Oh, mom!

 

I enjoy crafting, sewing, gluing, painting…really just being creative.  Being a mother offers me many opportunities to use my creativity.  My list is usually quite long, so when I have the chance to sit down and work on a project it feels good.  In the past, I have offered a chance for the boys to either help with the project, or given them a similar project (more to their scale) that I “think” they would enjoy.  They usually come over interested and oblige with the project for a whopping 3 minutes and then run off to do their “boy stuff”.  This afternoon, was a little different….

The boys approached me one weekday afternoon, while I was preparing dinner, asking for something fun to do.  I have had cardboard letters, J and C, for quite some time now, with a fun project in mind for them.  I decided to wait till we move (no need to put more holes in the wall, right?!) for the project.  These would be perfect for a quick fun project for the boys.

I gathered some orange and gray yarn, and the cardboard letters.  Showed the boys how to wrap the yarn around the letters, and stepped back into the kitchen to finish dinner.

Soon, I hear lots of giggles coming from Carter, and Josh crying for help.

This is what I look in to see:

I don’t have a close up of Josh, but he finally after desperately trying to wind the yarn around his letter “J”, looked at me and said, “Mom, really?!”  Ah, fun times!

SURPRISE

Yeah! I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it! 

Yesterday while at work I get a strange text from my beautiful friend, Kim.  She asks, “What’s your middle name?”  Hmm, that’s a mighty strange or maybe just random question.  Then she asks me, “What’s your birth year?”  Okay, now I’m intrigued!  What is she up to?  She informs me that I will find out soon enough. 

Oh, and I did!  SHE’S FLYING ME OUT TO NY TO SEE HER!  I wish I could explain how overly excited I am, but I can’t seem to find the words to accurately describe this feeling of elation (oh, maybe that does describe it). 

Kim is one of my dearest friends and her and her husband, Lucas, moved to Stony Brook, NY this last summer for his residence in Orthopedic surgery.   Not only were they starting a new stage of life across the country in a whole new state, but they were expecting their first child, Malin, soon after their arrival in NY.  Their departure was hard for both Michael and I because we became very close with them and absolutely enjoyed their company.  And frankly, it’s just hard saying good bye to such dear friends.

So you can imagine my pure excitement when Kim sent me an itinerary for NYC! 

Thank you KIm, for the sweetest surprise and gift ever!  Looking forward to seeing you guys, and sweet lil Malin!

See you soon! 

 

Bye, bye, Blue

Saying goodbye can be so hard to do…especially when it’s been your napping couch for 9 + years.  Depending on who you ask the departure of the couch was either sudden or discussed many times.  I’m guessing it’s pretty easy to figure out which one is Michael’s and which one was mine. 

Blue was an excellent couch and held up through quite a bit (two rambunctious boys,  countless other kids, Michael’s bed for the first year in Redlands).  It was, by far, the best napping couch ever and the couch we purchase to replace it will have to have amazing napability. 

We had discussed that Blue wouldn’t be making the move, but never discussed getting rid of her before hand.  Though when the Christmas tree cam in, we knew now was a good time to say our goodbyes.

Michael saying goodbye one last time.

Till we move big Brown will be filling in for Blue.

I know, silly post, but you wouldn’t believe how sad Michael was to have to say goodbye to his beloved couch.   

 

Trick or Treat

Although I have much more to catch up on I’m jumping ahead a bit because me sister has insisted on seeing pictures of the boys in their costumes.  Here you go, Joc!

Josh was super excited this year about Halloween and had a some fun ideas on what he would like to be…clone trooper, Darth Vader,  and something else Star Wars that I can’t remember.  Michael the convincing one that he is was able to talk Josh into being a Cougar’s football player.  Sounds good to me, sounds free to me (ahhh, ya)!  Josh loved the idea and played the part quite well.  Here’s an example:  I took a few pictures of the boys on Monday afternoon, and after taking a picture Josh told me, “I didn’t smile for the picture because football players don’t smile!”  Oh, Josh you make your father so proud.

Carter wasn’t so sure about this whole dressing up thing.  He was a pirate and a very cute one at that. Thank you Nikki for letting us borrow the pirate costume.  You are wonderful!   Carter was very hesitant at first until he discovered that he gets candy.  He quickly got a hang on it, and although he may not be able to say, “Trick or Treat” he certainly says the cutest, sweetest, “Tant u!”.

We went to our friends house for some dinner and then head out around their neighborhood for trick or treating.  Thanks, Edge family for once again a fun Halloween.

My pictures aren’t the best, but hopefully they capture the cuteness that is my children…think I love them

 

A Weekend away

It seems like when the opportunity to get away for the weekend comes it’s most commonly to San Diego and this weekend was no exception….except that I had to work. 

We have an annual Board of Directors Retreat every year to the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, and this is my first year I’ve been able to make it (last year I was in Denver running a half).  We stay in Bungalows where the back door opens up to Mission bay, with grass to play in and sand to dig in and boy did the boys have fun. 

Awe Carter, getting “into” his playing in the sand.  Love you sweet boy!

Not sure what this goofy boy is doing ( I was sitting in a meeting).  My guess’ are he either got grossed out, or he’s just being goofy

We even had a babysitter the first night, a roommate of an alumni student of Michael’s that now attends Point Loma; the boys loved her. 

It was a wonderful weekend spent with our friends, the Schenkels and Leonards.  Before heading home we all stopped at the zoo.  I’m so happy that everyone we could all go to the zoo, it was so much fun to be there with all the girls.  To see some of those pic’s you’ll have to head over to Mark and Jill’s blog. 

 

 

Daddy’s helper

Carter is an outdoor boy through and through.  We have had a little push lawnmower ever since Josh turned one, but it’s never gotten much use…Josh is not a fan of daddy’s lawnmower and the loud  noise it makes ( I understand ).  Carter on the other hand is right along side Michael as he mows and it’s absolutely adorable.  I think Carter might be our own little, Bear Grylls. 

 

more Family…

Time at home with Mom and Dad was filled with lots of book reading and cake eating.   Dad (who shares the same birthdate as cousin, Elias) was going to be celebrating his birthday soon and as Josh pointed out, it was his half birthday.  And what half birthday goes by without a cake.  So we baked a cake and topped it with football gear…the ultimate boy cake, right?!

Love Josh’s smile on this picture…silly boy!

We always, always have so much fun when Mom and Dad visit, and it’s funny to me how the moments that stick out the most to me are the quiet and low key ones, like these:

Mom always brings a separate suitcase of toys, books, clothes, etc…. for the boys when they come to visit and this time was no exception.  As always, thank you so much Mom and Dad for your amazing gift of spoiling our boys with love and fun.

 

Family

We had the joy and pleasure of hosting grandpa and grandma DeJong in Southern California for a few days in August.  As always it was a wonderful visit with lots of fun, and we were even able to hang two new doors.  Thanks, Dad!

On Sunday after church we traveled down to Coronado for some fun at the beach.  Coronado is by far our favorite beach and for many reasons- quiet, hardly anyone around, easy parking, great sand, great location, and you just can’t beat the views.  Josh loved the water, and Carter loved the sand.  It amazes me constantly how much Josh is growing up as a boy.  He braved the ocean with Michael most of the afternoon, stopping for a few sunscreen reapplications (bummer of being a red head at the beach).  Carter loves the sand and burying his legs and animals as well…very cute.  Too bad I don’t have any pictures, but you will rarely see us bring our camera in the sand anymore; we paid a $100 a year ago to get a speck of sand out of our lens.

We hit up dinner at this little restaurant near our hotel a bit later after showering off from the beach.  The restaurant serves breakfast all day, so I jumped on that like white on rice.  I very rarely eat breakfast and if I do it’s a yogurt.  Even if I had time to sit down and eat no one in my house likes my favorite breakfast, a Greek omelet.  So that being said, breakfast it was and boy they had the best hash browns EVER…and I’m not a big fan of hash browns (too much carbs for the me).

After dinner we looked to come up with a plan for Monday at Seaworld….the boys helped

SeaWorld is so much fun especially with the ages that Josh and Carter are at.  Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us.  To start our visit out, and I highly recommend this, we hit up a ride were you get soaked, I mean absolutely drenched – or at least I did….good thing it ended up being a beautiful sunny day.  We were able to see almost every show and keep the boys attention at each one, mine especially at the Sea Lion and Otter show (sorry, but Biff is hilarious).  We had so much fun and can’t wait to return.

Here are a few fun picture of our day:

 

Pwease

Sometimes I just have to brag about how gosh darn cute my baby is.  It seems like every time we turn around he is hugging our legs, or racing around the house with his trucks saying, “Twuck, go, twuck, go”. 

As we try to teach him to say, “Please, and Thank you”, we’ve discovered that we can’t really tell him no.  It’s just too darn cute when he says them. 

His beautiful brown eyes get big, and he pushes his head forward, puckers his lips and out comes the cutest, sweetest, and hardest think to resist, “Pwease!” 

and “Twoo too (Thank you)”!

It’s the little things that truly make us feel blessed.  My boys do exactly that for me every day. 

 

 

The Ball’s Visit

It was so wonderful having family in town for a few days and even better that we were able to go to San Diego with them. 

We were pleasantly surprised that Michael’s sister and family that were visiting the Grand Canyon were coming in a day early.  We love having family visit and the opportunity to have more time than what was originally planned was a wonderful surprise. 

It’s a tight squeeze, to put it simply, to fit 6 more people in our cozy house, but we made do.  I don’t believe a picture is necessary to demonstrate the “coziness”.  If  you’ve been in our house, you understand

Friday we enjoyed each other’s company and hung out around the house. 

Saturday, Michael and I planned out a scavenger hunt for everyone around the City of Redlands.  Our hope was to make our family more familiar with Redlands.  The town we call home.  We had lots of fun, and I think the girls really enjoyed the competition.  Then we headed to the Schneider’s house to play in the pool for a while.

Sunday, after church we headed to Coronado Island to go to the beach.  Coronado is so beautiful and the beaches are far less crowded than those of Huntington or Newport.  The kids enjoyed the water and sand.  Carter, especially, enjoyed the sand.  It seems that when my SIL is in town I simply just don’t take the time to take pictures.  She’s quite the photographer and it’s always much more enjoyable to look at her photos than my own.  Towards dinner time it started to rain a bit so we quickly packed up the beach gear and headed to the hotel.

Monday, We headed out early for the San Diego Zoo.  I love the San Diego Zoo, because each visit is unique and this one didn’t disappoint.  It was the first visit to the Zoo for the Ball family, so it was even more fun to show them around.  Every one had their animal that they couldn’t wait to see;  Josh’s was the hippo, Carter’s was the giraffe’s,  Mine was the koala’s and Michael’s was the polar bears. 

We absolutely enjoyed the Ball’s visit.  Can’t wait till next time. 

 

Happy Birthday my sweet baby!

It’s hard to believe that it was two years ago today that the your dad was able to announce, “It’s a boy” and we welcomed you into our family. 

Carter Michael DeJong.  You were named after your strong, intelligent, soft spoken, whole hearted, amazing father.  And ever since you came into this world you have shown much of the same characteristics.  You are as sweet as a summer watermelon, as cuddly as a teddy bear, and as fun as, well your big brother. 

Your father and I just adore the way you understand things and although you can’t talk you lead us to what you want, or point, OR big brother translates for you (smile).  We are looking forward to you learning and growing more each and everyday, though we wouldn’t mind you staying just the way you are for a bit longer (too sweet)! 

Just like your big brother, Dad and I hope to show you the world and God’s plan for you.  We promise to do everything we can to raise you both to be respectful Godly gentlemen.  Lucky for me you have a perfect example at home, your father. 

I know that you are only two, but I can’t tell you how much joy you bring to my life.  You truly make my heart sing.  Your amazing dimpled smile that just makes your eyes beam, how you love to hold my hand, and how you love to snuggle in on my shoulder.  I hope you never grow out of those things.  I wish I could just bottle it all up.

Some of your favorite things to do are:

Playing with Trains:  You not only just love to play with trains, you climb and sit in the middle of the table.

Trucks:  Your favorite truck is, of course, Dad’s.  You get super excited when you see him pull up, or just see his truck parked in front of the house.  Your favorite truck to play with is a garbage truck.  You love to race back and forth around the house giggling the whole time. 

Playing with Josh: 

Best buds!  I realize that this may not always be, so I treasure how much you two get along and love to play with each other.  You two are quite the silly pair. 

and playing outside:

I just love this picture of you playing with your Uncle Lucas that we took tonight.  Though I don’t understand, especially with the amount of time you play outside, why we don’t have any pictures of you doing so.  Sorry, sweetie!

Thank you, Carter for blessing your father and I with you tremendous heart, gorgeous smile, and sweet personality.  We love you so much!