Thanksgiving 2009

I'm a few weeks behind, but we spent Thanksgiving with the Ho*ltkamps in New York City. We had an easy trip out and a lovely Thanksgiving, which included finally getting to meet Kean's girlfriend, Jen*na.













Thumb wars:


Jenna has an interest in and experience with organic farming, so we had a lot to talk about. I showed her this blog, especially the pictures of our chickens. Kean is moving to Philly to be with her and live in a more affordable area.








We took a ferry ride to Staten Island, and had lunch at a wonderful gluten-free restaurant there (which we just happened upon). Here is Noah imitating the Statue of Liberty, which we went by. \




The boys came down with a bad cold, and that limited us a bit. Thankfully, Omie was prepared with a lot of crafts and such, so a lot of time was spent at the kitchen table.




Here is Omie teaching her grandsons how to make tea.








The four of us spent an afternoon about town, and took the boys to the Central Park Zoo.













The boys were fascinated by all the street musicians everywhere. This gentleman asked the boys if they had a request, and Oliv*er asked for "Amazing Grace".






We enjoyed a sushi meal together - the boys rather liked their taste of raw fish, but also the noodles we actually ordered for them.




My parents' new apartment is very spacious and sunny, and was very comfortable. Noah slept with us on an air mattress and Ollie slept in a small room off of the kitchen.





Cartoons with breakfast - definitely a special treat.



Joel also had a nice 24-hour trip to see his brother. Unfortunately, Ollie had a croup/asthma attack on the day before we left to come home, and I spent the afternoon in the ER with him. They shot him up with steroids and let us go, but those steroids tend to make Ollie a bit out-of-control and impulsive, and the flight back wasn't fun. The poor kid's ears were also hurting, and he cried for most of the 2nd half of the flight.

The last few weeks have been a real challenge, with work deadlines, back-to-back colds for all of us, and a car that died and proved not to be worth repairing. But, as they always seem to eventually, things are looking up. We're all finally better, we're looking forward to some days off around the holidays, and we bought what should be a much more reliable car (a 48mpg Civic Hybrid with 38,000 miles on it, with a 100,000 mile extended warranty). Last week, the boys were angels in the FMC Christmas Pageant, and last night, we saw cousin Zo*e in her program. Later this week, we'll hopefully welcome Uncle Mark home from Boston, go to church with Joel on Christmas Eve, and spend Christmas Day with Joel's family after opening our own gifts at home. We do hope that the big storm coming our way that is all the talk right now turns out to be just overblown hype. Who needs something called "Snowmaggedon"?

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a special time with family. A special greeting to all my Dutch family: though you are a continent away, you are in our hearts, and we celebrate with you!

neither here nor there

I'm busy uploading Thanksgiving photos, so come back again soon, but wanted to get these two in as well.



When Li*ly was born, her big sister Z0*e spent some evenings at our house, and we all had a fabulous time together. It cracked me up how much these three looked like family with their very similar hair and skin tone.



When you don't like what's served for dinner, and you are prohibited to say anything about this beyond "no thank you", there are apparently other methods for asking for your preference....

Fall fun

big boys

Halloween clowns.


Ollie had a cold a few weeks ago, and we had some nice time together while Noah went to church with Daddy. Oliver is off all of his asthma medications except for colds. He may go on them again over the winter, but he's definitely doing much better than a year ago. Last winter, we only went outside for any length of time if he a. didn't have a cold b. it wasn't below about 20 degrees and c. there wasn't a pollution advisory (and there were lots of them due to snow, because the pollution gets trapped by the moist air when there's a warm-up and there's a significant thaw). So that meant almost never, and we didn't go sledding beyond the front yard or skating even once. It was a looooong winter with 2 active boys, but with Ollie's health improvement and our YWCA membership, this winter should be a lot better.




They barely fit, but every now and then, both boys still want to sit in our laps at the same time.


Grandma gave the boys a couple of very comfy sweatshirts from her recent trip to Washington. Omie sent some postcards from across the ocean, so the boys got some very exciting mail over the space of a week. We spent lots of time looking at their globe that week!



Sometimes we have to earn back some of our toys by doing a little polishing....


After not much interest over the summer, the boys are really into puzzles again. They make great puzzle partners, each offering their own unique strengths.


Sheer enthusiasm for life is a mutual strength.


As is a love of books and grandparents.




"Look, Mama! We are just one really long boy!"



The boys helped me make some biscuits the other day.




Fall is always kind of tough at our house, with those "half-birthdays" that tend to correlate with rougher patches for a lot of kids, plus school and Jo'el's new schedule starting again. This fall was no different, and October was particularly rough going--the boys were suddenly super high-energy, wrestling all the time and not listening very well. Oh, did I wish for more compliant and obedient children. It's been better lately, and I've kind of adjusted my perspective a bit. Do my kids come running as soon as I call? Nope. Do they tune me out? Yup--with No*ah in particular, I often have to get down on his level, make him look at me, ask him to repeat my request before he'll truly hear me. It's exhausting. However. I've also seen real evidence lately that my children are kind. They are kind to their cousin when she visits, they are kind to other kids, and generally seem concerned for other kids' well being, often telling me who was sad at school, or unkind. I fell down the stairs recently, and was in so much pain for a few minutes that I almost threw up. I lay on the floor moaning, trying to catch my breath and with my hand full of blood, and the boys brought me kisses and water and band aids. They care very much about each other's feelings, and will gladly share their Halloween candy, or anything else so that each boy has some. They are full of love. They are also pretty respectful most of the time, good with their P's and Q's, and considerate. They show the kind of respect that can just as easily come out of good intentions and actually thinking about a situation as from rule-following. They are concerned about the homeless people we see, and about kids who don't have enough to eat (we can't leave the grocery store without buying something from the food shelf, and the other day, Oliv*er talked me into giving some of the canned goods I'd intended for our own pantry). Do I sometimes wish my kids would try to negotiate or argue less and just do what I say? Do I wish they'd wait quietly by my side more often? Do I wish they'd sit more neatly at the table without squirming? Sure I do, but when they're older, respect and kindness are going to be worth a lot more than just obedience and rule-following. It's our job to teach them to listen, but also to teach them about kindness, mercy, love, and grace. We'll keep working on the listening, but I think we have some pretty good kids.

A few weeks ago, we went to a local store to buy two sets of sneakers for the gym. I told them on the way that I wasn't buying superhero sneakers, but when Noah asked if he could get the kind that flashed in the heel, I said I didn't think they'd have those if they weren't superhero (which I personally don't feel the need to buy at this time). They did have one such pair though, but only in No*ah's size. I could tell that Ollie was really disappointed, but he kept it together, and let me help him try on another pair without complaint. I was proud of him for handling his disappointment so well, but then on the way out, I spied a miss-shelved pair of flashing light sneakers in the right size. He was over the moon, and so was No*ah, that his brother would get to have them too.

The next day as was tiding up, I was marveling at how enormous the new sneakers were. I pulled one of their first tiny NICU socks out of the cup in our china cabinet I keep it in, and placed it next to the shoe. That's a quarter, for reference.

They are still changing so fast. We're looking at kindergartens for next fall, they're learning big words like "unusual" and "theory" and "compromise", and asking big, philosophical and complicated questions. They're reading and writing a little. They monkey across the monkey bars, somersault, skip, and pump their own swings. Yesterday, they played quietly until 9 AM. I woke up in a panic, and found them sitting on the couch and playing UNO. How is it even possible that they ever really fit those tiny socks?