May Happenings

***Warning: Totally out of order post ahead. Sorry.***

I can't believe May is on it's way out (and our baby is yet another month older)! Seriously, I remember how quickly Jeremiah's first year went by, but I think Hope's is going by even faster (if that's possible!). Hope turned 6 months on April 24, and finally had her 6 month check-up on May 19. She weighs 18 lbs 10 oz (exactly twice her birth weight!) and is 26.5 inches long. Both height and weight were around the 80th percentile. She also got her vaccinations, and did pretty well. She calmed down relatively quickly, but not before trying to get extra sympathy from the girls behind the counter on the way out! She is very excited to have a break with shots until she's 1. The doctor says she is looking great!

Exactly 6 months!

Exactly 7 months (May 24)!

Doesn't she look so much older (and chubbier)?!?! Stop it, baby!

It was quite a week for shots, as J had his 5 year check-up and had to get up to date on his shots for Kindergarten. Not sure how he got behind because he has had all his yearly check- ups, but he ended up needing to get 3 shots. Yeesh, that was not fun! He's a heck of a lot easier than Hope after the shots, but before the shots- yikes! It took 2 nurses and me (and Hope by default) to hold him down. :( It's definitely easier when they have no idea what's coming! Anyway, J is now 52 lbs 4 oz and 46.25 inches tall. In the 90's percentile-wise. He's a big kid, and the doctor says he's doing great, too!

And our big kid graduated from preschool last week, too! :( He had SUCH a great year and loved his teachers and friends so much, I'm so sad that it's over! I know J is sad, too. :) I feel like he was so comfortable and things were just so great with his little class and he was talking about playing with different friends..... and now it's all done and changing again. Change is no fun! :( I can only hope that he has a great K teacher and makes good friends there, too (but I'm not ready for that yet!)!

J and Mrs. D on the last day! (I had a hard time holding it together when I picked him up that day!)

His graduation was just precious! They each walked down the aisle swinging/waving ribbons. 

He was really swinging those ribbons!

They sang some of J's favorite songs, "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" and "10,000 Reasons" and a few others.

And then they got their certificates!

Grandpa and Grandma Wiers came from WI for this momentous occasion!

Love this boy!

2 weeks ago we spent the weekend in WI- my mom had a Thirty-One Party and it also happened to be Mother's Day weekend!

Hope and Aunt JoAnne at Panera (where else?)

J read stories with Grandma

Me and my babies on Mother's Day!

On the Monday after Mother's Day, J and I had Mother's night at his preschool. They did a sweet little program which included a poem and songs! HERE and HERE are some videos. :) We enjoyed ice cream sundaes and J gave me a little gift. Such a fun time with my boy!

And of course we started off May with Tulip Time, which I wrote about in my last post (is it just my iPad that does not show the entire post? I had to click "Read More" to read the rest of that previous post. Where did that come from?! Weird. Anyway, if you haven't read about Tulip Time, it's there. And I've recovered from my whiplash, thanks for asking.)

And finally- this girl. She is becoming quite the little firecracker!

She's not crying. This is her "I know you're going to wipe my face" look.

Swaddle me. Unswaddle me. Swaddled me. Forget it, I'll do it myself.

Mmmmmmm, magazines.

Purse- check. Lipstick- check. Debit card- check. Let's go shopping, Mommy!

 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

April Catch Up!

So, May looks to be a busy month, and from there we will head right into summer, so I wanted to quick catch up on our April happenings!

Miss H turned 6 months old on April 24!

Her 6 month Doctor appointment isn't until mid-May (yes, when she will be almost 7 months), so we don't have her stats yet. But, we know she is just growing like crazy! I will be interested to see how her weight/height compare to big bro at that age. (Comparing your kids is good, right??).

But 6 months has brought LOTS of new things to Hope's life! We started baby cereal and baby food (so far she's had carrots, apples, and peas). She is doing great with it!

First bites of cereal..... weird.

Hope is also getting teeth! I forgot how much fun that is!! :) So far she has the 2 bottom middle ones popping through, and we also think she may have a top one popping through, too. Why not get them all at once, right? Sheesh.

By far Hope's favorite place to be now is the Johnny Jumper! She would probably jump in there all day! HERE is a video of her in action. The only place we can really put it is in the doorway between the kitchen and half-bathroom, so she enjoys hanging out in there while I cook dinner.

"So Big!" has also become one of Hope's favorite things to do! She is quite proud of her new trick.

Chubby arms, chubby hands, chubby cheeks.

H has been doing so well with sitting up by herself! She falls over once in awhile, but for the most part she is pretty steady. So, instead of kitchen sink baths, we decided she was sitting up well enough to have her baths in the ducky bathtub. She LOVES that, too! Not sure how long that will last though, the way she likes to kick and splash we may be moving straight to the big bathtub.

I had fun comparing pics of J and H in the ducky tub at about the same age! (There I go comparing again)

Ponytails are definitely the best way to keep Hope's long locks out of her eyes (and the best way to try to avoid baby food in hair). But, that means she sports this 'do quite often:

She doesn't seem to mind.

And then there's big J- he has had lots going on as well!

April 24 was the day for his Kindergarten screening. Aaaggghh!! When I think about him starting Kindergarten, my heart aches!

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

He was nervous. But afterwards he said, "That was actually really fun!"

J also started "Start Smart Soccer" through the City. He's learning all the basics like kicking, dribbling, throw-ins, etc. He loves it!

 Hope tolerates it.

This boy can't pass a dandelion without picking it for me. So sweet!

(And much safer than trying to pick me a tulip at the library a week befor Tulip Time started!)

In preschool, J's class just finished a unit on transportation. For the last day, the kids had to make a boat (out of recyclable materials) at home. Then they brought them to school to see if they would float! J and Daddy worked very hard on this masterpiece (named "Jedi Jeremiah")!

And yes, it floats! 

With the weather warming up, J is all about being outside as much as possible. We found a new park last week (Frog Hollow Park) and he had so much fun!

Iowa!!

One week ago we were living it up in the Hawkeye State! :) We had such a nice visit back "home" (yes, Iowa still feels more like home than Michigan does....) We got to see so many great friends, ate at some of our favorite places, and were reminded just how much we miss that place! And Hope was thoroughly loved on by many people who have been dying to meet her!

We started our journey on Wednesday about noon. We picked up lunch and hit the road, ending for the day in LeClaire, IA (just over the Mississippi River). We had driven 4 1/2 hours and Hope was about done with her car seat, so it was the perfect place to stop and get a hotel. J and Daddy even got some pool time in (and Hope did too, since it was like 110 degrees in that pool room and she was sweating like crazy!).

I love these people!

For dinner Wednesday evening, Adam got in touch with his good friends, Matt and Lorayne, who live in Clinton. Matt was the best man at our wedding! :) We ended up going over to their house for pizza (ranch) and J had a blast playing with their kids and running around outside! We had such a great time!

We finished our drive to the Des Moines area on Thursday morning, after a stop at the I-80 truck stop ("The Worlds Greatest Truckstop" as J calls it!). We got to Des Moines about lunch time and just had to stop for lunch at one of our favorite places- Bandit Burrito! Oh the chips and queso- so good!

We were able to check into our hotel early, so J and daddy hit the pool while Hope and mommy hit Target because we discovered the air mattress we brought for J to sleep on had a hole in it. Oops.

That evening we got together with our good friends/former Bible Study group! I can't even say how great it was to see everyone and introduce them to Hope. These people have been through a lot with us, and we've all started our families and been through the early parenting years together. We love these people! And J was so happy to see his friends again!

After running around like crazy people for a good part of the night, it was time for a movie! And yes, pictured above are 7 boys and 1 girl. :)

The ladies and some babies.

Friday morning we hit one of our favorite coffee places, Friedrich's (sorry, Starbucks, I still love you. But Adam likes this place better).

Dee-lish!

Later in the morning we headed up to Boone so I could visit my school (yep, it's still "my school"!). And there were MANY people there who were excited to meet Hope. She was held by lots of people and I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone loved her. :) It was fun seeing tons of my former students- they were happy to meet Hope, too! And there were even yummy cookies in the lounge made by one of the wonderful parents!! Thanks again, Kandi!

 It was so nice being back at United- I really do miss that place. Hindsight is definitely 20/20, and I really did not appreciate what I had there. I MAY have even done my share of complaining from time to time. But it was a great place to teach, and I at least know that no matter what I will always be part of the United family.

J always used to like coming to mommy's school!

We grabbed lunch at another favorite place (is it bad that this trip centered a lot around food??? You just don't find these places in MI!) Casey's for pizza slices (and cheesy potato bites!).

Then it was time for this babe to hit the pool!

And daddy and J, too.

Friday evening we went over to "Shell's house" for dinner. Michelle is our former daycare provider and she and her family have become such wonderful friends! J was SO SO happy to see his best buddy Grady again. Those 2 played and laughed and joked just like they used to. I know that has been one of the hardest thing for J- being away from his best friend!

2 peas in a pod in their fireman boots!

Maddie and Hope- Hope felt right at home at Shell's house!

We had such a nice time! And J was so sad to say good-bye to best buddy again. :(

Saturday morning after breakfast we stopped by one of our favorite Ankeny parks. J had a great time playing, and Hope had her first swing ride!

I think she liked it!

We also stopped by and saw another of J's former daycare buddies. I love how they can just play together and pick up like no time has passed!

Lunch on Saturday was Smokey D's! There are officially 0 good bbq places in west Michigan, so we (Adam) REALLY miss this place!

And we were able to meet up with Adam's cousin, Kristin, who also was J's favorite babysitter!

After lunch, the weather was just so beautiful- we decided to go check out the High Trestle Trail Bridge. We found the closest place to the bridge to park (no stroller along= I didn't want to walk super far). We still had about .5 miles to walk to get to the bridge, so with Hope strapped to my front, I'd say it was still a pretty good work out. She's getting heavy!!

The bridge is so cool! I'd like to go back sometime when it is lit up at night and also in the summer or fall when the trees are more colorful than brown.

 A better shot of the whole bridge:

Saturday evening we hung out and grilled with our good friends, the Paulsens and Scholtens. J had fun playing with his friends again!

Silly boys!

And Hope met a new friend! We may or may not have prearranged their marriage.

It was so nice hanging out with friends and it just felt like "the good old days" and at the end of the night we should have been heading back to our house in Ankeny! Crazy.

Sunday morning we were up early to pack up and begin the journey back to Michigan.

My early morning packing helper!

Have I said how great of a trip it was?!?!?! It was wonderful, and unfortunately only made me miss Iowa more!! I'm pretty sure we are all Hawkeyes through and through no matter where we may happen to live. :) Can't wait to go back!!!

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

Spring!!

I think it's here, people! Yeah yeah yeah, you may think I just jinxed it and "Michigan weather" blah blah blah. But. A week full of 60 degree temps and green grass outside tells me there is hope! I'm hoping the trees will follow suit here soon. And I know those tulips have to be up by the first week of May here for Tulip Time!

We have been keeping busy and enjoying the nice weather when we have it. J has been all about getting outside as soon as the snow was gone and the temps were in the 40s!

This day it hit 70! Woohoo!

Jeremiah is always fascinated by the different collections that kids put out on display in the children's section of the library. He's been asking and asking if sometime he could put a collection on display, so I finally asked about it and April is his month to display his collection! It was a tough decision. Matchbox cars? Monster trucks? Construction vehicles? Finally he just decided to go with the broader term of "vehicles" so he could include any of the above. :)

He is so proud!

Hope has been working on sitting up!

And also continuing to grow those long locks!

Rat-tail ponytail in honor of Daddy

The back of her head just kills me!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! We drove to Wisconsin to spend the weekend with my parents. We left about noon on Friday, enjoyed some construction traffic in Chicago, and arrived about 4:00 pm. So nice that it's an hour earlier there!

On Saturday we drove up to Sheboygan to take Jeremiah to the Above and Beyond Children's Museum. He had SO much fun!

Being a REAL firefighter!!

After much encouragement, he went through the net tunnel hanging from the ceiling!