Milestones

The guilt is setting in once again. That 'second child' guilt that has plagued me since learning I was pregnant is hounding me. Every, ok, so maybe not every...but most significant and even insignificant events of the first year of Luke's life were recorded, pictures and video taken, and posted to the blog. And here we are in October, Elin is 5 months old, and very few of her significant milestones have been mentioned. She is right on track developmentally and continues in the 90th percentile across the board (height, weight, head circumference). We have been blessed with one healthy, happy baby!

Onto the milestones: (please forgive the terrible quality of our pictures - our digital camera officially broke and we haven't had the time, or funds, to buy a new one so some of the pictures were taken with the I-pad - thus they are pretty grainy and blurry, sorry.)

Milestone #1: Rolling over!

Elin has been rolling over, back to front, for awhile now. At first it was almost involuntary. She'd flip herself over quickly and then get mad because she was stuck on her stomach. She has since learned how to keep herself on her back and roll over only when she wants to. Just yesterday she started flipping over from her stomach to her back too. She's quite the mover and shaker, no doubt about it.

About to flip

On the belly and not too happy about it.

Milestone #2: Baptism

We had Elin baptized on September 11th. We were very blessed to have all the grandparents in town for the event. Even my godparents (Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Mark) and cousin Kristen were able to be here. It was awesome to be surrounded by so much family! Elin wore my great-grandma's baptism dress which is over 100 years old! She is the 5th generation that has worn this dress for a baptism. I think that is incredible. It means so much to me that my daughter wore the same dress I wore as a baby, my sister wore, my cousins, my grandmother and great grandmother wore. I was pretty nervous that she'd have a total blow out or puke all over it or I'd rip it somehow but all those fears were unfounded. And apart from Luke wanting to explore the 'stage' and nearly knocking down one of the displays during the service, the baptism itself was perfect. Elin barely flinched as the water was poured on her head. :)

Elin in my great-grandma's baptism dress.

Since I was slightly paranoid about ruining the dress I made another pillowcase dress for Elin to wear after being baptized. It turned out pretty cute, if I don't say so myself. :)

Milestone #3: the exersaucer

Ok, so it really isn't a milestone to speak of, but she does enjoy being on her feet vs. laying down. She spends many a happy moment in there!

And, of course, so does Luke. :)

Milestone #4: Solids

At Elin's 4 month well-baby check up we were given the green light to go ahead and start her on solids - beginning with rice cereal and moving up to fruits and veggies. We weren't super committed to feeding her solids, at least not at first. But then realized that she slept MUCH better after eating cereal and that was all the convincing we needed to go full-steam ahead. Currently, she's eating solids twice a day - usually oatmeal and a fruit around lunch and rice cereal and a veggie at dinner. She certainly enjoys eating (maybe you can tell by all her rolls and chub). Some of the favorites include peaches, sweet potatoes, pears, and peas - apparently foods that start with 'P' are high on her list. :)

Mmmm. Rice Cereal

Don't mind my ridiculous face in this picture. I have to consciously tell myself not to try and 'swallow' for Elin while feeding her. Even when I remind myself, I still end up making these faces and opening my mouth when I want her to open hers... can't help it.

And, of course, when we made a big deal out of Elin getting her first rice cereal, Luke needed to get in on the cereal action too.

Elin isn't the only one reaching major milestones in the DeBoer household. Luke is also growing up way too fast. He is now sleeping in a 'big boy bed'. He has been in his new bed since we got home from the wedding circuit this summer. The first night he fell out once. The second night Matt went in to check on him around 11pm and couldn't find him! (a little freaky actually). We're not sure if he fell out of bed or if he crawled out on purpose but either way we found him asleep on the floor under the bed! After the third night he got the hang of it and has been sleeping well ever since.

Luke slept on a mattress on the floor of our room while family was in town for Elin's baptism. All sprawled out.

We are also in the throes of potty-training. We haven't been super serious about it but he is getting the hang of it. At this point it is 'hit or miss', depending on the day. Some days Luke will be very excited about going on his potty and wearing underpants. Other days, he throws a fit and cries for a diaper. I am not pushing it right now - I figure that he'll get it when he gets it. I try to encourage him to use the potty but I'm not willing to battle him about it, at least for now. :)

Luke and his potty

(yes, there is poop in the potty, it just isn't visible in the picture - probably a good thing)

Elin is up from her nap and letting me know that she's not happy to be left in her crib any longer, so that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get back on the blogging bandwagon and post more often than once a month, or longer. And since I feel weird about a picture of a pant-less Luke next to a poopy potty being the last image you see, here's a much nicer picture...

my little cuddle bug!

still here

We're still here, I promise. I've just been terribly unfaithful about keeping our blog updated. Usually when I take such a long hiatus from blogging it is for one of 2 reasons: 1) we've been out of town or 2) there hasn't been much going on that I consider 'blog-worthy'. There have been plenty of events in the life of the DeBoers that still need to be captured on the blog, I assure you. And I promise you I will get around to it one of these days... only now it's nearly 10:30pm and it has been a busy day and busier week and I'm spent. So be patient. :)

Because I know that most of you who check the blog faithfully are not nearly as interested in what Matt and I are up to but come for the stories and pictures of our kids I'll post a few, just for you. :)

Sew Much Fun

One of the (many) things that I love about having a daughter is the fact that now I have an excuse to make all sorts of fun craft things. Not that I really needed an excuse before Elin was born, but now it seems I have more motivation to create girly, frilly, pretty things. I have been having a great time finding craft ideas online and letting my imagination go wild, telling myself "I could make that"... whether or not whatever I attempt actually turns out is another story.

Last week I was bitten by the crafting bug and felt the urge to make something for Elin. Unfortunately, my supply of 'girly' craft supplies (ie: pink fabrics, ribbons, glitter, etc.) is quite sad. I do, however, have a surplus of Broncos and sports-related fabrics.

The result....

A Broncos Headband/Bow

"Dear God, please let the Broncos have a winning season"

A few days later a good friend of mine came over with her sewing machine and we were inspired to sew pillowcase dresses (all the rage these days) ;) We looked at one that she had bought for Elin off of Etsy.com and pretty much figured out our own pattern. It was SEW much fun to sit and sew, drink coffee, and chat together! I can't wait for our next project, Susanne!

Even Luke got in on the sewing action

Drumroll please....

TADA!! The finished dress!

(I honestly think I'm more impressed with the fact that I actually finished it, and quickly, than I am with the dress itself. I have a bad habit of letting craft project sit half-finished for months)

It definitely helps that my model is SEW darn cute!

Martha Stewart, I am not. But I did have fun and look forward to future sewing/crafting fun! (and I am on the hunt for some fun 'boyish' crafts/sewing projects, so Luke won't feel left out, don't worry) :)

These Days...

We've been back from the Tour de Weddings 2011 for a few weeks now and have somewhat settled into life in Redlands. For the first few days I was struggling to remember where I had unpacked various items and felt completely scatterbrained. Now I know where things are (for the most part) but I'm still battling a bad case of scatterbrain-itis. There is so much to do around the house, beyond the normal daily stuff like laundry, cooking, cleaning, kids, etc. that my desire to multi-task is backfiring on me and I end up being far less productive than I want.I Oh well, I guess that's just how life is going to be and I'm ok with it... or I will be ok with it (I don't have much of a choice)

We've been trying to find a healthy balance between working around the house - painting, yard work, etc. and relaxing and enjoying our kids in the summer months while we are both home (gotta love the perks of both of us working at a school). :) We have done quite a bit around the house but that'll be another post another time. We have had fun playing around the house, taking walks, getting together with friends, and really just enjoying the DeBoer Four!

Getting silly with photo booth on the computer

Matt got an I-Pad for school. While he's been busy learning how to use it and apply the apps to teaching 6th grade Luke has been busy learning to knock down the pigs in Angry Birds. :)

We've gone to the park a few times (mostly in the morning or evening when it isn't so hot!). Elin definitely likes to lay out on a blanket and watch the wind move the leaves and tree branches

We've been torturing our daughter by forcing her endure 'tummy time'. She is not a fan, to say the least. She will tolerate it for a little while then quickly starts complaining. It is paying off though - neck muscles are getting stronger and stronger!

She definitely prefers to lay on her back, especially if she has company

I love this picture. I couldn't resist putting it in this post.

Its as though she's sticking her tongue out at me -

"stop taking nudie pics of me in the tub yeesh!"

Sweet sibling love!

The DeBoer Four.

This family picture isn't all that bad, actually! We'll take what we can get.

Andrea & Jordan's wedding week

Thankfully, Luke got over his hive-attack after a few [miserable] days. We were extremely thankful that he was completely over his illnesses Andrea's wedding! On to the main event of our trip to WA... Andrea and Jordan's wedding! That's right, both of our younger siblings are now married. The wedding was fabulous! Andrea did an incredible job with all the planning and organizing. It was so great to see how the entire extended family and friends rallied around the couple and the DeBoer family for the wedding day - helping with flowers, appetizers, decorations, setting up/tearing down, etc. What a blessing! The wedding was at this great venue (which was actually a personal residence) with sprawling, beautifully landscaped fields and an airplane hanger~ which is where the reception was held. It was gorgeous! Unfortunately, it rained the day of the wedding so the ceremony had to be moved into the hanger. But it was still absolutely gorgeous! Beyond the weather being less than cooperative, everything else was picture perfect. You'll have to just take my word for it. Again, I have a pathetically small amount of pictures from the actual wedding day. I know other family members were taking pictures so I'm hoping to steal some of theirs eventually. Until then these will just have to do.

Matt and his sister, the beautiful bride, on the dance floor

Luke and Ava (1st cousins once removed...I think) cozying up to watch a movie on the I-touch before the ceremony. Too cute!!

Luke was pretty wiped out after the ceremony. He didn't take much of a nap that day (maybe dozed in the car for a grand total of 15 minutes, if that) and played throughout the ceremony in the back fields with an awesome babysitter. He put his head on my shoulder after dinner and was out.

...But not for long. Once the music and dancing started, he was wide awake and ready to boogie down!

After the wedding we still had several days left in Lynden with family. We had a nice balance of relaxing around the house and taking a few day trips.

Matt and Elin taking it easy

Elin and Auntie Andrea sleeping in on a rainy morning (days before the wedding, I just had to post the picture. It is too sweet not to.)

Great Grandpa DeBoer with Elin

Taking baths in the kitchen sink. I love the look on Elin's face in this picture. And no, we didn't do the dishes at the same time.

More relaxing with Elin

We took Luke to this awesome new playground in Lynden. Seriously, this playground was amazing! Luke, however, was less than impressed. He was much more excited about exploring the creek, throwing rocks into it, looking for fish... you know, doing boy things. :) I guess that just goes to show that God builds a better playground, hands down!

Picking raspberries off the bushes in Grammie's backyard. We picked enough for snacking, making jam and even a raspberry pie! Yum.

We took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island one day. It was ridiculously cold for being the middle of July! (So cold in fact, that Grandma and Grandpa DeBoer felt bad that I only had a light shirt on and bought me a jacket! Thanks again G&G!) The weather eventually did warm up a bit and we had a great time walking around, looking at the boats, and checking out the shops.

Luke and Matt on the ferry.

Luke still talks about riding on the 'Big Boat'

Elin, all snug as a bug in her stroller.

I think she slept the entire time we were on the island, honestly.

We also went to Birch Bay one evening for dinner. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, skipped rocks on the water, and had a marvelous time.

Again, I think Elin slept the whole time we were at the bay.

Showing off the perfect skipping rock... at least according to Luke

Roasting marshmallows with Uncle Eric and Aunt Candice...

...and stuffing his face.

Even sharing some with mom!

Flying!

Before we knew it, it was time for these DeBoers to fly back to California and resume a normal life... whatever that is. We had such an incredible time and are SO looking forward to round 3 of the wedding circuit in December (Eric and Candice in Ohio)!!!