Our Little 16 Pounder

After spending the past 10 days in her family's adoring and snugly arms, Delia was welcomed back home with 3 shots in the legs, a bunch of poking and prodding and many questions about her development. Today she had her 4 month doctor visit. She weighed in at 16 lbs, 2 ounces (lighter than I thought!) and is almost 26 inches long. Both these measurements keep her in the 90th percentile. She is developing perfectly (the above pictures even show her demonstrating one of her milestones-- flipping from front to back, and acting quite pleased about it!). She is also recovering well from her shots.

"Bef Frens"

I'll leave you with one last image of our incredible trip home this Thanksgiving. When our airport ride asked what the best part was, both Dave and I immediately answered, "Family time!" (Ella said, "Grandma!") It was so good to soak in all that quality time with those we love most. We adored seeing Ella get to know her cousins. We had a blast with siblings and parents on all our little outings. We have been blessed with family members who are truly our best friends and the time we get to spend together is valuable beyond just words...and worth a bumpy flight. :)

Ground!

I've been on some bad flights. There was the time we got caught in the wake of the plane in front of us waiting to land, I thought we were going to fall into Lake Michigan. Then there was the infamous time we had flames shoot out the engine right outside my window (this is the flight that scared Kristen off planes for good!). There was the flight where medical personal was paged while we were in the air-- thought an emergency landing was next. And there was the time the pilot called for all the flight attendants to take their seats and buckle up immediately. It is no wonder I am a nervous flier.

But, I have never had a flight so bumpy that applause broke out when we landed-- like we had this morning. Today we flew through turbulence so bad it inspired these type of comments from Ella: "The plane is going to spill us!" or "The plane is going to fly on its belly!" or "I am going to be SO brave." I white-knuckled my infant, praying for an hour straight, while a woman behind me had a panic attack.

Of course, we landed shaken, but safe. This flight's bumps were not the only thing that made it miserable, though. We waited on the plane forever before taking off and then flew against a strong head wind (a full 5 hours of plane we got to enjoy today). Ella was cranky and antsy and testing every boundary. None of our tricks worked to keep her from crying. After sleeping just a few hours the night before, she only slept for the last 20 minutes of the ride. I would recommend the red-eye to anyone since that flight was a piece of cake compared to this one!

All Aboard for a Last Night of Fun

Before leaving bright and early this morning (5:15 am!) we spent one last night with our family. We went to the ultimate kid's restaurant: a choo-choo themed hamburger diner called the All Aboard Cafe. To Ella's amazement her grilled cheese was served to her on a train! While we waited for our order to come chugging out of the kitchen, we enjoyed watching the many model train displays, riding the little train and listening to the restaurant's soundtrack-- one train song after the next. And we even got little train whistles to take home as souvenirs. It was a very fun thing to do before the inevitably sad goodbyes.

Lions and Tigers and Bears (Oh My!)

...and penguins and dolphins and rhinos and gorillas and giraffes and elephants and hippos and alligators...

Today we took our kids to the best zoo in the world, the one Dave and I grew up going to on a regular basis, the one that formed and ruined our view of zoos since we've never been able to find another one that is nearly as awesome. And because we chose to go on a cold, overcast, school day we had the entire place to ourselves!

This tiger was so cool. He paced back and forth growling.

The dolphin show was the best we've ever seen. We were practically the only ones in the audience so they invited us down to view the dolphins in the pool up close and showed us special "husbandry" tricks that they do with them. We laughed about how our insane enthusiasm and clapping and cheering was equivalent to a 500 person audience! (Click on this picture to make it big and check out the dolphin jumping in the background!)

In a special children's interactive exhibit, we could dress up like animals as we viewed the animals!

The VM family and a bear.

PU! The pachyderm house is stinky, as our hilarious nephews demonstrate. (This is how they walked through all the houses!)

My favorite, the giraffes

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This was a very lovable penguin, he kept swimming right up the glass and giving Ella kisses.

Meeting Great Grandma

Here are some highlights from yesterday:

1. Our girls got to meet Great Grandma VM for the first time.

2. I went out for dinner with my high school girl friends. We had a fun time sharing cheesecake and catching up. Me and Melissa are both mothers of two (and teachers and pastor's wives!), Anna is very important working in LA for a production company and Steph is almost done with her OB/GYN residency. It's neat to see the different direction all our lives went in.

3. While I was out, Ella went with Daddy, Grandpa and Grandma to a very special restaurant called Islamorada in The Bass Pro Shop. I was told that she loved looking at the giant tank of fish and even sampling an exotic dish-- alligator!

Siblings and Cousins Are Awesome!

Today we enjoyed lots of quality time with the family. We ate good Chicago pizza, taught them the Train Game, had many dance parties and just hung out laughing and playing with the kids. The above pictures show some of the silly fun we all had together. The below pictures show Holly Days, the Christmas festival we got all bundled up to attend together. Ella told me it was the coldest she has ever been, but it was worth it to snuggle with cousin Aidan in the wagon, eat roasted chestnuts, pet reindeer, see decorated trees, lots of lights and a parade of emergency vehicles and snow plows.

Giving Thanks

Here is what I love about Thanksgiving: a special church service where we are reminded how blessed we really are, a crowded kitchen-- full of family excitedly trying to top each other with jokes and stories, that no matter what you say you are thankful for when we go around the table it will make Auntie Karen cry, corn souffle, smashed potatoes and vegetable medley, the Bowl Game, leftovers...and the list goes on.

Here is what was especially fun about this year's Thanksgiving: Ella said she was thankful for "Mommy, Daddy and Dee-lee-a" when we went around the table and then exclaimed, "Ella talk and everyone clap!" when the family reacted to her impressive articulation, getting to watch Survivor with our fellow family fans, observing Ella joyfully play with her cousins and seeing Delia beam with happiness at anyone who did nothing more than look at her.

This year we celebrated Dad's health, a new home for Chris, Karen and the boys, thriving and rewarding jobs (and lives in general), new babies, loving spouses, and all the wonderful little things the kids bring into our lives. God has blessed us beyond measure and we are so thankful!

Kristen Delia and Delia Kristen

Delia spends some time with her namesake...

Auntie's Surprise

We will be going home with one more than what we came with. Our newest addition is a kitty named Turbo who actually meows. He was named after Auntie Heather's real cat (who is beloved by, but frustratingly elusive to Ella) and he was stuffed and made right in front of her! Heather told us this morning she would like to take Ella to Build-A-Bear, a place she has never been before. After picking out her kitty, helping pump stuffing into it, warming a heart (and a meowing noise maker) to be sewn in, brushing and bathing it, making a birth certificate and picking out pink bows for its ears, Ella was one happy girl. Besides the outing to Build-A-Bear, Ella also had a ball playing in the mall's fancy tree house play ground. What a special treat, Auntie-- thanks!

Dutch Day

Well, we couldn't come to West Michigan without celebrating our Dutch heritage or reminiscing on the many trips we made here for family vacation growing up. Today Heather brought us to the Dutch Village where we took pictures of Ella in the big wooden shoe (we have this exact picture of Heather when she was about Ella's age!), watched the candles being dipped and picked out our Dutch souvenirs and candies. And of course, no "Dutch Day" would be complete without a meal at Russ'-- the only sit-down restaurant where all 5 of us could eat for $30...they definitely don't discriminate against Dutch people (our friends' way of saying "they're cheap!").

Uncle Dan, Auntie Heather, Water Slides and Fountains

Who would have thought we'd come to 30-degree, permanently overcast West Michigan and go swimming? When Heather told us to pack our swimming suits, I thought she was a little nuts. Today she took us to a super-cool indoor aquatic center, though. It had a whole playground in shallow water, a big water slide, basket ball hoops, a section divided off for inner tubes and rafts and a "vortex pool" which was Ella's favorite (remember when you used to walk real fast in one direction with all your friends to make a wave pool-- that's what this was. Ella called it "The Circle Pool"). What a fun adventure!

(We all tried this super fun, super fast slide a couple times. Here is Uncle Dan.)

We Made It!

At 6:15 am (4:15 our time) we arrived in cold, dark Chicago. The girls did great on the flight. Delia slept the entire time, Ella slept for about 2 hours. Dave and I did not sleep at all. Keeping Ella up until 12:30, when we boarded, kept us laughing. She was running circles, singing songs at the top of her lungs in super speed and saying random things like, "I run to the plane like the boys run to the river!" (???) She was totally excited to be on the actual plane and explained every detail of it to us.

When we got to Dave's parents house we were greeted by Uncle Kyle, Auntie Kris, Cousin Calvin and Grandpa and Grandma, of course. It was great to see them right away and introduce Delia, but honestly the morning we spent with them is a bit of blur due to sleep deprivation. Since a 3 hour drive to West Michigan awaited us, Dave took a good nap. Ella was so tired she even allowed herself to sleep and cuddle with Dave-- something she NEVER does. This was a special time for Dave.

Nine Lives, You Say?

Dave and I regularly genetically diagnose our girls. "Where does she get that from...you? Why does she do that...did you do that?" But one thing about Ella we can't figure out is where she gets this crazy love for cats! Dave is extremely allergic and I've never been fond of this animal, so why does she spend 3 hours straight chasing and carrying around Jetta's kitties? This morning we had a ladies' lunch and social hour(s) at Jetta's house. We sat in the living room, sipping tea and laughing as we watched the kids (Ella) torture the cats outside. She would tackle them by their necks and spin them around. To catch them for carrying, she would grab what ever was the most convenient body part (tail, back legs...). She had a wonderful time! Another funny mention about the morning was that she picked out her outfit completely by herself. She climbed the numerous tubs of clothes in her closet, pulled this dress down and insisted on the hat and cowboy boots. What a little fashion plate!

Temps in the 20s...Here We Come!

Today we pulled out the cold weather hats to prepare for our venture into the arctic tundra of the Midwest (looks like highs in the 40s/lows in the 20s!). Ella was so excited about this, she insisted on keeping her hat on all day. We ran some errands and I fear what others were thinking about the mom who lets her child wear a ski hat when it's a sunny 72 degrees outside. I did manage to wrestle it off her head before her nap...

Another Use for the Ball...

...and Delia's reaction to her crazy sister.

(Dave suggests that you mute this video while watching it.)

Red-Eye Ready

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. Life here has been pretty boring. As we prepare to depart on our big trip in 3 days, I'm just working down my to-do list. It's very exciting, full of things like laundry, Target trips, getting the house ready for our house-sitter and packing. We talk about this trip all the time and Ella can tell us that she lives in California and she will be taking a plane to visit Grandpa and Grandma in Chicago. We've gotten a few new treats to prepare for our long (but direct, thank goodness!) middle of the night flight: these cool neck pillows and a whole box of little treasures to unwrap on the plane (this came in the mail from Auntie Karen.)

The Jesus Light

Dave has been giving me a hard time lately because I seem to have introduced Ella to a form of idolatry. Lately, she's been waking up troubled at night, so we've been discussing how she can talk to Jesus when she feels scared. We teach her how to pray and that God is always with her and will always protect her. I even found this old Jesus night light to put in her room to help her remember that Jesus is with her at night.

Well, she has decided that this light is the actual Jesus she is talking to. How do I know this? I find her sitting next to it, having conversation! I tell her, "No Ella, that is just a light to remind you about Jesus who lives in your heart. That is the Jesus we pray to." She says, "No, I talk to THIS Jesus." We prayed together last night and she said, "Wait! I go get Jesus!" and came running back with the light. It's terrible, I know, but we are getting lots of giggles from it!

Reading Sister Stories with My Sister

In this photo Ella is enjoying her crib, something she may not get to do too much longer. While we were hoping to ride out Ella's transition to a big girl bed as long as we could (Delia is perfectly fine in the cradle in our bedroom and no where near sleeping through the night...) a couple days ago, Ella made other plans known to us. She has learned how to nimbly climb out of her crib, open the door and let herself out of her bedroom. When she finds us, she greets us with such glee, exclaiming, "I'm awake!" Since a new bed is not in our time or money budget at this moment, we've been working hard to just teach her, "NO CLIMBING, you call for Mommy when you are done." This seems to be effective for now. Incidentally, Dave was the only child among four who ever climbed out of his bed, Mom informed me. This is his fault! :)

A Little Behind

Because of all the shopping, planning and preparations (I baked 8 batches of brownies and peeled and cored tons of apples) that go into the Harvest Party, we just got around to carving our pumpkin today. Ella was pretty interested-- this was the first time she's done this. She loved looking at and talking about the "ooey-gooeys" inside, but NOT touching them. It was her request, also, to make a face that was "very happy, but not too scary." I took her seriously-- could our pumpkin smile be any more friendly?