Tulip Time

We had a fun time at Tulip Time in Holland this year going to Art in the Park, watching Dutch Dancing, walking down 8th street and going to the Street Scrubbing parade! I could not resist getting Ella a Dutch costume so basically the highlight for me was dressing her up and taking pictures of her:) Here are some pics of our time at Tulip time!
Grandpa Koning with Ella in Art in the ParkElla chillin' at Art in the Park

Our little Dutch girl
Ella, Alden Lucas, Layla Geurink

Layla and Ella

Ella and her little baby cousin LilyI couldn't resist putting this picture of Lily in here - isn't she just beautiful?The cousins - Kennedy, Ella, Kooper & KolterJill, Brad & Ella
Although this is not my favorite picture, I think it is crazy how much she looks like me in it...usually everyone thinks she looks like Brad.

Our little ham:)

Ella with Great Grandpa Essenburg & with Grandma Koning and Great Grandma Essenburg at the Street Scrubbing parade.

Seven Months!

Silly Faces. Sweet Potatoes. Sippy Cups. Seats. Sunhats.... These are just a few words to describe what is new with Ella now that she is 7 months old. You can usually find her with her fingers jammed in her mouth chewing on them as she is working on cutting her 3rd tooth or you will see her with her mouth "stuck" open for like a minute or two at a time which is hilarious to watch (see below) She is trying her best to crawl now but can't make it past the rocking stage and is constantly doing face-plants. This past week I attempted to be Suzy Homemaker and made some of my own baby food and she tried out the sweet potatoes - as you can see from the picture, she is less than thrilled:) We have also been giving her a sippy cup with water which she absolutely loves - whether it be to drink out of or just chew on it like crazy:) Due to her long length we finally bit the bullet and started her in the next size of carseat. It is so huge it is comical but hopefully it will last us a long time! Ella seems to absolutely love to be outside so as long as it is nice out we venture out for a bit to catch some rays (thanks Julie In't Hout for the adorable sunhat!) Ella can sometimes be a handful but also so sweet and we feel so blessed to have had her in our lives over the past 7 months!

A Party Hardy Weekend!

This past weekend consisted of parties, parties, parties! Friday night started with our friends Darrell & Lindsey's sons 1st birthday party. See below pics of Darrell, Brad, Jonathan, & Ella playing on the great playground set that Darrell built for him, Jonathan devouring the cute baseball cupcake Lindsey made, and all the kiddos at the Birthday party (Kalie, Mason, Jonathan, Layla & Ella.)

Saturday morning we took a short roadtrip to see my friend Shawna to be apart of her baby shower. She is due in June and looking beautiful - we can't wait to meet little Max!!! Ella managed to basically cry and scream most of the shower (major teething going on) but there were moments when she showed Shawna her sweeter side:)

Saturday night I had the pleasure of going to my little cousins bachelorette party. It was so much fun to see how excited and happy Sara is and we cannot wait to be apart of their wedding day this coming weekend!

Family Fun

Here is some random happenings in our little family over the last week....


"Look Mommy, I'm trying to crawl!"


Ella first experience with touching grass - needless to say - not a pleasant one:)

Ella is such a goofball when she sleeps - this is how Auntie Daysha found her during her naps when she babysat last Friday - how Ella can sleep and still hold her feet up is beyond me:)

We had family night in my parents back yard last Friday - a bonfire - it was tons of fun!

Last Saturday Ella tried out the whole grass thing again and seemed more intrigued

Miss big eyes:)

Always making mommy (and herself) laugh!

Looking like the Nutty Professor after a nap:)

Brad and I went to a Steven Curtis Chapman/Michael W. Smith concert at Central Wesleyan this past Tuesday. They were amazing - it was fun hearing all those songs from way back when I was little that I loved and the ones they are famous for now (aka Friends, Go West Young Man, Place in this World, Cinderella...)

Ella's most recent favorite thing to do is to go outside on our deck and watch the cars go by. She laughs and says ooohhh and gets so excited - a cheap thrill:) Sorry there is so many pics of her but I just thought her reaction was hilarious and she just looks so funny with her sunglasses...boy are those coming in handy!

Easter Sunday

This is belated, but we had a very nice Easter celebrating with my family at my Mom and Dad's house. We missed my brother Ross and his family as well as the Konings (his parents are visiting Brad's sister Kylee in Australia), but we had some awesome food and fellowship! Here are some cute pics of Ella with her cousins and with us on her first Easter. We are so grateful to God for sending his son to die on the cross and be raised again so that we can be alive and free in Him!

6 month Stats

Keepin' it brief ~ Last Friday Ella had her 6 month check up and these are the current stats:

18lbs 14oz (92 percentile)
28 inches (off the charts:)

She got a clean bill of health despite having a cold so all in all a great check up!

Best Buddies, Bikes, Burley's, Babies & Birthdays!!!

Phew - what a busy weekend we had! Friday began with the realization that our little girl is already 6 months old! I can hardly believe that she is really that old - she is growing up so quickly! She is just a little bundle of energy - wanting to grab and munch on everything...open mouth, insert anything possible. She is in love with eating and her favorite part of the day is when she gets rice cereal. She also has mastered the roll and sitting up on her own and is gaining more interest in being on her stomach for longer periods of time but her favorite is being held in the standing position - she just screeches like mad. She has become quite the Daddy's girl which is so awesome to see; she loves to be tickled and play ball with Daddy. Her latest thing is being somewhat fussy when she is held by others she doesn't see all the time but absolutely loves them when we hold her in front of them - a little separation anxiety perhaps??? We don't know what that is about but at least she loves other people - just maybe from afar right now:) Next week will be her 6 month check up so I am totally excited to find out how big she has gotten since her last appointment - it was so long ago that I am sure she has changed a ton. I will do an update on that next week.

Friday afternoon we had a playdate with the Jamie and Alden Lucas and Meredith and Layla Geurink. I had a great time chillin' with my friends and Ella had a nice time letting the kids steal her toys right from underneath her:) It stinks to be the friend who is the least mobile:) All in all, Layla was a wonderful little hostess and Alden was a perfect gentlemen!

Saturday morning we decided to test out our new bikes and burley by going with the Lucas' to Grand Haven. We had lunch downtown and then took a ride through downtown, a park, by the beach, and along the boardwalk. It was freezing along the lakeshore but it was a beautiful ride. The kids slept great tucked away in the burleys and we got a lot of needed exercise!

We are pleased to announce that we are now a proud aunt and uncle to a beautiful little girl, Lily Elizabeth Wiersema! Brad's sister, Betsy, gave birth Friday night to her- Lily weighed in at 6lbs 12oz 19in. She is absolutely gorgeous - just the tiniest, most beautiful thing. We are so happy for you Bets and Jake! Ella and Lily are exactly 6 months apart! Also, Brad's cousin and his wife welcomed a beautiful baby boy the same day - Jackson Andrew. A few weeks back, his other cousin had a little boy named Beck Cameron- boy, us Konings are really having a baby boom!

Saturday we rounded the night off going to my niece and nephew's Birthday party. Kennedy turned 4 and Kolter will turn 1 next week. The family party was a mix of fun and chaos like always but it was a blast watching the video of Kennedy's life that Daysha put together (check it out on Bryan and Daysha's blog) and it was so cute to see Kolter dive into his first birthday cake:)

It was an eventful and wonderful weekend!