For Isabel's last day of school, they went to Playworld in Grandville for a party!! Isabel had tons of fun, although she is a little sad about school being over. But she is very excited about next year!
This is how most of my pictures turned out:
I surprised her with this one, since she wouldn't stand still.
Having fun bouncing with Jainyn
Isabel and Jainyn with their teachers, Miss Julie and Miss Jessica
Friday, we went to Holland to the Tulip Time Festival. Since I grew up in Holland, its not all that exciting, at least, it wasn't until I had Isabel. Now, she gets so excited about going every year, I get excited too! And as a bonus, this is the 2nd time in over 5 years that I'm not working at a very busy hotel filled with tourists this week! Yay for having babies! Anyway, we didn't make it to any parades, but we did get to see the Dutch Dancing!
Here, the dancers (high school kids) are lining up for inspection. The Festival takes their dancing very seriously. Each costume is handmade and authentic. There are very strict guidelines, from patterns to even fabrics. This years there were 9 different female costumes, and 7 different male costumes to choose from.
Now, in case its not obvious enough in this picture, these dancers are about 2.5 feet from the audience. They are wearing slip on wooden shoes. Luckily, they are also wearing about 10 pairs of socks to keep the shoes from slipping off while dancing. However, I've seen that happen. Also, more frequently, the shoes sometimes crack in half during a dance. Where we were sitting, I think it happened to 2 different dancers. And they just kept on dancing in their socks!
Here you can better see some of the costume variety.
This dance move looks like a big Windmill made of Dancers, appropriate since THE Holland is land of the Windmills!
Cael wasn't so sure about all the dancing.
Isabel smelling some pretty red tulips!
Me and the kids!
The kiddos
We had fun, and ended the day with a yummy elephant ear! Yay for Tulip Time!!
For Easter we went to my parents' house in Holland for dinner. Isabel had an Easter Egg Hunt in the landscaping at my parents' condo village (or whatever you call them). It went really well until it took us about 13 minutes to find the last egg since the "Easter Bunny" hid the last egg so well we couldn't find it! But, luckily, I have superior seeking skills and found the missing egg, in a thorny bush. Nice hiding spot there, Damian, I mean Easter Bunny!
On April 5th, Isabel had her 4th Birthday! We did just a quiet family celebration at our house. It was fun! We had Nachos and wings and cake and, of course, presents!
Damian and the kids!
Isabel and some of her new toys!
My attempt at a pretty cake! Strawberry cake with Vanilla buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries on top.
Isabel seemed to like it!
Right before blowing out the candles.
Isabel with Uncle Q and Aunt Lisa.
Our family!
On Sunday, March 29th, we were able to have Cael blessed in Church. It was a very sweet experience. Thanks so much to the Stovalls, the Kelloggs, and our parents for coming to share this special event with us!
Today, for the most part, was kind of awful! Only getting 5 hours of sleep total can only mean bad things. And, poor Cael, is still sick. He was too stuffy to nurse this morning, so we had to use the bulb sucker thingy quite a bit. Which made Mr. Baby very angry! Then, he went on an all out nursing strike. Like would scream whenever I tried to nurse him. So after 4 hours of this, I called his doctor, who had us come in. Which has a huge hassle in of itself, since we only have one car. Damian had to rush home and then I had to take him right back to work before I could head to the ped.'s office. We were thinking it might be an ear infection, but both ears looked okay, so who knows what's going on. I did find out though that he weighs a whooping 12lbs 4oz!
Anyway, today was rough, and I really wish that we don't have too many days like this. Or, if we do, if I could at least get a little more sleep before having to deal with them would be nice!
My precious baby boy is 7 weeks old! It has gone by so fast! Cael is getting so big, so quickly, makes me a little sad. He is smiling and cooing. Cael is totally a Mama's boy, and I wouldn't have it any other way! He totally is amazed by his big sister, and will stare at her for as long as he can (she normally bounces away before he tires of looking at her, Isabel just can't stay still for very long!). I'm not sure if he's made up his mind on Damian yet though. He gives Damian some pretty grumpy looks sometimes!
We're still trying to work out a sleep schedule, and some nights are better than others. The average is about 2.5hours inbetween feedings at night. He eats like a little glutton, which would explain how well he's growing!
Cael currently has his first cold, which all of us have passed around these past 2 weeks. He's a little frustrated with the stuffy nose. Poor baby!
We are so blessed to have him here, and I am loving every moment of it!
(Picture or two will be added later, I promise!)