1st hair cut

Jenna had her 1st hair cut on Saturday - it went really well. We didn't have much taken off, just enough to clean it up a bit (maybe an inch, definitely not much). I think that the hardest part for Jenna was waiting......when we got there she was ready to head to a chair and climb up, unfortunately, they were running behind so we had to wait.

On our way:

Waiting:

Getting buckled in:

1st snips:

All done! Including a braid (a.k.a. princess hair):

Cleaned up and ready to go:

Jenna's new bedspread came in the mail last week too....so far we think she likes it.

Pretending to sleep:

Jumpy Jump!

Miscommunication

Miss Jenna taught us a lesson this week.....we really need to pay attention to her when she's trying to tell us something :)
The rest of us were done eating, and we had told her in order to get dessert she needed to either eat two pieces of chicken, or the rest of her peas (that she picked fresh from the garden). We set her plate on one of the stools she she could reach it, and while standing next to it told us "Pea" (while she was eating peas). So as Bruce and I were unloading and reloading the dishwasher we told her again " Yes, you need to eat your peas in order to get dessert". About 30 seconds later she was standing next to the cupboard getting play-doh out when she told us again "Pea", so we of course repeated what we said earlier...until we looked down and realized that she meant "PEE" and that she had peed on the floor not once but twice! We had one spot next to the stool and another next to the cupboard.

Pre-school open house

We went to Andrew's pre-school open house this week where Andrew was able to meet his teacher, Miss Cheryl. He did great during the open house, and loved seeing his school again, exploring all the different classrooms, and meeting some of his new classmates. I think he's really going to like it there. He was able to pick out his bin (for storing projects), see where he'll hang his back pack, jacket, etc., and he had to answer his 1st question of the day "are you excited to start school?". He was also very excited to learn that there is a drinking fountain right in his class room. School starts next week for him on Wednesday (9/2).

Bongers Family Reunion

Jenna helped me make some brownies & cookies on Friday, while Andrew was at a birthday party....I think she enjoyed the batter.

Friday night we headed down to Paul and Larissa's house for the weekend. The kids enjoyed staying with Paul and Larissa, checking out their house and going to parks in the morning. Andrew especially loved the big tree next to the fire pit that is perfect for climbing. Jenna enjoyed eating s'mores with her 'nat-sa' (we think this is what she's calling Larissa). Sadie and Daisy had fun chasing each other for the weekend.

Hey that's mine!

Saturday we all went to the Bongers family reunion. The kids had fun, and since they gave all the families different colored shirts it was funny to see which families (of the 4 brothers) where the biggest....my Grandpa & Grandma's family seems to be the largest, and we were missing at least 9 people!

Attempting 1 last picture w/ Grandma & Grandpa:

Jenna trying to decide her next move:

They did a money find for the little kids where they took animal bedding (wood shavings) and put change in it for them to find. Andrew, knowing there was money in the pile, kept looking/sifting thru the pile for at least 20 minutes. He not only outlasted all the other little kids, but wound up with $6.80 in change! Jenna had fun checking out all the other kids that were her size and younger, and especially liked all the desserts from the pot-luck. After the reunion we went down to my cousin Scott's house (my Grandparents former house) for a bonfire and pizza. Andrew had a blast playing with David (my cousin's son, who's 12). I wasn't sure if he'd ever stop giggling!

Sunday it was back home to catch up on house/yard work, and play in the pool. After supper we let Andrew spend his findings (plus some grandparent $) at Target. He picked out a Hot Wheels race track that shoots an air plane when the car goes thru a loop. Jenna used her findings ($0.90) and some grandparent money to buy a microphone that magnifies her voice and a sparkly ball.

Bruce and I had to laugh when we checked out because we had the kids pay the cashier (each separately). Andrew told her the number on each of the bills he handed over, and looked so proud of himself - it was adorable. Jenna didn't really get what was going on, but held onto that receipt and bag with an iron grip.

Special delivery

First we picked up the mattress set from my cousin Jodi.

Here's Jenna in her bed the 1st night:

Then we had to take the crib down:

Last climb up the crib:

Looking cute in pig tails (she actually kept them in all day!):

Here's her new bedroom set:

We can change the face of the drawers to be 6 different colors (we were deciding on what to do in the picture above).
We are waiting on the comforter, but it should be here soon. I'll post a picture of it all put together once it arrives. We also have to put up a shelf, take down the clown mobile, and maybe put up a stuffed animal net.

Breaking in her new bed:

We hung out with Paul and Larissa on Sunday. They arrived just in time for the big delivery. Jenna amazed us by eating peas out of the garden (something she has refused to do), but would only eat them if Paul gave them to her (not Bruce). Andrew liked playing GI Joe and Transformers with Paul, and also managed a visit to Fleet Farm and a park while Jenna napped.Later we met up with Grandma & Grandpa Bongers for their 34th Anniversary.

Andrew has been enjoying playing with Bruce's old GI Joe's and Transformers. Although he did make Paul feel old when he asked what a tape was...one of the transformers is a boombox and has smaller transformers that fit inside of it that look like little cassette tapes.

Here's our peanut sleeping in her big girl bed:

Jenna's new ride

Jenna now has a balance bike - which she loves.

She loved to attempt to ride Andrew's bike, but hasn't been able to figure out the pedal thing yet, so we thought a balance bike might be fun for her. So far they both seem to enjoy it (when Jenna agrees to give Andrew a turn). We're hoping that Jenna will let Andrew ride it enough that he'll be able to figure out how to balance, and we'll be able to take his training wheels off sometime this fall.

Ready, Set.....GO!

They also spent some time in the pool & playing with the water rocket on Friday - it was hot (which was great).

I'll post more pictures from this weekend later, but it was a fun weekend. Jenna is really starting to figure out her bike, which has been fun to watch. Andrew had a day of play on Saturday with different friends to play with all day long. Then Sunday we had a special delivery, Paul, Larissa and Daisy came for a visit, and we celebrated Grandma & Grandpa Bongers anniversary.

Bye, Bye Nuk

Well....it's been done. Miss Jenna spent her 1st night w/o her beloved Nuk. We didn't mean for it to happen on a Sunday night, but it did.
After she woke up from her nap on Sunday, I asked her to drop her Nuk, and remember it bouncing off her water glass. We happily headed downstairs to head outside, and I didn't think about her Nuk until it was time for bed.....
We changed sheets on her bed, which meant the various blankies that were in there came out along with her water glass and anything else that had been in there. We put the new sheet on, she climbed in and started to do her Nuk search, but came up empty. We did a semi-frantic search of her room, which included tearing apart her bed, with no luck. The Nuk had disappeared (we really had no idea were it went and were slightly panicked thinking of the long night that may lay ahead of us).
She asked if K2 took it, so we decided he must have.....funny thing happened tho, Mr. Andrew came in during the search and instead of helping search, told Jenna that the Nuk fairy must have taken it, and that she was a big girl and didn't need it. K2 is the daycare cat, and he really did take her daycare Nuk, so she hasn't had one there for a while. She seemed pretty convinced that K2 must have taken this Nuk too.
We checked the garbage can, and low and behold there it was, but we didn't tell her, and just went along with K2 must have taken it. We know Jenna didn't toss it, since she would have pulled it out of the garbage, and Bruce and I didn't put it there, so we are pretty sure that Andrew threw it out! Sneaky little guy. It wouldn't have been our choice to give up the Nuk at the start of a work week, but apparently Andrew had a different plan. So if you ask Jenna, K2 (the daycare kitty) took her Nuk.
The 1st night went well, and we are hoping night #2 goes the same. We're thinking the Nuk fairy may leave a small gift in her room....just to prove to Andrew that is what they do, since he told Jenna they don't ;) All in all it was time for the Nuk to go, we just hadn't been pushed to do it yet. I guess we have Andrew to thank for the nudge :)

Belle Shores

We had a fun week at Belle Shores. The weather could have been a little warmer when you consider it was the last week in July. I don't know if we made it out of the 70's a few days, but that didn't stop the kids from wanting to swim! The kids had fun playing in the sand, fishing off the dock, playing in the water, and enjoying bonfires. I'm happy to report that we all stayed healthy this year (2 of us went to the Dr. last year).
The kids enjoyed playing with the other kids that were also at the resort, and are already asking when we can go back (we'll be going back next summer). At first we weren't sure how Jenna was going to survive the week. On Saturday when we arrived she decided that she was scared of fish, and the boat. Bruce had set the bag of minnows next to the cabin door as we unpacked everything, and she refused to leave the cabin until the bag was moved (she kept crying, and saying that fish bite). Luckily for us, she decided that fish might be ok, as long as she didn't have to touch them, and that the boat was fun to ride in.

Here a video of what Andrew learned to do (Grandma's he's showing you!):

Here's how Jenna decided to get herself into bed every day (sorry - it's dark):

Here it is againg, a little lighter, just w/ more screeching:

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week:

Other tidbits from the week: The kids had fun participating in the dock fishing contest. Andrew came in 2nd place for most fish caught with 6 fish. Jenna caught 1 fish, and then spent the rest of the time playing. They also enjoyed the minnow races again this year. Jenna found a new technique for getting the minnow to swim to the other end - screeching! She'd dump her minnow in the track and then start screeching, and the minnow would take off for the other side! It was pretty funny. We did our annual trek to world of Christmas, where the kids enjoyed the power wheels & bounce house, and of course fudge.
When we got home the kids 'helped' us unpack, so it took a little longer, but they were entertained. We also checked on the garden, and let Andrew pick a few things.....we are finally getting something other than lettuce! Andrew enjoyed eating fresh peas and carrots from the garden for the rest of the weekend.
Overall we had a great week, and are looking forward to our next trip to the lake.
Here's a slide show with some of the pictures from vacation:

Make a Smilebox slideshow