King and Queen

Trying to pass the time with some crafts, so Ella and Nathan became King and Queen.......seems appropriate for them anyways!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still no baby! We are 2 days overdue and waiting...not so patiently now! I went to the beach with Carissa yesterday and got quite a few looks from people, but oh well, cannot stop doing stuff. I have an appointment on Friday and if I don't go by then, I am going to demand that I get some help to get this baby out! We'll keep you informed!

Body painting

This is what I get to come home to after a 12 hour shift of work. I think it took two days to get all the paint out Nathan's ears!

Energy

Here we are in our playroom. The kids are displaying their ever present energy. Hopefully, I'll have enough energy to tackle them and a new baby!!!

Too many updates to count

Helping dad fix the underground sprinkling

Nathan waiting in the shade for the parade to start!

Ella's new way of wearing dresses. Rolling them up so everyone can see her underwear!

It was extremely hot at the 4th of July parade, but the kids still had fun getting candy and watching the firetrucks go by!

"It's coming mommy!"

36 weeks and counting

Going to the park with friends after a hot day outside!

We love to play in the back of Grandpa Stuive's truck

Wonderful day at Tunnel Park in Holland!

They love the water!

Cooling off in our pool at home.

Glimpse of our kitchen/dining area

Our living room




You were probably wondering if I quit blogging, but honestly I have been trying to get updated for a couple weeks now, but the summer keeps you busy without much blogging time! We officially moved into our new home on June 12. It was quite a move and I told Tim we are not doing this again anytime soon! We now are basically unpacked with most things. We have a still have a bit to unpack and organize in the basement and Tim has slowly been organizing the garage (we are happy to have our cars in the garage!!!!). It feels like home. The kids keep referring to it as the new home and sometimes ask when they are going back to their old home. They see the old home when Tim drops them of to daycare! Ella and Nathan have adjusted well...thankfully. I thought they wouldn't sleep well, but they did great. They love being able to ride their bikes on the sidewalk and still talk about going to their "new" park everyday! They got bigger bikes with training wheels and think their pretty cool stuff. They continue to grow up fast. Ella is still a huge talker and her latest stories are about "woodchuck monsters" and how they can be mean or nice and if she can pet them or not. She also likes to sit by you with a book and say, "Mom, I hold it and read it and you talk about it!" Nathan has had a recent obsession with "pooppaste", otherwise known as toothpaste! He likes to hold his toothbrush and toothpaste where ever he goes. His favorite saying is, "what's that noise mom" and "where's daddy going?" After telling them every morning that daddy is at work, they replay, "daddy at work making champers (engineering term) and money!!!!" I tell them that is true! They still refuse to go # 2 on the potty and I have settled for at least having them go in their diapers (or "biapers" as Nathan calls them). They want fishing poles and we told them they could have a blue and a pink pole if they go # 2 on the potty, but I guess that reward is still not enough! I am 37 weeks and counting. My due date is July 26th. I would love to go a little sooner due to this heat and feeling like everything is a lot of work, but I guess it is not my say! I still am working 2, 12 hour shifts. They can be long days, but now I am hoping they'll help induce labor!!!!!!!! My parents hope to come up when the baby is born, so it will be nice to have them to help and see the new house. Our latest addition to the family as of yesterday was a van!!!!!!!!! Of course we (at least I knew) couldn't fit 3 car seats in the Pruis. We love craigslist and found a Honda Odyssey for a good price. It includes a built in DVD, which will come in very handy for the rides back to Minnesota. Ella and Nathan could play in it all day if we would let them. Well those are the latest updates and I hope to keep up blogging a little better. Soon we'll have some big news to post!

The slide adventure

This was an earlier video of the kids enjoying some time at a park. They think climbing up the slide is just as much fun as going down!

Nathan loves the lawn mower

We farmed it in Minnesota

We spent this past weekend in Minnesota visiting my family and attending a wedding of my cousin Kelsey. We had a great time. Nathan and Ella really loved the farm. Nathan got to ride in the gravel truck and fell asleep going out with my dad on the tractor. They both needed several rides on the big lawn mower and we made a couple trips out to visit the cows. They had some great bonding time the G & G Beckering and got to spend time with their cousins. We all had a nice time at the wedding. It wasn't quite as relaxing for us, but the kids had fun at the dance. It is always hard to say goodbye and we wish we could be together more often, but I know the time spent is precious!

Ella got bored with the wedding dance and read a book

Nathan cashed out at the dance

Laura and Avery dancing it up!

Even though Tricia had the night away from her kids, she still had fun taking Ella out on the dance floor, since I am too pregnant to dance! Thanks Tricia!

Nathan making some moves

Dan and Laura dancing with their Avery and Kylie

The cousins had fun at the dance

Big hugs at the reception

Darin and Tricia

Dan and Laura

Finally a couple's shot

Ella and daddy on the lawn mower

Grandpa, Ella, and Hershey. Ella followed Hershey all over the farm!

Hanging out before we leave for Minnesota

Ella and Nathan chilling out!

Tim caught Ella and Nathan having some brother sister bonding on the chirs. I love it when we can catch them talking without them knowing it.

First Time at Lake Michigan for 2010

We headed out to Holland State Park one evening and the twins fell in love with the beach. They didn't even care that the water was pretty cold. They jumped right in and had a blast. It was fun to watch how much they have grown since last year playing in the water and now they can splash in the water without fear of falling over.

29 weeks and counting!

Were getting there. I just started on my 30th week. Yeah.... We have an active baby in there. Always kicking and turning. Probably getting ready to take abuse and love from his or her brother and sister.

Salon day

Last weekend we had salon day. Tim cut Nathan's hair and I put Ella's hair in "ponies!" The kids did good. They will always sit still if they can watch a cartoon!

Happy Mother's Day and Grandmother's Day

We're studs in our glasses.

A moment of love.

Happy Mother's Day and Grandmother's Day. We wish we could give you hugs and kisses in person, but here is a video from Michigan just for Grandma Beckering. We love you!

Ella and Nathan outside

Gotta love Ella's hair here. They had just gotten up from their naps and had mismatched clothes due to peeing in their other clothes. Ella and Nathan (hard to catch Nathan saying it on video) like to say their ABC's and 1 2 3's. Here is a glimpse.

Updates for March

I thought I finally better get a picture of my belly. I am 21 weeks here.

Dad and the twins watching Thomas the train on the computer.

Making mud pies

Hard at work collecting dirt and water, the two ingredients for mud pies!


Well, it has been awhile since I have actually written some updates. We have some exciting news around here. We have an accepted offer on a house. We are feeling pretty surreal about the whole thing. It is located about 5 minutes from where we live now and we will have a Jenison address. We hope to close sometime in April and then start painting. It will be nice to paint and move things in gradually. Nathan and Ella are making some progress in the potty training area. If I keep them on a hour or more potty time schedule then they do not have accidents. We even managed a play date with underwear on. They have yet to tell me they have to go, but tonight Nathan said, "pee" and I thought he had gone already, but when I checked he was a drop wet in his underwear and so we got on the potty and he went right away. So hopefully it is starting to become second nature. Nathan even went number 2 last night on the potty. We have a ways to go, but it is nice to see some progress.

I am in my 22 week and feeling good. Definitely am popping out, but was reassured by my OB doctor that I am not going to have a 12 lb baby, but just have weakened stomach muscles. Yeah.......that is reassuring right!!!!!!

If you didn't already know, Tim broke a bone in his hand a couple weeks ago. He was up north and was sliding down an ice hill and much have jammed his hand on a rock or dirt on the way down. He had to have 2 screws put in. Luckily he is healing with little problems. I told him he didn't need to do annual accident (last March it was his Achilles tendon rupture).

The ball popping machine

I picked up this toy on a garage sale and wow was it a hit.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy 37th Birthday Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ella and Nathan are getting some good practice in singing Happy Birthday. Tim and I are going to celebrate his birthday by going out to eat on Saturday night. Megan and Ashley are going to babysit. We are pretty excited to have a night out.

Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa Beckering

Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa Beckering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We wish we could be there in person to give you hugs and kisses on your Birthday (especially on this special birthday). But since we cannot, we sang you a song and send you our love via the Internet. We thank God for such a wonderful Dad and Grandpa. We wish you many more birthdays to come.