Monday, September 27, 2010

On The Farm

Saturday we took a trip out to Marne to visit Great Uncle Gary and Great Aunt Shirley at Voogt Farm, where we get our beef.  Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Sara, Carson and Uncle Dan came too.  It was a chilly day, but it was still fun to explore the farm.
First we took a quick look at the chickens.  Then Uncle Gary explained how the cattle are raised, fed, etc.  Rebecca and Carson were both very fascinated by the bulls.  They weren't scared at all.  Next we heard about how the goats are raised.  There was one goat in the pen that was going to be butchered later in the day.  Rebecca loves goats.  She was chasing it all over.  Poor thing was scared of her :P  Rebecca did get to pet it when Aunt Shirley held the goat.  Then we went to the barn where Uncle Gary keeps all of his tractors.  Rebecca and Carson both loved that.  Cousin Zack was getting into a big one...and Rebecca got in with him.  He strapped her in and started it up.  Rebecca got a huge grin on her face.  She loved it!  They took a short ride in the tractor.  Rebecca wasn't scared a bit to be in a big machine with someone she just met.  She loves learning and new experiences.  Our shy little girl is long gone :)  After the tractors and seeing a few more goats we chatted by the orchard/garden.  Rebecca and Carson thought it was great that they got to pick their own apples off the tree and eat them right there.  Then we went inside for a few minutes to warm up and say our goodbyes.  Rebecca and Carson would have been content to stay for a while yet since they found the toys :)
Everyone had a great time.  It was nice to be out in the crisp fall weather and see all of the animals.  Thanks Uncle Gary and Aunt Shirley for your hospitality!

Aside from becoming more and more outgoing Rebecca is becoming quite the little mommy these days.  Must be all the talk about babies :)  She takes her dolls on walks, to the orchard, to church and to the store in their stroller daily.  Yesterday after church she put on Mommy's high heels and watch and grabbed the car keys.  Then she set out on her errands with Emily (her doll) in the stroller :)  It's a lot of fun to watch. She's going to be a great big sister!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Music, Monkeys And More

Last week Rebecca and Mommy were on their own while Daddy traveled to France.  We tried to keep busy while he was gone.  Here is what went on.

We spent a lot of time playing, building with blocks, exploring outside and just having fun.
Rebecca had her first day of Kindermusik.  The theme this year is Milk And Cookies.  She had so much fun!  We have a larger class again this year, and got to meet some new friends.  It's amazing to see how much Rebecca has changed from last year.  She is now one of the oldest kids in the class.  She participates so well.  She follows directions.  She answered every question Miss Lynette asked during story time.  She actually sat still on the story blanket through the whole story instead of wandering around, trying to sit on Miss Lynette's lap, etc.  She sang along to the songs she knew.  She is so independent.  It's fun to watch her learn and grow.
Mommy had an appt. with her psychologist.  Rebecca loves that...she gets to play with a doll house.  And she was especially excited because she got to pick out a present for doing so well with potty training.  Rebecca picked a game of jacks...just like Sister Bear plays in The Bernstein Bears :)

Giving George a kiss and a hug.
Yesterday morning we went to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum to see the Curious George exhibit.  Rebecca LOVES CG.  It was pretty obvious too...when she saw the George statue (bigger than Rebecca) she ran right up to it and planted a big kiss on his lips :)  We went with Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Sara, Carson and Uncle Dan.  We all had a lot of fun exploring and playing.  Rebecca and Carson probably could have kept playing for hours.  We headed back to our house with everyone for lunch.  When we got here the power was out.  Thankfully it came back on after about a half hour.  After getting a little food in their bellies Rebecca and Carson played and played and ran and ran.  They were like two peas in a pod :)  Rebecca was sad when Carson had to leave.  But hopefully we'll get to see them again in a few weeks.  Rebecca got so worn out from all of the playing and excitement...a little too worn out.  She was so over tired that she couldn't sleep.  So she was pretty tired by the end of the day.  But we stayed up long enough to welcome Daddy home!  Rebecca was excited to see him and get a couple fun souveniers.  She liked the chocolate he brought home too :)  By the time we visited with Daddy for a bit Rebecca was about bouncing off the walls from being over tired.  Hopefully she'll catch up on sleep today :)
Rebecca continues to learn and grow every day.  She is becoming a very good singer.  She knows so many songs and loves to sing along to her CDs using her microphone.  Rebecca is experimenting with loud and soft lately.  She'll whisper as softly as she possibly can (barely audible)...then yell something out.  She thinks it's pretty funny.  She is still a great eater.  Her current favorites are bacon, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.  And she tried balogna yesterday.  She's pretty fond of that too now.  The one thing we still don't understand is that she sometimes doesn't think it's necessary to actually chew and swallow her food.  She'll hold a piece of food in her cheek for 20, even 30 minutes!  We constantly remind her to chew.  Eventually she does.  Maybe she just wants to save it for later :P  Rebecca continues to make good progress with potty training.

Outside or inside...it's nice to have a snack handy :P
Rebecca has now graduated from nursery.  Today is her first day in Little Lambs.  It is a class for 2-3 year olds during the whole church service.  They play, hear a Bible story and get a snack.  We think she'll love it.  Rebecca will also be in a class at MOPS this year (starting in October).  No more nursery for our big girl.

That's what we've been up to lately.  We're looking forward to taking it easy today, catching up on sleep and hearing all about Daddy's trip.