Some summer pics

Here are some pics of Chris with his boys:
Chris just got home from one of his first days of work and the boys had just gotten up from their naps. I think Chris looks the most tired of the three!

Chris is just about to leave for one of his interviews.

Yummy popsicle!

Mmmmm!

This boy loves his cheese. There are blueberries on his plate, but none of them got eaten. His new thing is throwing food behind his back. The other day he squished a banana all over his shirt and I cannot get it out. I've washed it 5x already.

Cousins play day

Our garden

I really wanted to have a small garden this year so I planted some beans, tomatoes, cabbage and brussel sprouts (Chris really wanted those). However, I didn't take care of it very well so we're not really getting a bumper crop of anything! Here's a picture of my first bean picking.

Ludington

The boys and I went to visit Chris's family in Ludington on Tues. Noah and Andrew both had barrels of fun on the beach. Noah crawled right for the water. I think they must have played in the sand for over two hours.

Noah and cousin Kaimira.

Adrienne, Andrew, and Cady

Mommy and Noah (the sun was really bright).

Andrew playing in the sand

News around here

Chris started his new job last week so he is now entering his second week as Director of Distance Learning at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and he is loving it! Stop in and see him sometime, he would love to show you his office and all the cool techno stuff he gets to use. He also loves the Christian atmosphere--everyone in the building meets every morning for prayer at 9:45. Although he is home later in the evening than when he was teaching, he is home in the morning when the boys get up and is able to stay up later at night.

The boys are continuing to grow. Discipline is a continuing issue with Andrew, but he is also very affectionate and loving. Noah has a mind of his own and is sooo close to walking, but he crawls so fast, a stumbling walk doesn't hold much interest to him yet.

I currently have 7 weeks until baby number 3 arrives and I haven't done a thing yet! I guess all I really need at the moment is some diapers since the baby has a place to sleep and I have plenty of boy clothes. Chris and I are pretty sure its a boy so we will see what the Lord brings. I have been sorely lacking in energy lately, but today I actually got part of my house tidied up. So I'll try keep that momentum going.

Hope everyone enjoys the last month of summer. I am looking forward to slightly cooler weather!

My Baby

Strawberry Jam

I decided to make strawberry jam this summer. I had never done it before, but we all love homemade jam. I bought a bunch of pectin at Save-a-lot and made 9 large containers of jam.
Unfortunately, I was trying to make freezer jam but followed the directions for canned jam. So my jam didn't jell up as well as it should have, but it still tastes good. Here are a couple of pics. I was going to take more but got too involved in the process. Chris helped me pick and nip all the berries which was a big help.

Noah's VanDen Toorn Birthday Party

These are a little late, but here are some pics from Noah's 2nd first birthday party (if that makes sense!)

Noah opening gifts.

Andrew "helping!"

Noah with his new fire truck from Uncle Nate and Aunt Shell.

Noah's new ball from Uncle Bill and Aunt Laurie, which is bigger than his head!

The food spread.

The "kids" table.

Grandpa and Grandma

The brothers.

Eating cake, or more likely, dropping it on the ground.

Noah's 1st Birthday Party~Engelsma version

April 11, 2008 was Noah's first birthday. We had a party with the Engelsma family on the 10th, and hope to have the VanDen Toorn version Sat evening (Aunt Marlene, you should come up!). I forgot to take a picture of the food, but we had a delicious assortment of viands, including cheesy crescent bites (from Grandma E), finger jello (from Aunt Cindy), cheese and crackers (from Aunt Aimee), artichoke dip, meatballs, veggie pizza, fruit, bean dip, and cupcakes (from Mommy). Noah didn't really care for the food, but I think everyone else enjoyed it.

Hmm...what could this be?



Caleb and big brother Andrew helping out. Mommy and Daddy gave Noah a bike helmet to wear in the bike trailer this summer.

Andrew was very interested in the proceedings. I don't know if he quite realized it was Noah's birthday, and not his.

Aunt Aimee and Uncle Eric gave Noah a soccer ball. Noah loves balls! Currently his pack and play contains a soccer ball, a basket ball, a small nerf ball, and a couple of balloons. He is happy as a clam (for a limited time!) playing in his own personal ball pit.

Of course, we had to let him eat a cupcake. Chris took a video of it with the candle in while we sang happy birthday. He narrowly missed burning his hand when he tried grab the flame. I will try upload the video, but Chris hasn't been able to get it to work yet. There is also a hilarious clip of Cady and Andrew fighting over a toy. Priceless. Definite wedding video material (in the very far future!).

Noah and Grandma. Noah wasn't interested in eating any cake, just smearing it all over the place.

Alana enjoying her cupcake.


Karsten. And yes, he always looks like he's up to something!


Adrienne post-cupcake.


Cadence Beth


Andrew. He had a leftover one for lunch today, which Chris smashed in his face. He thought it was great fun to lick the crumbs off the table.


Our precious baby boy. Hard to believe he is already one year old. We remember so clearly being in the hospital with him just one year ago. It is amazing to see how he has grown and changed in the last year.

Noah and Andrew~recent pics

Chris had spring break this week so he has been spending some time with his boys. Not sure if any of them were really happy to have their picture taken...


We moved Andrew's bike outdoors finally. He is still getting the hang of it...ok, he really has no clue how to do it, but he sure loves his Thomas bike.

Here is Andrew, the patriot. Chris set up this photo op.



Since Noah started crawling, he has started getting into things. His favorite thing to do is get in the tupperware cupboard.

He had a little help with this one!


Another of Noah's favorite things to do is take a bath. He loves to splash and doesn't care if Andrew dumps water over his head. Here is a before picture...

...and here is an after picture! I couldn't resist. Too cute!


Here's Noah screaming for his food ( he likes to eat!)...


..and here he is after he has eaten!

All that activity wore him out.


And, finally a couple pictures of my boys together. It will be fun to see them when they are able to play together. They are very interested in each other. Andrew always asks for Noah when he gets up in the morning and Noah's face lights up when Andrew walks into the room.


They both like their pacifiers!

Best buds!