A glimpse into Christmas at our house

Since ya'll don't stop by our house at Christmas time I'd thought I'd give a quick glimpse at a few traditions and some decor around our house this season. I don't go all out by any means b/c with three little ones and one little guy that gets into everything it's not worth it. We've already had a few broken ornaments.

First off we don't have a fireplace and we don't really have a good spot to hang our stockings without the kids getting into them so I found this great sign on etsy and she made it to match our house perfectly!
Here is a picture of our tree decorated with our three little models.

Some decor on our shelves.
Some chocolate snowmen I made for some of Carter's teachers at church along with the ornament he made at M-LIFE.
And of course we had to make Christmas cookies. Carter was a big helper.
And Trey enjoyed the finished product!

We also made a gingerbread house. We had to make it super FAST b/c the boys wouldn't quit eating the candy! Trey wanted nothing to do with being in this picture. Every year is more fun as the boys can do more and more stuff.
And lastly just a picture of our pictures!Looking forward to our family of five Christmas together tonight. Homemade pizzas and sparkling juice by candlelight. :)

Carter's 1st Christmas Program

Last night our church had their children's Christmas program. Carter had to practice on Saturday and he just stood there. After having a talk with him about who was coming to watch him along with a couple of bribes definitely improved his performance for Sunday night! (He's the little guy in the red in the front).

And then he spotted me and quick smiled for me to take a picture. It was so sticken cute! He was so proud of himself which melted our hearts.

First Christmas party of the season

The Christmas parties have begun! Saturday night we had the extended Meeuwsen family party at our church. We had a great meal, the kids opened their gifts, Santa came!!, and we had a fun game of bingo and ended the night with yummy sundaes. With our kids being the youngest of the group they are spoiled by all the older kids!

Carter wasn't too sure of Santa at first but as you can see from his smile he REALLY wanted a candy cane! Trey wasn't too sure of him...no tears but no smiles either.
Santa wanted to take Jade home with him. :)


Jade got lots of loving! I hardly held her all night. Abbie (on the right) has just started babysitting and has watched our kiddos a few times with the help of her mom and does a great job. She LOVES babies as does her mom! :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving day after church we headed to my parents house for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with just our immediate family. After lunch we told my dad we were taking him out for his 60th birthday on Saturday night but had him open his present then which as you can see was probably a good idea. :) We surprised him with a new muzzle loader. When carrying the package in Carter told Grandpa Jim it was a big chocolate bar (oh he thinks like his mom). :)

Thanksgiving night we headed to Brian's Aunt and Uncles house to have a meal with the Meeuwsens. Friday I stayed home and avoided the crazy shoppers and bought some stuff online...so much nicer! On Saturday I did run to town for a bit while Brian took Carter to ZFS and my mom took Trey to go pick out her Christmas tree with Mike, Kim and Kasen.

After we were all back home and had lunch we headed out to pick out our Christmas tree at Prince's in Borculo. That is where my family always bought ours so it's kind of a fun tradition. Jade was all bundled up ready to go.
And this is the one we picked out! Stayed tuned next week for pictures of it decorated.

Saturday night was my dad's actual 60th birthday so my cousin and her hubby came to babysit (for free!) so we headed to Rosebud's in Grand Haven. We were the only ones in the dining room so we were a little nervous and joked that my mom rented the entire place for us. But the food was awesome and we had a great time!

Jade at 2 months

Today we had Jade's 2 month appt. She weighed 9 lbs. 13 oz. (25th %) and was 22.5 inches long (50th %). Her brothers were right around 12 lbs. and a little longer so she is maintaining her girlish figure. :) She was full of smiles and cooing for the Dr. today. But the poor thing did not do well with her shots. She cried (I mean...screamed!) for 1.5 hours tonight. It was rough! Our boys never did that. Otherwise she is a pretty content baby. She is right on track for the 'Babywise' schedule of eat, play, nap, and is sleeping around 7 hours a night. Sometimes she does get fussy after dinner time but otherwise is happy. She definitely knows how she likes to be held, she likes the swing (her brothers never did!) and she really recognizes voices and is starting to focus on us a lot more. She loves to be talked to! Her brothers still love her and Carter loves to help out. Trey is still learning how to be gentle. :) She definitely still resembles her big brothers!

Sesame Street Live

Last weekend my parents took the kids so Brian and I could go on a DATE! It had been way to long of a night out for no reason with just the two of us. After dinner with drinks and dessert and shopping at the mall we now realize why we don't go out! It's expensive! :) My parents kept Carter overnight and took him to Sesame Street Live at Van Andel on Sunday afternoon. He LOVED it and my parents said he was so into it. Thanks mom and dad for having a special day with C-man!

A smirk to make you smile

Trey's 18 month stats

We had Trey's 18 month appt. today and he weighed in at 22 lbs. 3 oz. (5th %), was 32 inches (25th %) and his head was in the 25th percentile. Carter was 24 lbs. 8 oz. and 32.25 inches at this age so Trey is a tad smaller than his brother...which he regularly has been! He is right on track for everything and had to get two pokes and just cried and cuddled with me for a minute. Carter came with to get a flu shot and was a very brave big brother and did great! Here are some recent pics of our little Trey man. Overall he is a very sweet little sensitive happy boy but unfortunately his big brother likes to drive him nuts so most days we see lots of tears! He likes to wrestle with Carter but usually is the one who winds up hurt. Hopefully once he can talk more they will be able to play a little bit more together. He is a typical boy who loves to build things, play with trucks, tractors, balls and anything boy and of course do what his big brother is doing! He loves to cuddle with his blankie and we call him Linus as you can usually find him with his blanket over his shoulder with his thumb in his mouth. He is a pretty good eater and although he doesn't say much we can usually figure out what he wants. He will forever be the middle child so we have a soft spot in our hearts for him! Love you Trey!

Harvest & Halloween Happenings

The two weekends before Halloween we went to a couple fall/harvest events at a local church and school. The first one was at South Olive Christian put on by the church. They had dinner, a hayride, games, prizes and entertainment. Carter and Trey had a lot of fun playing the games. And I won an apple pie!


Then last weekend just Carter and I went to Ottawa Reformed with Tim, Jen and Liam. They had dinner, games and trunk or treat. The boys had fun and did so good saying Trick or Treat and thank you. :) Isn't Liam the cutest garden gnome??? You should have seen his mom and dad!
My mom went to Florida with her girl friends while my dad and the guys went pheasant hunting so we stopped by their house last weekend before they left. Here is grandpa with his boys! As much as they wrestle with him the poor guy is going to age fast! :)
The boys were all dinosaurs this year (cousin Kasen on the left) and Jade was an angel. So fitting for all!
Sunday night I thought we better carve Carter's pumpkin...it's never too late, right? Last year he wouldn't put his hands in and pull out the 'guts' and told me he was going to this year but still wasn't a fan of it.
Jade was hungry so I had to carve fast so it's pretty plain and simple. All that mattered was that I had a happy boy who likes to watch it glow on the porch.
Halloween night we went to De Witt's neighborhood to trick or treat with DeHaan's and Huyser's. Trey was a little under the weather so Brian just stayed home with him.
The kids didn't last too long this year so good thing we had enough strollers and wagons along!
The mommies and our girls.

Tuesday night I brought Carter to ZFS and Brian took him to a local farmers field and he got to pick beans on the combine for a while. I think this smile shows how much he loved it!

M-LIFE: First Meeting & Playdate

Oct. 7 was our first M-LIFE meeting at church. It is a program for moms with kids from 0-5. The kids love it and it's SO nice to have some mom time! The first week we made a craft out of toilet paper tubes. At the meeting I just cut up my pieces and then completed it at home. A fun 'J' for Jade's room. She thought she had to help model it. :)
Then last Friday our M-LIFE group went to Post Family Farm for the morning. It was a bit chilly but the kids still had fun. We first checked out the animals.
Then got a few pictures by the pumpkins.
Jade slept the whole time in the Bjorn.
Then our tour started and the first stop was the Pumpkin train. Trey got to ride with cousin Kasen (behind Carter).
Then we went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. My mom came with me to help with the boys. :)
Here's our group heading out. There were 2 different tours for our group that morning.
Kasen liked this little pumpkin. I think he thought it was an apple. :)
And just a few other random pictures. On one of the warm days a week ago the boys and I had fun playing outside in a pile of leaves.
And we can't end a post without Jade! Sunday she wore her first dress with a pair of tights...it's been just a tad fun to dress and accessorize her. :)