Jacob 2 years 3 months

Jacob is just so much fun!!! I love love love having a two year old. Despite the tantrums and strong will Jacob just makes every day so much fun. He is so much more cuddly than he was as a baby. I love to cuddle with my kids so this is a major plus. He is also loving just being home and playing with his brother. This is a major plus for Mommy even if we make it to the gym less and less every week. I keep telling myself I have the rest of my life to be thin, the boys will be big before I know it.

Right now Jacob's favorite things are to play make believe and to sing songs. It's nice for him right now that Deacon doesn't know the difference and will go along with his little games. His favorite thing to play make believe with is his blanket. Sometimes it's a cage for his puppy and other times it is a cape or a scarf. It is so funny to listen to him play. He has a BIG imagination. The other day he was giving my friend Haley pieces of sand that were caterpillars and bugs. How funny is that, seriously where does he come up with this stuff??? Our table is also a rain forest for him and Deacon to play in. Don't call it a table or Jacob may loose control. Jacob also pretends to be animals and that his is hunting and fishing. As long as he doesn't pretend to be shooting the lady at target again I'm OK with it.

Jacob is such a little singer. His favorite song to sing is the ABC song. The only problem is that he is very selective about who he will sing it for. He sings it best for Great Grandma Huyser and for me. Don't know why the little guy is so shy about his favorite song. I hope to video him soon!! He also like the song "When Pigs Get Up In The Morning" from kindermusik. He loves to change the wording and sing when Jacob gets up in the morning.

Jacob's most recent obsession is the girls who live next door. He talks about them and asks for them everyday. If the girls aren't outside he always tells me what they are probably doing. "Mommy, Kenzi and Brooke are probably eating lunch" or "Mommy, Kenzi and Brooke are probably sleeping" It is really very cute how much he enjoys playing with them. They also two of the nicest little girls. They play really sweet together and because they are both a little older than he is they try to take care of him.

That's my little Jacob!! I love him more and more everyday and I'm so thankful that I'm able to be home with him and enjoy his sweetness!! Praise God for the beautiful gift he gave me in Jacob!

My little Artist

While Deacon took a nap this morning Jacob and I did a little painting! Jacob loves arts and crafts. Mommy also loves all the fun things Jacob is able to do now that he is a little older. We laughed and sang lots of songs as we painted together. Most of the paintings have lots of pink, Jacob's favorite color!!

Thanks for a fun morning Jacob!! I love you buddy you are getting to be such a big boy!!

9 Months and still so SWEET!!

Deacon is still my snugly little sweetheart! It's hard for me to believe he is already 9 months old. He is our speedy little guy cruising around the house using anything in sight to pull up on to get to what he wants. One of his favorite spots to stand is by our bar stools in the kitchen. Makes mommy nervous as his little feet slide apart on the wood floor.

Jacob and Deacon have been interacting more and more, some good some bad. The cutest is when Jacob pretends Deacon is one of his favorite characters or animals and then Deacon is just so excited that Jacob is being "nice" he just giggles and follows Jacob around the house.

Deacon had his first 2 teeth come in in the last month. They are finally through enough that you can really see them. I guess I should try to get a good picture of them. Deacon still loves to eat but the only table foods he can tolerate are the carbs. just like his big brother. Mommies dreams of her little boys eating lots for healthy fruits and vegetables aren't exactly coming true. Hopefully they will grow out of their reflux issues and be able to enjoy the yummy fruits and veggies in a non-pureed form.

Favorite things at 9 months: Blanky: Deacon basically melts into his blanket. Thankfully my mom found a back up one for half off so we don't have to live in fear of losing it like we do with Jacob's. Club Crackers: Deacon could probably eat 10 of them in a sitting. Thankfully Target had them on sale last week so we stocked up! Outside: If the doors open Deacon is crawling to get out. He loves the fresh air and being outside. He doesn't care what we do he just wants to be outside.

Deacon had his 9month appointment this morning. He now weights: 19 lbs. 8 oz. (40%) Length: 28 inches (50%) Head Circumference 46cm. (75%). I guess we can't really call him Frank the Tank anymore. :( Developmentally he is doing really well he seems to be ahead on all of his motor skills. The Doctor was thrilled that he is crawling as sometimes babies with lots of congestion and reflux have trouble with these things. We need to keep listening for Deacon to become more verbal. I'm sure Daddy will love having to little chatter boxes!!! We praise God for our happy little boy and continue to pray his reflux and allergies remain under control!

Deker Bear I love you little guy! You bring so much joy into my days! I love how excited you are whenever I walk into the room. I know these days wont last forever, soon you will be like your big brother you will want to do lots of things without your mommy but even if just for today I will savor these moments!

Our Little Dutch Boys

We have been enjoying the Tulip Time festivities with lots of dressing up and eating junk food. We met our small group downtown Sunday night and then went back down tonight with both my parents and Jason's parents. We also made our first every trip to Veldeer tulip farm with the boys on Monday for lunch and to check out the Buffalo's. Despite the price it was a fun little family activity. Jacob loves his costume and shoes making it much easier than last year to get out the door for all the Tulip Time activities. Sorry couldn't decide on pictures so you get LOTS!!!

This is the best picture we could get of the two of them together. Neither of them like to sit :)

Don't they look precious walking together through the tulips!

Grandpa and Grandma with all the grand kids!!!

Lydia was sleeping so we thought we could maybe get them all to lay together. It was funny at the time but it looks pretty silly now!!

Gisele loves to help hold Deacon!!

Thanks Grandma Bouwens for making all the grand kids costumes!!! They all look so cute!!

Teeth,Stitches,Allergies,Flu?,Ear Infection,Reaction

TEETH
Deacons first tooth finally popped through last week Wednesday! It sooo fun to peek in there and see his little white sliver of a tooth. His bottom right tooth will soon be poking through too.

STITCHES

This time it wasn't Jason getting the stitches it was my little Jacob. He had a slip in the tub and split his chin open. Jason thought he could fix it with second skin or super glue but Mom disagreed when the supper glue came out. Jason instead took him to Zeeland ER and returned around midnight with 4 stitches. Jacob also got lots of stickers for begin such a good patient!! He must have been tired because that little guy never sits still.

ALLERGIES

Deacon had his first appointment with an allergist yesterday and the conclusion is that he is allergic to dust mites, dogs, mold, fresh cut grass and Christmas trees. He did great at the appointment now mom and dad just need to work on making some changes to his environment to keep him more comfortable. The doctor also thinks he may have asthma due to the allergies and reflux so we now have an inhaler for when he has difficulty breathing. Yikes!! Who new one little kiddo could have so much going on.

FLU

Yup! Deacon has the flu again!!! We went for lunch after his allergy appointment yesterday and he went through 3 outfits during the meal. We headed home and couldn't keep anything in the poor kids. Jacob is thankfully staying healthy at my mom and dad's while we get Deacon better again!

EAR INFECTION

Deacon was also diagnosed with a double ear infection while at the doctor today. Sadly at 8 1/2 months Deacon has his first ear infection. We are hoping this isn't a sign of more to come for him.

REACTION

Deacon's ear infection could not be treated with an oral antibiotic because he has the flu so they decided they should give him an antibiotic shot. Bad idea, he had a reactions and his poor little legs got a bumpy red rash within minutes. Needless to say I spent an extra 40 minutes at the doctor due to the reaction waiting to see if it would spread. Thankfully it didn't and he is finally sleeping in his crib for the first time after a little car ride to put the poor baby to sleep.

We are praying Deacon gets better real soon, we are starting to really miss our Jacob but know it's better for him to stay away and stay healthy.

Deacon 8 Months

My sweet little baby is really growing up way to fast. 8 months old already!! In the last month Deacon has become a speedy little crawler following mommy all around the house. Curiously getting into absolutely everything. He is also beginning to enjoy a larger variety of foods. He really wanted Jacob to share his doughnut at Meijers today. Needless to say Jason called it a bad mommy moment feeding both my kids a doughnut in the store. Deacon really wants to be into everything his big brother is into as well. This makes for a few more challenges for mommy to break up all the brotherly squabbles that occur.

Other changes are that Deacon has been working on getting his 2 bottom teeth, making him a little fussier than normal. Jason also cut Deacon's hair on Easter. It's not perfect but Jason tried hard. Maybe next time Deacon will go to Body Perfections with his Daddy and his big brother. Deacon has also been going through a little separation anxiety making mommy feel bad for leaving him for more than a few seconds. This also makes him have a little trouble getting himself to sleep in his own crib. I guess that means mommy and daddy get lots of extra snuggle time from our little guy.

Deacon has blessed our lives with a whole new pace in life. He reminds us that life is so precious and we should enjoy each day with our beautiful little boys. It gets so easy to just be tired as parents and forget how blessed we are to have healthy children. Having both our kids sick last week allowed Jason and I to really snuggle with the kids and reminded us that someday they wont be this little and when they are sick they wont want us to cuddle them this way. We thank God daily for blessing us with our little boys!!!

Easter

Happy Easter! We had a very low key Easter this year. Our kids have been really sick all week and are finally on the mend. We optend to make sure our germs were completely gone so we missed some of the celebrations by staying home. Jacob still enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt and calling G & G DeWitt in Florida to tell them happy Easter and remind them that Jesus is alive!!! It's so cute to see what they hold on to form what they've learned about the true meaning of the holidays.

Even though we couldn't go to church we still dressed the boys up in their Easter outfits to get a few pictures. Jacob was thrilled to finally get to be outside again!! Grandpa and Grandma Bouwens also made a suprise visit before dinner to see the boys. Jacob loved showing off all of his eggs and candy. Thankfully the kids have both been feeling better for almost 48 hrs. so we will be able to get back into our normal routine.

He Lives
Happy Easter! Allelujah!

Jesus Christ, He lives!

Serve Him to receive salvation;

Eternal life he gives!