Live simply. Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Birthday Boy!!! Kohen is TWO!

2009-12-23T11:49:00.006-05:00

On November 21 we celebrated our handsome little boy's 2nd birthday!! I can't even believe my little man is TWO already?!?! He is such a ham and we couldn't love him anymore. He is growing so much every day. He says the cutest little things and is my little love bug. He might drive us crazy at times considering he is ALL boy but he sure does know how to make us forget quickly!!

We wanted to do something special to celebrate his b-day but in Michigan in November that is hard to come by. We ended up with my last choice - Chuck E Cheese but I think he had a good time. We santatized like CRAZY!! :)

Celebrating at Mimi and Papa's house the next day after church

Remote control racecar from Aunt Mellie, Uncle Joe and Bella - yay!!

T-REX!!! AWESOME!

Kohen got a gift card from my grandma for his birthday so we went to Target and he was able to pick out a toy with it and he chose "Chuck - the Talking Truck"

Because she is so cute....little Ella bear

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary

2009-11-15T17:03:00.010-05:00

to our wonderful parents!! On November 9, 2009 my parents were married for 30 years!! They are the best examples for us children and have taught us so much about marriage. They have a Christ-centered marriage which is obvious. We couldn't ask for 2 better parents. On October 24 we threw a "surprise" party for them to help celebrate their anniversary. They both ended up finding out about it about a week before the party. It was a lot of fun and I know they both appreciated it.

Centerpiece with pictures from their wedding day

The Hawaiian spread since they went on their honeymoon to Hawaii 30 years ago we thought it would be fitting

Mom & Dad on their honeymoon

Peak-A-Boo

Great Grandma holding my cousin's son, Bryce (5 weeks)

Matching Beauties

2009-11-15T16:55:00.003-05:00

My cousin Rick and his wife Samatha were married on October 17. I had to sing in the wedding so Mike stayed back with the kids since we would most likely have to be in the back during the whole wedding anyway. We all went to the reception. Before Isabella was born I bought Myah this dress and Melanie bought the same one for Isabella (at separate times...didn't even know it!) so they both ended up wearing them to the wedding...super cute!!

How cute are they?!?! =)

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandchildren...precious!

Pumpkin Patch/Orchard

2009-11-15T16:29:00.007-05:00

Going to orchards and picking apples is one of my favorite things about fall. We love Schwailers/Country Basket on Alpine so that was our pick again this fall. So fun for the kids. We picked a great day weatherwise and had a blast.

Feeding the goats

Love it!

Eating donuts and cider - best part!

On top of the straw bails

Cashed out little pumpkin

Isabella

Melanie, Isabella and Joe

Happy Boy!

Closer to the Heart by Christina Heyboer

2009-10-14T10:37:00.007-04:00

September 12, 2009 we had some professional pictures taken by the wonderful Christina Heyboer. We had so much fun with her (other than trying to get the kids to behave). She does amazing work and I just love how these turned out. I haven't seen them all yet but definitely can't wait! Here is a sampling that she gave us. LOVE THEM!!

Christina, thank you! You captured our children perfectly!! :)

GO BLUE!

2009-10-14T10:33:00.003-04:00

October 3, 2009 - 12:00 p.m.
Michigan vs. Michigan State

Not a pretty game but nonetheless we were ready in our maize and blue. :) Obviously this was before the game since we were all smiling (including Mike - he was NOT happy afterwards). :)

Mason Mason Mason (& Myah)

2009-09-25T15:26:00.010-04:00

This past Wednesday we decided to give Mason some Rice cereal. I tried it with both Myah and Kohen right at 4 months and neither of them were really interested so I thought we would wait a little longer for Mason and possibly just start fruits and veggies at 6 months. However, he just sits and stares at us when we are eating dinner and grabs for everything so I thought we would try it. He is 5 months so maybe that month makes a big difference. He loved it and did so well with it.

Just because he's so cute...here are a couple more...

These couple pictures were taken after church a couple weeks ago ... she is looking so grown up!

And because I never laughed so hard as I did at this sight (she is going to kill me for this some day) I just had to share Myah on the potty with her laptop...where do you think she gets that from?!?! :)

DANCE!

2009-09-25T15:04:00.005-04:00

We decided to sign Myah up for dance classes this year at Caledonia Dance Center (which came highly recommended). We went back and forth since she is SO tiny but because she isn't doing any type of school yet we thought it would be fun to have her be in something to look forward to with other kids. I took dance forever so we thought that would be a great place to start since I loved it so much I thought she would too. We went back and forth on the class to sign her up in. The age starts at 2 1/2 so we were going to have her be in the 2.5 and 3 year old beginners class on Tuesday mornings. However, it was already full and there were already a couple girls on the waiting list so the chances of getting into that class were slim. So...there was another one for that age bracket but this class was held on Thursday mornings (no good since I work). So...we ended up signing her up for the 3 - 4 year old class held on Tuesday evenings. The deadline to turn 3 was September 1st (phew) which we made by a day! So not only is she the littest one in the class she is also the youngest one. I was a little worried that she wouldn't want to participate and would be a little hesitate to even go in by herself.

Boy was I wrong!! The first week which was September 15 she walked right into the class room and sat down. She was a little unsure of some of the things they did but then her teacher would hold her hand and she would do it. This past Tuesday was a complete 180 she was in there shaking her little booty like you wouldn't believe it. She was the first in line to do tumbling (somersaults) and just took charge. Even her teacher made a comment to be afterwards. :) She LOVES it and can't wait to go back each week. I have a hard time keeping her out of her leotard. :)
Seriously though...how cute does she look?

Unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures of her in her actual class since they only allow us to watch them on a TV screen (which I guess is better or else she would be showing off the whole time). I did video tape a little bit of the TV so that Mike could see since he had softball but it didn't turn out very well.
These few pictures are of her before class her first week. They have a dress code and have to wear a pink leotard, pink tights and they have the pink shoes that they like them to buy at the dance center so that they will all match come recital time. So this is leotard #1 out of 3.

Sleeveless with rhinestones and detachable skirt

Leotard #2 - Sleeves with hearts and skirt attached

Look for leotard #3 for next week. :)

Isabella - Part 2

2009-09-25T14:47:00.005-04:00

Of course we went back to the hospital the next day and were able to visit with Melanie, Joe and Isabella some more. I think we probably heard Myah ask if she could hold Bella 50 times (if not more). I told her she could hold her little brother but that's not what she wanted. :)

Finally....so happy!
Uncle Ry with Isabella

The 5 of us went back to the hospital Friday night since Joe and Mike have this tradition where they take each other out for a beer after the birth of a child. This all started the day that we had Kohen. It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving which is supposedly the biggest bar night of the year and for some reason that was brought up when Mel and Joe were at the hospital visiting us after Kohen was born. So...Mike and Joe decided to head out and get a beer at GP Sports to celebrate (or I guess to feel "cool" again). This happened again in April after the birth of Mason so it was only fitting that Mike finally take Joe out for a beer to celebrate Isabella's birth. It was fun since the kids and I were able to visit with Mel while they were out for a couple hours. Myah was able to hold her precious little cousin some more

and all Kohen cared about were balloons.

I think these were taken the Sunday after Isabella was born so she was 3 days old here.

Mason and Ella Bear - 4.5 Months Apart

Just for fun we thought we would throw Kohen in the mix. :)

An outfit (so cute!) that we bought for Isabella (9 days old)

Introducing Our New Niece - Isabella Grace Anderson

2009-09-25T14:07:00.008-04:00

We are SO happy to announce that I am finally an Aunt!! Melanie and Joe had their baby girl on Thursday, September 10 at 6:32 p.m. She weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 19" long. She has lots of dark hair and is just PRECIOUS! We couldn't love her more!! Myah and Kohen are so excited about having a little cousin (and of course Mason too). They are all doing great and adjusting to parenthood perfectly.

Proud Mama with her precious little girl!

We were at the hospital when Melanie had Isabella so we were able to see her just minutes after she was born. So much different than a c-section where I had to be in recovery for an hour before we could see anyone.

If you can't tell she is pretty excited to have Ella Bear finally here!

And then there were 3...

Papa with his granddaughters The DeMann Girls

Early September Fun

2009-09-25T13:51:00.007-04:00

My Mom loves doing fun things with the kids. So when we were over at their house on Sunday after church she made them some adorable catapillers made out of Oreo's and gummy life savers. So cute! Of course before they could indulge I had to take a quick picture.

Because they can't get enough of it...more Bounce House fun!

We are seriously quite goofy and one day unfortunately the camera got involved. :)

Crazy kids (and crazy Mommy)!

Myah's 3rd Birthday

2009-09-15T15:10:00.006-04:00

On Friday, August 28 we celebrated with family and friends Myah's 3rd birthday. She had a party and invited all of her friends. We bought a bounce house which was a HUGE hit.

The weather could have been better...cold and on and off rain which is not what you would expect for August but we made it work and Myah had a great time.

Traci Zimmer made Myah's cake for us - so cute!!

Pizza time...Myah with all of her friends

The Lown triplets - Carson, Kaylee and Kennedy

Wyatt and Brayden

Jordyn and Alexis

Then she opened up presents...

Reading a card with Mommy

She received a puppy with it's own carrier from Uncle Paul, Aunt Jenn, Ramsie and Tanner

and a bubble lawn mower.

Finally time to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat some cake!!! The cake was just as delicious as it looked. So yummy!!!

We also celebrated on Sunday (the 3oth) with my family and had a yummy dinner followed by more presents. I forgot my camera that day so I'm still waiting for pictures from my mom. However, my parents bought her a crib for Bitty Baby (American Girl Doll) and Aunt Melanie and Uncle Joe bought her the diaper bag to go with Bitty as well. Everything she wanted and wouldn't stop talking about.

On her actual birthday, Monday the 31st, we took her and the boys along with my sisters and mom out for lunch to Olive Garden. After lunch Melanie took the boys back to our house for naps and my mom, Sheree and I took Myah to see the movie "Up". She did great and loved the movie. At night we grilled out with Aunt Melanie and Uncle Joe followed by more jumping in the Bounce House. I think it is safe to say she had a great birthday!

Mason's Baptism

2009-09-15T14:56:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, August 23rd our precious Mason Dean was baptized. It was such a wonderful day for our family and anyone who celebrated with us. He is such a blessing to us.

I sat down the other day and just starting thinking about our life and how much it has changed. In July Mike and I were together for 5 years. We got engaged in November of 2004...in a couple weeks we will be married for 4 years...4 YEARS...and now we have 3 beautiful children and a wonderful marriage. It's so unreal to me! I've loved every second of it (even though it is going way too fast) - I'm sure Mike can say the same. Our children are our world and with having our youngest little bug baptized it just puts everything in to perspective.

Our Gifts from God

I seriously don't think Mason could be any happier. He is always like this. :)

Mason's Cake

Our Family (take 1)

(take 2)

(take 3)

He might be the only child that has ever laughed while getting water put on his head.

Listening intently

August Miscellaneous

2009-08-25T16:16:00.005-04:00

August 4th we had a shower for my sister at our church. It turned out great! I think she had a good time...now we are just anxiously awaiting the arrival of that sweet little girl!! Come on Baby A...we are ready!!!

Me and Melanie

Julia (my cousin's daughter) and Myah - they are BFF's

Mr. Kohen...yes, him and Mason were also at the baby shower...only those two boys are allowed (oh, and Grady)!

The shower favors that I made...they say "Melanie's about to Pop!" and we filled them with popcorn. :)

The diaper cake I made for Mel. It turned out really cute!

Mr. Mason...looking so old!

Laughing as always!

and again!

One of Myah's early birthday presents was her bike. She loves it and does really well on it now. She'll ride around our developement a couple times and want to keep going. :)

We had Myah's 3rd birthday party last weekend so stay tuned for pictures from that. I'm trying to stay up with the blog but we've been so busy!! Be patient with me!! :)

Whitecaps Game #2

2009-07-28T15:57:00.005-04:00

Two days later, Saturday, July 18th we headed back out to Fifth Third Ball Park for another Whitecaps game with Mike's company - Roskam. We were out in right field and had such a great time. I think we could go to a ball game every night. They had a few extra tickets so my parents and Sheree were able to join us. So fun!!

Myah and Papa watching the game.

Daddy and Kohen

Me with my boys!

Daddy and Myah

Watching intently...
Mason being smothered by Myah :)
One of the pitchers gave Myah a foul ball...I guess it does pay to be cute! She was so proud of it!

Mason all smiles with Grandma (Mimi)

After the game there were fireworks and instead of sticking around in the stadium we headed out to the van so that we could leave as soon as they were over. The babes watching the fireworks...first time Kohen had seen them this year since he fell asleep before they went off and the 4th.

He LOVED them!

Just LOVE this picture...melts my heart!!

Whitecaps Game #1

2009-07-28T15:36:00.005-04:00

On Thursday, July 16th we were invited by Rob and Kim to the Whitecaps game. Rob works for Gainey and they have a suite at Fifth Third and he tries to get at least one game a year for all of us to go. It is definitely the way to watch a baseball game (especially with little kids). It's even better now that they built the outside seating onto the suites. The kids are able to play inside or sit outside to watch the game. Plus they are in a closed location - perfect!! :)

On the 16th the Whitecaps were playing the team that Ryne Sandberg manages, the Peoria Chiefs and Rob and Kim are HUGE Chicago Cubs fans (for those of you who don't know Ryne played for the cubs years ago). So they wanted to meet him and get something signed for Giada. Unfortunately Ryne didn't travel with his team so they were unable to get anything signed but the coach that was there gave Giada a ball - they were super nice.

It was a great game with lots of hits!! Fun fun and to top it off it was Thrifty Thursday at the ballpark so everything was $2 - can't beat that!!! We had a wonderful time and are so thankful for such great friends to spend that time with. We spent the night with the Bruwers, Czarnecki's and Woods (Zimmers were too busy!). Lots of fun!!!

Kohen and Myah checking out the view of the field soon after we got up there.

Kohen was too interested in the ball park to even turn around for a second for a picture.

Baby Mase

Look at those faces!! I think they are already sick of pictures and the night has JUST begun!!

Eating $2 hotdogs and pop!

Myah being Myah

Myah with Giada...I wish you could see Giada's shoes...they were Chicago Cub shoes and SO cute!!
Mommy and Kohen with CRASH!!!

Myah, Kohen and Brayden eating popcorn and looking out the window.
Sorry this picture is blurry...Myah wearing daddy's hat on backwards!

Just because he is so stinkin cute...here are a couple pictures of Mase-a-Base :)

Lamar Park/Millenium Park/Mimi and Papa's

2009-07-28T14:54:00.007-04:00

We had a few busy busy weeks before I headed back to work after maternity leave last week. So now I'm trying to play "catch up" with the blog.

Myah as you could tell in the previous posts loves the water! So one afternoon while the boys were taking a nap at Grandma and Grandpa's ("Mimi" and "Papa's") Myah and I decided to sit out by the pool and enjoy some sun and swimming. Below are a few pictures of her being the goof that she is. :)

Posing for Mommy with her swimmies on.

Trying to get a cute picture of her but she

thought splashing me would be more fun!

Just hanging around...

Finally...a decent picture! :)

Then, on Friday, July 10 we headed over to Lamar Park with our good friends Kim and Giada and Missy, Brayden and Wyatt. They have a nice splash pad for the kids and also a very nice play set. I wish I would have taken more pictures but watching a baby and 2 toddlers that like to run all over the place made for not very much time for taking pictures.

Kohen and Myah waiting for the water to spray up.

Aww....

Finally we headed to Millenium Park on Saturday (the 11th) with our very good friends Rob and Kim and their darling daughter, Giada. We weren't sure on the weather because it was suppose to rain in the morning so we had planned on heading out around 10:30ish. Well turns out the weather people were wrong again and it turned out to be beautiful that morning. We headed out a little earlier and stopped to get some food to bring with us. We had a great time. It was fun to have Mike along with us. Seems like I get to do all the fun things with the kids during the week that he misses out on being at work. It was a very nice family day and a perfect day to spend together with our good friends. Millenium Park also has a splash pad which is bigger than the one at Lamar Park but it was very cold. They obviously don't heat that water before it comes out. Needless to say the kids didn't last too long in it but they enjoyed the beach part more anyway - especially making sand castles. Kohen loves the beach because he can slowly get in the water and just walk around in it if he wants. In the pool he always wants to be held.

Again, I wished I would have taken more pictures but I'm a slacker!!

Mason Dean was there!

Kohen and Myah playing in the splash pad.

At night we headed over to Josh and Randi's house for a bonfire with Rachel and all of the kiddos. Josh and Randi have 2 year old triplets (!!) and Rachel has an 11 month old. So there were 7 kids there under the age of 3 (Myah is theh oldest). It's a lot of fun though and the kids had a blast. We definitely know how to keep them busy!!

Fourth of July Celebrations

2009-07-21T16:58:00.008-04:00

We had a wonderful 4th. The weather could have been better but it wasn't raining so I guess we can't complain. :) We began the day at the Kentwood Parade with family and friends. Myah and Kohen loved the parade and mostly the candy.

Me with my little buddy

Patiently waiting for the parade to start
Yay...here it comes

Daddy and Bubba

Papa with Mason

After the parade we went back to my parents house and spent the day outside grilling out and swimming. Myah is such a water bug she didn't care what temperature the water was or the temperature outside. Kohen likes the water too but he likes to be held in the water. Myah will just jump off the side anywhere as long as she has her swimmies on.

Myah with "her Papa" as she will tell you. :)

After spending the day in the pool and eating (what we do best) we headed to the carnival up the road at the City Center. It's always a lot of fun and the kids love it. They have a bunch of games for the kids, airbrush tattoos, lots of food and prizes.

Mike with Myah waiting in line for the bounce obstacle course.

Myah going through the obstacle course

She loved it and was so good at it...i think she made it through in record time

Kohen coming in a close second with Sheree...he needed a little help. :)

After the carnival and games we headed back to my parents house to do our own fireworks and watch Kentwood shoot their fireworks off.

Mimi and Kohen getting ready

Firework time!! Mike is a little excited. :)
Myah was so into them - Papa's little helper

Kohen didn't make it very long...it was a big day for them!

Myah with her sparklers

Watching fireworks with her papa

Cute picture of Mase since I wasn't able to get many of him since I was holding him most of the day. He is such a sweetheart and maybe the best baby ever!

John Ball Zoo

2009-07-21T16:36:00.007-04:00

The 4th of July weekend was so much fun and oh so busy for us. Mike took Thursday off and had Friday off as well. Thursday we spent the day getting stuff done around the house and we decided Friday to head to the Zoo. It was a perfect day for the Zoo. We had SO much fun and the kids loved it!!

Kohen pointing out the birds to Daddy

Cute picture if the stick wouldn't have been in the way

Mommy and Kohen

Myah and Daddy under the water fall

see the bear in the background :)
My beautiful family!!

Riding a camel

"Rrrrrooooaaarrrrr!"

Me with 3 of the 4 most important people in my life

How sweet!

Lots Going On...

2009-06-25T12:55:00.010-04:00

We have been having a great summer so far (now that it is starting to feel like summer - love this weather). Been keeping very busy (as always)...I don't know what I am going to do when I go back to work and only have 2 days a week to get everything in that we need to do. We did it before so I'm sure we'll figure it out and do it again. :)

Here are a few pictures of Myah and Kohen having fun with the little pool in the front yard!

June 10th was my dad's birthday. So as always we all got together as a family to celebrate the wonderful dad and grandpa that my dad is and thank God for him. My brother and Mike had a softball game that night so we ended up going to the game and then to Monelli's for pizza afterwards. It was a great night.

Kohen and Papa (loving every minute of it as usual)

Myah helping Papa open his presents and cards

Cute preggo Melanie with Mike

How cute are they?!?

This is what happens when the babes help mom bake....yum!

Our sweet Mason

For Father's Day and my dad's birthday we decided to go to a Tigers game (as we do every year) with my family. We are all a baseball loving family (especially the Tigs) so it's always a great time and especially for Father's Day weekend...does it get any better than that?!?

Here is our future lil Detroit Tiger =)
(We had my work picnic the night before so that is an airbrush tattoo on Kohen's arm...Myah has a flower and Kohen wanted a teddy bear - so cute)

Our pretty princess! Don't you just LOVE her little outfit?!?!

Definitely the highlight of the day for Miss Myah and Mister Kohen...they LOVED the carousel

The second time we went on it I took Myah and she wanted the white tiger and named him snowy.

Myah with Papa on the carousel

Kohen with Daddy

This might have been the second best thing that day - The Tigers Mickey!

GO TIGERS!!!

Comerica Park

Mommy with the little bug

First Tigers game at 8 weeks old...can't beat that! :) Check out his Tiger gear!

This is the result of a long day but the kids did great...on the way to the hotel where we stayed with everyone...fun fun weekend!
Here are just a couple of random pictures of our precious children. They are our world and bless our lives so much...if you are having a bad day just take a look at this smile...melts your heart!!!

Yes, Mason is in the middle sleeping

Myah loving her little little brother
We also had doctor appointments for the boys yesterday and they are both doing wonderful!! Mason had is 2 month and he is now up to 8lbs 13oz and 22 inches long...he's getting there and is just a little peanut like the other two. Nothing surprising to us. Kohen had his 18 month (a month late) and now weighs almost 25lbs and is 31 inches. Hard to believe the next appointments for Myah and Kohen will be Myah's 3 year and Kohen's 2 year! Where has time gone?!?!

Lastly, if you have not sent me your e-mail address but would like to keep viewing our blog, please do so as soon as possible as I plan to make it private in the next couple weeks. Thanks!

Going Private

2009-06-08T12:54:00.001-04:00

This blog is going to be private in a week or so. If you would like permission to still view it, please e-mail me at lapekes10105@yahoo.com.

Thanks so much!
Courtney (and family)

Spring '09

2009-06-08T10:16:00.009-04:00

I guess it is about time that I update this thing. I can't believe how quickly our weeks are flying by. It's already June!! Our little boy is already 6 weeks old...so crazy!! Kohen is 18 months and Myah will be 3 in less than 3 months (and trust me she reminds me constantly)! I'm so not ready for my little girl to turn 3. She is our little princess and knows it! A couple weeks ago my mom, sister and I went for a pedicure with all 3 kids and Myah was able to get a little pedicure as well and loved it. I think we are in trouble!

Unfortunately I don't have many pictures since my camera was getting fixed for 2 weeks but here are a few! So glad to have it back now...I think I broke it from overuse. :)

Our boys!

Hard to believe Kohen was ever this little. :) Look how big he looks now!!

Go Blue!

Kohen decided to get into Mommy's lipstick and obviously needs some make-up tips. :)

Mason after bath

All smiles!

It's A Boy!!!!

2009-04-26T20:11:00.006-04:00

Mason Dean Lapekes made his arrival into the world on Friday, April 24 at 7:56 a.m. Weighing 6 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. He has lots of dark hair and is absolutely adorable!! Here are a few pictures...we can't wait for you all to meet him.

In recovery feeding Mason for the first time.

Grandma and Mason

Grandpa and Mason

Uncle Ryan and Mason

Daddy and Mason

Aunt Mellie and Mason

Myah and Kohen in their "Big Sister" and "Big Brother" T-Shirts

Myah holding Mason

Mr. Mason

Kohen looking for something in the diaper bag

Myah, Courtney, Melanie and Mason

Our Family of 5

and Again (don't you LOVE Myah in this one?) :)

Myah and Mason

Myah, Mommy and Mason (Kohen wasn't interested in pictures)

2 of my 3 babes

Precious!

Everything with the c-section went great. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am and went in for the surgery at 7:30 and he was here 25 minutes later. Recovery so far has been good. I feel great and was able to get a shower a few short hours later. Mason is doing wonderfully. He is a champion eater. We are so in love and Myah (obviously from the pictures) can't get enough of him. They were just up here again tonight and all she asks about is baby Mason. I'm sure she will be a BIG help once we get home as well. :)

Miscellaneous End of March

2009-04-07T15:07:00.003-04:00

Just a few pictures of our darling children Sunday. My mom made this fun spring cake and Myah just loved it. She had to help with everything. Dressed in their Sunday best! :)

Handsome little man!

Also, on to baby news. We are officially down to the wire. 2 weeks from this coming Friday our new little bundle will be here. I think it is finally hitting me. It's pretty nuts but we'll be a family of 5 in no time. Stay tuned!

Frederick Meijer Gardens - Butterflies

2009-04-07T14:45:00.009-04:00

Mike's mom wanted to take all the grandkids to see the butterflies at FMG. It was nice to be able to see everyone again...we don't see his step-brother and sister very often. The kids were so-so with the butterflies. I don't think they really got it yet but it was still nice to go and see them. They loves the wooden tree house outside though. Too bad it was still so cold that we didn't last too long out there.

Myah and Daddy waiting for everyone so we can go see the butterflies

Daddy and Kohen

Reading about the different butterflies

Mike, Myah, Kohen and Mike's Brother Paul

Mommy and Kohen looking for butterflies

"Mommy, I see them!"

Mommy and Kohen

It's so hard to get a decent picture :)

My point again :)

Yay - a butterfly

Outside in the tree house

Myah entering the little gate

Our family!

Mike's Mom, Myah, Kohen and Dennis

Ian, Alexis, Grandma Parker, Myah and Grandpa Parker

Griffins Game

2009-04-07T14:36:00.005-04:00

Our good friends Rob and Kim Bruwer invited us to the Griffins Game. They were able to get a suite through Rob's work which was wonderful. It gives plenty of room for the kids to run around and not have to sit still through the whole game. They had a lot of fun and of course loved being able to play with Rob and Kim's daugther Giada.

Our goofy boy!

Myah and Daddy

Cute Baby Giada

Big Boy

Wearing Daddy's hat

Oh, there is a game going on. :)

Eating dinner

Playhouse Disney LIVE

2009-04-07T14:20:00.006-04:00

We decided to take the kids to see Playhouse Disney Live. I was a little worried about how Kohen would do since his attention span these days is so little but they both LOVED it and they did great!! It was just over an hour which was actually perfect...just long/short enough. :) Here are a few pictures from our fun afternoon!

The whole gang - Little Einsteins; Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Tigger, Pooh and Handy Manny
Kohen in awe

Myah and Kohen's favorite - Mickey Mouse

Kohen sitting on Daddy's lap

Handy Manny and the Tools

Tigger and Pooh

Little Einsteins and Rocket

Myah and Daddy

Can you tell she is happy?!?! :)

Mike 33rd Birthday and Ryan 26th Birthday

2009-04-07T14:01:00.005-04:00

We completely flew through March and now it is time to update the blog. March 6 was my brothers birthday. He is now 26 - so hard to believe. On March 9 it was Mike's 33rd birthday. We went out to eat as a family to celebrate both special days.

Myah licking the candles

My little helper!

Best Friends! :)

Potty Training Princess

2009-02-26T13:45:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update with no pictures - sorry!

Officially our little Myah is potty trained!! I am SO thrilled. She has been for maybe a month now but I didn't want to jinx it but she does wonderful. Sure she still has an accident once in a while when she is too involved in something that she is doing but they are rare. She just seems so much older to me all of a sudden - I can't stand it!! Where did my baby go?!?! This is a huge milestone and she loves her big girl undies. :)

8 weeks from tomorrow our new little bundle will make his/her arrival. I can't believe we are down to the last couple months. I know it's still a while but in all honesty it really isn't. Our weeks fly by so I know before we know it April will be here and so will our precious baby boy or girl. I was sitting on the couch last night watching Kohen and couldn't believe that he was going to be a big brother. He just seems so young even though he is the exact same age right now that Myah was when he was born. I don't know if it is because we have Myah that makes Kohen look younger but it's just crazy. They just love each other to pieces (most of the time) and I can't wait to add another to the mix.

Not much more going on - I have another appointment coming up next week (every 2 weeks now). My brother turns 26 next Friday - seriously?!?! And Mike has a birthday the following Monday (March 9). Lots of celebration and lots to be thankful for!!

January Miscellaneous

2009-02-03T16:23:00.006-05:00

I think it is officially out there so now I can post it on our blog... MY SISTER IS PREGNANT!! I'm SO excited for her (them)! I can't wait to be an aunt and for Myah and Kohen to have a little cousin! She is due in September which would make our babies a little more than 4 months apart. How fun is that?!?! Talk about changes around the DeMann household. :)

This is how she told us they were expecting...

We went out to eat to celebrate my mom's birthday and she took Myah to the bathroom with her - when they came back Myah was wearing this shirt that says "I'm going to be a big cousin". So adorable!!

That's the big news...other than that not much has been going on. I am 28 weeks pregnant and everything is going great. Baby is moving like crazy and Myah is so adorable about it. Every night she wants to feel baby kick. :) Love it! Whenever asked she usually says she wants a baby sister. We'll see soon enough!

Like I mentioned above, we celebrated my mom's birthday last month which is always wonderful. We went out to eat as a family and then hung out with her on Sunday as well.

Myah enjoying her pop :)

Papa and Kohen

The proud parents to be

Daddy and the Ko-man

Myah is my little craft girl. She LOVES to color, paint and play with playdough. This is a picture of her playing one night.Kohen likes to play too but he wants to eat it yet so it doesn't work too well so he sits and watches her (for 2 seconds). :)
How old does Kohen look here?!?! Seriously?!? I can't stand it!

We had a Superbowl party at my parents house. Lots of food and fun! Below is a picture of my brother and Mike is their nice Lions t-shirts that my mom bought for them. Nice!

Myah and Kohen enjoying a sucker during the Superbowl

That's all for now! Check back soon! We love you all!!

Professional Pictures - December 2008 (Everyday Joy Photography)

2009-01-06T12:09:00.001-05:00

In the mist of the Holidays I completely forgot to post some pictures we had taken at the beginning of December. They were suppose to be for Kohen's 1 year pictures but thought we could use them for Christmas cards as well. Here are a few of our favorites!

New Years Eve 2008

2009-01-02T15:53:00.007-05:00

This year we decided to get together with the Bruwers and the Czarnecki's...the Zimmer's were off in warm Florida (lucky them). We all went over to Rob and Kim Bruwer's and decided to have a sleepover with the families. It went really well and all the kids slept great! We went with a Mexican theme and had Margaretta's, Quesidellas and lots of other mexican food. Yummy! The kids had a great time and it was so nice not having to haul them out in the cold late at night.

Rob and Kim

Mike & I

Missy & Wayne

The Czarnecki Family - Missy, Wyatt, Wayne and Brayden

The Lapekes Family :)

Kohen, Myah, Giada, Brayden and Wyatt

Goofy Kohen and Myah

Myah, Giada and Wyatt

Kohen, Giada and Wyatt

Giada and Wyatt

Kohen and Myah loving Giada

Brayden and Myah eating

Kohen playing in the tunnel

Myah playing in the tunnel

Kohen and Brayden

Happy New Year Everyone! Can't wait to see what 2009 brings for all of us!! We are anxiously awaiting the new addition to our family in April. We had our u/s on December 19th and everything looked wonderful! We couldn't ask for any better news! Now we just wait for this baby to grow - he/she will be here in no time!!

Holidays 2008

2009-01-02T14:15:00.011-05:00

I have been completely lacking from our blog so I'm going to do one big post to recap the Holidays. First off, we had a fabulous holiday season and are very sad to see it at an end already. We spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We went to church in the morning and then hung out at Mom and Dad's all day. There was lots of food and lots of laughter. We enjoyed it and were very thankful...we have been truly blessed this past year. Here are a couple pictures from Thanksgiving Day.

Mom and Ryan

Dad & Miss Myah (love this pic)

Mike & Myah (not sure of the look on her face - goof!)

Our pretty little girl!

Me & Kohen

After Thanksgiving we were able to focus on Christmas!! We had a bunch of parties but all were wonderful! First we had my work party which was fabulous and a nice way to get out just the two of us for an adult evening. I'm so upset but I didn't take any pictures of Mike and I all dressed up. It didn't even cross my mind. :(

Our next party was with the DeMann side which is always great. We don't get to see everyone very often so it's so nice that we still get together to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Below are a few pictures from the DeMann Christmas party which was held at our church.

Joe & Melanie - first Christmas as husband and wife - awww!

Bubba is getting tired!

Riley and Myah

The whole Ron DeMann clan

My uncle Rick (dad's brother) and his family (L-R Uncle Rick, Aunt Mindy, Rick, his fiance Sam, Michael and Christina)

The Rog DeMann Family - my dad's older brother (L-R Keith, Keith's wife Kristin, Uncle Rog, Aunt Kerri, Laura, Dan, Dan's wife Katie - front row - Brian holding little Parker, Riley & Emily (Brian and Barb's daughter's, and Barb (Brian's wife))
Grandma and Grandpa - the two that started this all! :)

The whole DeMann Clan

On Christmas Day we went to church as always, had a great service and then went back home before heading over to Mike's brother and sister-in-laws for a few hours of Christmas celebrations. We were able to eat and enjoy each other's company followed by some presents. It was a nice time.

Myah trying to show her brother how to play a video game (like either of them know how).

Myah waiting to open presents so patiently!

Present time!!!

Kohen attempting opening his own gifts. :)

Later in the day we headed over to my parents house to spend the night and celebrate Christmas with them Friday morning. We had a great time...woke up on Friday with a big breakfast and then spent about 3 hours opening presents! Mom and dad overdid themselves again and needless to say our children were SPOILED! We spent the rest of the day hanging out, eating and playing games. It was a great way to spend Christmas.

In their Christmas pj's ready to open gifts.

Sheree and Regan patiently waiting for their turn. It took us FOREVER to open all our gifts - it was fun to see what everyone got!

Regan, Ryan and Mel

Dad's turn!

Joe & Mel (at least one of them is looking at me)

Helping My My open her presents

A book!! Yay!!

Joe with his new golf club - watch out Tiger Woods. ;)

Melanie with her ironing board - yep...she is definitely married now!

Ryan got a laptop from mom and dad along with an HP printer to go with it - nice, huh?

Myah and Kohen in KOHEN's new cozy coupe...I definitely think we'll be getting another one of these come spring - they both love it!

That's about it! I'm going to post about New Years Eve in another post...this one is getting too long!! Thanks for catching up with us. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year!! We love you all!

Let it Snow...Let it Snow...Let it Snow

2008-11-24T15:30:00.003-05:00

This morning we played out in the first official snow fall. Both Myah and Kohen loved it! Kohen loves the sled...Myah just loves to run around in it.

Ko-man all ready before heading out

Sledding

Myah and her "cheeeeessseeee" face

Kohen loved having daddy pull him around the yard

Daddy and Bubba

Daddy with the babes =)

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! We plan on it!!

Happy 1st Birthday Kohen Michael

2008-11-24T14:57:00.006-05:00

Well, we officially have a one year old. I know I say it quite often but I don't know where that year went. Our little man is getting so big. We had a wonderful day with him last Friday (November 21 - his birthday). I took the day off of work and Mike, Myah and I took Kohen out for lunch and also met up with my mom. After lunch we went to PlayWorld in Grandville. The kids had SO much fun. I was afraid that they would be too young for it yet but that wasn't the case at all. They both had a blast. Afterwards we came home for naps and Grandpa and Grandma Parker came over to see Kohen and give him a gift.

We had Kohen's actual birthday party on Saturday. It was so much fun and even more fun to celebrate with the Ko-man. He definitely enjoyed his cake and ice cream. He had lots of presents to open all of which his sister helped him with and she still thinks they are all hers. :)

He is such a little ham and brings so much joy to our lives. We love you to pieces Bubba and can't wait to see what your second year brings.

Oh, I forgot to mention that he is officially walking now. He's been taking steps for a while now but all of a sudden last Wednesday night (2 days before his b-day) he just went. So cute!! Now he can keep up with Miss Myah more easily.

Here are a few pictures from his special day!

At PlayWorld

Kohen LOVED the cozy coupe cars

Playing in the ball pit

Got Mail??

Myah in her car :)

Julia (my cousin), Myah and Kohen all in their cars

Another group shot

Pictures from Kohen's party...

His adorable cake that Traci made for him!! Thanks Trac!

Birthday boy...he wasn't too sure of his hat

Both kiddos by his cake

Choo choo set from Grammy and Grampy

Kohen's elephant pillow from Aunt Mellie and Uncle Joey

Yummy cake...already in a sugar coma

Happy 1st Birthday Bubba!! We love you and had SO much fun celebrating your big day!!

Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-03T15:32:00.005-05:00

It has been a while since I posted. I'm not even sure where to start. We had a fabulous Halloween...Myah had a ball trick-or-treating for the first time. She did so well saying "Trick-or-Treat" and of course "thank you" afterwards. :) We also carved pumpkins with the kids which they both loved. However, I had to watch Kohen pretty carefully since all he wanted to do was eat everything - yuck!!

Here are some cute nakie pics since they couldn't get their clothes dirty. :)

This year we went to a few Halloween parties which was fun so the kids could wear their costumes more than once. Myah was our little Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Kohen was the Cowardly Lion. So precious!!

Our little cowardly lion - raaaarrrr!

Little Miss Dorothy (and Toto)

Aunt Mellie with the kiddos

Ready to go...

First house we trick-or-treated at

On a mission

On to baby #3...we had our first appointment a couple weeks ago and everything was perfect. We were able to hear that sweet little heartbeat beating away at 172 beats per minute. :) Still feeling great especially now that I am getting over this crummy cold. Can't wait for our next appt. :) Have a great week - the weather is going to be beautiful.

Also - don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!

Klackles...Fall Fun!

2008-10-09T10:16:00.008-04:00

Last Saturday, October 4 we went to Klackles Orchard in Greenville with my whole family (Mom, Dad, Ryan, Sheree, Melanie, Joe and Us). We had a great time. It was a beautiful fall day - high 60's and sunny.

I actually forgot my camera so all of these pictures came from my sister - phew! Thanks Mel!

Here are all of us kids on the wagon getting ready to go pick apples.

Crazy people...Myah and Kohen enjoyed watching them!

Myah finally got her turn with Uncle Ry - yay!

Feeding a goat - hmmm...not so sure...

By far Myah's favorite thing was riding the pony - she was laughing like crazy but it was so hard to get a good picture of her. I have a feeling she will be asking her daddy real soon to buy her a pony! :)

Myah playing on the wooden train (aka Choo-choo)

Crazy Family (there were only 3 holes - so we had to make it work)

Mommy and Myah Moo

Grandpa and Myah

Kohen fell asleep on the wagon/hayride

The kids out in the apple orchard

Kohen absolutely LOVED his apple...he wouldn't put it down!

Lapekes Family picture

Oh, and we ate lots of donuts and cider! Yummmm!

******************************************************************************

On to other news - first of all we decided to cancel Myah's tests for her UTI. After lots of discussion we just didn't feel like it was necessary to begin testing after only one infection. Hopefully she will not have a reoccurance but if she does then we will rethink things. Until then she appears to be doing great.

******************************************************************************

Lastly, I'm sure most of you know by now (and my poor family has known FOREVER) but Mike and I are adding to our family again in April! We are so thrilled/excited/nervous....all those fun things! We actually found out we were having another baby right before Mike lost his job...so that's why we waited a little longer to tell everyone else. We are still praying like crazy that he finds something soon but we know everything will work out. God definitely doesn't give us anything that we can't handle!! We are just enjoying every step with this little miracle!

That's enough excitment for now! Have a great rest of the week and weekend (it's going to be beautiful!)

Happy Anniversary to Us!!

2008-10-01T10:48:00.004-04:00

*Since it is our anniversary today I get to post twice*

So hard to believe but today is our 3rd anniversary! Where has time gone?!? I was just looking at our wedding album last night with Myah and it's just amazing how much has changed in the 3 years that we have been married. I love life and what God has given us the last 3 years...wouldn't change it for the world. Mike is the best husband and father that I could ever ask for and goes above and beyond taking care of our family. He is such an amazing role model and I fall in love with him more and more each day!

Happy Anniversary honey! Here's to many many more! I love you!!

Here are a few pictures to take us back 3 years ago...

Fall Orchard Fun

2008-10-01T10:30:00.006-04:00

Fall is in full force now and I love it. I love summer but fall is my next favorite season. I love the cider, donuts, crisp air, sweaters and the smell of autum. Of course my favorite part is going to pumpkin patches and orchards. This past weekend my sister and I took the kids to a little orchard on Alpine and 9 Mile. It was perfect for us. They have a small petting farm, pumpkins, apples and a little store with donuts and cider. We had so much fun! The only thing that was hard was that it was 75 degrees and we were sweatin our buns off. :) It won't be like that this weekend so we just enjoyed it.

Here are a few pictures from our fun Saturday.

Me with my beautiful children!

Myah and Kohen finding the perfect pumpkin
Aunt Melanie & Myah Moo

Aunt Melanie with Bubba (we had to take a few pictures

before he would finally look at the camera!)

Myah picking apples
Messy face Myah with Kohen in the Wagon
How cute is this?!?!
Precious little boy!

Just because I can never post enough pictures - here are a couple from the morning before we left for the Orchard.

We tell her ALL THE TIME that some day he is going to be

bigger and so get her back for this! :)

Goofy Kiddos

2008-09-25T08:52:00.005-04:00

Thankfully Myah is doing much better. She was already feeling 100 times better after she had her first dose of medicine after determining she had a UTI. Yay!! Her doctor still wants her to have an ultrasound on her kidneys and a VCUG done on Monday. Mike and I are still going back and forth with it right now because the VCUG is not pleasant and I really don't want to put her through that after having only one UTI. I guess they usually do it after multiple infections but they want to do it as a precautionary measure. I just don't know...please say a prayer for us with whatever we decide because it will NOT be a fun Monday morning. :(

On a lighter note...the four of us went to the Circus last Thursday. The kids loved it! I wasn't sure if Kohen would get into it but he was clapping and kicking his legs almost the entire time. We left a few minutes before it ended - 2 hours was long enough for them to sit. I highly recommend going the next time they are in town. I didn't bring my camera though because it was just one more thing to look after.

Friday night the babes hung out with Grandpa and Grandma while Mike and I went to watch/listen to Mega 80's play at the Intersection. I wasn't sure I would get into it since I was born in the 80's but I was surprised at how many songs I knew. We had a great time. We went with our friends Ken & Traci and a few of their friends. Fun, late night!

Saturday we took the kids to a park and brought our lunches. It was so beautiful that we had to enjoy the weather because it doesn't look like it will be around for much longer. The kids had a great time.

Tuesday we went over to see my girlfriend Rachel who had a baby the end of August little Rylee. We brought pizza over to them before my softball game. I forget so quickly how little newborns are. It was only a few months ago that Kohen was that little but they grow up so quickly! Rylee is just precious and Rachel and Chad are settling in to parenthood wonderfully.

Later that night I had my last softball game of the year. We won by quite a bit and ended up taking the fall league as well (we got 1st place in the summer league too). Sad the seaons is over - I'll definitely miss it!

Lastly here are a couple goofy pictures of the kids from last night. They are something else and always keep us laughing!

I love Kohen's facial expression in this one! Ha!

Verdict

2008-09-17T11:15:00.003-04:00

Myah didn't have a "bug" after all. After 5 phone calls to the ped's office and 2 office visits we have figured out that she had a UTI (urinary tract infection). Poor babe!! She had the fever on and off for 8 days. I knew something was wrong with her!!

Myah and Kohen both had their well baby visits on Monday and all went well other than Myah's diagnosis. She is doing much better now though and I'm glad we figured out what was wrong. We have a couple growing babes thats for sure.

Here are their stats:

Myah - 2 year
Weight: 24 lbs (20%)
Height: 31.2" (3%)
Head: 47 cm (35%)

Kohen - 9 months (almost 10)
Weight: 20.3 lbs (50%)
Height: 27.25" (10%)
Head: 45.2 cm (50%)

They are both peanuts but Kohen is going to catch up to his sister in no time. There is only a 4 lb and 4 inche difference in weight and height. Now I'm sure everyone can understand why I get the twins comment all the time! :)

Thankfully neither of them needed shots (Myah went through enough while we were there). So...we will go back again for Kohen's 1 year the end of November and Myah doesn't need to be back until her 3 year appointment. Yay!!

Other than just trying to get Myah feeling better not much has been going on.

Last weekend we celebrated my little sister, Sheree's birthday. She turned 13! Craziness! She wanted to go to the mall and walk around and shop with her friends so while she was doing that Mom, Melanie, the kids and I did some shopping as well. Afterwards the whole family met at Florentine's for her b-day dinner. Sunday was her actual b-day so we did gifts after church with her. I hope she had a wonderful 13th birthday!!

This week so far has been crazy. Monday we just had their doctor's appointment and had to run a couple other errands. In the afternoon Mike went golfing with my brother and my brother-in-law.

Tuesday we decided to go rollerblading down the new trail along M6. We stopped at the Kava House to say hi to Melanie and get something to eat and drink and then headed back. The kids love going for a stroller ride while we are rollerblading because it's fast. :)

Tuesday night Mike had his last game and I have my second to last game. My last week is next week. We both won by quite a bit but it was still fun!

I'll post some pictures as soon as I take some - with Myah not feeling well I haven't had the camera out much.

Sick already? It's only September!!

2008-09-11T14:36:00.003-04:00

It's only the middle of September and we are already dealing with sickness - yay for fall. :)

Myah has had a bug since Sunday - poor babe! She is just miserable but I think slowly she is starting to get over it. I just feel so bad for her and hate when there isn't much we can do. Give her Tylenol, nice cool baths, etc. but it just isn't enough. I hope she is on the mend soon and that Kohen doesn't get it!

Not much else to report in the Lapekes household. Same ole stuff...busy busy! Mike has been having a lot of interviews which is great and we think he will hear soon on a couple of them. The kiddos have their well baby visits on Monday - Myah's 2 year and Kohen's 9 month. That should be interesting...then I can update their stats.

I haven't taken any pictures lately because of Miss Myah not feeling well but I will post some as soon as I do.

Have a great weekend!

Happy 2nd Birthday Myah Reese

2008-09-03T21:16:00.013-04:00

Our little girl is 2 already! It's so amazing to me how a human being can learn so much in just 2 years. I look back to the last 2 years with Myah and they have just flown but in that time she has learned to smile, giggle, crawl, walk, talk, sing, dance, laugh and love. I'm just in awe of her every day.

We had a wonderful weekend at the cottage. It was so nice to be all together as a family. We went up north near Lakeview where we rented a nice cottage that slept all 11 of us. We went with my mom and dad, my sister - Sheree, my sister - Melanie and her husband - Joe, my brother - Ryan and his girlfriend - Regan, plus the 4 of us.

We all arrived Friday afternoon/night at different times. Myah wanted to right away go on the paddle boat so Sheree took her out.

Friday night we just checked the place out, unloaded everything and sat by the campfire making hobo pizzas and smores. Here is a picture of Myah enjoying her smore.

Saturday we woke up, threw on our bathing suits and spent the day relaxing by the water. Myah and Kohen played in the sand pretty much all day. About a 100 yards from the cottage was a wonderful sand bar (party island) where we canoed out to and spent some of the day over there. It was nicer for Myah to swim. She loved it. Came in for lunch and went back out to do more.

Our little diva reading her magazine

Sheree and Myah with their sand castle

Melanie and Ryan going fishing

Around 6:00 we left for dinner where we had reservations at Clifford Lake Inn. Very nice restaurant right on Clifford Lake. Beautiful scenery and the food was great too.

Dad & Mom at dinner

Lapekes Clan (missing Kohen)

Mom & Sheree
Ryan & Dad
Joe & Melanie

Our Family

By the time we got back it was pretty late so we all hung around talking and watching TV but it was an earlier night for all of us. I think we were all tired out from the sun, sand and water. :)

Sunday was Myah's birthday!! Dad drove in to town for church and we all hung out in the water. Around 2:00 we started getting everything ready for Myah's birthday lunch. The theme of Myah's birthday this year was a pink/green garden party. I made ladybug cupcakes. Myah was able to drink from a butterfly straw. After food and cupcakes Myah was finally able to open her presents that she had been eyeing since Friday! She had so much fun and did so well.

Myah's party dress

Chowing down

Count Down til "Happy"

2008-08-28T10:12:00.004-04:00

Miss Myah's birthday is only 4 days away. We talk about it almost every day as she is SO excited for her "happy". That's what she calls it - so precious. It started when it was "G-G's" (great-grandma) birthday she would say "GG Happy" so now she is saying it for herself - "Myah's Happy".

We just can't believe our little girl is going to be 2. I was just sitting here thinking that just 2 years ago she was not officially in our lives yet and it is just so hard to believe. It has gone so fast and yet we can't even remember our lives without her in it. I remember two years ago just the anticipation of waiting to meet her. Our lives changed completely and she has given us so much more than we could ever ask for. Myah is learning so much more every day and is such a joy to us. She loves her brother more than he would like sometimes :) and seeing them play together is the best feeling in the world. Happy early "Happy" baby girl - we love you!!

So other than planning for her birthday and getting ready to go to the cottage this weekend there hasn't been much to report. I worked Mon-Wed last week so I was off 6 days - nice! We decided to go up north to visit the Zimmer's on Friday and then up again to the same place to visit with my grandparents on Saturday. Sunday was the typical lunch at my parents followed by some R&R. Monday was spent doing laundry and giving the house a good clean. Tuesday was more laundry and my sister and I got our grocery shopping done for this weekend. Mike and I also both had games Tuesday night. I won - he didn't. :)

Also last Friday we had to take our kitty Cheeto to the vet. He was having trouble urinating which is usually caused by crystals in his urinary tract. He was there for 5 nights!! We missed him but he is home now and is doing well. He is on a couple antibiotics and some special food which will hopefully do the trick.

On a happy note - Mike had a 2nd interview with a great company yesterday morning and we are just praying that he will get the call late next week or early the following week to come back. If you think of it - please say a prayer for this job offer.

We are heading up north tomorrow afternoon and will be gone until Monday. I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I will post lots of pics next week from Myah's 2nd birthday!

For now...here are a couple from the last week.

This is from my grandma's birthday (G-G's Happy) - ok this one is about a month old but I just got it from my mom so I thought I would share.

Myah and Kohen wrestling.

Kohen trying to push Myah - he walks really good behind there if it wasn't for his sister sitting on it. :)

Michigan's Adventure

2008-08-11T17:34:00.006-04:00

It's so hard to believe that it is the middle of August already! Only a few more weeks and summer is over!! :( We've had such a fun summer already and we still have a ton of things to do yet. Last week we had my firm softball game. The whole family came out to watch me play and get some yummy food.

We also had a fun cookout with our friends - Zimmers, Bruwers and Czarnecki's. That is always a fun time since all the kids get together.

On Saturday we went to Michigan's Adventure with my parents and brother and sisters. We had such a blast. Myah and Kohen both LOVED the waterpark. My dad, Melanie, Joe, Sheree and I went on the new rollercoaster - The Thunder Hawk - so fun!! Here are a bunch of pictures from our fun weekend!

Kohen loving the water - he just wanted to crawl around in it (until it got too deep for him)!

Grampy and Kohen (do you think he is a little tired?)
Mike and Kohen (aka Bubba)

Trying to get a family photo but Myah was too interested in the water.
Myah running through the water

Kohen standing by the gate watching Daddy and Myah drive cars

Mike and Myah driving a cool car
Kohen and Grammy
Me and Myah with Snoopy :)Last week Myah wanted to feed Kohen so bad so I finally let her go for it. :) She didn't do too bad and Kohen was laughing through most of it. She wants to do EVERYTHING for him!

and...she got hungry just looking at the food and decided to try it for herself. Let me tell ya - she didn't like it as much as she did a year ago. :)
After baths in their cute bath towels. Our cute lion and kitty.

Have a great week and enjoy this beautiful weather!!

Ball Games...Millenium Park...Misc

2008-07-31T09:28:00.006-04:00

This past week has been crazy busy (but what's new, right?). Last weekend I had my State Softball Tournament which this year thankfully it was in Grand Rapids which made it much easier. We did really well overall. Lots of games were played in 2 days though and boy was I tired!!

Mike and I both had games again Tuesday night and when Mike went to put his softball pants on Myah looked up at him and said "Ball?" with a little sigh. I think she was a little tired of watching "ball". The good news is that we won our Tuesday night league in Byron Center. We had to play 2 more games Tuesday night but we are the champions! :) Here are a few pictures from this past weekend at the ballpark.

Me making sure my side of the infield was nice and level. :)

Grandpa hanging out with Myah and Kohen
Myah walking her cat and making sure she shows it to the doggie
Myah walking her kitty
Of course we also had to bring her babies along with us (they go EVERYWHERE with us)
On Tuesday we decided to head out to Millenium Park in Walker. It was a beautiful day and we wanted to do something fun so Mike and I and the kids along with my mom and Sheree decided to spend a day in the sun and water. As I'm sure you saw in the previous posts over the 4th of July that Myah just absolutely loves the water. She especially loves the lake because she can touch. Millenium Park was no exception - she had a ball. Kohen wasn't too fond of floating in the water but he loved to crawl in it.

Lastly, just some miscellaneous pictures over the last week.

Our big boy standing

One of Myah's favorite things to do is to put all her dishes in her sink and then "wash" them all and put them back on the shelf. :)

She also loves to feed her brother

Not much going on this weekend - we have a shower to go to on Saturday and might possibly go blueberry picking with Melanie and Joe since it isn't going to be as hot as they first said so we'll see...next weekend however we will be going to Michigan's Adventure (weather permitting) so I'll have some fun pictures and stories from that. Stay tuned... :)

8 Months Old...

2008-07-21T15:39:00.005-04:00

Our baby is 8 months old today!! He is so much fun and I think Myah is enjoying his new found freedom. They play so well together and she just loves having him to chase around and him chasing her now. I can't wait to see their relationship grow more and more. They are definitely "two peas in a pod". :)

We have been so incredibly busy the last couple weeks. I am so sorry for lacking on the pictures. Last week was my sister's 23rd birthday so we went out to eat on Thursday (her birthday was the 16th). We were suppose to go to Michigan's Adventure last Saturday but with the weather we decided to postpone it a couple weeks. Last Friday we had my work picnic at Fredrick Meijer Gardens. We had a great time but of course I forgot my camera. :( So...I don't have any pictures really to share. Mike and I have softball this week - tournaments are starting. I messed up my knee last Tuesday and it is still bothering me but I'm pretty sure it is just bruised because it seems to be getting better each day. I hope it is in ready to play condition by tomorrow. We'll see...I also have our State Tournament this coming weekend. It will be nice because it is in Grand Rapids this year. It's being held at Belknapp Park which should bring back memories of playing at Grand Rapids Community College since that was our home field. Wish us luck!!

Here is a picture of the babes from this morning. Being goofy as always. :)

The facial expressions these two kids make is hilarious!! Myah's hair is in a pony tail but since she doesn't know how to play calm she has some messy hair going on.

Awww...I hope they always love each other this much!!

Fourth of July Weekend

2008-07-07T16:58:00.008-04:00

Wow! We had such a fun, busy weekend that I have to say I am glad that today is so crummy outside. It gives us a reason to hang low at home and rest - I know the kids could definitely use it. Our weekend started Thursday night - we were able to see friends of ours who were in town from Georgia over at Wayne and Missy's house. Mike and Heather were in town with their two adorable boys. We had a great time catching up since we haven't seen them since our wedding.
Friday on the fourth we spent the whole day with my family. We went to the Kentwood Parade. Myah absolutely loved it. She had so much fun catching candy and watching everyone in the parade. Her favorite by far were the horses. :) Here are a couple pictures from the parade:

Kohen watching the parade and raising his hand for candy. :)

All the men - Dad, Mike and Joe (brother-in-law)

Mommy and Myah

Aunt Mellie and the Ko-man

Daddy and Myah

Us girls and Ko-man

We spent the whole day at Mom and Dad's swimming and grilling out. Kentwood also has a little carnival up by the city center so we walked up to that and Myah was able to ride a couple ponies, ride a swing, jump in an air tent and play lots of games. Then at night we watched the Kentwood fireworks which by the way were fabulous!! We watch them every year but this year they out did themselves.

Myah was SUCH a water bug - she couldn't get enough of the water. She jumped off the diving board and went down the slide a bunch of times. Kohen loved it as well - it was the perfect temperature for him to just float around in his bug.

Then on Saturday we went up to Newago to spend the day with our friends who have a trailer in a resort up there. It's a small world because we figured out a couple years ago that they spend much of their summer in the same park as my grandparents have for years. So...we were able to see my grandparents as well. We had a great time and again, Myah wouldn't get out of the water. She loved it.

Cute little Jordyn

Cute little Alexis :)

Phew!! We just spent Sunday with church and then at my parents for the rest of the day for more swimming and relaxing. I think we've had enough pictures of water though. :) We hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July!! We sure did!

Professional Pictures

2008-06-27T11:09:00.009-04:00

Last Saturday we had the priveledge of working with Amy Oonk of Everyday Joy Photography - http://www.freewebs.com/everydayjoyphotography/index.htm. We went to the dam in Rockford and had her take tons of beautiful pictures of the kids. They turned out perfect! here are a few of my favorites. I would highly recommend her to take your pictures. We also love Amy Carroll of Amy Carroll Photography - http://www.acarrollphotography.com/. Enjoy!!

Ok...so I have a lot of favorites! :)

Mike and I took yesterday and today off. We went to the Tigers game with Ken and Traci Zimmer yesterday and had a lot of fun. It was a hot one but a great game! Today we are just hanging out with the kids...maybe going over to Mom and Dad's to go swimming this afternoon. Tomorrow we have a cook out with friends and an Open House in the afternoon. Sunday we will be going to church and hanging out with my family.

Monday we are planning on going to the Zoo with our friends depending on the weather - it might be on Tuesday instead...we'll see!

Have a great weekend!!

**The above pictures are copyright of Everyday Joy Photography - please do not take without permission **

Father's Day Weekend

2008-06-16T12:24:00.010-04:00

We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend!! It flew by too fast as does every other weekend. Saturday Mike and I were in a golf outing so we brought the babes over to Aunt Mellie's and Uncle Joey's to play for a couple hours. At night we went to a Whitecaps game with my parents, my little sister Sheree, my Grandpa and Grandma DeMann and my Grandpa Milanowski. It was a great night for a game and Myah absolutely LOVED the fireworks afterwards.

My dad and the Ko-Man

My mom and Kohen - he loves baseball!

Self portrait of Mike and I

Myah with her "cheeeese" face.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning and then back to my parents for lunch as we do every Sunday. We hung out by the pool and just relaxed all day with my dad. It was so nice for him and Mike. I think they both had a great day.

Myah and Aunt Sheree jumping on the trampoline.

SUMMER...

2008-06-10T12:44:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we were able to relax finally. After our busy wedding weekend it was so nice to be able to take it easy. We spent some time outside inbetween the storms. Myah absolutely loves her swing. Grandma bought it for her last year but she wasn't so sure about it then but this summer she is loving it. Tells me constantly that she wants to "swing".

Myah watching Mike mow the yard.

Sunday we went to church and then went over to my parents for lunch. We headed home around 4:00 to find out that we did not have any power. So...we packed up a few things and headed back to my parents to stay the night. We figured it was going to be a while and really didn't feel like sitting around without power. Needless to say my parents were very excited. :)

Today is my dad's birthday so we went out for dinner last night to celebrate and Melanie and Joe came right from the airport. It was so good to see them again! I couldn't believe how much I missed my sister. I guess I see her almost every day but I just didn't realize it! Happy Birthday Daddy!

Tonight Mike and I both have softball games and a very busy weekend coming up with Father's Day. Mike and I are in a golf outing on Saturday and then we are all going to a Whitecaps game at night with my grandparents and my whole family. It should be fun but busy! Have a great week!

Mr. & Mrs. Anderson

2008-06-05T13:29:00.011-04:00

The wedding is over! All in all it went well but there were a few bumps along the way. One was that little Miss Myah woke up the morning of the wedding with a temperature of 101.8 - not horrible but bad enough to make her feel crummy the whole day. She didn't want any pictures taken of her and she of course wouldn't walk down the aisle. Stinker! Go figure, right? Ah well...she was still cute! Thankfully the song I sang for my sister went well. I also got sick Friday morning so I was very nervous about that but it all went fine.

So here are a few pictures from the big day!

Miss Myah in her beautiful dress! She loved it even though she didn't feel very well. She kept twirling around. However, this was one of the only half way good shots I could get of her.

Kohen Michael in his adorable little suit. He looked so handsome!

Melanie & Joe Anderson!

Melanie, Dad & Myah during the Father/Daughter dance. :)

Mike & Myah - I think this picture basically says how she was feeling most of the day.

Mom and Myah

Myah dancing at the reception - she had a lot of fun and was such a trooper!

Myah and I dancing

Ryan & Melanie

Me & Melanie

And this is what we came back to the hotel to find after we left the reception. They are such good kids and we are so blessed! How precious!!

So Melanie and Joe are off on their honeymoon in Mexico. We miss them a lot but hope they are having a great time!! Now we are all just trying to get better! :(

Wedding Countdown

2008-05-27T16:32:00.010-04:00

Well...we are getting down to the wire. My sister is getting married this Saturday! I can't believe it. Thankfully I am only working Wednesday this week so a couple extra days off will be great. There are so many last minute things to get done. It's so exciting! It will be nice when it is over though. :)

Here are a couple pictures from her bachelorette party which was on the 17th. A lot of fun but I forgot what it is like to stay out that late.

Me and the beautiful bride My mom and Melanie Melanie with her best friend Vanessa

Last week was pretty busy. We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Saturday we helped Melanie and Joe move for a little while and then went to a surprise 30th birthday party for one of my friends hubsand. Sunday was church and then we went to the IL's for lunch and then to a Whitecaps game in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Monday we spent the morning working around the house and I worked on wedding stuff. During the afternoon we went over to my parents house for a early dinner and just hanging out - a very fun weekend. Sad to see it end.

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures of the babes. Kohen had his first taste of baby food the other day - he is now 6 months old which I cannot believe! He loved the food and did great with it. He wanted it faster than I could feed it to him. :)

Yummy - Sweet Potatoes!! Look at him stand all by himself!!
Of course here is our sweet Myah being a goof!

I'll post again next week when I have a ton of pictures of the wedding . Myah's so excited to be a flower girl and let me tell ya - her dress is to die for - so precious on her!!

Have a great week!

Mother's Day...

2008-05-13T15:50:00.006-04:00

Hard to believe it is the middle of May already. Time is going so fast I wish it would slow down a little. Our little man will be 6 months old on the 21st!!

We had a great Mother's Day. My grandparents and my whole family came over to our house for a brunch after church. Then we were able to rest for a while - it was a perfect day to do that (so crummy outside).

A picture of all us kids and grandkids.

That night I took a few pictures of the kiddos just because they are cute. I must say they take some of the cutest pictures together.

Myah trying to love her brother to death. :)

Our little sweethearts! They are our world and make us laugh all the time! I can already tell that they are going to be the best of friends. Kohen only takes his eyes off his sister when he is sleeping. :)

Oh, and other big news....I guess....is that we bought a mini-van. Yes, me, the one that I would NEVER drive one. Well...it only made sense and with gas prices continuing to rise we had to do something. It is one sharp vehicle though and it really isn't all that bad. However, when my kids are grown and gas prices have gone back down (hopefully) I will be getting an SUV again. In the meantime - the mini will work. :) I'll post pics later - don't have any taken yet.

Enjoy the beautiful weather. Mike and I both have softball games tonight! :)

Showers...showers...showers

2008-05-02T09:41:00.010-04:00

Well we have been so busy with my sisters wedding. She is getting married in 29 days - yikes! May 31 is the big day. We have been having showers for her like crazy! It's been so much fun helping her plan her wedding and I'm so happy for her and Joey!

This is a picture of the "frame" my cousin made for Melanie. Each letter opens up and has a cute picture of the happy couple. It's soooo cute!!

The bride to be and Miss Myah looking on.

Myah reading to her brother on her bed. Notice the book is upside down so that Kohen can "read" it. :)

Cute picture of the babes after their bath one night! Lovin the crazy hair!!

Beautiful Weather

2008-04-05T16:07:00.007-04:00

Today we were able to get out to the play ground and enjoy this beautiful weather. Even though Myah didn't feel very well she still had fun.

She loved the merry-go-round

and the teeter totter.

I hope everyone is enjoying the weather!!

Opening Day

2008-03-31T10:57:00.007-04:00

Yay!! It must be officially spring because today is opening day of baseball!! Myah was already getting excited yesterday before church. She loves to wear hats and looks especially cute in daddy's Tiger's hat (especially dressed for church). :) If you are a baseball fan - enjoy watching the game today at 1:00. We'll be watching it! It's pretty crazy because last year on opening day we told my family that we were pregnant for Kohen. My how time flies...

Also this week we started Kohen on Rice cereal. He did really well with it and has had it about 3 times now. He seems to really like it.

Baptism

2008-03-26T11:28:00.010-04:00

Kohen's baptism went wonderfully! He did great - cried a little when Pastor sprinkled the water on him but was just fine seconds later when Mommy had him again. It was such a fun day celebrating Easter as well. Here are a few pictures from his baptism.

My mom took a bunch as well that might have turned out a little better that I will post later.
Here are a few of the family after church.

Mike's great grandma which makes her Myah and Kohen's great great grandma!

Mike and Myah with his parents

Myah and Mommy Myah taking after her Mommy :)

And a few more of us at my mom and dad's after church.

Our two babes...don't they almost look like twins?!?!

So sweet....

Grandpa and Grandma with their grandchildren

On Saturday the Easter bunny came early and Myah got to look for Easter eggs. She had SO much fun and looked so cute hunting for eggs.

Where's more, Mommy?
And this is what Kohen did while Myah was searching for eggs...our little Easter Bunny. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Good Intentions...

2008-03-21T09:25:00.000-04:00

...let's hope I can stay up on this blog. I always have great intentions but they seem to get lost in the day to day activities and life in general. I decided since our children are growing way too quickly it would be nice to have a place to keep everyone up to date on the happenings of our family. This is a spot for me to (hopefully) keep everyone updated on Myah and Kohen.

I'm sitting here at work on Good Friday already emotional but I also cannot believe my little boy is 4 months old already today. Myah will be 19 months in a week!! They are so amazing and I can't believe how much love and joy they bring us.

This Sunday on Easter Kohen will be baptized. This is a very special day in our family as it was when Myah was baptized. I plan on singing "Little Boy on His Knees" by Cheri Keaggy. It's a beautiful song and I can't wait to sing it for him.

I will post pictures next week of his special day.

Have a great weekend!