Woo hoo, what a big girl!

Erin tried to climb out her crib last week and fell. While I don't think it was going to happen again anytime soon, I thought she was just ready for a bed. She loves to climb into our bed or Kyle's and pull the covers up. She loves to lay her head on a couch pillow and be covered with the blanket.

So last week we got a toddler bed from Mike's sister Susan, and today Erin and I put it together. I say Erin loosely, but I tell you, she watched me like a hawk and she would pick up a screw, put it in a hole, and use the screwdriver. The girl is going to be able to do anything!
We got the bed in her room and I put the bedding on. The crib was moved out of the way. She pointed and the bed and shouted no, running to her crib and holding on. I was amazed -- and worried that she wasn't going to go for the bed. I decided to take the crib down anyway.

Our big girl went down for her nap, and for bed tonight, without so much as a peep. She was asleep in minutes. And at bedtime she hopped right in and had to be reminded about stories!

What a big girl she is!

Happy birthday, Mike!!

Happy birthday to Mike today! We had a great day celebrating. Mike got to take the day off -- woo hoo! He woke up to biscuits and gravy, his favorite, and presents. We then headed up to Grand Rapids to Frederik Meijer Gardens for Kyle's school field trip. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time. Kyle can't wait to go back! Then we made it down to Benton Harbor (which gave the kids some nap time) for dinner. El Rodeo for Mike's favorite spicy shrimp dish. It was a great birthday for a great guy!!

Wordless Wednesday

Whatever sparks your creativity...

Looking back at Easter

We had a great Easter! The kids got to participate in several Easter egg hunts and loved each one of them. They also dyed and decorated eggs the day before Easter. On Easter morning the Sinclair side of the family came for breakfast, and we went to church. Then it was up to Holland to celebrate Easter with the Bos side of the family. It was a perfect day!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

I love this picture of Erin because she has this expression of surprised excitement all the time.

Erin's eggs. I left the table to get something for a few minutes, which resulted in the very heavily colored egg!

Kyle's eggs, including smiley stickers, wrappers, and coloring! The Easter bunny brought Kyle a Wii game!

The Easter egg hunt at church. Jack and Kyle are here.

Beth, Troy, Jack and Brett.

Hunting eggs at Nana and Grandpa Jay's...

Erin loved coloring with the big girls!

Kimberly did a great project with the kids... using crescent rolls, marshmellows and cinnamon sugar to talk about Jesus rising from the tomb.

And some family pictures!Erin, Kyle, Jack and Brett.All the Bos clan.

Bos cousins... Kyle, Nina, Isabel, Claire, Erin... back row, Nathaniel and Chloe.

Lightbulbs and pasta

I love the age Kyle is. He understands our language well enough that we can have wonderful conversations. It is so fun to hear him share his thoughts, and get a look into how his mind works. At the same time, he is young enough to still say things that leave me with a big grin and a swelled heart. As smart as he is, sometimes things just come out in the cutest way that only a child would think of.

Three weeks ago Kyle helped me plant 60+ bulbs in the garden. Now we check our "lightbulb" flowers each day. Among the tulips the hostas are now coming up. But Kyle will say that the "pastas" are growing.

So here you go, a look at the growth we're seeing in our lightbulb and pasta garden.

You Capture ~ Comfort

I enjoy reading my friend Salena's blog regularly. I love her, her family and her blog!! I learn a lot from her posts, and also get some great ideas. She has recently hooked into a challenge from another blog, where you have to post a picture that you feel defines the assigned word. This week is it comfort.

I thougth for a bit about recent pictures I have taken, and what defines comfort to each of us in our family. The picture I decided on is this: Kyle got his green blankie as a baby gift. I'm not sure when exactly it became a must-have item, we just grew toward that need. Sometime around Kyle being a year or so, I realized that we needed a back-up blankie. This seemed highly urgent around 7pm on a Friday night. I had worked all day, and we were putting Kyle to bed. We could not find blankie anywhere. All I could think was that it was in a locked up KinderCare in Kalamazoo, and we wouldn't see it again until Monday morning. (Fortunately I found it in the car, tucked beside his car seat!)

Eventually the first blankie became so tattered I tried to buy a couple more. They no longer sold it in pine green, but hey, navy is close enough, right? NO. It is not. Thus it became green blankie. It now exists in our lives simply as "green."

Kyle always has it at bedtime and in the morning, but we no longer take it in anywhere. Lately, however, his need for it has been strong and he likes it in the car frequently. He took it for his last show and tell at school, along with pictures of him through the years with it.

He loves green. And green always goes with puppy. And I love that he loves them. I love the comfort they bring him, and the sweetness of it.

Flashback Friday, again!

Flashing back to just a week ago now, when my friend Rachel had a play date extraordinare at her house with 12 kids and their moms. The weather was unseasonably hot and it was perfect! The kids got to play a ton, had an Easter egg hunt, and enjoyed goodies like popsicles and cupcakes. It felt like a great start to summer!! (Although the weather was freezing today!)
It's okay, Sadie. We're all leaving soon!

Flashback Friday

Not too much of a flashback, just two weeks ago. We went to Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids with a bunch of friends. It's become an annual trek to see the butterfly exhibit, and this is now my third blog post on the event. Here is the first one from two years ago, and last's years.

We had a great time, and enjoyed a picnic lunch together as well. Unfortunately the weather was on the cold side, so we didn't go to the outdoor gardens or sculptures.

Here are pictures from our day. :)

Kyle sat down to study the Butterfly Passport before we went in, so he would know which ones to look for.The whole group... Savannah, Kyle and Erin, Laine, Dorian, Joshua, Emma Grace, Romy and Sasha.Erin fascinated by the fountain.Before you get to the butterfly exhibit you go through several greenhouses with gorgeous flowers.Butterflies to be!The turtle and fish aquarium downstairs.