Where has the time gone?

Wow how time flies.  My last update was at the end of the summer (2011), it is now the beginning of the summer (2012).  For some reason time has gotten away from me... I wonder why!?

Anyway, in an attempt to keep everyone up to date, here is a massive overload of pictures from the last 10 months or so!  Enjoy catching up on our life!

 

 Above: Abram at 2, 3, and 4, months, and getting ready for his first taste of cereal!

Left: All three kiddos ready for Trick-or-Treating.  In case you can't tell, Sophia is a dinosaur, Abram was a very sad giraffe and Amelia was a clown!

 Below: Abram all bundled up for a fall outing to post family farms!  Oh how yummy those donuts sound right now! :)

That brings us to November of 2011.  Amelia turned 3! Can you believe it, my sweet little first born is 3 (going on 16)!  We celebrated with Grandma and Papa and Grandma Gates and Great Grandma Wiersma!

Amelia wanted a kitty cat cake, and got spoiled rotten with lots of fun gifts!

Abram was 5 months old in November!

 December brought the cold weather!  The girls LOVED the snow, although we had a pretty mild winter compared to the year before.  We started decorating for the holidays, after we got our Christmas tree we came home and put together a gingerbread house!

 

Amelia was old enough this year to light one of the Advent candles (a big deal at our family Christmas party)

 

                                The kids all dressed up for Christmas morning church service!

 Opening presents on Christmas morning.  Abram was totally clueless!  Amelia and Sophia got lots of fun packages to open, including a new kitchen set that daddy built just for them!

                                                              SPRING TIME!

 Abram has graduated to the big tub and LOVES to take baths with his sisters!  He screams bloody murder when we try to take him out and anytime he hears the water running in the bathroom he crawls there as fast as he possibly can and pulls himself up on the tub!

 March brought unseasonably warm weather for Michigan!  Sophia turned 2 and she is a total two-year old.  Oh my goodness we are in the throws of toddlerhood over here!  She wanted an Elmo cake and a tricycle for her birthday so that's what she got.  Grandma Gates couldn't join us for this party but she did make the girls some very special slippers (see picture below)!  Abram turned 9 months this month!

 

 April was Easter and Abram turning 10 months (he also learned to stand up independently). 

Amelia has found a new love for building with blocks.  Both of these pictures are things that she build all by herself!



Also in April we went to Chicago, our first getaway since having Abram.  We were gone for three days for a surprise trip for my dad's 60th birthday.  All the siblings and spouses spent the weekend taking in the sights and yummy food, along with a Tigers games to celebrate with my parents!  It was a wonderful weekend but we were ready to get back to our kiddos!

 

 They just keep growing! 

 

 So do I!  This is baby #4 at 20 weeks, we just found out we'll be welcoming another little girl to our family! 

May: Abram turned 11 months old, is taking steps, is completely weaned and is babbling like crazy!!!

I have put reminders on my calendar to update my blog!  Hopefully I can actually remember to do it!  Trying to catch up on almost a year is not something I enjoy doing!!!  We've been enjoying playing outside and going to the farmer's market and it's only the beginning of June.  Hoping for a wonderful summer!  Until next time...

Summer's Almost Gone...

So much for keeping up with updating the blog. Last update was in May. Much has happened since then, a finished basement, a new baby (who is now almost 2 months old), changes at work for Tim... here's some pictures of what we've been up to!


June 20th - Abram Dean! What a precious gift God has given us!


July 20th, one month old already!


Abram enjoying his first swim with Grandma!


Little Sosie enjoying the water!


The girls are enjoying the swings (thanks Grandma and Papa) in the backyard!

More to come later... baby just woke up from his 'short' nap!

It's Spring!

We've had lots of fun so far this Spring. The weather has been hot and sunny, cold and snowy, and very rainy... typical Michigan. Needless to say we haven't had a ton of time to play outside. We bought a picnic table for the girls (for the back yard) to use this summer but have been enjoying having indoor picnics at lunch time!

Here's some pictures, I'll start with Easter!


Amelia all dressed and ready for church on Easter Sunday!


Sophia smiling pretty in her Easter dress!



Easter Baskets! After a wonderful worship service at church we gave the girls their Easter baskets - sans candy since they had enough at the egg hunt the day before!


Sophia, trying to figure out what was on her head!


Amelia got her first haircut - thanks Auntie Cara! Amelia wasn't really sure what to think and refused to wear the cape, she sat with her head down for the most part but at least she sat still!


Amelia loves to have piggy tails! They completely go with her personality. There is rarely a dull moment with Amelia!

Enjoying a blue popscicle on a rare 70+ degree day in April! Notice the spot in the middle of her forehead!


We took a road trip to Lansing. Unfortunately it was for my great grammy's funeral. Both girls did great in the car, Amelia even kept her pants dry! She had lots of questions about why grammy was sleeping, she was very curious about it all.


Sophia has learned how to undress! She is constantly taking her arms out of her sleeves!


Amelia loves to pull Sophia around the island in the kitchen for rides. Thankfully this is how they entertain themselves while I'm getting dinner ready! At least it keeps them busy!


We are well under way with our basement project. Framing and electrical were finished up this week and we are waiting on two inspectors to come in the next couple of days. Drywall is starting either Monday or Wednesday next week! Once the drywall is in then it's paint, flooring and the details! I'll post pictures when it's finished... right now it just looks like lots of pieces of wood and wires! But we're almost there, which is good because there's only 7 weeks until baby boy will be joining our family!



First planting

4 weeks later!

Amelia is LOVING helping me in the garden. We put Sophia down for her nap and then we got out and pull weeds and plant more veggies! She loves to dig but hates getting the dirt on her hands! So far we've planted Sugar Snap Peas, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Romaine Lettuce, along with 4 other kids of lettuce, and Strawberries! We are waiting a couple of weeks for some warmer weather before we plant the Tomatoes (Amelia's favorite), Green Peppers, Okra, Green Beans and Cucumbers!


Amelia planted a flower seed in a cup and we've enjoyed watching it grow!

and grow!



In baby news... I'm almost 33 weeks and feeling it. As pregnancies go this has to be my most difficult, nothing in particular, but having to chase around two toddlers and dealing with construction in my house has added to the stress of being pregnant. We are very much looking forward to meeting this little guy and seeing what it's like to have a little boy in the family! Amelia is beyond excited to meet her baby brother and asks me daily if he's coming soon (we told her when it was hot outside and we could swim in Grandpa's pool then he'd come). She can't wait to give him the paci's she picked out for him!

Playing Catch Up... Yet Again!

I cannot believe I haven't updated since October... YIKES! A lot has happened in the Gates home since then. Let me see if I can hit some of the highlights.

Some things I don't have pictures of, like :
*Amelia is POTTY TRAINED! We did a three day bootcamp back in November and she did great!
*Sophia is DONE with bottles! And eating more table food than Amelia at most meals!


Christmas morning, snuggling with the blanket Grandma made for Sophia! This was a really special Christmas, not only was it Sophia's first one, but we were able to celebrate with extended family. My aunt and her family recently moved to the area, so along with my siblings, nieces and nephews and my parents we also were able to celebrate with aunts uncles, cousins and my grandparents. It was wonderful, just like I remember it from when I was a child. We all got together on Christmas Eve to celebrate!


The girls opening their stockings, Amelia loved opening presents, and kept asking for days afterward where more presents were! We had a nice quiet Christmas morning just the four of us!


Amelia playing in the snow on the back deck, the snow was as deep as she is tall. She wasn't super fond of the cold, we only went out to play maybe 3 or 4 times all winter.


Sophia hamming it up in her winter hat! Amelia thought it was hilarious to make Sosie (as we call her) wear her hat, luckily Soph doesn't mind too much!



The girls snuggling in the rocking chair. They love to play together, and for the most part get along wonderfully!


Amelia 'almost' ready for her valentine's day party. Just waiting for mommy to do her pig tails!



The girls got bored one day and decided to empty out all the bins on the changing table. (Actually they do this at least once a week now.) Amelia usually makes the mess and Sophia cleans it up - which of course drives Amelia nuts because she wants to play with all the things she got out.



Basement remodel! We are finally starting work on the basement. Dad, my brother and Tim got the walls up for the bathroom and we are hoping to get the rest of the framing done this week... then the plumber, electrician, and heating and cooling guys can come do their work! Gotta get it done by June!


Sophia turned 1!!! How in the world she is a year old already is beyond me. She started walking about 3 weeks before her birthday, has seven teeth and doesn't talk nearly as much as Amelia. She has a few words, dadda, momma, nana (banana) and this week her new word is humhum (hommus - which is a lunch staple around here)


And our biggest news... WE ARE EXPECTING A BOY IN JUNE! We actually found out the week of my last update back in October. We are beyond thrilled, although I will admit I'm slightly freaking out over having a BOY! We are hoping to have the basement finished before he arrives at the end of June. Amelia asks me daily "where my baby brother?" or "when baby brother comes can we play with him?"

We started our garden again, but I don't have pictures of that yet, since nothing is growing. We did plant some seeds already but they won't be up for another week or so. I'll post pictures of that soon.

Tim is still on 3rds at GVSU and praying for something new but we are leaving that up to the Lord. Trying to find contentment in that situation!

I think I say this every time I update but I really will try this time (now that we have internet at home) to update more regularly!

Until next time...

Fall Fun!

Fall is here and we are loving the cool weather and the changing color of the leaves. Amelia especially loves to pick up leaves in our yard and feel them crinkle. We gave her a bike for her birthday (early) and whenever we go for a ride she stops every couple of yards and picks up a leaf or a rock. She's getting so old. Amelia can count to 8 (she confuses 6 and 4 though) and she knows Pink, Yellow, Blue and Purple.

I've started doing a preschool curriculum with her - it's really laid back and it's been WONDERFUL. Each month is a different verse and theme to focus on. So far she has memorized two verses Genesis 1:1 and Children Obey Your Parents, which she says quite often but I don't think has really grasped what it means :)

Sophia is growing like crazy as well. She's a lot more noisy that Amelia was at her age, always babbling, usually it's "da da da da..." or just shrieking. She knows how to get on her sisters nerves too. Anytime Amelia leaves a toy on the floor, even if just for a minute Sophia crawls at lightning speed to get to it. Which of course then leads to Amelia flipping out! Sophia is so over baby food and just wants to eat whatever we have on the table. She loves her veggies!

Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to lately!

Sophia's 6 month picture!

I just packed the bouncy seat away... as you can see since Sophia just learned how to sit up she no longer just relaxes into it... she wants to be a part of everything so no more bouncy seat for her!

Amelia's newest trick. She has discovered two things 1. she has holes in the side of her head and 2. if she sticks her fingers in those holes she doesn't have to listen to what mommy and daddy are saying.

Sophia just sittin' pretty! She just learned how to go from her hands and knees to her sitting position! She gets so excited with herself when she can do it all by herself!

We were playing on the floor one night after dinner and Sophia must've been really tired because we looked over and all the sudden she was fast asleep on the floor! Too cute not to take a picture!

Amelia LOVES to help Sophia eat her Cheerios! Usually this means that she eats them 'for' Sophia!

If you ask Amelia "what does the clown say?" she'll get this big cheesy grin on her face! It's the only way we can get her to smile for a picture!

My little rooster! I'm always amazed at how messy her hair gets after her nap!

I cannot believe Sophia is already 7 months. I'm not sure where the time has gone... she's already crawling all over our house. We just had to put the baby gate at the top of the stairs because she is a very curious little one!

Amelia eating a doughnut with "trinkles" as she would say! She was so good at Library Story time this week that we walked to the bakery a couple blocks away and she got to pick out a doughnut!

Tim and I took a weekend away and left the girls home with Uncle Dan and Aunt Meghan (good friends and honorary family members!). They were going to go to Post Family Farm, I'm hoping they took some good pictures so I can post some of them at another time!

I have lots more pictures to post so stay tuned for another post! I cannot wait to post pictures of the girls in their Halloween costumes!

Until next time...

So Long Summer!

As I've been starting to pack away the girls' summer clothes I cannot believe that fall is already here. I drove through today today to be greeted by pumpkins on door steps and leaves in the grass. Where did the time go?

Amelia is almost 2 (YIKES), only two more months. We decided to get her a bike for her birthday, a tricycle really. She can't quite reach the peddles yet but that hasn't stopped her from riding it all around the living room. We move it outside yesterday after several toes were run over. Our drive way has just the right slope to it to keep propell her all the way down to the end!

Sophia is already 6 months old and just this week has started to sit up on her own. She's eating like a cow right now. For breakfast she either has bananas or pears, and for lunch her new favorite is banana mixed with avocado (I know it sounds gross but it's actually quite tasty) and for dinner she LOVES squash and peas. So far she hasn't turned her nose up to anything so we'll see how long that goes.

I am currently getting ready for my first trip away from Tim and the girls. My mom, sister and I, along with 5000 other women are attending the True Woman Conference in Indianapolis this next weekend. I am beyond excited to have some girl time. Although I will most certainly miss my babies like crazy. They are in good hands. Tim will be home with them the whole time!

Well, my pictures uploader thing isn't working... so no pictures this time. Hopefully in the next day or two though!

Until next time...

Changes!

Boy oh boy have we been busy. I promise I am going to do better at keeping you up to date on our lives! Where to start...

Having two kiddos has definately changed things up a bit! Grocery shopping takes a little longer and trying to split my time between two girls who always want to be held by mommy has been an adjustment. But I wouldn't have it any other way! I love nap time though! Once Sophia got on a good schedule...now both girls sleep at the same time which gives me time to actually get some things done1 now if Sophia would sleep through the night we'd be golden! All in all it's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. God is an ever present help that's for sure. I find myself praying for wisdom and patience continually throughout the day and I know without His help my home would fall apart.

Here's our most recent family picture, we're having them done in October again so this will have to do until then!


These pictures are going to be really out of order so I appologize for that in advance!
I cannot believe how quickly Sophia is growing, here she is at 4 months (July). We spent her 4 month birthday at FCA camp! The four of us shared a college dorm room for a week... what an adventure that was! Sophia is rolling all over the house, babbling like crazy and is starting to actually enjoy her food!



The girls took a weekend and went to see Auntie Mere at her new place in Traverse City. We couldn't make a trip up north without stopping in at Moomers for some yummy ice cream. Mommy even broke down and let Amelia get her own cup!



Amelia has become such a huge "help" this summer. She is very into copying everything we do, so when we go out to work in the yard she grabs a watering can and helps us out! Grandma let her help once and ever since then we can't water the plants without her "help".


Sophia trying her rice cereal for the first time! Not too sure about it. Now, two weeks later she mostly likes it, I think she wants something that actually has flavor!

Sophia in her Easter dress (which was too big for her to wear on Easter Sunday). Looking like such a big girl!

Sisters always have to match! Not always but I sure do love to make them match! I'm sure when they're older they won't let me so I'm getting it in as much as I can now!

Amelia LOVES to hold Sophia! She's constantly hugging and kissing her. Amelia always makes sure Sophia (or Sissy as Mia calls her) has all of her toys within reach!

One of mommy's favorite outfits didn't fit you long! At three months you already have a personality of your own. You are so easy going and smiley!

Hope you enjoyed the update, stay tuned until next time!