Well, Palm Springs was a bit of a disaster. Noah and I ended up coming home Thursday morning after breakfast and spent the rest of the time hanging out around here. There were several different things that played into the disaster (which is probably too dramatic of a word to describe our time) and fortunately there was nothing bad that happened, it's just hard to have a one year old at an 8th grade leadership retreat in a house that is all tile with big tile stairs, and the weather over 114 outside. My idea of spending time in the pool didn't quite work out since the pool was about 100 degrees (literally) so it was too hot to be refreshing. Guitar Hero at 11:00 pm woke Noah up and he didn't get back to sleep until about 1 am...but then he woke up at 6am, so he was exhausted and so were we. Because of the tile (and big steps) we couldn't really let Noah roam around, but since Hylke was in charge of everything, he was out of commission...if I needed to do something, it was hard to keep track of Noah (w/o him throwing a fit b/c he wants to be exploring). Sigh. The rest of the group had a great time; I'm really glad things went so well for them. :)
Saturday we went to Temecula for a wedding. We had a great time catching up with friends. We stayed after the wedding was over and spent some great time with friends!
Yesterday I was able to accomplish some things that I really needed to get done...YAY! Hylke's parents came out for dinner to celebrate Hylke's birthday. We had a very nice time with Oma and Opa.
Today is Hylke's birthday! Happy Birthday, sweetheart!! He went in to the office late so he was able to enjoy some Swedish pancakes with fresh strawberries for breakfast at home. Our church has their big VBS this week. It's a little different than the standard VBS...it's more like camp, but sleeping at home. 8-5 mon-fri. Students get to pick electives during the day in addition to traditional VBS. Hylke is teaching a Tennis elective...he will actually drive the students to the courts and they'll do a week of tennis. He's excited. Noah and I being our mommy and me swim classes today. He just loves to swim. He goes under the water and everything...what a big boy. :) After swimming I think we'll meet up for dinner...Hylke choosing, of course. I'll try to post a more enjoyable post later (with pics :))
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Confession
I am typically a glass half full kind of girl. I tend to see the good (even if it's small) in each situation and just overall very optimistic. Last night, however, optimism's evil twin, pessimism showed his ugly face and took over my thinking. You see, today we are leaving to go to Palm Springs for 3 days...FUN! But, there are a couple of factors that have me thinking...BLAH!! First, this isn't really a fun family get away, we're taking along 25 junior high students. :) I LOVE junior highers, but, it's just not the same. We're renting a beautiful 4,000 sq. ft house with a great pool...YAY....but with the weather at 113, 113, 114 respectively, I'm thinking that it's a bit too hot to have Noah outside in the pool...BLAH! The house is very nice (from pics) and my son is a new walker longing to discover all things new...exhausting. Are there breakables around every corner??? Maybe I should have opted on staying home!?!?! BUT, now I'm committed....since our car seats 8 passengers, I'm officially tied to this trip...I'm a driver. Normally I'd be super excited about this...I love youth group getaways, but for some reason (the few listed above and some others...I'm just not looking forward to it. I must confess, I've had a bad attitude and I'm praying that it changes soon. I'm making a conscious decision to begin looking at all the great things............I'm sure I'll have lots of fun things to post next week. :)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Look below
Ok, so I started a post this past weekend and didn't have time to upload all of the pics. I finished today, but it is posted as though I published it back on the 14th. So, check out my new post under my Father's Day post!!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day!!
How blessed I am to get to celebrate 2 wonderful dads today.
1. He loves to have fun!! I inherited my dad's humor. I'll never get tired of hearing, "you are your father's daughter". Yes, I am....and I'm proud to be.
I also celebrate the father of my son, Hylke! I am so, so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and excellent father. Thank you, Hylke for all that you do. Thank you for loving your son the way you do, and making time with him (and me) a priority. I love to see Noah get sooooo excited when you come home from work, big brown eyes looking at me, "da da!!!". Thank you for taking an active roll in raising our son...not just providing financially, but also getting down and dirty!!! I couldn't ask for a better husband or father for our son. You a so truly wonderful and I celebrate you today. You are loved! 
Here are some special things/memories about my dad:
1. He loves to have fun!! I inherited my dad's humor. I'll never get tired of hearing, "you are your father's daughter". Yes, I am....and I'm proud to be.2. summer evening swims at the Racquet Club..."anyone up for a dip in the pool?"
3. Saturday morning Fails Donut runs...a chocolate bar, creme filled, please.
4. Valley Nursery runs with a quarter mysteriously dropping behind him...just enough for a Dad's Rootbeer
5. Wrestling!!
6. Walking me down the aisle and performing the ceremony
7. Our special trip to see gymnastics at the '96 Olympics...just the two of us
8. Hawaii
9. Taking me to school in Chicago...touring around, eating pizza and setting up my dorm.
10. Bargain shopping!!! it's not a good deal unless you get paid to buy it....haha.
Thanks, dad for all that you've done for us. Thank you for making family a priority and modeling Christ for us. Thanks for loving your very first Grandson the way that you do. I can't wait for him to get to join you on your annual Christmas light walk, stories on the recliner or just a nice walk in the neighborhood. I love you and celebrate you today!
I also celebrate the father of my son, Hylke! I am so, so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and excellent father. Thank you, Hylke for all that you do. Thank you for loving your son the way you do, and making time with him (and me) a priority. I love to see Noah get sooooo excited when you come home from work, big brown eyes looking at me, "da da!!!". Thank you for taking an active roll in raising our son...not just providing financially, but also getting down and dirty!!! I couldn't ask for a better husband or father for our son. You a so truly wonderful and I celebrate you today. You are loved! Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Some of my favorite things
Well, some of Noah's. Here are some of Noah's favorites:
1. Dogs- Noah loves dogs and if we are with a dog he will go around saying, "dog" the rest of the day. He knows what a dog says ("ruff, ruff") and will follow the dog around wherever it goes. He doesn't mind being licked all over, and doesn't really care if they bark. In fact, if we're inside and hear a dog bark, Noah immediately looks at the window and says, "dog!". The only trouble we now have is that any animal is a dog. He has said "cat" a time or two, but dog is definitely the animal of choice. We were watching a horse the other day and Noah looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, "DOG!"
2. Balls- Noah also loves balls. One of the reason I had lots of different balls at his party is that he just loves balls. He will carry them, throw them, lay on them, and play with them. Again, if he spots a ball, even in the distance, he will let everyone know that there's a ball around. A couple days ago I was in the grocery store getting an onion, as soon as I grabbed it Noah looked at it and said, "ball". No, sweetie, not everything round is a ball...but that's ok. :)
3. Other kids- Noah loves his friends. He gets excited when we are with other kids and he can't wait to get down to play. I'm trying to teach him how to be gentle (especially with the girls) but it's a work in progress. We've had so much fun playing with Rachel and Luke the past couple of days. We're going to go swimming with them after naptime.
4. Food- Noah loves anything and everything! I'm so glad that he's not a picky eater. I'm trying to expose him to as many different foods as possible, even if I don't like it. He just tried PB this week (dr. ok'd it at his 1 year) and he loves it! He absolutely LOOOVES yogurt and enjoys helping daddy eat his every morning. He also likes peas, greenbeans, sweet potatoes, cheese, cottage cheese, turkey, watermelon, banana....I could go on and on!
5. Sleep- Noah is a great sleeper. We have had our weeks for sure (teething isn't very fun) but for the most part he sleeps very well. He takes great naps and doesn't fuss at bedtime...just turns over and goes to sleep. We're trying to get him to stay up just a bit later now that it's light out longer...but he's usally in bed between 6:30 and 7pm.
6. Ma ma and Da Da- Noah loves his mommy and daddy. We have soooo much fun with him. He's getting such a fun, sweet little personality. I love to see it developing more and more each day. He knows when he's being funny and loves to laugh at himself. He loves laughing at his mommy and especially his daddy.
7. Songs- Noah loves to sing songs with us. Recently he's being doing some hand motions to, Itsy-bitsy Spider. As soon as I start to sing it, he does the hand motions for "down came the rain". He also knows a dutch song, "Klap eens in je handjes" In the song you clap your hands and then put them on your head and then you rock your head from side to side. It is so cute watching him do it. We did it with him for awhile and then one time I was singing and he did it by himself. He even knew when to go from clapping to having his hands on his head....wow, I'm such a proud mommy. :)
8. Water- Noah loves to swim and loves taking baths. We've been out in the pool several times a week. He likes to sit on the side and "jump" to me on 3.
What do YOUR little ones like??
1. Dogs- Noah loves dogs and if we are with a dog he will go around saying, "dog" the rest of the day. He knows what a dog says ("ruff, ruff") and will follow the dog around wherever it goes. He doesn't mind being licked all over, and doesn't really care if they bark. In fact, if we're inside and hear a dog bark, Noah immediately looks at the window and says, "dog!". The only trouble we now have is that any animal is a dog. He has said "cat" a time or two, but dog is definitely the animal of choice. We were watching a horse the other day and Noah looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, "DOG!"
2. Balls- Noah also loves balls. One of the reason I had lots of different balls at his party is that he just loves balls. He will carry them, throw them, lay on them, and play with them. Again, if he spots a ball, even in the distance, he will let everyone know that there's a ball around. A couple days ago I was in the grocery store getting an onion, as soon as I grabbed it Noah looked at it and said, "ball". No, sweetie, not everything round is a ball...but that's ok. :)
3. Other kids- Noah loves his friends. He gets excited when we are with other kids and he can't wait to get down to play. I'm trying to teach him how to be gentle (especially with the girls) but it's a work in progress. We've had so much fun playing with Rachel and Luke the past couple of days. We're going to go swimming with them after naptime.
4. Food- Noah loves anything and everything! I'm so glad that he's not a picky eater. I'm trying to expose him to as many different foods as possible, even if I don't like it. He just tried PB this week (dr. ok'd it at his 1 year) and he loves it! He absolutely LOOOVES yogurt and enjoys helping daddy eat his every morning. He also likes peas, greenbeans, sweet potatoes, cheese, cottage cheese, turkey, watermelon, banana....I could go on and on!
5. Sleep- Noah is a great sleeper. We have had our weeks for sure (teething isn't very fun) but for the most part he sleeps very well. He takes great naps and doesn't fuss at bedtime...just turns over and goes to sleep. We're trying to get him to stay up just a bit later now that it's light out longer...but he's usally in bed between 6:30 and 7pm.
6. Ma ma and Da Da- Noah loves his mommy and daddy. We have soooo much fun with him. He's getting such a fun, sweet little personality. I love to see it developing more and more each day. He knows when he's being funny and loves to laugh at himself. He loves laughing at his mommy and especially his daddy.
7. Songs- Noah loves to sing songs with us. Recently he's being doing some hand motions to, Itsy-bitsy Spider. As soon as I start to sing it, he does the hand motions for "down came the rain". He also knows a dutch song, "Klap eens in je handjes" In the song you clap your hands and then put them on your head and then you rock your head from side to side. It is so cute watching him do it. We did it with him for awhile and then one time I was singing and he did it by himself. He even knew when to go from clapping to having his hands on his head....wow, I'm such a proud mommy. :)
8. Water- Noah loves to swim and loves taking baths. We've been out in the pool several times a week. He likes to sit on the side and "jump" to me on 3.
What do YOUR little ones like??
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Our little walker
Noah is officially a walker! He's actually been walking for a couple weeks now, I just haven't posted a video. At the beginning of May he started taking more and more steps together; by the week of May 11, he was taking 12-15 steps and it just progressed from there. We have so much fun with him walking, though we have faced a couple of challenges. The main challenge is that when he wants down, he wants down! He wants to walk around and explore everything himself!! Sometimes he's good about holding our hand, but if he wants to go explore something different, he'll let us know. :) Here's a short video of our walker.
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