Merry Christmas!

Parties and more parties = BUSY!

Despite Carter catching a cold (no, we can't win over here) we had a busy weekend full of fun and he did great. Friday night we had the Top Christmas party (Brian's mom's side). Here Carter is entertaining Great Grandpa Top and Uncle John.

Opening his super cute and comfy camoflauge outfit...he wore it Saturday already!

Then on Saturday we went out with Tim, Jen and Liam to see Santa Claus and to the live Nativity at the Critter Barn. Oh and yes, Carter wore the same shirt all weekend...can only wear it for so long! Jen made them for the boys...adorable as always. The boys weren't sure what to think of Santa but didn't cry either. Doesn't Santa looked thrilled? :)

Between seeing Santa and heading to the Critter Barn my camera battery died and Tim and Jen's camera lens broke so I only have some pictures on my phone. Carter LOVED the animals though and wanted to touch all of them. We will definitely be going back. Then we picked up pizza and headed to Tim and Jen's for the boys to open gifts.

Carter tearing into his Eco friendly truck...it's so cool and the kid LOVES it.
We bought Liam some crayons, markers, paper and a magna doodle. Jen's trying to show him how to use it. Surprisingly he actually drew a little with the crayons already!

Phew...then Sunday we had the DeJonge Christmas party. Carter had to have Aunt Betty get out her matchbox cars. Such a boy!

Great grandma bought Carter a Handy Manny toolbox...here he is opening it with cousin Justin.

We played some crazy games...one of which we all got a little dressed up (you could say!). To spare embarrassment from my family I'll just post the lovely glasses I got to wear. As you can see Carter loved to wear them too..

Here is the whole De Jonge gang...minus just a couple.

After such a busy weekend Carter and enjoyed our Monday PJ day. We did go outside and play in the snow for a bit and Carter wanted to play with his shovel and bucket but mittens just stink for the little guy so I took a bucket of snow inside...he LOVED it and it kept him entertained for a while! Maybe next time I'll have to color it a bit for some more fun!

And as everyone else....more parties this week! Merry Christmas to all!

Weekend Fun (& some not so fun)

Carter got to go to work with Brian on Saturday morning and then they came home and wanted to go sledding. So off to the OAC hill we went. Carter wasn't too sure of it at first as you can see, so Brian said we were going to send him down the hill by himself. Here he is ready to go down by himself!

Can you see his BIG grin??? Mr. Independent LOVED going down by himself. Crazy kid! He'll tell ya all about it too!

Saturday night we had the extended Meeuwsen party at our church. Carter got a Magna Doodle from Great Grandma and Grandpa that he LOVES! He loves to color so I thought that would be a good idea. And check out his CUTE shirt that Jenni made him....he has another cute one too that I can't wait for him to wear.

Then yesterday was a good day until Carter got up from his nap. He seemed fine so he went with Brian to wash my truck and when they came home I was helping him take his coat off and he started to throw up! Ugh, and I can't handle that so I lost my lunch too! Thankfully daddy our super hero was home to help! Carter threw up one more time last night but seems okay today. Not really hungry but drinking so hopefully it was just a little bug in his system.

Snow Day

Wow...I can't believe all this snow! Apparently there isn't near as much south of us but we sure got bombarded! Carter and I went out this morning to shovel and play in the snow. It's kind of frustrating for him b/c of wearing mittens but he did pretty good and thought the snow was pretty cool. Here are some pics I took this morning.

Our little babushka

This afternoon Brian and I were able to take a sneak peek at the little miracle inside of me. Just that first glimpse of the arms and legs moving is so incredible. It's amazing to see the heart, nose, lips, fingers, toes, etc. This babe, as did Carter, measured exactly to my due date and the baby weighed 11 oz. The baby was SUPER wiggly and always had his or her hands by the face so it was hard for the tech to get good pics and measurements but after emptying my bladder twice she was able to get what she needed. Her are just a couple pics. The first one is of the baby looking right at you (kind of freaky!) and the second one is a profile pic.

Can we say another Meeuwsen forehead? :)
Cute little nose!
And trust me...we did NOT find out. I don't know we could have if we wanted too! Probably shouldn't have had those smarties before the ultrasound. :) We will just have to wait and be surprised in April! Please continue to pray for another healthy baby!

November...here and gone!

Where has this month gone? Can't believe it's going to be December already tomorrow! I know I haven't updated the blog lately...I just uploaded November's pictures and hardly have any to post! Carter was sick last weekend and I was sick this weekend...no fun! We did have some fun play dates with Jackson, Greyson and Liam this month but I don't have any pics!

Here are few pics of some highlights of the month:
Carter LOVES to go outside and feed the squirrels :) with daddy. A few nights it was dark so Brian gave him his hunting light to wear. It was so sticken cute to watch him out in the woods with his little light on his head. Thought he was big stuff as always.

Thanksgiving day was also my dad's b-day so I made him a Harley cake...not perfect but not too bad!
Carter helping grandpa open his hunting blind.
Since I didn't get anything done all weekend (although I did survive Black Friday shopping!) I wanted to get the Christmas gifts wrapped today. Carter thought he would help out too (hey it kept him busy)! :)
Carter turned 20 months on Saturday and oh how much fun he is lately! A few of his favorites lately are coloring, watching Elmo, playing with any truck or car and his vocabulary is really expanding. Basically just one word at a time but he definitely can tell you what he wants and is really repeating what we say. He is quite the cuddle bug...which I LOVE and he can't wait for daddy to come home at night. He is a big helper and actually quite a good listener too but yes, he is a boy and a toddler so he does show us previews of the terrible twos as well! He will be so fun at Christmas this year and we can't wait to create more memories with our little guy!

18 months...well actually 19 month pics

Last Sunday when we were all under the weather we stuck with our plan of getting Carters 18 month pics (a little late as he is 19 months) b/c the weather was so nice! Click on the Captured Memories blog link on the right or you can click here to get a sneak peek! We took some of the three of us to use for a Christmas card too. I LOVE them and can't wait to see the rest! Thanks Jenn!

Halloween 2009

Last week Carter got to experience his first pumpkin carving. He wasn't too sure of all the gunk as you can see! :) But thought the pumpkin mommy carved was so cute he was puckering up to kiss it!

Great Grandma came for dinner last Wednesday before she left on a mission trip and my dad came too b/c mom was working late. He put his costume on for Great Grandma. Here he is showing grandpa.
Our cute little dinosaur.
Unfortunately I came home from work sick on Thursday and felt okay on Friday but was hit again on Saturday and Carter came down with it too. Brian also didn't feel the greatest. Thankfully Carter and I just had head colds so no fever or flu but it has been miserable and we are still getting over it. So no trick or treating unfortunately...thankfully Carter is little enough not to care!

Daddy and Carter sharing some popcorn on Halloween.

Halloween Costume Party

Friday night Pete and Stac once again hosted a great Halloween party. Here they are as great Wheel of Fortune pieces. Such a great idea!The winners of the costume contest, Nick and Kylie. They were HILARIOUS. They always show up and we are never quite sure if its them or not. They had the complete outfits from head to toe.
Jason and Martha as Fred and Wilma. I think Martha is a little too stunning to be Wilma! She was so cute!
Another fave...Octomom and the UPS man. Jen was so funny and I loved it!
And Brian and I as The Bunmaker and a Bun in the Oven. My costume wasn't too comfy so it didn't stay on too long!

Girlfriends Getaway

Last weekend me, my mom, Debi and Jenni headed to Chicago on a bus trip with about 50 wild women. It was SO FUN. We had an absolute blast. On Friday we stopped at MI City on the way down and it wasn't raining there! We played some games on the way down and my mom won 2nd place which was $75! She was kind enough to share her winnings with me! :) Friday night we were on our own for dinner so we met up with Ashley DW and her boyfriend Ryan at the Grand Lux...delicious! Here are 3 other beautiful ladies that are friends of Debi's. Tami, Moni, and Michelle. Even though I couldn't have the fun drinks like everyone else, wherever we went the waiters were kind enough to make me a pretty drink too!The whole group including Ashley. Ryan was kind enough to be our photographer and he survived being the only guy with us! Later that night we hit the Howling Moon piano bar...similar to Mojo's...a packed house!
Saturday we headed to Ikea and Woodfield Mall. I had never been to Ikea and I found some good, cheap stuff! The sign on this picture kind of made for a bad glare but we stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown. Made to order omelets every morning...yum! Beautiful hotel and they treated us great!

Saturday night was definitely a highlight. We went on a dinner cruise off Navy Pier. The food was great, the dancing was fun and they even had fireworks out on the lake. So cool! We had a blast!
Sunday morning we headed to Macy's before they opened and we went to a Smashbox Cosmetics class. They even flew in one of the directors to lead our class. It was a lot of fun and it always feels good to try some new tips. The rest of the day was spent shopping downtown Chicago. It was beautiful and sunny. We made it home about 9:00 Sunday night. Can't wait to go next year!

Play Dates

Yesterday was a busy day with lots of fun! We started off by having lunch at Stacey's house to meet the newest additions Jordyn and Lucy. Dana and Jordyn are here from Colorado so it was nice to catch up with them! Here is Carter already being a big brother and giving Jordyn kisses...so cute! He did it all on his own and I caught him in the act!

And our best attempt at a group picture...oh my! From left to right...Lucy, Jace, Carter, Liam, Jada, Jordyn and Isaac. The kiddos had lots of fun playing together!
I was playing with Liam on my lap and surprise, surprise who thought he had to squeeze in too? He does okay if I hold infants but kids closer to his age he doesn't like!

Then it was home for a nap and off to Post Family Farms with the OCG's! (Olive Center Girls) The four of us--Beth, Vicki, Jen and I--were neighborhood friends all of our lives. Carter got stung by a bee on his thumb right when we got there but only after a few tears he was fine. He sure swelled up but at least we know he isn't allergic! Here is Carter deciding what pumpkin to pick out. :)

Can't find one mom...need to go on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch! The four kiddos (minus Kaylee) ready for a hayride! Alyssa, Carter, Liam and Jax.
Here mom...I like this one!
After the hayride they got to ride the pumpkin train. They all loved it. Even Liam got to ride and thought he was big stuff....it was so funny! He's in the one behind Carter.
One more pic of all four...almost as good as our morning pic with the other gang! :)