Michigan

Well, here we are, back in West Michigan. Adjusting...best word to describe it right now. Jeremy has a few days of work at Amway under his belt. Feeling a bit overwhelmed and uncomfortable with the switch in industry and after being in the same place for 8 years. Evan and I are figuring out our routine. Evan appears to love the extra attention he receives from being close to family. However, he will occasionally say, "Norm (our elderly next door neighbor), miss you." or "Back to Evan's house?" Difficult for me to hear these things because I want to make sense of it for him.

We did "choose" an extra special week to return to West MI. Tulip Time. We decided we'd dive full in to our Dutch culture back here by dressing Evan in Cousin Andrew's old Dutch Costume and watching a parade. The heat was intense and Evan could barely keep his eyes open at the end, but he loved it! He kept saying, "More drums" each time he'd see a band. Other highlights were the police motorcycles, tractor, and firetruck at the end...such a boy!

Baby

Not super clear, but here is a glimpse inside at Baby Rusticus.

Bottom left is a foot, follow up the lower leg, knee, thigh, buns and then a great looking spine along the top of the pic. Head on the middle right...resting on my bladder. :)


3D pic - Baby was being quite shy. We did not get any clear face pics 2D or 3D. This is the best. You can make out the lips and nose, but the baby had it's hands up over its eyes. At this point in the ultrasound I could understand it just wanted to be left alone. :)


This pic is turned, but at the bottom you can see 4 fingers very distinctly.

Celebrating with Family - Rusticus Side

All that fun left us utterly exhausted!

Celebrating with Family - Kiekintveld Side

Snackville Junction Video

Celebrating with Mommy and Daddy

We all had a GREAT time celebrating Evan's birthday. "Snackville Junction" was a huge success. I could easily take him there every week just to see his excitement and enjoyment. At first, we were the only ones in the restaurant and our waiter sent the train out every time Evan said "Choo Choo". The food was delivered on the train as well as his "dessert" Dum Dum sucker. They even had a train set to play with while we waited for our food. It was so much FUN!



Loves his cheese fries! What a treat!



The train is on the right (delivering some onion rings down the track a bit).


Just as big of a hit...Evan's birthday present from Mommy and Daddy. He thinks it is awesome. He'll even say, "Cool Bike". We've been letting him ride it around the house. Doesn't really use the pedals yet, but he can use his feet to scoot around. The bell is the highlight!

Birthday Boy

Overflowing with excitement for his special day! We'll let Evan tell you how old...



He told us his dreams last night included "Reese" my girlfriend's one year old. So I think that is still on his mind when he says "Reese" is coming to his party. Actually, tomorrow we celebrate with Jeremy's side here in Chicago. Can't wait! Last weekends party with my family was a success and we are excited for more Choo Choo cake! Our agenda for the rest of the day includes a visit to the library and dinner at "Snackville Junction" where the theme is trains and the food is delivered to you on a train. Evan is going to LOVE it! Counting down the hours. Oh, and of course, we'll give him our birthday present for him tonight. I'll make sure to post more pics of all our fun birthday events!

We are also celebrating the halfway point of my pregnancy today! Exactly 20 weeks and this little one is on the move!

X and B - Special Guests

Evan loves to have "X" (Uncle Alex) come visit and he loves to play with "B" (Baylee). So it can't get much better than "X" and "B" coming to hang out in the same night.

I think Evan got pretty jealous of B's purse.





Check out that volume. :)

Mexico

View of the salt water pool and ocean

Our "post" for much of the 5 days



As we exited the water we were informed that there was a 5 ft. stingray in the area the day before. We decided that was the first and last snorkel excursion.

A great looking group of ladies!



What a great way to celebrate 12 years of friendship and 30 years of life! We decided we should do this every decade...would that be too much to ask? :)

Blizzard 2011

Love this one with his hands held together. Like he just doesn't know what to do or what to make of it all!