Whole Lotta Gigglin

Our kids have been doing a whole lotta' gigglin lately. Nothing better than summer time gigglin right? Squirt is diggin' her pool time, as is Duder. His lessons at the gym pool are proving to be worthwhile - he's swimming and floating on his own and is SUPER proud of himself for these accomplishments. As we leave each Friday he tells everyone he sees, "Scuse me. I did a VERY good job at my swim lesson today." I'm proud of our little dude making swimming strides. Squirt splashes around and doesn't seem to mind constant water in her face, which is encouraging. She doesn't mind the grass thus far either, which is a far cry from her grass hating brother. He was cool on a blanket, but those pokey blades did not jive with him. As of today, Squirt has learned she can get around by rolling both ways. She had only mastered the back to tummy before today's discovery.

Now comes the true giggle fest.  Tim and I took Duder to see Cars 2 yesterday afternoon after work.  We got a babysitter for Squirt and had a special date night with our little man.  He was mister chatter all the way there, skipped into the "teetre" and found his "moving seat" gladly (right in between Mom and Dad).  He giggled, his very best giggle...more like a belly laugh....the entire 2 hours.  Did he understand the plot?  Absolutely not, but he thought the antics of the cars were hysterical and the special effects..."Wow!  Dat was SUPER cool."  If it wasn't a kids movie we would have hushed him, but it was.  And so we allowed him to laugh as hard as he wanted to.  I got an immense amount of joy out of watching him lovin' life.  The movie was pretty darn cute too. 

Today we played some softball at the park with the Syers and we're heading to the pool later with "Just Jack!"  Gotta love summer.  And gigglin'.     

Dadios

Could I love 3 faces more?  I think not.  When I married Tim I knew he'd be a great dad.  No question.  What I didn't know is that he'd be the bestest, most patient, loving, hands on dad on the planet.  And that's a lot of dads to compete with.  We had a lovely dad's day.  Picnicked at the park with some friends, took naps (all 4 of us - when does THAT happen?) and ended the day at the pool with the Jansen/Syers clan.  A good day with good food.  A good day to celebrate how blessed we are to have Tim as our hubbie and dad and also how blessed we are to have my dad and Tim's dad in our lives.  That's a whole lotta love.  And we're grateful for it.  Happy Father's Day Dads! 

Squirt's face is about equal with Dude's 4 year old mug.  That's the difference between a 10% baby and a 90% baby.

 

Our little friend, Hadley, bummed around the park while the adults attempted a good ole' fashion game of wiffle ball. 

The reason for posting this picture?  If Dude is wearing a shirt that buttons all the way down, this is  inevitable.  Every time.  Even at church. 

 

Ready of not, if you're Dude's size or smaller, you will be kissed. 

I hit a mean wiffle ball. 

 

Dude made Dad a tie dye shirt for Dad's Day at day care.  Doesn't he look smashing in it? Actually, when Dude woke up at 2:00am with dinosaurs in his room, he was quite alarmed to find that Dad had taken his special shirt off. 

What's Up with Squirt?

       

Dude may be into enormous ATVs these days. But Squirt? Her father hasn't introduced her to such things. Yet. She just likes to smile. And jump. And model items from her ridiculous closet of high toddler fashion. We need to start showcasing her in all of her outfits, as many of them will only be worn once I'm sure. Thanks to our buds Caroline and Chloe for making her into the fashionista she already is.


Her latest? She now sports 2 teeth. Much to our surprise. Her appetite hadn't been great and her smile was a little harder to come by for a few days, but no fever or vomiting or runny nose like her big brother displayed. It made me a little weepy if I'm gonna be honest. My little babe can't be cutting teeth yet. Dude didn't hit that milestone until he was 9 months. I know, 2 different children. Can't compare. But I do.  I don't think we're adding any more to our Mile High fam, so I would like for her to grow up a LOT slower than her big brother did. Is there a magic pill for that?

This skirt may be a tad big yet.  Next summer love.

 

Introducing Squirt's version of "tummy time." 

Her head does lift, in-between the resting periods.  She no longer screams bloody murder, so that's forward progress!

This is our new, very favorite little device.  See below for evidence of why.

 

We're Now a 4 Car Family

Anyone who knows us knows that my husband is enamoured with anything that has an engine (provided it's foreign made).  He very carefully chooses the cars that are to be added to our family, he washes them, changes their oil and brakes, tracks their mileage and gas usage etc etc.  Our vehicles are members of our family.  As annoying as this may sound, it's really quite endearing and a trait that I love about my handsome and resourceful husband.

That said, we've now entered a new realm of "carness" over here.  Our friend Matt has a garage full of mini cars for his 5 year old.  He tells Tim of this collection and for months, my car fanatic has been researching the perfect mini car for our little dude.  We started with a kinda bright red Ferrari.  Dude rode in style for a couple weeks, but the speed and size were not quite what Tim had in mind for his little racer.  And so yesterday came the ATV.  The ginormous, yellow, attention grabbing, spectacle of a "mini" car now resides in our back yard (as it's too large for our garage).  I qualify this vehicle as a 4th car and while I was slightly embarrassed at its presence, it brought enormous amounts of joy to both my husband and son in the short 4 hours it has graced our home.  And so I welcome this vehicle to our family.  Tim - no more searching.  We have found "the one" and no further research (or purchases) are necessary.  Please.

Documenting Squirt

We need to do a better job documenting our #2's babyhood and so here ya go.  7 minutes of giggling, smiling, spitting, eating and some Dude thrown in there too.  We do quite enjoy our life with these two little people. 

5 Months & a Little Red Dress

  

We've hit the 5 month mark friends! I know this photo isn't on her typical pillow backdrop, but we're deviating for this month. What do I adore about my baby girl?

...She is constantly smiling and giggling, her back of the throat giggle. She loves nothing more than watching her brother goof off in circles around her. She's sleeping 7:30-6:30 most nights, taking 2 hour naps and devouring rice cereal (as of 2 days ago). She spits (literally) when she's mad. She sat up for 4 minutes the other day (maybe a fluke, but we're getting there). We're greeted each and every morning by a gigantic smile and kicking legs. Her reddish, brownish, blondish hair will NOT lay flat. She eats her feet at every given opportunity. She cranes her neck to find my voice and smiles while she's craning. She worships her daddy and laughs the most at his loving face. She does this violent arm thrust that usually ends up causing pain to her poor face. Her favorite place to be is in the bjorn, on her mom.  Tim's nose is her most savored treat (when she can get her hands on it).  Her cheeks.  Oh how I love her cheeks.  She buries those cheeks in the carpet and screams when we attempt to give her tummy time.     


I could go on, but I have other tasks for the day.  Our "Aunt" Megan gave Squirt this dress with matching shoes before she even entered this world and I've been WAITING to get her in it. Sunday was the day. Come on. You can't top a chubby little girl in a cherry dress and a smile on her precious, cheek dominated face. I can't get enough of my little lamb. Happy 5 months baby girl. 

I've resigned to the fact that one smiling is just going to have to make for a satisfactory photo. 

The WEDDING

It's amazing how we anticipate these big life events and with the blink of an eye, they pass by and leave us with memories galore.  That's how I'm feeling about my bro's wedding.  We shopped, anticipated, packed, traveled across the country, partied, dolled up, celebrated and now I'm blogging to tell about it. 

The festivities kicked off Friday with Becky's bachelorette night in Grand Rapids.  It was a perfect opportunity to meet the other bridesmaids and spend some QT with Becky before the craziness of the wedding.  We chowed on tapas and sangria and ended the night at a swanky bar close by. 

 

Saturday evening, all those involved in D-Day met at the church for a run down on the day of.  Following, we gathered at a local park for a pig roast of sorts.  Food was delish (thanks Mom and Becky's fam for going the extra mile in making that happen) and the kids got to play at the park.  Perfect. 

Sunday morning my Mama, Kira and I met to have our hair done at the one salon we could find that would take us on a Sunday.  This is GR we're talking about. It was a warm, sunny morning to start, which put smiles on every one's faces after a bunch of cloudy gloom preceding. 

The wedding party people got their fancy on at the church, including my little Dude and nephew Dylan.  2 little dudes all handsomed up?  Couldn't get enough of them.  Thank heavens for the toy filled nursery, which kept them occupied during all the down time.  We didn't get any ceremony shots since I was kinda standing up front and Tim was wrangling the two boys.  THANK YOU to my rock star husband for taking on the duty of babysitter for the day.  It allowed us to enjoy the day that much more. 

A few pictures, dedicated to the boys and their cuteness.....

Some day they'll hate us for this.  Until then, we'll enjoy their willingness to kiss each other.

The ceremony went smoothly and was a beautiful testament to Becky and Kyle's love for each other.  My favorite moment of the day was watching Kyle's baby blues well up the second he saw his lovely bride enter the church.  He's an emotional cat - love that about him - and this day pulled on his heart strings for sure.  They both made it through the service like champs.  Following the service the party hopped in a snazzy bus for photos and a leisurely drive to the reception.  By this time the rain (and tornado warnings) had come out in full force, but Becky handled it like a champ.  We were gifted with umbrellas, which will make for some fun photos to come.        

The reception....the photo below sums up Tim and my highlight of the night.  My dude.  The dancing KING.  He would not exit the dance floor.  Not for a computer game, not for chocolate, probably not even for a Disney parage.  This kid has moves friends.  And rhythm.  We did not stop smiling and laughing at his energy and spunk.  Dylan got his groove on too - watching the two boys dancing together will be a memory that won't quickly fade.   

Our Gigi made it to the dance floor too!  Way to be Gigi.  We love you!

My other Grandma and Grandpa were there too, along with four out of five of my mom's siblings and a big group of cousins. 

 

Aunt Kira was dragged into dancing with Duder - over and over and over.

It was a great day.  A great weekend.  We're SO happy for Kyle and Becky.  She's a fabulous addition to our family.  Thanks for including us in the celebration guys.  We're glad we could be there to celebrate you.  

Cousins n Stuff

Here's a little wedding picture teaser....aren't they precious?  I'll do a post dedicated to the wedding soon, but there are a TON of irresistibly lovable pics of cousins and family surrounding the wedding that need attention.  I apologize for the mass amount of kid snapshots- these little people (and bigger people) live deep in my heart, so they get prime blogging space.

We arrived in Chicago last week Wednesday afternoon in the midst of severe weather (thank you Mr. Tornado for staying away while we were mid flight).  An hour delay was manageable and the kiddos made it in one, happy piece.  My nephews, Dylan & Hudson, were waiting for us with Aunt Kira at Nana and Papa's house and D stayed with us until Friday.  THAT was a treat.  The boys ate up their time together.  As did their Nana and Papa, might I add.  On Thursday Tim and I brought Squirt downtown to meet Uncle Nick, Aunt Caylei and cousin Chase (3 days younger).  It was rather priceless to see the two of them together.  Caylei cooked up a masterpiece meal for us - sure do wish we could see them more often. 

 The Kwas/Vog boys at Nana & Papa's park. 

 This is heaven to my parents.  Does it get better than 4 grand kids all in one place?  I think not.

 Little clean bundle.  No more airplane heebies. 

 Brownie picnic on the kitchen floor.

On Friday we headed up to Holland, stopping at our favorite lunch spot, Cranes- a quaint orchard with home made pie, fresh cider and a simple menu.  A little taste of Michigan heaven if you ask me.  The boys relished their time on the stationary tractor and I took advantage of the rustic photo shoot opportunities. 

 The afore-mentioned stationary tractor.  Provided a good 45 minutes of entertainment.

 Love this shot. 

They both love to randomly hug each other.  Just doesn't work out that they love it at the exact same times.

    
Next stop was Tim's family cottage in Holland.  Our favorite place to be.  We both said, over and over, how it needs to be our goal to spend summers there some day.  How?  I haven't the slightest, but we can still dream, right.  Tim's brother's family graciously drove in from Toronto to spend Saturday with us, which was just what the doctor ordered.  The kids got to spend time together and they all got to meet our little Squirt.  The cold, rainy gloom didn't stop us from hamming it up.  Thanks for the visit guys!  Wish we could do it more often. 

 My big dude.  Isn't he so studly?

 After all the kid pics, I thought it might be refreshing for you to see the face behind the camera for once.  You're welcome.

 The Vog boys, minus baby Chase.

 So spankin' cute.  Some day Squirt will make the pictures. 

 Grandma's brood! 

 Squirt's first beach intro.  Didn't have much of an opinion either way.

 We walked all the way to Big Red (the lighthouse).  Dude ran the whole way there in excitement to touch the huge red structure.

 Our chubby monkey and her Nana in their matching green.

 

Ahhhhh.....

Tim's mom did a lot of babysitting of Squirt for us during wedding festivities, which was a life saver.  Quality Grandma time is always welcomed.  Memorial Day ended up being a great beach day - thank you God for that!  We needed a sunny, warm day to end our vacation.  My mom spent the night with us too and we all drove back to Chicago Tuesday morning for a Wed flight home.  All in all, it was a fabulous trip.  The kids were happy, healthy and well behaved, the wedding was a lovely family event to be remembered, we got tons of quality time with both families and no major catastrophes took place during our 7 days away.  We do wish we could have hung with more friends, but time was extremely limited this go round.  

 Doesn't she look like BamBam? 

We're back in the swing of life now and happy to be home.  A wedding post will come soon.  Don't you worry your pretty little heads.