...sewing...machine...

I have been spending most naptimes these days sewing and I just can't get enough. I must admit I spend a fair share of time online browsing Etsy and Pinterest...and admiring all the adorable and fun little things you can buy for little loves...most of which are handmade. I have ordered a handful of shirts off Etsy for Bentley and everytime they arrive and I look at them, I think, "This can't be that hard to do!" So lately, I have "pushed" myself to try my hand at a few of them, among other things!

I saw these burp cloths on Pinterest the other day..which linked to Etsy. I thought they couldn't be that difficult...and I was right, they weren't! I need to work on my sewing on the round parts, but other than that they turned out great!

Of course, I can't pass up anything truck...since...well with little boys, that is all that matters. So I tried my hand at these as well. Sewing in a circle for the tires was a chore, and they are far from perfect, but I am hoping this will get easier for me as I keep making them...

Made a couple of these as well...they were super easy and will be adorable on the boys...

And again...who can pass up the trucks??

These all actually went with other things and were given at some baby showers I had recently (yes, both for boys, can someone we know PLEASE have a girl?) and they were huge hits. I can't wait to make some matching things for my little guys though!! :)

I have also perfected these - my favorite gift to give...and one of our favorites here at home as well! :) There is nothing like a good towel after a warm bath...and the adorable printed hoods just make them way more fun!

I HAD to try and make a girls one, because again, lately I feel surrounded by boys. How cute is it, though?

And of course..another boy one. Not boring by any means, but just not as fun since I have made 8 in the last few months...Maybe someday I will have an abundance of friends having girls...until then, I guess I carry on with ties and trucks...and blue and green!!!

March for Babies 2012

I had always heard about March of Dimes and how they studied and researched to help babies that are born prematurely. Until recently, when I have become very close with my friend, Sarah, was it that I realized how important and helpful this organization really is.

Both of Sarah's sweet boys were born prematurely with a lung condition. Because of MOD (and many answered prayers), and their research and fundraising, Hunter and Preston are now "normal" healthy little guys! Again, until knowing Sarah, I never realized the importance of helping such a foundation.

This year, I have decided to walk with Sarah and the boys (and Bentley too!) in the 4 mile "walk for babies" in Holland. The walk will be April 14 and between now and then I have challenged myself to raise some money on behalf of Hunter and Preston, and to help other little ones who are born prematurely.

I know that everyone has a "charity of choice" and I'm sure not asking any one to make MOD theirs just because it is ours. But if you feel that you would like to help us, you may click the link below and make a donation.

Http://marchforbabies.org/Kposma

There is also a spot on that page that you can sign up to walk, if you would like do that instead, or as well. :) The more the merrier, and the faster that 4 miles will pass!!

Thank you in advance for all your support financially and prayerfully.

Vacation Videos

Here are a few videos I was able to capture on our vacation that I thought were worth sharing.

As I mentioned, we learned that Bentley has a silly infatuation with birds. Thankfully I was able to get it on video so the rest of you can enjoy it too - and we can share it with him when hes older. :)

I was also able to capture him and Craven's favorite past time - cruisin in their truck. They are quite the pair! :)



The New Guy in Town

One of Brandon's closest friends and his fiance just welcomed their sweet little bundle, Jackson Alexander, into their family on Tuesday night. Once they got home from the hospital and all settled in their new home, we had to swing over so Bentley could meet his new partner in crime!!!

Proud Daddies and their boys

Bentley kept wanting to give Jackson kisses.

He's come along way around babies in the last month or so - and we are very thankful for that!

Trying to help put Jackson's hat back on for him.

We are thankful that they have been blessed with another healthy little life - God is so good! And we look forward to watching our boys grow up together! I am sure we are in for some real treats from them, considering the fun and troubles their fathers got into together! ;)

FLORiDA 2012

Bentley and I had planned to spend a big week in Florida visiting his smart Grandpas and Grandmas who winter down there. I was looking forward to some rest and relaxation and of course enjoying some of the benefits of warm weather, such as swimming and playing outside.

We headed out and went to G&G Slagh's house first. Bentley was super excited to see them and loved doing "boy" things with Grandpa. By the second day, he had patented his fake little cry...it didn't take him long to realize that Grammy wasn't gonna let him carry on, whatsoever. Needless to say, we had tons of fun and Bentley got super spoiled.

Halfway into our trip, Daddy called and said SUPRISE! He was going to come down for a few days after all!!!!! I was beyond excited, and Bentley was too, once he saw Daddy and realized that "Hey! I haven't seen you for a few days!"

We spent a day at the zoo and a few relaxing days by the pool and ended with a Japenese Hibachi Valentine's Night Dinner before we headed over to Brandon's parents for a few more days.

It was such an awesome surprise to be able to spend Vday together, especially since when I left, I was really bumming that Brandon would have to be alone. Even though I planned ahead and left lots of "love" for him to open home, alone...it was much more fun having him with us and not having any gifts.

Wednesday morning we packed up and headed over to Brandon's parents to spend some time with then and the Vienings for a few days before heading home. It was a fun change of pace for Bentley to have a buddy to play with, instead of just G&G, and it was nice to all be together as a family.

These two spent hours playing on their "jobsite" with their trucks and loaders.

If they weren't in the sand...you could find them cruisin in their Raptor...

We took Bentley to St. Petersburg one day to the Gulf. He has never been, and even though it rained, we had a fun day with just the three of us.

He even got to attend his very first equipment auction at 17 months old! He had fun testing things out with Daddy and Papa!

We had a great trip spending time with everyone, and most of all spending so much time together as a family. We are so thankful that it worked out for us to be able to do this since life seems to just get busier, it was a nice change of pace for a few days, and Bentley loved being able to wake up to Daddy and enjoy breakfast together!!

Thank you G&G Slagh and Nana & Papa Posma for all your hospitality and spoiling! We miss you already!

..:::seventeen.months:::..

Bentley Ivan -

It doesn't even seem possible that one month from now you will be one and a half years old. Just like I say in every post - where has the time gone?!?! We are cherishing every moment with you these days, pretty soon you are going to be a young man.

We are having more and more fun with you each month it seems. You are a little sponge right now and its been fun to watch you soak up your environment and the things you hear and see, and put them into your own language and daily routine. Speaking of little sponge, you are starting to repeat most things we say. You have added many new words to your vocabulary lately including: Pee-You (which you pronounce ee-oo), Mm Mm Mm (when you enjoy what you are eating), Boat (which comes out more like buh) Doggie (goggie), Thank You (eh-oo), Oh Wow, and most recently Bobby. We don't know who Bobby is, or where you learned this word, but Uncle Robert doesn't mind...he's quite proud you learned his name all on your own! We learned being on vacation though, that you have a major love for birds and we are wondering if Bobby is how you are trying to say Birdie. Daddy and I are wondering if Bobby is the name you want to give your little brother. ;) You jibber jabber in your own baby language pretty much all day long, but Mommy, Truck and uh-oh are still your "favorite" and most commonly used words.

You are wearing size 4 diapers and 24 month clothes. You seem to be getting taller lately and your legs and arms are starting to thin out - but you're quite the busy body so that didn't surprise us. You still eat like a champ and are napping about 3 hours in the afternoon and sleeping about 12 hours at night. We are working on getting your "big boy" room ready so you can move to a different bed and give your little brother your crib. I am hoping your good sleep habits continue even after the move.

You still love all things truck and tractor. You are starting to become more aware of animals and their noises too, though. Push come to shove though, you haven't picked an animal over a truck or tractor yet.

We can't wait to see what else you come up with in the next few months, especially new words and things you say. You are becoming very good with using your sign language and we have been having fun communicating with you. Even when you don't talk, we are pretty sure you understand almost completely everything we say to you.

We thank God every day for blessing us with you - you are just amazing. We look forward to what the future holds and what the Lord has in store for you, as a growing little boy, and for our family.

We love you to the moon and back, sweet boy!!! xoxoxo

Dancing

Bentley has been really into "dancing" lately. Here are a few videos of his moves that we have been able to capture.

We had the privelage of some extra entertainment for the Super Bowl Halfime Show...

And on our trip to Florida he would take advantage of any chance he got to shake his booty. Including for a foursome of women golfers that stopped on the tee box in G&G's backyard...

I can't wait to show him these videos someday...I am sure he won't find them as funny as we do - but I will say that he sure gets all his moves from Daddy!

Valentine's Day 2012 [[PINspired]]

Having so much time on my hands lately has really allowed me to be creative and have fun with some different things...and one right now happens to be Valentine's Day. After pinning a few things on Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at them.

First of all, I decided to make Brandon a homemade gift this year - again, we typically don't do anything (we aren't real big on Hallmark holidays, and feel that we spoil each other enough on a day to day basis). Anyway, I had stumbled across this and thought it was cute.

I've spent the last few weeks brainstorming some creative and unique "reasons". I was a bit surprised how hard it was to come up with 52 things...not because I can't find 52 things I love about my husband, but because I found it hard to be unique and creative without being redundant. I tried to think of things that we find funny or cute about each other, some inside jokes that I knew would make him laugh, some characteristics that really define his as a person and of course the serious things that make him who he is and the man I love! I finally put together a good list and started working on the cards.

I wrote out all my "reasons" and things on paper...

 and glued them to the playing cards.

Then I hole punched the corners and tied it all together with a ribbon. Very simple and fun, but something I can already tell we will have fun "opening" together, not just this year, but for years to come.

And since we won't actually be spending the day together, Bentley decided to make Daddy something too...something simple, but super adorable. :)

A long distance Valentine's Day Hug! How cute is that?!?!?

I was also browsing online for shirts for Bentley. Instead, I decided to try my hand at making one on my own. I'm not gonna lie though, I did consult the sewing expertise of a few friends that seem to do well doing this type of stuff, so I can't take all the credit for this one! ;)

It didn't turn out too bad for my first shot, but I definately have some room for improvement. At least he will be a festive little date for the holiday! :)

And last but not least, a little decor for the entry way!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I am blessed to have two of the best Valentine's around. xoxo

GR Children's Museum

Friday Bentley and I went to the GRCM for the first time with a friend and her youngest son. It was our first time, but we had a blast and will definately be going back. Bentley loved being able to run around freely...usually I confine him to a stroller or shopping cart. Here are some pics of our trip and our adorably goofy boys!

We were hardly in the door and they were off to this truck...and booted two little girls to get the drivers' seat while Jamie and I paid admission.

found another truck to drive!

balls!

only my child would do this...seriously. he has to climb into everything!

sandbox = heaven. its in his blood, what can i say??

 ball pit.

 a table of nothing but nuts and bolts. again...heaven.

 little drummer boys!

 our little bumble bees

 so proud of his outfit that he clapped for himself.

 and off he goes!

 practicing their dental hygiene...aunt chels would be proud!

 serious little farmer, standin in the barn

 crazy mirror

 piano man

 LOVES tunnels. made about 20 trips through this thing in about 5 minutes.

 After some lunch and little ride home...they were both out.

The museum went about like Christmas morning at our house, this year. Bentley got hooked on one thing he liked or found (or in the case of Christmas, opened) and trying to get him to move on resulted in multiple meltdowns. He got over them quickly, thank goodness. We got cut short but some hungry tummies, so next time we would like to be able to spend a little more time. It was a perfect morning though, for these two and the age they are at. Thanks again, Jamie & Caiden...we had fun!!!!!

Dogs, Teeth && Sunny January Days

Not much new here to report...we've been keeping busy everyday though! It's been so fun watching Bentley teach himself new things, as well as helping him learn things that we think are important to teach him. I have been working very hard on communicating, and helping him to learn to communicate with us. We have decided to do this through not only talking to him, but teaching him sign language for a few words that we felt would be helpful. He now successfully signs the words "more", "please" and "thank you". It's been fun to watch him learn to use them...and laugh when he uses them in the wrong context. Lately he has been signing what he wants from us, on us, instead of himself. For example, he asked Brandon the other night for more milk and when Brandon told him to say please, he rubbed Brandon's chest in the signing motion, as opposed to his own. It provided a good laugh, and at least we got him to say it!

He learns more everyday...how to open and close things, how to interact with other people, and the dogs (which is another story) and how to tell us what he wants. Our sweet baby is far from that anymore. Ironic though...baby is his new favorite word. :)

Back to interacting with the dogs. I better give a little foreward into the life of the dogs at our house, before I go ahead and share this story. Up until the holidays, when I started staying home full time, the dogs have spent all day, every day in their cage, because no one was home. Now that we are home all day, everyday, well mostly, they aren't in there anymore and that means, no matter what they are up to, Bentley can get at them. They spend most of the day sleeping, or trying, but are usually interrupted by a rambunctious toddler thinking they should wake up, or flying trucks and dozers. As you can imagine, this has been a bit of an adjustment for all of us...but mostly them. Bentley thinks they are super fun to chase and "play with". Lately, Tanner has not agreed. He is showing less and less patience with Bentley and is much quicker to growl at him when he comes around. In Tanner's defense, Bentley isn't always the nicest...but in Bentley's defense, he doesn't quite realize that what he is doing might hurt or be mean to Tanner. So, the other day...Bentley was "talking" closely in Tanner's face. I mean, standing in front of him, spouting some baby jibber jabber, probably telling Tanner something very important. Anyway, from what I can remember, he was not touching Tanner. Next thing I know, Tanner snarls and whips his head, and Bentley is on the ground, bawling. I pick him up...to find this:

Teeth Marks. Thank the good Lord above they did not puncture the skin because I am not sure what I would have done if they had.

Within about an hour, it turned to this. I am not sure if Tanner had just had enough, or it was the fact that other kids were here -- either way, its was not something we want to happen again and we have decided to make a change. In Tanner's defense, it may have been the other kids here...but in four months or so, there is going to be another kid here...one that will stay, one that won't be just coming to visit. Maybe it's the fact that he is used to be home alone all day and just handles Bentley better in small doses. But that too, won't be changing anytime soon. It hasn't been an easy decision and we will sure miss our buddy, but we have to do what's best for Bentley right now and if that means finding Tanner a new forever home, then that is what we must do. We are so thankful that the bite wasn't any worse and that Bentley's adorable little face will be just fine.

On another note, Bentley is finally cutting his eye teeth. What a nightmare, literally, this has been! He wasn't eating for about a week, wasn't sleeping for more than about 30 minutes at a time at night, and wanting to be held alllll day! Not to mention, he was producing some of the worlds nastiest diapers I had seen in a long time. ICK! He is FINALLY sleeping again, and eating better, and the fussiness is down to a minumum. The teeth are popping through and we are all happy campers again...for now...until more decide to sprout!

We have been experiencing some more sunny January days, so we have been getting outside whenever possible. Today we spent some time out there..and almost all the snow is gone, but of course, the little that was there had to be plowed. Wonder where he gets that from! ;)

Here are just some random pictures for those who are smart and spend the winter in the warmer temps. :) We miss you tooo!!!

Enjoying a head rub from Ms. Cindy during dinner.

The next generation of Spartans fans

breakfast time!

Every woman dreams of a shirtless cleaning man, right? ;)

He learned how to climb. Uh oh!

Only our child would learn that the magnets stick to the side of the doors as well, as in like "lets put all the magnets in the crack..."!!

LOVIN laundry basket rides with Daddy. Doesn't that smile just melt you!!??

We are so blessed. <3