Merry Christmas 2012

 Merry Christmas! We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with my parents and my sister and her family in Holland. We climbed up "Mount Pisgah", a local sand dune, and around a few trails. It was refreshing to get some fresh air and beautiful, as always, to see Lake Michigan.

We spent the rest of the day together at Mom and Dad's house, eating, playing games, and laughing.

 Christmas morning we had a beautiful church service at Lee St. CRC. A special Christmas choir sang "Angels We Have Heard On High" which is one of the kids' favorite songs this year. Peter was next to me and I heard him join in on the "Gloooooooooooooo-ria" part of the song. While it's sometimes stressful, I absolutely love having our kids in church with us, participating in worship together. The choir sang beautifully and for a moment during the song I closed my eyes and imagined being one of the shepherds, hearing the angels giving glory to God for Christ's birth. 

 My Grandma is the sweetest, dearest woman. It gives her such joy just to see us and our kids and she is always encouraging. I'm so thankful that she is healthy this year and able to celebrate Christmas with us!

 Addie's first Christmas!

My parents: I love you both!

We enjoyed spending Christmas day with both of our extended families: the Van Drunens and the Buteyns. We feel blessed to be able to enjoy time with so many of our extended family members. 

I hope you enjoyed peace that passes understanding as you celebrated Christ's birth this Christmas!

Paci and Teddy

Aaahhh, Paci and Teddy. What would we have done with out you? 

Paci was a necessity since Peter was a baby. We've been getting up in the middle of the night for 3 years to find the missing paci for our son. We've struggled to keep track of it around the house, to restrict its use to only bedtime, and finally to convince Peter he's too big for Paci. 

 Teddy was an accident. He came in a box of handed down clothes when Peter was a newborn. We used the soft little animal to stuff one of the corners between the crib and the mattress so Paci wouldn't fall through the crack and down under the crib. At around 9 months (?) we started finding Teddy pulled out of the corner each morning and after each nap. We'd always stuff him back down, but Peter kept pulling him out. And so began a friendship. Teddy is not only a bedtime buddy, but a playmate and a source of comfort. (Click here for a picture of 1 year old Peter giving Teddy a ride on his shoulders - something he still does!) I admit I've been jealous when Peter is sad and crying and just wants his Teddy! But Teddy has been worn out, literally. Here is a picture of his most recent state. Brad and I often think of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit when we see poor Teddy.

Well, it's the end of an era: We offered Peter a trade-in for Paci. If he threw his pacifiers in the garbage dumpster he would get a toy castle/fortress. We had pre-purchased it this fall but decided to wait for Christmas break, in case the weaning of the pacifier caused sleep disturbances then at least school work wouldn't suffer. So the first weekend Brad was done with school we told Peter what we had for him, showed him it, and told him to tell us when he was ready to throw away Paci. Within a couple days he was ready...and so were we. Peter was such a big boy and proud of himself, throwing it in the dumpster himself. He was thrilled with the castle and didn't say anything about wanting Paci until today, almost two weeks later! He has not had a problem going to sleep or staying asleep at night, and is even still usually taking a nap. 

I admit, I'm so surprised. 

We were prepared for a battle and serious sleep-time repercussions.  I guess this is a child who makes up his mind and sticks with it and this is a way in which it is a good thing!

How have you helped your children wean (or go cold-turkey) from a pacifier or other comfort item? 

By the way, Brad sewed Teddy a new body! We joked about Teddy undergoing surgery and when Brad showed Peter Teddy 2.0 his response was, "Teddy! You're back!" 

So cute. 

Seasonal programs

Parents were invited to attend the Thanksgiving Chapel and Christmas Chapel at Cora's school. It was so nice to be a part of her school day and see the kids and teachers she spends her day with. They put a lot of work into the Thanksgiving chapel (I couldn't make it to the Christmas chapel) with all the different grade levels participating in a unique way. They incorporated a lot of Spanish, also, with some of the older SI (spanish immersion) students reciting bible passages and Cora's kindergarten class sang a praise song in Spanish. 

Cora and Peter both were able to participate in the Children's Christmas program at our church this year. We listened to the music CD almost non-stop for at least a month before the program and we all knew the songs very well! The kids practiced motions to all the songs for weeks, also. It was a big production and a very nice presentation of celebrating Christ at Christmas-time. 

Tonight at dinner Cora and Peter started reciting part of Luke 2 and got most of it correct. The only thing we can think of where they both learned it so well is from listening to the CD of the program! It included all the dialogue for the program in addition to the music, so they heard Luke 2 over and over again and apparently it stuck in their heads. I love it! Kids' memories are amazing!

6 months

Earlier this month Addie turned 6 months. What a milestone! I have loved this age and stage with all three children. Addie's daytime routine is starting to become predictable; night time sleep is also more reliable; she sits up with help and enjoys watching all the activity going on around her. (Now she is sitting up completely on her own!) She has been eating fruits and vegetables and is enjoying it more and more. Addie is generally happy, smiley and content. She cut her first two teeth already!

It's almost December already!

It's seriously amazing how fast time is going. I couldn't believe it when I saw that the last post I did was a month ago! Nothing extraordinary has happened this month. We are healthy, happy, and grateful! 

Addie's halloween costume was this adorable cupcake outfit a friend gave to us.  Even though she slept through all the Halloween festivities, I still wanted to put her in the outfit and get a picture of her. It's supercute!

She looks so big in this 5 month picture!

This is the fun stage where playing with her own feet is as good as any toy! She's mastered reaching, grabbing and holding on to toys...and toes.

We had some really warm days here and there this month and the opportunism that is required when living in a northern climate takes over. For me a warm (or at least warmer than normal) day requires spending time outside. One Saturday I took the kids to explore the Blandford Nature Center. It was really fun and I was impressed with the size and variety of activities for us. We spent the afternoon walking the trails, playing in the creeks and on fallen trees, and admiring the animals in the wild animal sanctuary. We didn't even have time to explore the historic homestead site or the indoor nature center. We'll definitely be going back again!

Another place we just can't pass up is the beach! Especially if it's a nice (or nicer than normal) day. We just can't get enough of this place. This month we visited Saugatuck Dunes State Park where a short walk through a beautiful forest opens up to the grass covered sand dunes, beach and Lake Michigan. It was a warm 60 degrees and windy.  We also explored PJ Hoffmaster State Park, near Muskegeon, on Thanksgiving Day, another unseasonably warm day, before joining my parents, uncle and aunt, grandparents and sister and brother-in-law for supper. 

Thanks for visiting!

Some October Fun

Hello! from the Bierma kids!

Peter is getting into puzzles. It's so much fun to watch him work it out and  do the puzzles over and over again!

Cora's class took a field trip to the Calvin Nature Preserve, which is almost in our backyard. I had fun going along as a  chaperon.

Trick or Treating with some of our friends and their kids. Calvin's apartments put together a family friendly candy collecting evening called "Light in the Night."

Addie is a happy baby. She smiles easily and often!

Early this month we went to farm tour and breakfast at a large dairy farm near Allegan. It was a cold, rainy day, but fun anyway! Cora said "You should write 'stinky, too'! From the cows." Our city noses weren't used to the farm smell.

The tracker shuttle from the parking lot (aka cleared corn field) to the farm tour was a highlight !

So was seeing the all the big tractors

Getting so big!

Peter had to get in on Addie's 4 month picture: good perspective 

Addie is rolling herself back and forth from back to tummy. She prefers  to sleep on her tummy, now that she can get herself there! (Cora is helping me edit this post and she said "and write 'Cora loves Addie'")

For some reason Blogger keeps uploading pictures like this...even though I save them correctly on my computer before loading them here. Oh well! Look how big Addie is getting!

At Addie's 4 month checkup last week she weighed in at over 15 lbs and very long -  in the 95 percentile for girls her age! She is doing great and developmentally right on track. She is eating rice and oatmeal baby food and getting the hang of eating from a spoon!

Cora is using quite a bit of Spanish at home. It's fun to hear the phrases or words that she is picking up. It's really nice that I can understand her! She came home from school the other day saying she was thirsty. I asked her what she wanted to drink and she replied, "leche con chocolate" which is Spanish for chocolate milk!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Peter!

Peter, oh, Peter. I have not the words to describe you, little man! I absolutely adore you. You are a bundle of energy and passion, and smarter than I know what to do with. We love your exuberance, and your constant singing brings joy and a song to our hearts, too. You can hardly keep still if there is music playing but just have to dance and wiggle! You adore your big sister, Cora, and get so frustrated when you can't run as fast as her; you're sweet and attentive to your little sister, Addie. We are so blessed to have you in our lives! Thank you, Lord, for our Peter!

Peter helped me bake and decorate his cupcakes for his playdate birthday party. He chose chocolate cupcakes, blue frosting and M&M's as decoration. This boy knows what he likes!

We had a few friends over Friday morning: Alex, Tatyanna, Josiah and Owen. 

Yum!!! Peter ended up mostly just eating the frosting off the cupcakes. Hey, it's his birthday!

This is so sweet: Cora found this toy version of a car ferry on the SS Badger and asked if she could get it for Peter for his birthday. So we secretly bought it and kept it hidden till his birthday and she gave it to him. He loves it!

Peter has been riding hand-me-down bikes his whole life and his little plastic tricycle is on it's last legs (or wheels). He was so excited to uncover this cool boy bike on his birthday and he loves riding it around the basement. We've been working on getting used to breaking so he can ride it more confidently outside on the hills and he's really getting the hang of it.

Peter's Birthday Cake! Just what he wanted. :)

Reading a book with Grandpa S. and Elena while waiting for birthday dinner.

I think one of his favorite parts of birthday (besides the frosting) is the birthday song! He loved watching everyone singing to him.

Peter is growing big and strong! He weighs in at a solid 37 lbs and is 38 1/4 inches tall. He still loves his teddy and paci (I know, I know: we'll give paci a few more months). He often refers to teddy as his baby and puts him down for a nap or puts him on his shoulder and pats his back gently. He loves to sing "I love you, Lord", "Now unto Him who is able", "ABC's", "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus loves the Little Children" and many others. We sometimes joke about the playlist that runs constantly in his head. We often hear him humming himself to sleep, or when he wakes up in the morning before getting out of bed. Speaking of that, he's still an early bird, but we now use the "OK to Wake" Clock and he has to wait till the green light goes on before getting out of bed. Wonderful! He is a decent eater but has a strong sweet tooth. He prefers to eat grains and fruits and vegetables over meat. 

Some of the funny things he often says: "Once upon a time ago", "I spy with my doo-doo eye" ("doo-doo" is how he pronounces "little", he's not trying to sound dirty, but sometimes he and Cora get goofy and say "poopoo peepee" and crack each other up over it...), "Lookit at dat". He likes to tell knock-knock jokes that often go like this: Peter - "knock, knock", Me - "who's there?", Peter - "Banana. Ha ha ha ha" and that's the end of the joke. I can't help but laugh with him. :) 

Peter is expressive, not only about his frustrations and disappointments, but also about his endearments. He often tells us he loves us, or he takes my hand when we're walking somewhere and says "You're my dest dend" (best friend)! and when one of us returns from being gone he says, "I missed you so much!" It's so sweet to see how happy he and Cora are to see each other when she gets off the school bus. They often hug and he says he missed her and she tells him about some picture she drew for him.

What a blessing this little boy is to our family!

3 month old Addie

We have a happy baby in our house, and she is such a blessing! At 3 months old (a month ago now) Addie was full of smiles and smiles easily at almost anyone who looked at her. She would crane her neck around to watch whatever shenanigans her bigger siblings were up to. She had started going to bed at about 7 pm for the night, but waking up once or twice to eat before getting up for the day at about 7 am. I figured she weighed about 14 lbs and she's plenty long.

Hello, Miss Joyful!

The arms and legs are going wild.

Peter playing pee-a-boo with Addie: she's intrigued.

The Badger Boat

This summer was wonderful but we didn't get much of a chance to get away on vacation as a family together, so when a Groupon came up for a round trip on the S.S. Badger we decided to make a weekend getaway. The Badger is a car ferry that crosses Lake Michigan between Ludington, MI, and Manitowoc, WI.  We left Friday evening, Sept. 8, and stayed in Ludington. Mom and Dad S. came with us and we enjoyed a night in a hotel with a fun pool and water slide. The kids are getting to an age where it's really exciting for them to sleep in a hotel. Cora said the funniest thing when we were anticipating the trip. She said she was so excited to sleep in the hotel and when I asked her why she said because she loves hotel breakfast food! 

Saturday morning we had to board the ferry before the 9 am departure. We did not bring the car along, but once we boarded the boat we were able to stand above the loading dock and watch all the cars, campers and even semi-trucks drive onto the boat! Our tickets included a state room which was wonderful for nursing Addie, studying Hebrew, and taking naps (me and Peter)! There were lots of amenities on board the boat and tons of room to walk around and explore. Check out the SS Badger website to see what all there is. The trip across takes 4 hours and we were easily entertained the whole time. 

The boat in the background is a retired ferry, identical to the Badger.

Watching all the cars load on the ferry.

Saturday's trip across was windy, cold and choppy, with a little rain. 3-5 foot waves. Even though the ferry is huge it was a little rocky and we definitely had to have our "sea legs" to walk around. It was pretty funny when we were coloring because the crayons would roll back and forth the table as the boat rocked back and forth. We had to catch them often to keep them from rolling off the table! Thankfully none of us got sea sick, and it seemed that the shorter the person, the easier to walk around! (Interesting note: we asked the attendant in the gift shop what the biggest waves were that she had ever sailed on and she said 12 foot waves: everything was falling off the shelves in the shop that day!)

We spent the night in Manitowoc, and explored the nearby main street for dinner. We stumbled upon their annual festival commemorating when part of the space station fell from space and landed in the middle of Main Street, leaving a pothole in the road! The festival had an alien theme so it was quite bizarre and entertaining. Nonetheless, we found some really good BBQ pork sandwiches and enjoyed seeing the locals out and about. 

Sunday we toured the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and the submarine USS Cobia. We were very impressed with the museum and enjoyed the tour of the submarine, even the kids. 

There was a water works exploration station in the museum.

Catching fish coming over the waterfall.

Fun for adults, even! 

Sunday afternoon we walked back to the SS Badger, cruised across the lake and drove home. It was a much nicer day and a smoother ride on the boat.

We had a great time together and made some wonderful memories. Cora and Peter fondly recall our trip by talking about "The Badger Boat". 

Another cute story...after the trip I mentioned one day that Daddy was a soldier and Peter corrected me saying, "Daddy was a submarine!" He must have heard before that daddy was a marine, but he confused it with submarine after going on the SS Cobia!

We would highly recommend taking the SS Badger across the lake for anyone interested in big boats or just looking for a unique day trip. It is possible to go to WI and return back to MI on the same day, if you don't want to spend anytime in Manitowoc. There was so much more we could have explored, but it was a great weekend!