FUN IN THE WATER

The Holland Aquatic Center

Jordyn was a little hesitant to get wet at first...

...but once she got in there was no stopping her!

Drying off...not by Jordyn's choice

New Kids on the Block - Happy B-day To Me

This past weekend my friend Kristin and I rocked out at the New Kids on the Block concert!! It was my birthday present from Jer. Best birthday present ever!!! We sported our NKOTB t-shirts (which we made ourselves). We were feeling pretty cool! I LOVED NKOTB in about sixth grade...way too young for a concert according to mom & dad....so now 20 years later....here I am...still lovin' them!!! I'll be forever their girl...ha!

All About Jace

Jace is 3 1/2 months old already! I can't believe how fast time flies. I don't have as much to fill you in on about Jace as I did Jordyn...mostly because he still doesn't do a whole lot.

We are thru the difficult newborn stage. Jace has adjusted to his new formula and his colicky nights are pretty much completely over. He has also learned that he doesn't need to be held all of the time and actually loves kicking and playing on the floor all by himself. He also enjoys his new swing which has been a huge relief to me. He is sleeping from 10:30pm to 7:30am....yeah!! The only thing we haven't quite figured out yet is getting Jace to sleep. He seems to need to be rocked to sleep while he screams. Sometimes he surprises me and lets me lay him and he will fall asleep on his own.

Jace is probably the most smiley baby I have ever seen. All you have to do is look at him and he will give you the biggest grin. He is also giggling out loud now. I LOVE it! A few other things he has learned is to copy faces that I make at him, sit up in his bumbo chair and stand in his activity center. He has also made the move from his bassinet to his crib....a sad day for mom. (I have trouble with this step...I guess because it means he is growing up so fast).

Some of Jace's favorites are standing up on his feet, sucking on two fingers, sitting in his swing, laying under his fish and grabbing at them, and sitting in his bouncy seat in the window watching the cars go by. However, his absolute favorite thing is having someone talk with him!

We are so blessed to have Jace in our family. Jordyn has adjusted well to him and absolutely loves him as long as he isn't crying when she wants our attention. We love you Jace!!

Enjoy some pics:

All About Jordyn

Jordyn is growing up so fast! She is 19 months already. She is in this stage where she just wants to help. She helps with everything from loading the dishwasher, putting her shoes away, dusting, scrubbing floors, bathing Jace, putting trash in the garbage and dirty dishes in the sink, and changing Jace. It is so cute to watch her concentrate so hard on these chores!!

She is also starting to say a lot of words. Some of her favorites are "Hiiieeee" (Hi), "Nigh-nigh" (blanket), "Bah" (Barney), "BeBe" (baby), and "cheez" (which causes her to pull a really funny Jace). The list could go on forever.

Today I told Jordyn I had to put Jace to bed for his nap. I guess she knows my routine quite well, because she ran to his room, pointed to the fan for me to turn it on, and then patted on the rocking chair for me to sit down. She then held her finger to her lips, said "Shhhhh" and walked out of the room closing the door behind her. After I put Jace down, I opened the door to find her dusting the house with her toy duster. How cute!

She also gets frustrated quite easily when she can't do something or if something is different than usual. She noticed after her shower (yes, shower) the other day that her fingers were wrinkled. She walked around looking at her hands saying "Uh-ohhh" over and over again.

She had a tantrum Tuesday afternoon after lunch because something was different. I always push up her sleeves when I put her in her highchair for lunch. When I take her out of her high chair, she makes a point of helping me pull her sleeves down. Today, she wore short sleeves for the first time this year. She pulled and pulled on her short sleeves trying to get them down. She cried and cried saying "deeves, deeves" (sleeves, sleeves). She did this over and over. I finally had to give her some strawberries to calm her down.

Last, I tried to do some finger painting with Jordyn this morning. I thought I had a great idea and that she would love it. Well, it lasted for about five minutes. Apparently, Jordyn does not like dirty hands. She wanted her wash rag and wanted nothing to do with the paints. She was finally happy once I had her hands washed off. I think she must have gotten this from Uncle Andy.

Enjoy some pics of Jordyn! (Don't worry...I'll do a Jace update soon also!)

Still lovin' her box

Having cake with Kendal at Jace's baptism

Loving her baby brother

Say "Cheez"

Her beautiful finger painting that she hated doing. I think I did most of it trying to get her to help!

BAPTISM

Jace was baptized at Overisel CRC on Sunday morning, March 8. We invited family to witness his baptism and we had lunch in the church basement afterwards. Jace was awake thru the whole service and did not cry! Amazing!! He actually entertained the people in the rows behind us because he was flashing big smiles most of the time. Jordyn also sat thru the whole service. I was worried about her because she usually stays in the nursery. It was a beautiful day. Praise God for his promises for his children!

Cousins

We haven't been doing anything too exciting around here lately. We are just waiting for the warm weather to come. Jordyn has been spending time with her cousins, Elijah and Kendal.

It's so cute.

They race each other around the house on these things.

I know, Jordyn has lovely hair!

Visiting Elizabeth at the hospital.

I'm not so sure they enjoy sharing the chair.


We acquired some boxes at Christmastime.
Jordyn and Kendal LOVE them.

Just hangin' out on Jordyn's bench.

Not sure what the excitement is about this, but they love to just sit there.

Jace & Rogue don't do a lot of playing yet,
but I'm sure they will be running around together in no time!

Jordyn & Elijah goofing around!

Welcome Elizabeth Marie

We are so happy to announce that my brother, Chad and sister-in-law, Amber welcomed a new baby girl into their family this morning! Her name is Elizabeth Marie Kraker. She weighed 5lbs, 6oz (pretty good for 4 weeks early) and is 19".

We praise God for a healthy baby and that Amber was able to make it to 36 weeks.

Congratulations you guys!!!