Basement Fun!

Nate got the idea in his head that Ty needed a climber in our basement. What started off as a slide off craigslist (which the people backed out once they accepted our "offer") turned into purchasing a climber that has two little structures, two slides, and a tunnel connecting them. I do have to admit, it is a great way to get some of endless energy out. Ty was SO excited as he saw the boys putting the pieces together. He could barely contain his excitement once he saw that there were slides. He was climbing through the tunnel, running around in circles, flying down the slides (he even figured out how fun it was to go down on his tummy), and climbing, climbing, climbing!

I have a feeling that we will be spending lots of time in the basement this winter!

SNOW SNOW SNOW!

West Michigan FINALLY got some snow! We had a few flurries here or there, but nothing has stuck on the ground for more than a day. Green and sunny Christmas and New Year's Days just don't feel the same as a white wonderland :) I was very excited to bring Ty out, as this year, he is much more capable of actually playing in the snow. We bundled him up and out we went! Ty loves "mas" (what he calls snow)! We first brought him on the sled and pulled him around the house. He had a major face plant as Nate was running, but Nate wiped away the tears and he wanted to keep going! Ty soon found his love for snowballs! He thought it was the funniest thing throwing them at Nate, having them thrown at him, and of course throwing them at me :)

YAY to more snow fun for the next couple months! I know I will be sick of it soon, so I'm trying to enjoy it right now!

Christmas Day

We had opened gifts Christmas Eve, so Christmas morning was Ty's stocking. He has been into Elmo for the last couple months so it was an Elmo themed day! First, an Elmo bath book....

Then he got Elmo PJ's which he HAD to be put on once he saw them. Since then, they have already been washed a 2-3 times because that is all he wants to wear and throws a fit when I try and take "Elmo" off!

Elmo sippy cups from Nate's family. He slept with both of them at naptime.... :)


The rest of the day was spent relaxing and hanging out with family. It's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone!

Christmas Eve

Normally on Christmas Eve we celebrate with my side of the family. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out this year, but Nate, Ty, and I got to celebrate just the 3 of us. I grew up always celebrating "Christmas" on Christmas Eve, so I was excited for this day! Not that Ty really understood what Christmas was all about, we did manage to hold his attention through reading about the Christmas Story from his toddler Bible (which he currently LOVES). The way he says "Jesus" is so cute! We've been really trying to make it a point to talk about God with Ty lately. Our faith has been such a big part of our lives, and has kept us strong, especially this past year. We want Ty to see and hear God through us.

Ty did give us our first present on Christmas Eve by sleeping in until just about 8:00! We enjoyed a delicious breakfast (thanks to pinterest) and then spent the morning playing with Ty.

Nate has gotten back into his running routine, and Ty just loves going on runs with him! Ty was bundled up head to toe in snow gear and had two blankets on him for this run, but he loved it all the same!We attempted to put Ty down for an early nap (due to a different church time), and it totally backfired on us. He ended up not taking a nap at all, so he had some quiet time, and then we played some more before church. My family always has had a prime rib on the rotisserie for Christmas Eve, so I couldn't break tradition. I bought my first prime rib, borrowed my parents rotisserie and attempted my first! I set it just before church, and then got home just in time to put the potatoes and green beans on so it'd all be done at the same time. DELICIOUS...... all of it! I was impressed with myself :)

After dinner, Nate and I were cleaning up and Ty was playing in the living room. We had put together his present (a train table) earlier in the day and it was hiding behind a box or two and under a huge blanket. While we were busy cleaning up all of a sudden we heard a, "WHOA!". Ty had managed to take off the blanket and had seen his new present. He was SO excited to get to play with his new "choo choos" as he calls them! He has loved this present!

Nate and I loved watching Ty open his presents. Ty was much more into unwrapping gifts this year which made it more fun.
Between not getting a nap, going to church, and playing with all his new toys, Ty was exhausted and ready for bed!
Christmas Day post to come!

Friends & Family Time

The one thing we love about the holidays is spending extra time with our close friends & family. It seems our relaxing days quickly fill with getting together with friends and family that we don't get to see (which is a great thing!)


Making chocolate covered pretzels with Aunt Kara.... reading books with Aunt Kara and Aunt Kelsi

Smiles with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Matt
and some kisses for Aunt Sarah
This is just a tiny glimpse into the time spent with family and friends this past week. We are so blessed!

Ty's Big Boy Room

We finally finished Ty's big boy room! This past Saturday, we finished some projects I wanted to do in his new room and I also finished organizing everything that was once in this office/guest bedroom..... This is what it looked like mid-way through me organizing and taking out everything that was once in the closets, desks, and shelves of this room........

After lots of work, here is the final product! After we were finished, Ty could not get enough of his room. He basically shut his door on us and stayed in there most of the day.... haha

Of course, it's sports themed!
Ty's bed and basketball hoop

On the other side of the room are the bookshelves we made out of rain gutters and an oil drip pan we used as a big magnetic board for him! Thanks pinterest!

Above his bookshelves were these cubes and we didn't really have anything to put in them (I know that will change) so right now we are continuing with the sports theme and we used Nate's old sports equipment from High School!

Ty's first time sleeping in his big boy room. I may or may not have gotten emotional taking this picture... haha

Ty LOVES his new room. Nate and I are pretty pleased on how it turned out as well. The best part is, we have NO toys in our living room anymore! We know that will change in a few months when we bring out the bouncer and swing but for now, we love it!

He loves shooting from his bed

Ty loves being able to see all his books. He has read more in the past few days than I've ever seen him read! I really think being able to see all the covers/pictures motivates him to get a book randomly and plop down and read (the teacher in me gets excited every time he does this!).

He has woken up 1 or 2 times a night but is doing well adjusting. Hopefully in the next night or two he'll sleep all the way through. Now in a couple weeks, we will start getting the nursery ready for baby girl!

Half Way to Meeting Baby GIRL!

I really can't believe we are already half way through this pregnancy. It has FLOWN! It feels like yesterday we just found out that we were pregnant, not 16 weeks ago! This entire pregnancy, Nate and I have been feeling like "it's a girl". Even though we thought it was girl, we figured it was probably still a boy haha. We were SO excited to find out what this little one was, and I was anxiously counting down the days. For those of you who know me well, I need to know things, and I don't like to be surprised, so I was ready!

Here is the 20 week photo. I don't feel too much bigger at this point than I did with Ty.



Of course, here are some photos of our sweet little girl! She was quite the acrobat. This is how she spent most of the ultrasound. Her knees are by her face and feet way over her head! Her leg and those cute little toes!

Finally we got some photos of her in a more normal position.
We are beyond excited about our little one and I am thrilled to get to buy some PINK! :) April 29 will be here before we know it!