Postma Family Christmas

Christmas Pictures

Briella figured out how to rip paper, but once she saw a picture of a toy or the toy itself she just wanted it out and was frustrated by the paper.

Great-Grandma Postma with the great-grandkids :)

Grandkids on the steps by their stockings . . . kind of.

Mom Postma set out a bunch of stuffed animals and Briella had tons of fun playing with all of them, preferrably in a pile around her.

Thanksgiving Update

Briella did quite well in the van, she was happier when I was in the seat next to her or when she had a snack in each hand.

She learned how to use the remote while at my parent's house. She also found the buttons on the TV and really cracked herself up with these new skills.

One of the highlights of mom's new kitchen is a special cupboard that has a shelf to pull out with her mixer mounted on it. Very handy. Anyway, while the mixer was being used the cupboard was free (well, mostly, Briella just emptied out a few things left) and found a little place to play!

Nap time 'fun'

Briella has been off and on taking morning naps. I have been trying to figure out what works so that I don't have a really crabby girl around 4-5 when I'm trying to get dinner together. So the last two days she has taken a morning nap and I wake her up after about an hour and then put her down around 2-2:30. Yesterday she was awake for quite awhile before actually being quiet, so I assume she did get some sleep . . . but who knows. Today she was mosly quiet for 30 mintues and then I heard what seemed to be cheers of joy and laughter. It was quiet again a minute later, but I decided to check anyway . . . this is what I found:

Recently she has been pulling up her shirt a lot and patting her belly, but evidently she can take it all the way off when she wants to. Interesting.

Computer issues continue

We are still having computer issues, I am able to get online, but we do not have Windows installed, yet. So I have not written or sent a letter with my Christmas pictures . . . the pictures are enveloped, stamped, labelled, but in a box.

I keep thinking that I am catching up with my Bible reading, but then I realize that it is December 12 and I am running out of days in 2008. As of today I have 21 books to read, however many of them are quite short, but that leaves me a book a day including Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelations. But, I press on, enjoying the reading.

I have pictures to post, but will have to do that later. We leave in a week for Kansas City!

Thanksgiving

We have made it back from Iowa, but our computer died while we were away :( I am at my sisters and decided to do a quick update. I couldn't handle another day without checking my email, blog, bank account, library due dates, etc. . . .
On the trip to IA we stopped at a friends house outside of Des Moines, it was wonderful to get a night of sleep and to break up the trip. It was great to catch up with Brenda and meet her fiance, too!! We got to see lots of people in IA, but not everyone . . . it always goes by so fast! It was wonderful to have Thanksgiving with my mom's family, there were almost 60 of us at Grandpa and Grandma's and enough food for at least 20 more. We also had fun seeing mom and dad's new house in Hull, even though I was forced to take home my 'junk' that I had left stored at their house from highschool and college. I felt old realizing that after my freshman year at Dordt my friends and I wrote real letters since email wasn't a big thing yet--strange. I even found the bathroom log that my roomies and I kept sophmore year. It is just like it sounds, a pad of paper kept near the toilet so you can log the days happenings or thoughts while . . . yeah you can figure it out. It was so funny to skim through the funny things we wrote.
We travelled home on Monday and had really nice weather until we passed Chicago. We had seen a few cars in the ditches along the way, but after Chicago we saw huge flashing lights and a helicopter landed on the interestate, followed by miles of back up. After that we saw several fresh accidents and Stephan slowed down. The trip took a little longer due to the weather, but we were happy to be safely home and sleeping in our own bed!!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

24 weeks

It is hard to beleive that I'm 24 weeks along already, it is going so much faster this time :) I feel about twice as big as I look, scary.

Due Date Change

My due date has officially changed to March 14 . . . I am still over half way and feeling very good!
Recently I was trying to download our pictures from the camera to order prints so that I can attempt to catch up on scrapbooking before March . . . but the computer could not read the disc in the camera or the disc in the printer. SO, I was very frustrated and panicky, but we found free software on line that recovered our pictures for us! YEAH! I was so happy that we didn't lose months worth of pictures. Now I have 100's of pictures to put into scrapbooks, but at least I don't have 100's of memories with not printed proof :)
We are planning to head to Iowa for Thanksgiving with the Buys side of the family. Since MI has already seen some snow, we are hoping for clear roads while travelling!! I'm also hoping my parents will have their Internet working by then so that I can update from there with a couple of pictures.

Fun this week

Briella had fun with all the stuffed animals and dolls under her tunnel today. She was giddy with excitement, but I couldn't capture it with the camera. (After 10 failed shots this is the best one!)

She continues to walk more and more, since I can't get videos to work, I tried to get a picture of her walking. She is more and more confident and seems to enjoy it, too. She still crawls if she is in a hurry (like to catch up with me if I leave room, or to find Stephan when he gets home from work), and if she is carrying heavy things (usually books) she prefers to 'walk' on her knees to bring me the book.

Stephan took advantage of the 70 degree weather to get ride of the foot of leaves in our front yard. Today it was slightly breezy, but it appeared to be raining leaves at our place. I was surprised the scratchiness didn't bother Briella . . . (14 months old today)!

Inontime --10 years

A few weeks ago, Inontime had an Open House to celebrate 10 years of business. Stephan loves his job and God has blessed the company in so many ways . . . in 10 years they have gone from 5 employees to over 90 and in this tough economy they continue to grow.

He let the kids come in one of the new trucks and test the horn :)

Grandma Postma turns 90

We had an Open House at Trinity United Reformed Church on Saturday, October 18, but today is her 90th birthday! Happy birthday Grandma!!

Grandma didn't know that Stephan's dad (her oldest son) was coming, so he called to talk to her and then walked in the room to surprise her. As you can see, she was surprised!! It was nice to celebrate a special day with her and meet some of her friends, too.

Update

I'm feeling bad a/t not posting too often, my goal was not to have any months with a 0 or 1 behind them, but it is mid October and I have only posted once.
So, Briella is taking more steps, but prefers crawling or walking on her knees (across a whole room if needed, esp. when holding books or toys to bring to someone.) She is usually a good eater and has recently learned to sign please, it is so cute :) We are working harder on praying and thank you now.
I have been lax and am nearly a month behind on my reading the Bible in 2008. I am trying to 'catch up' by adding several chapters a day, but it is hard to make up for lost time and I don't want to skim through it either.
We had an ultra sound last week and everything looks good, the baby was moving around a lot. I think I witnessed the first somersault :) We are not finding out if it's a boy or girl . . . b/c everyone asks that question.
I've been reading some interesting books recently: A girlfriends guide to pregnancy (liberal view, but quite a funny take on pregnancy), Have a new kid by Friday (Kevin Lehman--great Christian author, funny, and serious about our job as parents, very practical for any age of kid), and other birth books . . .
Stephan is busy with cadets every Wednesday, they had their frist campout last weekend. The apartment we manage has recently had lots of turnover, so he has spent many hours working on that, too. One of these weeks we will have time to get working on the bathroom.

First Steps

We have no photo evidence, but Monday night Briella took about four steps. Stephan was sitting on the floor and she was sitting on his leg and kept standing up, I was watching from the couch. Stephan said something like 'she could just walk to the toy box.' As if she understood, she slowly walked over to the toy box. Tonight she took a few more steps to Stephan. Obviously we are excited and look forward to more steps in the future!

Creation Museum

We finally made it to the Creation Museum in Hebron, KY. It was a 6 hour drive, so we left Thursday after work and spent the night in a hotel. We arrived before the museum even opened (10am) and went directly to the planetarium. The show was about the solar system and it was amazing to see how small the earth is and even how small the Milky Way is in comparison to the known universe. Hearing about the universe from a biblical perspective was awesome and exciting at a museum. They had so many exhibits to see, telling the stories of Creation, the Fall, the flood (great model of 1% of the ark--it was huge!), and the hope we have in Christ. I would highly recommend a trip to see and hear about the beauties of God's creation. The signs had bible verses on them rather than anything about millions of years! What great reminders of our awesome God!
Briella actually enjoyed seeing the many creatures . . .
Having fun on the beautiful grounds . . .
Stephan had to pet every animal at the petting zoo, I just hung on to the camera and washed my hands thoroughly anyway. By the look on Briella's face, I think she agrees with me.
Another view from the trails.

My parents visit on the Harley

My parents have been talking about taking their Harley with my aunt and uncle to MI to visit. It finally happened a couple of weeks ago. They had nice weather (no rain) and a safe trip.
Do they look suspicious to you?!?! I think our neighbors wondered what was going on :)
Grandpa with Briella and Ellie at the park.
Grandma and Briella with her new baby.

Briella turns 1

Her new baby. This is a small 'travel' one, she also has to bigger ones that she likes to hold at the same time . . . it is so cute to see her hug them :)
12 months old!!
My ametuer decorating skills put to the test.
Digging into her cake, "OOOOHHH" (her new favorite word)!
Time for clean up :)

It is hard to beleive our baby is one. We were told a thousand times it goes fast, but we are still shocked that a whole year has passed. We try to enjoy the small and big moments with her. She is a great eater and hasn't had a bottle in days--I love life without formula, but now I am using my knives quickly as a cut up everything!

AZ Wedding

This is Briella on the plane, loving all the new things to touch . . . and lick if mom and dad weren't watching closely!! yuck--I'm surprised she didn't get sick after all the strange and gross things she tasted!
The best part of the plane ride was her sleeping on Stephan's lap, then I could get up and use the potty way too often! Once I got up with the seat belt light on and as I sat in the bathroom I heard the stewardess remind everyone to remain seated for everyone's safety. I wanted to explain that my bladder is being smashed by my pregnant uterus and maybe for the remainder of the trip passengers would rather I stand up and walk through the aisle putting them in 'danger' than wetting myself and smelling that for a couple of hours!
Briella's new favorite cousin, Emma (Ryan and Angie's). Emma brought her little puppy in a purse for the babies to play with, how cute. Briella loved the puppy and Emma. We are inside at the reception place in the AC as we wait to be called for our turn to sweat outside while taking family pictures. AZ was HOT!
Dan and Johanna

Most of the other pictures are a little blurry, so we will be relying on others to help my fill a scrapbook page! The wedding was beautiful. Every wedding has something go not so smooth, Daniel, my pyro brother couldn't get the unity candle lit. We sang 3 full verses while they tired to get rid of wax and light it, finally the minister helped them and it worked! The reception food was awesome! In fact I woke up at 4 am hungry and then had a dream that I went back through the buffet line :) We had a fun time catching up with family, Stephan met some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time.

Delayed

I'm feeling bad about not writing for over 2 weeks. I've been busy watching the Olympics and thinking about our upcoming trip to Phoenix for my brother's wedding. Lame reasons . . . oh and I've been so tired that I've been napping almost daily, too!
So Daniel is getting married on Saturday. I'm excited to see the family and hang out for a few days . . . I'm not excited that the forecast in Phoenix says "Sizzling Hot." I'm a little concerned about flying with Briella, but I'm sure it will be easier than flying with 3 kids (sorry Mindy!). Daniel and Johanna are excited to be married, especially after a summer apart :) I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding. I'll post pictures when we return and I catch up on laundry!!
I am currently 13 weeks along and feeling pretty good, usually. It is hard to imagine having two kids, but Briella will be a lot older and able to do more on her own when the baby comes, so that will be great.
Anyway. No pics, no big news, hope you are all doing well and ready to head back to school! It is odd that a schedule that ruled my life until last year has almost no impact on our lives right now . . . how things change :)

11 months and practicing

Briella has recently taken an interest in books. Well, she used to love chewing on them, but has slowly learned that this is not the purpose of books. Now she actually pages through them and will sit and listen to a book and look at the pictures. She does enjoy hitting the pages, especially the board books. I think she is practicing her reading skills so that when she is a big sister she can read to the baby . . . yes, some time around March 4 we are expecting a baby!! I'm feeling well and we are looking forward to another child.
Briella hit 11 months this week! We can hardly beleive we are nearing the one year mark . . . She loves to walk along things and hold your hands to walk, but isn't ready to be on her own yet.

As I continue reading through the Bible, I am enjoying the Psalms very much. They are very personal writings and very practical. When I taught we would read a Psalm or a Proverb for lunch devotions and I always found that kids could learn something from each one. I am excited to be over half way through the year and still on track to finish in December.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

We went on our first camping trip with Briella in Sleeping Bear Dunes. We went with friends from church and enjoyed beautiful weather. The dunes are about 3 hours north, along Lake Michigan.
Here we are on top of the dune--the wind is blowing sand, so Briella is looking the other way :)
A beautiful view of a lake that we enjoyed . . .
meanwhile, Briella was enjoying a nap in the van.
She is a little unsure about the cool water and sinking sand under her feet . . . she did crawl in it later and then dipped her mouth in for a taste before we noticed her plan!
Hanging out on the blanket was more fun than the water. You can kind of see her top teeth in this picture.

The latest news

Here is a picture of our little garden. We can actually see some 'fruit' from our labors, there are bean buds and little tomatoes! We are looking forward to eating the beans, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, and hopefully watermelon in the next couple of months!

Briella is 10 months old! She was kind of whiny when we took these and kept wanting one of us to hold her, so we didn't get the best pictures.

30th Birthday Party

Stephan turns 30 next week, so we had a little birthday party. I asked people to bring a "30 Thing" --something in the shape of a 30, we had lots of great items: 30 peppermints and 30pins making a 30, fresh flowers, cake, jello, an airplane invented on his birthday, gauze/bandaid wrapped 30 (from a future Dr.), wooden plaque, 30 suckers, and others . . . It was a fun time with family and friends.

Our family with the 30 cake and 30 sign I made. (Notice the size of Briella's drool spot, lovely)

Stephan's sister and family (baby Acacia) with the "30 sucks" pot of suckers

My sister's family (including little Ellie) with Stephan's favorite jello in the shape of a 30, altough it started sliding and it looks almost like a 90 :)

Some of the "30 Things" (sorry it is sideways and I don't know how to change it)