Pumpkins at Post Family Farm

On Saturday we went to Post Family Farm with Betsy, Jake and Lily. We wanted the girls to experience the joys of fall with going out to pick some pumpkins together. The farm was really cool with tons of things to do for kids but we stuck to the things that our girls could enjoy like watching the animals, eating warm pumpkin donuts & cider, and going out on a hayride to pick pumpkins. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our autumn morning together.

Here is Jake, Betsy, Lily, Brad, and Ella looking at the goats - it was crazy to see the goats up this high - they would climb these planks to get to the top and then wait for people to give them treats on a pulley system - it was super cool!Ella was not afraid of the goats at all - she liked to pet them and get up really close. Despite the odd expression, she really was having a lot of fun:)
Uncle Jake, Lily, Aunt Betsy & Ella on the hayride - loving all the quality time with them:)

The Koning/Wiersema clan Ella helping Mommy & Daddy pick out just the right pumpkins...
and that meant getting up close and personal to make sure we got the right ones:)
What a gorgeous family!Our little fam What cute cousins!

Weekend Update...

Friday night we had the third and final Birthday party for Ella. We had the Koning family over for pizza & cupcakes. She enjoyed the pizza, presents, cupcake/ice cream and generally being the center of attention. She got a animal puzzle from Betsy & Jake, a "mini Macie" dog from Great Grandpa Koning, an outfit and train from Great Grandpa/ma Essenburg, a dog book from Kylee, and a farm book and car garage from Grandpa and Grandma Koning. It was a fun evening and although 3 parties total seemed excessive earlier on, it was a lot of fun celebrating this milestone over and again.

On Saturday we got to babysit our nephew, Kolter, for a couple of hours. It was so nice having some good quality time with just him. He was such a sweetheart and played so good with Ella!

He brought along his own guitar to jam with Uncle Brad;)

This toy shoots air out when you push a button and they thought it was hilarious to stand above it and put their face right into the air...they were cracking each other up.

They spent about 20 minutes just watching Brad mow the lawn

You just can't deny how much they look alike in the picture (at least from behind)

I just thought this picture was cute of them having a snack together.

At night we went to homecoming at Calvin College with the Geurinks and Lucas' and attempted to go to the dinner they were having at night. In my mind this was our "5 year reunion" but when we arrived, this was not quite the case. There were people there but not that many and to top it off they said that they were at capacity and so we couldn't even eat there (we hadn't registered b/c the week before we saw that only 3 other people had signed up and thought it would be no big deal if we just showed up:). Basically, I think we were the only couples that represented our class there:) So, our evening didn't really turn out as expected, but we got to see the new fieldhouse and walk a bit on the campus and had dinner together in GR. Although we didn't do much of reuniting with our class of 2004, we did enjoy each other's company like always!

Home FOR SALE!

That's right - we are hoping to move! Our home is officially on the market. If you know anyone who might be interested please let them know. They can contact our agent Jim Thrower by e-mail at jet@visserrealestate.com for more information. Below are just a few key items - the home is in EXCELLENT condition and move-in ready! If you have any other questions Jim can answer them, or if you know us you can just ask :)

4 bedrooms
2 full baths
open concept
walkout, finished lower level
2-1/2 stall garage, very spacious
central air
underground sprinkling

Asking $154,900

Happy 1st Birthday Ella!

It is hard to believe that we have had Ella in our lives for 1 whole year! We celebrated Ella's 1st birthday on October 3. This past year has gone so fast yet I can barely remember my life without her. I have learned so much this year about myself and what it means to be a mom and I finally know what it means to find true fulfillment. Ella brings so much light and laughter into our lives and I am incredibly blessed to have her as my daughter.

She has spent the past month perfecting her walking, be adventurous outdoors, collecting stuffed animals & dolls & toys & books & movies and trying to carry them all over the house wherever she goes, jabbering but pretty much sticking to "mama""dada""yes", clapping her hands whenever she likes something, eating everything in sight, pointing at everything with wonder, paging through books, constantly wanting to watch her Praise baby movie:), enjoying playing with her cousins and other kids, and most importantly still loving to cuddle with her Mom and Dad. She is growing up so fast right in front of our eyes, we're just trying to hold on to all the little moments. Here are some pictures from the last month...Ella just being Ella

Cruising around the house with all the remotes she can get ahold of Doing her motorboat noises while carring around her toys...something I hear and see daily:)

Ella likes to share her toys, always trying to give away what she has...ususally followed by her wanting it back but at least she is getting some of it right:)Play hard, sleep hardWhenever she likes something or music starts to play, she claps her handsThe whole Rotman gang at our annual summer birthday get-together at the park... and Ella with her cousins and second cousin - Carley, Kolter, Reed, Ella, Kennedy, Andrew & Kooper - she loves to play with them!I find Ella all over the house with our books just literally flipping through the pages for long periods of time"Mommy, can we please watch "Praise baby" again?" Who knew at 1 year old that I would have to put restrictions on TV watching:)

Up the street there is a family that owns a couple of donkeys and when we go for a walk we like to check and see if the donkeys are by the road so we can see them up close. This particular day we were fortunate and got to pet them ... Ella thought they were so cool - she kept pointing and jabbering and wanted to get out of her stroller to pet them. It was so cute, at one point she walked back to her stroller, grabbed a stuffed animal, walked up to the donkey and tried to hand them the lamby- it cracked me up.

Yea! Finally get to face forward in the car!
Ella loves to look out the side window as I mentioned before and lately when the neighbor kids are outside she bangs on the window and "talks" to them while they run around & dance & yell to her - I just thought this picture was so cute of them and their little friendship...they don't speak English and I love that they have their own little way of communicating.
Her birthday was a busy one and she couldn't even make it through lunch to take a nap:)

Saturday night we celebrated Ella's birthday with my family at my parents house...
Ella - Grandpa's girl
She was just as thrilled with the wrapping as she was with her presents
Ella got a grocery cart & food & doll from my parents which she loved!
Ella and Reed enjoying the box
Ella with Grandpa and Grandma Rotman
The party was a cupcake theme and I thought she sported her cupcakes quite well:)
It was hilarious b/c she was super mild and subdued while we sang Happy Birthday to her and watched her eat her cupcake. She just looked around and slowly ate it without making much of a mess with her head resting on her hand like it was no big deal. Apparently she isn't as much of a party girl as I thought:)
Our family cheering her on
Jill, Ella & Brad
The kids in their jammies - Reed, Ella, Kennedy, Kolter, Carley, & Kooper - could they be any cuter?

Ella enjoying her birthday presents by spreading them all over the house:) Thanks everyone for the fun gifts of the teapot set, dolls, dress & grocery items - Ella loves them all - and thank you for making her day so special!