At Long Last

After a loooooong break from posting pictures, I finally decided to sit down this morning and go through a few of the pictures from the last little while.  Our camera broke, and we just recently purchased a new one after borrowing my parents' for a few weeks.  Unfortunately, their camera was returned without first copying the pictures to our computer from their memory card, so there are a few weeks missing from the album but I'm sure you won't notice :)
How about an update first... where to begin... I think I need to start with some exciting news first - our house is SOLD!! 

We signed the final paperwork last night, and the sign was switched over to proclaim our happy news.  The closing date is at the end of June, so we have a little bit of time to find a new place before we're out on the street.  Not that we'll be on the street due to some very generous family members, but it would sure be nice to not have to move twice.  Especially since....
We're expecting again!  You probably have either noticed the ticker at the top of the blog, or heard the news one way or another, but yes, we are expecting number three at the end of September.  Vander Deen #3 will be about 17 months apart from Aaron, which is the same time between Peter and Aaron.  It will make for a very busy household, but we look forward to meeting our new addition in due time.  Another reason why moving is somewhat more necessary...it's a little hard to fit three little ones in a 9x9 room without using bunk beds, since Peter is far from ready for that step.  He is quite proud to show us how he can jump off a book laying on the floor, never mind climb up to a top bunk.  All in good time, I suppose.
And how are the boys doing, you might ask.  Peter is 2 years, 4.5 months, and is quite the character.  He loves to sing, and often wants us to sing along with him.  He continues to love reading and having books read to him, which is quite enjoyable!  He is also VERY interested in various machines - garbage trucks, diggers, loaders, bulldozers, fire engines, truck-and-trailers, and so on.  This makes car trips very interesting - it is amazing how many construction vehicles you can pass on your travels, and never mind all the truck-and-trailers (all of which require an enthusiastic response from Mom and/or Dad, of course).  And woe be Aaron if he isn't paying enough attention to the vehicles that Peter sees!  "Look Aaron!  See the digger?!  LOOK Aaron!!  Wow!!"

Peter and one of his favourite toys, a garbage truck

 During one of our house showings, we went to a reptile place where Peter 

(and Mike!) were thrilled to see this "BIG SNAKE!", a reticulated 

python  We've been hearing about that snake ever since...

Looking so grown up!

He can be such a serious little fellow

But he actually smiled for the camera!

Thumbs up for vacuuming!

Proper colouring technique

Aaron is growing up fast - it's hard to believe that it will be his first birthday in just over a week.  How did a year go by already?  He is a sweet little boy, with a smile to melt your heart.  He knows how to flirt, and definitely loves having lots of attention.  He is finally figuring out how to eat chunkier foods, and things just seem to have taken off running in that department - it's so nice not to have to feed him pureed-everything now.  He also enjoys feeding himself, which makes for messy dinner times but a generally happy kid.  He continues to be a challenge with his sleeping habits.  He doesn't sleep long for his naps, and has had a few nights in the last little while that we've resorted to pulling the swing back out of the basement to try to get him to settle down and fall asleep, even in the middle of the night.  Maybe when he starts walking, he'll need more sleep... well that is my far-fetched hope for his sleeping routines anyways.  He is pulling himself up on everything and walking along furniture.  I've seen him let go a few times, but he doesn't last more than half a second balancing on his own, so he definitely won't be walking before his birthday.  No rush on that, because I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough.  Peter was walking at around 14 months, and I imagine it will be around the same for Aaron.  Interesting how that goes, especially since Aaron was rolling at 6 weeks and it took Peter till 10 or 11 months to figure that out.

Gotta love his smiles!

A typical Aaron face

Mike snapped this great shot of Aaron eating spaghetti for the first time

Making a delightful mess in the kitchen

  The boys usually get along spectacularly ( is that a word?).  They both love to be chased, and Peter will chase Aaron around, then turn around and tell Aaron to chase him back.  Aaron's not so good at following those instructions, but the two of them have a lot of fun together, when they aren't stealing each other's toys or keeping each other awake.  They are usually very happy to see each other in the mornings or after a nap, and Peter loves to give his little brother hugs.  Peter is also a fan of giving "the baby" hugs and kisses as well, and he insists that it is a sister and not a brother.  We'll see how his predictions turn out!
Aaron is awake from his nap, and giving me hints that he'd like to be rescued, so I should wrap this up and post the remaining few pictures.  Enjoy!!

Enjoying BIG GARBAGE TRUCK DAY!!! 
from Mom and Dad's bedroom window

Rub a dub dub, four boys in the tub!

Amazing what a piece of Plexiglass will do to a family

Since the next fruit/vegetable in line is apparently a sweet potato, and after a not-too-strenuous search for an appropriate picture of such a item that didn't involve two, implying twins, this will be the last size post... from now on, it's on its way from a cantaloupe to a watermelon!

No Complaining About This

Go Away!

Dear Sick Bug,
You've spent way too much time in this house in the last little while.  It's time for all of us to be completely healthy again, and for exuberant energy and happiness to return for good.  I'm tired of cleaning up vomit, administering fever medication, and doing pukey laundry.  You have way outstayed your [welcome?].  GO AWAY!
From Rachel

Garbage Truck Day!

Epic day - Peter was up this morning in time to see all the garbage trucks come by!  He loves trucks of all different kinds, and is always excited that it is "Garbage Truck Day", but almost every week, he's still fast asleep in bed when they come by.  Not today!  He spent a glorious half-hour standing by the window in our bedroom, watching all the trucks coming and going.  Makes for a very happy little boy! 

What else is new here... it's turned into March, and it seems the sun has returned.  We've had some beautiful days, and it's nice to have the sunshine in the house.  Peter woke up sick in the middle of the night on Sunday, but that cleared up pretty quickly, leaving a slightly diminished appetite but a fairly happy kid.  On Monday morning, I informed Peter that while he was having a bath, Mr. Fox was going to have to have a "bath" in the laundry since he had been puked on.... but Peter understood this as being able to take his stuffed animal into the bath with him.  He found that quite hilarious, and it was fun to watch.  
Aaron continues on in his unfortunate sleeping habits, waking up sometime between 3 and 4:30, demanding a bottle, and then refusing to go back to sleep.  Aren't little kids supposed to need more sleep than that?  He doesn't nap very long during the day, and Peter gets way more sleep then he does so I kind of expect the same thing from Aaron.  Every kid is different, I suppose, but this 3:00 wide-awake thing needs to stop soon! Poor Mom and Dad are getting tired! 
Aaron is pulling himself up on things all over the house, and is generally enjoying catching up with his big brother.  Soon enough, he'll be beating him up I think.  The two of them usually have tons of fun together, although I hear enough "mine", "stop it Aaron!", "don't touch, Aaron, not a toy", "no like it, Aaron!" and "share Peter".  Yes, "share Peter"... it might be nice that Peter has learned the word "share", but I look forward to him understanding what it means.  "Share Peter" currently means "give Peter that item now and don't even think about touching it again".  Sigh. 
I have no pictures to load up for you this morning...seeing as our house hasn't sold yet, the desktop is still sequestered in the basement, and that is where the pictures are stored.  There also won't be any new ones taken in the next little while since our camera died on the weekend and I haven't had any luck with camera CPR. 

Plum for Danielle

Danielle, you can have this plum since you're so smart!