Happy Birthday!

Paige's sister Lindsey and brother-in-law Justin had their first baby today, Isaac Berend Davies. He is our first nephew, and the kid's first cousin. Lindsey was induced last night, labored all day, and finally had an emergency c-section tonight. Everyone is doing well, although I am sure Lindsey is tired and sore.

Hopefully I don't steal their thunder by posting these before they have a chance.





The happy dad...


Last one (I cropped Lindsey out, cause, well... she needed a moment to recover. You're welcome Linz.)


Congratulations Justin and Lindsey!

Funky chicken

We had chicken for lunch today. Now, I'm not one to worry too much about genetically modified foods, or hormones in my milk... but these chicken breasts freaked even me out.

 

It was a 2 lb package of chicken, and these two were easily more than half of the package, so 1/2 pound each (at least!) These things were HUGE! The pictures don't do them justice. Apparently Foster Farms is now crossing their chickens with ostriches.

 

Still, they grilled up just fine, and tasted great (freaky growth hormones and all.)

2007 Review

Time seems to go faster each passing year. It seems like a year only takes a couple of months to fly by anymore. But at the same time, looking at pictures from a couple of years ago, it feels like decades in the past.

Since our lives are increasingly documented digitally, I went though all the pictures on our computer, and pulled out one or two from each folder. Actually not a bad summary of the year...

Christmas in Michigan

We are back from our trip to Michigan for Christmas. We had a great time, and are a little sad to come back to regular life.

The trip out went better than anyone expected. Benadryl worked wonders, especially on Ella.



The boys spent most of the flight glued to the DVD player, and finally conked out towards the end of the flight to Detroit.



Once in Detroit, Ella was scared to death by the automatic flushing toilet (she hates those things) and Levi went into meltdown mode. We finally got them calmed down before we got on the next plane to Grand Rapids.



Once there, we had a great time. The kids got to play in the snow, which they loved. There was snow when we got there, so the first day we got all bundled up and made a snowman and a snow fort. Uncle Justin lent us his snow expertise and helped out.









The kids got to hang out with Great Grandpa and Grandma Meyer. They loved playing with them, and great-grandpa even read the boys right to sleep one night (I think they had skipped their nap.)



Of course, on some nights bedtime was a little more difficult to pull off. Such as this night... at 11 PM (That's Ella reading stories to the boys by flashlight.)



We went on a sleigh ride one night, in the snow, pulled by two huge Fresian horses with jingle bells and all...





Grandpa and Grandma had lots of fun playing with the grandkids.



Highlights of the trip:
- Ella saying the sun never shines in Michigan. Hilarious!
- Ella reading on the plane right home. She can't really read, but she has the books memorized. She was reading loud enough that the whole back half of the plane could hear her. And she reads with such expression, that both I and the nice lady next to her were cracking up. Of course, as soon as she realized we were listening, she got embarrassed and stopped reading.
- Noah yelling at me to "Go to work!" when I sat outside the bedroom at night so they would stay in their beds. (ok, so more of a "low"light)
- Giving Ben (father-in-law) the muzzleloader. I've been planning and working on it for almost three years. What on earth am I going to do with all my free time now?

- Going shooting / gun shopping with Justin (brother-in-law). It's always a happy day when someone is about to become a first time gun-owner (and just in time for the new nephew to show up.)
- Tour of West Michigan Taxidermy (where brother-in-law Julio works). They (Julio) do some cool stuff there... with a whole ton of animal skins.



Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year...

Levi:


Noah:


Ella:

And a happy new year...

Please turn off and stow all portable electronics. The words every flying parent hates to hear. Levi somehow stayed awake the entire flight in spite of the drugging. He flipped out when the DVD player went off. But now we are on the ground and the DVD is back on. Just gotta get the luggage and get home.

On plane number 2

The carseats didn't fit down the aisle, so I got to carry both boys, in their seats, the length of a jumbo jet, without knocking the other passengers in the head. Off we go.

Meltdown

Meltdown narrowly averted by application of Thomas the train DVD and doritos. Maybe we can eat our quiznos without getting indigestion now. Then its off to ride the moving sidewalk 53 times before the next flight.

One flight down

And the big one to go. Ella already said that she misses Grandpa and Grandma.

Takeoff!

Please turn off all cellular phones.

T minus 50 minutes

Here goes round two! We are through security with no arrests or pat downs. Enjoying Pizza Hut beadsticks, a poppy seed muffin, and one sticky red sucker. No Benadryl yet. We are holding off untill the Detroit to Phoenix flight.

Ain't no sunshine when I'm gone

Driving over to the Meyer family Christmas gathering, all three kids are in the back seat chattering away.

Noah: Cover your eyes cause the sunshine is coming out.

Ella: Noah! There is no sun in Michigan!

Ha ha! I lauged until my stomach hurt. Even Paige laughed. And it was even true, since today is the first time I have seen the sun since we got here.

Made it

without further incident. Our kids did great on the planes. Much better than the last trip with all three. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Whew...

The meltdown has subsided. We are reading and watching movies in Detroit. Maybe we can survive the next flight afterall.

Oh boy

Going downhill fast! Levi is in full meltdown mode.

Landed in Detroit

So far so good! They watched movies and slept most of the way. One more short hop to GR.

We are on the plane!

Here goes nothing...

The epic begins

Well, we made it to the airport and through security with no hassles. I'm even armed with my giant knitting needles again. The kids watched one plane take off, and are now playing with plastic animals. We are about 2 hours past nap time, so it's a little like watching the fuse on a cheap Mexican firecracker burn, wondering if it will go off before you get it thrown. Benadryl in 30 minutes, on the plane 30 minutes after that, and let's hope sweet dreams all the way to Detroit.

The day of reckoning approaches

Back in September, we got plane tickets to go to Michigan for Christmas. Since that day, I have been dreading the trip. After our last disaster of a plane trip, and then the 3 day driving "adventure" this summer... let's just say that I don't have high expectations for this trip. Paige called the doctor yesterday, and sheepishly asked if they would recommend drugging your kids for a plane trip (hoping the doctor wouldn't make a call right to Child Protective Services.) The nurse called back laughing, said that she would HIGHLY recommend it, and said that Benadryl worked the best. She also said we should try it out beforehand, just to make sure it doesn't make them hyper. So the kids all got a dose of Benadryl last night for their, ummm, "allergies."

30 minutes later, Ella could barely keep her eyes open. Levi and Noah both said they were tired, laid still on their beds for story time, snuggled a little bit with us, and then curled up and fell asleep without so much as a peep. No fussing, crying, or coming out of their room. It was the polar opposite of the jungle gym sleepover playtime that has occurred every night in their room for the last 6 months.

It was awesome! I wonder if it would stunt their development if they took Benadryl EVERY night...

Sleepy Noah

After seeing Meengs' video of Dylan sleeping at the table, I commented to Paige that I don't think any of our kids have ever been so tired that they fell asleep like that. Then not a few days later, Noah does this, at noon...



I guess this explains why he was such a brat this morning.

#4 Update

We had an ultrasound yesterday. Everything looked good. And no, we did not find out if it is a boy or girl.