An Average Kid?

Today Gerrit had his 2 year check up today. He scored average in height, weight and head circumference.

On our way home from Wabasha (chasing Adam), Gerrit started counting! Yes, one, two, three, four, six! OK so he's got some work to do, but we were shocked to hear him count!

Highlight of a 2 Year Old's Birthday

We had a great time at the 612 party - I called it this because these are the ages of the 3 kids we were celebrating. I made numbered chocolate chip cookies and we had ice cream sundaes with as many toppings as you could imagine (thanks Nikki)! We also had pizza and snacks before presents and dessert. There are also a few pictures of Gerrit opening up gifts this morning at home. Besides his bike and helmet (thanks Uncle Travis), Gerrit got a Match Box car case from us. Great Grandma gave him a Little People farm and Omah and Opah a golf club set. He had a long day and a short night so a long nap was in order today. Lucky for us, he took almost a 3 hour nap (but so did we!)

Gerrit's New Wheels

I forgot to show off Gerrit's new wheels too (and helmet).

He hasn't quite figured out the balance part but he'll get the hang of it soon enough!

Meet The Newest Member of the Family

We got rid of the lemon (aka Passat) and downsized to a Subaru Impreza for my commuter car. It looks black but its actually a metallic grey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GERRIT!

I can't believe it has been 2 years since you entered our lives.
I remember the day like it was yesterday when you joined our family and made our lives even better. You make us laugh so much these days. We love to watch you discover and learn and are amazed by how much you can do and you are only 2! Yes, with that comes your "independence" fits but then you make us smile and we forget about them.

You are a true blessing and gift from God and for that we are forever grateful for having you in our lives. We love you peanut!

Is It Christmas?

You'd think it was Christmas around here tonight! Following Adam's ride and Gerrit and I chasing (picking him up) and dinner it has been total movement around our house. Gerrit and I took a quick shower (he needed it after playing outside and wiping his nose on his arms/cheeks, and I was full of softball dust - windy today), Adam put him to bed and I started baking. I needed to make Gerrit's birthday treat for daycare and the 612 party (I'll explain that one tomorrow) dessert. Once Gerrit was down for the count, Adam went to work - assembling Gerrit's bike that just came in the mail today (thanks to Uncle Travis!). I said to Adam after he finished the bike that I wondered if this is what it would be like if we were home for Christmas! It cracked me up to think that once Gerrit went to bed, we could go to town preparing for his big day tomorrow. Once I had the desserts done, I had to quickly wrap a few gifts for the 612 party as well as for Gerrit! It is now 10 pm and I'm able to sit down and rest...maybe I should just go to bed!

I guess I should be thankful we are in MI for Christmas. I have to do all the planning in advance which allows me to spread the hustle and bustle throughout a few days instead of one evening!

Relivin' My Childhood

When I was little I always wanted flip flops with the elastic strap across the back. I saw these on clearance and bought them, not even paying attention to sizing. They happen to fit Gerrit right now (and not for much longer).



The first time I put them on him, he didn't like the strap between his toes. He took them off right away. I didn't take into account that strap would feel funny for the first time and wasn't too upset that he didn't like them. I forgot about them until Gerrit picked them up and wanted them on (did I say he has a shoe fettish?). So I put them on him today and he loved them! They are not the best for bike riding but he looks cool.

Win-Win

I figured out how to make Gerrit and myself happy: bring the trike INSIDE!

My principal gave Gerrit this bike this week (her 2 boys used it). It fits him perfectly - if he could only figure out how to pedal, my back would much appreciate it! Gerrit is always so upset when we have to go inside. By bringing the bike inside, we both would be happy!

Latest Obsessions

For some reason Gerrit is obsessed with looking for toe jam. If he finds it, I must remove it!

Another obsession is with shoes . He loves to put them on, larger the better. He even removes my inserts before putting them on! (After putting these on, he walked to the door expecting to be able to go outside because he had 'shoes' on!)

Park Play

 

Last week we met our friends at the park while the guys went on a ride. Gerrit was playing well on the playground with Abby until Paul showed up with his scooter. Gerrit didn't need the playground anymore! Luckily Paul is very patient with Gerrit and helped him 'ride' the scooter. (The scrape in Gerrit's nose is from falling off a ladder earlier on the playground - he must've thought his legs were long enough to climb down the ladder!)

There's No Place Like Zumbrota

We decided to take a short walk tonight before the rain hit. We made it as far as across the street before we stopped - and talked to the neighbors. They happen to own the movie theater and sent us on the rest of the walk with popcorn for all! Gerrit had his own little cup and Adam and I each had our own. It felt funny walking down the street eating movie theater popcorn! Only in Zumbrota! :)

The temperature has dropped and the dark clouds are upon us. I hear the sweet sound of rain (yes, a few windows are open!) and love the smell that comes with it. I'd like to say that my son is sound asleep; however, I hear him doing something in his crib. Playing hard all day, wearing shorts for the first time, and being in the sun should tire him out! We shall see as the night progresses if that is true.

Yep, That Early

If you are ever driving by our house at 7 am, don't be shocked to see Gerrit 'riding' his bike.

Yep, that is what we did this morning before heading off our separate ways for the day.

It's could be a long summer!

(I think we need to finish the porch!)

The Hunt

After church and breakfast, we had a little egg 'hunt' in the house. Gerrit got 2 Easter "baskets" this year: bottom left was from us and the one next to it is from Omah and Opah. Gerrit didn't have to 'hunt' very hard to find his eggs but caught on fast. Adam followed him with his basket to put the eggs in it. He liked the basketball shaped ones and tried to dribble one (or see that it bounces) and realized it fell apart when he dropped it on the floor. We didn't give him candy seeing I didn't want to deal with the mess of chocolate/sticky goo. He didn't seem to mind either. A few eggs did have Match Box cars in them but the rest were empty. (He didn't go with out candy either - friends gave him a few eggs which were full of candy.)

Afternoon

I love this picture:

I think his bright blue eyes just pop! It reminds me of one of the pictures from his recent photo shoot for his 2 yr pictures. Did I mention we had to come back a second time? Gerrit wouldn't let go of me long enough to snap pictures so we went for a walk and came back a 1/2 hour later and he did much better - 2 year olds!!

This afternoon Adam road his bike down to Rochester with a few of the Team Beat guys. Gerrit and I followed with Anne and the boys after Gerrit's nap. We met up at Bill and Tricia's home - the couple who hosted the guys in France. They are in town for a few weeks and wanted us to come for dinner and watch a big bike race. We had a lovely time and a delicious dinner too! Great friends make up for when family isn't around!

Gerrit is watching Adam get his bike ready for his ride. (No, my windows don't all look this bad! This is Gerrit's window - the one by the landing that he spends a lot of time looking out!)

Garden at Church

One of my favorite parts to our Easter service is the beautiful 'garden' at the front. You can donate money to purchase lilies or bring in your own choice of plant. We remembered the camera this year!

Gerrit and his 'friend' Abby. We joke that they may be prom dates one day!

Risky Business

Before church Gerrit ran around the house looking like this:



Our own Tom Cruise!

Omah's Visit Part II

I'm feeling better and thought I would upload a few pictures from this past week while we are watching Slumdog Millionaire (good flick! - I've seen it, so I can mulitask):

Omah is hoping to make a tailor out of Gerrit:

He had a lot of fun playing with the pins and the magnet - I figured he'd learn they are sharp the hard way:

This is what happens when you leave Omah in charge (Adam and I went out to dinner):

Actually, he had a dirty diaper and needed a clean onesie and Omah couldn't find them. Then Gerrit demanded he wear his slippers....it was quite the site to come home to! (We enjoyed our Gerrit-free dinner too)

Today we hung out at home and finished up a few projects and stopped by a few shops in town. On our way home, we stopped by the park:

Gerrit thinks he's a big kid:


The afternoon ended with stories read by Omah (also distracting him from me so I could make dinner):

We sure enjoyed Omah's visit! It was great doing some sewing projects, shopping, being able to go to the movies and out to eat without Gerrit, and watching the 2 of them bond. I know Sunday morning, Gerrit will ask where Omah is and it will be hard for him to understand she's not upstairs! I think Omah won't mind the break from all the questions he continues to ask though: where's Jaycee, where's Cassie, where's Austin, where's Daddy, what ya doin', what's that, where's Abby, and the list goes on and on....Thanks Omah for a great visit. We will miss you and look forward to seeing you at Sandy Pines in July!

Love you!

Omah's Visit Part 1

I'm too lazy to upload any photos - I'm now battling the cold that Adam and Gerrit have had the past week! We are enjoying Omah's visit. We've gone shopping, watched MSU with friends on Sat, went to church and watched a bike race with Team Beat in the afternoon, Adam and I slipped out to see a movie across the street (Taken - ok movie, glad we didn't pay for a sitter to see it), did some sewing projects, watch MSU lose, and suffered through a dinner I made. I had a recipe for a rub that sounded good to me - Adam said it tasted like potpourri and Omah said it wouldn't be her first choice (she was nice enough to eat it!) I think tomorrow it will be tacos - can't mess that up! Gerrit went to Julie's today so mom and I could do some shopping in the cities. We met my friend Sue for lunch and finished up a few more stores before heading home. Gerrit has been showing Omah all of his tricks, from throwing a ball, to shooting hoops, to talking her ear off - much of it is not understood by her or anyone else. Tomorrow we are off to get some one's 2 yr pics taken and a few errands in Roch. and then visit with Dave and Pam in the evening. I would be enjoying my time off a bit more if I didn't have this silly head cold to contend with. I'm hoping another nap tomorrow will help kick this thing!

The Joys of a Cold

Gerrit and I were hanging out at friends after work today eating/drinking. At one point Gerrit tries to feed me something that was on his finger. Before I opened my mouth, I looked at his finger and noticed it had something green on it. Then I noticed Gerrit had his finger in his nose! Yep, Gerrit tried feeding me a booger! Ick!

Gerrit-isms

With Omah coming soon I thought it would be a good time to interpret what comes out of Gerrit's mouth these days (well, some of the things he says, I don't understand much myself!):

Gerrit's word: Interpretation
cooter: Scooter - cat at daycare
shower: bath time - shower/bath
tubby: take a bath
down: up or down
peetza: pizza
go bye: put coat on to leave the house
bi-sick: bicycle
I shoot: play basketball
CC: Jaycee - friend at daycare
party: Sparty
nigh nigh: go to sleep

The list above are just the words we hear frequently (and ones I can remember off the top of my head). He says much more, but these are ones that need interpreting!