Learning Lessons

Adam and I learned a lesson:



don't let the boys be outside alone for very long!

Poor Emmit took some dirt to the face!

Easter 2012

**I have no idea why the pictures are all over the place***

 Adam and I were home from our trip in time to celebrate Easter. Saturday was the annual egg hunt at Gerrit's preschool church. It was a pretty cool day and Gerrit was the only one in shorts (a battle we didn't feel like fighting at the time). They are sportin' their sweatshirts they got from their cousins in honor of Uncle Jeff - a beetle car lover.

Gerrit enjoyed decorating eggs. It was just the 2 of us this time as Emmit was busy playing and Luke was not home. Gerrit loved dunking the eggs and using his hand more than the spoon. Needless to say, his hand looked liked a dyed egg on Easter morning! 

Following the Easter breakfast and service, the boys had a little egg hunt at home. Emmit has figured out what to do and Gerrit races to fill his bucket before his brother! Emmit found an egg in the tree - yes, it still has the Christmas lights on it yet (I can't find the holder for the lights so I haven't taken them down yet). I think I might just leave them and be ahead of the game for next Christmas!

  

 The boys enjoyed their Easter basket gifts as well as each other's gifts!

The boys after the Easter service, in front of the 'garden'.

This picture was taken for Grandma and GG - Emmit is really into playing with his 'computer'. He was clapping to the music in this one! 

Spring Break 2012

Adam and I had a wonderful time in Myrtle Beach! It was a much needed time to relax and spend some time together w/o the boys.

 

I spend a lot of time on my lawn chair by the pool. I did get a few runs in on the beach while Adam went for a bike ride. We enjoyed margaritas poolside as well as walks on the beach. Dinner and shopping at night as well as a game of mini golf concluded our few days away. The boys stayed with Dahlen's and didn't seem to miss us one bit! We missed them and felt guilty for a few minutes that they were not with us, but we both got over it fast!  With ZM not really having spring break, I could get used to a kidless spring break trip!

A Few New Things

I finished a new pair of pants for Emmit. Its the same pattern as his bike pants, just the next size up. I found a cute tractor print to use as the main fabric and then went from there. I have fabric to make another pair for him too for this spring. Even though I used too much elastic and they barily stay up, I'm pretty pleased with myself.



Last night, Gerrit and Adam went to the bike shop to build this new beauty:

Yep, I got new wheels! I sold my Hawaiian Towney to my friend Sue because she wanted one (but didn't want to pay retail price) and I wanted a 7 speed instead of a 3 speed so I could pull the burley easier as well as keep up with Gerrit. Lucky for me, I have a brother in law who can get us bikes at cost so it didn't cost much more to upgrade after my sell to Sue. What cost us was my accessories! I chose the color of the bike based on the accessories. Anne helped me pick out the black/white accent color and I'm pretty pleased with how she looks. I  love the back baskets and the front basket has a little cell phone pocket in the liner! The bell is black and white too and sounds like a door bell. We went for a cruise around town today and it was soo much easier! I'm very excited about the bike and think we will get a lot of miles out of it. 

Donkey Basketball

Friday night, Gerrit and I went with Anne and Luke to the FFA fundraiser: donkey basketball. I didn't tell Gerrit we were going until dinner that night in case it didn't work out. When he realized it wasn't a normal basektball game and involved animals he asked: real or costume? When I told him 'real', his eyes got real big.



I had never been to donkey basketball - us city folk don't have FFA organizations and I can't see donkeys being allowed on the gym floor either! We all had a good laugh watching the donkeys buck them off and be stubborn. Gerrit is ready to go next year!

Mr. Responsible

Due to a little miscommunication, Gerrit was at the house by himself this afternoon. I'm not sure for how long, but long enough. My first thought was that he wouldn't be upset or scared and then I remembered he's only 4 (almost 5). My next thought was that he was crying and freaking out that he was by himself! 

When I got home, he was in the basement watching a kid show. He turned the TV on by himself and was happy as a lark. It might have been because there was no one to bother him while he watched TV or it could have been because of the bag of Oreo's he was eating....He climbed on the counter and reached on top of the refrigerator to get the bag. When I asked him how many he had eaten, he started with one and the guilt must have gotten to him because he confessed to 3. I didn't dwell on the Oreos and tried to compliment him for turning on the TV and waiting for us to come home. 

A Rough Week

This is what Emmit looked like on Saturday:

The eye: that is a week old - Sunday he fell at Bridgett's cafe and did a number on his eye. Luckily he didn't cut it open.

The lip: Saturday morning we were outside enjoying the nice weather....Gerrit took out the T to play baseball. Both boys wanted to hit off the T and they were doing OK taking turns. The problem came when one of them wouldn't get out of the way for the other to swing. We were working on being patient and calling me over to move the one (Emmit) who wouldn't get out of the way. Well, I guess Gerrit's patience ran out. He swung and nailed Emmit in the mouth!  Luckily all teeth are accounted for and no stitches needed (this time). Even though the bat was aluminum, I think the weight of it helped slow the swing down! A few wash clothes to clean up the blood, and some snuggle time with mom was all that was needed. The bleeding didn't last real long and I think his crying made him tired so I lucked out by having Emmit take his nap in my arms. As much as I thought about all the things I had wanted to do during nap time....I reminded myself that soon Emmit will be big and not want to snuggle or sleep in my arms. 

Today, you can't even tell he had a fat lip - the only thing left is the scab on his face. We are hoping he doesn't pick at hit so it leaves a scar.

On another note: Gerrit is getting a bit wiser these days.....

Sunday Emmit and I were taking a nap and Adam went to wash his bike leaving Gerrit to watch a kid show. I woke up and went downstairs to find Gerrit coming out of the storage room with a Gatorade. I asked him where dad was and he said: running errands. OK...I thought until I looked at the end table and saw the following: empty little root beer bottle, chocolate candy wrappers, Hersey kisses wrapper, fruit snack wrapper, and the unopened Gatorade! What was missing was the 2 peeps he had eaten! I guess Gerrit can not be left 'alone' or we need to do a better job of hiding food! (The candy was leftover from a few recipes). Adam returned and I showed him what Gerrit was up to while he was gone.....Adam admitted to allowing him to finish the partial bottle of pop and the fruit snacks, but the rest was all a mastermind of Gerrit!