After getting back from the cottage, we got to spend a little more time with Trev's parents before they had to head back to Michigan. Nana got to relive the old days of being our nanny for a few days too, which I think she enjoyed :) Of course we were sad to see them leave, but we were also happy that it meant that Poppie was so healthy that he could start teaching this semester again at Calvin Seminary. They'll be back out to see us (and by us, I mean the kids mostly) in a couple of weeks as Ron has a wedding to do out here.
It's hard to drag the kids' attention away from the Baby Einstein video to smile for the camera. This activity is right up there on the favorite list along with reading books, and we frequently hear requests for a "bi-bee-oh" throughout the day. They love to shout out whatever it is they see on the screen -- especially the animals, and it makes me laugh to watch it with them.
My mom has been staying with us for the last seven weeks of my fellowship to take care of the kids while we work (and take care of us too). I don't know how we would have made it without here, since Trevor has been working nights (6P until 8-11AM) and full days/nights on Sundays. Combined with my overnight calls, it's been a tough schedule, and we need someone to stay with the kids at night! We've been blessed with our help in taking care of the kids thus far (my mom, Sugar, Abby, Dave), but the past month has been a bit of a challenge trying to find a nanny to take care of the kids for when I'm done. After hours and hours of searching, we think that we finally found someone who will be great for the family. I'm sure she'll enter the blog later. Anyway, in this picture we are on a hike in Boulder, letting the kids explore some rocks.
Jill showing Jess some fun nature facts.
I'm not sure how well it shows up in this picture, but Elsie has some nice war paint in the form of chalk on her face. We introduced them to sidewalk chalk about a month ago, and I'm still deciding whether that was a good idea. While it has given them hours of fun drawing on the patio, they also frequently draw on each other, on the house, the patio chairs, the picnic table, their big wheels, and about anything else out there. For the most part, we don't care since it washes off easily in the rain. But the other day, Grammy was changing Jess's diaper, only to come out of the nursery and find Elsie covering the hallway wall with pencil. After Trevor had a little talk with her about how we don't draw on the walls inside, both she and Jess walk by this area and say "No no", shaking their heads. Elsie also pointed out a couple of other areas of her artwork that I hadn't noticed by saying "no no". But I am not sure if that means that she won't do it again...
The weekend after Labor Day, my dad and sister Jody flew out from G.R. to spend the weekend in the mountains with us. As we were preparing to go for a hike, Jess and Elsie practiced some dancing while waiting to get seated for breakfast.
What cracks me up about this picture is that Jess is signing "more". He has developed this cute little habit of stopping when he is doing something really fun and saying "Moh" while signing it. He then wants you to say, "Okay Jess, keep on dancing." And he resumes gleefully.
My parents were troopers and hiked up to around 12,000 feet, with some pretty steep and rocky footage later up the trail. Trevor and Dave carried the kids (I'm not that stable on my feet and have frequently fallen on these types of hikes, so I didn't want to put the children at risk unnecessarily.) You can see them barely in the background.
Jill and Jess huddled at the top of Columbine Lake.
Dave and Elsie cuddled up too.
This is the only "family picture" that we could get at the top, since the weather got pretty cold and we had to hurry to get down. But proof that we all made it!
Every morning the kids want to read books for almost an hour unless we distract them with another fun activity. Elsie listens very intently to whatever you want to tell her about the picture. Jess, on the other hand, gives you a nearly constant running commentary that goes something like this: "I see a bee. I see a butterfly. I see flowers. I see a bee. I see a bee. I see a bee. I see BIG bee. I see a boy. I see birdie. Tweet Tweet. BUNNY!" with about 1/2 second pause between each phrase. We used to think that Elsie would dominate him because he seemed to be much more passive, but the tables have definitely turned. She seems content to listen to his commentary on life, even when they are trying to go to sleep and you can hear, "I see Elsie. I see Elsie, Mommy rocking. I see car. I see big truck. Big truck BUS! Jess BEDO!!! (a.ka. his pacifier)" coming from his crib.
Last night I gave the kids some sour cream to dip their quesadillas in, because they get really excited to dip their food. However, Elsie seemed to find sour cream to be very similar to lotion (she does like to eat lotion too...)
Jess looking over at Elsie, thinking "Oh, that's what you do with it. I thought we were just supposed to eat it and put a little bit on our faces."
As you can see, Jess like the lotion idea just as much. And their arms were very soft after their bath, I must say.
After getting back from the cottage, we got to spend a little more time with Trev's parents before they had to head back to Michigan. Nana got to relive the old days of being our nanny for a few days too, which I think she enjoyed :) Of course we were sad to see them leave, but we were also happy that it meant that Poppie was so healthy that he could start teaching this semester again at Calvin Seminary. They'll be back out to see us (and by us, I mean the kids mostly) in a couple of weeks as Ron has a wedding to do out here.
It's hard to drag the kids' attention away from the Baby Einstein video to smile for the camera. This activity is right up there on the favorite list along with reading books, and we frequently hear requests for a "bi-bee-oh" throughout the day. They love to shout out whatever it is they see on the screen -- especially the animals, and it makes me laugh to watch it with them.
My mom has been staying with us for the last seven weeks of my fellowship to take care of the kids while we work (and take care of us too). I don't know how we would have made it without here, since Trevor has been working nights (6P until 8-11AM) and full days/nights on Sundays. Combined with my overnight calls, it's been a tough schedule, and we need someone to stay with the kids at night! We've been blessed with our help in taking care of the kids thus far (my mom, Sugar, Abby, Dave), but the past month has been a bit of a challenge trying to find a nanny to take care of the kids for when I'm done. After hours and hours of searching, we think that we finally found someone who will be great for the family. I'm sure she'll enter the blog later. Anyway, in this picture we are on a hike in Boulder, letting the kids explore some rocks.
Jill showing Jess some fun nature facts.
I'm not sure how well it shows up in this picture, but Elsie has some nice war paint in the form of chalk on her face. We introduced them to sidewalk chalk about a month ago, and I'm still deciding whether that was a good idea. While it has given them hours of fun drawing on the patio, they also frequently draw on each other, on the house, the patio chairs, the picnic table, their big wheels, and about anything else out there. For the most part, we don't care since it washes off easily in the rain. But the other day, Grammy was changing Jess's diaper, only to come out of the nursery and find Elsie covering the hallway wall with pencil. After Trevor had a little talk with her about how we don't draw on the walls inside, both she and Jess walk by this area and say "No no", shaking their heads. Elsie also pointed out a couple of other areas of her artwork that I hadn't noticed by saying "no no". But I am not sure if that means that she won't do it again...
The weekend after Labor Day, my dad and sister Jody flew out from G.R. to spend the weekend in the mountains with us. As we were preparing to go for a hike, Jess and Elsie practiced some dancing while waiting to get seated for breakfast.
My parents were troopers and hiked up to around 12,000 feet, with some pretty steep and rocky footage later up the trail. Trevor and Dave carried the kids (I'm not that stable on my feet and have frequently fallen on these types of hikes, so I didn't want to put the children at risk unnecessarily.) You can see them barely in the background.
Jill and Jess huddled at the top of Columbine Lake.
Dave and Elsie cuddled up too.
Every morning the kids want to read books for almost an hour unless we distract them with another fun activity. Elsie listens very intently to whatever you want to tell her about the picture. Jess, on the other hand, gives you a nearly constant running commentary that goes something like this: "I see a bee. I see a butterfly. I see flowers. I see a bee. I see a bee. I see a bee. I see BIG bee. I see a boy. I see birdie. Tweet Tweet. BUNNY!" with about 1/2 second pause between each phrase. We used to think that Elsie would dominate him because he seemed to be much more passive, but the tables have definitely turned. She seems content to listen to his commentary on life, even when they are trying to go to sleep and you can hear, "I see Elsie. I see Elsie, Mommy rocking. I see car. I see big truck. Big truck BUS! Jess BEDO!!! (a.ka. his pacifier)" coming from his crib. 
Elsie loving the beach time.
Watching her brother jumping around in the water
The bigger splash, the better
Turning into a little fish already
Elsie at Pointe Petsie on Lake Michigan
Jess warming up with his daddy
Elsie seemed to like the sand more than the water.
Abby (our former nanny) and her boyfriend Justin came up for a day -- the kids were really happy to see her again and sad to see her leave.
Great Grandma Mulder (my mom's mom)
Great Grandma Heeringa (my dad's mom)
Great Grandpa Jess Heeringa (my dad's dad). This is who Jess is named after.
Last year we got the cutest picture of Ethan and Owen holding Elsie and Jess, and we wanted to start a tradition of snapping a picture every year. However, during the toddler stage, this can be very difficult. This is the best picture we could get of all the cousins together.
Very intent on playing with pebbles
Ethan and Jess watching Owen's old Elmo videos
Grammy and Elsie
Grampy and Elsie and the favorite activity : reading books.
