Happy Birthday Will!

Can you believe this picture was taken just three years ago? I can't!

The day has come and gone. Will is now officially four years old, and we are still in disbelief of how fast these years have gone by. We had such a great time today with just our family. Will's Nana and Papa were there, as well as Aunt Amy and Aunt Angie. Will was so happy with his birthday party, cake, and of course gifts that during bedtime he said he did not want his birthday to be over. I guess this is about the time when he begins to remember and looking forward to upcoming birthdays. I added several pictures and would have included a few of Will's baby pictures and first birthday pictures, but they are in our external hard drive, and Adam left it at work.

-Maartje

Will's party theme.

Jack and Will playing right before the party:)

Will loved all the birthday cards he received.

Loving the Nerf gun!

Testing it out.....

Aunt Angie and Aunt Amy's gift to Will. He loves dinosaurs

We love to hug

Will counting the four dollars he received from daddy;)

Papa, Will and Nana cuddling.

Absolutely loved his Transformers cake

His favorite is blowing out the candles

Early Christmas Gift

WoW... It is hard to believe just how quickly Will has grown up this year. Looking back through these past 4 years I start to get nostalgic about everything he has accomplished, survived, and learned. Adam and I will sometimes sit in front of our computer screen and play back all of the videos taken since he was born. We can't help but laugh, aww, and cry at all the things he has done. By far, we are so thankful and grateful to God who has given us this amazing opportunity to be part of their lives. I have to say that with a family like mine I'm truly the blessed one! Will is getting to be such a big boy that he has graduated to a new twin bed. This early gift is from my mom who cannot spend Christmas with us, so she decided she would give Will his first big boy bed. Thanks mom:) it was well needed. As for this week it could not be going by any faster. Will's 4th birthday is coming up on Saturday, and time is going by fast. On a final note, although our year has been busy with Adam's school and work, Will going to pre-k, and Jack becoming a toddler, we have truly found what is most important in our lives.

-Maartje

Adam and Will moving the new bed in.

William getting aquainted with his new bed, and Jack testing the springs.

William the Pilgrim, at his Thanksgiving party in school.

Will, Jack. Jack, Will. Nice to meet you.

Family picture at Nana's.

Two of my favorite boys.

The other favorite boy.

Happy Thanksgiving! By the way, Jack just loves that scarecrow in the background.

Backyard Fun

I took some pictures of the boys playing outside yesterday. Will rode his four wheeler, and Jack cruised in his firetruck. We had so much fun, especially since the mosquitos are out of the picture, and the boys are able to enjoy their outdoor play to the fullest without being attacked! Only one of our smaller trees is shedding its leaves. Even though there are only a few leaves on the ground, it was enough to amuse the boys all afternoon. We'll just have to postpone raking the leaves for a while! So, I guess there is a touch of fall to these wonderful pictures.

-Maartje

Catch me if you can daddy!

We love fall

Jack just cracks me up:)

Jack showing mommy dirt he picked up.

Will holding a crunchy leaf.

Happy Birthday Adam!

We celebrated Adam's 30th birthday at our house on Thursday. Adam wanted finger foods and a Dairy Queen Ice cream birthday cake... which by the way it was "delicious". We all made a dish and ended with so much food similar to a buffet. We had sandwiches, bite size pizza's, nachos & rice, pigs and blanket, and so on. By the way, thank you Mom, Dad, Angie and Amy everything was yummy!! Will and Jack thank you for running laps around the house...you are always the highlight of a party!!:)LOL. Adam had so much fun. To this I want to add how thankful I'm to share moments like these together. I love you Adam, Happy Birthday!
-Maartje

Bulldogs, or Trick or Treat?

We decided to have a party at Nana's and Papa's instead of dressing up and trick or treating. Recently I have been behind on blogging so I'm posting pictures of the boys carving pumpkins and having a party at Nana's. So much for the big party bulldogs! Oh well, there's always next year :) Go DAWGS! So far Jack has been expanding his vocabulary and of course I'm so very proud of him. He seems to be adding a new word each day and he expresses himself very firmly (if you know what I mean). Adam and I are having the time of our lives with Will and Jack. The things they come up with are, well, let me just say funny and silly!! They seem to be becoming best of friends!!
-Maartje

Will getting messy!

Scooping was his favorite

Does the pumpkin look like Jack?

We love cheering for the DAWGS:)

Will loves Aunt Angie!

Family Picture(before the game). Matthew, Cacey & Elijah we miss you!

Will: 3 1/2 going on 10 (huh)?

So what a great way to update our blog today. Can you believe this? As we were eating lunch today, William decided that he is all grown up and wants to skip ahead nearly 6 years of his life. All because he wants a brand new convertible mustang that he'd like to drive with his new best friends. These friends are from school and he has yet to talk to. Aubrey, Anna and Riley are repeated names that come up every chance Will gets the chance to speak! I would like to share a couple of videos of never seen before footage of Will when we he used to be a tot:) Oh yea, and I dont want to leave out my sweet Jack, he turned 16 months today and so far has 7 words in his vocabulary: pees(please),tan-koo(thankyou), bah(ball), cah(car), bach(book) and the classics mama and dada. Needless to say he's not a talker but he seems to understands everything we say.


-Maartje

First day of Preschool

Wow! Our little William has finally started school. And although it is just 3-year-old preschool, and may not count, I'm taking this milestone seriously. His first day was Monday, and he did better than we expected. He never cried or showed fear, and seems to enjoy his teacher and classmates. We are so proud of how well he is doing. The funniest thing is the way he pronounces school. He refers to his latest series of adventures as "schoo - ell". Ha ha - I love it!

-Maartje

Heading off to school with a big smile and brand new backpack!