Wow, our garden is happy! This first picture is from July 1. We are already enjoying some of the fruits of our garden - two kinds of lettuce, celery, and we had the first few beans for dinner last night. We also look forward to peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and kale. The sweet peas didn't work out so well, and I learned the hard way that if you leave the broccoli heads, they don't get bigger - they turn into flowers. Pretty, but not too tasty looking....
And here is the garden just a few days later, on July 10. The back left corner has 7 tomato plants in it and they are going crazy!! I'm afraid I won't know what to do with so many of them! We visited the Niagara Falls Aviary last week to meet the Cuban Anole which has been very graciously donated to Mike for his classroom. This is the little guy... we have to decide on a name for him yet. Fidel? Castro? Perhaps Castro and Cleo work well together.Peter really enjoyed all the animals there, he went a little crazy.
Here he is petting a tortoiseOne of his favorites was this giant iguana roaming around free in the roomYou could get so close to these birds! This photo is not zoomed in at all -
we could have reached out and touched themMacawsToucanDaddy and Peter enjoying the waterfallWe took a picture of us but it was missing little Aaron......so I (very) unsuccessfully tried to Photoshop him in -
I have a lot to learn yetDad and the boys hanging out on the hammock

Happy Canada Day!

Well, I have a pile of new pictures for you to enjoy! We went to Strathroy last week Tuesday to Thursday so Mike could go to the classis meeting on Wednesday. We had a great time staying at Sarah and Jeremy's place, and then to Mom and Dad VD's!

I gave Peter pancakes for lunch one day and put a little dab
of syrup in the middle of them... the little stinker quickly
discovered this and ate the middles out of the pancakes Smiley little AaronReally smiley little AaronThe boys hanging out with Aunt Andrea and Aunt Karen
The boys had lots of fun playing in the water on a hot dayPeter, spoiled in the big tub
Matthew in his itty-bitty little tubRobert seems to fit better than his little brother in the itty-bitty tub
Robert taking Peter for a ride on the tractor
Good thing there were TWO tractors!!Aaron was a little jealous and had to get in on this tractor-actionAaron and Mommy hanging out
All four boys in the wagonRobert looks ready for a game of cardsPeter and some very (apparently) exciting rocksDaddy and Peter in the pool
The first time swimming this year
I think this is just about pure joy!
We took Peter's sandals off and he would NOT walk in the grass
unless somebody held his handAaron in one of the outfits he got from family in Holland...
sadly he's just about too big for it

Danielle and Her New House

Danielle, this post is for you... I know you couldn't find those pictures of you with your new house that I took last summer, so I thought I'd post them for your enjoyment. It was so fun playing dress-up that day!

A Few Pics of This Afternoon

Peter playing with bubbles in the sink this afternoonHmm... let's see how this bubble soup tastes....Delicious! You should try it, Mom!It's hard catching smiles on camera but I got a few...Ohhh, those chubby cheeks...

Happy Anniversary!

Today, we celebrate four years of marriage! It's hard to believe time has gone by so quickly! Happy anniversary my dear, and may we enjoy many many more years together!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Miiiiiiiike
Happy birthday to you!!
Congratulations on your birthday!
May God bless you with many more happy years!

Strangely enough, this Monday afternoon finds me with two sleeping children, a folded load of laundry, baking out of the oven and a few moments to post a short update my blog. I sure didn't think that would happen this morning, with Peter definitely letting me know that it is MONDAY and a GRUMPY day. Hopefully his nap will take care of that!
Things are going fairly well here. Peter is loving his little brother and I have to keep a close eye on him that he doesn't smother him with kisses and hugs! Aaron gave us a big surprise last week, rolling over at 6 weeks! He did it three times on Wednesday, which was helped out by being on the couch and rolling toward the dip in between the cushions. So, maybe a fluke. But the next day, he was laying on the floor and rolled from his tummy to his back 6 or 7 times! He hasn't done it since then but he's had a few pretty gassy and unhappy days and perhaps he's just not in the mood. This rolling thing is a bit of a shock to us, as Peter was more than willing to wait a long, long time before trying it. It will be interesting to see the differences in their development!

My Mom and Dad came last week for a visit, and we had our
screen door re-installed at the back entrance. Peter was
incredibly interested in "helping" Opa with his work... things
can take twice as long with a little one around :)

Peter giving kisses to Aaron

My smiley little red-head

Aaron's hair is much redder than Peter's, especially in natural light

Sitting in the Bumbo for the first time... not quite on his own yet
but getting there! He's growing up so fast!

Whoops, left Aaron's bassinet on the couch one day.
Peter had a lot of fun "sleeping" in it!

What a little goof!

Aaron in mid-roll...

Busy busy busy!

Well, it's been almost a month since the last post so I thought I'd sneak one in before the blog police come after me. It's been a busy month - life is a little different with two kids at home now! Peter had a hard time adjusting, especially the first week. There were a lot of tears, and he's developed his temper tantrum, much to the dismay of his parents!! Where do they learn those from anyways? After his first week home, he's gotten much better which we are thankful for. He loves to lean right in over Aaron ("Baby!!") and talk to him, give him kisses, and point out to us where his eyes are... careful Peter!! He's also continuing with his fascination with clocks - he just can't get enough of them. Anytime he goes somewhere new, people comment on how much he loves clocks and finds them all over the place. If only we could get him to perfect his pronounciation...
Aaron has been doing well, and growing quickly. It's hard to believe he's 5 weeks already tomorrow - time flies so fast. We got our first real smiles from him yesterday, what a treat! The last week or two however he's become quite a bit fussier, which is the same thing Peter did when he was a baby. This makes it a bit harder to get things done, especially since the fussiness starts in the late afternoon when Peter is often somewhat cranky as well and when I need to start thinking about supper. On those days, it's especially nice to see Mike walk in the door!
We've been working on our garden slowly over the last few weeks and are putting in some annuals and vegetable plants today. Well, I say "we" but obviously I am inside writing a blog post so I'm not out there planting... I got some of the vegetables in but the kids wouldn't have any more of that so I'm inside with them until they fall asleep (here's to hoping anyways).
We bought a new computer on Saturday, and it is so nice to have an internet connection that doesn't disconnect every 10 seconds! Although this particular computer will have to be returned as it seems to have a few bugs, we are enjoying some new technology and I look forward to being able to do a bit more with pictures during the day without needing to have Mike's laptop. Speaking of pictures, I have a few to share so here we go:

Here is Aaron being weighed, I believe when he was 1 week old. He
was back up to 9lbs 11 oz, gaining 4 oz over 3 days. He's so much
stronger than Peter was as a newborn, and we are amazed at how
strong his neck has been right from the beginning. Those
extra pounds certainly make a difference!Peter is trying to be very sneaky...
He loves looking at his little brother!
He LOVES being outside!
Playing in the garden dirt
Mom, Danielle and Lauren came over last week with a borrowed
rototiller to help me get the vegetable garden turned over.
They did a wonderful job! We look forward to eating our own
veggies again this summer!Our yard has changed quite a bit since we first moved in.
The grass is lush, the gardens are maintained... and
the shed may or may not be on more of an angle now.
Aaron checking things out
I love these little hands!