Keeping Up With the Kapenga's

Little Buddah....

2011-09-25T22:19:00.001-04:00

We say it with the utmost love, you are our "little buddah". Oh Elsie, where does the chunkiness end? We love your chubby little feet, legs that rival a veteran football player, arms that include folds at the elbow and wrist, and cheeks so chunky that your dimple is hidden. You were a champ when mommy and daddy hauled you out to the field nearby and propped you up in mommy's childhood rocking chair for a couple 3 month pictures. Nothing professional, but you are changing so quickly that it hardly seemed worth it.

At 3 months you are an absolute joy! You are a content and mostly mellow baby. You were sleeping through the night from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am but recently you suddenly wanted to go to bed at 7:30 or 8:00 and wake up around 3:30 for a very short, 10 minute feeding. Then it's back down for more zzz's until 7:00. During the day you are going 3 1/2 to 4 hours during feedings and nap in the morning, afternoon and early evening.

You're growing out of so many clothes and it makes mommy a little sad to empty the tiny ones from the closet to make room for larger sizes. You are in mostly 3-6 and 6 months clothes and wear size 2 diapers.

You have rolled over several time in your crib during naps and during the night since you love to sleep on your tummy. You finally showed mommy and daddy how you do it a couple weeks later. Your new favorited include the jumperoo, bumbo chair and trying to sit up in your bouncy seat! You love to reach for toys dangling in front of you and are fascinated with your hands. Sitting up in your stroller outside to you can see the kids playing brings huge smiles to your face!

Big bro and sis are still in love with you and for the most part are very nice to you. Garrett has the cutest way of saying "Elsie Jo-Jo", and Jenna will do almost anything for you as your second little mommy!

We love you to pieces little E!!!!!

Jenna goes to Kindergarten!

2011-09-25T22:06:00.000-04:00

Our sweet Jenna is growing up so fast. She was very excited to start Kindergarten this year at Zeeland Christian. Garrett was not so sure about Jenna going off to school, he wanted to go too!

Waiting to enter her classroom, silly mom couldn't let that happen without a picture :-)

Hanging up her backpack

Jenna with her teacher, Mrs. Rozema. We have a great appreciation for her teacher and all the staff at ZCS, our prayer is that she has a great year!

Family Fun, beach style

2011-09-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

When the weather is warm why not enjoy what the beach has to offer? A couple weeks ago, rather than eating dinner at home on a Sunday night, we packed it up and headed to the beach. The kids ran, played and watched boats. So simple and so much fun!

Sweet E as happy as can be!

Daddy and Garrett watching boats. Garrett really wanted to see Uncle Travis, but on this night he was working the water in Grand Haven.

Poor Elsie. Trying to pull off the crazy bow that mommy put on you :-)

Who can resist a stop at Captain Sundae when on the way home?

Fun @ the Fair

2011-09-25T21:47:00.000-04:00

Garrett LOVED being whipped around in the car and wanted to go faster.....

.....his cousin Allee, not so much!

Want to get a smile on Garrett's face? Just put him by a tractor, preferably John Deere.

The last week of August we made a totally spontaneous, last minute trip to the fair with my family. The kids LOVED it! After some good food we bought the wristbands so the kids could enjoy the way overpriced rides. Grandma was having just as much fun as the kids, loving every minute of all the rides they wanted her to go on. Sometimes the best memories are made when least expected :-).

Tooth Fairy x 2

2011-09-25T21:38:00.000-04:00

Jenna has been waiting patiently for a wiggly tooth, very patiently! It started with a single wiggly bottom tooth. While brushing her teeth before bed it became very loose. She wiggled and wiggled and asked how she could get it out. I told her that maybe taking a piece of gauze would give her a better grip to just yank it out. Lo and behold, she did it! It took a minute, but she was determined! She was SO excited for a visit from the tooth fairy. We, oh, I mean the tooth fairy, left her $1 that night. It would have been perfect except for the neighbor girl losing a tooth the same night and telling Jenna that her tooth fairy left $5. Really, $5 for one tooth?!? She was so excited about her $1 that she wanted to loose more teeth! Lucky for her, she woke up with another loose tooth. By lunchtime, Jenna pulled that one out as well. I told her she better lay off the tooth pulling a little bit or she'll be drinking all her food through a straw :-)

Tri-ponds Camping

2011-09-23T14:42:00.000-04:00

Kennedy and Jenna spending some time with E.

Garrett ready to ride with Avery's bike and Elise's helmet....go Rett, go!

After witnessing a couple of the big boys using the trees as their bathroom, Garrett decided to give it a try. Silly boy!

Garrett and his best bud, "Kolker"

Fishing Fun!

Bathing beauties

What dirt? It was even more fun when it rained and turned to mud. Oh well, boys will be boys!

Oh Elsie, how we LoVe you so

2011-09-23T14:21:00.000-04:00

These pictures are all of Elsie at around 3 months. She thoroughly enjoys all the attention of her big sister and brother!

This precious babe is not going to have baby blues like brother and sister. Instead, Elsies are currently in color confusion land. Some days they look brown and other days they look green....all days I think they are beautiful :-)

One happy baby and smiles are almost always easy to get!

Discovering the world of things your hands can reach. Never a big fan of the play mat (unless, oddly enough, she was on her tummy), once she could reach the toys we'd hang on it she loved it.

Love me some chubby baby feet!

"Daddy mow? Mine too"

2011-09-23T14:16:00.000-04:00

Anytime Dave even mentions the need to mow, Garrett is standing right there, wanting to be part of the action. On this particular day, Dave came back from mowing at the duplexes and decided to quickly do our yard as well. Garrett was apparently a little sleepy since this is what appeared in the doorway after half the yard was complete.

Water Rats

2011-09-23T14:13:00.000-04:00

We spent a ton of time in the water this summer and it was so much fun! Jenna has always been a water rat, it appears Garrett may follow in her footsteps. Even little Elsie didn't mind dipping her toes on a hot summer day!

Smiles

2011-09-23T14:10:00.001-04:00

Summer Fun Day

2011-09-23T14:10:00.000-04:00

We took a few days this summer for family fun! All the kids, Elsie included, LOVED the beach. Nothing is better than the fun and beauty that the Lake Michigan beaches have to offer. How blessed we are to live so close to one of God's masterful creations!

Family fire night with some smores...yum!

Paying tribute to veterans at the Allendale 4th of July parade.

Spending a wonderful day at Tunnel Park. Up and down the hills, in and out of the tunnel, round and round the playground...all so much fun!

My Little Brother Gets Married.....

2011-09-23T13:56:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, right? My "little", and only brother, married a wonderful girl, Sandra VanDyke, on July 29! We could not be happier to welcome such a great girl into our family. We wish them a lifetime of happiness together!!! Jenna, along with her cousin Allee, were the flower girls. Garrett was the bell ringer, with a cow bell nonetheless, as it was perfectly fitting as Travis' nickname is "cow". The kids all started to walk down the aisle great, then Garrett stopped halfway and started to return to the back of church! I pointed back up to the front where my brother was knelt down on the floor pushing a John Deere tractor. Needless to say, that was all the motivation the little guy needed to march right up to the front. Such a sweet moment!

My brother and his "mini me", Garrett.

Garrett's favorite part of the wedding was the dancing! The child was a RIOT to watch and never left the dance floor. He even dragged Papa Kapenga out for a dance when Papa and Grandma came to pick the kids up from the reception.

Sandra and the girls. Yup, the pretty much adore her :-)

The wedding ring my brother now wears proudly isn't just any ring. Soon after my dad died, my brother had my dads ring re-sized (much larger) so he could wear it on his right hand. To add their own personal touch to the ring, Travis and Sandra had two silver bands added to the edge of my dads. Love it!

My man :-)

Sandra has some better family pics but I do not have them yet. Dave was an usher so he was wearing purple as well so we just decided to coordinate the whole gang!

Belated Birthday Wishes

2011-08-08T15:04:00.000-04:00

There is not a single word that sums up our Jenna. We love her personality that is so tender and sweet yet sprinkled with a little bit of sassy. Each and every day she brings so much joy to our lives. She has a true love of learning new things and have a vocabulary that always surprises us! She loves to help and it makes her so proud when she accomplishes a new task or surprises us by completing one we haven't even asked her to do. For the most part she plays really well with Garrett and loves to smother her little sister with kisses. Life has not always been "typical" for Jenna, and because of that there are certainly days I feel she is wise beyond her few years. She has always taken change in stride and never seem to notice the business of going between families. We love you Jenna and cannot wait to see what God has planned for you this year!

Sweet Baby E

2011-07-28T14:06:00.000-04:00

Rather than trying to catch up at this point, we'll just start with the present. Sweet baby Elsie is exactly that, sweet! You are growing up so fast, just wish we could make time stand still and enjoy this newborn stage a bit longer. At your 2 month check-up you were 24" long and 13lbs 2ozs, not quite as big as Garrett but certainly not far behind! You were a champ getting your shots and they didn't really seem to bother you much in the days following. In the last couple weeks you started napping during the day a bit less but we're starting to get back on track, I think you just are afraid you're going to miss something exciting around here since there is never a dull moment. You are most sleepy in the morning then stay up for awhile before taking a nice afternoon nap on most days. You tend to fight sleep in the evening but I think it's just your way for making sure you get some attention :-)! You go down around 10:00pm and sleep until 5:00ish and then go back down until 9:00. You are still eating about every three hours during the day. Sadly, we are putting away the newborn clothes (insert mommy tear here) and you are in mostly 3 months with some jammies being 3-6 months as you do not like it when you cannot stretch your legs out. Things you like....your bouncy seat with the toys and laying on your play mat listening to the music and looking in the mirror. You are SO full of gummy big smiles, love them! You really don't even mind tummy time, most likely because big brother or sister are always there to try and entertain you. Bath time always brings out a smile and you don't even mind some extra water from your brothers splashing. We spend a lot of time outside with the big kids and you love sitting in the shade and feeling the breeze. In the last couple weeks several people have commented that they are no longer sure you look exactly like Garrett, you have changed a lot! You did lose a lot of your dark hair but it has already come back in and is still dark. We're still uncertain what color your eyes will be as they are much darker than your siblings, some days they look so blue the whites of your eyes look blue and other days they are a very dark hazel color....either way we think you're adorable! You are such a joy to have in the family and we love you to pieces!

Welcome Elsie Jo!

2011-05-13T16:30:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, May 12, 2011 we were blessed to welcome Elsie Jo into our family! After a quick labor and delivery we heard the Dr. say "it's a little girl, well no offense sweetie but you're not so little!" She has a good chunky start to life at 8lbs 7ozs and was 20 inches long. We were so grateful to finally be meeting our precious, healthy baby...God is SO good!

Mommy and daddy are smitten with you already...pretty sure you have daddy wrapped around your little chubby fingers already!

My mom took Jenna to school in the morning and when she went to pick her up she had a big surprise....coming to the hospital to meet her new baby sister!

Garrett LOVES babies and his little sis, Elsie, is no exception. He asks to "hold" her all the time and gives her TONS of kisses.

Elsie and her cousin Charlie who is 5 weeks older than her....but they are almost the same size already!

All bundled up

A sweet sister moment

Garrett giving her kisses again! He's such a tenderhearted little boy and I'm sure he will be a wonderful big brother to Elsie.

Our three little muchkins

One terrific big sister!

Elsie, it only took a moment for you to steal our hearts! We love you so very much, welcome to our family sweet little one.

"Family" Fun Night

2011-05-01T15:43:00.000-04:00

Last Friday night was Family Fun Night at Zeeland Christian. For the last couple weeks Jenna would see the poster advertising the event as we walked in to school every day. It was her weekend to go to Chad and Krysta's so I made sure to tell them about it, as did Jenna. I had told them that if they had other obligations I didn't mind taking her and bringing her to them a little later. Then last week she asked her dad if we could all go with her and he said that would be completely fine. She was SO excited on Friday, running through the house chanting "I get to go to fun night with my whole big family". It was a really fun night and we were all blessed to see the smile on her face as we took turns playing various games with her. She even shared her tickets with Garrett, who loved all the action, and would have given some to her sister Stella as well if she were actually old enough to play. The highlight of Jenna's night was playing the fish pond game with her dad until she finally won a goldfish!

Mud + Boy = Smiles!

2011-05-01T15:19:00.000-04:00

After a lot of rain, this little man could not have been happier to get outside. It only took a few minutes to find the "wawer" (aka, water) and mud to play in. Oh to be a kid again and find such joy in something as simple as a mud puddle!

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful day to celebrate our risen Lord! We enjoyed a great service at church along with some wonderful family time. Dave Aunt went above and beyond having the kids decorate their own bags and then heading outside to collect eggs, each having their name on them. We picked Jenna back up later in the day and headed to my moms in the evening.

Jenna (holding Charlie), Allee and Garrett...who was WAY more interested in the eggs that he could see in the yard than having his picture taken.

He and Jenna both knew exactly what to do. Jenna was being so sweet and "finding" eggs for Garrett until she realized he was holding his own and just as many as she did.

Not the best family pic since it was a little breezy but it will have to do.

While helping daddy and Uncle Travis grill, Garrett had some fun on the scooter. He needs to learn that grandma's driveway is WAY more steep than ours.

Project Basement..."check"....

2011-04-20T10:55:00.000-04:00

Last fall knowing #3 was on the way we spent a great deal of time debating on the "arrangement" of bedrooms. Our basement was completely unfinished and we had the option to expand and put rooms for two kids downstairs. After debating we decided now was a great time to go ahead with the project. We set a number that we were willing to spend and would go as far as that would take us and then quit until we could finish the rest. We were pleasantly surprised that everything but the bathroom has been finished in time for baby #3! The bathroom still needs flooring and vanity but we'll take a break and tackle that after baby.

We let Jenna pick out which of the two rooms she would like and naturally she picked the largest. It works GREAT to have all her Bitty baby, Barbie and pet shop toys all in her room with room to play with it. We found the bedding (on sale with a coupon of course) at Bed, Bath and Beyond. She picked the aqua color for her walls. We had my old dresser re-sprayed white when our trim was painted and added some new hardware. Jenna and I also had fun "crafting" making some pictures and storage boxes that coordinate with her room. Gotta love Michaels Craft Store and their 40% off coupons. We still are looking for a large mirror for her wall above her dresser and I have a couple frames to hang up yet but we'll get to that.

Garrett's room was hard to decide what to do. I really wanted something that could "grow" with him since it's expensive to decorate kids rooms. I found bedding at Pottery Barn that I loved the minute I saw it. The plaid comforter and pillow sham have so many colors that we could do almost any theme with it. We did buy him a new crib (thank you Wal-Mart on-line) that will transition all the way to a full size bed. The dresser was Dave's, with some new hardware...kind of fun to re-use things for our kids that we used. After shopping around I found a whole stash of Route 66 decor at Hobby Lobby. Love that store and how everything goes on sale so over the course of a couple weeks we snagged a bunch of fun stuff to decorate with. I am super happy with how it turned out. Thankfully this crib sits really low so he cannot get out and we hung all the wall hangings high enough he cannot reach them. We do laugh every time we put him in his crib, he looks at one of the frames that contains a picture of him and Dave on the snowmobile and says "daddy vroom-vroom" and laughs. Need to get the red curtains hung yet and then we'll be set. Yes, there is a rocking chair in his room yet, he loves to be spoiled and rock in it after reading books before bed. Dave has a huge soft spot for bedtime with the kids and so if Garrett points to the chair and says "rock-rock" he usually gets his way :-). If anyone has a dark colored rocker of any sort for sale let me know, this glider needs to make it's way back up to the nursery in just a couple short weeks!

The rec room area I went a little bolder than anything upstairs and did one red wall! I was really happy with the results and I was able to re-use a rug and table from our previous house in the kids play area. Jenna and her friends love to color and do crafts so we figured by putting down the rug and using the small table it would give them a great area for this without having to worry about things being spilled/dropped directly on to the carpet. The plan was to eventually move our upstairs furniture downstairs since it is well worn and far from new. The key word being eventually. Then I came across a steal of a deal on a couch, over sized chair with ottoman at of all places Big Lots. I know, Big Lots, really? It's name brand and was exactly what I would have eventually looked for so Dave was all about getting it for a good deal. The walls downstairs looks pretty bare but they may have to stay that way until after baby....after all, I probably should start getting baby stuff out and packing a bag for the hospital.

Happy Birthday Dave!

2011-04-20T10:19:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we not only enjoyed the wonderful summer like weather, we also were able to celebrate Dave's 31st birthday! The kids (more so Jenna) had fun shopping for his presents and card. She had asked him what he would like and he told her a new shirt so that is exactly what she had her heart set on buying him, so cute. She looked at LOTS of cards before picking one out, thankfully her brother was in an ultra patient mood on this particular day. We let Dave pick a restaurant when we decided to go out on Saturday, he asked Jenna if she had any suggestions and of course she said "the peanut place", aka, Logans. She loves eating the peanuts and thinks it's great she can throw the shells on the floor. We laugh because our neat freak son says "uh-oh" every time a shell goes on the floor and not in the trash, silly boy! The kids did great eating out but we were all too full for dessert so we saved the strawberry shortcake Jenna and I made for Sunday. After spending lunchtime with Dave's family and letting the kids play outside we headed home to relax and enjoy the great weather.

We are thankful every day for the husband and dad Dave is and we are grateful God has put him in our lives. Thank you for all you do for our family and most importantly, all the times you put aside your own projects and desires to instead spend time playing, going places, and doing things for/with us. Your unselfishness is never overlooked!!!

34 Weeks and counting

2011-04-19T15:43:00.000-04:00

Wow, have I been a blog slacker. Lots has been going on but I'll post pictures later of what else has been keeping the Kapenga family busy. This pic is actually a few weeks late but better late than never, I'm actually a couple days shy of 38 weeks. I caught my first doozie of a cold for the winter and felt miserable for a few days. The worst has been a lingering cough going on 2 weeks. My ab muscles are getting quite a workout from all the coughing! Most people are guessing girl at this point with a couple boys mixed in, not long and we will know :-)

18 Months....Slow Down

2011-03-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

It really is hard to believe that Garrett is 18 months old already, where did the time go? With baby on the way so much of what he does just makes him seem so much older to me and I know he will seem HUGE once the baby does arrive. He is a little sponge when it comes to picking up things from his big sister. She is learning quickly that she needs to be a good example because he mimics everything she does. He continues to have a very fun personality, laid back and most of the time very sweet. He jabbers non-stop and is talking more and putting more and more words together while still signing a couple that we taught him. My favorite at the moment is when Jenna plays the song "If You're Happy and You Know It" on her radio and he dances around doing all the motions, melts my heart!

Right now he loves reading Elmo books and playing with trucks, cars....anything that makes noise. He thinks body parts are fun to point out....eyes, nose (he says beep beep), ears, belly button, head...it is so fun to watch them learn. We laugh that he is a neat freak like his dad. If something spills he runs for a towel to wipe it up, if he finds a piece of trash he has to bring it to the trash (although we're certain a few non-trash items have found their way in there as well). He is also getting the hang of being gentle with a baby. Big Sis usually lets him play dolls with her and shows him how to be gentle. Lately he has decided that he doesn't need a high chair and sippy cup...he wants to be a big boy! To top it off he has a naughty little grin that makes it so hard to get mad at him :-). He is a cuddly little boy after his nap and I will cherish these moments as long as I can because they pass all too quickly. Love you so much little, big guy!

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-03-15T21:42:00.000-04:00

As a family Christmas Gift, Dave's parents took the entire family on a weekend trip to Great Wolf Lodge! It was a great way to break up the cold of the Michigan Winter. Jenna left with Grace, Hannah, Papa and Grandma on Friday afternoon already and enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with just them! The kids had an absolute riot playing in the water, playing in the arcade, eating ice cream, going to story time and just running around! Both Jenna and Garrett loved the water, and Jenna even talked me into going down all the water slides (only later did I see the sign suggesting pregnant women not go down two of them...oops!)

Needless to say both the kiddos were tuckered out on the ride home and it only took a couple miles before both were sound asleep. Unfortunately Sunday morning Garrett had woke up and just wasn't acting like himself. He had been fighting a cold but his ear infection and respiratory infection had been cleared by the Dr. before we left. On the way home he grew more and more restless and as his temp continued to rise his breathing also grew worse. We ended up dropping Jenna off and heading to urgent care. The poor little buddy had developed the start of pneumonia. We spent the next several days at home, just trying to get better and fortunately he was able to kick it. His one cold for the winter turned out to be a real doozie but fortunately he's laid back and took all the medicine and neb treatments in stride (mommy and daddy were, however, thankful for the return of sleep)

Reptiles, Really?

2011-03-15T21:21:00.000-04:00

I had the opportunity to drive for one of Jenna's class field trips last week. I should have known better that this was going to be "just another field trip" when the destination was the Animal Lab at Hope College. It's not that I have anything against animals, I just tend to prefer the cute and fuzzy kind. We were given a parent "pep talk" by Jenna's fabulous teacher. Before leaving school she encouraged us to engage with the children and animals and more importantly, set aside all out own fears so that the children could get the very most from this experience without being held back by our reactions to the animals. I REALLY DON'T LIKE SNAKES, and I knew that it was going to be a very difficult task to pretend that I did, yikes!

The children explored the room for awhile and then sat so quietly in a circle while they were shown carious animals which they were encouraged to touch. While it was ok if they said "no thank you", they were strongly encouraged to just try to touch them. Jenna was up for the challenge which was shocking to me! She is normally like me, not a fan of reptiles, but for some reason she showed no fear....even when it came to the huge Boa Constrictor (I on the other hand, was about crawling out of my own skin!)

Even though it wasn't exactly my favorite field trip, I'm glad I didn't miss seeing Jenna love something I never thought she would. Watching the eagerness to learn of these little ones is priceless!

Princesses on Ice

2011-03-15T21:10:00.000-04:00

Last week Thursday night Jenna and I enjoyed a very special "Girls Night". We went with 4 other 5/6 year old friends and moms. The night started at Red Robin for some yummy dinner. From there we headed to the VanAndel Arena with all the little girls packed in our minivan! Jenna absolutely loved the show and I'll admit, I did as well. She was on the edge of her seat for most of it, singing her little heart out along with the cast of characters from Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and The Beast, Mulan and The Little Mermaid. Everything from the theatrics to the stage on ice were amazing. What a fun and memorable night.

All our little "princesses" lined up for a quick photo. (Emma, Jenna, Kennedy, Kailynn, Isabella)

30 Weeks...

2011-02-28T20:58:00.000-05:00

All continues to go well in Kapenga babyland. Unbelivably we're already at the 30 week mark (as of last week, I'm a little behind). I love feeling this little baby moving and kicking, and it does so frequently during the evening and when I want to sleep of course. That may just be more due to the fact that it's the only time of day that I get to sit still long enough to feel it. Hard to believe how quickly time is going and how much we have to do yet to prepare for baby....including a NAME! We have the girls name narrowed down to a couple favorites but still absolutely no idea for a boy. We do not know what we are having and other peoples guesses tend to be an even mix of boy and girl...time will tell!

Our Babymoon...

2011-02-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

Since we had an August wedding we had decided to not take a tropical honeymoon right away, rather we'd take it once the Michigan cold weather settled in. Everyone always told us that if we didn't take our honeymoon right away it would most likely never happen. By the time it was cold out I was pregnant with Garrett so we decided to wait until after his first birthday, low and behold I was pregnant again and sick so it didn't sound like much fun. Around Christmas time we had thrown around the idea of maybe trying to get away for a short babymoon vacation before baby #3 but never settled on anything serious until Dave came home from work one day and told me we were going and could pick between two resorts - love him! Then came Blizzard 2011...the day we were supposed to leave. Thankfully the airline was trying eagerly to prevent as much traffic through Chicago as possible so we were given the option to push our trip back a week. It made things a little hectic trying to rearrange the schedule of caregivers for the kids and obviously we had been excited to leave, however, with all the snow we did get it was a good choice to stay home rather than end up stranded at the airport. Fast forward a week and we left Grand Rapids, not without a hitch of course, but in the end after running through the O'Hare airport (yes I'm quite sure people were laughing at the preggo lady dragging her suitcase as she ran) we made it to Mexico and our resort only about an hour behind schedule.

Then it was time to RELAX and ENJOY....

Walks on the beach and enjoying the sunshine

Not living by the schedule of the kids, and doing everything when we felt like it

Enjoying some yummy beverages. Of course mine were all without alcohol so I made sure Dave had enough for me

Lovely dinners with no kids needing our attention

Morning walks on the beach because we had no schedule to keep, no kids to get to school or the sitter, no work....no worries

Even thousands of miles from home Dave could enjoy one of his favorite pastimes, soccer! He still plays indoor at the Soccer Stop so he jumped at the chance to play some beach soccer. It was "international" with his teammates coming from Argentina, Chile and Mexico.

If it was not for the kids back home it would have been hard to leave this view.

The resort was gorgeous, including the wildlife that could be seen all over. I thought it was hilarious that we walked right past this pond of flamingos everyday.

There was even a small shopping center on the resort grounds complete with a canal and open air square with a gazebo. Dave and I both commented on how it reminded us of Vienna, Austria (with palm trees, lol).

We were both very excited to come home and see the kids. They did wonderful for those who took care of them and greeted us with big smiles. Garrett's smile included a fat lip following a nasty fall at Grandma's but I think after the bleeding finally stopped and it healed up a bit, grandma felt worse about it than Rett. I'm so glad we were able to have this time since our relationship has always been us + child and so much of our time it spent focusing on things other than just the two of us. Now it's back to reality but I have no complaints about my reality, I just feel blessed!

Time is Flying....26 Weeks

2011-01-30T17:11:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy #3 continues to fly by and last week we passed the 26 week mark! If I'm completely honest I'll admit that during the "sickness" portion it didn't seem like time was passing as quickly, but in reality it did and now that is all behind us. Life is busy, just like everyone else's is, so we'll enjoy every minute of this quickly passing pregnancy before we're a busy family of 5. We've started to talk about names but have yet to settle on anything for a boy or girl. I can honestly say that there are days I think it's a girl and others I think boy, we'll be estatic and in love with either.

At my 23 week appt we had our ultrasound (it was actually the third time we saw the baby but this one is probably the most exciting). The baby was very active! It is amazing to see this little person God is creating inside my belly. 10 fingers, 10 toes and everything else was developing just as it should. According to the measurements the Dr. is sticking with May 6 so only time will tell when this little one will be welcomed into our family. (Sorry for the "all in one" pic, I didn't have time to scan each one individually).

Snow Fun...

2011-01-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

Garrett loves to play in the snow. He does not like being told it's time to come inside and warm up! We all love the chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air so when I say "shall we get our boots on and go outside", both kids run for the door and are quite easy to get all bundled up. It's a great workout trudging around in the snow with the kids!

Jenna practicing on her new snowboard, it didn't take long and she had the hang of it. It's pretty surprising how fast the kids actually get going down the hill by our house.

Jenna and Garrett both love riding on the snowmobile with Dave. Generally they don't all three ride together but neither Jenna or Garrett was willing to get off. Jenna loves to wear the helmet and go fast with Dave, and Garrett just loves to ride. When Dave shuts it off the first things Rett does is reach for the pull to start it back up, oh how quickly they catch on.

A look back at Christmas

2011-01-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2010 was full of fun. Jenna and I spent an evening putting together and decorating a gingerbread house. It was fun and Jenna loved putting all the candy on it.

A family picture on Christmas Eve

After making homemade pizza for lunch, we opened gifts with the kids. Garrett had not touched the presents under the tree or really played with the tree at all during the weeks leading up to Christmas. However, once we started pulling the prsents out from under the tree and opening them he quickly realized that he could fit under there and reach more. It was very entertaining to watch him scoot under the tree!

He knew exactly what to do when a present came his way. He loves his new cars, his very own bean bag (no more sharing with sis) and Elmo books that make noise of course!

Jenna was so thrilled with her rollerblades. She has been practicing downstairs so that when springtime comes she can keep up with the neighbor kids.

Christmas Eve we celebrated with my family. Here are the kids with their cousin Allee and Gram.

We felt very blessed to spend the holidays with so many family and friends and made many changes in our family to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. One of my favorite memories of Christmas was hearing Jenna pray "thank you God for sending your son, baby Jesus, to Earth to be born so that he could forgive our sins"....from the mouths of babes.

Baby K #3 @ 20 Weeks

2010-12-21T14:21:00.000-05:00

Garrett and Jenna are growing like crazy, and so is mommy! This was the profile picture from 20 weeks. We are excited for our ultrasound in a couple weeks as getting to see the baby is always fun and having the reassurance that everything is developing properly is always a welcome moment. In the last 2 weeks I think I've finally conquered the sickness and nauseousness that came along with this pregnancy. I'm pretty sure a man made up the saying that "sickness is the sign of a healthy pregnancy", because while I can appreciate the truth of that saying it doesn't make you actually feel better in the midst of it. Now that we're halfway we should probably consider some names....we have nothing so far for a boy or girl, so this could be interesting.

Garrett's Growing...

2010-12-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

I know every parent says the same thing about their children so it is cliche, but I'll say it anyway. I sometimes cannot believe how fast this little man is growing up! He's turning in to quite a little chatter box and knows exactly what he wants even when he doesn't know the word. He's a neat little boy, must take after his dad! He insists on eating with a fork, loves picking things up and putting them in the trash (we have to watch that one since some things, like his sisters toys, don't belong in the trash) and the new little vacuum he received as a Christmas gift is a BIG hit.

Yeah books! For a little guy who is always on the move, one thing that will often stop his constant motion are books. His favorites right now are the touch and feel animal books, anything with Elmo or dogs and his Farm Animal flap book.

Garrett is usually awake before Jenna and will often cuddle for a few minutes before scooting off your lap and going to the fridge for his milk. Most days he'll also open the pantry and ask for "num, nums" (aka, Cheerios). I was folding some laundry and he thought he was big stuff hanging out the couch with his milk and cheerios.

Jenna was coloring one day when he woke up from his nap and within seconds he was right there with her coloring away. After I took the picture we moved him to the highchair where we know the worst thing the crayon can get on is the tray.

Love you little man!

Winter Fun!

2010-12-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

Once again this year, we took the kids to the Zeeland Christmas Parade. Short and sweet but they had fun and Jenna was able to collect more than enough candy. Garrett loved watching all the lights and hearing the music.

The kids love to be outside! Jenna will play outside for hours with the neighbor kids. Sledding, building snowmen, building forts and havingall kinds of other snow fun. Of course when she heads out the door a certain little brother stands by the door banging on it saying "out" or presses his face against the back windows watching the kids every move. Many days were just too cold for him to be out for more than a little bit but he enjoyed whatever time he could get playing outside.

All the outside fun does make bedtime very easy for some tuckered out little ones!

#3 @ 16 Weeks...

2010-11-24T09:14:00.001-05:00

I've taken pictures during my other two pregnancies so I thought I'd do the same for #3. I'm almost 17 weeks and slowly but surely the nauseousness and sickness have been going away. I'll admit I am very envious of all women who do not get sick while pregnant, but I am also very grateful that I have never had any major pregnancy complications and my labor and deliveries have been quite easy... seems like a fair trade. Keeping busy with Garrett and Jenna has made time fly despite not feeling great. I think with the holidays coming time will only continue to fly! At my previous two appointments the Dr. picked up the sounds of baby K kicking before he picked up a strong heartbeat. I've also been feeling the baby kick and if I lay on my back Dave can also feel it already....I think my stomach and ribs are in trouble! We haven't talked about names yet and since they were hard to come up with for Garrett I don't think it will be any easier for this little babe. My sister is due three weeks before me and they know they are having a baby boy, we will not be finding out....just love the surprise way too much!

If the shoe fits...

2010-11-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

A little heavy on Garrett happenings lately but this little guy is just growing so fast and makes us laugh every day with the things he comes up with. In the last few weeks he's had an infatuation with shoes, really any shoes that sit by the back door and if he wants to go outside he'll come to you with a pair of shoes. Sunday after church he thought daddy's shoes were quite intriguing so he carried them into the kitchen and tried them on. (And yes, I know the shirt is getting a little small, he was wearing a sweater over it so you couldn't tell)

Hmmmm, these look a little big but I think I could get used to them....

Yep, I like 'em and I know you think I'm funny so go ahead and laugh...

Since I know you won't stop taking pictures until I give you my cute smile here it is, take the picture mom...

On Wednesday night Dave wanted to wash the van and of course Rett HAD to be outside so he got to wear the boots given to him by Kolter Rotman. I hear that Kolter loved these boots so much that he wore them to bed. Well, there must be something special about the boots?!? After Dave took off his pants that had become wet while "helping" Garrett followed him around with the boots until he put them back on. Thanks for the laughs little buddy!

Oh Garrett!

2010-11-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

Jenna enjoys jumping in her bean bag and trying to do all sorts of flips and tricks. Well Rett has been watching and those eyes take in everything. It didn't take long before he was joining in the crazy fun!

After a running start from the kitchen he jumped in...

Of course what little boy can pass up the change to play on the footstool. Garrett finds it hilarious to climb, or should I say, flip, off the stool. You can see the smile on his face so you can imagine how hard he is laughing when he does this.

"I saw nenna (a.k.a. Jenna) jump off the stool so I can too mom". Oh child, your grandma said you were going to be a stinker with that naughty twinkle in your eye and that mischievous laugh...I think she knew what she was talking about!

Sweet Jenna, how can something so sweet looking possibly be teaching your little brother naughty things???

Scary Sharks and Beautiful Butterflies!

2010-11-10T16:12:00.000-05:00

Garrett was our scary shark this year, although with a smile like that he's hardly scary. When asked what a shark says he made more of a lion growl but it was cute nonetheless. He had fun going to visit family and a few of the neighbors, especially the little girls of the neighborhood that adore him. I think his favorite was having kids knock on our door. Whenever he heard the knock he RAN to the door and would laugh at the kids standing there. On second thought, he got the taste of his first sucker and it was a big hit, amazingly he wasn't even messy with it!

After MUCH indecision, Jenna settled on being a butterfly. A trip to Wal-Mart allowed us to find some inexpensive wings, a matching skirt and the items needed to make some quick antenna. Bonus with a costume like this is that the items made there way to the dress up box so they'll be used again and again. We took Jenna home from her soccer game in the morning and were able to visit some family in the afternoon. Later in the day she went back to her dad's and did some trick-or-treating with her cousins.

I think the sweetest moment came when she chose to give all but a couple pieces of her candy to her teacher at school. Mrs. Kamps will be sending to her son serving in the Army overseas, all the candy that kids chose to bring in. Jenna was excited when she learned that they hand the candy out to little kids their and she couldn't believe that those children rarely get candy! I love the giving spirit that she is developing, it's just so sweet.

Daddy with the kiddos.

Applesauce & Pumpkin Carving...unlrelated but both fun!

2010-10-26T21:41:00.000-04:00

Monday after dropping Jenna off at school I picked up my grandma from her house (and yes, Jenna is very upset she didn't get to help but never fear grandma is getting more apples so she'll get her chance). Undoubtedly the sweetest and most independent 93 year old I know! She knew my mom and I were planning to finally make some applesauce and she wanted to come help, and help she did. She cut up just as many apples as I did, and it's always so much fun spending time with her.

Grandma giving Garrett a chance to use the sauce master, the easiest possible way we have found to make applesauce. Garrett didn't care about it making our job easier, he just liked playing with it.

Once he got the hang of it he needed to do it all by himself...

He also liked dipping his finger into the bowl that had some strained apple juice in it...mmmm...those little fingers couldn't get more fast enough.

He adores my grandma and of course he had to see what she was doing.

Mmmm, finally the applesauce was cool and Garrett could eat some, as usual he loved it!

Tonight we carved the kids pumpkins. Jenna was all into it this year and couldn't wait to get the "guts" as she called them, out of the pumpkin. She wants badly to bake the pumpkin seeds so she took extra care to find every last seed she could.

Of course it's fun for her to decide what she wants carved and clean out the inside but then all the cutting gets left to mom and dad. Oh well, I really don't mind a bit and it was a great family time.

Garrett wanted to see what was going on so we strapped him into his seat, put him on the counter and he thought it was a great view. He needed some of his own utensils to play with and pretend to be carving his pumpkin with.

The finished product. Jenna chose a cat and Garrett wanted a silly face (or that's just what mommy thought he would want).

Garrett's 1st Haircut!

2010-10-24T20:11:00.000-04:00

Cute as it was, the little curl on the back of Garrett's head was beginning to look more like a mullet. I've been putting it off for a few weeks because there's just something about that "1st haircut" that screams, my baby is growing up! He never lost much hair on the back of his head which allowed for the long strip of hair to grow, as well as a long tuft on the top of his head that had a mind of its own and quite often was sticking up unless wet down. With the help of Jenna entertaining, along with his beloved animal crackers we got the job done.

Apparently he didn't mind at all and spent his time catching up on some text messages and e-mails on my BlackBerry while I trimmed away (I didn't know he even had it until I saw the picture when I was done).

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-24T16:42:00.000-04:00

Friday afternoon was beautiful when Dave got home from work so we took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch for some fresh air and fun!

Jenna has her wagon all set to pull a big pumpkin...

Once we were close to the patch she thought Garrett needed a ride.

Garrett enjoyed roaming in the pumpkin patch and trying to pick up all the pumpkins.

Jenna found her big one...

...but we convinced her to go for something a little more her size.

Of course she had to feed the bunny and Garrett had to take a quick ride on the tractor.

Now this week we'll have to make time for some carving fun!

Fun with Fall!

2010-10-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

One of the more frustrating things about dealing with the sickness of this pregnancy has been missing out on some fantastic fall weather this year! Fortunately Dave loves to be outside and doesn't mind having the kids outside with him. The sunshine does have a way of making me feel better even on a crummy feeling day.

Jenna went with her Papa and Nana for an afternoon to Cranes. They had a lot of fun picking apples and running around the orchard. She was kind enough to share one of her apples when she got home and Garrett was very happy about that. He wanted nothing to do with the apple slices, he was all about chomping it all on his own.

At the annual Kapenga Family Harvest Party Dave's sister Amy was gracious enough to spend most of the afternoon giving pony ride after pony ride much to the delight of the kids. Jenna has always loved Amy's horses, maybe soon she'll be brave enough to ride one of the big ones!

Garrett and his Papa. He loves his papa and will pass by pretty much everyone else in a room to get to him. It quite easily could have something to do with the quad rides given by papa that Garrett absolutely loves, but regardless, when papa is in the room it's generally the only person he wants. I can't say for certain, but I have a feeling papa doesn't mind that too much :-)

How can you have Kapenga genes and not like to clean right? Dave's nephew Evan always loved the vacuum cleaner and Garrett seems to be following suit by loving brooms. If he's in the garage and spots the broom he begs to have it down. This little one is a bit less dangerous for all people and cars around.

The other day I was going to give the kitchen floor a quick mop and Garrett simply wouldn't let go of the handle so I had a little helper. I'll be sure to remind him when he's 13 or so that he used to want to help me clean and now I have a picture to prove it.

A boy and his tractor...

2010-10-24T15:18:00.000-04:00

Garrett LOVES tractors. Every time he sees one he wants to get on it so it was only natural that he wanted to ride with daddy. We couldn't find the headset to cover his little ears but to our amazement he didn't mind having ear plugs in his ears at all and left them in!

School Days...

2010-10-24T15:15:00.000-04:00

Jenna was excited to start school this fall. She's in Young 5's at Zeeland Christian. It amazes me how much she has blossomed this year and done things that last year she would have never considered doing. She really enjoys her teacher, Mrs. Kamp's, and her helper, Mrs. Hulshof. We cannot wait to see how she continues to grow throughout the year.

Jenna picked out the fabric and helped me decorate her new backpack...

A big hug for her little brother. I think he kinda likes the peace and quiet while she's gone each morning.

Can't pass up the picture by the sign.

Family Photo Outdated!

2010-10-11T14:08:00.001-04:00

Just a couple weeks ago Tracy VanDerMeulen took Garrett's 1 year pics, Jenna's 5 year pics and a new family picture. We're happy to announce that the family picture is already outdated, baby #3 is on the way! We actually knew before the pictures were taken but decided we wanted to still have them done. The baby is due May 6. Like my previous two pregnancies I am sick, but none of them have been the same kind of sick. This one has been the worst but I keep telling myself that it will be over before I know it. We had already been looking at minivans since it was time to replace my car and we did find one so we can check that off the list :-).

A Trip to the Zoo!

2010-09-20T09:48:00.000-04:00

Dave took a day off work so we could enjoy a little family time by taking the kids to the zoo. It's always fun to do things like this with the kids!

The very first time I took Jenna to the zoo she was 13 months old. I took her picture on this rock, and have every year since, and I cannot believe how BIG she is getting!

Garrett thought the flamingo's were so funny.

Birthday Celebrations...

2010-09-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

Wow did the year go by quickly! We had a lot of fun celebrating Garrett's 1st birthday with a couple different parties. First we had a "farm" theme party with my side of the family. He was so excited ripping open paper and when it came to this little 4-wheeler from Grandma, he couldn't get on it fast enough!

His farm theme cake and cupcakes...

...and he seemed to like it! He grabbed the cupcake with two hands and shoved it right in, there's a good chance he has a sweet tooth like his mommy :-).

On his birthday we just had a little party with our own family, He really liked his new table and it didn't take more than a minute for him to figure out how to climb on top of it.

Dave had taken Jenna shopping so she could pick out something just from her to give to her brother. She picked out a set of Snoopy golf clubs, they were a BIG hit! It is so cute to watch him walk around the house with the bag around his neck or over his shoulder as he hits the ball. Of course he has also figured out that swinging it at his sister is a good way to keep her away from him, we'll have to work on that.

Lastly, we celebrated with Dave's family. Since Alvia's birthday is exactly 1 week after Garrett's we did the parties together.

Megan made a really cute cake for each of the kids, a ladybug for Liv and a Lion for Rett.

And once again, Garrett enjoyed every last bite of cake that we let him have.

Growing & Healthy

2010-09-02T11:07:00.000-04:00

More for my own benefit I'm writing about Garrett's 12 month stats from his doctors appointment this morning. He was a super happy boy and was being a complete flirt with the nurses. He must have thought his Dr. was funny because all he did was laugh as Dr. Raj listened to his heart, checked his eyes and ears and completed the rest of his routine. He was all about showing Dr. Raj his little tricks....walking, climbing, waving, playing peek-a-boo, acting like he's talking on the phone and saying "hi". We're pretty convinced he's been learning a thing or two from his sister, not sure that is completely a good thing yet :-). He was 22lbs 12ozs and 30 inches. He is no longer our big chubby boy, but still looks and acts (other than not using a ton of words yet) way older....slow down buddy! Nurse Bonnie could hardly stand to give him his shots as he just lay on the table smiling and talking away to her. The 4 pokes came, he screamed and just like that he was smiling again which made her feel much better. Maybe it helped that daddy wanted to come along this morning and was by him through the shots, he's kinda of gone from being a mommy's boy to ALL about daddy! Unfortunately, just as we did with Jenna, thanks to my bad genes, the little man will have to wait a few more years before having his first taste of peanut butter or eggs. It's a weird allergy that if he has he will outgrow, as Jenna and I both did, but in the meantime no PB & J! Sorry bud! On a good note, the heart murmur he has had since birth appears to be staying relatively in check at this point and is only at the mid-point on the severity scale. It has gotten louder but the Dr. assured us that this is normal as they grow. He'll continue to monitor it but does not see it as a health concern that requires anything further at this point, yeah!!! Thank you God for this healthy, rambunctious, happy little guy. We know this is not something to take for granted.

Our Birthday Boy...1 AMAZING Year!

2010-09-01T14:55:00.000-04:00

Our baby Garrett is 1 today! It has been an amazing year filled with so many wonderful memories.
It has been so much fun watching him grow and develop into the little guy that he is. To think that 12 short months ago he was such a little peanut (relatively speaking since whe was 8lbs 3ozs) and today he is walking...almost running, babbling away, playing with toys, smiling a tooth filled grin, giving hugs and kisses, and completely filling our hearts with joy.

A couple months ago I heard the song by Revive that is playing in the background of his slideshow and I couldn't get the words out of my head..."it happens in a blink, it happens in a flash......". The words of the song resonated within me as I thought about how quickly my kids are growing and it made me really stop and think about consciously putting my kids first. Putting them and their needs ahead of my own goals, desires and plans for the day, week or years to come; putting them ahead of the things in life that have no lasting meaning and taking the time to love on them as much as possible....the things that in the end really do matter! We love you Garrett and are grateful for every day that God has allowed us to call you our little boy, may it be His will to bless you with many, many more!

11 Months...

2010-08-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

My complete blog update slacking is catching up with me so rather than try to update everything now I'll just start with the present! Garrett is now 11 months old, sometimes I really feel like begging him to stop growing up so fast. We've stayed busy this summer with all sorts of fun things and Garrett has enjoyed them all. He suddenly doesn't seem like a baby anymore, it seemed to happen overnight! I don't know if it's because he's never liked a bottle so going stright to a sippy cup feels like we skipped a baby step or that fact that he eats solid food/meals like a 2 year old (I'm already saving for when I have to feed him as a teenager!). Having a mouthful of teeth certainly took care of the baby "look".

Taking Garrett's monthly picture is certianly more challenging now that he's on the move. He cruises all over the house, walks along the furniture, between toys and will walk pushing his toys or his tractor outside. Taking one - two steps has happened so it won't be long and he'll be running, yikes! You sorta look like a frog here bud, but it's the best I was able to get.

Garrett on the move = Garrett into everything. He has a very cute little head tilt and grin he shows when he knows he's being caught being a stinker.

Climb, climb, climb...on everything. When he hears the dishwasher open he comes flying into the kitchen.

Jenna still thinks she can make Garrett the baby when she's playing house with her dolls. I think he's a bit big for the swing sweetie, but he does love all the attention he gets from her.

One of Garrett's favorite things is water and swimming. What started off as floating in an infant ring progressed to sitting on rafts and crawling from raft to raft. Now if he's in the water he's on his tummy kicking and moving his arms. For a little extra fun he stands on the side and jumps in when you count to three.

Playing with Jenna, most of the time this puts a BIG smile on his face.

Always SUCH a content baby with a smile for anyone, exploring and figuring out new toys all the time. Some of his favorites right now are his walk behind/ride on toys, Little Peoples Farm and tractor, anything you can push around, looking at the touch and feel books.

He loves riding his John Deere tractor and will even crawl to the door and bang on it to go outside if he knows someone else is out there. This toy of Jenna makes noise when the buttons are pushed so he's quite entertained by it. Apparently Jenna was concerned with safety so she thought a helmet would be best.

SAND! We're slowly moving beyond the "in the mouth stage" but still have to watch carefully that the fistful doesn't go in. He loves to sit and play in his sandbox or at the beach.

At 11 months Garrett isn't actually saying very many words other than the basics (mama, dada, bye-bye, no)but I have no doubt that's those little wheels are turning and soaking up everything! He has the cutest bye-bye wave that he must have picked up from Jenna. A couple of my favorite things are watching him clap and play patty-cake, throwing his hands up in the air for a "so big", covering his head with his blankie for a game of peek-a-boo, picking up a phone (or any toy that resembles a phone) and putting it by his ear just jabbering away like he's talking to someone, shaking your head yes, and figuring out how toys work and are put together.....guessing that comes from daddy!

Love you so much Garrett, can you stay little just a bit longer please!!!

A Fantastic 5 Year Old!

2010-07-27T22:06:00.000-04:00

My sweet Jenna, it's hard to believe that you are five years old already! I remember the day you were born like it was just yesterday. You were a sweet baby and you continue to be a sweet little girl. I love your smile and the way those sparkly blue eyes can melt my heart and how your personality has really started to shine. You have your moments, as any five year old does, but you are a very kind and gentle little girl always trying to help. You are such a great big sister and you are so sweet with Garrett.

You love to sing and I love watching your "shows". You love to color and do crafts and are very particular, I enjoy seeing each one of your materpieces. In the last year you've grown up so much...going to preschool, riding your bike without training wheels, swimming like a fish, playing with your neighbor friends, even asking to have your long hair cut short :-).

I am grateful every day that God chose me to be your mommy. I love you Jenna!

Really, 9 Months already?!?

2010-06-15T16:26:00.001-04:00

This is a little late, but better late than never, right? Garrett has continued to be such a joy, can't even imagine life before him. He is into everything and has mastered his cute little "there's no way you can be mad at me" smile. What a stinker! His well child visits are a little off schedule so we won't know his exact size until next week but we know he's a little bit of a big boy. At nine months....

you eat almost anything. Hopefully this continues and you become a great eater like your big sister. You have started eating several kinds of solid foods and enjoy all of them
you have 8 teeth already!
you crawl all over the place, pull yourself up and even walk along things a bit even letting go to stand in place. You also decided to master the stairs climbing all the way from the bottom to the top.
you LOVE to have music on. As soon as you hear it you stand up next to something and bend at the knees like you're dancing and giggle, it's so cute! You also love to clap your hands and make lots of noise.
you are making all kinds of noise including the ma-ma and da-da sounds. You even grunt when your sister takes something away from you that you want :-). You have started to wave bye-bye which is so cute to see.
you giggle and laugh when we play patty cake and do "so big"
you enjoy being outside and crawl to the door when you see your sister go out. The neighbor kids all love you since you're the only little one around and they give you TONS of attention.
you put everything in your mouth! Each morning you pick a toy for the day and it seems to be your favorite all day long as you crawl with it and take it everywhere you go. Some days it's a little rubber duck, other days it's a toy tv remote or a small stuffed animal.
up to this point you have had no "favorites"...no pacifier, favorite blankie or anything that you needed. Just recently though you have fallen in love with your soft white blanket and when it's time for a nap or bedtime you snuggle right up and fall to sleep.

All clean after a bath & having fun playing with your activity table that your cousin Allee let you borrow.

When you wake up you're so full of smiles and usually jumping up and down, chatting away! You don't even use a pacifier but found one in your room and crawled around chewing on it, love the big smile hiding behind it!

9 Month Pictures....I think the overalls are my favorite since I won't be able to dress you like this forever. Nothing like a little boy and his overalls ;-)

Fun at the Gardens...

2010-06-15T15:09:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a FUN day! Dave took Monday off so we could spend the day doing something fun with the kids. We let Jenna choose between the zoo and Fredrick Meijer Gardens. It took a bit for her to choose but after going back and forth she chose the Gardens. We had looked into and knew there would be a variety of things to do but we had no idea she would have so much fun, we all did! We arrived about 10:00am and did not leave until almost 3:00 and we really could have stayed longer if it wasn't for two sleepy kids.

Me and my little sweetie ready to explore the Children's Garden

Jenna entering the Children's Garden through the mouse entrance, too cute!

Jenna really had fun playing and exploring the Tree House

Dave and Jenna in the Butterfly Maze. Another big hit that she ran through several times. There were fun sculptures to play with in the maze as well. After the maze they stopped to make their own clay sculpture that when finished was put on "display". She thought it was lots of fun.

The Great Lakes Water Garden was a big hit with Jenna and Garrett. From the observation deck you look down and see the pool form the shape of the great lakes. Facts and information is written all around the edges, really neat. They could choose from boats and other waters toys and play in the water. Garrett would have jumped right in if it was allowed!

After all that playing and some lunch, Garrett was getting sleepy so I put him in my hotsling for a change of pace from the stroller. He snuggled up and zonked out.

Jenna was all about having her picture taken in front of ALL the sculptures, she was getting more creative as the day went on... (in the background in one of the current Chiluhy glass scultures on display, really cool stuff)

Her fave sculpture....the HUGE horse as she called it. Look closely and you can see her waving

Finally a sculpture she could touch, the sign said it was made to be touched. She thought Garrett needed to touch it too.

Thank you Fred and Lena Meijer for a wonderful gift to this community! It was a fun-filled day for out entire family. I like art, Dave loves being outside and the kids love to play...we could do it all here.

(Garrett and Jenna with the sculpture of the Meijers)

Dave and the kiddos

No place like the park!

2010-06-08T21:58:00.000-04:00

I cannot tell you how many times a day I get asked to go to Helder Park. Quite frequently we go. Sunday we opted to take the long way so Jenna could ride her bike (most days I use the shortcut by the ball diamond fence). It's so much fun to get all these smiles...

Beach Bum...

2010-06-08T21:51:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago Dave and I decided to head to Grand Haven for a Sunday afternoon. We weren't sure how Garrett would do onthe beach so we figured that by heading to Grand Haven we could always walk on the boardwalk and in town. Garrett ended up loving the beach! Hopefully we have lots of nice weekends to enjoy the beach this summer as a family.

...

Tunnel Park

2010-06-08T21:45:00.001-04:00

Jenna's entire class on the beach at Tunnel park for their end of year picnic. The weather was great and the kids had so much fun playing on the playground, running down the dune and seeing their friends to celebrate the end of the school year.

Jenna and her teacher, Mrs. Joustra

Jenna and her classroom assistant teacher, Mrs. R

Walking with her friends thru the tunnel

Running down the sand dune

Checking out the view

Warm Weather Fun!

2010-06-08T21:38:00.001-04:00

When the weather gets warm we head outside! On most mornings Jenna cannot wait to get outside and play, Garrett follows her right to the door.

If you want to hear lots and lots of giggles just push Garrett up and down the driveway on the tractor! I don't think this will be the last green toy to adorn our garage.

If your daddy (Dave) builds you a really cool sandbox that has an even cooler wall around it, of course you have to jump...

When you have no grass, you put the sprinkler in the driveway (or run inthe neighbors lawn which is what happens most of the time)

and if your Garrett, you just sit downstream a bit and let the water cool you off...

When you get really sick of crawling in dirt or on concrete and it's just WAY too hot to have pants on you make adjustments to your style...

If you're Jenna, you just always have a smile when it means being outside!

Our Little Graduate

2010-06-08T21:26:00.001-04:00

It is so cliche, but it really does seem like just a couple weeks ago I brought Jenna to Zeeland Christian for her first day of preschool (even more difficult to believe is that Garrett was only 2 weeks old). An entire school year of memories has passed by. Jenna has grown so much and we are very proud of her. Our shy little girl who had little tears and a shaky voice as she would say hi to her teachers upon arriving at school has turned into a much more confident little girl. Some of her most favorite memories are:

- Being the star helper and having mommy or daddy come to school with her

- Spending time with their buddy (a student from 3rd grade they are paired up with)

- listening to Mrs. Joustra read books

- crafts....oh how Jenna loves her crafts

- writing and drawing pictures

Jenna's special graduation from ZCS preschool...

Up on stage getting ready to sing, she actually did sing and do the motions

Getting her certificate

(the picture is blurry but I bumped the setting on my camera...in my defense it was about 90 degrees in the gym and I had been in bed all day with the flu and was just happy that I made it there!)

Jenna had lots of people to share her special night with...(daddy & Krysta and Nana were also there)

Grandpa & Grandma Kapenga

Gram...

Our Family with our special girl...

Next year she'll be in Young 5's at Zeeland Christian. It is our prayer for you Jenna that you will continue to learn and grow into the wonderful person God has created you to be. We love you!

Daddy's (aka Dave's) Helpers...

2010-06-08T21:09:00.000-04:00

The warm weather arrived which meant getting some work done on outside projects. We opted not to put the landscaping or lawn in last fall, after a busy summer of building the house, moving and having a baby we decided to just slow down a bit and enjoy. All the other houses on the street have nice landscaping so ours really stood out with just dirt, uneven and rocky at that. Thanks to Dave's friend, Keith Boerman from Integrity Landscaping we had a plan and trailer full of plants delivered in no time. Dave dug lots of holes for lots of plants, I was around for moral support and direction, hey somebody had to keep Garrett from eating all the dirt! We spent a damp Friday spreading all the woodchips and a huge thanks to Bryan Rotman for coming to spread several yards of stone in the backyard.

Of course Jenna had to get in on the action as well. Most of the time she and her little neighbor friends were just full of dirt but she did help plant one of the trees which was quite cute...

Digging in clay is not all that much fun...

Keith lent Dave a tractor to get the stones to the backyard so not all of it needed to be done with a wheelbarrel, thank goodness! Garrett LOVED watching the tractor go back and forth and daddy gave him a little ride.

Our garage has been lacking in organization and with all the summer toys out, the bikes, games, wagon, strollers, chairs, etc. have been piling up and getting a little out of control. It's great to have a neighbor who works for Windquest and gave us some great suggestions for using the ORG system. Dave built a few shelves and then we utilized the ORG wall and hook system. It's terrific! While Dave was doing some cutting Garrett wanted in on the action. It was so cute to watch him crawl up te step and sit right next to Dave. He did steal the pencil and thought he was pretty funny...

The last project was planting the grass. Did that Saturday morning and it POURED Saturday night. Guess we'll have to wait and see how much actually comes up!

River Bank Run 2010

2010-05-10T21:47:00.000-04:00

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider being more than a casual runner. As a matter of fact it had been since before I had Jenna that I had actual ran at all. Earlier this year a group of girls from church were challenged by a member of their small group to come together and "train" for the River Bank. I was asked to join them and decided to give it a shot. Amazing that the running in freezing cold, snow covered sidewalks actually was quite fun. The group of girls was awesome and we had a lot of laughs. We all joined together to raise money for Youth For Christ. Above is the picture of some of the larger group of runners that represented YFC at the River Bank Run! There were others that arrived on there own and did not make it in the picture.

The weather was chilly and the wind was blowing but the atmosphere in downtown Grand Rapids was a lot of fun to be a part of. I participated in the 10k run. While meeting for our weekly runs I often ran with Daysha Rotman. We kept a good pace together and the time always went by quickly as we chatted away. Saturday we ran together as well and it was fun to share this accomplishment with someone who has been running with me for the past couple months. We finished in 1 hour 4 minutes, not too shabby for a couple first time 30 year old (+ a couple more year for me) first time race runners.

Now we'll have to decide if we want to do this again?

Tulip Time 2010

2010-05-07T15:16:00.000-04:00

We headed to Holland a week early to snap some pictures since the weather was great and so were the tulips. Of course we had to head back again during Tulip Time because one trip to junk food Heaven just wasn't enough...

Jenna, Garrett and Allee

Grandma and her little sweeties

Garrett and Alivia, checking each other out...too cute!

Jenna, Garrett, Jonas, Oliver, Evan and Alivia...missing half the crew but it was fun to get some pictures of the kids.

Allee and Jenna watching the dancers

Kennedy and Jenna hamming it up for the camera of course.

3 little Dutch girls watching the dancing....Kennedy, Jenna and Emma

They were SO excited when Daysha let all three come out and dance with their group!

Maybe the best part of Tulip Time, the yummy food! Jenna was all smile after her elephant ear.

Just like that, she's off....

2010-05-07T14:44:00.000-04:00

All it seemed to take was a little push....

Jenna has wanted to learn to ride without training wheels on her bike since last summer but unfortunately this poor child cannot do two things at the same time, is so easily distracted and well...those things don't bode well for learning to ride a bike. Then when some of her friends started to learn she wanted to even more so outside we went and took off the training wheels. After a little frustration on her part she took a deep breath and gave it another try....

Ready....

set....

RIDE!!!!

The best part was the smile beaming on her face as she did it!

Crazy 8!

2010-05-07T14:37:00.000-04:00

Our little guy just keeps on growing. In the last month he cut the second of his top two teeth so he no longer has the cute hillbilly look going on...although it was cute!

He wasn't too interested in sitting still to have his "8 month" picture taken. Gotta be on the move all the time.

He loves drinking out of his sippy...

...and eating!

He has been crawling backwards but when he wants to move forward quickly he rolls....and rolls fast! He has it down to where he rolls and lands in a sitting up position on his buns, so cute! He gets where he wants to go and into everything, nothing is safe. He pulls stuff off the end tables, the shelves by the computer in the kitchen, Jenna's art off the fridge and gets himself stuck under the table, the barstools...whatever looks like a fun and interesting place to go. The funniest part about watching him roll is that his head rarely hits the ground, maybe I should try it and give my tummy muscles that kind of workout!

oooohhhh, mommy's closet looks like a great place to hide and make a mess.

Best of all we can still cuddle with you when you're sleepy and you are always SO full of smiles!

Just Jenna...

2010-05-07T14:23:00.000-04:00

Most posts are about Jenna and Garrett, or often times just Garrett. This time it's just Jenna! She is such a sweet girl and every day she grows up just a little bit more (tear).

The always thoughtful little girl wanted to pick flowers with Grandma and insisted on making this pretty arrangement for me. I thought it was very sweet and very cute! Now grandma just needs to get Jenna and her cousin Allee to stop picking the rest of the flowers....not sure it was a good thing to start.

Jenna had to make a simple boat that they could float at preschool. This project was right up Dave's ally. He didn't like my choice of butter tub so he and Jenna hunted through the storage container cupboard until they found the right "boat". I had to keep reminding him that this was "Jenna's" homework and not his so it had to look like a 4 year old made it. She cut out and decorated the sails and attached them to her mast (which she chose a Hello Kitty pencil for...such a girl!). He figured out the rest and in no time at all they had a boat. After testing it in the sink it was ready for preschool.

Jenna is NOT my napper and hasn't been since she was 3 years old. She go, go, goes all day long. Just a couple weeks ago we had a crazy busy week and by Friday it had all caught up to her. She asked me after lunch if she could just rest, in only a matter of minutes she was sound asleep. I love the time we get to spend together doing fun activities while Garrett naps in the afternoon but some days this angelic sight would be very welcomed.

The big 3-0!

2010-04-21T14:10:00.000-04:00

We recently had a big birthday in our house, Dave turned 30! With several family events going on during the month of April it just wasn't going to work for us to get away for his birthday like we had hoped to so we've postponed that until fall. Jenna was so excited it was his birthday so I thought we could have some fun and so some special things.

She was so excited to go to the store to pick out decorations and decorate the house. She's a very particular little girl and I had to do it just right for her. This is where she decided to hang the happy birthday banner. Then there were balloons and streamers too!

She even wanted to put a note on the door so Dave would have to knock before he came in the house after work, that way she wouldn't miss being able to surprise him. As you can tell by his smile he thought it was pretty cute.

Before heading out to eat Dave opened his cards and presents with the kids help of course!

Jenna insisted that we have cake BEFORE dinner. Since Dave is always a sucker for Jenna's request, she got her wish of cake before dinner. She wanted me to write on the cake but she did the rest of the decorating. She knows Dave loves strawberry so she picked strawberry cake mix, it wasn't bad and Dave loved all the effort she put into making his day special!

We love you Honey/Daddy/Dave, and wich you many more wonderful years!

Silly 7th Month Old!

2010-04-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

A little delayed in posting Garrett's 7 Month snapshots but better late than never! He is growing up so fast, it seems that everyday he changes in some way. The fist month I took his picture on the blue blanket he looked so little (and laid so still), not he's as big as the blanket and I had a hard time taking one without him grabbing the paper and rolling away.

Garrett has his two bottom teeth and one top one has broken through with another close behind. He has been up on all fours rocking away now for a couple weeks but all he goes is backwards and mommy is fine with that. If he crawls as quick as he rolls all over we're in trouble (and so is his sister).

He loves eating and we haven't found a food that he dislikes yet. Jenna snuck him some Cheerios from her breakfast a couple weeks ago and he did really well with them so he's been getting them more frequently and loves them. We love to listen to him "talk". His favorite noise is clicking his tounge and making motorboat sounds....very loudly with TONS of drool.

He'll give just about anybody smiles and will put his hands out to you if he wants to come to you...of course when he's by mom he just teases everyone and burries his head in my shoulder and giggles, love it!

While he still loves sitting in his bouncer and jumping like crazy, he really is so content sitting on the floor playing with toys. His favorite is his Leap Frog drum, which can be loud when he's banging away! Apparently Jenna isn't too fond of it either as it has gone MIA on more than one occassion. I'll find it hidden under the bed, inside an end table cabinet and ask her if she put it there....her response "yes mom, but it's SO annoying!" Oh dear Jenna, your little brother has only just begun to be annoying to you. He as even shown his fiesty side and will grunt or yell in protest when she takes a toy away from him or moves him out of her way. Watch out Jenna!

We've been spending a lot of time outside enjoying the nice weather. He really enjoys being in the stroller and playing with toys on the deck or on a blanket in the driveway. Sorry buddy, we'll eventually have grass for you to play in.

Can't wait to see what the next month has in store for our little Garrett!

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T10:19:00.000-04:00

I love Easter and the sense of renewal that it brings. I can't help but feel blessed when I sit back and reflect on what Easter means. I read several Facebook posts about the feelings people had on Easter and their joy to celebrate the day, I wish we could have the same sense of "joy" about every day, afterall, the gift that Jesus gave us that day is relevant 364 other days of the year. After attending the Good Friday and Easter morning servicces at our church I felt more than just the typical "happy Easter" feeling. As Christians so often we are able to say that we believe in all God did/does for us yet we complain about the things, lots of things and circumstances of our life. At times when the circumstances are more challenging than we want to deal with we even ask God "why". Yet, Jesus GAVE himself up for us WITHOUT complaining. He personally gained nothing from hanging on that cross to die. Kinda makes me think I should live my life with the same type of willingness to follow the will of my Heavenly Father and his plan for my life and I realize that a good majority of the situations we find ourselves in that we are unhappy about are because of our our doing, our own desire to achieve personal gain....yet we complain...doesn't seem quite right does it? My prayer is that in the days, weeks and months to come I will have a much greater appreciation for the fact He did this for me without complaining!

I hope your Easter was a blessing to you as well!

Wiggle, Wiggle & Bang!

2010-04-06T16:11:00.000-04:00

Ever since Garrett figured out how to sit up he's been testing the waters of how to move around more and more. He rolls all over the family room floor and recently started wiggling himself up onto all fours...yikes!

He loves taking a bath with Jenna but she tends to get a little rough so we put him in his seat yet for his own safety. He loves to banng on it and make noise!

Love the Feeling of Spring!

2010-04-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

We were fortunate to have the feeling of spring arrive a little early this year and March brought some unexpected warm temps. After what felt like a long winter of being inside, we all spent as much time as we could outside enjoying the weater.

Jenna was so excited to get out the rollerskates, her scooter and her bike.

Why color inside when you can do it on the deck and enjoy the sunshine!

Garrett was so happy being outside as well. After going for a walk we took the toys outside and enjoyed some fresh air. I think we'll be spending a LOT of time outside this summer since both kids really enjoy being outside. The neighbors behind us have a large swingset and told us to go ahead and put a baby swing on it for Garrett since we won't be able to "play" in our yard mcuh this spring. Hopefully we can get a yard in as soon as possible or this mommy is going to be doing lots and lots of very dirty laundry. We'll still have plenty of "dirt" for Garrett to play in since Dave has worked a very big sandbox into the landscaping plan....can't wait!

He loves the music that plays when you bang the drum. He bangs and bangs and bangs on it. Jenna will usually take it away from him after 15 minutes and tell me "it's so annoying mom"...too bad sweetie, he's only just begun to annoy you.

Yeah Nemo!

2010-04-06T14:53:00.000-04:00

Yeah Girls Night and yeah Nemo!

A couple weeks ago we headed to McDonalds and then to the VanAndel with some of my friends and the little girls. We surprised them by going to the opening night of Disney's Nemo on Ice. Jenna was so exited and we had a very fun night.

What a great night to spend with my little girl!

Silly Kids...

2010-04-06T14:40:00.003-04:00

Betcha can't guess who put the shades on Garrett? Oh his dear darling sister is always up to something!

Jenna and her St. Patty's Day sunglassess.

Garrett started sitting just before he turned 6 months old, he LOVES being able to see everything around him and play. This also means he can see what his sister leaves laying around and he rolls and rolls until he gets it. One of his favorites is the remote control. Good thing we kept the one from our TV that broke.

Jenna wanted to make some muffins, so while Garrett was fown for a nap that is exactly what we did. There are plenty of times that I wish I would get some quiet time during the day to get things done but then again no amount of "me" time is worth giving up the special time I get to spend with her. All too soon she'll be in school everyday and all I'll want is to have these moments back.

Garrett and his biscuit...this boy loves food!

Movie Night

2010-03-31T21:24:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago on a Friday night we had a movie night. Jenna picked one of her favorite VeggieTale movies ans set-up her spot to watch. Garrett enjoyed getting to snuggle up to Jenna.

Garrett decided to checkout what was in the bowl...

and then thought he was big enough to try to get some to eat. Not yet buddy!

Go Fast, Growing Fast!

2010-03-09T09:02:00.001-05:00

A couple weeks ago Dave and Matt took the kids for some sled rides behind the snowmobiles. The kids were so excited and had a lot of fun, especially telling Dave to "Go faster". Jenna and Gracie donned some shades to keep the cold air off their eyes....pretty stylish sledders if I say so myself.

Thank goodness Grandma Sandy bought a big sled so all four could ride together. Grace, Jenna, Jacob and Hannah all rode together and it worked quite well.

How can Garrett be 6 months old already. I know I sound like a broken record but seriously time is flying and he is growing so fast! He's had some pretty big firsts in the last month including the not so fun being sick for the first time. He also got his first two teeth! He loves his cereal and baby food and finds it rather entertaining to make motorboat sounds and see how much of it he can spit on the poor person feeding him. He sits up all by himself and loves playing with toys in front of him....plus he can keep a better watch out for his sister trying to sneak up to bug him. It's so cute to see him put his little arms in the air if he wants you to pick him up. We don't have his 6 month appointment until next week but when he was sick and we had him to the doctor he was 20lbs 3ozs. It's so fun to watch him grow and learn...just love this little man!

A wonderful winter week...

2010-02-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

Dave and Jenna rode the quad and Dave's snowmobile for a little while at his parents house. It was pretty chilly out so the ride didn't last too long, but was fun anyway!

Then after shoveling the driveway they decided to have a snowball fight. Garrett and I watched from inside, maybe next year he'll be the one throwing snow at her...

Garrett loves his cereal so we added some baby food to the mix. I used avacados to make some baby food and when I was done mashing it up Jenna looked and it and said "there is no way he's going to eat that mom, it's disgusting!" She was shocked to learn that she too ate this and liked it when she was a baby!

After a full tummy it's naptime...he is a crazy sleeper! He twists and wiggles around in his crib until his legs are sticking out the sides, this is only a problem when he wants to flip to his tummy but can't because his legs are stuck.

It was nice to occasionally put him in the bouncy seat when I needed to keep him safe from his sister but apparently he's too big for it now! If you buckle him in he just sits up.

We hear a lot of comments about how big his hands are...and they are rather large but so is the rest of him. He now has little rolls for wrists and dimples on every knuckle, they are more like paws than hands. It won't be long and these hands will be getting ito everything!

Last week Wednesday Garrett started coughing. Thursday morning he woke up with one tooth and by the time we put him to bed at night he had a second one! Friday morning he woke up and the cough was more of a wheeze so I called the doctor. I almost called later in the day to cancel the appointment I had made because he was still acting so happy...he just didn't sound right though and wasn't eating well so we went. Glad I did, on top of cutting his teeth he had the start of an ear infection and tested positive for RSV. He responded well to the nebulizer treatment in the office so we were sent home with one for the weekend. He was such a trooper and most of the time would sit contently or just fall to sleep during each treatment. By his appointment on Monday he was breathing much better! If I have to have a sick baby at least he's still happy! Now after a few days of coughing up everything he'd eat and lots of dirty diapers due to the meds we just need to work on getting him back on schedule.

Despite being sick he was still full of smiles!

I promised Jenna the next post would have more pictures of her :-). She is doing well too and having lots of fun at school and playing with her friends. It's so hard to believe she's growing up so fast!

All the love...

2010-02-13T09:49:00.000-05:00

Kennedy, Garrett & Jenna...

Friday after preschool we headed to McDonalds with the Rotman crew. The girls were so excited to come back to our house to play that they didn't even want to play at McDonalds! So home we went. Kennedy and Jenna stayed very busy playing and it was so cute to watch. They have such big imaginations and were making up all kinds of games. They of course wanted Garrett to be in on the action. I had to remind them that he can't really "play" yet but he could watch. They did singing shows and danced for him, pretended he was their baby brother and even tried to feed him a pretend bottle. We also had lots of fun making puzzles, coloring and playing a few games of Dora Memory, such sweet little girls. After having pizza with the rest of the Rotman family the girls decided to cuddle up in the pillows and blankets on the floor and watch a movie, I think they would have fallen asleep had we not made them get up....it was a busy day!

Jenna & Garrett

Kennedy & Garrett

Thursday night I helped Jenna make her Valentine crads for preschool on Friday. She wanted to write ALL the names herself. I was so proud of her for even wanting to do this and even more proud that she stuck with it and did not complain! After about 45 minutes (a couple breaks for what she called a sore hand) and we had all 21 done. Hopefully it's always this easy getting her to love doing school work....but I won't plan on it!

Dave knows how much I love gerber daisies and last week he surprised me by having a delivery made while he was at work. The unexpected surprise and thoughfulness was so sweet and with a card that read "thanks for all you do" made me feel pretty appreciated. Thanks babe!

Catchin' up...

2010-02-08T22:47:00.001-05:00

Is it really February already? We haven't really been up to anything all that exciting but we're having a good time anyway, guess life really is what you make it. The cold weather has meant plenty of days spent indoors (and when you work from home this can make some days seem REALLY long) but we've found lots to do. Jenna continues to smother her brother with love....at least that what she thinks, Garrett might just think all her attention is just plain annoying at times! We spend lots of time with Jenna doing crafts, coloring, reading books and playing store and beauty salon...a couple of her favorites. She also loves games so there have been plenty of rounds of Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Old Maid, Go Fish, Memory and Guess Who just to name a few. We're open to suggestions of new fun games. She also learned how to play tic-tac-toe and legitamately beat her Uncle Travis, he was a little shocked that he lost :-).

Daddy & Garrett

Jenna winning a round of Uno

Jenna comes up with plenty of fun games for her and Garrett to play too....

Jenna made Garrett one of her students along with all her stuffed animals. He thought it was great fun sitting with all the animals around and listening to Jenna talk and talk and talk.

Jenna teaching Garrett how to play with the farm toys he got for Christmas, he actually paid attention to her for quite awhile!

Jenna's latest and greatest is covering Garretts jumperoo with a blanket and making him his own little tent. By the look on his face he doesn't seem to mind too much

(he might actually like it since it's kind of like hiding from her)

A couple weeks ago Jenna was the Star Helper at Preschool. She also got to celebrate her 1/2 birthday because she has a summer birthday. It was so fun to spend the morning in her classroom with her!

Garrett is a healthy and happy 5 month old. We love him to pieces....especially those cheeks! No surprise he loves his cereal, it is food afterall. Rolling, giggling, drooling like crazy, trying to sit up, jumping like crazy when you stand him up....he's such a content and happy baby....we're having so much fun!

Fun @ 4 months...

2010-01-11T22:19:00.001-05:00

Really? Is it possible that Garrett is 4 months old already! We couldn't be having more fun. Jenna LOVES her little brother and each day we watch as he discovers the world around him. His smile is contagious and his laugh is cute enough to brighten any glum mood. I really do think he grows by the day, his 4 month stats:

18lbs 5ozs

25 1/2 inches long

For those of you who have big babies this may seem like no big deal. To me it seems so big since Jenna was always a little peanut. We'll keep him, chubs and all!

Other than growing healthy and strong he enjoys...

his jumperoo/exersaucer...when he gets jumping it's the cutest thing ever and it's as though he just can't stop himself. He thinks he pretty big stuff and laughs and laughs at himself.
tummy time...Jenna took her sweet time to enjoy the world from her belly but this little guy actually likes it. I think he's just nosey and doesn't want to be left out of anything that his sister is doing
sitting in your bumbo chair....sorry it's pink and purple! Each week night when I make dinner Garrett sits in his bumbo on the island and watches and "talks" to me, maybe he'll learn to cook and be my helper :-)
"airplane" rides....despite the drool that the pilot has to endure they are also treated to giggles and smiles by this delightful passenger!

We get lots of laughs when watching you roll over and we wonder each morning how you get completely turned around in your crib as you sleep???

It's hard to see time passing so quickly but we're enjoying EVERY minute of it!!!

Chirstmas 2009 is in the books...

2010-01-04T14:40:00.005-05:00

I was really looking forward to the holidays this year. Sure having another little one who is on a schedule always makes this a little more challenging but we just went with the flow and took in as much of the holiday festivities as we could. It is SO much fun to see the holidays through the eyes of a child once again. We tried very hard this year to emphasize "the joy of giving" to Jenna. She helped us shop for special things for the people we had to buy gifts for and it was fun to see how proud she was to watch them open what she had helped select. She is an EXCELLENT secret keeper as she did not spill one single secret to anyone! We spent time reading Christmas stories and she got to do lots of fun Christmas crafts with Grandma. I could listen to her sing Christmas carols all day long...maybe we'll have to turn them on from time to time so I don't have to wait a whole year to hear them!

I was so excited to visit Jenna's preschool class the last day before break. Of course during singing she did all the motions but didn't sing a word, then proceeded to belt them out the second we got in the car, stinker! We had a lot of fun making crafts and decorating cupcakes!

Dave and Jenna making some Christmas treats, I think plenty of kisses and M&M's were eaten in the process!

Since Jenna is not a napper I am always looking for fun activities to keep her busy in the afternoon while Garrett is sleeping. It turned out to be an "arts and crafts" Christmas for her and she loved it. We did make the mistake of not "pre-assembling" her art easel so she was a little confused at why she was just getting a big box but once it was put together she played all afternoon. Garrett received some "boy" toys. He already enjoys sitting on the floor watching Jenna play with them and I'm sure it won't be long before he's chasing her away! It was so sweet watching Jenna trying to teach Garrett to open his gifts, she's such a good big sis!

Garrett loved the wrapping paper!

The best part of the holidays was cherishing the time with family....

(Still need to get pics from my mom and sister so this is the best I have of "our" family picture at the moment).

My Sweeties...

Grandma & Grandpa Kapenga...

Grandma Overway with Allee, Jenna and Garrett...

By far the best gift I could have asked for this year...

In the end it was a very fun filled holiday season. Just like every other Christmas I wish my dad was here to celebrate with us and be there for his grandsons first Christmas. Having Garrett this year brought back so many memories of Jenna's first Christmas and how excited my dad was at our family party on Christmas Eve to give her the red wagon they bought her. It made me think of all the events and celebrations he has not been there for and I don't think any number of years will take away that feeling. I am so thankful that because of the very reason we celebrate the season, the birth of our Saviour, I can have faith and hope that he is enjoying the biggest celebration of all!

3 Months & Some Sisterly Love

2009-12-10T14:05:00.005-05:00

Wow, where is the time going??? Garrett is already 3 months old. We couldn't ask for a happier, laid back baby. He continues to grow and grow and grow. While that's the sign of a healthy baby it also means the "baby" stage is passing quickly. Last we weighed him he was almost 17 lbs. Needless to say my arms are getting quite a workout but that's alright since all too soon he'll want to be on the ground running and carrying him will be a thing of the past.

Since he was doing so well with tummy time and loved playing under his play mat with the music and toys surrounding him we decided to put his exersaucer/jumperoo together and give it a try. He LOVES it. Jenna likes all the little hooks around it from which she can hang toys from him.

His little feet just touch the ground so when he gets really excited he can even get it to bounce a little bit. Like I said before, "where did my baby go?"

He loves bath time and giggles when we rub lotion on him afterwards. Here he is squeaky clean and all smiles!

After a busy afternoon or playing he just decided his play mat was the perfect place to take a nap. Jenna thought the "toys" that are normally above him needed to come off because "mommy what if they fall on him while he's sleeping and he gets hurt?".....what a little mommy. Moments after I took this picture she put her blanket over him to keep him warm :-)

Jenna's favorite thing to do is play salon and make poor Garrett her customer. He likes it when you comb his hair so he just sits contently while she drapes a blanket over him as her pretend cape and combs his hair.....then she decided he needed to be dressed up....

She's been warned that there is a VERY good chance that someday he will be much bigger than her and he will get paybacks.

We went to Zeeland's Santa Claus parade a couple weeks ago. It was chilly but we bundled Garrett up and covered the stroller really well. He slept the entire time....until I tried to get a picture of him all cozy, then those big blue eyes popped open.

Dave and Jenna waiting for the candy!!!!

Other than all of the above life has been settling into a normal routine. We're settled in the house and are looking forward to the holidays!!!

Baptism

2009-12-10T13:06:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday we had the privilege to have Garrett baptized. It was a very special morning and we are so grateful for the family and friends that could share in this special occasion with us. It is one of those moments as a parent that we were reminded how precious this little guy is and what an awesome responsibility we have being his parents. He is a gift from God and we pray that as he grows he will know the love that we have for him and more importantly the love that his Heavenly Father has for him.

Our little man just chillin, love that smirk!

Garrett's grandparents were able to come up front with us as well to share in the moment. There were no tears, as Pastor Steve commented "he looks quite bored". He is so laid back and that's exactly how he was during baptism.

Dave's younger sister Megan and her husband Ryan also had their daughter baptized. After the service everyone came to our house for lunch. It was a great day!

2 Months and Growing...

2009-11-12T13:47:00.003-05:00

The last two months have gone so quickly. I can't believe that Garrett is already 2 months old. On November 2 we had him in to the Doctor for his regular check-up. Not much of a surprise that he weighed 14lbs, 6ozs and was 23 1/2 inches long. We've had to do a closet cleaning already to get rid of the little stuff! We couldn't be happier having this little guy around, our lives are changed forever by him. He is a great baby! Sure he doesn't sleep through the night yet but he does go to bed by 9:00 pm usually and makes it a solid 6 hours, eats quickly and goes right back down for a few more hours of sleep. He is so content and happy, in all seriousness we rarely hear him cry. He loves hanging out in his bouncy and his bumbo seat...not sure he's crazy about how much his sister bugs him but he has such a laid back personality that it rarely seems to phase him. Garrett gives tons of smiles that melt my heart and hearing his little voice coo and almost giggle makes me smile. We certainly feel blessed to have a happy, healthy baby!

After his trip to the Dr. he was still all smiles...

Showing off his muscles...Jenna always hated tummy time but Garrett doesn't really seem to mind it...

He's getting big but we'll still take advantage of some snuggle time. Before putting his PJ's on

he snuggled with Dave on the couch for a bit (I think Dave fell asleep right along with Garrett)

Hayrides, Pumpkins & A Little Halloween Fun...

2009-11-01T20:27:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago my mom's family , the Boetsmas, got together for the annual fall party complete with hayrides, pumpkin picking and hot dog roast. The weather was a little chilly but we had fun anyway. Dave and I were able to take Garrett on his first hayride.

Garrett was all bundled up in his fleece and blankets. Must have been comfy and warm since he was sound asleep.

My grandma Boetsma (Jenna calls her grandma great) enjoyed some cuddle time with Garrett. She LOVES her family and even at 92 she can't wait to hold all the babies, which seem to be born frequently! Garrett is great-grandchild #60!!! We are so blessed to have our spunky and young at heart grandma. She is a wonderful blessing in our lives.

Jenna had to hold Garrett for a snapshot with all the pumpkins.

Jennas favorite part of carving the pumpkins was cleaning out the guts. After decided what she wanted carved on it Dave and I were stuck with the actual carving...I guess that's what happens to all parents.

Our little pumpkin posing between the pumpkins...too bad he's not so little anymore!

Our Tinkerbell...we had to put lots of layers on under the costume in order to keep her warm but she loved the costume anyway.

Garrett was as sung as a bug all warm in his ear of corn costume. I'm a little biased but he sure was one cute piece of corn!

Uncle Brad, Aunt Nae and Allee came to our house to trick-or-treat. Jenna should have been a farmer to make it a farm theme but that wasn't going to happen. The girls had fun getting all their candy with Dave and Brad (despite being very cold) while Danee and I hung out at the house with Garrett and passed out candy. It's been a great few weeks doing some fun family things!

2 Reasons I Smile...

2009-10-14T10:17:00.003-04:00

I smile because I have these two sweeties to love! Before leaving for church Sunday I took a picture of the kids. Jenna had wanted her picture taken in her new outfit from our "girls night". She has been adjusting well to having a little brother but at times would say "why can't it just be girls". Dave said he would stay home with Garrett so we could go shopping for some new shoes...we got shoes and a new fall church outfit....what can he expect when we go to Target. Needless to say it was money and more importantly TIME well spent since on the way home Jenna said "it was nice to go with just girls, I will say thank you to Dave for staying home". Looking at the picture I can't believe how fast they grow up!

Tuesday I went with Jenna's preschool class to Tuesink's Pony Farm. The kids loved the hayride, pony rides, checking out the animals in the barn and feeding the goats and ducks (well Jenna was one of the kids that wanted no part of a goat nibbling at her fingers so she opted to throw it to the ducks).

Jenna loves riding Aunt Amy's horses so she couldn't wait for the pony rides...

A class picture before heading back to school.

Speaking of growing up...here is our little Garrett at 6 weeks old. He has had a strong neck since birth and is always trying to hold his head up but I thought he'd stay "newborn-ish" a little longer! He loves sitting on his boppy this way and looking all around, it just makes him look so much older. I'm glad he's healthy though!

"Growing like a Weed"

2009-10-07T13:37:00.002-04:00

While living with my mom prior to moving Jenna would hear that phrase a lot in reference to how quickly Garrett was changing. So much so that when she was asked by her cousin if she liked having a baby brother she said "yes, and he's growing like a weed". I am certainly happy that he is a very healthy baby and a great eater so he is growing like crazy, yet it makes me a little sad to think of how much he has grown in 5 short weeks.

I know I will get reprimanded from someone for letting him sleep on his tummy but I was in the same room and he looked so cute all snuggled in a little ball.

Sunday afternoon relaxing, one full chair but I don't think Dave was complaining!

Just before we moved out of my mom's we had a campfire night in the backyard with Brad, Danee and Allee. Garrett had to join the fun for a little while so we bundled him up and took him outside. He seemed to love it until he got too warm.

Garrett certainly has a lot of his daddy's features but everytime I see his big blue eyes open it reminds me of Jenna as a baby. Dave was holding out hope that they would turn green yet like his but I think he should just accept the fact that they are getting more blue by the day.

Garrett has been a great baby. He is very content most of the time (sans when his sister is poking, proding and bugging him like crazy). He's put himslef on a pretty nice schedule of eating every three hours during the day and going to bed around 10 and sleeping until 3:30 - 4:00 in the morning, eating quickly, and gong back down until 7:00ish. Jenna is up around 6:30 so this gives her and I a chance to snuggle for a few minutes. Garrett loves to be held up on your shoulder so he can hold his head up and look around. He has started to find a little voice so he makes more cooing sounds rather than just the grunts and baby noises. It's funny to watch because he seems to startle even himself when he does it. My favorite though is his smile...

It melts my heart to see his little lips curl into a smile along with his big blue eyes. He's such a special little guy and we wouldn't trade him for the world!

Busy but so Blessed!

2009-09-21T11:02:00.006-04:00

I cannot believe that Garrett will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. The last 3 weeks have been very busy with a newborn, building a house and getting Jenna started in preschool, but we've all adjusted and everyone is doing well. We are hoping to possibly move this weekend if our final inspection passes on Friday. Jenna is SO excited to be in her purple room and we are ready to get settled in!

Garrett has been doing great and so far is a good baby. I'll say "so far" because all newborns seem to have a honeymoon period and then show their true colors :-). I don't want to jinx myself. He was 8lbs 3ozs at birth and was 7lbs 10ozs when we took him home. One week later at his check-up he was already 8lbs 8 ozs...obviously eating is NOT a problem for him. He does well at night going in 4 hour stretches. He does spit more than Jenna ever did but the Dr. had warned me about this because it is evident how fast he chugs when he's nursing while Jenna was a very slow eater. Since he was such a quick weight gainer we don't need to go back until his 2 month check-up. We had a blast getting his newborn pictures done by Tracy, she is the best! It will be hard to choose once again. Here are a few snapshots for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting an update.....

Jenna is quite the little mommy to Garrett, otherwise this should be stated as I cannot leave her alone in a room with him! She loves to hold him, give him kisses and cover him up with blankets, bounce him in his bouncy and rub his cheeks. These are all wonderful things except she isn't always so careful when doing them. I know she means well so we'll keep practicing.

She did get a break from being "mini-mommy" when her dad took her to a Detroit Tigers game. She was so excited to go and talked non-stop about it when she got home. Of course she needed pink tigers gear since all the blue is for boys according to her. Here she is all ready to go!

As I mentioned, Jenna started preschool at Zeeland Christian. She is loving it so far. Friday when I picked her up I asked her what her favorite thing about the day was and she said "I loved all of it mom"....music to my ears from our little shy one! I asked her if she met any new kids and she said "Yep, I have a new friend but I don't know her name because she didn't tell me and I can't read her nametag yet", so cute.

It's a BOY!!!

2009-09-03T12:14:00.004-04:00

Garrett Michael Kapenga was welcomed QUICKLY into our family on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 and we are so excited! If being a few days overdue meant I was given the gift of a fast labor and delivery I'll take the trade off any day. I felt some contractions Tuesday morning and told Dave that it might be the day but by noon they had died off completely and I told him I was planning to make it to the non-stress test on Friday and it would be the weekend before we got to meet our little one. I was wrong! At 5:00 the contractions started back up and at 7:15 we were on our way to the hospital. Lucky for me my Dr. was already there, unlucky for me were the words "I don't think you have time for an epidural"....that was not what I wanted to hear! They were able to quickly administer a spinal and at 8:29 we heard the first cries and our Dr. announce..."you have a baby boy". Garrett weighed in at 8lbs. 3ozs. and was 20 inches long. For all who were worried that Dave was going to pass out her did just great, in his own words "it all happened so fast I didn't have time to get nervous or pass out!" Most people have said he looks likes Dave. He has been doing well and I am feeling great. We feel so blessed to have this precious baby in our lives. Jenna was SO excited to meet him and has been doing fairly well, it will all be a big adjustment for her in the coming days and weeks but so far she's just mommies little helper. Now we can enjoy some time at home before Dave heads back to work after the holiday.

Nothing Special, just an update...

2009-08-27T08:56:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile So I figured I should do that before baby "k" is rightfully taking up most of my time and blogging will take a big back seat. We're still plugging along. Jenna is getting excited for school to start and at least once a day we have to play school for a little while. Some days she's the teacher and other days she wants to be the "student". I marvel all the time at how much she changes every day and all the things she learns along the way. Lately when we go to the store she needs her paper and pen so she can make a "list". She will pretend to be writing things down as I shop and at times even wants to know how to really spell the words. She has most of our names mastered so we often leave the store with sheets of paper filled with our names in her sweet little handwriting. She has the sweetest nature and loves to help with everything, should be very interesting when the baby arrives. As we get closer to welcoming baby I find myself a little sad that she will not longer get all of my attention and we will not have as much time to do our typical fun things, yet I realize what a big girl she is becoming....maybe that's actually what makes me a little sad :-)

The house is coming along nicely, the process has been fairly painless and has gone well. Dave's brother John is currently in there painting and after that we need some carpet, countertops and some fixtures. All the other flooring is done thanks to our brother-in-law Ryan who did all the tile and wood flooring a couple weeks ago. We even managed in the last two nights to get some cabinet and door hardware on....anything that can be done before baby comes we'll do! This weekend is hopefully dry enough for some more concrete for the front porch and then soon to follow a driveway....which will be so nice because clay and all this rain do NOT make it easy to get up to the house! I'll post pictures soon, just haven't been remembering to take my camera along.

Last but not least, pregnancy! I have actually been enjoying the last little bit of pregnancy. Sure sleeping is mcuh to be desired but hey, when the baby comes it's not going to be any better! We are all getting very excited to meet the baby and find out if we will be welcoming a little girl or boy into our lives. I've had a lot of contractions but none of them have been the real thing yet. My due date is tomorrow but I'm sure I'll go over by a few days as I did with Jenna and that's ok. Until then I realize there are things to cherish about being pregnant..... those little kicks and hiccups that you feel and miss once the baby is born, the genuine excitement and anticipation that comes with waiting for the little bundle of joy, the excuse you have to wear all things with elastic waistbands and not worrying about if the outfit makes you "look fat", decorating a nursery for the baby....even though really they can't tell at all what their room looks like :-), picking out baby stuff at the store and marveling at how little newborn diapers are, watching your husbands face light up when he feels the baby kicking, realizing how fortunate I am (unlike so many who pray endlessly for this opportunity) that I am blessed to carry this child and have done so for the entire 40 weeks without any complications, the pure miracle of the entire process when you think of how this little baby began to form so many weeks ago. God has perfect timing and knows better than I do when this baby is supposed to arrive and until then we will patiently wait and enjoy our family of 3. Maybe the next post will be announcing the arrival of baby Kapenga?!?

Already 1 Year!

2009-08-08T09:33:00.008-04:00

I cannot believe that Dave and I have been married for a year. The weather on this day last year was perfect for the outdoor wedding and I have so many wonderful memories of that day. More important are the memories of the days and months that follwed and all the changes that have already taken place in our lives. Dave is a wonderful step dad to Jenna and I love watching them play when they think I am busy doing something else. We also cannot wait for the newest addition to our family arrive and to be miving into our new house....yes it's been busy! I love having Dave to share life with, the big things, the little things and all the things in between!

36 Weeks & A Busy Weekend

2009-08-04T07:30:00.003-04:00

Last Friday marked the 36the week of pregnancy for me. I still feel really good other than the typical uncomfortable sleeping and carrying Jenna is getting harder...the baby is still really high so there just isn't room even for her skinny legs to wrap around that belly of mine. I don't have the mindset of having the baby early so I'll plan on 3 1/2 weeks to go as of today!

Friday night we celebrated Jenna's birthday at Helder Park with my family and Dave's family. There were lots of kids and lots of fun. It was a perfect night to be outside and having the park right there kept the kids very entertained. Jenna was so excited it was her party and she had a lot of fun! I have lots of pictures but too many to post right now.

Saturday was a low key day hanging out at home (aka: grandma's house). Jenna helped me wash several baby items and get some things organized. She was so cute folding all the little clothes after I washed them. Sunday after church we spent the afternoon at Dave's sisters house where we were able to enjoy a get together with the entire Wolter's family! It was a perfect day for it. By the time we left I was tired....Gracie and Jenna wore me out in the pool with all their jumping, sliding and swimming...but it was fun even if I paid for it a little the next day.

Hope you all have a great week!

Already 4!

2009-07-29T08:06:00.006-04:00

I can't believe it Jenna, you turned 4 yesterday! Where has the time gone? You are such a sweet little girl with the best personality a mom could ask for. Sure at times you act WAY older than I wish you would but all in all you're just so lovable. In 4 short years you've experienced a lot in life and I think that's partly what has made you such an easy going, funny yet sweet and caring little girl. I love to watch you play with your Bitty Baby (you think nobody is watching) and act like a little mom, I know in a couple more weeks you're going to make a great big sister! You amaze me everyday with the things you learn (like bringing me the "mail" you had made for me and correctly writing "mommy" on the envelope without anyone's help) and the independence you gain. Thank you for all your smiles and hugs that make each day so special. Love, Mom

Yesterday we celebrated Jenna's birthday with her #4 pancake which she thoroughly enjoyed. Then after spending the morning playing we headed to Grand Rapids so she could have birthday lunch with her dad at none other than McDonalds. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up the food she had chosen for her "birthday meal" (as she called it)...Chicken Cordon Blue, corn on the cob and potatoes! I thought it was a delicious meal but I still laugh that it's a 4 year olds favorite! She was excited that since we live at grandma's house right now she got to enjoy birthday dinner with Gram and Uncle Travis as well. Allee and Aunt Nae stopped by in the afternoon with some cupcakes....yummmmmmmy!!!!!

After all the eating it was time for presents, she was so excited and was trying to guess all day what they could be. First was the ball glove and ball, pink of course. She was thrilled since she loves to play catch and I've been asked several times why she has a ball glove at daddy's but not at mommy's.

After some other little gifts her eyes grew wide as she stared at the big box still waiting to be opened. We found her a Step 2 brand Vanity with a mirror and little stool. She LOVED it!

After finding all her lip glosses and nail polish Dave was her first client, he just got a haircut though :-). I think this will provide hours of fun as it was the first thing she went to play with this morning.

Dave & I with the birthday girl! Not much longer and we'll be a family of 4.

When putting her to bed last night I asked her if she had a good birthday, her response was "it sure was a busy day mom but it was a great day".