Mmm, mmm, good... or something like that

Mealtimes have never been more entertaining around our house! Now that Micah is eating solid foods, Aaron and I get quite a kick out of his reactions to the new tastes and textures. I've gotten pretty good at feeding him with one hand and having the camera in the other to capture some of his expressions, but to be honest, the pictures don't do it justice. Anyone who has ever given a baby his or her first taste of anything can attest to the fact that babies make some priceless faces! :) So far, Micah has had carrots, potatoes, applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, and squash. If I had to rank them in order of favorite to least favorite, I think it would go ~ bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash and potatoes. The squash and potatoes are tied for last place on that list. :) He's also had rice cereal and oatmeal, which rank somewhere in the middle... he seemed to really like them at first, but now that there are other things on his menu, he could take them or leave them. He definitely seems to prefer them more when they're mixed with something else... like oatmeal and bananas, for example.

Even though the pictures don't completely capture the amusement we experience at mealtimes, they'll give you an idea of what we get. Use your imagination... or, if you're ever in town, stop by for dinner... but you might want to bring a drop cloth. :)

Rice cereal ~

Carrots ~

Applesauce ~

Squash ~

I knew better than to try and take a video when I was feeding him by myself, but when we're all at the dinner table, one can feed Micah while the other documents the meal on video. :)

This is Micah's first experience with squash, and needless to say, he was not a fan.

Yes, we have been very entertained during mealtimes at our house. Sometimes, it goes really well and we can't seem to shovel the food in fast enough... other times it turns into a battle of wills, which I'm sorry to say, Micah has been winning so far. But we're just getting started, and the kid is definitely not starving, so I think we're doing okay. :)

So much to discover!

Well, it's official! Micah is mobile! He seems to have the crawling thing down and is able to move around the room pretty quickly... especially when he sees something he really wants! :) Now that he is able to get around on his own, there are many things for him to discover around the house, and believe me, he is discovering all of them! Our next big project will be child-proofing the house so that he can discover things safely and with a lesser risk of injuring himself in the process.

At first, crawling was somewhat frustrating for him, as this video will show. He wanted to get to something and knew he could do it, but would either get tired or frustrated along the way and start fussing. Usually, he'd move a few inches and then just dive for whatever object he was in pursuit of and end up on his tummy. :)

It didn't take long for Micah to really get the hang of crawling. That last video was taken on the 24th, and this next one was taken the very next day... what can I say? Our son is brilliant! :)

Like I said, Micah is discovering all sorts of new things as he moves around... I think I was most amused by the fact that he has all sorts of toys lying around the house, and what does he find to play with? The diaper supply on the shelf. Go figure! I think he would have climbed onto the shelf, had I not put the camera away and moved him back to his pile of toys. :)



We bought a few rubbermaid bins to store things in, and they've been sitting on the floor of our living room for a few days. Micah had been crawling over to these bins and hitting them with his hands, so I plopped him in them for some fun pictures...



He's also discovered the rocking giraffe Uncle Eric and Aunt Tracy gave him for Christmas, and went for a ride the other night.

Checking the giraffe out ~

Quite a difference from his first ride, wouldn't you say?

And one more picture of our little island man ~

I LOVE being a mom!! :) Especially mom to such a wonderful little boy! :) Life is Good!

There aren't always words....

Sometimes, there just aren't words to describe my goofy family...

... but at least they're entertaining! :)

Good friends...

Good friendships are one of God's most incredible blessings! And we have been blessed in abundance! :) Just this past month, we have gotten to see two families that live out of state... actually, one is out of state, the other is out of country!... and had wonderful visits with both of them. We left these friends praising God for them and looking forward to seeing them again soon, hopefully. :)

The Huber family (missionaries in Ireland) Here's Micah, and Ella ~

Micah and Asher ~

Micah and Karen ~

Micah and Jack Becksvoort, the son of some friends from Calvin College~



We met Dave. Kathryn and Jack for breakfast the next day and enjoyed a nice, though somewhat noisy, meal together ~

A few videos of the boys ~

We were also able to get together with the Gruthusen family, who Aaron has known for almost 10 years. Dave is the pastor who married us, and unfortunately we didn't get the camera out until the very end of our visit with them. Fortunately, we got a few good pictures with the kids...

Jordan, Talia, and Tyler with Micah ~

Talia really seemed to like Micah... and I know the feeling was mutual :)

Aaron, Micah, and me with the Gruthusen kids ~

Good friends are an incredible blessing, and another one of God's indescribable gifts!

More family fun!

We had way too much fun with Lisa, Matt and Luke this summer. They were here for almost 3 weeks, most of which was spent with us, and yet the time still managed to fly by. They've been back in California for a few weeks now, and here I am still playing catch up with pictures and stories. Oh well... now that Micah is crawling and has decided that naps longer than 15-20 minutes are long enough, it's harder to find time to sit down at the computer and update our blog. Thankfully, for the moment, Micah is content in his exer-saucer, and I have a few minutes to myself. :) (Emphasis on "few"... and in light of that, I'll stop rambling and just post some more pictures from our summer fun with cousin Luke and the family)

Fun in the pool ~


Pops looked mighty threatening with that hose! :)


Luke getting in on the fun ~


All together ~

It's amazing how difficult it is to get a decent picture of two boys under the age of two. I think I need a camera with a faster shutter speed because inevitably, someone is always blurry in the pictures. So... after taking a few pictures and realizing this was not working well, I went with the video mode. No one has to sit still for movies! :)

Fun times in the massage chair ~

See what I mean about the blurriness ~

This one's not too bad... keep in mind, I've been up since 3 am, and had just gotten home from work when this picture was taken. Good thing Luke is so cute! :)

Got your nose!

After a fun morning together, we headed to Lamb's Farm for the afternoon.

Playing on the tractor ~

We had fun seeing and petting the animals, and just walking around... but by far the most fun was the train ride! :)

The petting zoo was fun too...

The boys got a big kick out of trying on Pops' hat... Luke had it figured out all on his own, Micah needed a little help. :) I love how both boys have their mouths open in the pictures. :)



We also took a trip to Brookfield Zoo and spent the day walking around looking at the animals. I didn't have my camera handy, but Lisa got a few good pictures ~

Grannie and Pops with their grandsons ~

So cute! :)

Hugs for Uncle Jim on his birthday ~

We definitely had way too much fun with the family this summer! What a blessing to have such a close-knit family! And what a treasure the memories of our time together are!

Rice cereal man!

It's amazing what you remember from your childhood. And even more amazing the things that happen years later that remind you of those memories. When we were kids, my brother randomly decided one night that he didn't like potatoes. Being the stubborn child that he was, and also knowing that mom and dad wouldn't let him leave the table until his plate was clean, he found a loophole and "cleaned" the potatoes off his plate by rubbing them into his pant legs when my parents weren't looking. Once he had been excused from the table, he turned himself into "Mashed Potato Man" (which, as I remember it, was more like Frankenstein with potato pants on) and chased my sister and me around the house with his arms outstretched and yelling, "Mashed Potato Man!" I think once the terrorizing was over and we were getting ready for bed, his pants actually stood up on their own because of all the potatoes mashed into the legs! :) (That might be an exaggeration, but the idea makes me smile)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any pictures from this childhood memory, but I was able to take some of the incident that happened the other day that reminded me of "Mashed Potato Man". As I was giving Micah his rice cereal, apparently some either dropped down onto his pants, or he managed to get a handful... either way, he ended up rubbing the rice cereal into his pant legs. Obviously, being only 6 months old and not yet crawling or having any siblings, he wasn't able to terrorize anyone by chasing them around the house yelling, "Rice Cereal Man"! But I was amused enough to get out the camera and share my memory with you. :)

RICE CEREAL MAN!!!

Doesn't he look intimidating? :)

4th of July weekend in lower Michigan

Aaron and I had some vacation time at the beginning of July and had planned to take a tour of lower Michigan. That got cut short due to the fact that Aaron had been sick for about 3 weeks, and we decided to stay at home and rest, rather than share whatever germs he had with our friends. We were able to get to Grand Rapids to visit my college roommate for one night, and then we spent the rest of the weekend in Coldwater at Aaron's brother-in-law's family's cottage. Even though our vacation turned out different than we'd planned, we had a great week off, and were amazingly well rested to head back to work that Monday. Usually we find ourselves needing a vacation to recover from our vacation... not this time. :) There is definitely something to be said for these "stay-cations" that are becoming so popular these days. :)

Here we are in Grand Rapids with Kellie

And Kellie's cousin, Jennie

At Arby's for lunch... Micah is taking a page out of his Uncle Eric's book by chewing on the straw :)

Thankfully, the car ride from Grand Rapids to Coldwater was very uneventful. Micah slept most of the way and we made it there without too much trouble. :)

Relaxing at the cottage

Micah's first experience with sand ~ he wasn't too sure about it at first, but quickly got excited about putting it in his mouth. :) (Don't worry... we put a stop to that REAL fast)

Chillin' with daddy

"HGB" ... or, Honorary Grandpa Bob :)

"HGV" ... or, Honorary Grandma Vicki :)

Micah's first boat ride! He loved it! The life jacket we got for him was a little on the large size, but it was the smallest one we could find. He'll grow into it quickly, I'd imagine. :)

Family picture on the boat ~

Eric was holding Micah up on the dashboard of the boat, and all I could think of was that scene in "What About Bob?" when Bill Murray's character is tied to the mast of the boat and is yelling, "I'm sailing!" Micah was a little braver than Bill Murray on his first boat ride. :)

Laughing at Uncle Eric

Enjoying the boat ride with Aunt Tracy

Relaxing is what being at the cottage is all about!

Micah took a nap in Aunt Tracy's arms on Sunday, and I think I might be in trouble... if you listen closely, you can hear Micah snoring in this video! Like father, like son, I guess. Thank God for earplugs! :)

Snuggle time ~

One of the favorite places at the cottage ~ the hammock!

You can see the whole world from up here!

Micah's first swimming experience! How fun!!

The life jacket didn't last too long, but we had fun floating on the water

Relaxing with daddy and chewing on an ice cube

Anyone who's ever seen "Home Alone 2" will appreciate this picture... unfortunately, Micah has those ears that can catch the sunlight and cause them to glow. Good thing he's so cute! :)

Micah's first 4th of July means... new bib! :)

This picture was taken the first summer Aaron and I were dating... over the 4th of July weekend too, incidentally. :) We couldn't get enough of relaxing in the hammock, so we took a picture of us in our favorite place at the cottage.

This one was taken this last time at the cottage... amazing what 5 years can do! We think family pictures in the hammock might have to become a tradition. :)

Uncle Eric made Micah his own fishing pole... he seemed to get a kick out of fishing, which will make Pops happy. He's already been talking to Micah about going fishing! :)

Micah's first encounter with a fish ~ (not one he caught himself... Uncle Eric caught this one and showed it to Micah. Emma was pretty interested too)

Later that night, Uncle Eric was entertaining both Micah and Emma... at the same time! Pretty impressive, if you ask me. Micah was very amused by Emma trying to get her toy from Eric and was laughing up a storm! :)

We had a great time at the cottage for the 4th. Micah even did pretty well with the loud fireworks. We stayed in the house, rather than go out on the boat with everyone else, so it was a little quieter, and actually, Micah slept through the entire show. Once it was over, he decided it was party time, but he eventually settled down for the night. :) So thank you, Migrins, for inviting us to enjoy your cottage for the weekend. We look forward to many more fun times together! :)