Newest Troop Member

Emma joined Girl Scouts this week. It will be a whole new experience for me since I have never been involved in Girl Scouts before.

I'm so proud of her for wanting to get involved and try something new! If you need cookies this spring, I know an adorable little lady that would be happy to sell you some :)

Only a Month Behind

August was such a crazy month with summer coming to a close and the girl's birthday parties. Trying to soak up every last minute of sun. In the process I got behind on the blog. Again. Typically I have several in various stages of being done, but I can't complete them on the iPad. It doesn't get along with blogger for whatever reason. That's why the posts seem to come in waves. When I find time to sit at my desk, I add the finishing touches on multiple posts and crank them out. Sorry for the unpredictability around here, but that's life huh? Needless to say I missed out on an important post.

Easton, as of August 17th, you are 2.5 years old buddy! These days you love to play with anything on wheels, but tend to favor your combine and 'monster jam'. Your crib is starting to look like your sister's bed, bursting at the seams with stuff. Out of all your stuffed animals you have a few favorites: your cow, blue teddy bear, black bear and giant monkey. You have boundless amounts of energy and love to be outside whenever you can. The swing set and sand box have gotten a lot of use this summer. I think you have finally mastered pedaling your tricycle also, but you still love to push your dirt bike around in the driveway and ride your Gator.

For the time being you are still in the crib. You haven't climbed out so I have no wish to switch to a bed just yet. Most nights you goof around for an hour after I close the door so knowing you are safely contained in your bed gives mommy a piece of mind! Bedtime is between 8 and 8:30 depending on our day. Most nights you don't drift off to dreamland until 9:30 or so and sleep until 7. You still take one nap in the afternoon for about 2 hours.

Two's have been pretty mild with you. You are much more laid back than Emma. Not to say you don't have your moments. You have picked up a few phrases from your big sister that are less than desirable such as 'stupid mother' and 'I hate you'. Still trying to tackle this issue and help you to understand that your words have power. We need to use them to build others up, not tear them down. You don't truly understand what you are saying to mommy or how painful it can be, you are simply imitating your big sis. However, we hope to curb the behavior. Each sour moment with you dims in comparison to all the other sweet ones my boy!

It seems like your vocab is growing daily these days. You are very talkative (daddy refers to it as 'verbal diarrhea') and struggle with the letter 's' which I have a hard time correcting! Your little 'yet' for 'yes' is adorable and part of me isn't ready to let that go. Sometimes the tone of voice you use or your little facial expressions crack me up. I love to hear your toddler voice and wish I could bottle these moments for the years to come. Right now I just have to savor each one. Allow you to crawl up onto my lap and cuddle, before you decide you are too old to sit there.

You look up to your daddy and your grandpas. The relationship you have with your sisters changes minute by minute. You miss Emma while she is at school and you have a blast with her when she is home. However you are learning to stand up for yourself and have no qualms about fighting back. We are working on using our {nice} words instead of our hands. You also love your little sister dearly and are starting to play really well with her. Unless she does something you don't like. Then you can be rough with her. You really can be quite affectionate when you want to though. I love nothing more than your sweet sticky hands on my face while you give me a kiss goodnight and tell me, 'I love you so much'. We love you so much little buddy and are thankful for you every day!

Love and Marriage

Last book review this month.


photo credit: Amazon

This book caught my eye since it is by the same author as 'Victory Over the Darkness'. We know that marriage creates a strong bond between a husband and a wife. A place where Satan will work his hardest at times to tear that bond apart. It takes work. Choices made unselfishly. And there is always room for improvement. I love the devotional guide included at the end of each chapter so you can delve even deeper into God's word with your spouse.

Thanks to Bethany House publishers who sent me a free copy. It is not required that I give a positive review, but to express my own opinions of this book

Wilde Women

 Time for another book review! I have several coming up this month.

photo credit: Amazon.com

Kylie Wilde is a young girl living on the frontier, homesteading land as a tribute to a brother her family lost in the Civil War. She's not cut out to live alone though, as her older sisters and father continue to point out. All four girls served their country after their brother's death disguised as men. When the local land agent shows up and discovers that Kylie and her three sisters are women, he finds a fierce need to protect her while trying to honor his job. As the story progresses and someone tries to force Kylie off her land I found it hard to put the book down! It did take me a while to get used to the author's writing. It seems like there is an excessive use of commas. Other than that I loved the story and look forward to the next in the series.

Thanks to Bethany House publishers who sent me a free copy. It is not required that I give a positive review, but to express my own opinions of this book.

Nelis' Dutch Village

The Dutch village in Holland is very touristy, but Emma loves it. We went for the first time two years ago and she has been begging to go back ever since. Last week I had a few extra kiddos so I thought this might be a fun outing for everyone.

 

 The ferris wheel is a new attraction this year. It was a big hit with all the kiddos, Elissa included!

 How many boys does it take to walk a goat?

 Duck races

 The kids loved the pumper cars, but Aiden had to work extra hard to make sure Easton got around the track.

What a beautiful day we had! The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. We'll have to try and fit in multiple visits next year.

Labor Day Truck Parade

We went to the truck parade in Zeeland yesterday for the first time. There was a wide range of emotions from our kiddos.

 Emma was just thrilled to get an extra day with daddy

 Easton was stoked to wear his earmuffs and watch all the big trucks roll by

Elissa was a bit unsure.

Thank goodness the rain held off!

FiRst DaY of ScHoOl!

Emma headed off to her first day of kindergarten today. It was really quite bittersweet for this mama. On one hand I'm looking forward to the friendships being forged, the potential for learning and the independence being gained. Yet it's hard. Hard to watch your baby climb on the steps of that school bus without even looking back, ready for the adventure ahead. To give up another little piece of control. I'm inherently a control freak, which must be another reason God blessed me with three kiddos :P

I'm praying you have an awesome day sweet girl. That you enjoy every moment at school. May you not be scared knowing mommy loves you and Jesus is with you every step of the way. And if you see a fellow kinder who is unsure, I pray that you reach out to them. You are my little social butterfly and I know you have a way of putting others at ease. I'm so proud of you!

I look forward to getting you off the bus this afternoon and hearing about every.little.detail of your day without me. We'll be waiting!

Birthday Weekend

We were able to spend a lot of the weekend celebrating our oldest love. Since we knew we wanted to attend church Saturday evening, we let Emma pick her birthday dinner a day early on Friday. In the past she has picked McDonalds, but she is moving on up these days and choose Chuck E. Cheese's. It was actually pretty quiet for a weekend night. The kiddos has a blast.

 Daddy couldn't wait until Saturday to give Emma the gift he bought her so she opened her hats from him as soon as we got home.

They were a little big, so they ran to Fillmore Saturday morning to exchange them. She ended up with a ball cap and lunchbox. We also had a pancake and egg feast for her birthday breakfast complete with chocolate syrup and cool whip.

We usually head to DeAnna's Playhouse to celebrate, but we had to find a new activity this year since it has closed. A new splash pad opened in Zeeland that we have been wanting to check out so the kids and I headed there for the afternoon.

 

After church, we had dinner and she opted to open the presents from us.

We finally got her a real helmet to go with the quad daddy bought her last year. As she grows, she is getting more confident on it which makes her mama nervous. Glad she will have a well protected noggin now!



Sunday was her big party with out family. Frozen theme of course.

 Kristoff's Ice Blocks and Olaf's Summer Salad, complete with a Sven Fruit Bowl

 Royal Rolls because 'we finish each other's sandwiches'

 Sven's Snacks

 

 Easton and Elissa were more than happy to test out Emma's new gifts for her :)

 After the celebration was over and people started to head home we took Emma's new ball out side to test out. I think she likes it!