the latest vanderveer...but not mine!

Introducing my new nephew!! the story is below if you are interested, its pretty bizarre and pretty ridiculous how fast max entered the world, but the pictures are cuter than the story, so they come first...:)

Maxwell Craig Vanderveer

6 lbs. 12 oz.

November 22, 2008

So, here's the story from my perspective...cuz most of you know me...but Kyle's story is on her blog.

Friday night...Kyle calls to say her blood pressure has gone wacky and she is in the hospital, and they are going to induce her in the morning....

Saturday morning: 9am... i called kyle's mom and she said they broke kyle's water at 8 am to start the labor. she had minor contractions, but not enough, so instead of using pitocin, they broke the water.

9:30am: a text that says kyle is dilated to 5 cm... i'm thinking, ok...she's moving along good....hopefully won't take all day....andy left for the hospital, but i decided i had time to wait for my sister who was coming over, and i'd just go after she came, so i could leave the boys there.

10:15am: my sister walks thru the door, and andy calls me to say that the baby is already here! i grabbed my stuff, left my sister to fend with 6 kids by herself...and cried all the way to the hospital cuz i had missed it. i had really really wanted to be there---in case you don't know...andy has an identical twin, and this was his first baby, so there is just a lot of excitement wondering if the baby will look like my boys...and plus we didn't know if it was a boy or girl....etc. i wanted to be there. anyway...after hearing more details, i knew there was no way i could have made it, cuz she went from being dilated to 5 ---all the way to 10 in about 5 minutes...and ya know how i got that text at 9:30 saying she was at a 5? max was born at 9:46am....CRAZY!!! they had been praying for a fast delivery since she wanted to do it without an epidural...and the Lord really granted that prayer! :)

my little basketball star!

so, logan has had a lot of face time with soccer and school...and now its time for proud moments with ian...he had his first basketball class tonight. he's still too young for leagues, but there are classes through the city, and he got to pick one, and he chose basketball. he was so cute out there, and i'm pretty sure he was the only 3 yr. old...the others were all 4....but he fought hard to keep up...things to practice at home:

-dribbling while standing (not hunched over as close to the ground as you can reach)

-shooting forward so the ball doesn't hit your head

-bounce pass (though he's really good at a chest pass)

-stopping the ball without having to fall on it

i'm just so glad he's so interested...he really loved it!! go, ian!!

pretty good form, right?

and not so good form...:) we'll have to practice some more!! :)

and then he was five....

has 5 years gone by since my logan was born? wow!!! i'm still young right? even though this 5 yr. birthday means, that next year, he will be in kindergarten? o my goodness....

Love you, Loggie!

we had a party at the park...and had all kinds of "sports" to play...i think the kids had fun. there were several new friends that came from his pre-k class and soccer team, along with other friends and family.

and i just had to add this one of my 1 yr. old niece, kenzie...we found her hanging out by the chips, rotating which chips she was eating...she had a great spot there! :)

blue eyed boys

it's still kind of a mystery why all my boys have the bluest eyes!! i know they are in my family and in andy's too, but it's amusing that neither of us have them, but all our offspring does!

and look...they are all smiling in the same picture!!! anyone with more than 1 kid knows this is a difficult thing to catch! :)

Tysen's Tongue Tie

ok, so look really close underneath tysen's tongue....see that little piece in the middle that basically attaches the bottom to the top? this is called a tongue tie. (you can read more about it here.) tysen's ped had previously pointed this out to me when he was younger....some people choose to have this clipped as it can cause problems eating, and speech impairment since he can't stick his tongue out very far....

anyway...our dr. recommended leaving it alone, since he was obviously gaining weight, and it wasn't causing any difficulty in eating.

well, last week, i noticed tysen really fighting me with his solid food. like 3-4 bites into it, he would purse his lips closed and cry a lot like he didn't want to eat. and that is rare as he loves eating! but i know kids go thru phases, so i didn't think much of it...till that night when he woke up 4-5 times crying...ugh! i took him to the dr. the next morning completely expecting a diagnosis of ear infections ...but nope. nothing. the only other thing i had noticed was that his tongue tie had turned white, and i couldn't figure that out. well, it stumped his dr. as well, and i was sent to an ENT who explained to me that the white stuff was like a scab. somehow tysen had torn his tongue tie and it was healing, so it was 'scabbed' over, and that it would eventually come off, just like a scab does. i felt horrible for the little guy, cuz that explained why he didn't want to eat...why he screamed bloody murder if i didn't get the bottle into his mouth just perfectly...why every time he woke up (which was a ton at night, and all thru naps) the only thing that soothed him was a drink of something cold, and then he would go right back to sleep....o, i felt horrible!!

well, this week, the white was gone....and my cheerful little ty-man is back! and guess what...the tongue tie was gone!! the ENT was right, he had torn it (though i have no idea how or when...), it had healed and now, he has full range of motion with his tongue! that little piece that connected so far up his tongue is just gone! my dr. called to check on tysen (yep, that's how great my dr is...called me personally to check on him)...and i told the story, and he told me that i would definately have to buy him a nicer car when he's older, cuz he had just saved me 3-4,000 dollars on that procedure! :):)

It really works!!!

so i have a great recipe for you...and to go along with that, a great accomplishment for me! the boys ate some veggies without me having to coat it in ranch, and without me having to threaten them!! i chopped up squash and zucchini, and added them in --the boys ate it all without one complaint! i believe logan's words were 'this is really good, mom!' .... i am one happy mom!!!! :):) here's the recipe that my two toddlers (and my husband) actually liked!
Taco Macaroni
1 package (16oz) elbow macaroni- cooked (any kind of pasta is fine!)
1 lb. ground beef (browned and drained)
3/4 c. chopped onion (i just throw in some onion powder)
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can tomato soup
1 can tomato sauce
1 envelope of taco seasoning

---mix it all together and serve with cheese on top! its pretty yummy! and if you have kids that won't eat many veggies....finely chop up some squash and zucchini and throw it in... my boys never knew the difference!!!!

my so sweet thinker...

this is my deep-thinker...the one that makes me laugh at how organized he is...the one that turns my head with a comment that is way beyond his years. and tonight, he brought tears to my eyes. not in a bad way. but because so many times, i am stumped with how to teach my little man. i know the truth and the right answer, but its too complex for a soon to be 5 yr. old! how do you explain the nature of God, and...well, you'll see what i mean...

so, andy was doing their nightly routine of bible story time...and at the end, they summarize, so

andy says: "...and God answered Hannah's prayer and gave her Samuel...God always answers our prayers..."

logan: "but He doesn't answer my prayers"

a very stunned andy: "what do you mean, bud?"

logan: "sometimes i ask God for a baby girl, but we don't have one"

yeah. how do you teach a child that God is sovereign? andy talked with him for awhile and tried to explain that God always hears us, but doesn't always answer us in the way we ask....etc.

but seriously!

after further discussion we learned that

"at school we went in a circle and got to say what we are thankful for, and i said, 'i'm thankful for my brothers, ian and tysen'...and then the next one said, 'i'm thankful for my brothers and sisters'...but we don't have any sisters...just brothers."

seriously.

my response?

cuz i'm sure you are all thinking that now i must try one more time for a girl... well, i wiped a few tears away, and after a moment of sadness...i snapped out of it, and said "well, life is full of disappointments"...:):)

(to andy not logan!)