In early June, we went on a family vacation to South Haven, Michigan, with Greg's parents. We were joined for portions of the trip by my father-in-law's cousin and by my parents and sister. We were so lucky to be able to rent an adorable, perfect little house just a block from Lake Michigan and across the street from a large kids' park. It had absolutely EVERYTHING and the location was perfect. I think we all fell in love with it. Watching our children experience a real sandy beach for the first time was delightful, and with Lake Michigan stretching in front of us as far as the eye could see, it was just as good as the ocean. We were able to walk into town and explore the cute downtown, walk to the lighthouse to watch the sunset, and just relax and enjoy the mild, sunny weather and each other's company. We also took some fun day trips, including a visit to the Dutch Village in Holland and delicious lunch at Deboer Bakkerij and Dutch Brothers Restaurant and a trip to see the animals at the Critter Barn in Zeeland. Visiting Saint Joseph was a real highlight as well. We had lunch at Silver Beach Pizza in an Amtrak station and a train went right past our table during our meal (Adam was rather startled!) and enjoyed the carousel, interactive fountain, and great playground on the beach. I think that more family vacations in Michigan are definitely in our future!
Greg's grandpa died this summer and we all went to North Carolina for the funeral and memorial service in July. After finding some super cheap airfare, we bought tickets for all four of us and the boys had their first plane ride. We flew to Atlanta and then rented an SUV and drove up to Asheville. Both boys did phenomenally well on the trip and it was nice to have time to catch up with Greg's extended family. Not long afterwards, we were able to go to Missouri and meet their new baby cousin Nora. Just another sign that Adam isn't "the baby" anymore!
| It's true - Adam is not quite a baby anymore as he is now 18 months old. He took his first step back on May 17 when he and I were playing in the living room. I had him stand up, reached out my arms, and he took two steps before tumbling proudly into my arms. He picked up the pace with his walking practice during our Michigan trip, and before you know it, he was a full-time, accomplished walker (and runner!). He is full of fun and personality; this is such a cute age! I love one year olds! (Don't remind me of what the next couple of years may bring!) Things Adam loves/has loved over the past months:
Adam's 15 month stats: Weight: 28 lbs. 3 oz. - 97th %ile Length: 33.5 in. - 98th %ile Head circumference: 19 in. - 86th %ile Adam's 18 month stats: Weight: 28 lbs. 14 oz. - 94th %ile Length: 34.5 in. - 96th %ile Head circumference: 19.5 in. - 94th %ile And our big boy, Davis --- he is growing up before our eyes. Davis is a smart, curious, capable 4.5 year old with a phenomenal memory. I am in awe of what a great big brother he is, too - it's awesome to see my boys playing together more and more now that Adam is getting older. Adam absolutely adores his big brother, too! Davis started preschool this year at a local church two days a week and I'm proud of how well he's doing. I can already see his tripod grip is beginning to improve and he's starting to show more interest in drawing and coloring. Like a typical boy, he unfortunately doesn't tell me much about the things I'd like to hear about what he did at preschool, but he likes it when they have snacks and recess and always tells me which kid(s) "got on yellow" (e.g. got in trouble) each day. Haha - sigh. He has also started the children's choir at church and I was astonished and proud to see how well he did during their first performance. He is so inquisitive and asks some great questions and makes pretty insightful observations. Recent gems include "Can we see when we die?" and "Is the Easter bunny real or just a fake bunny?" He is also a great age for saying totally adorable things, such as thinking that the word for "mittens" is "hand muffins." I tell him that they're mittens, but secretly I wish he would keep calling them hand muffins forever! He loves to play games, including Uno, which is really fun because it's something we can enjoy as a family that's not just a "kid game." His preschool class recently drew family pictures and had the teacher scribe something that their family enjoys doing together. His response: "We love to play Uno game together. We put down numbers and cards." He added heart stickers onto each of our chests on the picture because he loves us. And also spider stickers (?). We took advantage of the mild weather in the late summer to enjoy more family activities. We went to a really cool hot air balloon glow and just enjoyed a perfect Sunday night cookout with our adult Sunday school class and our cumulative 14 children. I just have to say how much I LOVE watching those kids play together, remembering when I started the class back when we were all young couples without children yet, and now our kids (12 of the 14 there being boys!) have a blast playing together. Heading into fall, we continued loving the life we live - a field trip to the apple orchard with Davis' preschool class, a trip to St. Louis that included visiting good friends and enjoying the St. Louis Zoo, a community parade and festival, and of course trick or treating. Davis was an adorable pirate this year and Adam was Dumbo the Cutest Elephant in the World. I took the boys trick-or-treating at two local nursing homes, which I hope the residents enjoyed and was also good exposure to the elderly for my boys. The weather surprisingly cooperated on Halloween night...until it started raining on us! But not until we had done some good trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. We finally called it a night when the rain picked up and I noted that Adam's fur was getting wet. :)  |
Now Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching already. How time flies! As they say, when you have young children, the days are long (sometimes sooooo long) but the years are short! We try to soak up the good moments and enjoy these days together.
