Dad's Excitement...

Tonight Gerrit rode his bike a long time (well, longer than he normally does) and even COASTED! Yep, no feet and balancing! I think it brought a tear to Adam's eyes! He did it a few times for 3-5 feet in distance. We were pretty impressed. Of course when I went to get the camera, he had had enough of the bike and was on to something else...still, we saw it - it was real. Adam guesses he'll be riding a bike before he's out of diapers...here's hoping that isn't true!

In all the excitement Adam didn't realize that we didn't get new toothpaste for Gerrit -
he put Desitin on his toothbrush tonight!
Time for a new toothbrush.

The Porch

After many hours of sanding the porch is finally ready to be used! (We still need to paint and do a little decorating, but it is usable and we love it!)
The view looking west:

The view looking east:

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy weekend! Grandpa Bob and Geri came for a few days. Here are some highlights of the weekend:

We went to a cool toy store where Gerrit rode the carousel and we got him to try on a hotdog hat. He didn't like that much.
They saw the flags in town in honor of the holiday.
Grandpa Bob brought a cool wooden rocking air plain that he painted MSU style.

We went to the big parade today - not really, 2 bands and some service people and that was it! Following the parade we did some yard work and headed next door to a great BBQ with the neighbors. Adam rode to Northfield with a few guys and I followed behind to get him. We hung out at our favorite watering hole for a bit and headed home.

Getting Ready

I have the urge to potty train Gerrit (this summer). So, I felt we should get ready and get him some:

Seeing he likes his Cars movie, we thought we'd go with that theme. I left the package on his changing table knowing I'd need to wash them in the future but was in no hurry. Gerrit noticed the 'cars' and pulled them all out of the packaging. He proceeded to try to put them on himself but became easily frustrated. He needed some assistance especially because he was trying to put them on over his diaper and shorts!

The finished look (don't worry, I did get them off before we left the house that morning!)

Our Little Athlete

Here are a few of the lastest athlete in action:

Top left: Gerrit throwing a football - note the arm and feet (granted the ball went backwards but still, good form!)
Top right: getting ready for a 'run' or at least thinking he can go outside if he has shoes on, no matter whose shoes they might be!
Bottom left: what happens when you wear someone else's shoes and try to go down the stairs
Middle: following one of Adam's rides, Gerrit felt he needed to look like a cyclist (glasses are his)
Right, left: helping Adam get ready for a ride - making sure the water bottle is fitting properly
Right, right: Adam tapes his ipod in his ear (he feels like the pros who tape their radio in the ear during races). Gerrit found a piece of tape and tried to do the same - minus the ipod.

I forgot 2 pictures in the collage - doing a wheely!


A shiner from falling off his bike twice!

And We Havn't Even Left Yet!

My brother's family sent Gerrit a portable DVD player for his birthday. It has come in handy:

I needed to get dinner going and Gerrit was 'in the way' - 'Cars' to the rescue!

I wanted to shower one morning and Gerrit didn't. He wanted to watch his bicycle movie (one of Adam's cyclocross DVDs). So I set him up in the bathroom so I could get my shower in before school! Gerrit didn't want to get dressed and leave the video when I was done either. It came up stairs with us and he was able to continue watching it on my bed.

I never thought how handy the DVD player would be. I can only hope it is as beneficial in the car as it is in the house!

Tubby?

Last night we were out for dinner and they had a TV on in the corner. Gerrit looked up and said "tubby?" (aka bath time).

I looked up and saw Michael Phelps swimming.

Football or Bust!

Tonight I was able to get a run in before dinner and Adam and Gerrit 'ran erronds'. (loved it!) They started playing football while waiting for dinner. It kept Gerrit out of the street and allowed Adam to pick a few weeds between throws. When it was time to come in, Gerrit wasn't happy. He didn't want to come in and give up his football! We got his hands washed and put in his chair (not before a time out for hitting dad!). He did eat a few pieces of ham but wanted to play football well before the rest of us were done with dinner. We were able to distract him long enough to finish our own dinner and then we headed back outside....for more football! Adam mowed the lawn and I played football (catch) with Gerrit for over an hour.
Lets just say bedtime wasn't a pleasant experience (I was hit with a golf club!). Yes, sweet, little Gerrit has another side to him -- you must know this side too! Its a side we see all too often these days but wouldn't trade him for the world - the other side of him is too precious! :)

Catching Up

I've been neglecting the blog and uploading pictures so I'll do one big post to catch up.

Last Sunday we went to visit our good friends the Statema's. It was beautiful outside and we had the first BBQ of the season! Gerrit loved playing with the 'big' boys too:

Another photo opp. of Gerrit wanting to be like dad:

Gerrit had his first Burley ride last week too - not by dad but by Paul! He even kept his helmet on the whole time:

Mother's Day:

Shorty, our next door neighbor bought these great retro Matchbox cars for Gerrit on a recent Garage sale excursion:

This one is for Opah:

Gerrit loves to play golf which he calls 'hockey' - we are working on getting him to say golf, but that is a mouthful for a 2 yr old. We are also working on getting him to hold the club correctly. He likes to hit the ball with just the tip of the club! If he would only listen to us, he'd find hockey and golf much easier! In the above photo, he did hold the club properly - all on his own!

Swing and a Miss

We are watching our friends boys for a few days which is always fun. I was able to get dinner made without being interrupted by Gerrit! Following dinner the boys wanted to take Gerrit on a bike ride....SWEET! I'd have a bit of time to myself - I thought. Well, they thought differently...I was to go with them. After a few excuses, I ran out of them and ended up on a bike ride. It was a beautiful night so I couldn't complain. When we got back to the house, Gerrit wanted to ride his own bisick (bicycle). So we let him and before I knew it the other boys were in the toy chest (which is temporarily in the garage due to the work being done on the porch). They wanted to play tennis (it was after 7pm). I said no because Gerrit had to go to bed soon. So they played in the yard and Gerrit soon joined in because they were playing with tennis BALLS! I thought I'd make myself useful and pull weeds out of my tulip beds which got me started on pulling dandelions. The boys thought the dandelion puller we have was cool and soon took that job over. The older boy wanted to weed whip too. As Gerrit is continuing to throw balls around the yard, I have one boy pulling weeds and the other trimming my yard! These are the boys I will be watching a few days a week this summer...man, if this is how it is going to be, I will get a lot done! Can't get much better than this - free help! It wasn't until close to 8 that I was able to get things picked up and Gerrit inside (kicking and screaming all the way). Got him off to bed, Luke to practice his Spanish and Paul finished up the yard work.

When my night began with the thought of having a few minutes to myself...I guess that was just a swing and a miss. Maybe tomorrow I'll hit the home run and get some 'me' time.

I Want to be Like Dad

Today was a productive day for us. I was able to get some laundry done, cleaning and thank you cards made/sent out. Adam did some work in the yard and on the front porch as well as squeezed in a bike ride. Here are a few pictures of what Gerrit did today: