Family Picture

We are in our new house finally, and we love it! We put our lawn in this past Labor Day weekend and are now watering like crazy in hopes that some grass will grow! I still have boxes all over the basement, and no pictures on the walls, but this house definitely feels like our home. Chris started back to school last week so it feels really busy. Andrew and Noah are both growing fast. Noah had four shots this morning so he has been sleeping most of the day.
We went to Ludington the 3rd week of August. It was fun camping, but definitely more work now with two kids! Here is a family picture taken on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Our New House

So we finally sold our old house!! Our new house is coming along very fast. We are scheduled to move in June 20. I picked out colors, flooring, and countertops last week, which was so much fun. Here are some pictures of our house as it was being built.

Here is the foundation being poured...

the walls going up...

the shingles on...

and the siding going on.

And a really cute picture of Andrew and Noah!

Baby Noah

Our second son, Noah James Engelsma, was born on April 11, 2007, at 6:30 in the evening. He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 18 and a half inches long.

In other news, we are trying to close on our house. We've had a few issues with our buyer and have had to put a new septic system in because our old one totally failed the inspection. Hopefully we will be able to close soon. Our new house has already been started. The basement is dug and the footings have been put in. Also, we moved out of our house 4 days before Noah was born and are living with Chris's parents which is going very well. In fact, we are very spoiled! Andrew loves living here because he gets to play outside so much and there is always someone around to entertain him. Noah is doing well, although I think he has his days and nights a little mixed up. He was up every two hours last night. He had his first doctor's appointment today and has gained a whole pound since he left the hospital 10 days ago. It's really not surprising considering how much he eats!

Andrew Playing Peekaboo

Andrew was playing in his room this morning and it was a little too quiet in there. So I peaked around the corner and this is what I found.

There's Andrew!

In other news, Chris decided to start potty training Andrew today. He put underwear on him and he's been putting him on the toilet. So far, no progress. I don't think Andrew is ready but Chris wanted to try. He'll sit on the toilet, but he waits until he's off to wet his pants. I think its kind of funny, but Chris isn't so amused!

What's New?

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. We were pretty busy, we didn't even really have a birthday party for Andrew, although he got tons of presents and cake so I think he fared pretty well. We have a parking garage in his bedroom now. We were able to visit relatives in Canada that we haven't seen in quite awhile. Hopefully we will be able to come again this summer with the new baby.
Well, our house is for sale and we actually got an offer last week! Yeah!! We are still negotiating, but we think this will probably go through in the next week or so. We are going out this week with our realtor to look at available houses so that is exciting.
As for my pregnancy, I found out a few weeks ago I have gestational diabetes so I've been watching my carbs carefully and have actually lost 4 lbs in the last two weeks! I guess that shows how bad my diet was before! I will probably be induced before 40 weeks so about 5 weeks to go! Now I really have to get the baby stuff ready, probably should have started a while ago.
Andrew continues to grow and develop. He is really starting to talk and he is actually starting to play with his toys more. Here are some pictures of him and him and Chris, he loves to play rough with daddy.

Andrew and daddy heading out into the snow.

Andrew playing with daddy.

Andrew in daddy's shoes.

Andrew Playing

Andrew has been sick for the last week, but he still has had a good temperament. Now that he is almost two, he is starting to play with his toys more the way they were made to be played with. Here he is playing with the blocks he got last year for his birthday from his great-grandma Roffel. He had a really tall tower built, but of course he knocked it down before I could get a picture.
In other news, we have put our house up for sale. The sign is not up yet, but will be soon. The house isn't really ready to be sold, because it needs major landscaping help, but since the market is so good for buying right now, we thought it would be a good idea to just try and sell the house since we will definitely be needing more room soon.
I had planned on getting a family picture taken to send out in Christmas cards, but none of the ones I took turned out so maybe next year. Hopefully Andrew's 2 year old picture will be going out in Christmas cards this year, although they may be late. Christmas really snuck up on me this year. Haven't really done anything for it yet. I'm looking forward to Chris being home for a couple of weeks and visiting family here and in Canada.
Hope you all have a blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!

Quick Update

I haven't written in awhile and I don't really have any new pictures to share, but here's a quick update. Chris has been back to school for over two months and is doing well, although he is not crazy about the drive. Andrew seems to learn a new word everyday, but his latest is, "NO," which he uses quite frequently. He had a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago and is now 23 lbs. Not real big, just average size. I am currently 16 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. It is getting quite cold already here in Michigan and currently there is a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, but I think it's supposed to warm up a little next week. So, not much going on in our lives. Hopefully I'll put some new pictures up soon. Have a great day!

Our New Pets

Yesterday Chris brought a home a pair of female doves to be our new pets. Andrew is thrilled! Right now we are trying to pick out names. Chris doesn't like my suggestions! Please help!

This is Lizzy....





and this is Jane. Now all we need is a Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley and
we're all set!

Pittsburgh Trip

During the last week of July, we traveled to Pittsburgh, PA, with Chris's brother Dave, his wife Cindy, and their daughter Adrienne. Here are some pics of our trip.

We stopped in Akron, OH, on the way to visit the Goodyear Tire Museum. On the way out of Akron, we stopped to take a picture of the building that houses the Goodyear blimp.


Here is Chris, Andrew, Adrienne, and Dave by the sea lion exhibit. The zoo also had a very large aquarium with a large selection of aquatic life, and a petting zoo for the kids.

Here is Adrienne, who turned 2 that day, and Andrew petting the deer at the zoo. There were also sheep and goats to pet.

We rode a cable car up Mount Washington in Pittsburg and had a great view of the city from the top.

Here's is a view of the city of Pittsburgh from Mount Washington.

On the last night, we stayed in Cleveland, OH. Here is a family pic on a fishing pier on Lake Erie.

Congrats!

Congratulations to Suzanne and Gerrit Kleyn on the birth of their son, Levi Hendrik Kleyn, born on July 30, 2006!

Our Little Garden

This if the first year we've had any type of garden, and yesterday I discovered little tiny peppers and tomatoes!

Andrew the Scholar

Andrew already shows great promise of being as great a scholar as his daddy. although he is leaning towards paleontology as his choice area of expertise. He's getting a head start by reading this book about dinosaurs. No little kid books for him! :-)

Medieval Boluyts

Caleb, Cassidy, and Karsten came over on Thursday to play with Chris's woodpile in the barn. They spent a lot of time rooting through the mountain of scrap wood and building weapons and other useful implements. Here's Cassidy with her shield and sword.

Karsten is checking his sword to make sure the glue is dry.

Leb helped Uncle Chris with the yard and then spent time in the barn. Aim, can your kids come over every week to help get rid of our wood? :-)

Sweet Little Andrew

Chris took a picture of Andrew after he fell asleep a couple of nights ago. Isn't he cute? :-)

Window Boxes

Chris made me some window boxes out of scrap wood to hang outside my kitchen windows. I never knew I had such a resourceful husband!

Anijah and Andrew

Bathroom Remodel Update

Here are some pictures of our bathroom remodel, plus a few cute ones of Andrew helping out. Within the next week, total remodel should be complete, thanks to my Dad!

Filling in the Hole

This week we got a large load of sand to fill in our bomb shelter hole. Even without grass it already looks better, and Andrew's got a huge sandbox!

Random Pictures