21T20:30:00.001-07:00

I turned 16 weeks pregnant on July 20. Being pregnant the second time around is definitely different for me. I feel like time is just going by so fast...chasing around a 21 month old does that to you I guess:) I have all these feelings about being a mother again - nervousness because of having to take care of 2 children when I am so used to 1, excitment because I cannot wait to have a newborn to adore, and curiousity because I am so excited to see how Ella is as a big sister and to discover the mystery of how I could possibly love 2 children when I feel like I couldn't possibly love Ella any more or share that love with anyone else. I know that it will happen the moment I lay eyes on my baby and I am just thrilled to experience that amount of love! It is interesting going into motherhood for the second time because I already know the pregnancy process and what it is like to be a mother but I know that each and every day I learn more and can't wait to see what little Baby K has in store to teach me:)

The last couple of weeks has been difficult pregnancy-wise with not feeling very well...exhaustion would the best word to describe it. I am not throwing up or having nausea exactly, but feeling miserably tired in the afternoon and evening. I try to rest a little bit when Ella naps the days I am home and it usually helps - it is just unreal to me how being tired can be so overwhelming! I know it could be much worse so I don't want to dwell on it and hopefully soon I will start regaining energy as my second trimester goes on. At this point I have not felt any fluttering or kicking but I am so excited because I know that it is just around the corner! This is not my favorite picture but here is what my 16 week belly looks like!

"Great" Grandparents!

2010-07-21T20:15:00.001-07:00

In the last month we have had some fun moments with Ella's "great"-grandparents...

Brad's Grandpa and Grandma Essenburg camp quite often during the summer and we usually go and visit them at the beach when they do. This time we had a picnic supper on the channel and spent a nice evening chatting with them at their camper. Ella just loves them and has them right around her little finger:)
We also had the pleasure to go out on Brad's Grandpa Koning's boat on Lake Mac and have a floating "picnic" supper and enjoy a beautiful evening on the water. Ella loved the boat and had fun playing on it and looking for ducks and other birds on the lake. Grandpa was a great host and it was so relaxing going through the channel and getting a tour of Lake Macatawa.

Friends on the Farm

2010-07-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

My dear friend from college, Julie, was in town from California and I was able to spend time with her while she was home. She invited Ella and I to come to her in-laws farm to see the animals. Since Ella is totally into farm animals right now, it was the perfect playdate! It was a great morning catching up and watching our girls play together. Although it never feels like enough time, I felt blessed to have the chance to see her and get to know her girls! Ella and the pigs - she didn't really know what she thought of them at first, but in the end petted them....quickly and walked away.

Eva (Julie's daughter), Liv (Julie's niece) and Ella checking out the chickens

Ella and the cows

Ella and Eva by the chicken coop

Getting a close up look at the chickens

...and petting them!

"Goats!"

I had to include this picture of baby Sofia - what a gorgeous little girl!

Love you Julie and hope to see you again soon!

Weekend in Cadillac

2010-07-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

For the last 27 years my family has rented a cottage in Cadillac on Lake Mitchell. Over the years it has changed from all my extended family staying for the week to my parents and my aunt and uncle staying up there with the kids trying really hard to come and visit for as long as they can. I wish I could have stayed there longer this year, but at least I was able to stay up there for a couple of days with Ella. The cottage holds so many special memories for me with my family and especially my cousins. This year was an absolute joy for me because my cousin Angie and her hubby was there with their son Andrew and Ella had a blast playing with him...she called him "the boy". I tried the whole time for her to call him anything resembling Andrew but "the boy" was all we got:) It was a great weekend just hanging out with my family, going out for breakfast, playing in the water, and sitting in the sun...oh yeah, and generally chasing around Ella:) It was a little challenging because Ella and I slept in an open loft above the family room and so Ella was up really late until like 11:00/11:30pm, it was super hot weather with no AC, and I was very exhausted because of the being pregnant, it was all so worth it to be there one more year! Ella and Andrew spent a ton of time in this turtle pool together

What a cheese-ball!

They dumped lots of water on each other!

Little mini-me's of Angie and I:)

Andrew is just so darn adorable - how can you not smile when you see him?

Laughing with Grandpa!

My Dad (and Uncle Rog) fishing

One time Ella went in the lake and I decided not to use a swimming diaper...boy, I never knew how much those diapers could expand...had to get a shot of her bubble butt:)

Uncle Rog, Ella, Grandma and Grandpa enjoying the beautiful day on the dock

Ella chillin' with Grandpa and Grandma

Ella swinging with cousin Carley and Grandma

The family hanging out on the deck - Chris, Ben, Kevin, Sara, Andrew and Angie

Carley and Ella

Ella and Andrew being goofy

Ben, Uncle Rog, Ross and Reed during our corn hole/bean bag tournaments

Chris and Ella tickling each other

Angie, Uncle Rog, Ben, Mom and Dad

Ella enjoying being a water rat one more time before we left

Too cute not to include:)

Andrew, Angie, Ella and Jill

Grandma, Ella and Grandpa

A Visit to the Fountain

2010-07-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

One day Ella and I spent the morning walking around downtown Holland because it was so gorgeous out. I took along Ella's swimsuit just in case she showed interest in the fountain...well, of course she couldn't pass up the opportunity to run around and get wet. We quickly changed in the car and off she went. I work in the building right next to the fountain area and it is always so cute seeing all the kids running through the fountains so it was fun seeing Ella do the same!

Up North on the Fourth

2010-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice weekend up north over the 4th of July- just kicked back and relaxed with the fam. Did a little playing on the beach, a little laying in the sun, a little boating, a little swimming and a little family bonding.

Ella and Grandpa hanging out by the campfire

Brad, Ella, and I on the boat at the fireworks on the lake. When the fireworks started to go off she was absolutely freaked out and acted like she almost wanted to climb right out of the boat but as they went on and we reassured her it was ok, she really thought they were cool and would say "wow" and "boom". After a few minutes went by though she fell dead asleep - go figure:)

Ella with her Aunties - Betsy & Kylee

Great Grandpa Essenburg and Ella taking a dip in the lake

Grandma, Uncle Dick, and Aunt Vicki lounging in the sun

Didn't want to leave the water even for her snack:)

Learning to jump into the water to Daddy

Kylee and Drew tubing

Ella trying to catch frogs on the beach with Grandpa

A Night at the Beach

2010-06-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

It has been such gorgeous weather so we couldn't resist a little impromptu evening visit to the beach this week. We just grabbed a few beach toys and left thinking Ella would just play in the sand. Go figure, as soon as we got there she got soaked so we had to take off her top...I know these pictures are a little goofy due to what she is wearing but I couldn't resist posting them. Chasing the seagulls

Brad having to finally go after her...she just follows the birds no matter how far they go and she thinks nothing of leaving us and going after them...its a bit freaky how independent she can be

Ella on the move

Playing in the hole Daddy and her dug in the sand

"If only they would let me run in!" We will never go to the beach without a bathing suit or towel again:)

I just wanted a cute closeup of Ella with her shades on and later noticed that you could see Brad and I reflected in her sunglasses - kinda cool. Last summer it was like pulling teeth to get her to wear sunglasses but this year she absolutely loves them...wanting to wear them even in the car when we go away.

Flying high on the "wings!" (as Ella calls them:)

Gotta love summer nights in MI!

12 weeks

2010-06-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

On June 22 I turned 12 weeks pregnant so I figured I probably should start documenting my belly growth. I am absolutely surprised that I am already starting to slightly show...I know I have a pooch left from Ella but it just seems too early to have a belly! I guess the second time around it is bound to happen that way. FYI - this picture is a bit deceiving...the way I am standing makes my bump look a bit bigger but it is pretty close.

I did have a 12 week appointment last week and was so excited to be able to hear the baby's heartbeat - a strong 160. It took forever for the intern and Dr. to find it and I was trying not to freak out but thankfully in the end we got to hear it. For me the heartbeat makes it all hit home...not that I didn't think I was pregnant before that, but it is the first true evidence of life...music to my ears!

Father's Day

2010-06-27T13:14:00.001-07:00

Father's Day was pretty laid back this year. We were up north at the cottage that weekend so we just spent the morning and afternoon there and celebrated Dad Koning and then at night we came home and spent some time with my family at my parents house.

Here is a picture of Ella helping me make a message for a card we made for Brad.

Ella helping Daddy open his bag of treats and wishing him a Happy Fathers Day!

Love you Daddy-O!

A good old fashioned game of softball with the kiddos at Mom and Dad's

Ella and me...cheering on the players;)

Some of the kiddos with Grandpa giving them plants for Fathers Day

We are so thankful for our Dad's - we love you!

Play Dates

2010-06-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

The third week in June we had a couple of really fun play dates...

On Wednesday Ella and I went to visit my Grandpa Rotman along with my cousin Angie and her cute little 1 year old boy Andrew. Ella and Andrew were so cute together - playing with Grandpa's toys and sharing snacks. It is so hard to get past this picture because Andrew looks just like Angie when she was little and Ella looks so much like me. I hope this is the first of many playdates to see Grandpa, I think he really enjoyed seeing the little kiddos and we enjoyed spending some quality time with him.
On Friday that week Ella and I met my friend Jenn and her son Cam for a playdate at the park. Cam and Ella are only a couple of months apart and they get along really well - he is the cutest little boy! I couldn't help but snap a picture of them together...future couple??? I think so!

Our Camping Adventures

2010-06-17T19:56:00.001-07:00

The first weekend in June we ventured out to Sandy Pines to go camping with the Geurinks and Heukers. It was so much fun to be camping again and to hang out and catch up and watch the kids play together. Jonathan, Ella, and Layla enjoying their breakfast outside

Joe and Gibson

Jonathan and Ella working on sharing the lawn mower

Layla and Ella coloring outside the camper

They decided that Jonathan was so cute that he could join them too.

Saturday morning we headed down to the beach there for some swimming and playing in the water. Unfortunately Joe had to stay back to take care of Gibson and the dogs but we had a lot of fun watching the kids in the water.

Layla...a little chilly

Ella loving romping around in the water

Brad, Ella, Jonathan, Mere, Layla, Lindsey & Darrell

Me and Ella having a snack...

And then Ella took another break to have a snack with Daddy:)

Layla and Mere - what beach babes!

What a darling family...Lindsey, Jonathan & Darrell (oops, sorry Maddy, I left you out of the pic!)

The following pics are just too sweet to pass up - the kids were sitting so cute by each other...giggling, sharing snacks, and loving on each other:)

The fam at the beach

Play Dough time!

Sadly Saturday night the rain came...and it didn't stop! The Throwers and Lucas' and Joe's brother and sister in law all came out to have supper with us and celebrate Layla's 2nd birthday and this is how they spent the evening:)

Brad kept us constantly updated on the weather forecast...yup, still raining!

Ella was experimenting with whether or not she liked standing around in the rain

Curt and Jamie holding up the guys makeshift rain tarp...it was a bit hillbilly but it worked and gave us some more room to hang out.

The men saving us from the rain:)

Darrell, Steve, Brad, Curt, Joe and Jim

Ella, Layla and Jonathan playing in the rain - the water pouring off the tarp:)

All of us gathering under the tarp for some food and fellowship:)

Julie and baby Rex - he is seriously the sweetest little guy and he has the best hair - what a doll!

Ella...totally over all the rain at this point

Alden joining in on all the water fun!

The following weekend Brad was in Chicago for work so Ella and I went to visit my parents who were camping in Pentwater. It was an awesome campground and we had tons of fun taking walks and visiting the beach there. Here is some pics of us at Lake MI.

Ella giving me "butterfly kisses" in the camper before bedtime

Thanks Mom and Dad for having us - it was fun spending quality time with you!

Look Who's Talking Too...We're Expecting #2!

2010-06-17T19:53:00.001-07:00

On April 26 I found out that I was pregnant! It wasn't entirely a suprise, but there is always a sense of shock the moment when you see that plus sign. This time around I did not take the test with Brad there - I did it on my lunch hour without him knowing anything about it...I wanted to totally surprise him when he got home from work. I felt like I was going to burst with excitement the rest of the day! I wasn't sure how to tell him so I took a picture of myself (like the one above) and made a card out of it that said Happy New Years 2011! (At that time I calculated my due date to be January 1). After he got home from work, I was trying to figure out how to give it to him without him suspecting anything...just then Brad took Ella into her play room to play "mailbox" with her. We had just gotten a playhouse from Bryan and Daysha and Ella loved to put things and have things put into the mailbox in the playhouse. So, I gave the card to Ella and had her play "mailbox" with Brad. He grabbed the card out of the mailbox and saw that his name was on it.

Despite my picture taking (which is normal around our house), he didn't think anything of it and was completely shocked to see what the card had to say:)

You can't see it here very well but his eyes said that he was totally surprised:)

Dad breaking the news to Ella about the baby...and thus beginning the stage of Ella loving her "baby" dolls.

We are so excited to see what the future will bring as our family grows. We hope to meet our little one on or around January 4!

We shared the news with our families on Mother's Day. It was a little sooner than we wanted to share it but we thought it was a perfect day to tell them since it was a day to celebrate motherhood and we would also see both of our families in one day. We were so excited to tell them! We decided to just put the news in their Mother's Day card...

Mom and Dad Koning and family found out at Clearbrook Country Club where we were having brunch...

Mom and Dad Koning and the rest of the Rotmans found out at a get together at our house...

Although most of the family was semi expecting the news at some point and it wasn't a huge surprise, it was fun to be able to share our news with them and celebrate the new little life.

May Moments

2010-06-16T10:28:00.001-07:00

As Tulip Time was fast approaching we decided to hit Veldheers Tulip Farm before all the tourists came into town...it is odd how close we lived to these tourist destinations growing up and didn't go to many of them. Ella seemed to like the Tulips...a little too much...we had to make sure she didn't start plucking the flowers. Here are some pictures of our trip to tip toe through the tulips.

We also ventured out to Art in the Park during Tulip Time week...

Ella taking in the dutch dancing with Daddy...

and Mommy (as you can see she was tired...meaning Ella has this weird thing with holding my hair when she gets sleepy...I tend to get really sick of it but try to remind myself that soon enough she will grow out of it and I will miss this little Ella-ism:)

Enjoying her first ice cream of the year from Kilwins downtown with Daddy, Superman of course:)

Before catching some more dutch dancing one night we met Betsy and Jake and Lily for dinner downtown and ventured out to Centennial Park for some pictures with the girls in their costumes. We also got to meet up with Bryan and Daysha and the kids...gotta love those cousin pictures when they are all dolled up!

Classic dutch gal - blond hair and blue eyes:)

Ella and Lily

Dancing a little jig to the music playing in the park...future Dutch dancer maybe?

Taking a moment to stop and smell the tulips

Pics with Mom and Dad

Our little Dutch (& a little German) family

Gotta love those moments of pure silliness and giggles:)

I wonder what is going through their little minds...maybe how much faster they would be able to run around without those get-ups on:)

Striking a pose

Ella and Kennedy

Getting a hug from cousin Kooper

oops - must have missed the pic with Kolter in here:(

Ella playing with some friends after Dutch Dancing...Missy and Fin

Loving on Auntie Daysha who did an awesome job dancing...such a cute hat!

Giggling with Jacee

Thursday's parade was lots of fun, especially since Brad's family all sat together to watch...Ella just sat there and took it all in

Ella with Great Grandma Essenburg, Grandma Koning, and Great Aunt Vicki

May 8 was the River Bank Run and a bunch of us supporting Youth for Christ (a lot of people were from Victory Point where we go to church) bussed it out to GR to run the various races of the River Bank Run...it was a ton of fun training together and riding together to the race.

Unfortunatly I had some problems with my knee right before the race and didn't think I should run on it...as bummed as I was that I didn't do it, I had fun learning to run (since I never really did it before) and got to know some of the girls better. Brad ran the 5k...that's what we both signed up to do originally. He did a great job as well as everyone else! I stayed on the sidelines and cheered our team on and took pics...it was a cool experience to be a part of and I hope someday I will participate in it for real! The whole group that ran to support Youth for Christ

My husband out there making me proud

Mother's Day was a great day. I got to spend some quality time with my girl in the morning...

We spent lunch with Brad's family to celebrate Brad's Mom ...

some more alone time in the afternoon....

and had supper at night at our house to celebrate my Mom!

On May 14 Brad and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We decided to make a stop at the place where it all began before we went out to celebrate our anniversary. We went to Calvin's campus and took a walk to the Seminary Pond...a place of deep meaning for us. It is a place where I prayed to God to bring someone into my life, where the next night we took a walk there and hung out for the first time, where I heard him sing a song he wrote for me for the first time, where we kissed for the first time, where we talked all night long for the first time, where we truly fell in love for the first time, and where he proposed to me...this is the place our love story truly began and I was so glad that we visited it to reminisce. I am truly blessed to be married to my best friend and I pray we have many more years together.

The following weekend we had our special day with our niece Kennedy. It was her turn to do something fun with us to celebrate her 5th Birthday. We decided to take her on a dune ride in Saugatuck.

Kenz and Ella before the ride:) She is such a sweet big cousin to Ella.

Me, Ella, Brad, and Kenz on one of our stops on the dunes

Kenz with Uncle Brad

Ella checking out the sand dunes

Kenz and I together before we ran down the sand dune

It was a twisty, turny, bumpy ride but it was super fun. It was us and a group of girl scouts on the dune truck...which meant lots of screaming...that really freaked out Ella and Kennedy, but they were able to overlook it and have fun for the most part...they just held onto us for dear life:)

The girlies on the dune truck

It was a great day with our Kennedy - we followed that up with a trip to McDonalds and the park. I hope we get to spend many more special days together in the years to come.

Later that day Brad, Ella, and I ventured out to Grand Haven with our neighbors to try and catch the kite festival. Unfortunatly all the festivities for the day were over and it was very foggy, but we still had fun walking on the boardwalk and pier together.

Grah, Carrie, Chris, Ella, and Brad (and baby Lili in the stroller:)

What a little beach bum:)

One hot afternoon we decided that since we never bought a fun sprinkler for Ella to run through (since last summer she was still learning to walk) we would just turn on our yard sprinklers. Ella had a ball running through them and trying to fill up her watering cans at the same time.

Ella has been enjoying coloring a lot lately. We are almost past the phase of wanting to eat crayons and markers so it is more enjoyable for everyone involved:) Notice the cool hot pink pencil box...my mom just found it in her basement and it was mine in elementary school...now it can be put back to good use:)

Like I said, we are almost past the eat the crayons and markers phase:)

Our Wednesday mornings with the my niece drew to a close since her mommy is a teacher and has summers off, so here is Ella and Lil playing in the sprinklers outside on our last morning together. Lily was totally fearless in the sprinklers and ran through them back and forth and even when she walked directly in front of where the sprinkler head was and it knocked her clean over, she just giggled and got back up for more - she is so cute...don't you love her makeshift bathing suit...Ella tank:)

One day Ella and I were just sitting outside doing bubbles and I had the urge to get some close up shots...although Ella was too hyper to really let me take them like I intended, I still couldn't help posting some that I did get. She is growing up so fast, and I never want to forget this little face.

We also said goodbye to Ella's Friday afternoons at Auntie Daysha's house since my work schedule changed (as well as her mornings with Auntie Betsy). Here is some cute outdoor pics Daysha took when she was there in May.

Ella and Kolter

Ella loving her first big popcicle all to herself

Memorial Day weekend kicked off our first summer visit to Brad's parents cottage up north at Big Star Lake. Here is some of the pics I took of Ella enjoying the cottage with the fam

Ella and Lily enjoying putting their toes in the water..gotta love the miniature chairs

Floating around with Daddy in the lake

Digging in the sand

Sporting her new suit and sunglasses

Taking her first sea doo ride with Grandma...

Let's just say Brad was a little nervous about this and leave it at that:)

But of course Grandma was a slow and safe driver and they made it back with big smiles...apparently after a minute or so Ella didn't want Grandma to steer at all, she wanted to do it herself...looks like we have one independent girl on our hands - yikes!

Later on it was Grandpa's turn to take Ella out...he didn't go as slow as you can see but he was of course careful. She loves riding on them and whenever we say sea doo she says "ohhhhh" and "vroom vroom"??? like she is asking if she can go on them again.

Grandpa Koning also did something else special with Ella for the first time...he took her fishing off the dock. Of course it only lasted a little bit but she liked just sitting with him and listened to him explain the process...it was cute to watch...I think he enjoyed it just a little bit too:)

What's been Happenin'...

2010-05-05T12:03:00.001-07:00

Per usual, I have not been blogging regularly, so here is a bunch of random moments/events that have happened in the last month...

We love our Wednesdays with our Lily over...here are the girls hamming it up together in the pack n play set up in our spare bedroom.

Mid April we celebrated my niece and nephews birthdays...Kennedy turned 5 and Kolter turned 2!

Kennedy, Kooper, and Reed with Grandma and Grandpa playing with the new presents.

Ella getting the giggles with Uncle Ross and Aunt Chris:)

Birthday Boy with his new tractor - the new love of his life - so cute!

Mom, Carley, Kooper, Reed, Kenz, Ella, Brad, Kolter & Bryan - blowing out the candles on the whale cake and tractor cake (awesome job Tracy - they were amazing!)

Ella finally going down the slide...has been so scared to go down for some reason but now she loves it...time at the park now is just that much more fun!

A random sweet moment with Grandpa Rotman...loves those lawn mower rides:)

One morning Jamie Lucas and I packed up our kiddos and took them to the Children's Museum in GR. It was so fun to bring them to a place where they can just run around and enjoy playing with whatever they see- they had a great time! The only downer was that it was packed with kids taking field trips so it was pretty zoo-y but regardless they had a lot of fun exploring!

They were so cute on the ride home...both "reading" books...it was a very educational morning for them:)

This past Saturday Brad's little sister, Kylee, graduated from Grand Valley State University at the Van Andel Arena. So proud of you sis!

Afterwards we went downtown for lunch to celebrate...

Kylee

Grandma Koning, Dad, Ella and Mom

Grandma and Grandpa Essenburg and Kylee

Jake, Lily and Betsy

Me, Kylee, Ella and Brad

Little Miss Ella & Kylee

Later that night we went to the Heukers to celebrate their son Jonathan's 2nd Birthday...of course we had to take an updated picture of all the kiddos...here is our attempt at that:)

Layla, Gibson, Ella, Mason, Kali, Maddy and Rex

+ Jonathan, Alden and poor Ava:)

Ella on her first day at swimming lessons...she loved being in the water and did well with learning how to kick but was scared to death of laying on her back to float...lessons will be great for her...hopefully each week she will enjoy it and learn more. When we got there we learned that Ella was the only one signed up for that time slot so we got private lessons but next week we are going to join the big kids...she likes to copy older kids so I think this will be a good way for her to learn. It was fun being a part of it and playing silly games in the water like "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Humpty Dumpty".

Today we got to babysit Kolter for a little bit which was so fun...they have a great time together and are very evenly matched...in playing and fighting:)

Daddy Day & Mommy Day

2010-04-16T19:56:00.001-07:00

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

Mommy Day

Man Vs Burger (& Baptism)

2010-04-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

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:)

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 & Joe

Play days

2010-04-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

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".

Easter

2010-04-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

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.

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!

2010-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

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...

Mr. Rex

2010-04-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Although I am a little behind on this, I could not miss the opportunity to announce the birth of Rex Thrower - the little boy of our friends Jim and Julie. We got to meet him a couple of weeks ago and what a little sweetheart he is. He is a boy after my own heart - such a little cuddlebug:) We are so happy for Jim and Julie and so excited that Ella has another little man in her life:) ...and check out those locks - what a stud!

This Past Weekend...

2010-03-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had so much fun! It was super busy but we had a lot of quality time with family and friends. It started off with having our 8 year old nephew Reed over for a sleepover. We decided that instead of buying gifts for our nieces and nephews, once they got old enough we would take them out to someplace special of their choosing or have them overnight and let them pick the food and activities. Life just gets busier and busier and now that we have a child of our own we don't spend a lot of one on one time with our nieces/nephews so this makes for a great opportunity to do just that. It was really special just hanging out with him....he chose eating pizza & Sprite for supper, competing with Brad on the Wii, playing outside, watching the movie Planet 51, getting cookies n cream ice cream for snack, and sleeping in the living room on the floor with me. Happy 8th Birthday Reed-O...we loved having you all to ourselves!

In the morning when my brother came to pick up Reed, Carley couldn't resist the chance to play with her little Ella:)

Later that morning we headed out to Frederick Meijer Gardens in GR to check out the butterfly exhibit with the Lucas'. Although it was super warm and crowded, the kiddos had fun spotting all the butterflies.

Curt, Jamie, and Alden

Ella wanted to chase Alden instead of the butterflies:)

What a cute picture of all the kids:) We followed up our morning with lunch with the Lucas' at Malarky's on the East Beltline - very cool place to go - I highly recommend it!

That night my family gathered together for my Grandpa's 85th Birthday party. It was neat to be able to see everyone get to together to celebrate his life...he has a blended family due to his second marriage and they were all there as well...it was a huge group! At the end of the night we had a slideshow made up of all pictures of him and his family...I think it meant a lot to him to have us all there and to see all those pictures highlighting his life...it was a great way to end the night. (Good job Daysha!)

We rounded off the weekend with babysitting for my other nieces and nephews. Again, we just plain do not get to spend much alone time with them and to have them over was such fun!

The beloved Uncle Brad reading the kids stories to Kennedy, Kolter, and Kooper.

Kolter and I

The two little buddies before bedtime...Ella and Kolter

What night would be complete without a snack!

Signs of Spring

2010-03-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

This past week the signs of spring were all around me. Although more snow is inevitable, I made sure not to take for granted the fleeting beautiful weather. These were the signs of spring around my house...

We have a three season porch that is not really able to be used in the winter months but we spent a lot of time out there since the sun warmed it right up...here is just a sweet pic of Ella and Brad reading together on the porch.

A little "spring cleaning" from my little helper (we are not above child labor...JK)

Ella proud of her job well done:)

Playing at the park once again...can't get enough of the ducks & geese...she wanted to run right in:)

Helping Mom clean up the yard since this is the first time that we really didn't have any snow on the ground since we moved in.

Playing in the yard...
Learning boundaries...what fun!

Boy, I have to say I am pretty pumped that my girl loves to help around the house...I wonder how long until that wears off:)

Our first flowers to bloom...I have no idea what is planted in our yard so it will be fun seeing what pops up as spring draws closer.

At it again!

We even got to share a lovely morning outside with our Lily-pie!

Our little rock collector!

She spent seriously part of an afternoon just filling up her bucket with rocks from the landscaping and moving them from one pail to another all around the front yard...so cute to see her little imagination at work.

At our house a true sign of spring is seeing Cadbury creme eggs...but they don't last long. Brad and I absolutly love them and we have discovered that Ella definately has good taste as well. Even though she only gets a little sample of mine, I can safely say that the eggs will continue to be a staple at our house in springtime for many years to come:)

It was a wonderful week of sunshine and I pray more weather like this is soon to come again!

A Morning at the Beach

2010-03-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ella and I were bored and so decided last minute to go play at the beach. I wanted to play with her outside since it was like 60 degrees but everywhere outside seemed to be muddy and yuck so I figured the beach would be a good place to run around. She had a lot of fun watching the birds, digging in the sand, and swinging on the swings. I had a sweet and simple morning with my little love.

Madison Joy Heuker

2010-03-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Although this is a couple of weeks late I wanted to be sure to blog about our friends Darrell and Lindsey who had their baby girl, Madison Joy on February 22. Although we all thought Lindsey would go late like she did with her son Jonathan (8 days late), she ended up having Madison three weeks early. When Lindsey went in for her 37 week appointment they detected that the baby had an "atrial flutter" so they decided to take her by c-section. Even though Madison had to stay in the hospital a day longer than Lindsey to be sure she was strong and stable, they were both healthy and doing great! We got to meet Madison later that week and was able to take some newborn pictures. She is truly one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen!

Our new crib...

2010-03-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

At last! I am finally posting our final moments at our old house and capturing firsts at our new house! It has been a busy yet exciting time for us. It all began last fall when we set out to find a play kitchen for Ella on Craig's list. We called on one in Zeeland and what do you know, it was a couple that lived right up the street and not only that but I had gone to high school with the wife! While we looked at the kitchen set we were talking about why they were selling it and they mentioned that they just decided they wanted to sell the house. Just for fun we asked them to show us around because we thought it was cute. Needless to say we really loved it! We told them to contact us when they decided for sure what their game plan was and to make a long story short, within a week we had worked everything out and our house was put on the market. Within 3-4 months our house was sold and we feel totally blessed. All along we felt, along with the other couple, that this all happened for a reason and it was just awesome to see how it all fell into place. Now that we are in our new house, it is clear to us that this is where we belong.

Here is us with the former homeowners, Jeremy & Kate VanEyk, when we officially got the keys to the new house that Saturday. We are blessed to have them now as friends!
Ella quickly making herself at home in the living room:)

Ella exploring her new room for the first time

Before we could move in we still had a lot of packing to do and only 3 days to do it so we needed a few helpers;) Thanks Ella for helping Mommy and Daddy pack and thanks to our parents for all they did to help (babysitting and moving stuff)!

Our last picture together in our old house (I know, I am such a sentimental dork)

Here is a couple of pictures of Ella and I the last night in our old house - I was getting sad... thinking back about her being brought home from the hospital, watching her grow and seeing all of her firsts, putting her to bed at night, and all those precious moments in between. I kept having to tell myself that my home is wherever Brad and Ella are but saying goodbye for me is always hard to do. (Please don't mind all the pacifier pictures, the move was a bit confusing for her and that is her security blanket:)

The next day, Tuesday, after work I stopped by our old house on the way to our new one
to do a final walk through and let Ella say goodbye to our house. I kept telling myself that she needed that closure to understand what was going on but I think I needed to go back that one last time. Here is Ella saying her goodbyes to her room:)

Here is our new home...7 doors down:)

So excited to see Daddy...it had been a long and busy week...and we were happy to be home!

Brad seriously did almost the entire move on his own on Tuesday- he was so awesome, making trip after trip between the two houses. He was so great about it and never complained. He made the whole move go super smoothly - thanks honey! On Tuesday night we did get some extra help moving the large items and we want to sincerely thank Curt & Jamie, Chris (& Grah) for their help!...thank you for saving my husband's back:)

In the days following our move, we have been enjoying settling into our house...

Here is Grandpa Essenburg hard at work painting Ella's bedroom. He did such a great job and we so appreciated all his time - great job as always Grandpa!

Ella checking out the scenery from the porch...she loves to look for birds and watch the cars go by:)

The VanEyks had a fish in their kitchen so whenever we had come over to see the house, Ella loved to look at it so we decided we would get one of our own once we moved in. She absolutely loves "Gil" and every morning the first thing she wants to do is go see him and feed him;)

Although we haven't had many people over to see the house yet because of all the unpacking and organizing to do, my parents came over to check out our new house and help with some projects...

Ella enjoying her playroom...

and the great outdoors...

and the kitchen...

and the living room... (playing "ring around the rosies" with Daddy:)

It has been a great journey but we are happy to put it all behind us and enjoy our new home.

Playing Catch Up!

2010-02-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Life for us has been crazy lately so I haven't kept up well on my blogs, but I thought I would just do a quick one on what we have been up to lately.

We had the privilege of welcoming home our neighbors adopted baby girl, Lili Grace. They have been waiting to adopt for over a year or so and after some ups and downs they finally were able to take her home from the hospital. She was having some health difficulties but now seems to be thriving and doing great. We are blessed to have them as friends and we are thrilled that they now have the daughter they have always wanted.

A couple week back I was excited my friend Mere asked me to take her little boy's newborn baby pictures. Here is a couple of the pictures of Gibson Geurink that I took - isn't he such a doll?

Ella has been spending some good quality time with her cousin Lily...they are becoming fast friends. Since they have a 6 month age gap there can sometimes be some fussing involved because they are at different stages but lately they are having much more fun together:)

We went to the Critter Barn a couple of weeks back when it was cold but super sunny and beautiful out. They weren't technically open but they were very sweet and let us look at all the animals and even took some out for us to pet. Ella loved it...she was a bit "sheepish" at times when the big animals got too close but she loved to look at them. I can't wait to go back sometime when the weather in nicer. It was a fun way to spend quality family time together - I highly recommend it!

We are currently in the process of moving. Since we have been busy packing up, Ella seems to think she needs to be a big helper:)

Last weekend I had the pleasure of throwing my friend Julie a baby shower along with the other girls. We celebrated at Olive Garden and had a great girls night out. Usually when we are all together we are on mommy duty so it was great to talk and laugh and catch up without any interruptions:) Julie is expecting a baby boy and is due mid March along with Lindsey...we can't wait for those little ones to be born! (Lindsey, Jamie, Kishon, Mere, Jill, & Julie)

Here is us three on Valentines Day...I felt very blessed to have these two as my Valentines!

This past Thursday we finally closed on our current home as well as on our new home. We are so happy to be done with the whole process and excited to move in. We got the keys to our new place on Saturday afternoon and we have to be out of our old house by this Tuesday so it is a bit crazy around here but we are really happy with how it is all going. We want to do a little shout out to our friend and realtor Jim Thrower (Visser Real Estate - a little plug for them:) for being so great and getting our house sold - thanks buddy! I will post some pictures of our new house when we get settled a bit (who knows when that might be;)

Snow Bunnies

2010-01-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Ella is a big snow fan so here are some pictures of her playing in the snow this winter...and apparently she loves to eat it too...

One cold day she was begging by the door to go play outside but it was super freezing out so I just brought in some snow for her to mess around with and she started gobbling it up. Now she begs at that door for snow to eat... What a little snow bunny:)One night we were downtown Holland walking around after eating dinner (I guess I should mention we were walking around in the cold because I locked our keys in the car and were waiting for the neighbors to bring us our extra set:) and all Ella wanted to do was eat the snow along the sidewalks.Our neighbors invited us out one night to go sledding. We have a hill in our back yards so we headed out...the snow was so deep Ella couldn't even walk in it but she did like going down the hill with Brad and our neighbor boy Grah.One gorgeous afternoon Ella and I headed out to play around in the snow...she loved rolling around in it but once again it was pretty deep so she got pretty frustrated trying to get around.

There she goes again...

Post-Christmas Christmas Party

2010-01-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago (trying to get caught up on my blogging:) we had some college friends over for a post-Christmas party. Since the holidays were so busy, it was nice to have them all over once all of that was past. We just got together for pizza and hung out. The guys congregated around the table for much of the night and discussed the usual - politics, religion, and work while the girls watched the kids and mainly talked about the kids and family stuff:) At the end of the night before the kids went down to sleep, we did a gift exchange between the children (born or soon to be) which was really cute. It was nice for all of us adults to spend time together because life gets busy and we don't see each other as much as we used to and the kids have a lot of fun playing together too. The boys- Darrell, Jim, Joe, Johnny, Curt, and Brad

Just chillin - Mere with Ella, Johnny, Kishon, Brad, Curt, Jamie, and Alden

The pregos - Lindsey and Jamie - both due in March only 3 days apart
The kids playing together (toys everywhere!)Ella and Julie - baby Thrower got Ella a drawing pad and markers - perfect since Julie is an art teacher!The kiddos - Layla, Jonathan, Ava, Alden, and Ella...

Baby Gibson Geurink could not join us at the party since he needed to be stay at the hospital(born 5 1/5 weeks premature on December 30 - 5lbs 7oz, 18in) but thankfully on January 11 he was able to go home with Mere and Joe! Thank God for blessing this sweet little baby with good health!

Our Baby is 15 month old!

2010-01-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

Our little peanut is now 15 months old. It is amazing how much she has grown up over the last 3 months. She went to the doctor recently and was 25 lbs and 32 1/2 inches tall with a head circumference of 47.3 cm. Not only has she grown up physically, she has developed a lot in how she communicates and expresses herself. Although she doesn't talk a lot yet, she is good at letting us know what she wants and what she is trying to tell us. Right now her vocabulary consists of: Dad, Mom, yeah, ball, duck, and her favorite word is bug - go figure! She likes to make animal noises and does her own version of sign language for more, please. We are really looking forward to her talking more but we know she will do that in her own time. It is just nice at this point that she understands what we are saying to her and can listen to what we ask of her. Obeying the word "no" I think will continue to be a process;) She is a little pistol with lots of energy and is always running around the house leaving a little tornado behind her:) Although she is a busy girl, she is very much still a little cuddle bug and likes to just sit on our laps to cuddle and to read books. She is very friendly to people she comes in contact with but at times she can get sheepish and shy away from people...she is going through a phase I think. Her favorite things currently are playing with her little kitchen and her fake food, playing in the snow and doing really anything outside, looking through her books and pointing out things in the book that she knows/likes....she is really into animals so she loves animal books and her favorite movie is Baby MacDonald:) She loves to play with other kids and we hope she continues to love to be social in the future. Although she can throw tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants, she is a sweetheart and a ton of fun - we are blessed! These are some random pictures from the last 3 months.

Putting on a pouty face:)

Haming it up!

Ella is absolutely insistant that she is independent with her food. She likes to use her fingers and loves adult silverware and does not want to have help - she wants to do it all herself. Just recently at restaurants she has started wanting to get her own cup full of ice and chewing on them and getting her own water with a straw. Meal time is definately messy but she is a great eater!

She now has 16 teeth so we have to work hard to keep those pearly whites clean...thankfully she loves brushing her teeth:)

Her favorite thing to do when we drive around has been to look at books. She would literally look at books for the entire drive and I have had it where she wants the light on by her seat at night so she can look at her books even when it is dark out. In the last week or so she has grown less interested in it, but my goodness, for a while there she was a fanatic about books in the car.

Her favorite attire, if I let her, for playing around the house:)

She is really into bows right now - she likes to play with them and put them in our hair but unfortunately doesn't like to really wear them herself, at least for any period of time. She will put on headbands but that is about it. Here is her playing beauty shop with her cousin Lily.

Sharing is something that she has had to learn especially since she spends time with her cousins each week. Although she can be a typical kid and want to play with whatever someone else is already playing with, she does a pretty good job with sharing her toys.

Here's just a cute pic of her after her aunt Daysha dressed her up while babysitting

Having a "ball" with Daddy!
As noted in previous blogs, Ella loves to sit in baskets. Here she is sitting in her book basket in her room - it doesn't matter how big the basket is, she thinks she can fit in them.

She really loves bathtime. She plays in the tub as long as she can stretch it out...even long after the water is all out.