Jackson is STILL famous in Allendale

If you go to the Patti's website, he's featured on PAGE 3 of her BABIES collection toward the bottom far left side. http://pattisportraits.com/portfolio/babies/
Fun times!

Early Christmas Present!

Jackson was discharged from BOTH OT and PT at Mary Freebed Rehab Hospital this past week. We were actually only in therapy sessions for two weeks (instead of the estimated 5-10 weeks). We were so glad to hear this good news :) He just needed a few professional "cues" to help guide him developmentally. We are now more aware of specific exercises to do with him to help him develop age appropriate fine/gross motor skills. He is now rolling, sitting unassisted, and rocking on his hands and knees. He's even opened a Christmas present by himself (without my approval). Luckily he did not get the entire thing open, so it's still a surprise for me. Praise God for this accomplishment! An early Merry Christmas to all as I will most likely NOT post again before Tuesday (we have all of our parties back-to-back fri, sat, sun, mon, tues this year!). God Bless!!!

Winner!

So, this is like the second contest/drawing I've EVER won (the first being a coloring contest for a former department store when I was in elementary school - that was talent, this wasn's so much :) Check it out:
http://www.freshimagesphoto.blogspot.com/

Bad mom????

Wow, so it must be true what "they say" when it comes to the third child...................I have been meaning to blog about Jackson's 6mth well-baby visit...........but have been busy with the other two kids and life's daily activities. So, with no further delay, here are a few highlights/lowlights of the visit:
1. He's slowed down on the growth chart - though he's still in the 50th percentile for height (27 inches) and weight (17 lbs 4 oz - keep in mind Lucas was only 17 lbs at 12mths) and 90th percentile for head circumference
2. His overall head shape is MUCH improved (thanks to therapy, multiple doctor visits, patience & prayers)
3. He has a double ear infection (and the pediatrician said to come back in if I think it hasn't gone away - like, we couldn't even tell he had one in the first place since he's such a happy baby :)
4. This wasn't the first well-baby visit I've taken a child to only to discover an ear infection........ooooops!!!

And as you can tell from the previous post...........Jackson loves the BOUNCYsaucer :) He is also proficiently rolling all over the place and discovering new teethers, such as Reece's crocs, newspaper, hangers, and ANYTHING else he can get a hold of! He also says, "DIH!" (sorry Tim, it's NOT dad).

Hope you are all enjoying the Holiday Season! Cheers to all!!!

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!

Did you think........

I would ever go this long without a post?!!! I know, it's been crazy busy around here and it's not even December. For those of you who I haven't talked to lately, we had a relaxing (as relaxing as parents of 3 boys can have) trip to St. Louis over the Thanksgiving weekend to visit with family. A HUGE THANKS to my Aunt Jackie who let us invade her house - thanks to ALEX who gave up his room for us :) We ran into virtually NO traffic, accidents, weather issues, etc. Though the turkey ALMOST caught fire, it was a delicious dinner - Reece slept through the whole thing, but filled up on pie later in the evening. It was good to see everyone - how quickly time flies!!! After catching up on laundry, cleaning, haircuts (yes, all 3 of my kids had one this week - Jackson's "faux" hawk was getting a little unruly, so I took a bit off the top so it looks more proportioned - never thought I'd cut any of my kids' manes before a year old, or even 6 months old) I took the kids to the Frederik Meijer Gardens http://www.meijergardens.org/ today (sorry about this run-on sentence all you grammar teachers :). This put us all in the Christmas spirit. The boys LOVED the trains - they could have watched them for hours. It's nice having a membership there b/c we don't feel we have to stay to get our "money's worth" all in one visit. It's truly a beautiful place (excellent learning environment) and you notice new/different things each time you visit. Included are a few pics from our adventure today - enjoy!

AOK

So our latest visit with a craniofacial surgeon revealed that Jackson's cephalohematoma is "normal" (in the sense of hematoma's). Dr. Mann has seen several of these, though not as many that are "calcified" as Jackson's is. He said because his bump (in lamens terms) has calcified, we have to wait for his body to breakdown and absorb the calcification (is that a word?). He said it could take up to a few years and does NOT suggest operating on it as he has no "case" to do so (if it were on his forehead or side of head he might have reason to remove/reshape it). We are thankful that his is not as noticeable as it could be. We also thank God for giving him so much hair to camouflage it :) We will only go back for a recheck if it is quite prominent by the time he enters school (which will come way too soon!). Thanks for all your prayers and concerns as we seek many 2nd opinions with Jackson.

WMU Christmas Exchange

Ladies, don't forget to post your ideas for our annual Christmas exchange by clicking on the comments tab under the body of this post. I'm going this route as I'd like to TRY to keep them SECRET santas :) Thanks!

It really works!

So, I'm sure you've all seen the email circulating about the Vicks Vapor Rub quieting children's coughs by applying to their feet at bedtime. It truly works! I applied some to both Jackson and Lucas and it immediately stopped their coughing. Of course it's only 11pm, so we'll see how this pans out through the night. I'll keep you posted (literally)!!!

Baby Botosan Bash

Two down, one to go!

Here's a quick update on Jackson. Most of you know we've been getting second opinions regarding Jackson's Torticollis (stiff neck), Plagiocephaly (misshapen head) http://www.maryfreebed.com/media/asktheexpert_torticollis.pdf, and Cephalahematoma (bump on his head) http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/C/cephalohematoma.html. We met with a member of the helmet team at Mary Freebed Rehab Hospital last week. They did a light scan on his head and examined his head. He decided a helmet was NOT necessary, though his head is not perfectly shaped (he's human, thank God!). We saw a team of therapists (OT and PT) from the Torticollis Program at Mary Freebed this week. They gave us a LOT of exercises/activities we can do with Jackson to create more of a "structured" and "developmental" play session. They are going to begin an intense (most likely brief) program of therapy with him (2 times a week for 5-10 weeks). They complimented him on his ability to learn. We had to actually ASK our pediatrician for a referral to this program because he did not think Jackson seemed like he needed additional treatment (while Jackson's "abnormalities" are quite mild we are glad we have resources such as these available in West Michigan). The therapists were fantastic and very thorough at evaluating Jackson (and he loved working with them - he didn't even cry, well, not until the end - he had about an hour workout! baby Pilate's :) Our next consultation is with a Craniofacial Surgeon (if you're thinking of a career change, this one must be in high demand as we only found 2 in Grand Rapids, neither of which is in our network - expensive second opinion for us, but priceless in the eyes of parents). This evaluation will be for his hematoma that has calcified (according to our pediatrician this hematoma is harmless). By no means are we complaining about any of Jackson's minor "issues." We are so blessed to have such a healthy baby - we really see how BLESSED we are when we see others with much larger disabilities, abnormalities, etc. We praise God for all he's given us as we PRAY for others going through struggles in life.

Wintery Weather Tease

Today we received a BRIEF episode of sleet. Fortunately Lucas was awake and was thrilled to run out onto the deck barefoot to witness the white stuff firsthand. Here's a picture of him trying to collect some of the mini white balls in his hands - no luck Lucas (but we did capture a few in a Tupperware container to watch melt inside - who knew a science learning moment could be so fun?!). I'm sure the 60 degree weather will make an appearance before Christmas - it's Michigan :)

Do carseats really EXPIRE?

Maybe you're wondering what all the hype is about "expiring" carseats as I am. Do carseats really expire?.............or is it just a ploy to get us to all buy new ones? I received a brand new car seat/travel system as a shower gift with Lucas. The expiration date on it is Dec 31, 2008. We all know Jackson will not be in the seat that long, so I guess we're safe :) I've done a little research and stumbled upon this website that answers many questions:
http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/manufacture-expiration.html#list

Infant carrier carseat $59.98
Toddler carseat $59.99
Booster seat $14.99

Child's safety..............................PRICELESS!!!

WANTED: All prayer warriors!

Just wanted to share a short prayer request with you all. My brother in law, Randy (Tim's brother that's a pastor in Lowell, MI) was called to the hospital tonight to baptize a 20 week old baby. Lynae (my sister in law) was under the impression this baby was being called home to his/her eternal Father tonight. Apparently the mother has an incompetent cervix and had complications with her other two births (both these other children are well). The mother was headed to the hospital with her husband tonight and they could not stop labor. I don't believe there are any reported cases of a baby surviving so early in life. Praise God for giving this family the faith to make it through such a tough time and giving them the life they have with their two other children. May we never take anything for granted - praise God for what He's given us...........please pray for Randy as he baptizes this child of God who was called home tonight.

"Don't eat it all mommy!"

That was Reece's FIRST FIVE-WORD (technically six because of the contraction in there) SENTENCE!!! This was said after coming home from our final trick-or-treating excursion of the day - Reece looked up at the GINORMOUS mound of candy on the counter. We had a busy day................first Whitney was the helper mom in Lucas' preschool class http://blogs.oaisd.org/resserver.php?blogId=371&resource=P1010272.JPG during the morning while Jackson and Reece played with Grandma Meyers. After picking up the little boys we headed home for lunch and naps. We headed back up to Tim's work to collect candy for an hour. Did I mention Reece HATES masks??? We grabbed a pizza and rushed home to be greeted by trick-or-treaters at our porch! So, skip the "healthy" dinner boys and eat some candy on the street :) Papa Gator and Tim took the oldest two out to gather more treats in our neighborhood. We piled all back into the minivan to show off costumes to Grandpa and Grandma Meyers before they headed off to dance lessons for the evening. We even made it to Grandma Holden's house (which Praise the Lord is 2 seconds from G & G Meyers!). It was an insane night, but lots of fun!!! It was a bit slower passing out candy as the weather could have cooperated better, but the kiddos had a ball. It's nice to hear the sound of the exhaust fans at the days end (it puts them all to sleep - by the way: we're on our 3rd exhaust fan in the master bath! - maybe static on the radio is cheaper??). Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween however you celebrated (or did not celebrate - sorry erin!). Thanks to Missy on the costume for our tank of a child - it was a hit!



And here are the pix in reverse order.......................







Pix @ Grandma Holden's




Jackson LOVES masks (unlike his brother)





Pix @ G&G Meyers'






Pix @ our house with Papa Gator and Sue







Pix @ Daddy's work

Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do..............

Now that you all have the COPS theme song in your head, I'll explain - this post title is NOT referring to any of the boys in our family, but instead a girl! Yes, we had the cops at our house Friday evening (due to a complaint from one of our anonymous neighbors). The officer said, "We had a call at 4:30......." and I immediately thought, "Crap, did one of my boys call 911 again?" (just for the record, 911 does work when your phone is locked) ...................about a barking dog (okay what a relief! my kids weren't prank calling the authorities, my dog was just being herself). I asked who had reported us (are we not approachable, understanding neighbors?). Anyway, she asked me if we had a bark collar (to which I answered, "no" - obviously if we did you wouldn't be here now, would you officer? - didn't say that last line out loud). Then she said that the neighbor wanted them (the officers) to talk to us and left :) I'm sure they just love those peskey little calls :) Those are some good tax dollars at work. It's funny how we made it through our irresponsible years as teens and twentysomethings WITHOUT the cops intervening in our lives (okay, Tim, you had a few traffic violations - and I only had 2 - not that we're keeping score :) and now that we are parents, they come hunting us down :) Sadly so, that was about the extent of excitement this weekend.



I did clip 60 nails last night! PEZ candy work absolute wonders for getting a squirmy 2 year old to sit still for his nails to get trimmed.



We gutted two pumpkins tonight as well - only got one carved as the kiddos had to get to bed. Here are a few photos (*tip: click on the slideshow and hover the mouse over a single picture for captions!) highlighting the adventure.......

Experimenting

WOW! The possibilities are endless with technology. I had fun creating the slide show at the top of our blog last night (instead of sleeping :) oops!). If you want to add one of these to your blog, check out www.slide.com for more details. Enjoy!

Cheers!

Interested in a good fall wine? We picked up a bottle of Leelanau Cellars' "Witches' Brew" last year on our trip to Traverse City in celebration of Tim's 30th birthday. I just tried it the other night and was satisfied with it's unique taste (best served warm). It's also on sale at Meijer this week for $4/bottle. Try it out! Happy Fall!!!

New technology!

If you've checked out the blog recently, you've probably noticed me editing it a bit (sorry Kates, you'll have to repost your pic to my guestbook). I stumbled upon a fun website (thanks to Missy) www.slide.com. It allows you to create slideshows, guestbooks, and other fun stuff to add to your website. It took me some rearranging to get my guestbook into a semi-permanent position on my blog (instead of just a "post"). There were so many fun "skins" to pick from that it was hard to choose. As a mother of 3 boys I opted for the camo (though it's not as aesthetically pleasing as others :) Erin, they even had designer purse skins! So, what are you waiting for?!! Go ahead and add your photos, videos, etc. to my guestbook and enjoy!
PS - I will try to post some pix again - can I use "I've been super busy!" as an excuse? :)

"You Can't Spank a Kid in a Snowsuit & Other Lessons on Parenting"

If you're wondering where this title is leading..............I've made history again! I've done the unthinkable in "my" history - I read a book. No, not that I don't read, or am incapable of, I've just never found a niche in picking up a good read and emerging my self for hours. I never liked reading as a child when it was required in elementary school for book reports. I did learn to tolerate the feat in college when my grades and money (well, half being my parents' money) depended on it. As a parent, though, I do enjoy getting new perspectives on parenting. At a recent second hand sale this past weekend, I picked up this book for fifty cents figuring if I got anything out of it, it was worth the buy. Later did I realize it was a parenting book with scriptural references (did I mention it had me in tears laughing at some excerpts?). The title of the book is "You Can't Spank a Kid in a Snowsuit" by Bruce Howard. You can find it used on http://www.amazon.com/ for a penny! It is a bit older (1994) but is a great "pick-me-up." I read it in a day and a half (while feeding Jackson) and I'm sure you avid readers could accomplish the task in a couple hours. Here's just an excerpt from the book:

After listening to his six year old explain that his brother made him pick a lock on the family vehicle (and in so doing broke the lock)

"Frustration began to build. I went on to ask one of those amazingly dumb questions that parents have asked since the beginning of time and will go on asking for generations to come. 'Why did you do that?' If you're smiling right now, it's because you've been there. You too have asked this dumb question. It's dumb because there is no real answer, and it wouldn't do a bit of good even if there was. It's just that in the face of the absurd and irrational, we have a deep longing to somehow make sense out of a senseless situation. We need to know why these things happen................................Further reflection on this throughout the remainder of the evening helped me understand something of how my heavenly Father feels when I come to him, confessing my mistakes. All too often I have someone else to blame, like Adam in Genesis 3, who said, 'It's that woman you gave me.' Or like Eve: 'It's that serpent's fault.'.............................I know how I felt when my son tried to duck his responsibility. I also know how i felt when I saw and understood his genuine remorse for his mistake. It did turn out to be one of those golden teachable moments that you read about in parenting books. It was, however, my heavenly Father who did the teaching, and in the end, it was I who was instructed."

Did I learn from this lesson?

Apparently NOT! Last night we picked pumpkins from a local patch and Lucas "discovered" the insides of one (not on purpose and NOT with his hand - did I mention it was a ROTTEN pumpkin?). After arriving home and changing his clothes, I asked him the inevitable, "Why did you put your foot on that pumpkin?" His reply was, "I wanted to stand on it like dad had been doing." Maybe DAD needs to do the learning................I asked Tim if this was true. Tim's reply was, "Yes, I was going around the patch stepping/crushing rotten pumpkins every so often." I guess we all learned from that situation :)

Here are a few more of the evening gathering pumpkins - ENJOY!!!

Reece finding just the right pumpkin.

Can Reece pull a load of 71 pounds of pumpkins? And, if you look closely you can see the rotten pumpkin just to the right of Reece's head that Lucas submerged his shoe in :)

Just me and the boys

Jackson's first words

This is the first video I've captured since the hospital...it's been too long. I'm quite ecstatic I've finally accomplished this video posting thing, despite it being 2am! Better get some shut eye before the kiddos get me up in less than 6hrs! Enjoy!!!

Baby Gap is to Old Navy as Gymboree is to Crazy 8's

If you love Gymboree clothing (but not their prices) then check out their newest concept, Crazy 8's at http://www.crazy8.com/index.jsp . I just saw an ad for them in my new American Baby magazine tonight and just had to research it online. They offer Gymboree inspired children's clothing at a fraction of the cost. It looks like their current promotion is free shipping! They are opening retail stores across the nation, but nothing closer than New Jersey and New York right now. Check it out!!!

BLOG THIS MOM!!!

This would be Jackson's "latest and greatest" accomplishment - sticking out his long, skinny, KISS tongue - check out the length of that thing! He just started doing this today and gets such a reaction from us when he does. Enjoy!

Count your blessings..........

The first step in dealing with an addiction is admitting you have a problem, right???? Okay, so my addiction is reading others' blogs (I guess it's not really a problem). I get drawn in by the cute posts of little kiddos. In reading some of my friends' friends' blogs this evening I was awakened to how blessed I am. Here are just a few of my undeserved blessings.......

1. Our Creator (and the freedom we enjoy living in this country to worship Him)

2. Three happy, healthy, beautiful boys

3. My loving, giving, selfless husband who's an awesome father to his children

4. Family

5. Friends

6. Church family

7. Health

8. Prayers from others

9. My husband's employment

10. Our pets

11. Our home (and too many other material things to mention)

May God bless you and make you a blessing to others!

Got it!...................the camera, that is :)

The blog is feeling back to normal as I've included several snapshots this posting! Enjoy a short recap of what the Meyers' clan has been up to the past week (or few weeks)........................

Lucas' first field trip to Wells Apple Orchard in Walker, Michigan with his preschool class. About 10 moms showed up Wednesday, September 19 to pack 18 4yr olds into a bunch of minivans, etc and head off to the orchard (his preschool operates like a coop). We were privileged to have Lucas' teacher ride with us (as well as another boy and his mom). Lucas is one of 7 boys in his class (Tim's quite proud :) I've added a link to Lucas' teacher's blog under my "sites to see" column. She occasionally posts pictures of the kids.

Jackson's first playdate with Tyler who is a month younger.

We tried getting all six boys together for a picture on the couch..............unsuccessfully. The 2yr olds had other plans - imagine that! Amy and I met last year at coffee break (small bible study that meets once a week and has a little lambs program for 2-5 yr olds) and discovered we had 2 (at the time) boys almost the same ages (her oldest is nine months older than Lucas, her middle is one month older than Reece, and her youngest one month younger than Jackson).

A is for Apple, er......APPLES!!!!!

Look at all those apples ready to go to market!

My kids have never been so excited to eat apples!

Reece taking in the sites from the side of the wagon.

REDSHIRTED!!! Reece was clearly sick of pictures by the time we got to the mini hay maze.

...........and now Jackson is fed up with the camera! My "redshirted" boys enjoy doughnuts and cider after picking apples.

A Fish Story.....................

Jackson caught his first fish (thanks to Papa Gator's overpopulated fish pond and some crawlers.......and mom holding the fishing pole, of course).

It's taken me a few days to finally finish this post - I guess I'm too much of a picture fan to just post words :) In other news, Jackson is finally slowing down on the growth chart - he's at the 75th percentile for weight (15lbs 8oz) and height (25.25in), but still 90th for head circumference (what can I say, he's got a lot of brains!). This will be his final week of PT, but he will be getting an evaluation by the "helmet team" of Mary Free Bed (rehab hospital). Our pediatrician says he's borderline of needing one (if they don't look at him now, his next well baby visit may be too late if he is in need of a helmet). Besides his slight asymmetries in head shape, etc. he's a healthy little (er......big) man.

Hablo espanol?

That's right, Tim's job is headed to Juarez, Mexico...........AGAIN! Though the warm weather is tempting we are not moving with his job. It's not official until June 2009, so we are not too worried about the outcome. JCI will be trying to place him within the company in the next year and a half. If they are unable to do that, we have the "peace of mind" that he's been with the company for many years and would get a pretty decent severance package (and unemployment). We greatly covet your prayers as we await God's plan for Tim (and our family).

Little Lambs

We began Coffee Break (local church small group women's bible study) this fall. This year Reece is now in the 2's Little Lambs class. I was expecting tears and clinging to my side (none of which happened) the first day. He loves having his own little "school" time. Lucas is in the 4's/5's class with other kids he knows from his preschool class and last year's Coffee Break. Nursery is provided, but I usually keep Jackson with me as he's an easy baby (plus he enjoys flirting with the older ladies).

I'm teaching the 3's Sunday School children at our church for the 3rd consecutive year. I have a small group this year which is nice. They are such a fun group of kids (and so innocent!).

Enjoy the beauty of fall and stay healthy!

God Bless!

Where's the camera?!!

So..........this is a HUGE first - a post without any photos!!! This was NOT by choice, of course :) You all know me too well. I just wanted to recap our past week - Tim and I enjoyed some QT away from all our babies up north last weekend. It was our 10th annual (yes, we're getting old) canoe trip. We tackled a new river, the Platte, which landed us in Lake Michigan. It was a very slow, relaxing trip (and no one tipped this year - also a first!). This was especially fortunate as we had 2 pregnant ladies on board. It was a very chilly (read: I had gloves on at one point in the trip) day, but the sun kept us warm. It was so beautiful to end up on the West Michigan "Shoreline." We hiked up over the dune to test the waters of Lake Michigan which, along with the river, were actually warmer than the air temp. I definitely missed my boys, but they had a great time with Grandma Holden (and Jackson, surprisingly, adjusted to a bottle for 24 hours - Praise the Lord!). Our second adventure "sans camera" was to the Frederick Meijer Gardens Thursday. I had an eye appt in Grand Rapids and the boys (all 3) behaved so well, I told them I'd reward them. I couldn't pass up a trip to the gardens on such a beautiful day in September (though my camera was miles away in the camera bag at home). We took the financial plunge of renewing our annual membership to enjoy the beauty of nature, art, and much needed exercise. Lucas and Reece enjoyed the enormous treehouse in the Lena Meijer Children's Garden while I fed Jackson. We frolicked through the other attractions in the children's area and then strolled over to the Farm Garden area of the gardens. We couldn't leave without checking out "the horse"- Reece was thoroughly impressed at its stature. We also stopped by a few of the exhibits in the Sculpture Gardens. It was so much fun!!!! And I can even say that taking the three of them by myself - maybe 3's getting too easy :) Time for another dog, right?!! Just kidding - three is just perfect! We're off to enjoy another mild September afternoon picking apples at a local orchard Saturday. My next posting will include photos as I can't stand to leave it behind.

Time slips by......

After much consideration..........this is the collage I've come up with for Jackson's "3-mth" pictures. Like I stated earlier, I'm trying new things with our new camera and software in an attempt to avoid the professional studios. Jackson is rapidly changing and it's been such a joy to capture this with my camera! He is now doing PT every other week as it's been quite successful. His neck is getting stronger and he has a better range of motion with it (though he slightly prefers to look to the right). We try to make life interesting from both angles for him :) He goes in to the pediatrician for his 4-mth checkup in a couple weeks. I can't believe he's that old! Time slips by................

Sneak peek!

We've been "boycotting" the studios lately and trying to make use of our digital canon rebel xti. This is a shot from today of the 100+ I took of Jackson in an effort to capture the 3mth milestone (a few days too late). Hopefully I will have a digital collage to post - stay tuned! He was in to see the pediatrician last week for his clogged tear ducts and weighed in at 14lbs 11oz! I think he's got you beat - Madison Rae Nutt :) He continues PT on Fridays and we're hoping to reduce our frequency of visits starting this week. He is progressing quite well, according to both the pediatrician and physical therapist (DocTodd as Reece pronounces his name). I ask Reece if he wants to go with us to take Jackson to see the doctor and he replies, "DocTodd...........candy..........manners." From the mouths of babes :) And my oldest responded to me asking him if he talked to his teacher that way (when he was getting sassy the other day) with, "Mom, you're NOT my teacher" (as if it's okay to get sassy with mom, but not the teacher). At least he isn't talking back to her :) This is evidence that girls are NOT the only sassy gender.

Digital "creative memories"

I just have to spread the word about my new favorite website http://www.shutterfly.com/. They offer a free software download that you can EASILY and QUICKLY create fun collages with. I'm not sure how great their prices are.........I'm saving my collages via USB drive to print at Meijer this week. I'll post an update on the success (or lack thereof) of that adventure later this week. Just wanted to pass on another "great find" to those interested! It's a quick/creative method to posting several pictures at a time on our blog. Lucas thoroughly enjoyed his first day of school. He is in Mrs. VanDyken's mon/wed am 4-yr old preschool class at Allendale Christian School. Today was his first day. I just had to capture the excitement of our new wall decor of something other than coats hanging in our utility room - and the newsletters, field trip forms, crafts, etc that await my opening each week in the new backpack :) Though it was an emotional first, no tears were shed by me (Reece was sad to lose a playmate for a couple hours, though).

And baby makes 8!!!

All the grandkids got together this past weekend to celebrate a couple birthdays in September. We were able to corral them all onto our backyard slide to capture this moment :) And if you haven't guessed from the title............grandbaby #8 is due this March. CONGRATULATIONS to Brian and the girls!!! We can't wait to meet the new addition!

A first for everything

We've been up to a LOT the last couple of weeks. Here are just a few pictures that tell the story of our many firsts............

1. Jackson laughing
2. Jackson rolling over (tummy to back)
3. Trip to Millenium Park in Grand Rapids
4. Whitney tubing with a 4yr-old
5. That 4yr-old getting wet on a tube ride (sorry Audrey, but your mom PROMISED she never gets wet on tube rides)
6. Going to a West Michigan Whitecaps game as a family of 5!
7. Going to the beach more than ONCE as a FAMILY this summer!
8. Lucas stepping foot into his newly constructed school today (starting school next week will be a whole new post on the blog)
9. Not posting to our blog as regular (sorry to all you die hard bloggers, i'll try to do better!)

It's hard to believe the summer is practically over. It's been a great one, especially with three little men in tow :) I wouldn't trade it for the world - they are truly a BLESSING to us! Enjoy these photos!

Lucas at the splash pad in Millenium Park


Whitney tubing with Audrey on Spring Lake


My boys watching the sunset over Lake Michigan in Grand Haven

Reece showing us the latest in style (shades upside down)

Sitting at the Whitecaps game

It's raining it's pouring!

Well, we finally received our much needed rain for the summer (all in one straight week of rain!). The crops appreciated it. We even heard a mighty thunder and lightning (queeny- as reece would say, as in lightning mcqueen from the movie, cars) storm this week. We didn't lose power, but we temporarily lost the kids' pool (found it the next day in the neighbors bushes). It was a neighborhood mow-the-lawn-fest following all the rain :) As a result of all the rain, we had loads of tomatoes (including ones from Grandpa/Grandma Meyers' garden - thanks!!!). I tried out my canning skills again. The big boys helped as you can see in the picture.

The weather even cooperated for us to enjoy Presley Scott Widener's 1st birthday party in Grand Haven. Good to see the Blauw girls again and their kids! We headed to Grand Haven State Park to enjoy another beautiful sunset and stroll on the beach. The beach days of summer are slowly fading away....................

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

Where has this arctic air come from?!!!! We recently visited our friends (the Newenhouses) out at Grand Haven State Park this past Friday and had to dress in pants and long sleeves! It was a beautiful sunset, though, and we still managed to eat ice cream on the pier despite the chilly night. We had to cancel a few of our weekend events with friends as the weather was not cooperating. Not quite boating weather - sorry Missy :( We do need the rain. It's too bad it has to come for a week straight.