Visit to the Farm

We took a trip to the farm to see Great Grandpa and Great Grandma yesterday. Before we left Rebecca helped Mommy make no-bake cookies for Grandpa. We hope he likes them. Rebecca sure tought they were "mun nee" :) We headed over around 5:30. We brought dinner, ate with them and visited for a bit. Rebecca had a great time exploring their house and playing with their toys. She even sat and rocked with each of them for a bit. And today Rebecca has been talking about rocking with grandma and giving goodbye kisses :) Hopefully Mary and Rebecca can visit some afternoon again soon. It's always fun to visit the farm :)

Mommy's Soccer Game

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary! We feel so blessed to have shared 6 years of marriage. And we pray that God will bless us with many more. We're working on getting our first baby-sitter so we can go out for dinner later this week. We'll see what happens :)

Bridal Shower

Rebecca and Mary went to a bridal shower for one of Mary's high school friends, Sheila, yesterday. It was in West Bloomfield, MI at the Franklin Village Tea Room. We had an interesting drive there since the highway (696) was closed. We ended up having to drive a ways past where we needed to be and backtrack. Good thing we had the GPS!! We got there around 4:30. We had an assortment of sandwiches, scones and desserts. And of course tea :) It was all very tastey. We played a few typical shower games. And Sheila opened her gifts. It was great to catch up with some old friends and meet some new people. Rebecca had a great time looking around and playing with the bag of dress up clothes that Rachelle brought, especially all the shoes. We left around 6:45, made a stop in Portland for gas and to stretch and got home just before 9:30. A little late for Rebecca (especially since she didn't sleep on the way home!), but we had a blast. Congratulations Sheila and John! Good luck with the rest of the wedding planning :) Check out the album for more pictures.

Today we are going to a church potluck for all of the people involved in the music ministry. We're hoping Rebecca does ok since it's at her nap time...after going to bed late last night and not getting a nap this morning. It may be early bedtime tonight :)

Wed. we are visiting Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van. We're bringing dinner and staying to chat for a bit. Maybe it will be nice enough to walk around the farm a little.

Saturday we're going to a Whitecaps baseball game with Justin's work. Hopefully Rebecca can manage another late Saturday night :) We're looking forward to the game. It's been a while since we've been to a sporting event!

15 Month Check Up

Rebecca turned 15 months old on Friday. Our little girl is growing up so quickly! She had her check up yesterday. She's a strong, healthy toddler. Over the last week or so we noticed that Rebecca seemed to be able to reach so much more on tables, reach door knobs, climb on more things, etc. She just looked taller all of a sudden. And as soon as the doctor walked in the room yesterday he was like, wow, she sure has grown! She sure has! She is now 31" long! She grew about 3" in the past few months. We can definitely tell she is starting to thin out. She weighs 23 lbs. 14 oz. Both her height and weight are in the 50th-75th %. From birth until now her height had always been in the 25th% or lower. We're anxious to see if that trend continues and she's taller like the Voogts or if it will slow back down and she'll be shorter like the Hollebooms :) The doctor said he expected to see a baby when he came in but instead he saw a little girl. He also noted how incredibly strong she is. We've noticed too :) She had 2 shots...MMR and chicken pox. She didn't like it, but she was a trooper. She'll get a couple more at her 18 month visit and then they are done until kindergarten!!


The doctor was amazed at how smart she is :) He said she has some 2 year old skills. He said with the skills she's already showing and both parents being engineers she'll likely have a pretty high IQ :) Our challenge will be to keep her challenged.


Rebecca continues to learn new things and amaze us every day. She is saying 2 word and 3 and 4 syllable phrases. Yesterday she was walking around saying "Hello Daddy," holding either her hand or her play phone next to her ear. While helping Mommy fold laundry the other day she learned the word underwear...as clear as can be, full 3 syllables she said "un-a-wear." She is getting pretty good at coloring. And if you say the word color she gets super excited. She definitely knows what it means. Rebecca is getting better at counting. She can now say all of the numbers 1-5 and 9. But she doesn't say them all in a row. Sometimes it's 2, 4, 5. Sometimes she adds in 3. You just never know :) Rebecca still loves to read and look at photo albums. This week she has learned the names of all of her aunts and uncles. Her favorite to say seems to be "an du-wee"...aunt Julie. She also says "wyan"...Ryan, quite a bit. And she says "unca dan," "shan," "kai," and "an tawa." Rebecca is getting much better at climbing...stairs, chairs, toys, etc. And she loves to rock in her rocking chair..."wok, wok." She is still very affectionate and cuddly. She piles her stuffed animals into her arms and snuggles with them. And before bed or if someone is leaving she says "I you" (I love you) and blows a kiss. She has also started blowing a kiss when she sees pictures of Mommy and Daddy...after seeing one of our wedding pictures where we were kissing :)

Rebecca is trying more and more food. She likes to try whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating. She says "bite, bite" because she wants what we have. This past week she tried homemade pesto. She had it on some noodles and said "peto pata"...pesto pasta :) We found that she loves blueberries. We'll stock up on more at the farmer's market today. And she tried goulash this week. She loves it! Pretty much anything with ground beef she loves. And peanut butter too. She calls it butter :)

Rebecca is growing well and learning so much. We're having a blast with her!

Baby Shower and the Zoo

Yesterday Mary met her sister, her niece, her mom, her SIL and a family friend in Lansing to paint pottery and have dinner. It was a girl's day out to celebrate the upcoming birth of her new niece or nephew in October. It was fun to hang out with the girls and relax.While Mary was in Lansing Justin and Rebecca went to John Ball Zoo. Rebecca had fun seeing all the animals and even getting to pet a few. She is gradually becoming more brave about petting animals. But she still prefers the small ones :) She had a fun afternoon and evening with Daddy!!

Rebecca turned 15 months old on Friday. Tomorrow is her check up. We're anxious to see how much she's grown. We'll post her stats and updates later in the week.

This Saturday Rebecca and Mary will be heading to the east side of the state to go to a tea party bridal shower for one of Mary's high school friends. Mary is looking forward to seeing some people she hasn't seen in years. Hopefully Rebecca can handle a fancy tea party :)

Next Sunday we have a potluck with some people from church, and Justin and Mary will be celebrating their 6th anniversary!! We might have our first attempt at using a baby-sitter so we can go out for dinner. But that means we have to find a baby-sitter first :)

Summer Vacation 2009 - Wisconsin

Saturday morning we drove to Hilbert, WI to spend a couple days with Grandpa and Grandma Voogt. We got there around lunch time. After lunch Rebecca took a nap. In the afternoon we went to a local park. Rebecca showed Grandpa and Grandma how much she loves to swing and climb and slide. We also spent some time looking around the farm. Rebecca loved seeing the cows and chickens! And she got to bounce on Grandpa's horsey :) Rebecca was also introduced to Uncle Kevin's cat, Chester...who currently lives with Grandpa and Grandma. Rebecca spent the whole weekend walking around looking for "kitty." Since Chester is a pretty tame cat...and declawed ;)...Rebecca could chase him and he would just run away. That's the way she likes her animals :) Once in a while Chester would turn towards her and that was enough to give her a little break from the cat. Although by Monday morning she was brave enough to reach for Chester and try to pet him without anyone helping.

Sunday morning we went to church. Rebecca played in the nursery. Grandma Voogt stayed with her during the sermon (when she wasn't playing piano). It was fun to chat and see a few familiar faces at Covenant Church. After church was lunch and nap. In the afternoon Grandma got to try some of her Kindermusik instruments and music with Rebecca. Rebecca loved dancing, bouncing and tip-toeing around! And she loved playing the shaker and the triangle. Then we went outside and took a ride behind Grandpa's tractor. We rode along while Granpda watered some of the trees they recently planted. We also spent more time exploring the farm. Rebecca finally got brave enough to pet one of the barn cats. And she tried picking some apples...although it was a little tough since they are tiny and have a few months to grow yet. In the evening Uncle Kevin came over. Rebecca calls him "Kai." She was a little shy at first. But soon she was wandering around looking for him..."hi Kai." We grilled for dinner. And then it was time for bed for Rebecca...she was so worn out from all of the traveling and from the time change. After she went to bed we packed most of our stuff so we were ready to head out in the morning. And we enjoyed some yummy dessert that Grandma made (strawberry pie and rhubarb crisp) and talked for a while.

Monday morning we had breakfast and spent a little more time playing. We left around 9 and headed to the Lake Express ferry. When we got close we stopped at a park to stretch our legs and eat lunch. We boarded the ferry around 12 (1 MI time). Shortly after departure Mary strapped Rebecca into the Babyhawk to attempt to get her to nap. It was tough to get her settled with so much noise...people talking, doors slamming...but after an hour of walking and rocking Rebecca finally fell asleep (around 2:45). She slept for about an hour...while Mary continued to walk and rock. She woke up just before it was time to head down to our car. We had just enough time to head up to the top of the ferry and look around for a few minutes. We got off the ferry and drove home, arriving around 5:30.

We had a wonderful vacation! It was fun to see so many different places and to have some time to relax with family. Rebeca did so well on the trip. And we can tell she learned a lot in one week. When we were in WI she was saying 2 word/3 syllable phrases, like "hi kitty," "hi gampa," "i see you," and "hi Kai." We are all glad to be back home now :) There are lots of pictures in the photo albums and one video (of "hi kitty" and Rebecca copying Grandma's laugh..."ah ha."). We hope you enjoy them.

Summer Vacation 2009 - Rapid River

Friday afternoon we headed to Rapid River (a little east of Escanaba) to our cabin at the Vagabond Resort. We weren't sure what to expect after the Balsams, but it was pretty nice (aside from the dirt factor). They had a ton of playground stuff, including plenty of toddler stuff. It was well worn and dirty, but still fun and entertaining. There was even a toy for Justin to try :) We took a little walk to the water. This is a big fishing area, so not really any place to swim. We just walked out on the dock. We ate leftovers for dinner. And we relaxed in the evening. This was intended to be a short, overnight stop to break up the trip. And it was. Saturday morning we were back on the road headed to WI to see Granpda and Grandma Voogt.

Summer Vacation 2009 - St. Ignace

On Thursday afternoon we drove from Traverse City to St. Ignace. When we got into town we stopped at a grocery store to get food for dinner on Thurs. and Fri. Then we checked into our cabin at the Balsams Resort. Not really what we would call a resort :P It definitely was not child-proof/toddler friendly...lots of crazy electrical stuff. And a very small, dirty living area, so not much room for Rebecca to roam. But it was only for 1 night. And it had 2 "bedrooms" so at least we could put Rebecca in a separate room...separated by a thin curtain. We didn't spend any time outside at this cabin. Just Thurs. evening inside and one chilly night.

Friday morning we packed up again and then headed into town. They have a nice boardwalk with little shops and restaurants. We walked for a bit, got some chocolate turtle fudge (Murdick's fudge...mmm) and got Rebecca a small stuffed animal horse. We went to a park to have lunch and play for a while. We left at Rebecca's nap time to head to our next cabin in Rapid River.

We enjoyed some leisure time walking and watching the ferries going to and from Mackinac Island. And stopping in St. Ignace helped break up the drive. But I don't think we'll be returning to the Balsams any time soon :)

Summer Vacation 2009 - Traverse City

Last Monday we left for our week long summer vacation. Our first stop was Traverse City (MI:). We stayed there until Thurs. afternoon. The Cherry Festival was going on, so we spent a lot of time there.


We went to Bob Evans for dinner on Monday (it was right by our hotel). Rebecca ordered off the kids menu for the first time...grilled chicken and broccoli. Mommy and Daddy each tried some cherry bread with their dinner. Monday evening we had our first dip in the pool at our hotel. Rebecca was terrified at first (as we kind of expected). She gradually got used to it. Then we tried her floaty...another crying spell. But again, she got used to it. And did start actually enjoying it :)



Tuesday we went to The Cherry Connection...a local farm that specializes in growing cherries. They are associated with MSU for research. They also grow a few other fruits...like grapes, apples and pears. They had a small petting zoo (animals from other local farms). Rebecca really liked all the animals...except the goose...it honked at her, made her fall over and gave her a good scare. She did like petting the little chicks. They also had a huge assortment of cherry products to taste from local vendors. We sampled all kinds of stuff, including cherry ice cream, cherry coffee, cherry peanut butter, cherry pie, cherry lemonade, cherry preserves, cherry sausage, dried cherries and cherry muffins. Then we went on a short tour (wagon behind a tractor) of the farm and learned all about cherries. It was a great way to kick off our experience at the Cherry Festival! It would have been nice if it had been a little warmer (low 60's...bundled in jackets :P), but it was still fun..and yummy!! When we got back to town we took a quick walk through the main cherry festival area. In the afternoon we spent some time at a park and biking around town. Rebecca is becoming quite the climber from all of her time spent at playgrounds lately :) For dinner we ate at a local restaurant, Schelde's. We just relaxed in the hotel in the evening.



Wed. morning we spent more time in the pool. Rebecca tried the life jacket she borrowed from her cousin Carson. It just made her tip backwards, so we didn't use it very long. Then Daddy and Rebecca played in the sand at the hotel for a while. And we played on the play set and fed the ducks some Cheerios :) Then Rebecca had a bath at the hotel...not her favorite thing for sure. She seems to be getting more and more scared of water instead of liking it more. We had a quick lunch at Wendy's before nap time. Rebecca had her first taste of a few fries. She mostly just held them but didn't really want to eat them :P She scarfed down her leftover chicken and broccoli. That's our girl :) In the afternoon we went to the Cherry Festival. We started at the kids area where they had crafts, face painting, live music, a magician, food, fire trucks and a playground. Then we headed to the main area. We watched some pie eating contests and shopped for souveniers (Rebecca got a Cherry Festival t-shirt). And Rebecca got to ride the merry-go-round. She did well as long as she had a good grip on Mommy :) We sampled more cherry products and other local foods and bought a few things...cherry cabernet preserves, chocolate cherry sauce, almond butter and chocolate butter toffee peanut butter. Yum!! We ate dinner at the festival and did some more walking around. In the evening we relaxed and did some packing.

Thursday morning we packed up and headed up to the Old Mission Point Lighthouse at the tip of the penninsula. We were able to go up the lighthouse. Pretty neat. We had a picnic lunch and headed back to town to play at the park for a bit. On our way we stopped at a winery to pick up a couple bottles of local wine...including a special Cherry Festival wine. Then we left for St. Ignace when it was time for Rebecca's nap.

We had a great time in Traverse City!!! And the Cherry Festival was so much fun! Hopefully we'll make it back there some day. Unfortunately it was too cold to spend any time at the beach. But we still had some fun in the water indoors :)