A night away...

Jim and I headed to Traverse City for a night last weekend while my mom stayed with the boys. We had a great time and it was nice to have that time together. We went wine tasting and went to a couple breweries and stayed in a hotel that was right downtown. The next morning we ate breakfast and headed home. It was short but sweet visit to a town that we never really had the chance to check out before. The boys had a great time with grandma! Thanks again mom! A few of one of the wineries that we visited....beautiful!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy fathers day to our wonderful dad's and to Jim, the best dad imaginable for our boys! We love you!

Hooray Caleb! He is now an official walker!!

(You will have to excuse the crying in the background. We had another boy in timeout.)

Strawberry picking

Our playgroup went strawberry picking and the boys had a great time! They preferred to eat them as they picked them, or we would have had a lot more!

These boots were made for walking....

Ethan loves to wear our shoes....

Congratulations Ethan!!

Ethan is officially potty trained!! We are so proud of him and the hard work it took. He is dry during naps now and wakes up dry most mornings. Our boy is growing up....way to go Ethan, we are so proud of you!

Memorial Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend! This was Jim's one holiday off this year and we took full advantage of it! We went to the zoo on Saturday with the Jackson Family and the kids had a blast! Ethan loved riding the train up to the Wild Africa exhibit and feeding the giraffes. They were both fast asleep by the time we got on the highway to go home. We just hung out the rest of the weekend - working outside with it being so nice out. We went to a parade in downtown Kalamazoo where Ethan snagged TONS of candy and the boys enjoyed checking out the animals and "big trucks with lights." Even though it rained all day on Monday, we had a nice three day weekend which we never take for granted around here!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Sporting Boeing!

My sister works for Boeing in California and bought each of us something for Christmas last year from the Boeing store. Well, we went out for dinner the other night and as Jim was walking into the restaurant he noticed that Caleb was wearing his Boeing outfit, then we realized that Jim was too, and then we looked over at Ethan and he was too! Not even planned, each of the boys were sporting their Boeing gear that Kelly bought them. Here is the picture to prove it. Thought you might get a kick out of this Kel!!:)

Splish splash I was taking a bath....

Summer Time!

FINALLY there was some worthy weather here in Kalamazoo and we took full advantage of it the other day. We packed a lunch and headed to the park where we spent the majority of our day. We had a great time and the boys both took very long naps that afternoon after getting rid of all that energy they have!

Yearly check-up stats

I took both boys to the doctor yesterday for their yearly check-ups. I have kids who HATE the doctor and scream bloody murder if they come anywhere near them, so I was not looking forward to this trip. Ethan surprised me and was a champ! He let the doctor check him out without shedding a tear, except for when the nurse poked him, that did not go so well, but for the most part, he did great and I was so proud of him! Here are his stats:

Height: 3 ft 4.25 in (97th percentile)

Weight: 36.5 pounds (97th percentile)

Caleb on the other hand screamed the entire time! In fact the doctor could not finish the examination because he was fighting it so much! You can probably guess how the shots went - it took three of us to pin him down! At least I know that Ethan was just like this and he grew out of it, so I am crossing my fingers that Caleb does too! Here are his stats:

Height : 2 ft 9 in (97th percentile)

Weight: 23 pounds (49 percentile)

Head circumference: 49.5 cm (97th percentile)

They are both growing well!

A "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" Party!

The boys had a joint birthday party on Saturday (a plus when you have their birthdays 5 days apart) and had a great time! Thanks to all the family who came out to help celebrate! Caleb had fun opening up this gift and standing on it too! Caleb loved playing with the paper most of the time! Mom and dad got Ethan a shiny red bike for his birthday! It was Aunt Keri's birthday too!

Grandpa Jastifer made the coolest pedal plane for Ethan with his bare hands- it was awesome!

Caleb was so careful when he ate his cupcake:)

The Boys

For some reason I can't seem to get a picture of the boys together! Ethan would rather take pictures than be in them and Caleb will not sit still for pictures, so here are a few that I have smiling or not!

Believe it or not, these are seriously the only pictures I have of the boys at this age right now - pathetic, I know!

A "new" haircut

Jim has been wanting to buzz Ethan's hair like his for awhile now, but I am hesitant. Well the other night Ethan wanted to help buzz Jim's hair. Ethan thought it would be fun to buzz his too - it happened so fast, there was no stopping it. So, Jim got his wish!Here is the new look!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY ETHAN!

We now have a three year old in the house!! We are so proud of our little guy and the boy he is becoming. We have had such a blast raising him and love having him as part of our family. He has brought so much joy and happiness and we know that this is just the beginning. We have many things to look forward to and several memories to make. Here are a few of the things that I want to remember about Ethan at this age: Ethan then.... Ethan now!

1. He wakes up at 6-6:30am almost every morning!

2. He loves to watch My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

3. He loves playing with water - Jim and I say that he is addicted to it.

4. He will eat ketchup on just about anything.

5. He loves when mommy puts him to bed.

6. He LOVES wrestling with his daddy.

7. He has a love/hate relationship with his brother just like any sibling would (mostly love!)

8. He adores his grandparents.

9. His favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus."

10. He loves putting froth on my cappachino every morning.

11. He loves when people drink pop - he always tries to snag a sip :)

12. He gives kisses and says "I love you" all the time.

13. He loves to vacuum and take pictures.

14. His favorite saying is, "Ethan do it all by himself."

15. His favorite foods are cottage cheese, yogurt, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, peaches, pears, strawberries, and PB & J sandwiches.

16. He likes talking on the phone.

17. He is very proud of himself when he toots.

18. He loves blowing bubbles.

19. He loves going to church and singing.

20. He is a great napper (still 2-3 hours everyday!)

We love you Ethan - happy birthday buddy!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY CALEB!

Our sweet Caleb turns one today! He has been such a joy and a great addition to the family. We are lucky to have him in our lives. He is really starting to develop a personality and is cruising all over the place - I see walking in the near future! Here are some things that I want to remember about Caleb: May 2009

May 2010

1. He loves his big brother "Ba-Ba" and wants to do everything that he does.

2. He loves to be tickled.

3. His favorite toy is anything that he can grab and throw!

4. He is very sensitive.

5. He HATES diaper changes!

6. He loves to play with water.

7. He loves to clap and say "yay"

8. His favorite word is "uh-oh".

9. He has the biggest smiles for his daddy!

10. He kicks his legs when he gets really excited!

11. His favorite foods include cheese, strawberries, saltine crackers, popsicles, pretzels,yogurt, and apples.

12. He has to have his pacifier and blanket when he goes to sleep.

13. He loves to eat dirt and sand.

14. He likes when people read books to him.

15. He likes when mommy sings to him. (usually Twinkle- Twinkle Little Star and Amazing Grace).

16. He looks like a vampire with his two pointer teeth and no front teeth yet.

17. Is does not like to cuddle except for right after he wakes up.

18. He laughs the hardest when his brother cries in time-out.

19. He does not like strangers at all!

20. He loves to catch bubbles!

We are very proud of little guy and we love him very much - happy birthday Caleb!!!