Becoming Buddies!

These two have been fun to watch over the past few weeks. While they are perfectly good antagonists at times, they've also been growing into close friends. They may be seen sharing the same chair (or airplane seat), boxing out other kids at the top of the slide to save a place for brother, or splashing puddles and causing great mischief together. At the dinner table, Mac likes to sit next to Bennett, so he drags his chair to the corner of the table where he can be RIGHT next to him. (In theory it's adorable, though it doesn't always end so well. :) )







Yesterday they had this conversation at the table while waiting for lunch:
Mac: Bennett?
Bennett: Yes Mac?
M: Can you ask me what I'm doing?
B: Hey Mac?
M: Yes Bennett?
B: What are you dooooing?
M: Nothin'.

Mac is very conversational and so far have seemed to have not hit the, "WHY?" questioning. He much prefers the "What if" questioning. "Mommy, what if we didn't have faces? What if there were no trees? What if we didn't have underwear?"

Bennett is developing quite the sense of humor. He loves to try things on his head and give Moose Kisses. Not sure what a moose kiss is? Just ask him sometime.

Together they are also enjoying learning about caterpillars and butterflies. They took a lesson from their cousin, Greta, and went on a hunt for milkweed and monarch caterpillars. So far two have already spun their cocoons and are hanging from the top of the aquarium. Two are still muching their way through the leaves. Mac named two of them, "Butterfly" and "Lucy." Bennett named two of them, "Everything" and "Big One." We can't wait to see what happens next!

Long Time, No See

Wow! I let this posting get away from me. My how life can change when we have one that doesn't nap any longer. We get even less done...but we get to play more! While Bennett has been napping, Mac has been doing his dot to dots, mazes, learning to write his letters, becoming an I SPY pro and learning to work the computer. It's so much fun to watch his brain working. He turned three in March and is LOVING being able to play outdoors more.

Bennett has turned into a little boy in the past few months. We definitely don't have a baby in the house anymore. Bennett is always drawn toward old Grampa looking men and to babies. however, he's also grown especially fond of his "pet bird" we've affectionately named Kevin. It is a Robin who flies into our window about 75+ times a day. Kevin just laid eggs. Bennett says good morning to him everyday and calls out "Bye Kevin. Be back." when we're pulling out of the driveway. He is putting sentences together and his favorite is, "Where'd (anything) go? Oh, dare it is! Found it!" And the swing is a favorite pasttime...he could spend hours in there for sure.

And just in case you were wondering, this photo is a representation of how Bennett lets us know when he is done eating.

And then there's this dangerous trio! Cousin Parker is a ood bud of ours, along with all the other cousins.

We've so enjoyed our time with cousins, aunts and uncles, grammas, grampas, and visits from those aunts, uncles and Grammy/GrampS who live too far away. We love you all! Thank you for our many blessings!

Merry Christmas!

There's nothing like a ride in Santa's Sleigh to bring out the wonder and excitement of the season! As we grow together as a family, this year has helped us continue to learn that the things that are important are often times not things. We praise God for many blessings in 2009, many of which can be tracked right here in this blog, so sit back with a warm cup of hot chocolate and spend as much time as you'd like with the Scholtens.

As for our Christmas plans...We had a star in the church Christmas Pageant. You couldn't see him or hear him, but rest assure he was a star both figuratively and literally. Pictures were hard to come by but you can see that Mac was on stage and Bennett was on fire and trying to take off his sweater all night. It was the best and worst rendition of "Away in a Manger" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain" we have ever experienced! I guess one has to be a parent to fully appreciate this feeling.

We're heading to Grammy and Gramps Scholtens in Georgia for Christmas Day. We'll tune back in after the big day to let you know if Santa found us and if Uncle Drew received coal in his stocking once again in 2009!

And a favorite part of our holiday this year is looking at the Christmas lights and talking about our manger scene. Thanks to the boys, our manger scene has "3 Wise Guys" visiting Jesus. They came to Bethlehem "riding the reendeer". Mary and "Doufus" (how we pronounce Joseph here) are in the stable and, thanks to our cousin Greta, we refer to the Shepherds as "Hookers" because of their shepherding hooks. Gotta love it!

We continue to be humbly blessed and thoughtfully challenged to depend wholly on this small child born on Christmas! Here's to 2010! Pray hard, Play Hard, and stop by if you're in the area!

Fall Family

Oh what fun we've had this fall. Thanks to the beautiful weather, we have been spending lots of time outdoors. The past two weeks we've been having some busy work with a "little" project in the backyard. Kurt calls it a shed. Whit calls it a garage. We've compromised and have added a "sharage" in our backyard. In combination with project and play, we've spent some extra time in the bathtub, scrubbing off our frequent outdoor mud baths.















Then of course, we did have some Halloween fun at our house too. Macabe was certain he wanted to be a snowman this year, as "The Snowman" is one of his favorite movies. Mom worked hard sewing to have it done in time to wear. Unfortunately, come time to put it on...it was definitely not going to happen. SO, as you can see, Bennett is still too little to protest enough...Meet Bennett the snowman! He was a cute one! And Mac was happy to be the "P.U.S. Man" again this year. Who doesn't like a visit from the UPS guy anyway?!

And this picture? Well, what can we say about this picture? Too goofy for his own good!

In so many other ways we have been blessed this fall. We have become more settled in our new place. The boys know this as home. We have joined a nice church and had Bennett baptized finally. Much of the family was able to be there to celebrate with us. Our days are filled with dance parties around the house, morning, noon and night. These boys love to boogie! A favorite part of the week is going to our Kindermusik class on Wednesdays with some of our friends. And of course, leaf jumping in the biggest pile we could make highlights everyone's fall. Bennett was not a big fan at first, but grew to enjoy tossing a few in the air as long as they weren't poking his face. Mac, on the other hand, took them by the shovel full onto the tarp, rode the tarp and was dumped upside down in them until he could wiggle his way to the surface. Covering others is a highlight for him too. (So you can imaging how well the combo of Macabe throwing leaves and Bennett afraid of them went over! Brotherly love!)

Other than that, we are thankful for our good health, doing what we can to keep it that way, and praying for our friends who have been hit hard this season.

Bennett Turns ONE!

Oh my goodness! Where has the time gone? I know everyone thinks that, but this, this was fast. We have come a long way from early days of the pack-n-play bed and sleeping our naps away on Mommy's chest. Even these past two weeks, Bennett has become quite the little man! He has found his confidence in moving about. And with this confidence has come great happiness, exploration and personality. Bennett walks about with his arms stretched wide, smiling from ear to ear, if not laughing with excitement and pride. He is frustrated when he falls, but will search for something to pull up on and try again. Climbing stairs were never even attempted until the day before his birthday when he decided to do all 15 in lightning speed.

Other than moving about, Bennett is learning his great love of ice cream. I chuckle to see him scream like a little girl and drop the saddest of faces when you tell him it's all gone. And watch out if you agree to share yours with him. You best can say goodbye to most of yours. :) Or ask him what a puppy dog or a lion says and he is sure to answer. In fact, he is so good at the growling that our family often has a growling contest on our car rides. He usually tops the charts. Speaking of topping the charts, Bennett had a doctor appointment yesterday. He now weighs in at 22 lbs and 11 oz. and measures 30 3/4 in. long. Not bad, certainly for the amount of food he puts away everyday, but where's the topping of the charts you say? Yes, we appear to top the charts with our head size. We always knew he had a good brain. That's why we can't get all our shirts on him anymore. Never would guess by looking at this curly, blondie, blue-eyed grinning sweet potato of mine!

Enjoy a few of his birthday pictures. He wasn't too sure about the cake, just like big brother Mac. He was timid to dive in, but once Dad put Cheerios on top for me to grab and eat, he learned it was pretty tasty. (though it will likely never surpass his love for ice cream) And how could I forget to mention his second love? balls of any shape and size. Ah yes, the favorite toy of choice. You will never find him without one in hand.

"My sock is frustrated."

What's that you say? Yes, Macabe has been full of funny statements and comments these days. This weekend I had him come into me with a floppy sock hanging from his foot. He was trying very hard not to get all worked up, so he came and announced that his sock was frustrated and he needed help.

How about another?....Yesterday Kurt was in the kitchen and "poor" Lucy was wandering around waiting for something to land on the floor. Kurt asserted, "Lucy, go lay down. You are driving me nuts!" Macabe again runs in from the other room and asks, "Hey Daddy? Where's Lucy's nuts?"

And finally...Today after leaving church I shared that I left my name and number at church to offer help in the nursery. Macabe in his most empathic voice insterts, "Oh no, Mommy! Can we go back and get it?" So worried that I left my name at church.

What a hoot this boy is. Could he bring us any more joy?

ADORES playing in the rain! Thanks for the boots and coat Grammy S.

Tractors to drive at the Hudsonville Fair

My pal Parker...and cousin...a dangerous duo.

And the best pal of all...DADDIO!

Stay tuned! We will be celebrating Bennett's first birthday this week! Can you believe it?

If a picture is worth a thousand words....

...well then the progression of three photos should tell a pretty good story.

What a hoot these boys are. Is that a hug or a head lock? You be the judge.

Oh man, what joys this summer has brought to our home and hearts. We are loving our new home, spending time together as a family and finding new places to explore every week. This summer is very different from our last. Macabe and I spent last summer frequenting friends houses, the spraypark, Dow Gardens, and countless hours in the driveway together with our Lucy dog. It was an adventure together before the arrival of baby brother. I wasn't sure what to expect, nor is any mother when she adds to the family. Dad was travelling many a places, jet setting in his sales job all over North America and more. We sure missed our time with him, but had adventures nonetheless.

This summer? Well this summer is dedicated to growing families and growing hearts. Not only have we added our toothy boy Bennett to the crew (almost a year old already...where does time go?), but we have Dad home way more often now too. ALL of us couldn't be happier about this. There are days we even get to have breakfast, lunch AND dinner with Dad as he has an office in the basement now too. Macabe loves a good afternoon tackle or game of chase with Bennett and Dad before naps. It's the simple joys that we would have missed out on, had we not been here today.

More to come, as I hope to do a better job of keeping this current, since I've been re-inspired by a dear friend of mine. Thanks MB!

Certainly more photos of some of our favorite times/activities will be warranted.