Haircuts for Nama

Nama Denise is very brave!  She is battling multiple myeloma and has been undergoing chemo and now a stem cell transplant (May 2013).  As part of that process she lost all her hair and to show our support I (mom) chopped my hair pixie short and the boys all shaved their heads, even our friends Carson and Blake Summerfield joined in the fun.  Nama loved the show of support and the boys loved showing Nama how to be brave.  

Carson went first while Thomas looked on.

Auntie "A" wasn't sure about her boys' shaved heads...it is shocking to see the first time.

David anxiously awaited his turn.

Everyone got a mohawk first then a full bald head!

Jennifer didn't think it was fair that she couldn't have a shaved head.

Thomas checking out his reflection before the big shave!

Thomas, Carson, David and Blake....showing off their "Nama" heads!

 

Tea Party Fun

With two boys a princess must seek other places to have her tea parties.  We were very excited to be invited to our first ever tea party!  Since it was Jennifer's first tea party we had her hair done (thanks Ashley for the amazingly cute braid).  Then we put on Jennifer's favorite tutu and were off to the party.  It was full of flower cut cheese, tea (lemonaid), cupcakes and other goodies.  Thanks Kathy RC for a great party.  I'm thankful for friends with girls to teach me all about the fun of "girly" things.  I see lots of tea parties in our future!

Jennifer LOVED her first tea party!

All the pink and princess items were a perfect fit for these four princesses!

What?  Isn't this the face of a princess?

Cupcake fun!

Opps...princesses don't lick their fingers?

All the girls drank their "tea" with a spoon.

Sun, Sand, Hot Pool, Family and Fun

We spent Spring Break with our extended family in North Carolina and couldn't have had more fun - despite the crazy cold temperatures!  We were blessed to have Nama Denise join us since she was in between chemo and her stem cell transplant.  All the grandkids loved hanging out with Nama and thankfully everyone stayed healthy.  My boys loved the "Pink" house we stayed in and hanging with all their cousins.  It was great to see our North Carolina relatives too!  Unfortunately we didn't have crazy warm weather but we did have a hot tub (or hot pool as Thomas called it!) that the kids loved swimming in (notice many times the adults are bundled up while the kids swam!).  It was a great week and our kids did fairly well on the car trip...so well we will brave more family trips (hopefully, Jennifer will learn to like TV so she can be a little more agreeable).

The Harmelink Family

Driver Family

Kailey and Jennifer

Aunt Steph, Kailey, Jennifer, Mom

Cousin Love!

Jennifer loved her "dress up" day!

Fun times in the "hot" pool! 

(Notice the coat on Chris.)

Cousins!

Just hanging out!

A visit to a fort.

Watching a gun salute...that was VERY loud!

Daddy and Jennifer

"Hey David, I don't like being put into a cannon!"

Thomas is ready to be shot out of the cannon!

Daddy and Jennifer in the "hot" pool.

Reading with Matthew Harmelink

The kids all loved listening to Matthew read.

Rylan, David and Thomas loved hanging out in the hot tub.

Fun times with Aunt Liss and Aunt Steph

The last night we ran into the freezing cold ocean!

Thomas and Brayden were very brave!

Big waves and VERY cold water!

Thomas was a crazy man running from the waves.

Cold!!

Even Jennifer wanted in on the cold action!

Mommy and Jennifer braving the cold water.

Brr...

Cold, wet and sandy buster boys!

Rylan spent the week teaching the little girls to say "RyRy."  

The PINK House

Aunt Liss and Jennifer

Easter Egg Hunt

Thanks Janie for an amazing Easter Egg Hunt!

Life in the Fast Lane

We have been busy living life in the fast lane at our house!  It's none stop motion or sheer exhaustion.  I don't think we live "in the middle" with three kids three and under.  But I wouldn't change it for the world.  I've taken a bit of a technology break in order to spend more time with the kids and keep them busy as we had a terrible case of spring fever and lots of spring snow in Michigan. We also managed a trip to North Carolina to enjoy seeing family from NC, spending time in a big pink house with my nieces and nephews, siblings and parents and we survived the 17 hour car trip - each way with three kids! :)  I'd call it a great last month.  
The boys have really grown and are getting tall (well, tall in Ethiopian standards).  They love school, playing with their friends, jumping on furniture (if I can't get them outside enough), riding their scooters and bikes, playing baseball, playing musical instruments, putting together puzzles, reading books and testing boundaries with their parents.  David has come into his own with a rather comical side.  He's good at one liners and has a great sense of humor.  Thomas tries to follow suite but his one liners tend to get him in trouble. The boys have taken to snuggling in bed together lately and have had many nap and bed times where they share a toddler bed. I love these twin moments.  I'm not as fond of the ones where they gang up on me!
Jennifer has changed a ton and is growing like crazy.  She eats non-stop and is quickly catching up in size. She's 18 months and has left me wondering where time goes.  She has a handful of words she loves to say (Mommy, Daddy, PaPa (with lots of extra emphasis), Cassie, Tinkie (The Summerfield's dog), RyRy (thanks to a week in NC Rylan taught her to say this after asking her to repeat it 20 plus times a day!), more (which she also signs and can now "yell" in sign language as she slams her hands together in an exaggerated fashion as she throws her body into the more sign - it's a sight to see), no and BB (which is her bunny she loves to snuggle with and her pacifier).  She has begun running after the boys trying to keep up which has resulted in many bumps, bruises and skinned knees.  Thankfully she is tough and bounces right back.  She is going through a phase where she is "addicted" to carrying around her bunny and having her paci.  I try to remind myself she won't be ten asking for her paci and bunny. She is also teething again which means 3 or more teeth are coming in.  Why that girl needs to do everything all at once mystifies me!  Breaking one tooth at a time is hard enough, much less three.
Blake and I continue to try and keep up with all three without dropping down exhausted after bedtime.  Thankfully the hugs, kisses and sweet faces make it all worth it.

David and Jennifer - trying to take photos of all three is a treat!

Fort Macon in NC.  The boys loved the soldiers.

Of the faces!

David, Thomas & Jennifer