Then and Now

Feb. 2008: Gerrit fell into the toy basket trying to get at his toys.

Seven months later: Gerrit climbs into his toy basket to get at his toys.

T

Maybe Not

After work today Gerrit was sitting on my lap and looking at his truck book. This was the same book that he was looking at intently yesterday that made us so proud. When I looked at Gerrit 'reading' the book today, I noticed it was up side down! So maybe we don't have a scholar on our hands unless he's one of those 'think outside the box' kids.

Double Scholarship

We are all battling colds at our house these days. It doesn't seem to stop us, just is a bother. Despite the runny noses we are managing to keep up with our busy schedules. Adam has spent the past 2 days fixing our 'sick' computer - it had a virus. Thanks to a friend who gave him guidance it didn't take a ton of time to fix. I was able to get a quick run in before dinner with Gerrit along for the ride. I started training for a 1/2 marathon (no time for a full one) which is in Phoenix in Jan. - hoping to visit Uncle Travis and Great Uncle Bryan for a long weekend. Gerrit kept busy doing his own thing as well.

He spent quite a bit of time looking at his book on trucks. It was fun to watch him sit amongst his toys paging through the book. For some reason he managed to move to the stairs and sat there to read it too.

Adam is hopeful for a double scholarship based on these two photos...

Gerrit has both brains and game!
(A little bit of mom and dad!)

Pumpkin

One of my favorite veggies to grow is pumpkins. I don't do much other than plant the seeds and let nature take its course. This year I planted seeds from Gerrit's pumpkin from last year as well as new seeds (in case the old ones didn't take). Well, I am proud to say I have 7 pumpkins growing and a few are turning orange.

I had heard that if you carve a name in the pumpkin while it is still young, the name will grow as the pumpkin grows. So, on one of the pumpkins growning from Gerrit's pumpkin seeds from last year I decided to try it. Hopefully I didn't wait too late and this pumpkin will still grow a bit larger before turning orange. We shall see; I'll keep you posted.

Football

Yesterday we went to Paul's first 6th grade football game. It was a beautiful Sat. morning so we went to check out the game. They play on the big high school field which makes it more exciting for a bunch of 6th grade boys. Here are a few pictures from our time at the game. We didn't win but its early in the season...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Busy Morning

I'm still working on getting a routine down in the mornings. I realize that sleeping until Gerrit wakes up isn't going to work well. I am hoping to get up early enough to work out (hoping is the key) and then get ready before Gerrit wakes up. The days I tried to get ready when Gerrit was up were disastrous! I made it to school on time, but had to listen to a whiny, crying child while I got ready; not how I had hoped we would spend our extra time together. When I did get up earlier and at least had my shower in before Gerrit woke was a much happier time-for both of us.

Today was one of those happier times. I was able to clean up the kitchen because Gerrit made his way down stairs and started playing in the dark. When I went to check on him (and turn the lights on), he was busy stacking - his latest obsession:

When he wasn't stacking, he was practicing his bike mechanic skills in the kitchen (where Dad left the pump):

He 'pumped' nothing for quite a while this morning too. His papa would be proud! (As I write this, the boys are on their way to Rochester via bike.)

Side note: when I got Gerrit out of his crib today he was able to get his crock on - he was wearing a fleece sleeper! It didn't fit real well but I give him credit for getting it on - standing up! It was fun to watch him catch himself before he fell over from loosing his balance!

Rite of Passage and Smart Dr.

Gerrit joined the many other toddlers today - he fell down a few stairs. He usually goes down the stairs just fine so I didn't think much of it when I heard him coming. Adam was in the office and I was in the living room. Next thing I hear is a thud, thud, I turn around and see Gerrit sliding down the last few stairs. Don't worry, he didn't fall down many, and they are carpeted. With a few hugs/kisses all was well again. We did give him some yummy medicine in case he had a headache.

During bedtime Gerrit is starting to sit through reading a book - he must be like his mother who didn't like to read when she was young! Anyways, tonight I realized while reading a Dr. Suess book, that they make sense read forward AND backwards! Gerrit liked to back up pages that were already read and the storyline still made sense. That Dr. was really thinking when he wrote some of those books....