4 Months Old

Abram just turned 4 months old!  He sure is growing.  He had his check up yesterday.  Abram now weighs 18 lbs. 10 oz. (97th%!!) and is 24 1/2 in. long (50th%).  He is about where Rebecca was at 6 months...both in size and physical development.  Abram is not content to just lay around like Rebecca was.  He wants to be on the move.  He can almost roll over (any day now), and he's trying to creep.  Sometimes he spins himself in circles trying to move.  He does not like to be strapped in/confined (unless he's in the Moby...strapped to Mommy is just fine :P).

Abram is starting to laugh and really develop a personality.  His favorite thing to do is watch Rebecca.  He cracks up whenever she laughs.  And sometimes he thinks just watching her eat is hilarious.

He is still teething...but no sign of a tooth yet.  Just plenty of slobber.  And it seems we may have another thumb sucker.  Abram is often seen these days with his thumb in his mouth.  More chewing than sucking at the moment, but all in good time :P

Abram certainly likes to make his presence known.  He's about the noisiest baby we've ever seen (whether he's happy or fussy).  He likes attention...and lets you know.  Definitely more demanding than Rebecca ever was.

Abram has already had 2 hair cuts...and still has plenty of hair.

Abram is exceeding all of his developmental milestones.  He's a strong, healthy, noisy, big boy.  We look forward to watching him grow and learn each day.

Boulder RIdge Wild Animal Park

On Saturday we went to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park.  It is a brand new park in West Michigan.  A couple that has a passion for wild life created the park on their land.  They buy and sell all kinds of unique animals.  And they wanted to share their love of animals with others.  It's a neat little place.  They have some animals in pens that you can walk by/look at up close.  They have a small petting zoo that includes (at the moment) a baby zebra, some goats and a couple wildebeests.  There is a reptile house with lots of slithery, creepy crawly things :P  And you can take a wagon ride around the rest of the grounds to see the larger animals.  They have a large variety of unique animals.  We spent about an hour at the park and saw everything.  They have plans to expand the park to about twice its current size at some point.  Rebecca really enjoyed seeing all the animals (except the spiders and snakes).  It's a neat little place to visit.  And they are constantly getting new animals, so you can go over and over to see new things.  After visiting Boulder Ridge we stopped at Frog Hollow to have lunch and play on the playground for a bit.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Van Heukelum!!

Yesterday we celebrated Labor Day and Mary's grandpa's 87th birthday.  We all met at the farm.  We had a nice lunch and spent lots of time visiting with extended family.  The kids had so much fun running around.  Rebecca and Carson were quite the pair for a while.  Rebecca even tried to marry him!  She got a bouquet and tried to kiss him..."That's what people do when they get married." :)  She loves her cousin a lot.  It was a bit chilly and windy, but we were still able to enjoy an outdoor party by sitting in the barn.  Abram mostly just took it all in.  And napped on Mommy's lap for a little while.  We had a great time with family and hope Grandpa Van enjoyed his special day.

We took quite a few family photos that you can check out at our SIL's site.

First Hair Cut

Our little boy is growing up.  He had his first hair cut yesterday.  Abram's hair was covering his ears and starting to look like a tail in back.  So Mommy gave him a trim.  Here are some before and after pics.  He's not crying in the before pics because of the hair cut.  He was just hungry...and when he's hungry he lets you know :P  He doesn't like to wait.  So it had to be a quick hair cut.  Turned out pretty well.  If his hair keeps growing at this rate it'll be time for his next trim before we know it.

Abram is making geat strides with his physical development.  He's close to being able to roll over both ways (tummy-back and back-tummy).  And he's trying very hard to start crawling.  I think I saw him move a little already yesterday.

BEFORE

AFTER

Just For Fun

Two pictures of Rebecca.  Two pictures of Abram.  Who's who? :P