Devin -- Week 5 (11/13/13-11/19/13)

Devin continues to have new experiences this week, with some being good and some not so good. We started out this week with a trip to the grocery store without Ryan to help. It is amazing how hard it is to grocery shop with more than one child, especially when you have to get a lot of groceries. Kyler usually rides in the cart, and with the groceries that we get, there is no room in the back for him. Now that we also have to take Devin with us, he will not sit up in the cart, nor will the car seat fit in the back with him in it if we want to take any groceries home at all! To complicate matters, the weather has been getting much colder, so taking the kids out in the winter-like weather is going to just get more complicated. Thankfully, I have a wrap that Devin loves to be snuggled in. I tied it on at home, got Kyler set up in the cart, snuggled Devin into the wrap on my chest, zipped up one of Ryan's coats over the top of both of us, and off we went shopping! It may not be pretty (wraps have a way of making any kind of body fat squeeze into lovely rolls), but I love talking to Kyler while we shop and being able to have a sweet cuddly baby right at my chest while we get out of the house.  After this first shopping trip, in which Devin slept most of it and I could barely stop kissing his little head, I went home feeling like a super hero.

Devin has also had numerous visitors come over for lots of great cuddles. He has slept on his Daddy's chest while watching football (GO BLUE!) and enjoyed the fresh air when it is nice enough to go for a walk. We had both sides of the family over for Kyler's birthday, which meant twice the love.  Devin has started to turn his head my way any time he hears my voice. I often have days when both Devin and Kyler are snuggled in my arms watching a little television, and I am overwhelmed with how blessed I am to have these sweet little ones in my life. Some not so great moments included his first stuffy nose, his eye still being gooey (from a clogged tear duct that gets worse when he is sick), and some very large spit ups. Poor Great Grandma Van Dyke was over to celebrate Kyler's second birthday and unfortunately had Devin in her arms when a very large spit up occurred. Thankfully she was a trooper and everything seemed to wash out just fine.

Getting sleepy under the gym

Hearing Mommy's voice!

Sacked out watching the game

Aunt Britani taking advantage of baby cuddle time

Who can blame her, right?

Such a sweet little guy

With Great Grandma before the spit up debacle

The boys with their Great Grandma Van Dyke

Devin -- Week 4 (11/6/13-11/12/13)

Devin continues to experience lots of new things and get even better at sleeping. He is more consistently waking up only once at night, though he still goes to bed very late. He enjoyed going shopping with the family and spending part of the day with Grandma and Grandpa while we took Kyler to get a haircut. He had his first actual tub bath, giving me a very concerned look at first, but he soon was smiling and kicking up a storm. Ryan made sure that he spent part of the weekend watching Michigan football with him while Kyler was napping. We were invited to celebrate cousin Josie's baptism, which meant Devin was snuggled in my arms for church and visited with many people. He did come down with a slight temperature at the beginning of the week which meant that he wanted Mommy to hold him all the time. So Ryan came up with the great idea that I should wear him around the house. Devin was so sweet and snuggled right into my chest while I was able to be hands-free. There is just something so wonderful about snuggling with him and being able to kiss the top of his head any time I want.

The biggest event this week, other than first tub bath, was probably that Devin actually rolled over while doing tummy time. I could not believe it. He went from his tummy right onto his back without much struggling or help. It is always amazing to see how fast little ones grow up!

Sweet little boy in the carrier -- I loved to look down and see this sweet face sleeping

Playing under the gym

Sweet sleeper

Snuggled with Grandma

Kyler -- Week 50 (10/27/12-11/2/12)

Our little guy is getting so close to being a year old already! I can hardly believe how fast time has gone, but there are so many things that remind me of how much older he has gotten. Lately, when you ask Kyler to bring you something, he can go and get that specific item. Later in the week, I asked him to bring me a book. Now, his favorite activity seems to be emptying out his library on our living room floor and bringing us a book to read. This a trend that I hope he continues. Kyler has also been exploring where things go when he "puts" them into things. His favorite place to "put" things is the tub, which often has an assortment of things thrown into it while he stands there and looks at them. I think part of this fascination with the tub stems from the fact that he has been missing his time in the water. Even when others are in the tub--including me--he comes in and likes to splash the water.

We had a lot of fun trying pineapple and turnips this week. He liked both of them, and it baffles me that my son would rather eat turnips than pumpkin! Kyler had a lot of fun getting dressed up like a raccoon for Halloween. He tolerated the hood very well and looked adorable walking around with his little tail swishing back and forth. Since he was still getting over a cold, we only visited Grandpa and Grandma's house, but there we got to see cousin KayLynn in her U of M cheerleader outfit. They had fun playing the piano together, and KayLynn really liked Kyler's tail.

Unfortunately, sleeping was not too great this week. On Tuesday, Kyler was really upset and super fussy, refusing to nap and easily tearful--not like him at all. We went into the pediatrician's office and were informed that Kyler had developed a sinus infection and that his molars were coming in. On top of the surgery recovery and the cold, I just felt so sorry for the little guy. Without all the sleep, there was a lot of snuggling on the couch and plenty of cuddle time. It's amazing how much you do not care if you sleep, as long as you are with your little guy, and he is happy in your arms.

Already looking for cash

Our new favorite toy to play with together--chopsticks, here we come!

We love Grandpa!

Helping Mommy unwrap her birthday presents

Ryan with his boys...er, um, animals...

"I am a fierce raccoon!" Fiercely cute!

The cousins hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma's

KayLynn really liked Kyler's tail

Cute little ones sitting by the piano

I think KayLynn is pretty much carrying the tune

Out of all the laundry I was folding, Kyler decided that my sports bra was the best...uh-oh...

Kyler -- Week 43 (9/8/12-9/14/12)

We started out the week as a family divided -- but it was only distance between us. The Wiersum family tries to go to a University of Michigan football game every fall, and this year we saw UM win over Air Force. Kyler is still a little too young to join in on all the fun, so we had wonderful people playing with him all throughout the day. My aunt Diane and her granddaughter Abby took most of the day, which included lots of playing and fabulous babysitting skills by Abby. (I guess Kyler napped a little too long for her tastes though.) My cousin Sarah and her husband Andrew came over for the evening and had a great time getting to see what they have in store for themselves as new parents. Kyler is such a happy guy, and it sounds like he had a great time playing with such wonderful people.

We spent Sunday as a family, enjoying a walk and having Great Grandma Linda and her mother come for a visit. Kyler was excited to see them, but what really seemed to fascinate him was the walker! Oh, my son and his fascination with things that move... Kyler also started to wave today, but not very consistently. As the week went on, the waving morphed into high fives as well. Kyler continues to explore and has since found where we have hidden Duncan's food and water bowls (in our closet). We now have a dog that eats/drinks from on top of our bed off a breakfast tray. Oh, the things you have to figure out with such a busy little boy! Kyler has also discovered how much fun it is to play with Duncan's crate, which includes putting toys in there that we find later in the day.

We were very busy socializing this week. Levi came over on Tuesday morning, and we all took a trip to the park. Kyler doesn't really understand how to share yet, and that seems to be true of the space in the stroller as well. To keep Kyler's hands from grabbing his water bottle, Levi just held on to it. On Wednesday, we headed out to see cousin KayLynn and enjoyed playing at her house for the morning. Thursday brought Aunt Sharon over for a nice morning walk and a time to catch up. By Friday, Kyler was not feeling the best, as evidenced by the fact that he was not eating his lunch (which never happens--trust me, this boy can eat!), so we skipped going to Aunt Lynsey's garage sale.

Easily the biggest highlight of the week was when Kyler started to say "Mama" on Wednesday. He may not know what the word means just yet, but it is so wonderful to hear him say it! What a great little guy. :)

Great Grandma Linda came to visit!

"I get to hang out with TWO GRANDMAS?!" Kyler is clearly excited!

Kyler and Levi holding hands on the way to the park. 

"I just wanted to see why Duncan likes it so much, Mommy!"

Watch out--this kid is fast!

All decked out for fall and on our way out for our morning walk

"So where are those dog food dishes?" Kyler is also sporting some über-long shorts

And we have spotted the camera!

Kyler -- Week 34 (7/7/12-7/13/12)

We had a lot of fun catching up with so many friends this week! We started out on Saturday visiting Ryan's college friends and former Be Nicholas Bé bandmates. Kyler also thought that this would be the time to start a new milestone--CRAWLING! He had been rocking back and forth on all fours for quite a while, but when Mommy put down her cell phone, it was just too much of a temptation, and he had to go forward! Of course, nothing on the ground is safe any longer. Along with crawling, church is becoming something that may be changing very soon. We never really found a home church in Bourbonnais, and now that we are looking in west Michigan, Kyler is getting to the point where we might have to try putting him in nursery soon. Church on Sunday at Mars Hill with the family was busy, with Kyler going from person to person and then getting really loud hiccups during the message. This caused me to take Kyler to what I deemed, "Baby Road" on the far side of church, where a lot of people were walking with their kids. Kyler also got to show off his splashing and love of water to his Daddy; he will even voluntarily put his face in the water without crying. We saw the return of our wonderful little sleeper this week, and Kyler started to copy his Dad's fake laugh, which sounds a little bit like a funny cough. One morning after Kyler woke up early, he snuggled in bed with Daddy and took a nice nap curled up in Ryan's arms. Ryan decided this was the perfect morning to head in to Calvin a little late. I don't blame him a bit.

On Wednesday, we headed out to the east side of Michigan to visit our old stomping grounds, where Kyler could meet so many of our dear friends. We stayed at our friend Melissa's house on Wednesday night, enjoying a dinner out to Red Robin together. On Thursday, Ryan began two days of work at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, while I took Kyler to the University of Michigan Department of Anesthesiology to see many of my wonderful former coworkers. I really miss my old job and the wonderful people I got to know there, but being a mom is a better job than almost anything I can think of. I truly feel very blessed to be able to stay home with Kyler and spend my days teaching and loving him. After a wonderful visit with great  friends, I had to bring Kyler to one of the Ann Arbor places we miss the most--the Cupcake Station. Oh, so many cupcakes, so little time...

We spent Thrusday and Friday night at Paul and Kellie's house. Kyler was able to hang out with his superfriend Ben, who was really great at having a little boy invade his space. Friday brought more friends (Laura, Simon, and Amos) to meet and play with Kyler. We went out to Chili's for lunch to celebrate Kellie's birthday. Kyler was clearly starving before his lunch, so he chomped on the menu for a while. The highlight of Kyler's week (at least according to Ryan) would be visiting our old softball team and watching them in action. We miss so many people from Ann Arbor, but we are thankful that Kyler got to finally meet them.

"This is the biggest tubby ever, Mommy!"

"Watch, Daddy, I can kick and splash!"

"I get so excited that I get water in my eyes..."

"...a lot! I love to splash!"

"I am so hungry, Mommy--where is my lunch?"

Superfriends!

"Okay, I know that Batman doesn't fly, but I'm cute enough to pull it off, right?"

Kyler -- Week 10 (1/21/12-1/27/12)

Kyler had a lot going on at the beginning of this week. On the January 21, he got to attend his Aunt Lynsey's wedding shower. This will probably be the one and only wedding shower that he ever attends, but he seemed to enjoy hanging out with all the ladies and showing off his new trick: drooling while sitting on your knee. After a fun-filled shower, we headed over to celebrate cousin KayLynn's 1st birthday party. Kyler was still pretty tired from the earlier party and slept through most of it. On Sunday January 22, Kyler had a good time worshiping at Mars Hill with the family. He loved to just look out at the crowd and watch people, but I am sure that was a little distracting for all the people around us. Going back home to Bourbonnais, things were going to be calming down a little. Kyler spent a lot of time playing in his gym, hating tummy time, and catching a few Michigan basketball games with Daddy. 

Kyler is showing off his drool-and-sit trick with cousin Lauren

Hanging out with the bride-to-be, but clearly partied out

Still trying to recover from the bridal shower, but cousin KayLynn wants him to get up and play at her party!

4 generations on the Van Dyke side--I say we have a good looking group!

Watching one of the many basketball games with Daddy

Loving his "jungle gym" time

Sleeping after a visiting daddy at Olivet

"Showered" by Wonderful Friends

It has been a busy couple of weeks, and a lot has happened. I am now "unemployed" since I really am not a stay at home mom yet...well unless you count Duncan and unborn Peanut. Our apartment is almost unrecognizable after all the boxes have taken over, but that will be a post all on its own, I promise. During these busy weeks, I had wonderful friends and co-workers throw me baby showers.

Kellie and Laura worked hard to give me a really adorable baby shower on July 9th at our church. It was great to see so many friends there and to receive love sent from others who could not be there. My parents were able to come up for the weekend and even catch a softball game before the shower on Saturday morning.

After a fun game, I received some super cute Kellie-made bibs and burp cloths...
U of M of course!

Super soft blanket with puppies from Lynsey and Lori

I continued to receive more of our cloth diapers!

The super cute diaper cake with more burp clothes and onsies with cute little tub toys (the whale on top was a Ryan favorite)! We will definitely enjoy the disposable diapers the first month when Peanut arrives.

The great group of friends and family who came (and the love that came with them from those who could not attend)

A week later, I ended my 2 1/2 years working for the U of M Anesthesiology Department. I will greatly miss all the people I worked with and was overwhelmed by their love and generosity on my last day. They threw me a "going-away baby shower" on my last day. I have never been sadder to leave a job. I will greatly miss all the wonderful people I worked with and hope to stay in contact with them all! (I didn't bring my camera so I missed out on pictures for this one... Sorry!)