C.'s First Birthday!

Can you believe that C. is already 1 year old?!?!? Where did the year go?

C. has been a lot of fun this year. I'm not sure if its because he's the second child, and we're not as anxious about everything or just his demeanor, but he's just so much fun. Listed below are some C. fun facts:

• He loves music! He loves to shake his body whenever he hears a melody.
• He already knows how to climb the gate- and the entertainment center.
• Nicknames: Crazy C., Kamikaze C., C.inater, and mommy's little C-Note (that one only comes out late at night)
• C. thinks that sneezes and eskimo kisses are funny.
• He LOVES to eat! Favorites include blueberries, grapes, watermelon, and steak
• He is not fond of broccoli and Pasta Pick-ups (gerber ravoli)
• He took one step earlier this month, two steps the next day and nothing since.
• He likes echo-y places. He loves the malls...and church (unfortunately- he wants to hear the echo in church which means he's quite vocal)
• He LOVES to laugh and smile.
• He loves his mommy. (And mommy loves him!).....and he loves his daddy too.
• Favorite words:mama, dada, Ada, buh (bye), and ROAR! and Uh-oh
• C. has 11 teeth- all front teeth, frou molars and 3 eye-teeth- CRAZY!

Here's some pics from his birthday party.

In papa Ken's hat.

Sloppy Joe's- mmmmmmmm




The BIG O-N-E

Yummy frosting!

Uncle Matt, this is what happens when you get too close to the birthday boy! (For those of you who can't see it, Matt's face is covered with frosting)

Starting the train- mania early! He loved it!

C. loved this toy in the box! He was crawling all over the top of the box!





A. is ready for bed after the festivities.

O-U-C-H

On August 9, I was in an accident going east on 28th. St. I was treated and released from the hospital with minor whiplash and a bruised sternum along with a colorful array of bruises and burns from the airbag and seat belt.



D. went to get the van on the following Monday, and took it to a friends house to disassemble. Here's some pics of the van.

Front

passenger side (took most of the impact)

not sure if you can see it here or not, there's dents and white stress marks where my knees slammed into the dash.

pretty, pretty hood.






passenger side



driver side- I had to kick the door open to get out. The stroller broke the window in back.


close up.

head on.

Things I'm grateful for with this accident:

1. The boys weren't with me. That is usually never the case, but I was working a wedding up and church, and they were safe at home with Dave.
2. I turned the car at the last minute, so the passenger side took most of the 45 mph impact instead of a direct head on collision.
3. After impact, I went across the turning lane as well as across two lanes of oncoming traffic before being stopped by a curb on the other side of the road. The accident took place at 5:30 on 28th St, and I was NOT hit by any other cars coming from the opposite direction!
4. The other driver was not badly injured. (I essentially T-Boned him at 45 mph). He complained of chest pains at the scene and was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he was treated and released.
5. Many witnesses stopped to help me. After using a phone to call Dave, he got to me in less than 10 minutes (including calling the sitter to come over!).
6. The accident wasn't my fault.

Thank you, God, for keeping me safe.

Summer Camp

This was A.'s first time at day camp. He loved it! He made tons of new friends and enjoyed good times with old friends, Gavin and Olivia! It was for one week. The bus picked him up at 7:45 am and dropped him off at 5:10 pm. Long day! Most of the time, the bus driver had to wake him up when they dropped him off.


Thursday night was family night where D., C. and I got to go out and join A. at camp, have a cook out dinner and watch some skits.



My boys.




A. with new friends from camp.



This is Olivia. She is very proud of her face paint.




This is A.'s group's skit. A. is hidden behind the blonde up front. He was one of the drummers. They were the kangaroos.

Kid's Parade

As most Grand Haven-ites know, Coast Guard is an annual tradition. With two little ones, my participation in the festivities has dwindled to the Kid's Parade and the Craft Fair. The boys really enjoyed the Kid's Parade.

Colin with papa Ken before leaving for the parade.

Adam LOVES Grandma Connie!

Lexi, Laney and Adam watch the pirate truck and pirates parade past- giving out lots of beads and whistles....

This video is my favorite! Colin was really into the drums everytime they came past. Adam was never really into music as a baby, so this is all new to me. This was taken while the first set of drums came by. The second group was the marching band from Muskegon Heights- I sooo wish I would have captured those moves! My little man has some soul!

Zoo School

A few weeks ago, A. attended Zoo School at our local Zoo. He basically spent 2 1/2 hours there for four days learning about different animals, reading stories about them, doing a craft and having a snack. A. enjoyed getting away from mommy for a bit and learned about some new things as well.

Here is Miss Jenni pinning on A.'s name tag.


A. was yellow number 9. (Their way of taking attendance with parents and children- we took a yellow clip that had number 9 on it, and had to bring it back to pick up the kids)

A. was very excited to see a familiar friend from school there! Hello, E.! A. doesn't look very excited in this picture, but he really was! He and E. had a nice long talk (which at 4 is about 2 minutes) about how they are VERY excited to see Miss Lauren again when school starts!