Is it almost September already???

I can't believe we are heading into September already. Where did the summer go? We've had lots of fun with the kids this year. Gracie has gone from new baby to little girl. She is starting to sit up on her own and likes to roll all over the place. She loves her big brother. He is always making her laugh. It's hard to imagine that she'll be walking around next summer. Although, I have a suspicion that she still be my little snuggler. There's not much I love more than snuggling up with my Gracie girl before bedtime.

Joel is like a miniature comedian. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't have Curt and I laughing. His constant commentary on life never gets old. Whenever he spills something or gets into trouble, he says, "that otay, mommy. It's just a accident." The other day he asked me what mercy meant (we were singing a song in the car with the word mercy in it). After a long, complicated explanation that even confused me, I said that it was like when he deserved a spanking but got mercy instead.

Later, he wasn't being a very good listener. I said, "Joel, what happens when we don't listen to mommy?"

"A spankin'," he said.

"Well, then let's start being a better listener. You don't want a spanking, do you?"

"No. I want mercy."

What a little stinker. He really IS listening to what I say.

We had such a great week with my mom and dad in town. The marriage advance was awesome. It was so much fun to sit and watch them do what they do so well. It was also encouraging to recieve their wisdom of thirty plus years of marriage.

It's hard to believe that Curt & I are coming up on SEVEN years this September! Time flies. We have so much to be thankful for...especially our two little munchkins Joel & Grace. The kids and I were especially happy to have daddy home all week. He took a vacation week just to hang with the family. Both Curt & I were able to take a solo day for ourselves. It is always refreshing to have a little solitude, and it makes coming home to the fam all the more exciting. On my day away, Joel & Curt assembled our new crib (the old one was recalled). Now when I put Gracie down for naps, Joel comes in and reminds me, "I put that together with tools." He's very proud of that crib!

Here are some pics of Joel & Grace I took in the living room today.

Mr. Cheesy Grin...

My little man is getting so big...

Miss Grace Elizabeth

Check me out!

Nonie & Joel

(we took this one before Nonie & PopPop had to head back to Colorado)

Too Pooped to Play

I put Grace in her exersaucer this morning while I was getting some things done around the house. Then I realized that it was a little too quiet, so I went to check on her. This is what I found...


I love it! She was completely cashed out. I picked her up and brought her to bed and she didn't move a muscle! I guess she is just a little worn out from all the excitement of having my folks here! They came in on Sunday night and we were busy all day yesterday. Going out to breakfast...riding on the carousel at the mall...getting special treats from Nonie & Pop Pop. There is only so much a girl can take!
Here is my dad with Joel & Gracie-notice that my dad and Joel have matching Wrigley Field tshirts on...my dad is working hard teaching Joel that the Cubs are better than the Tigers! Daddy is NOT happy :)

Joel got a special surprise from Nonie & Pop Pop...a puppy! Well...before you get too excited, let me tell you that the puppy's name is "Fake-O." It's the most life-like toy I've ever seen. It even has a breathing motion where it's belly moves up and down!! Joel already slept with it last night and keeps talking about "when "Fake-O" wakes up, he is going to do something fun." I don't have the heart to tell him that Fake-O will never wake up. This is either going to be the best toy he's ever had OR the toy that he will talk about in therapy when he's thirty. At this point...the jury is out. Seriously...look at this thing!

Joel also has a new cheer that Pop Pop has been working hard on. It goes a little something like this...

You might also have noticed that Buddy has a new Cubs outfit. Joel especially likes that they have matching hats! We're having lots of fun around here and are looking forward to the Marriage Advance at the River this weekend! I love it when my parents are in town!

One last picture of the cousins...Alyssa, Joel & Grace. Joel LOVES Alyssa and is so excited every time they get together! I thought this was a great picture of the three of them.

The Living Room Photo Shoot...

Come on...how cute are they?!?!

Here are some fun ones I made on the computer. The second one is my new screen saver!

Joel Poops for Treats...

July has flown by for us. Here are a couple highlights:

We got to see cousin Alyssa at her dance concert after a week of Hannah Montana dance camp. Joel loves everything that Alyssa does, so he asks me every other day when we get to see Alyssa's concert again! Let me get a 'what what' on these smokin' moves (please feel free to leave comments on Alyssa's dancing blog debut)...

We've continued to wage the "Potty Wars" at our house. Some days feel like a huge success, other days...not so much. Joel has let us know that he hasn't totally bought into the "big boy underwear is cool" campaign. I'll ask him to go potty and he says, "No...in diaper." Alas, I've fallen into the bribery for bowel movement rut. He gets a pack of gummy treats for every time he goes pee and something extra special for #2. Today he got a care package from Nonie & Pop Pop Evans full of Batman gummy treats, tatoos, alphabet blocks, big boy Cars underwear, a whoopee cusion (yes...thanks dad!), and one of those spinning-globe-looking-things that light up when you push a button. Well...the "round thing" as he called it definitely got his attention. He wanted it right away. I told him that when he was ready to go poo on the potty, he could get the round thing. "I have to go now!" he said. Yeah right.

I took off his diaper and sent him on his way. I told him to call me when he was done. Two minutes later, he came out and said, "I'm done...I show you." Just to humor him, I went back to the bathroom to check things out. Yup...massive deuce in the big boy potty. "Round thing please, Mommy!"

So much for the "He just doesn't totally get it yet. He'll go when he's ready" theory. He'll go alright...it just comes down to how much he can get for it. I feel like I'm negotiating with Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie over first pics of the new twins!!! Here's my little prince showing off his new "round thing."

And my sweet Gracie is doing great. She is rolling all over the place and cooing & giggling. She's still my little cuddler. We've been working on sleeping at night, and she's doing great. I left her with Curt & Joel for her first over-nighter without me. I think it was harder for me, so I especially enjoyed the big hugs and smiles I got when I returned home! Grace was also excited to hear that Teddy & Holly will be adding to her social circle this winter...congrats to the Annen family!

Here's one more video of the J-man playing in our front yard!

I hope you are all having wonderful summers!!

Nonie & Pop Pop Come to Town...

Nonie & Pop Pop were in town this week for a visit. The whole fam went back to Elk Grove for the Fourth of July. We saw some great fireworks, went to a parade and had fun visiting with Uncle Jay, Aunt Diane, Shannon, Matt & GiGi. Joel loved the fireworks...but was too tired to make it all the way through to the end. He fell asleep in my lap to the hypnotizing sound of M-80's cracking in the sky...Unbelievable!

Gracie was mesmorized by the lights and didn't mind the sound at all. She was a trooper and made it through to the end. It was so fun to have TWO kids with us this year. The parade in the morning was a huge hit. We are used to the smaller parades up here in Kalamazoo, so Joel was loving it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that his bag of candy weighed at LEAST five pounds. It helped that he had cousin Shannon with him to teach him how to get the goodies (and we chose a prime location with little competition for tootsie rolls and peppermints!).

Curt, Grace & I headed back a little early and Joel got some one-on-one time with Nonie & Pop Pop. I thought he would be sobbing...but he barely mentioned us! I was glad to have a little solo time with Grace. She doesn't always get all the attention. Once it was just the two of us, she decided that she wanted to show off and start rolling around like crazy. Front to back, back to front, scooting across her mat...she does it all now. What an all-star!

As a side note, while my parents were in Chicago with Joel, they were driving around one of our Jeeps and heard a funny sound. They happened to be at my Uncle Bill & Aunt Dawn's house visiting (my uncle is a car GURU!). They had my Uncle Bill to take a look at the car. He showed my dad the rear wheel where all four lugnuts were ONE TURN away from coming off!! (We JUST picked up the jeep before heading out of town because the rear brakes were getting done. It looks like one of the tires didn't have the bolts completely tightened!) This was after we had been driving the car from Michigan to Chicago...all over town...in and out of the city...going 70 miles an hour! The tire was literally minutes from coming completely off. If my parents had gotten back on the highway, the car could have easily flipped! I'm so thankful that the Lord protected my parents and Joel from a bad accident! Thank you Lord!

Back in Michigan, we had a great time visiting with Nonie & Pop Pop. Joel and Grace got lots of love and Curt and I were able to get a night out for golf and dinner. It was great. It was sad to see them leave this morning, but we are excited that they will be back in August for a Marriage Advance at our church.
While Nonie & Pop Pop were here, Joel & I made some cupcakes as a special treat. THIS is why we don't make cupcakes more often...

While I was making dinner and returning a phone call...my little man got his step stool and helped himself to a little pre-dinner snack! Times THREE! The good news is, he was going for five cupcakes, so I did make it in time to stop him from getting the last two!

We hope that everyone had a spectacular Fourth of July!

Grace Dedication and Joel Creation

This afternoon, Joel walked into my bedroom with a picture of a smiley face on his doodle board. I asked him if Daddy helped him draw a smiley face, and he told me that he did it by himself. I didn't believe him because so far, he has only drawn lines and scribbles. So, we went out to the kitchen where he proceeded to draw ANOTHER smiley face on my dry erase board. So...I'm so proud of him! He's only two years (and three months) old.

Not to be outdone...Gracie decided that she wanted to roll over from her back to her tummy today. Way to go, Grace!!

Grace was dedicated on July 22 at our church, The River. Dad & Pam were there along with Chris, Kara, Alyssa and our friends. This is a picture of Pastor Rob introducing Miss Grace Elizabeth to our church family. I know I'm biased, but I thought she was the cutest baby in the place! And yes...she is sucking her thumb. Joel was never a thumb-sucker, so I think it's adorable.

She's a Supermodel...

Here is Miss Grace showing off some of her new summer fashions! A sweet dress from our friends at Rambling Road Pediatrics..

and a pretty new pair of overalls from Grandma DeBoer.

Pam, Joel, Grace, Megan, Carter & I spent the afternoon at the Michigan City outlets and had a GREAT time! It's a dangerous place to shop!! Lots of good deals on kids clothes!

Daddy and Gracie...

Grace loves to snuggle with her daddy! She is really starting to smile a lot now which has been so much fun. The other day, she rolled from her tummy to her back. I think it was by accident since she hasn't repeated the feat since, but we'll take the mini milestones when we can get them!

She is definitely getting sick of letting big brother get all the attention. She will let me know if I've let her sit in the swing too long or if I'm not paying enough attention to her. I'll start hearing little grunts and squeaks which will quickly turn into wails if ignored! However, the moment I come to get her, she is all smiles and coos again. She's a real mommy's girl...and I LOVE it!

Joel came up to me yesterday and told me, "I have the best daddy in the whole world!" How's that for a self-esteem booster. I had him repeat it into my camera phone so I could send it to Curt and brighten his day. It seems like the sun rises and sets on Joel's daddy these days. He is always asking when dad is going to be home and reminding me that when dad DOES get home, they are going to play golf and ping pong. I told Curt to cherish these days. In no time at all...we're going to be the ones waiting for Joel to get home, and he won't be nearly as excited to see us.

Also...we got a new double jogging stroller this week. Joel was very excited that he got to pick his own seat, and he thinks it's lots of fun to sit next to Gracie (although I have to watch his elbows a little bit as he tries to stretch out onto "her side." I can already invision their little voices next summer..."mom...he's on MY side!" and "Don't touch me!") Doesn't Grace look SO big in the stroller?!?! I can't believe how fast she's growing.

Getting so big...

Grace is getting bigger and bigger every day. We love her so much! Thanks to the Farroh family for her cute monogram onesie!

Here's a new clip of the J-Man. He's been so entertaining as he gets more and more words!

Where's Your Wenis?

There is this amazing thing about two-year-olds where they can be so frustrating and yet so loving and kind...they can bring out the worst in you over the last three...okay two...okay ONE bite of dinner and then they can make you laugh so hard that it makes it all worth it.

Today, I was getting ready to jump in the shower when Joel came barging in the bathroom. Normally, I have the door closed so he can't get in, but today Gracie was in her crib almost asleep and I wanted to be able to hear her if she started crying. Anyway...Joel came into the bathroom and saw me in my birthday suit.

"Mom! Where's your wenis?"

I explained to him that mom is a girl and girls don't have wenises (is that the correct plural form of wenis?!?).

"Oh...just buns huh?"

Yeah...just buns. After I told him to go back out to the living room while mom took a shower he came running back to make a quick clarification.

"Mom, I have wenis?"

"Yes, Joel, you have a wenis. I do not."

"Otay, mom."