Monday, May 30, 2016

Tulip Festival 2016.

It's Tulip Festival time! In case you have no idea what that is, which most of you probably don't, it's an annual Dutch celebration each year. There are rides, food stands, and parades every day with Dutch dancing/games, bands, floats, street scrubbing, Tulip Festival Queen and her court, and people wearing their Dutch costumes. (View the website to learn more!) It's a lot of fun! The whole town goes to it, and it's fun to celebrate and see so many people you know. 

Wednesday night is ride night, and Norah went down the giant slide, ferris wheel, and merry-go-round! She loved them all, but probably the slide the most. While the rides were fun, Norah did not enjoy her first experience of waiting in long lines. 




It was a beautiful night!


Ferris wheel! (If you look closely, Norah's face is hilarious in this picture.)





Merry-go-round!


Norah spotted Daddy in the crowd.



The Pride of the Dutchmen marching band (Kley's high school). He gets so excited every year to see them!


Norah and Kley watching the parade.



Our little Dutch girl! We got her her own little broom for scrubbing the streets, and she loves it! (Scrubbing the streets happens before the parade to make the streets "clean" for the queen and her court to be presented- the men throw buckets of water on the street and the women/kids scrub it.)


My favorite picture!


Wearing our Dutch costumes!


It was during nap time, so Norah wasn't too happy.



Norah saw her friend Ainsley! (Both girls with their grandmas, how fun!)


So cute!



My friend, Madison, and I.


Scrubbing the streets!



Norah loves her Aunt Elizabeth! Also, how cool is Norah?


Kley playing in the alumni band!


 Brett playing the drums. 


The last parade!


Look here to see pictures of last year's Tulip Festival!

Friday, May 27, 2016

Fun links.

Boy catches first fish- This is so adorable. Watch this little boy catch his first fish. He's so excited! (And their Southern accents!!)

Nicole Nordeman- Slow Down music video- I watched this in bed and cried at how big Norah has gotten, and then watched home videos of her as a tiny baby. Slow down, time!

A neat article about Joanna Gaines- Ever watched Fixer Upper? Chip and Joanna are such a great couple! Here she shares some thoughts on Mother's Day and being a mom/working.

Helping kids turn suffering into praise- This was a great article about helping your children turn their suffering into praise. Choosing thankfulness in the midst of hard times is not easy, but it's so rewarding and helps change your perspective. She talks about her son and his disabilities and how they have talked about how exquisitely God made his brain and He wired him to work and think that way. (She had many good things to say, however, she said that she measures her success in parenting if her children become children after God's own heart. She was talking about how that is more important than their grades or earthly things they accomplish, which is true, but I don't think that Norah becoming a Christian entirely measures my success. Certainly Godly parents play a huge role in shaping their children, but I can't make Norah love God just by trying really hard. We certainly pray often that God would help us parent Norah in His ways and that she would grow up to love and serve Him with her whole heart, but that's not necessarily a guarantee. That's a scary thought, because I want Norah to know His love like we do, but despite our very best efforts, only God can capture her heart.)

Here's to the most glamorous job on earth- A funny Mother's Day video.

Cute Cheerios Commercial- Mother/daughter dance duo. Kids can learn so much and are watching us closely!

First three months of motherhood- A mother's take on the first three months of motherhood that definitely made me resonate with a few things (like their cries hit you like no one else!).

Collective Evolution's video about Finnish schools- A fascinating video about how Finland overtook their education system by shortening the school day and cutting out homework, and how their test scores skyrocketed. 

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Norah- Nineteen Months.

Norah was finally healthy this month, yay! Norah is growing into a young girl more and more, which is sad to see her baby days go, but it's so fun to watch her learn. You are such a big girl, Norah! We are so proud of the girl you are and you enjoy life so well.

Stats: At her 18 month wellness check, she was 34” (96%), 26 pounds (86%), and head circumference was 18.5” (69%). Norah has been consistently about the same on the charts and we are so thankful for a healthy, growing girl!

Schedule/Eating: Norah is on an excellent schedule, can't complain at all! Still sleeps from about 10-9 and takes one nap from about 1:30-3:45. She usually falls asleep quickly and just lays there quietly when she wakes up until we go get her. It's amazing! She eats 3 meals and a snack before bed. She doesn't like to eat much for breakfast, eats a pretty good lunch, and usually eats the most for supper. She is pretty good with a spoon/fork. Her favorite food is still cheese, really likes watermelon and pretzels, and loves milk.

Teeth: 16th tooth- Bottom left canine on 5/9.

Developments: I feel like developments happen so fast and there are too many to share! Norah is able to do simple puzzles, complete her shape sorter, stack objects, follow simple directions, remember where things are, connect things together (literally and figuratively), and do fine motor skills like lacing beads/boards and try to get dressed with help. She recently started recognizing herself in pictures, and likes to identify family members in pictures. A new trick she likes to do is pull her pants down- you never know where or when! She has also started telling us a few times that she has to poop before she went, so maybe potty training is coming soon. She even pooped on the potty once! Norah can also identify numerous animals (lion, cow, horse, pig, duck, dog, cat, sheep, etc.), and learns quickly, like she remembered a gorilla after seeing it once. She also knows a few animal sounds, like baa, moo, neigh, and roar. She can name/identity lots of body parts like eyes, nose, ears, hair, head, toes, feet, hands, belly button, back, etc. She can point to lots of objects in books. We have been practicing a few letters, shapes, numbers, and colors, but nothing has set in really yet.

When we were reading books one time, I was sitting cross-legged and Norah had her legs out in front of her. She started saying, “too, too!” and pointed to my legs, and wanted me to put my legs out in front like her. Another time I was looking for her plates in her play kitchen, and asked her where they were, and she remembered she had put them in her book shelf. I don't know how long they were there, but she remembered! Little story examples like that happen often!

Words: I feel like there are too many words to keep a list! A few new words we've noticed recently are shower, door, cheerios, cereal, pants, socks, shirt, chair, and she also started saying thank you, which is so cute! She says it without prompting at appropriate times (not every single time, but fairly often!). Her M sound also became much more clear, and I love hearing her say Mama!

Favorites: Norah's absolute favorite is going outside, and especially going outside to swing. She could swing all day! Norah loves to read books, play with her baby (mainly wrap her up, take her for walks, and change her diaper), climb inside Daddy's car when he gets home, go for walks, sit up on the counter and “help” in the kitchen. She likes looking at pictures on people's phones, her play kitchen microwave and the real one, drinking milk, and playing with her friend Ainsley when she comes over. She's a good helper taking clothes out of the laundry bin and putting them in the washer.

We love you so much!

(Photo shoots with a toddler are always interesting! I remembered to take pictures this morning, but then forgot as we had two other babies here today, so these pictures were taken in outfit #2 after outfit #1 got soaked in the water table. What was I thinking hoping she wouldn't get too wet? Splashing is the most fun! She also doesn't want to sit still or look for a picture!)

Reading one of her favorite books- she loves dogs!


Mom, turn the flash off!


Norah has recently learned the art of fake sleeping. She makes a cute soft snoring sound, but hasn't yet mastered closing her eyes.


Making us cupcakes!


She definitely knows where her belly button is!


She really needs to get at a good angle to see what's under the flap!


She's a thumb sucker. I think it's adorable, as she's still young!



This was the best "cheese!" she would give me.

Norah- Nineteen Months.

Norah was finally healthy this month, yay! Norah is growing into a young girl more and more, which is sad to see her baby days go, but it's so fun to watch her learn. You are such a big girl, Norah! We are so proud of the girl you are and you enjoy life so well.

Stats: At her 18 month wellness check, she was 34” (96%), 26 pounds (86%), and head circumference was 18.5” (69%). Norah has been consistently about the same on the charts and we are so thankful for a healthy, growing girl!

Schedule/Eating: Norah is on an excellent schedule, can't complain at all! Still sleeps from about 10-9 and takes one nap from about 1:30-3:45. She usually falls asleep quickly and just lays there quietly when she wakes up until we go get her. It's amazing! She eats 3 meals and a snack before bed. She doesn't like to eat much for breakfast, eats a pretty good lunch, and usually eats the most for supper. She is pretty good with a spoon/fork. Her favorite food is still cheese, really likes watermelon and pretzels, and loves milk.

Teeth: 16th tooth- Bottom left canine on 5/9.

Developments: I feel like developments happen so fast and there are too many to share! Norah is able to do simple puzzles, complete her shape sorter, stack objects, follow simple directions, remember where things are, connect things together (literally and figuratively), and do fine motor skills like lacing beads/boards and try to get dressed with help. She recently started recognizing herself in pictures, and likes to identify family members in pictures. A new trick she likes to do is pull her pants down- you never know where or when! She has also started telling us a few times that she has to poop before she went, so maybe potty training is coming soon. She even pooped on the potty once! Norah can also identify numerous animals (lion, cow, horse, pig, duck, dog, cat, sheep, etc.), and learns quickly, like she remembered a gorilla after seeing it once. She also knows a few animal sounds, like baa, moo, neigh, and roar. She can name/identity lots of body parts like eyes, nose, ears, hair, head, toes, feet, hands, belly button, back, etc. She can point to lots of objects in books. We have been practicing a few letters, shapes, numbers, and colors, but nothing has set in really yet.

When we were reading books one time, I was sitting cross-legged and Norah had her legs out in front of her. She started saying, “too, too!” and pointed to my legs, and wanted me to put my legs out in front like her. Another time I was looking for her plates in her play kitchen, and asked her where they were, and she remembered she had put them in her book shelf. I don't know how long they were there, but she remembered! Little story examples like that happen often!

Words: I feel like there are too many words to keep a list! A few new words we've noticed recently are shower, door, cheerios, cereal, pants, socks, shirt, chair, and she also started saying thank you, which is so cute! She says it without prompting at appropriate times (not every single time, but fairly often!). Her M sound also became much more clear, and I love hearing her say Mama!

Favorites: Norah's absolute favorite is going outside, and especially going outside to swing. She could swing all day! Norah loves to read books, play with her baby (mainly wrap her up, take her for walks, and change her diaper), climb inside Daddy's car when he gets home, go for walks, sit up on the counter and “help” in the kitchen. She likes looking at pictures on people's phones, her play kitchen microwave and the real one, drinking milk, and playing with her friend Ainsley when she comes over. She's a good helper taking clothes out of the laundry bin and putting them in the washer.

We love you so much!

(Photo shoots with a toddler are always interesting! I remembered to take pictures this morning, but then forgot as we had two other babies here today, so these pictures were taken in outfit #2 after outfit #1 got soaked in the water table. What was I thinking hoping she wouldn't get too wet? Splashing is the most fun! She also doesn't want to sit still or look for a picture!)

Reading one of her favorite books- she loves dogs!


Mom, turn the flash off!


Norah has recently learned the art of fake sleeping. She makes a cute soft snoring sound, but hasn't yet mastered closing her eyes.


Making us cupcakes!


She definitely knows where her belly button is!


She really needs to get at a good angle to see what's under the flap!


She's a thumb sucker. I think it's adorable, as she's still young!



This was the best "cheese!" she would give me.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Recent reads 5/23/16.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards- I get most, basically all, of the books I read from other people's blog recommendations, and this was another one. It was a good read. At times maybe a tiny bit slow, but I still enjoyed it and would recommend it. It was about a couple who was having a baby back in 1964. The husband was also a doctor, and there was a blizzard, so he ended up delivering himself. There turned out to be twins, but one had Down's Syndrome, so he immediately told the nurse to take the baby to an institution and instead told his wife that the baby had died. The nurse couldn't give the baby away and raised her herself. It was an interesting story of all of their lives and how a secret/not telling the truth eats away at you. 


Me Before You by Jojo Moyes- I felt really cool because I had this book on my "to read" list before I knew it was coming out soon as a movie, so I was cool before it was cool. Ha. This was also a good read. I really enjoyed it and it was entertaining. Their relationship was captivating and I wanted to know what happened to them. The ending was not what I expected and I still feel weird about it, but it's worth reading. I also want to see the movie in June!


Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward A Life Of Meaning by Rebekah Lyons- This was a book that was sitting on our bookshelf for a long time, given to me at a Christian conference once, and had never read. I'm glad I read it! I love reading people's stories, so I really enjoyed this book. It's basically just the story of her life- her kids, her struggles with depression/anxiety, their big move from Atlanta to New York, etc. In the end she talks about suffering and how that grows you/lead her to find her meaning, burden, and passion. I would recommend this one too!

Saturday, May 21, 2016

My sister's college graduation.

Karlie, my sweet sister, graduated from Northwestern this weekend! She's going to be a nurse, and a great one at that with her caring and compassionate heart. (Since she won't say it, I will brag about her- in the "honors and achievements" category in the program, hers was the longest, and she's also had three job offers this week! She is very talented and hard working in many areas and is well deserving of praise! You go, Karlie!)

It was neat that Kley's aunt, Jill Ver Steeg, gave the commencement address, who was also a long-time pastor at the church I grew up going to in Des Moines.


Our cousin, Alexandra, graduated and is going to be a nurse too! 


Karlie getting her diploma.


A few of my favorite people!


Some family shots!


In July we get to add Zack to the family when him and Karlie get married!



Our whole family- always love having everyone together. Congratulations Karlie- it was fun to celebrate you!