I dunno

I love my big Boogie Boy to pieces.
I love how big he's getting and how he's growing in so many ways.
I love how he says "thank you, Mommy" when I give him something he likes.
I love that he gave me a big 'ole kiss today after I asked him how much he loves mommy.
I love how much he looks like his daddy.
I love watching him play with his friends and be such a kind, considerate boy around others. (for a toddler, that is.)
I love him to pieces!
What I do not love is how he has made it a nightly habit to wake up sometime during the night to come into our bedroom. If he makes it to our bedside, he circles around to Stephan's side and asked to be let on board, at which time he will either make himself comfortable and go to sleep, or he will whine at daddy to get up and get him food or drink or play with him. Before this happens, I usually hear his approach and meet him in the hallway to usher him back into his bed, where I command him to go to sleep. After this, he will usually sleep until 7 or 8 the next morning.
  Now friends, I don't want to complain. I know that our life could be way worse and I do praise God for how obedient Noah is for the most part. It's because of how regular these night time sleep disruptions have become that I complain. For a long time, this would happen twice, maybe four times a week at the most. Now it really is an every night occurrence.
  I type all this to ask, do any mothers out there have any pointers on how to keep your toddler in his (or her) big kid bed all night long? I'm sure that Noah's not the only 2-year-old who does this on a semi-regular to regular basis. I was hoping that my consistency in returning him to his own bed would drive home the message, but it doesn't seem to be working. If you have any helpful hints or quick fixes, please leave it in a comment. I will thank you and love you.
   I would stay longer to type abut how much fun we had at friend Lauren's birthday party (Noah loved the slip-and-slide! I mean LOVED!) But Witten's crying and I must attend to him.
  Have a blessed weekend, readers! 

showers are awesome!

apparently, the most fun to be had in my house by a flock of toddlers is in my shower.

I believe Wyatt's face says it all. Showers are ridiculously, incredibly, impossibly awesome!!!

Made free!

Witten is trying to roll from his back to his tummy. Doesn't quite have it figured out yet. But I'm so impressed that he's trying!
   Today was a good day, and it's not over yet. Nothing spectacular happened, but it was good. I love good days like this. Thank You, God, for good days. Now if only we can get some plans for dinner set in stone.
   Dang, I had something else to blog about, but now I can't think about what it was. I'll remember it in two hours and then never get back on here to post about it. Sorry that you'll never know what I was thinking, readers.
   NO WAIT!
  I was going to tell all of you about how stupid and evil mosquitoes are! Those tiny pest have plagued me for all the years of my life. They flock to me like seagulls to any food source available. However, even with their overwhelming numbers, those stinkin' bugs only render minimal damage to me. (Small, itchy spots of annoyance). However, my poor, sweet Noah is not so lucky as I. Just like his mother, Noah attracts 'skeeters like the coffee you leave unattended for two seconds attracts those stupid fruit flies that we can't get out of our house. (One flew into Stephan's ear and stayed in there most of the day, buzzing and crawling around just out of reach of anything Stephan could jab into his ear!) Unlike his mommy, though, Noah's bite-wounds are monstrous! He has two on his fore arm right now and one on his ankle and it looks a lot like we've been pelting him with paintballs. They're sadly large and red and hot to the touch. Noah had one on his neck here recently that he itched until he bled. If I was there at the garden of Eden when man fell and God gave me the chance to choose my form of punishment from either painful child birthing or mosquitoes, I would have pick the pain of labor and delivery over the scourge of mo-skee-toes all day long.

   Anyways, I'm hoping to take Noah and maybe a few of his friends to adventure around the farm soon. Noah stinking loves the farm and I love how Ouma and Oupa beam with pride as Noah herds the goat flock and gathers chicken eggs. I'm sure they would appreciate it more if Noah didn't throw the gathered chicken egg at the goat herd...
 
   Be blessed, readers! And watch out for those blasted, vile, wicked, loathsome mosquitoes!    

Weddings!

My family, both immediate and extended, went to a fun, beautiful, and God-honoring wedding this past Saturday. My cousin Kayla married the man God made just for her in a gorgeous outdoor ceremony. Afterwards, there was good food, plenty of pictures, and lots of dancing. I haven't danced so freely since the last wedding reception we actually got to stick around for back before Stephan and I became parents. Being the horrible photographer that I am, I didn't get any pictures of the actual ceremony, but I have a few from teh reception, so those are the ones I shall show.

 Above you get to see the ridiculously adorable newly weds. Kayla looked absolutely beautiful and Brian was all glowin' and stuff the whole time. I don't think either of them stopped smiling once.

 Kayla and I are only 6 months apart. You will not meet a more optimistic person if you looked for years.

 This would have been a cute photo of three super cool guys at my table, but Justin had to go and make that face. Way to go, bro. I still love you, though.

 Witten and Noah were both passed around like a cheese tray. Witten did really good for being so tiny at such a big event. He was very over-stimulated on the ride home, though.

 Above is a good picture of my beautiful sister and I. My money is on her wedding being the next one we celebrate. Fellas, she's a catch and a half. A guy would be bonkers for not snatching her up and soon!

 And here you see my siblings and me.

 They told us Grandma probably wouldn't make it to Thanksgiving last year. Then, she would be lucky to see Christmas. Witten's birth was only a hopeful wish for her and Kayla's wedding was so improbable nobody dared to hope she would be there. I watched my grandma dance the twist with her family last Saturday. God has different plans than the experts of this world. Nothing's impossible with God.  

 This crazy guy and I danced our own special dance almost five years ago. It was the only time during my own wedding that I teared up a bit. Then Brian had to go and dance with his mother to the same song that my dad and I danced to all those years ago. Yeah, I cried again.

 Aren't they cute! So young, so in love. I remember that breath-taking, earth-stopping, emotional type of love. When all you can think about is your new husband and how in love you are. Absolutely nothing else can distract you from each other. It was a sweet time. That love, my dear readers, grows and graduates into a deeper love, tried by trials and strengthened with time. And I hear that the best is still to come! 

 I cried. My sister cried. My aunts cried. We all cried. Uncle Don did very well at keeping it together.

  Lastly, a picture of my sweet little family. Noah and Witten were too cute to bear and Stephan looked handsome as ever.
   
  I pray that Kayla and Brian are blessed, blessed, blessed as they start out their new life as man and wife. There are only a few times in life as sweet as the time your experiencing right now. May God bless you richly!

Hmmm...Interesting

I have been upgraded to the new blogger interface, and I'm not sure how I like it just yet.

Noah has just woken up early from a nap I was hoping would stretch out a bit longer. Not that I have a lot to do, but more along the lines of I have done a lot yesterday and this morning and I was anticipating a half hour of quite mommy-time. I don't mind, though. Even though he woke up cranky, he's now happily munching on teddy grahams and watching Madagascar, giving me the opportunity to update my blog.
 First, since I found my camera, here are my promised pictures:

 Stephan's grandparent's are visiting from South Africa. They'll be here for 6 weeks. We didn't get to visit them as soon as they got here, as it was a 13-hour flight from Holland to America (and that was just the second leg of their trip), and we thought they should get some rest. Instead, we e-mailed them a picture of the great-grandsons they had yet to meet.
  Below are two pictures of my kitchen. The first is post-pipe-correction/pre-cement replacement. The second is Noah helping his daddy fix those darn leaky pipes. (Notice, please, that he's holding a section of pvc pipe for daddy).

   Thankfully, not only did Stephan fix the leak under the house, he also stopped the stench that's been plaguing my kitchen.

 Noah and Daddy discovered a new trick: the one-armed toddler-lift.

 And our last picture is from playgroup today. It was a smaller group; only Sheryl, Emily, and our new friend Jackie came. Of course they brought their little ones. As a bonus, Emily brought Noah and Lucy's friend, Bennet. Bennet is a friend from their church class. He usually doesn't get to come because he has two older brothers in class at home. We are hoping he gets to join us more often. Also, isn't Lucy a ham? Lucy was the only girl there today. It was Lucy and the dudes.
 
    Tonight, we celebrate Crisi and Caleb David with a mothers'-night-out baby shower. I am co-hostessing this event, which is largely to blame for my busy state of being these past few days. I was in charge of the cake and cupcakes. Of course, I hit up pinterest to find some cake ideas. As usual, everything on pinterest is "super easy" and "fun to do." I'm not sure who posts most of this stuff to pinterest, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's either Martha Stewart using various accounts, or a lot of mean women trying to make normal mothers and wives feel inferior. Either way, the "easy, fun, simple" cake decorating technique I found ended up not working, so I ad-libbed. Here is the result:

  Even if it's not the most glorious cake ever decorated, it's sure to taste delicious.
Now that the cake and cupcakes are ready, all I have to do is show up and partake in true fun and loving fellowship, all without our children. *Ladies' night out, ya'll!* 

   Be blessed, readers!

my camera is worse than my keys

As soon as I find my camera, I'll be adding new pictures. Until that time, ya'll are gonna have to use your imaginations.
Yesterday was Sunday. Us sinners went to the farm instead of church. I felt it was a forgivable offense since this was the first time all of the Du Toits, including Ouma Irene and Oupa Paul from South Africa, have been able to meet together in four years. Sadly, we didn't get to stay too long, but while we were there we enjoyed delicious burgers and great time spent with all the family. Stephan even got to shot guns with his bros. Of course, since my camera ran away again, I was unable to take a family picture along with everybody else. (SO angry at my camera right now).
  Later in the day, I was blessed to be able to go to Mechelle's wedding shower. It's so crazy and neat to think that Meesh is getting married! It's obvious when you see her and her future husband together that they're meant to be. They're perfect for each other. It's pretty impressive what a great match-maker God is when one waits for Him to bring along the perfect man.
   Today, I have to go grocery shopping. I have mentioned before how detestable grocery shopping is to me. I cannot put it off any longer, though. We have to eat sometime.
   This Saturday, my sweet and adorable cousin Kayla is tying the knot! So excited about her wedding! Oh, the memories that will be made there! Please, Lord, reveal the hiding spot of my camera to me before that day. I just might go buy a new one if the old one doesn't show up before then.

  The Lord bless you and keep you, dear readers! I'm out!

Oh my Gosh, no WAY

I was reading through my own blog, (yes, I'm kinda conceited in that way, sorry) and I happen to glance at the birthday tickers I keep updated to the right of the screen. I saw Widdle Witten's and said, "awe". Then I saw Noah's and literally gasped out loud. My first born, my tiny, premature baby that was too small to fit into newborn clothes when he was born, is less than a month away from turning 2!  

2! 

It's almost been two whole years since I gave birth to the first of our two (and probably more to come) mini-Stephans. As I type, my boogie boy is devouring a helpless grilled turkey and cheese sandwich. He is too smart. He tells me what color most everything is.  He counts to ten most days. He'll repeat anything he hears from us or the television, which is most frightening and causes Stephan and I to really watch our words to each other and everything else. He likes to dance and sing and help daddy work on projects. He gives the tightest hugs. He's an amazing little person and he's my son! I can't thank God enough for that little trouble maker/cuddle buddy.

family life is great for livin'

Praise God, praise God, praise God! He is so good. Even when life seems miserable, unbearable, disappointing, or simply not going the way I want it to go, the Lord is good to me. If I had nothing in this world but Him and His redeeming love, that would be sufficient for me. But praise God, He has given me far more than I deserve.
 for example:

 Ain't that precious?

This past Sunday was Easter Sunday, and we celebrated Jesus' resurrection with hymn-singing and right teaching of the Word. It was good. Afterwards, Noah got to egg hunt all by his lonesome at my parents' house, as neither of my siblings has chil'uns yet. After that, Stephan was merciful to me, a sleepy mommy, and watched Noah, who must of been hopped up on Easter excitement as he refused to take a nap, so that I might nap. (I slept for three hours.)

Monday, I ran. Tuesday, I hurt.

Now's Wednesday again, and again I ran. Please, don't' give me props just yet. I forced myself to do it. Twisted my own arm, if you will. It didn't help that I have a borrowed copy of Mockingjay at my house waiting for me to finish it. But I ran, nonetheless. Meanwhile, Stephan is fixing our broken kitchen floors. Seriously, how does he know how to fix EVERYTHING? I will be posting before, during, and after pictures once the cement he's currently laying sets and the flooring is reinstalled.   

 In Witten news, I feel myself once again urging my baby to grow up faster. It's subconscious, almost, the way I do it. I read the books and the articles that tell me what my three-month-old should or could be doing, and then I see friends' infants who are a little bit more developed than Little Bit, and I start to urge more forward motion out of my baby. I have to stop often and remember that no two babies are alike and than my babies in particular seem to be somewhat late bloomers. Noah didn't roll over for 6 month for Pete's sake! And then I see a newborn and compare it to my three month old and think, "Holy cow! He's growing too fast!" It's tough on your psychological health and emotional well being to be a mom. And yet, per usual, it is so worth it. To hear Witten coo and gurgle with his little new voice and to see him smile big, toothless smiles makes any trial or pain or test worth it. It especially helps that I have a really big God as my aid.

  Now, to finish Mockingjay! (The babies are sleeping. Yay!)

I'm tired, but my body doesn't know it yet.

Holy smokes! Stephan and I just hosted an egg hunt at our house. (With a lot of help from my dear, dear, wonderful friends) I think it was a success. We had crafts, the egg hunt, and delicious food. I'm to tired to type much about it, so I'll just show ya'll the few pictures I took and take a nap. (hopefully).

Noah was a pro

Wyatt was super excited

If this was a competition, Lucy won.

And then, what happens afterwards:

 

Send in the clowns!

I wish I could dance. Not "dance" like hit up the club and shake my money-maker dance, but dance as in ballet dance. I thoroughly regret letting an itchy tu-tu discourage me from continuing my childhood ballet lessons. Imagine how graceful and elegant I would be now if I had stuck to it!

*click here to see an example of what I could have done if I stuck with ballet!*

Anyways, I wanted to take adorable pictures of Witten smiling like a maniac and post them here, but my camera's battery decided to die. I did manage to get one cute picture with my phone, but I've explained phone pictures in relation to my blog before, so if I do post that picture, it might not be soon.  I will say, however, that Witten has been revealing more and more of his personality to mommy and daddy lately. If he's hungry and I make him wait, even if it's to very quickly fill my own empty tummy, he get's angry. If you wake him up from a good sleep before he's ready to be awake, he gets angry! If you turn him to face you right after he's eaten a full meal, he'll dazzle you with a big 'ole smile and a few gurgly-laughs and leave you smitten!
   Now to steal a page from the book of Ting-a-ling Johnson...
Witten Allen, at three months you are:
  -an adorable, albeit lazy little thing. You will lay completely still for the duration of tummy time unless I'm there to goad you into doing anything.
  -finally fattening up a bit. Just like your brother before you, you are taking your time putting on the pounds. Which means that if you continue following in your brother's footsteps, I'm going to have two blonde hulks on my hands pretty soon.
  - smiling happily whenever someone smiles at you. You also smile and laugh at that lion mirror on the play gym that Noah loved so much.
  -overall, you are a wonderful and happy baby and I love you so stinkin' much!

Noah's napping with Big Sheep. That stuffed sheep is twice the size of Noah. It's a pretty humorous sight to see.

This week, I deep clean! Have at you, dust bunnies and sticky spots!!